Lauren Alaina.... Bad performance, she looked too small for the room and that song, and no breath support.
Casey- ok, he's good- not great, I could see him really improving, but I am so over the "woe is me, I'm not the most attractive man in the world, but I'm a sex symbol damnit!"
His ego is too big for the room. I'm over him.
Ashton Jones: Didn't realy have those low notes, I like her vibrato tones, but that's about it. Nothing Special right now. She blends in with the set.
Paul: I like him, but that performance was way too spastic for a ballad. I can see his joy while singing, though, which makes me happy. boring song, though.
Pia Toscano: Girl can sing! that top note was the slightest bit on the flat side, though. other, than that, I think she is the clear frontrunner of the girls. She was poised, and had great presence.
James Durbin: He was really good. Anyone who wears a cross on American Idol is an automatic annoyance for me, though, and I feel as though he's gonna blow his voice out before the season is done. He can hit those high notes, but not as freely and effortlessly as Lambert did.
Haley Reinhart: She had the yodels down, and it was a great performance for a Karaoke bar in the Bible belt during the first hour. Sort of boring.
Jacob Lusk- The key change was really awkward, however, he got it back. He's amazing, and I want him to record a gospel album right away. He takes me back to church, makes me feel great, and I got shivers.
A note- I don't think it's fair to have a back up chorus for all these singers. They need to be able to prove themselves alone on a stage first, and not rely on other voices to help carry the song. I don't wanna hear the chorus. I want to hear them.
Thia: I was already done with her when she had no idea who Charlie Chaplin was. Her voice was very soothing at the start, and then she tries to open up and really sing, and she can't. She doesnt' have the vocal strength or control to do what she wants to do. Painfully bad performance once the beat kicked in.
Stefano: Love, him. started out a little hesitant and rough, but he sounded great. Reminded me, though, of the disco version of "One Night Only", in the way that he took all the soul out of the song. He's got those high notes solid, though. He's my favorite guy this year.
Karen Rodriguez: I feel like she's good, but she will be compared too much to Pia, and she's gonna lose out. And I hope she runs out of Selena songs to sing to pander to J.Lo soon. The "climax" wasn't the best, I fell like she was on a vocal highwire about to plummet to her death, but it wasn't a trainwreck. Sounded pretty, though.
Scotty - once again, the cross. So I'm already over him. He sounds great, but he's not gonna be able to do anything in this show besides country. Just the sight oh him really annoys me for some reason. And his stupid face. God his face. It's like he injected his eyebrows with redbull. But he's got the midwest and the southern vote, so what do I know?
Naima - She's one of the only interesting ones to watch this year, but vocally she is weak. couldn't really hit the higher notes, she copped out on the highest note out of the bridge to do a dance break. No breath support or control due to the dancing, she's got a lot of work to do. But I would love to see her make it to the end and she's one of the only ones I look forward to seeing.
bottom line - why even have judges this year? Without any dissenting voices, they are all useless. This show is losing the last thread of creditability they had this year. Without criticism, the only thing that is going to grow is the egos of the contestants.
I miss Simon.
"I'm an American, Damnit!!! And if it's three things I don't believe in, it's quitting and math."
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
