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This week is actually tough for me. I'm a huge Shania fan, so I actually loved all the song choices. Casey was my favorite, followed by Lee and Crystal. Aaron surprised me tonight. I've been wanting him gone for a while now, and now I want him to stay after tonight. Siobhan can go for me. I was a huge fan of hers in the beginning, but she's just annoying me now.
I agree with you on the tacky comment. Speaking of Crystal if any of you Crystal fans would like to help out the Diabetes Youth Services in Maumee, Ohio by purchasing one of the t-shirts her family was wearing on last weeks show here's the link. ALL of the proceeds from the sales of these shirts so far have been donated to Diabetes Youth Services in Maumee, Ohio… an organization near and dear to Crystal’s heart. All proceeds going forward will go to this and other charities
Crystal Bowersox T-Shirts
I am soooo over Siobhan and her screaming wierdness.
I hate being screamed at under the guise of singing.
I always have.
I don't care who's doing it...I don't care what they are singing...R&B, gospel, rock....I HATE being screamed at. It's not talent. It's noise.
The tops for me tonight were BY FAR Lee and Caseywith Aaron trailing closely behind.
You're obviously a very wise person. I agree with every word you wrote.Originally Posted by french dip;3888259;
I am soooo over Siobhan and her screaming wierdness.
I hate being screamed at under the guise of singing.
I always have.
I don't care who's doing it...I don't care what they are singing...R&B, gospel, rock....I HATE being screamed at. It's not talent. It's noise.
The tops for me tonight were BY FAR Lee and Casey
After last week's less than inspirational performances, the Idol contestants come back with a really strong show for our country themed week. No train wrecks; everyone was pretty good. As a matter of fact it is one of those topsy-turvy weeks where the stragglers are strong and the front runners are a bit lackluster. Aaron, who I would have guessed after last week to be the next to go, brought out his best performance of the season, finishing first for the night in my opinion. And Crystal crafted a very low-key country ballad; much too coffee house for Idol. (Seriously, I could see Phobee from Friends doing that number in Central Perk.)
Here is how I would rank the contestants (with letter grades for tonight's performance). Really, at this point there is Crystal, then Lee, then everyone else.
Crystal Bowersox B
"No One Needs To Know"
Crystal takes "No One" into classic acoustic country territory. This is going back to the way we first heard Crystal, and a real indication of how much she has stretched since then. It's fine, and simple. Too simple for a singing competition. But placed in the Crystal oeuvre, it's a nice fun ballad for her album. Not her best shot, but it's saved by the autheticity of Crystal's delivery. She doesn't try to make it out to be anything more than it is.
Lee Dewyze A-
“You’re Still the One”
This is one of Shania's best songs, and Lee took the material and gave it his best performance of the season. His singing is taking on more range than he's ever shown us. And the arrangement was first class. A strong effort tonight from Lee combined with his previous weeks of incremental improvement put him solidly behind Crystal. However, I still don't really like all the gravelly vocals. A little of that goes a long way with me.
Aaron Kelly - A
“It’s in the Way You Love Me”
Aaron, the champion of oversinging and over reaching on big power ballads, lowers the bar and delivers a nice straight-forward love ballad. For once his voice and his heart are connected, and it's a touching performance. For the first time I can see Aaron doing something like this on the Country Music Awards in a few years and bringing down the house. This is a performance he can really be proud of.
Mike Lynche B-
“It Only Hurts When I Breathe”
Shania tells Mike that he needs to work on the performance to keep from being just "another great voice". He was better, in that the cheesy "Tom Jones in Vegas" attitude was retired, but I still remain unmoved by his singing. There is something false and calculated in it. But despite that, his voice is really good. He is the best pure singer on stage. If you think that this really is just a singing competition, and not the search for a new artist, then Mike is your guy.
Casey James - B
"Don't"
Casey realizes that he has lost his way in the competition and is going to try to step it up. And he does, but not by a whole lot. This is a very good vocal performance - he worked hard to give the vocal arrangement some variety of texture. However, was it a great performance in general? I have to say - I have no idea, because I couldn't see it. This was a subtle ballad by a guy sitting on a stool. I needed to see his face and his eyes in particular. But because he was sitting in the audience's lap behind the judges, the performance was lost. From that position there is only one camera that can capture the performers face, and it's dead center. In order to show Casey's face, the director would have to stay on that one camera for the whole performance - and he's just not going to do that. So we just get glimpses from the center camera; but most of the performance is recorded by the remote camera on the crane buzzing by at 50 mph, or the hand-held camera that is on the floor looking up Casey's nose. I can't evaluate the performance from those angles. Someone has got to tell these folks that any slow sensitive performance is going to die if they come that far forward.
