To sum everything up: James Durbin sucked, which is unusual. Jacob Lusk sucked, that's nothing new. Lauren Alaina was good. Scotty McCreery was really good, but awkward. As for Haley Reinhart, she just destroyed the other four. Sadly, the judges didn't see/hear it the way I did.
But they've been useless anyway. I mean, did Randy make any comment, ANY, that he hasn't made before, not just in seasons past but even this season? I don't think so. His presence is pointless. Did Steven Tyler contribute anything meaningful? I don't think so. He seems pointless. Jennifer Lopez was also too cloying. If there's indeed "nothing to judge", why are three still there??
Sorry to rant, but the blatant favoritism - in this episode, in particular - was just disgusting! Nothing more to say.
DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha.
Round 1: NOW
If this is a shock to you then you are probably Helen Keller. Haha. This performance was far worse than Alone, and I thought that was as bad as Jacob could sing. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Why does Jacob hate Jordin Sparks? What did she do to him? This was so bad it seemed like revenge. Haha. 3/10
Pick a pitch, James! Any pitch! Possibly James' weakest performance to date! I wonder if he could hear himself or something as the band was too loud and he was really off pitch a couple of times. His vocals were terrible, he clearly had a couple of sharp and flat notes in there and when he hit those high notes, his voice became shrill. James is really talented, and he obviously has a good voice, but if someone told him that he needed to work on his pitch a couple of weeks ago - instead of the usual cheerleading thing the judges have been doing - he'd probably worked on it and get much better. Just saying. 6/10
Hmm. Of all Carrie Underwood songs, Lauren chose this? I was seriously hoping for So Small, but whatever. I thought she started out great and while she did seem out of breath a couple of times, I think it was because she FINALLY brought out power in her voice. She went for the big notes, came out with more confidence and she stretched her vocals even further than last week. Very nice. 7.5/10
These judges need to fall off a cliff!! Seriously. They praised James Durbin's off key performance, and then they gave this performance crap? Heck, even Jacob got better remarks!! Jennifer Lopez criticized Jimmy Iovine's advice. Randy Jackson blasted on Lady Gaga's song. How was the singing, judges? No, Haley's performance wasn't perfect by any means, but it was undeniably solid. For her to start out practically lying on her side and sounding so perfect showed that she really had some AMAZING vocal control. Plus, the last note was incredible. I guess, they will smack her down at ANY opportunity they have. 8/10
Shocked. Yes, this sounded like every other Scotty performance, but I enjoyed how he worked the stage for an upbeat joint like this. He showed so much personality, his vocals were pretty solid and those crazy eyeballs were hysterical. I was entertained, that's for sure. 8/10
Round 2: THEN
Love Hurts
I was told before that if I couldn't think of ANYTHING nice to say, I wasn’t allowed to say the bad stuff. Therefore, my critique of this song is over. Haha. 4.5/10
Without You
Well, I could have lived without that! Haha. This was definitely not James Durbin's night. I don't know. He started out pitchy as hell, but improved when he went into his upper register and kicked it up a notch. Sadly, I didn't care for his performance anymore when he was almost able to recover. Oh, and Randy, let me get this straight, emotionally perfect is ok and the notes don't matter anymore? Personally, pitchiness can NEVER be ignored lest we have a disaster like last year. Go figure! 6.5/10
Unchained Melody
To be fair, Lauren started off great, but she seemed to lose steam by the end. I thought she held back a bit in the end especially when she avoided that big note. She could have used her falsetto - if she has one - but instead she just chopped her notes short. I also saw her straining to reach those high notes. It was still a very pleasant performance though. I'd say A for tone and possibly C- for breath control. 7/10
Always On My Mind
What I like about Scotty, which the Jennifer Lopez also mentioned last week, is the fact that he can actually take a simple lyrics and tell a story from it. No need for screams or shrieks, oversinging or tears pouring out of his eyes to garnish attention. Yes, Scotty did beautifully with this classic. It didn't move me like his ballad from last week, but I'm happy to see a male vocal that's controlled and almost pitch perfect - not just emotionally perfect. 8/10
House Of The Rising Sun
Judges, you have NOTHING - and I mean, NOTHING - to bitch about this time! This performance of Haley was absolutely brilliant. Outstanding vocals. Lovely phrasing. Great musicality. Every week, it seems like Haley's performances are becoming more challenging than any of the other contestants and after tonight, she DESERVES to be in the Finale. Oh, and I love the look on her face after her performance. It was like saying, How you like that judges? What are you got to say now? Abso-fcukin'-lutely bada*s! 9.5/10
22 comments:
I really agree with your Haley critiques but I feel you may be being a LITTLE to harsh on James. Just my opinion :)
Haley was defiantly the best of the night and I AM SUPER SICK of the judges/cheerleaders picking on her and praising Jacob... Ugh. I voted my ass off tonight for Haley because she deserves to be in the finale and needs the votes.
