Wednesday, February 19, 2014

American Idol 13: Top 10 Girls (Rush Week)

It’s that time of the year again! It was the girl's turn to take the stage first and, in my opinion, they were mostly decent with a couple of people capable of standing in the Kodak Theatre and attempting to make the Hasselhoff break down in tears. Haha.

How about these judges? They're pretty good this season. Jennifer, Keith, and Harry were dead on lately! Almost everything they've said to the Top 10 ladies I completely agreed with - with a few exceptions. It’s nice to know that after 12 years of competition, the judges are finally being useful.

As for the eliminated contestants, I was mostly irked about Kenzie Hall and Austin Wolfe, but I hope they can audition again next year.

Anyway, let’s get to the ladies!

10. Marrialle Sellers
Roar
So, I'm going to try and say this in a really simple way. Ahem, here it goes.. *clears throat* THIS WAS #$%@ING AWFUL!! Gah! Well, I hope that was clear. Roar was a vocal mess. There were cracks, sharp notes, flat notes, dynamic issues, phrasing errors, breathing problems, and a complete lack of support on some of the lower verses. Roar was a noble choice and it definitely showed that Marrialle was a very comfortable performer with a great personality, but it just murdered the poor girl. I'm not sure I can see her making it after this performance, and if she does she should probably stop going on stage and committing vocal seppuku. She is simply not ready for primetime. 3

09. Bria Anai
Wrong Side Of A Love Song
Gobble gobble gobble. That song ate her up! Wrong Side Of A Love Song sounded like it was way too big of a challenge for Bria’s voice and it really didn't tell us anything about her as an artist. I don't know. There were notes being dropped left and right and it looked like she was trying so hard to be believable. At least she looked comfortable on stage and the judges have a soft spot for her, because the only chance she has to get into the finals this year is by wildcard. Of course, she could always bat her lashes and wear shorter dresses meant for six-year-olds. That seemed to work before. Haha. 4

08. Kristen O'Connor
Turning Tables
Look, Kristen delivered a powerful vocal, but it came off as something almost too on the nose. Sure, I’m willing to cut her some slack here, since it’s the first live performance, and allow her to scoot on by with just a strong vocal, but there has to be something else in the future. You need to be more than a good singer. You need to be a product. And somehow, her boring stage presence just bored me to tears. 5.5

07. Briana Oakley
Warrior
This was certainly not Briana’s strongest. I don't know what happened, but she somehow found a rather bland song choice in Warrior. To make matters worse she was struggling with her breath support especially when she hit the second part of her performance. No, it wasn’t a train wreck, by any means, but it didn’t do enough to make people sit up and take notice of her. 5.5

06. Jessica Meuse
Drink A Beer
This was an alright song choice for Jessica, but the performance just didn't go anywhere. Plus, it did show a certain flaw that a lot of the female contestants seem to share this year: they are having trouble truly connecting to these songs on an emotional level. It was a good catch for Keith to mention that she was smiling during the performance when the song was something more emotional than that. Vocally, there were some strong moments, but there were just as many weak ones. So, yeah. 6

05. Jena Irene
Paint It Black
I admit, Paint It Black was not the most obvious song choice for a singer like Jena, but the end of the song allowed her to show more edge than what I was expecting and she actually managed to inject some fire into her stale demeanor. I hated the arrangement, if I'm being honest though. 6.5

04. Emily Piriz
Paris (Ooh La La)
This performance was slightly above average because of her almost spotless vocals, but here’s the deal: you aren't in a place where you can believably sing Paris (Ooh La La). I sort of understood Harry's criticism, but Emily's an adult woman and she can sing about whatever the hell she wants. My real problem was that it came off as someone trying way too hard to be bad*ss when she's obviously not. Good thing, her vocals were really strong! 6.5

03. Malaya Watson
Hard Times
Hard Time was a rather inspired song choice and a surprisingly strong vocal moment for Malaya. It wasn't perfect by any means, but she managed to deliver a very respectable version of the song backed by an impressively strong connection to the material. She definitely has that character that makes you root for her, now, it’s time to create a musical identity, because America wants to see more than just a good voice and personality. Get to it, Malaya. 7

02. MK Nobilette
All Of Me
This was absolutely gorgeous. All Of Me was a beautiful, haunting ballad that just turned MK into a force on this program. When most of the girls were freaking out about vocal gymnastics and spectacle, she just delivered an honest and subdued performance that had more power than Marrialle's Roar. Haha. This, to me, was solidly awesome. 7.5

01. Majesty Rose
Happy
Majesty's choice to sing Happy was pretty brilliant as it really showcased the type of artist that she wants to be. She has a great current sound, she owned the stage and seemed comfortable, and she's such a savvy contestant that knows exactly what to sing and when to sing it. To me, she seems to have a great grasp on what she needs to accomplish and sets her goals accordingly. Her version wasn't flawless, but it worked. 7.5


PREDICTION

SHOULD BE Top 5
Majesty Rose
MK Nobilette
Malaya Watson
Emily Piriz
Jena Irene

WILL BE Top 5
Majesty Rose
MK Nobilette
Malaya Watson
Jessica Meuse
Jena Irene

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