Soul and R&B Week.
And...wait for it...Usher. Love him.
Siobhan Magnus ("Through The Fire") - OMG. Can I please point out again how extremely weird she is but how extremely intrigued I am about her? I just hope she doesn't go down the "Adam Lambert" path. And, OMG, what is she wearing on stage?!?! It looks like a monkey and a raccoon got together and dressed her.
Ok, this was bad. It was not her best performance at all. There was that one note that she just couldn't seem to nail over and over again. Her high notes are getting a wee bit screechy and her lower register is kind of nasal-y, as my Mom would say. The whole thing was just weird for me.
Casey James ("Hold On, I'm Comin") - I love this song for him. And I loved this performance. I love this vibe for him and I hope goes this way, toward the Jonny Lang vibe, rather than toward the Daughtty vibe. Not that I have anything against Daughtry. Love the band. I just think there's a lot of that vibe out there and not enough of the Jonny Lang vibe.
This was HOTT. And thank you, Simon, for disagreeing with everyone else.
*** And let me just rant her for a second, if I may. I'm sick of the judges saying stuff is "safe" and they "want to see more range" or whatever. The "safe" excuse has become a cop-out for the judges because they have nothing else to bad to say. I think they are looking a person who is consistently in their element and doing what they do and calling that safe. That's not safe. That's someone who knows what kind of artist they want to be and showing the world how good there are at doing that.
Rant complete.
Michael Lynche ("Ready For Love") - This was great. Although we've seen him with the guitar before, I thought this really showed a different side of him. The past couple of weeks he has kind of established himself as the big black guy that can kill some love songs. This was a great spin on a good R&B song, an honest performance. Stripped down without watering it down. I loved just seeing him sit and play and sing. I was afraid that Kara would say something about connecting with the audience and looking at them more but she didn't. You know, sometimes just doing a stripped down, honest performance connects with an audience more than looking at them does.
DiDi Benami ("What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted") - I never would've categorized this as an R&B song. And while we are on the subject, every time I hear this song, I go back to that scene in Fried Green Tomatoes where Kathy Bates is in a dress made of Saran wrap. It's weird.
This whole performance was, again, a little weird for me. I can't put my finger on it because I like her so much and I like the originality of her voice, but it was weird. It did have some bright spots in it but I just don't know. Randy said it "kind of flat-lined" and I get what he's saying there. It was one-dimensional. It never went anywhere. You know, you expect performances to build up or escalate and this one just didn't. And Kara's right, she's completely lost herself and it was over done. The hair, the dress, even the arrangement -- it just didn't fit the song.
Tim Urban ("Sweet Love") - I feel like this performance was just a guy singing a song in tune and nothing else. There was nothing special about it. No vibe. Nothing. Funny, Randy just said the same thing. Except he used the word "swag". I don't think my white girl-ness can handle that word. The song was just weird. I feel like he should've chosen something more modern like Boyz II Men or Usher. And yes, I looked and those were both on the list. Along with Brian McKnight.
Andrew Garcia ("Forever") - Ok, I had to pause it before the judges comments because I wanted to say this before I hear what they have to say just in case they don't think the same: Andrew Garcia is back. That's was a great rendition of this song. It was honest, it wasn't flashy and it wasn't him trying to do something he doesn't look right doing. In this case, a guy just singing a song was perfectly fine because this. is. his. element. Great.
And Randy just said "Andrew is back." Thank you for agreeing.
Katie Stevens ("Chain of Fools") - Just like last week I called Aaron Kelly taking on Aerosmith, this week I called Katie Stevens doing Aretha. It's funny that Randy just compared her to Christina Aguilera because I was just thinking the same thing. Yet, again, we all know she can sing. This is her niche. I'm just still not a fan.
Lee Dewyze ("Treat Her Like A Lady") - This kid just keeps banking the HOTT points with me. He's just so precious and talented. That was a guy on stage with a guitar and somehow it was so much bigger. AND...I BELIEVED IT! Kara is so right. If that is what his record is going to sound like, I will buy it. Wow. Simon just said, "Understand this is the night that your life may have changed forever." Those, my friends, are some humongous words.
It was so great. Period. Nothing left to say.
Crystal Bowersox ("Midnight Train To Georgia") - Oh. My. She's playing the piano. I just can't believe that she can get much better.
Brilliant.
I kinda just want to turn the TV off now because what's the use in watching Aaron Kelly after that???
Aaron Kelly ("Ain't No Sunshine") - Ok, we've established that this kid can sing. No doubt. I just feel like his personality on-stage doesn't match his personality off-stage and that makes his performances come of a little unauthentic. It's just a little over-the-top for me compared to what he's like in interviews and such. Like Katie, he's good, I'm just still not a fan.
So my top three are:
1. Lee
2. Crystal
3. And it's a tie between Casey and Michael.
Bottom three: (Based strictly on performance)
1. Tim
2. Didi
3. Siobhan
My prediction for who is going home? Proabably Didi.
Until next week...
Walden. Out.
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