whew! excited nako to watch episode! haley rocks!!!! and that blatant favoritism >_< nakakaasar, kawawa si haley me. america, gising!
Wow, I've disagreed with you before on a few things... this week I REALLY disagree on a couple things.
First... James Durbin. While his first song wasn't his best, I thought "Without You" was amazing (one of his best, if not his #1). The dude was almost in tears and held it together with only a few pitch problems. As the judges said, it was "emotionally perfect"... and that IS a big deal. Perfect pitch isn't everything. I mean, you mentioned Scotty being almost pitch perfect... but there is no emotion in his voice, making his performances somewhat forgettable (in my opinion).
2nd... Haley. While she has improved A LOT in the last couple weeks, I still don't think she deserves to be in the finale. And there are definitely more deserving contestants that were booted before her (Pia, Thia, Casey). I'm actually amazed she's made it this far. i don't know... there's just something about her voice that really bugs me.
I will continue to agree with you about Jacob though. He REALLY needs to go home. He's had several CRINGE worthy performances. He really should have gone home several weeks ago.
My order for the night (both songs):
5. Jacob
4. Haley
3. Scotty
2. Lauren
1. James
(though 2,3 & 4 are so close that I could consider it 3-way tie for 2nd).
james sounds off in both songs.
jacob is straight up awful. yuck.
lauren is ok.
scotty is scotty.
haley rcoks everyone else.
agreed! not james' week. vocal is way off on two of his songs. it's shocking. what hapened to him?
HALEY FTW!
totally agree with you! these judges make me want to call idol hotlines and vote them off instead! whats up with all the bashing on haley and all those praises to the screamers??? ANNOYINGLY PITCHY are the words to describe jacob and james! they should go already! one of those spots belong to either pia or casey!
this season of idol makes me think that there are a lot more potential judges than those sitting there now. they do nothing but cheer and praise the contestants. they no nothing of constructive criticism. there's always room for improvement. they cant say "its beautiful, nothing to judge" all the freakin time!!! the way they judge is as annoying as jacob and james!!!
MadAboutPia: We can agree to disagree on James, but I can throw it back to you. Jacob's voice is FULL OF EMOTION in almost all every song he sings, but why aren't you rooting for him as well if "emotionally perfect" IS important?
Melinda Doolittle sang with emotion without losing it. Praising a performance that go off-pitch because the contestant was "emotional" isn't going to cut it. But again, we may agree to disagree on that one.
As for Haley, it's just a matter of personal preference. There's something in James' voice that bugs me and you have the same towards Haley. So it is what it is.
It's all good though because these are actually the things that makes American Idol interesting. :)
THE SCREAMERS SHOULD GO! JAMES AND JACOB SUCK!! GROWLER FTW!
man that sucks for Haley, no matter how great she does, the judges have bullshit to rant about.
She was the best, and she deserves to be AT LEAST in the finale.
Haley FTW.
I think Haley is all the way IN IT TO WIN IT THIS TIME... The three judges (especially Randy)are just awful pimping their favorites. Haley is fighting every week...and she fights hard! I really hope to see her in the finale.
It pains me that those three idiots (judges) don't see how superior Haley's talent is compare to the other 4. I don't know why they hold on too much with their favorites. And by favorites I mean, everyone but Haley. Only one will win and right now it should easily be Haley.
