This was a really incredible week for BWW Idol. Nearly everyone one in the competition gave their best performances this week and one person gave what I think is the performance of the competition. It was really quite difficult to score these and choose the two best because everyone gave some excellent performance.
Without further adieu...
jrb_actor: (9.2) I absolutely love the tone of your voice. My two favorite things about you in this competition are the way that you assume the personality of the person who would be singing your songs and the way that you consistently pick songs that aren’t obvious crowd pleasers and make them truly enjoyable for everyone. You really put yourself into the songs and make them your own. You are very in tune (no pun intended) with your strengths and weakness and pick songs that really highlight your strengths. This was another really great performance in string of them for you. Fantastic.
Western Sky (9.9) Wow. That would more or less sum it up. From a purely vocal standpoint not taking focusing on lyrics, context anything it was an absolutely beautiful vocal performance. It is quite possibly the best version of that song that I have ever heard. It’s very reminiscent of Lauren Kennedy’s version which, up until now, has my favorite. The only thing that is keep this from being an absolutely perfect rating (which I can’t imagine I’ll ever give) is that I think it might be a little too strong in the belts. Again, vocally it sounds phenomenal, but when you put the song in the context of the show with the lyrics I think that Cathy would be a little less powerful at times which makes the transition from the belting parts to the soft vulnerable lines a bit closer together, but that is just a minor nitpick and one that would be more appropriate if you were doing the role live on stage versus trying to win a singing competition.
This is easily the greatest performance of the entire competition for me and I’ll say right now that you are the overwhelming favorite in my personal opinion.
Spiderdj86: (9.2) This was a really great week and song choice for you. You had mentioned in the thread that your voice got a little raspy from trying Always and Forever a few times. I actually think that helped you out here. It gave a really nice and raw feel to song. I was very impressed by your range and enjoyed this performance more than any other I’ve heard from you so far. Excellent work!
Allie: (8.6) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I really enjoy how sweet your voice is. It’s very raw and honest and as odd as this may sound – comforting. This is a step in the right direction in terms of showing a little more in your voice, but I am still waiting for you to really think outside the box and do something big and ballsy. I think a big diva-esque voice is inside there and it wants to come out, but it hasn’t yet. It’s a very consistent performance for you. Excellent tone all the way through. Now, I challenge you – Blow me away next week.
Bway_86: (8.6) The quality difference of the song makes a tremendous difference for you this week. This is a great comeback week for you. Easily your best week. What I like best about your voice is that while you aren’t the best singer in this competition, you pick songs that fit in your range very well. It presents this sense of effortlessness which is very pleasant to listen to. You aren’t straining for notes at any point. I think you were on the ropes last week and this is a great start in the right direction. I think you may want to challenge yourself a little bit more vocally to make a strong push for the finals, but this was easily your best performance. Nice job.
Kitzarina (9.1) First off, your speaking voice reminds me of Joey Lauren Adams who played Alyssa in Chasing Amy. While that is completely irrelevant for the purpose of this competition, I have to say that I like it a lot.
Now…onto your performance of one of my favorite songs of all time…
Very strong. I love the fact that you didn’t try to sound exactly like Fiona Apple. I think that would have been a mistake. You made the song your own and kept it in that strong sultry, jazzy place in your voice. It’s a very passionate song and you were able to control that and not get too lost in the belt. The balance of control and passion is really the key for this song and you did very well. Nice job.
Ebonic_Singer: (8.5) This is my favorite week from you as well. I still think that there was too much riffing throughout the song and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if you had focused more on displaying the nice range and quality of your voice rather than occasionally “over singing”. Just like last week, I think the riffing tends to make you lose the melody at times and then it starts to get a little pitchy.
Personally, I am not a big fan of “riffing” in general so that might be a roadblock for me, but I would really like to hear you do a song with a little less movement and show a simpler side to your voice. I think you can make the song your own without putting forth so much effort. I love your range and I think you could use it more to your advantage buy allowing the soulful qualities of your voice to shine though more with emotion than with riffing.
Updated On: 2/16/06 at 10:09 PM
) - This is probably your best performance in the last few weeks; at the very least, it's as good as "Home", and you know how much I liked "Home"! Now that the audio quality has improved, it's much more enjoyable to listen to your songs, and I think the score and your votes will reflect that. I find the song to be a bit boring and repetitive, but you sound good. Watch out about being flat (both in pitch and in emotion) - I hope you find something totally out of character for you next week, but this was a good song choice for you to perform within your comfort zone. 
