I don't know about anyone else, but Chicagolady pretty much summed it up when she said she was entirely underwhelmed by the girls' performances this week. There were a couple surprises but a few that we'd had hopes on early in the season during the Hollywood rounds were entirely disappointing this time around. It'll be a real shame if they're sent home this week as there is potential there, but you have to put your best foot forward at all times. There is no really good time to slack off in this type of contest and like the judges said, this is the best year ever! I swear I really need to take a shot everytime that old sorry story's rammed up our butts. That and the "he/she's only 16/17!!!" crap we're fed. I'm not kidding, if I was taking shots for every one of those comments I would have been 3
Paige Miles (All Right Now by Free): This poor gal. First night in front of a live audience, and the first person up to compete. She doesn't have the benefit of alot of screen time some of the other gals had during the audition phases. What a sucky place to end up in, especially considering that this is a two hour show the next 3 weeks. Top things all off, the little snippit video reminder on the end of the show, the sound was screwed up for hers, Ashley's AND partway into the next girl's snippit. So basically, unless the viewers are reading MJ's Blog or visiting Rickey's site, all they'll remember is the sucky sound... nothing more.Yeah, definitely a rotten position to be in. However, THIS is the way the show needed to start. I'm with MJ, where was this girl hiding?? She's got a great voice, better than many that will be sharing the stage with her. Is anyone going to remember her? Probably not. That video replay didn't do her any favors either. If she doesn't make it through to the next week, it'll be a crying shame. On DI, she didn't win or lose any states. All but one of the gals are being called as B3 on the predictions this week so I'm going to need to base my decision on the states won and loss. That said, Paige is in danger of going home.
Ashley Rodriguez (Happy by Leona Lewis): She had to be one of the most disappointing showings of the night, to be honest. Her lower register stinks and if she wanted to do herself ANY favors, she should have taken it up a key. Those lower notes were just excruciating. It's a major shame as she was one of my favorites going into competition. This is a very good example of why I don't make my ultimate favorite picks until a few weeks into the show. The dynamic changes the minute they hit that stage and actually have to sing in front of a live audience. No wins and no losses which puts her rating at 0 for the week. Considering her performance was the weaker of the two, she is in as much or more danger than Paige.
Janell Wheeler (What About Love by Heart): Um. ummm. Nope, I got nothin on this one folks. The verses were rushed and completely off. I'm sorry but Ann Wilson is simply one of those artists that not many people can sing. Usually people bomb when they try and this was actually much worse than that.... complete Bombsville. As Simon put it, she "gave 100%, but only delivered 65%". Actually, I disagree. He was overly generous with that assessment. No wins and no losses won't keep her safe this week.
Lilly Scott (Fixing A Hole by The Beatles): I wasn't familiar with this song so I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. My previous spouse was a Beatles fanatic and that's pretty much all we listened to at times. Kudos to Lilly for finding one of the very few songs of theirs that I didn't know. Gotta give her props for that. I like Lilly for some reason. She's unique in a way and has a je ne sais quoi about her that makes her interesting enough to keep an eye out for. There's alotta potential in this one. Lilly won a state and lost none so she got a 1 for the week. She did well enough that I'm almost confident enough to call her safe. If only the chart had more detail to it. With all but one rated a B3, it's hard to be sure.
Katelyn Epperly (Oh Darlin by the Beatles): I liked her version of this song, but she really kinda pushed it in some places to the point where she was starting to scream a bit. Is it me or did she remind anyone else of a prissy little poodle? Must be the hair (and that barrette). I shouldn't harp because I wore a similar style back in junior high school (minus the barrette when I had the perm). She had no wins and was the only one of the bunch that lost a state for a -1 for the week. She is the only one in the negative numbers and it should put her firmly in the B3 for the week with the possibility of an ouster, but who knows with this silly show. If they keep her around, I do have one request.... Katelyn, honey, you really need to do a few things for us. First, stop with the nose wrinkling and squinchin of ya face, it's down right scary at times. Oh, and along those lines, Kara's right about the make-up... natural is prettier on you. The object is not to frighten the audience. Number two, when Simon says "quirky" keep in mind that he said the same thing about Megan Joy and you see where that got her. Speaking of Megan, number three is to control that bouncing shoulder thing you're doing. It's as distracting as Megan's Cork Dance. Yeah...it's that bad, sweetie.
Haeley Vaughn (I Want To Hold Your Hand by the Beatles): Nope, don't have anything nice to say about this one either. I so hated this performance with a passion. The only good thing about this one is that if I was actually playing the "She's only 16!" shot game, I would have been plowed under before Simon's "verging on terrible" comment. two shots with Randy and once with Ellen...awesome. She's the nefarious site's well deserved pick this week so we may just see her around for one more week. She won 1 state (how??? I think they were playing that shots game there too!) and lost none (again...HOW? Musta been a shot for every bum note, and they were copious in this performance) so she gets a 1 for the week. If all is right in this world, she'll be one of the ones sent home this week.