Sure, Scotty can sell records, but Haley is way more talented than Scotty. At least I think so. Also, Haley is so diverse, musically. Scotty is a one genre singer, and he bores the crap out of me. I don't hate win, but I'd hate to see him win.
I doubt Haley can get a recording contract when she goes out of 5th place, but she will when she reach at least the top 3. I say give her that, she deserves it.
Haley's House of the Rising Sun was beyond amazing. She kills it every time. When you think she can't get any better, she does. It's mind boggling.
Let's see, how to explain this... Jacob may have emotion, but he is all over the place vocally. James only had a few pitch issues. There's a world of difference.
I agree with you on Melinda Dolittle, but I bet if a song affected her as much as that song affected James, she would have had some issues as well. Even Pia had a couple pitch issues during her farewell song while she was trying to hold back tears.
I don't hate Haley (though, up until a few weeks ago, I thought she was horrible... she's improved a lot, and maybe if she keeps improving without getting kicked off, she'll deserve a finale spot), I just don't think she's as good as you all are making her out to be.
Unfortunately, my opinion doesn't really count for anything. If I had my say, most of the recent winners wouldn't have even made the finals. In my opinion, Crystal or Siobhan should have won last year, Adam Lambert should have won (with Allison Iraheta as #2), Melinda Dolittle should have won (and Gina Glocksen should have been up there further), and Carly Smithson should have won. And, obviously, I think Pia should have won this year (which isn't going to happen).
MadAboutPia: I'll disagree with you on that. James may usual be on point vocally, but this week it was just not a "few" pitch problems. His vocals were all over the place.
As for Melinda Doolittle, she was pretty emotional when she performed Home and she held it together, as most professionals do. Just saying.
the judges should call james durbin on his pitch problems. my ears bled because of his constant slaying of the right notes.
Overall, Haley rocks the night! I was expecting more from James but it turned out just OK. Hope Haley and James makes it to the finals. Sick of hearing the two country singers, Lauren and Scotty, and also Jacob!
This night is a disaster for the rest of the Top 5 with the exception of Haley!
if the judges had called pitch problems on the contestants especially james and jacob, they might have worked on it a long time ago instead of hiding those ill-pitches under their annoying screaming. gosh, adam lambert for some reason gets away with that style of singing but not these two. theyre better off singing simple and decent notes.
hope the judges recognize true talent and not throw them under the bus, always. Haley's got it i dont know whats up with them. Criticizing her first song because its unreleased and unpopular is ok, understood. at least they should give credit to the vocal props that haley had for that song. it was unfair that jacob got that credit after a horrible and vocals-all-over performance! this is when i miss simon cowell.
I love Jacob but after tonight's performance, I can't defend him anymore...
He could pick any song and No Air???
Why, Jacob WHY!!??
I hope Haley would win.
waaaahhh! i am so agree with your comments about Haley : )
i agree jacob was bad tonight, but why do you hate him so much? has he killed your mother? did he blow up your house? did he steal yoour dinner reservation? please help me, as i am struggling to find why you detest the guy so much. there was no way lauran was better than him tonight or any night, NO WAY.
besides that, i am still a proud member of your nation.
Tank Master: Again, I don't hate the guy. I'm just not a fan. You may think I hate him because of the way I write - it's mostly snide comments especially if it's a bad performance - but I don't hate on contestants. Maybe except for Danny Gokey, but that's completely on a different topic. HAHA. :)
Thanks for being a member of The Nation. I like that.
Agree with your comment on James. he was off key during the whole song. I would have given him 4/10. Weakest performance so far but then again the "judges" loved it..
On tonights episode Randy and Jennifer were brutal in their critique of Hayley. I think Jennifer is jealous of Hayley's obviously better pipes and youthful beauty. Jennifer is beautiful but I don't think she has any class and limited range as a singer. Thank the lord for strong back up singers.
Randy was just too thrilled with James doing an average job of a Journey song just prior.
Steven obviously was enraged at the other judges and is the only judge that says anything meaningful.
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