Siobhan Magnus - C+
“Any Man of Mine”
Let's start with the good news: That ending was vocally amazing. That's definitely the way to leave an impression in the voter's minds. Now the bad news: The first verse was a complete waste; the song was pitched too low for her voice. There was no authority there, which the song really needed to get off the ground. The chorus got better, but ended off-pitch as it headed into the second verse. But overriding all the vocal ups and downs is this: I don't believe a word of this song . Once again, this is Siobhan belting out a song and showing off her vocal chops. Period. There is no character, no surprise, no sense of play or danger. She's just a girl with a good voice singing a song. Because of that, it doesn't matter what Siobhan does, she has risen as far as she can in the competition. As others improve, they will pass her up. Aaron (of all people) vaulted right passed her tonight.
Who will go home?
This is a tough call. The obvious weak links have all been cut. Now it's time to eliminate people that have given some actual good performances. Basically, Crystal and Lee are safe, and everyone else is up for grabs. As I mentioned at the top, this should be Aaron's week to go. But he performed really well, and his primary competition (Tim) was eliminated last week, which may send some more fans his way. That leaves Mike, Casey, and Siobahn. Mike and Casey have been in the bottom before. On the other hand, they both out-performed Siobhan. My guess is that the decision will be by the narrowest of margins.
I enjoyed 2 performances tonight. Mike & Casey
Lee was horrible and imagine my shock to find out the judges liked that ish.
Mike-excellent job and he does have that Luther vibe for me also. I have to take up for him since he gets grief for breathing in air.
Casey-excellent job
Siobhan-Yuck
Crystal- double yuck. I was shockingly underwhelmed.
AAron Snooze
I've always thought that single artist/band theme nights would be disasters and have been proven wrong the last couple of seasons. (Dolly Parton, Queen, Bon Jovi) Now I do love country music, love Shania (props to the home girl!!) but her songs are hard to sing. She was a good mentor and gave great advice but tonight kinda sucked. Casey was the best of the bunch tonight, with Lee in 2nd place. As much as I love Crystal that was not good. But so what? She isn't country and Siobhan isn't either. I really hope that Crystal's fans give her a pass on this one, everyone is entitled to one mis-step.
Tonight I watched with an ex boyfriend. He is a true country fan, singer/guitarist and loves Shania more than I do...lol He thought Casey was the best (declared after he heard Lee and Mike sing) and then continued to think the same as the night went on. He also liked Casey's vibrato and thought that he did have a unique voice, so we were in agreement there.
No one had a total trainwreck, so tomorrow night will be very interesting as to who goes home. Makes me kinda nervous. It may very well be a shocking elimination.
I agree, adding Michael to the tops list.I am soooo over Siobhan and her screaming wierdness.
I hate being screamed at under the guise of singing.
I always have.
I don't care who's doing it...I don't care what they are singing...R&B, gospel, rock....I HATE being screamed at. It's not talent. It's noise.
The tops for me tonight were BY FAR Lee and Casey
This was a good night. Everyone stepped up or tried to (Siobhan) and I enjoyed all of the performances (except for the Siobhan ending screech.)
Regarding Crystal...she took a small song and had fun with it. She didn't stand alone with a guitar or sit on a stool with a guitar but had a "country" type band onstage with her on her rug. I agree with her comment that you don't need a big performance every week (Siobhan) and sometimes you should just take the genre for what it is. Simon has admitted to hating country so it figures that he would hate her delivery. Because it was a small, fun-type song, the other judges were not wowed. Oh my. Voters tend to follow the judges so I hope her fans dial and text like mad (I did) as others may drain away her votes.
Good show tonight...nail biter coming up tomorrow night.
ETA: Venting here on the camera work...when someone opens their mouth wide (Siobhan) why does the cameraman zoom in on their tonsils. It is really off-putting.
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