Lacey Brown (Landslide by Fleetwood Mac): Lacey lost out in the final moments to Megan Joy, the human corkscrew, because they went with the face and not the voice. If Heart did that, we woulda had Nancy as the lead with Ann singing back-ups occasionally... or at least that's what I read somewhere. Not that I don't think Ann is just as beautiful as Nancy, because she really is. Anyhow, I think this was a wrong choice of artist for her. Her voice is much too thin to pull off this song and the low notes were really rough for her. I do believe the suggestion of Sixpence None the Richer for her to sing is awesome. She's got the same light voice as Leigh Nash and should pull off any song that group did just wonderfully. One win and no losses give her a 1 this week.
Michelle Delamor (Fallin by Alicia Keys): Of the girls, this was by far the best performance. Every note on the mark. So on the mark that she came off as copy-cat-ish. Considering that Ms Keys is another of those artists whose music you just don't normally touch, that's actually quite the compliment. The kicker is, she made it look effortless. I can't imagine what is going to happen when she actually puts more of herself in there and takes some risks. She's going to be a real contender (if Ashley isn't careful, Michelle and Paige may just waltz right by her), I just hope she doesn't peak too early. Michelle's definitely one to keep an eye on. She won 2 states and lost none for a 2 this week. According to the maps, she shouldn't be in much danger of going home this week.
Didi Benami (Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson): I like her voice but I wasn't thrilled with her performance. It was completely forgettable. With one win and no losses she gets a 1 for the week. Considering how mediocre the girls were, This in no way will guarantee her another week here.
Siobhan Magnus (Wicked Game by Chris Isaak): She wasn't bad, not great , but worthy of keeping an eye on. Unlike many tonight, she wasn't a complete disappointment between Hollyweird (where Simon referred to her as a dark horse) and the first show night. To be honest, I'm not certain that I'd go quite that far but she's got my interest so far. I'd like to see her come through for at least one more week. She won 2 states and lost none for a 2 this week.
Crystal Bowersox (Hand in My Pocket by Alanis): This was, hands down, my favorite performance of the night. What she's going to need to watch out for is the constant use of her instruments. The judges will begin to harp on her that she's using them as a crutch and that she needs to come out from behind them. They've done this before with several others (Scott McIntire for one, and HE was legally blind so there wasn't much more he COULD do). Kara was right, Crystal's going to need to become more than just a coffeehouse singer to succeed here. What I like best about her (as well as Lilly) is that she already has a good idea as to who she is as a performer. All she needs to do, is win this thing. She won 3 states and lost none for a 3 this week. I believe the reason she didn't get more is simply because she wasn't in the pimp spot this week. Well that and the fact she doesn't exactly LOOK like a star yet, but once those make over artists get their paws on her.... Loved her reaction when Simon had suggested David Bowie, she said it sounded like fun and you could SEE the wheels turning. I won't be surprised if that isn't an artist she tackles in a later episode.
Katie Stevens (Feelin' Good by Michael Buble'): She couldn't pick a more current song?? Anyone who'd even bothered to watch last season wouldn't have even bothered trying this song because it was done strike that, DONE by Adam Lambert on Top 5 night. Katie *takes a shot*, being only 16, is much too young to be handling this type of song. If you're gonna attempt it at her age, you need to do two things. Number one, actually hit all the notes correctly (nail it, don't go sharp or off-key in the slightest).... and number two, at least dress the part. If you're going to sing a torch song, don't come to the stage attired in a babydoll dress. Annoyingly, she was in the pimp spot and we all know what that means. Yep, it's the only flipping performance anyone really remembers for any length of time. She had 14 wins (seriously folks, she was NOT that good!) and no losses for a 14 for the week. No way in hell she's going home this week.
So, who goes home this week? Two girls and two boys leave us. If your name isn't Katie, Crystal, Siobhan or Michelle then you're in danger. I feel almost confident enough to make that statement.
Most in danger:
Paige: sang first on the first night with 2 hours between her and voting AND they screwed up her snippit....I will not be surprised if she's one. She needs to change her name to cannonfodder.
Ashley: Second singer's always a bum spot too. Her snippit was also jacked over. Top things all off, after seeing her in Hollywood and the auditions and KNOWING what she CAN do...her performance was less than mediocre and was one of the most disappointing ones of the bunch. The biggest strike against her is the fact that Paige sang first, had less air time overall and STILL managed to outsing her.
Janell: Seems like if you put pants on her and cover her legs, she can't sing. Honey, invest in a stripper pole or take up modelling. She'll need a miracle to pull through and one helluva performance next week.
Katelyn: According to the maps, she's a sure bet. Then again, the maps aint always right either. Personally, she wasn't the worst of the night and shouldn't be going anywhere. However, we need to take into account the maps are right.
Haeley: If the Worsters managed to do their job, she'll last. If all is right in the world, she'll be gone. Sorry.
Didi: Forgettable. This would be a good one to see gone too because she's a supposed plant. For those not up with the lingo.... a plant is someone that makes it on the show that has connections to the industry and in particular the show itself. In this case, the connection is Kara.
Still in danger but much less likely:
Lilly: simply because she sang early in the program and sang a practically unknown song
Lacey: This one would be due to the poor choice of song.
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