Wednesday, March 2: As in the previous night, Randy Jackson emerged as the toughest of the three judges. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler usually liked everything with the judge emeritus holding the contestants to a higher standard. If the two newbie judges weren’t enthusiastic about a performance, watch out. It meant curtains. Overall, the guys performed better yesterday than the gals.
1. Ta-Tynisa Wilson: “Only Girl (In the World)”/Rihanna. Wilson sounded shaky on the quieter verses, too sharp on the choruses, and strangely enough, too flat on the final booming chorus. Although Lopez and Tyler liked her performance, Jackson noted her being sharp on the choruses as well.
2. Naima Adedapo: “Summertime”/Abbie Mitchell. She of the painful facial expressions wasn’t as hard to look at as she delivered this blues standard in a more relaxed, lounge style, but the song’s never done anything for me. Predictably, Jackson reminded her that former “Idol” champion Fantasia knocked out the judges (but not me) with her rendition and that Adedapo’s version paled by comparison. Still, Tyler said she reminded him of early Ella Fitzgerald.
3. Kendra Chantelle: “Impossible”/Christina Aguilera. The attractive blonde, who impressed me singing harmony with Paul McDonald during Hollywood week, looked great in a black leather outfit and gave a good but not knockout performance. Jackson said he “really liked it,” especially her vibrato.
4. Rachel Zevita: “Criminal”/Fiona Apple. I don’t know why she made the Top 24 in the first place. The usually reserved 23–year old New Yorker with the older-European face who rarely smiles, strutted confidently on stage in a mini-dress, even singing behind the judges’ stage, but botched the singing of the verse. None of the judges were overly impressed. Tyler noted it sounded “Broadway,” and Jackson said it “wasn’t good.” End of the line for her.
5. Karen Rodriguez: “Hero”/Mariah Carey. I was annoyed that she went in and out of English and Spanish for this one, even mimicking Carey’s ridiculous hand gestures (Mariah never knew what to do with her hands on stage), but of course, Latina Lopez loved the bilingual take. Rodriguez got a kick out of Jackson saying the Spanish part may’ve been even better than the English part. Well, at least she looked better and classier with straighter hair.
6. Lauren Turner: “Seven Day Fool”/Jully Black. She sang it as brassy as she looked, in a strong voice, and made no mistakes, so she’ll probably make it to the Top 13. All of the judges liked it with Jackson exclaiming, “That’s how you do it!”
7. Ashton Jones: “Love Over Me”/Monica. Jones confidently paced the stage, throwing a “you know what I’m talking ‘bout!” ad lib to give us the sense that she was owning the song. But I didn’t care for her selection and neither did Jackson.
8. Julie Zorilla: “Breakaway”/Kelly Clarkson. She doomed her chances by doing a copycat version in a not particularly strong voice, trying to save it by doing extended melisma (milking several syllables out of one-syllable words) runs at the end. Not enough to save herself. Lopez didn’t feel it came from her heart. Zorilla responded, “I can bring it!” as if pleading for another chance, but if she could, then why didn’t she just then? Tyler said it was the wrong song, and Jackson said she brought nothing new to it. It’s over.
9. Haley Reinhart: “Fallin’”/Alicia Keys. During Hollywood week, I couldn’t stand her over-reliance on melisma—she’d use it on the very first verse of songs--and rooted for her to be cut. But she made the Top 24 anyway. Sigh. There’s not much you can do with a too-often performed, two chord song. I predicted Jackson was going to repeat his “you brought nothing new to it” line, but he actually liked it. So did the other two judges. Bah humbug.
10. Thia Megia: “Out Here On My Own”/Irene Cara. OK, this was the first contestant I cheered for all night. Excellent, excellent choice of song from the movie Fame. She started singing on a darkened stage with a single spotlight on her and demonstrated vunerability, slowly building to show off her strong voice and… extra points here… ended the performance with no attempt at melisma whatsoever. Tyler said it’s hard to pick just five girls out of such a talented bunch, but it was easy to pick her. Jackson served a reminder that all contestants should remember: It’s not about the vocal runs you do to try to impress people, it’s the quality of the voice. He even said Megia reminded him of Michael Jackson: “This is what hot singing is about!” Welcome to the Top 5, Thia. And you’re still just 15 years old?!
11. Lauren Alaina: “Turn On The Radio”/Reba McEntire. The curly haired, heavy-set 16 year old--who looks more like 26-- has never impressed me. At the Nashville auditions, the judges proclaimed her the best they’d seen in the city. I didn’t know what they were talking about. Tonight, the female background singers were a bit too loud on her uptempo country tune, but she performed in strong voice and made no mistakes. The cheers were predictable. Jackson exclaimed, “I don’t think you know how good you are,” adding that her ability to blend R&B with country made her a cross between past “Idol” winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
12. Pia Toscano: “I’ll Stand By You”/The Pretenders. Loved her during Hollywood group week where she showed what a strong voice she has. Her trio generated the best, most pleasing harmonies of all the ensembles. She was always reliable, but I always hated this wimpy song which lacks songwriting craft. I wasn’t that impressed with her version, though she saved it by holding a single note soaring over the final chorus. All three judges gave her a standing ovation.
Verdict: Based on tonight’s performances and the reactions of the judges, the five moving on to the Top 10 should be: Karen Rodriguez, Lauren Turner, Thia Megia, Lauren Alaina, and Pia Toscano. Wildcard pick: Kendra Chantelle. No chance in hell: Rachel Zevita and Julie Zorilla.
We’ll see tomorrow night.
Great post. Now I have somewhere to go to get the contestants straight. Looking forward to disagreeing with you on best of voices since you know more about music than I do.
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