American Idol, Episode 35: "Top Three Perform"
It's time for the hometown visits, y'all!! It's that time in the season where the top 3 get to go home for a few days. It does the contestants a world of good. It seems to re-energize them and get them ready for the show that determines who will make it in to the top 2. A particularly affecting hometown visit can also change the trajectory of a contestant. When Kree Harrison visited her broken down and abandoned childhood home and told the story of losing her parents, you could almost see her downards trajectory reverse. The top three sang three songs. The first was chosen for them by Jimmy Iovine, the next was the judges' picks and the last was the Idol producers' choices. Let's look at how each of the ladies did, starting with:
Jimmy's Picks
Kree Harrison opened the show with Jimmy's pick for her, P!nk's "Fuckin' Perfect." I liked that Kree attempted to interact with the audience, giving them high fives and such. It was a nice gesture, even though at times, she came off stiff and the interaction seemed a little forced and cheesy. I didn't really understand this song choice. It didn't really seem to fit who Kree was and I couldn't hear this song on a Kree Harrison album. Kree didn't seem to be enjoying singing the song either. She wasn't feeling it, so the whole performance fell really, really flat. The judges seemed to really, really want to like it so, they were searching for good things to say and none of them sounded very genuine. When all Nicki can do is give fashion advice, it's not good.
Candice Glover was saddled with U2's "One," the version sang by the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige. Jimmy is picking some whack songs. This is another song that I couldn't really envision Candice singing of her own accord. Candice started out the song a little shaky, but I'm not sure if that was her fault. She seemed to be having some ear monitor issues. She recovered very well and the rest of the performance was stellar. It was yet another phenomenal Candice vocal. That song choice, though. It brought the whole thing down.
Angie Miller brought "round 1" to a close. She was handed Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." This was the first song choice where I thought, "OK, this could be really good." Then, I realized that Angie wasn't at the piano. Huh? I'm not saying that she has to be always at the piano, but this would have been the perfect song to catapult her into the top 2. I think this is where she lost it. I will say this was probably Angie's best performance away from the piano, for me. This was the most emotion that she has shown while not behind the piano. Vocally she was on point for most of the song. She still needs to work on the her middle register. She sounds great when she is singing soft and amazing when she's belting, but there is no build up to that. It just goes from soft to belting. It is a litte jarring when there is no transition. The judges seem to be just as baffled as I am about why she chose to not be behind the piano for an Elton John cover.
This brings round 1 to a close and we move on to round 2:
The Judges Picks
The judges picked Emeli Sandé's "Next To You" for Candice. I typically don't follow Nicki's lead and comment on what the contestants are wearing, but I have to say, Ms. Glover was looking hot tonight. I was loving the neon blue blazer and zebra strip pants. Get it, Candy Gurl. The performance was flawless as usual. I loved the slow, stripped down beginning and especially loved, when the tempo picked up. Candice hasn't had a lot of uptempo moments on the show, and this showed that there are many facets to Candice. It was very current and I this is what I imagine a Candice record would sound like. The judges were gagging over and it and I'm pretty sure they maybe dislocated their shoulders they were patting themselves on the back so hard. The highlight of the critiques was Keith saying "your man" all sassy like.
The judges gave Angie P!nk's "Try." They were certainly happy with it, but I wasn't. This seemed like the exact opposite of something that Angie would choose to sing or put on her album. This is a hard charging, rocker style record. You have to have loads of attitude and be able to be vunerable at the same time. These are not things that Angie excels at. She is giving it the old college try, but she seems very uncomfortable. She is sort of stumbling around the stage. I know she is going for stomping, but it is not working for her. Bless her heart. Epic fail. I tune the judges out because they are too pleased with themselves to offer anything constructive.
Kree returns to the stage with "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flats. Again, I hate to pull a Paula, but Kree looked gorge. The lighting accentuated it. It was maybe the best she'd looked on the show up to this point. This starts out a little sleepy for me, and I definitely started to zone out a little bit. Then, Kree hit the middle of the performance and she really started to take charge and emote and I was pulled right back in. Kree's high notes were crystal clear and they are really what saved this from being, overall, just a mediocre performance.
OK. Two down, one to go. Round Three, here we come!
