As for the judges, that's a totally different story. I mean, I don't pay any attention to what they say any more. None of them are consistent, and their opinions are pretty worthless especially Randy Jackson. He's back to his stupid gigantic blob of chocolate and air. He needs to stop making me want to put my foot in his mouth. Ugh.
Anyway, here we go!
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: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
I admit, I kind of enjoyed this performance from Phillip just because this was a slightly more uptempo compared to his usual performances - something quite refreshing from him. I loved that it was jaunty and it sit well within his vocal range. He did sound a little strained in parts and his pitch were, once again, a tad uneven, but at this point, does it matter for someone like Phillip? Haha. Oh, and the best part about the performance? The blonde saxophonist (aka Lily Scott. HAHA). 7/10
Oh no! The judges didn't stand up? Haha. It's silly, I know, but who cares? While I appreciated the fact that Joshua tried something new in terms of his song choice, the churchy arrangement along with his unnecessary hollering just didn't work for me. I don't know. This was just a bad fit for him - probably one of his weakest. The song seemed too big for him, his voice had an underlying unpleasant quality to it and he sounded strained in most parts. Plus, when they literally raised him up, I lost it. Haha. 7/10
No, Hollie's performance wasn't perfect. I thought she started with a key that's too low for her that made her sound under pitch and the arrangement kind of dragged a bit - I kept hoping for some big explosion, which didn't happen - but as the song progressed, she managed to hit a couple of solid glory notes and her vocals were actually pretty good if a bit hollow. There's also an intensity in her delivery that was kind of surprising. If only the tempo was a bit faster and she connected with the song a little bit more, things would've been better. 7.5/10
Possibly age inappropriate, but I'd rather hear her sing Etta James than Ke$ha no? Haha. This was easily the best performance for this round. The grit she put into this song was spot on, her growls were
fantastic, the added inflections towards the end were great and those well placed crystal clear falsetto notes were insane. This was a strong overall performance. 8.5/10
ROUND 2: SONGS I WISH I HAD WRITTEN
Hollie's biggest problem this week was that she didn't choose a contemporary song to sing. Her breakout performances were Rolling In The Deep, The Climb and Bleeding Love, and instead of doing something like Firework or something else she did Bonnie Raitt and Journey. She sang this proficiently hitting all the right notes, but there's not much emotion to this performance. Everything seemed calculated - and yes, I blame the ridiculous staging. Maybe the song requires a certain grit to really hit the emotional core? I don't know. Hollie desperately needed a water cooler performance to survive this week, but she didn't. We'll see. 7/10
Bravo Phillip Phillips! I will hate you 1/10 less when you inevitably wins this season - thanks to this gorgeous performance! Yes, this was the first time I truly and genuinely enjoyed Phillip. I loved everything about it from the emotional connection he had with the material to the perfect staging. I even thought the background singer singing harmony with him was pretty clever. His tone was just bliss, the liberties he took with the melody were spot on and I liked the subtlety to the whole number. Hate to say this, but he just secured his place in the Finale with this performance. Heck, I'd say this was pretty darn good that I'd easily rank this as one of the best performances this season. 9.5/10
INTENSE! I'm still not sure how that just happened, but Jessica possibly had the BEST version I've heard of this song on American Idol. She connected with this song like she wanted to punch someone in the face, her vocals were outstanding, and that breath control was just incredibly unbelievable. In other words, she just killed it and ran it over so many times. Haha. I wonder though why I always felt like the judges weren't very enthusiastic in the way that they praise her compared to how they absolutely gush over Joshua - practically jumping out of their seats. I digress. 9.5/10
Of course, there was the obligatory standing ovation for Joshua. I guess, we can all stop watching the show now since Joshua has given the most definitively awesome performance ever in the history of the world and universe that will never be matched ever. Haha. But you know what, this was seriously mind blowing! I'm not exactly a big fan of Joshua and his over-the-top hollering and whatnot, but the passion he put into this performance was something I couldn't understand myself. The way he imbued every single note with emotion was unbelievable and the things he could do with his voice were unreal. I didn't even mind the over-the-top growling and screaming, because it added to the ridiculous dynamics of the performance. If only the judges would stop with the annoying pimping, because I seriouslv have NEVER seen any contestant pushed as hard as Joshua by the judges and producers. 9.5/10
PREDICTION
Who should go?
Hollie Cavanagh
Who will go?
Hollie Cavanagh
3 comments:
spot on review. i still wish colton was still around though.
Agreed, Emon. But dude, Phillip's studio versions were amazing. I didn't even watch the show this week but if I were to vote I'd definitely vote Phil.
isn't the saxophonist's name Mindi Abair (@mindiabair) she's always performing in Ai these past few days.. hehe, i remember her from Paul McDonald's performance back in s10 where steven pointed out how hot she is. hehe. :) follow her at twitter.
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