Friday, February 14, 2014

American Idol 13: Top 30 Finalists Revealed (Part 2)

This is it! The dreadful Hollywood week is over and we now have this year's strong Top 30. There were a couple of cuts that was quite infuriating - David Oliver Willis, Savion Wright, and Sarina Joie Crowe to name a few - given that they put through mediocre singers - Emmanuel Zidor, Jordan Brisbane, Ethan Harris - into the mix. But I digress. All in all, this was a solid Top 30.

That said, the new twist of cutting 5 people for each gender before they even perform for America's votes is downright cruel! Why not just get a Top 20 instead? Why keep their hopes up for absolutely NOTHING? For drama? Ugh.

Here we go!

Marialle Sellers
Wrecking Ball
Good grief! This girl is so overrated! Her pitch was all over the place, her breath control was terrible, and the song choice was odd. She needs to find better songs that doesn't highlight her limited vocal range. Heck, Sarina Joie outperformed her with the same song and she got cut. 5.5

Jena Asciutto
Original Song
"Sleeper because I took a nap". HAHA. To be honest, when I first saw Jena in her audition, I didn't think she'd amount to much, but I saw a lot of improvement from her musically throughout Hollywood week. And yes, somehow, I agree with Harry. Jena could be dangerous. 7

Caleb Johnson
Radioactive
He's like a lovechild of Meatloaf and Jack Black no? Haha. Keith was right, Caleb came across as  too Rock of Ages with absolutely no substance to his singing. It's like a wall of high notes and nothing else. I'm pretty sure he'll grate on me soon. Oh, and it's funny how America voted via Twitter that he should go home. Haha. 6.5

Ethan Harris
Amazed
I just can't get behind any contestant who would choose Amazed as a song. It's lifeless and it doesn't lend itself to be anywhere near memorable. Add to that the fact that Ethan's delivery was just flat and voice too thin to even be considered pleasant. Why did he even make the cut instead of David Oliver Willis? 5

Majesty York
Stars
Uh oh. Majesty had a seriously rough moment when she forgot the words to Stars, but based on all of her other performances, she deserved that spot. Her Coldplay rendition alone was more than enough to merit her a Top 30 placement. Sue me. 6

Briston Maroney
Let Her Go
Probably one of the more polarizing voices this season, but I kind of get his appeal. Briston's a bit tricky. My ears tell me I don't like his voice, and yet I sort of want to hear more from him. Haha. His cover of Let Her Go was too affected, but compelling at the same time. 6

Brandy Neelly
Up To The Mountain
The first time I've been impressed by one of her performances this year. This, to me, was an impeccably controlled version of the song and her tone fits the song really well. I was a bit confused though as to why she decided to dress like a Disney Princess. Haha. 7

Briana Oakley
My Kind Of Love
She sure had moments during this performance and I actually loved the clarity of her voice, but she sounded a bit shrill especially when she tried to hit those high notes. She needs to be careful with her song choices moving forward. 6.5

Kenzie Hall
Your Song
Oh no. Just like Majesty, Kenzie chocked with Your Song, but her cover of Macklemore's song a couple of episodes ago was so good, I didn't really mind. Her strength is in her artistry and she needs to stick to that. 6

Austin Wolfe
Radioactive
This was a decent performance by Austin. She's like Kenzie Hall, but more shy and a little more interesting Kristen O'Conner - she's also a very moldable artist! I'm not sure if she's strong enough to take down a couple of powerful vocalists, but I'm optimistic. 6.5

----

THE TWIST! America will vote between Ben and Neco, and decide which one is part of this season's Top 30.

Ben Briley
Stars
Awesome. Possibly the first time I've really dug Ben. His version of Stars was dynamics with great pitch and modulation. Very nice. 7

Neco Starr
Halo
Eh. While I think Neco is very marketable, he's been very inconsistent with his performances and Halo was quite terrible. Plus, there's no way he'd beat Ben in this specific voting round given the demographic of American Idol. Too bad. 5

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...