Allison Iraheta, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.” This is a great choice for her because it synthesizes what we heard last week, her emotionality, with the rocker belting we know she can do. David Cook sang this last year, and her arrangement is different enough not to draw comparison. Allison’s stage presence is awesome, and her vocals are right on, but it feels subdued. It is a very good performance, but I am worried that she will be upstaged later. Simon’s critique of her will certainly help her voters get off their butts, though—he says she is “the best hope for the girls” and thought she could be the winner.
Anoop Desai, “Everything I Do (I Do For You).” I was a little afraid of him doing this song. It fits his style, and it’s not that it’s a bad song, but it’s very similar to what Scott did, and with Noop’s smooth, soulful style, it comes out sounding… not effeminate, but he isn’t connecting with the song, and his tonality doesn’t match the original. It came out sounding like a break-up song, reaching out to someone walking away, rather than singing to a lover. That’s not a bad thing, but in comparison to the original, it might sound like he’s going through the motions. Vocally, a very good performance.
Adam Lambert, “Born to be Wild.” Quentin has one thing right—you never know what Adam is going to do until he does it. He’s working the crowd, dancing and singing like he means it. The chorus gets a tad shouty, but that dooes fit the song. What I love most about Adam is that he can go from shouting to hitting insanely high notes, and then at the end of the song, he shouts those high notes. This may not be a performance that will appeal to Simon (edit: Simon says that parts of it were “like watching Rocky Horror” and he’s got a point; Adam does have a predilection for getting over the top) but it was pure rock concert.
Matt Giraud, “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman.” This is a song that will be great with his slightly gravelly voice and his piano. The beginning sounded like background music at a small, intimate restaurant (the kind that played when you went out to dinner on your anniversary) but the second half really built up, both in emotion and in energy. Quentin was right: to me it is one of his top 3 performances. Randy and Kara, however, think that it fell flat, especially over the bridge. Matt’s problem is that he is inconsistent from week to week, but on the other hand, I absolutely do not agree with the amount of kicking-in-the-balls that the judges are giving him tonight.
Danny Gokey, “Endless Love.” Danny has gone out and bought a guitar and intends to learn to play it. Hmm. This is going to be a very emotional song for him… in fact, he starts out looking on the verge of tears. The softness and restrained emotionality in his voice is touching—he’s very clearly holding in a lot of feeling at the same time he’s holding every note perfect. It was sung beautifully, but he did not change it up and add originality—which Simon pointed out, using David Cook’s version of a Lionel Ritchie song as an example.
Kris Allen, “Slowly.” I’m not familiar with this song, and after hearing Kris sing it, I don’t want to be familiar with the original—I am fine with this version. His voice makes it seem deceptively simple, but he is employing a lot of vocal control—it is not easy to sing such a quiet, precise, beautiful song. Randy said it never quite “caught on” for him, but to me, it didn’t need to catch on anywhere, because it was right there the whole time. I agree with Kara that it is one of his best performances. It might just be his best.
Lil Rounds, “The Rose.” This is the sort of choice I have been wanting Lil to make for awhile—something that is not all belting. She starts off, in my mind, a little too vocally strong, but that makes for a very smooth segue into her more gospel-like chorus. This is a fun arrangement, although to me it takes the focus away from the lyrical power and the poetry of the song and puts it on her voice—which is OK for this competition, I’m just saying. A beautiful shift back down to the smoother, less dramatic ending, and a great last note. Lil’s best performance yet. Unfortunately, her back-talk to the judges will do her absolutely no favors, making her sound rude and defiant.
Top 3:
Kris, best of the week!
Adam
Allison
Keep in mind that at this point in the competition, the bottom 3 reflects about half of the contestants. I predict that the judges’ save will be used tomorrow night if any of these singers go home.
Lil
Anoop
Matt
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Matt's going home :(
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