Idol Producers Picks
Angie begins round three with another Emeli Sandé song, "Maybe." Um... did Idol make some sort of Faustian pact with Emeli. I love her and her songs, but, come on! This was Angie's weakest peformance of the night, which was unfortunate since it was her last and was the one that America would probably remember the most. I can appreciate people taking liberties with the melody, but in this case, they didn't really work. The song was basically unrecognizable. This could be the point where Angie lost the show. If only she wasn't a well adjusted girl from the 'burbs. America loves tragedy.
Kree Harrison stomped all over the stage with The Band Perry's, "Better Dig Two." I was living for this performance. Kree was really enjoying herself and you could tell. She was all over the place, but in the best way. She was really giving it her all. Her interactions with the band seemed really genuine and I was loving the hairography with the fiddle player joining in the fun.
When I head that the producers had picked the song "Somewhere" from West Side Story for Candice I groaned audibly. I had already decided that this was going to be horrible, but as soon as Candice opened her mouth and started singing I was immediately proven wrong. She sang my doubts away. Seriously. There are no adjectives or superlatives to describe how flawless this performance was. There was no doubt that Candice would be in the final two.
So, what did you guys think? Were you swayed to Kree's side after that hometown visit? Did Candice knock you off your sofa with that last performance? Let me know in the comments.
Jimmy's Picks
Kree Harrison opened the show with Jimmy's pick for her, P!nk's "Fuckin' Perfect." I liked that Kree attempted to interact with the audience, giving them high fives and such. It was a nice gesture, even though at times, she came off stiff and the interaction seemed a little forced and cheesy. I didn't really understand this song choice. It didn't really seem to fit who Kree was and I couldn't hear this song on a Kree Harrison album. Kree didn't seem to be enjoying singing the song either. She wasn't feeling it, so the whole performance fell really, really flat. The judges seemed to really, really want to like it so, they were searching for good things to say and none of them sounded very genuine. When all Nicki can do is give fashion advice, it's not good.
Candice Glover was saddled with U2's "One," the version sang by the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige. Jimmy is picking some whack songs. This is another song that I couldn't really envision Candice singing of her own accord. Candice started out the song a little shaky, but I'm not sure if that was her fault. She seemed to be having some ear monitor issues. She recovered very well and the rest of the performance was stellar. It was yet another phenomenal Candice vocal. That song choice, though. It brought the whole thing down.
Angie Miller brought "round 1" to a close. She was handed Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." This was the first song choice where I thought, "OK, this could be really good." Then, I realized that Angie wasn't at the piano. Huh? I'm not saying that she has to be always at the piano, but this would have been the perfect song to catapult her into the top 2. I think this is where she lost it. I will say this was probably Angie's best performance away from the piano, for me. This was the most emotion that she has shown while not behind the piano. Vocally she was on point for most of the song. She still needs to work on the her middle register. She sounds great when she is singing soft and amazing when she's belting, but there is no build up to that. It just goes from soft to belting. It is a litte jarring when there is no transition. The judges seem to be just as baffled as I am about why she chose to not be behind the piano for an Elton John cover.
This brings round 1 to a close and we move on to round 2:
The Judges Picks
The judges picked Emeli Sandé's "Next To You" for Candice. I typically don't follow Nicki's lead and comment on what the contestants are wearing, but I have to say, Ms. Glover was looking hot tonight. I was loving the neon blue blazer and zebra strip pants. Get it, Candy Gurl. The performance was flawless as usual. I loved the slow, stripped down beginning and especially loved, when the tempo picked up. Candice hasn't had a lot of uptempo moments on the show, and this showed that there are many facets to Candice. It was very current and I this is what I imagine a Candice record would sound like. The judges were gagging over and it and I'm pretty sure they maybe dislocated their shoulders they were patting themselves on the back so hard. The highlight of the critiques was Keith saying "your man" all sassy like.
The judges gave Angie P!nk's "Try." They were certainly happy with it, but I wasn't. This seemed like the exact opposite of something that Angie would choose to sing or put on her album. This is a hard charging, rocker style record. You have to have loads of attitude and be able to be vunerable at the same time. These are not things that Angie excels at. She is giving it the old college try, but she seems very uncomfortable. She is sort of stumbling around the stage. I know she is going for stomping, but it is not working for her. Bless her heart. Epic fail. I tune the judges out because they are too pleased with themselves to offer anything constructive.
Kree returns to the stage with "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flats. Again, I hate to pull a Paula, but Kree looked gorge. The lighting accentuated it. It was maybe the best she'd looked on the show up to this point. This starts out a little sleepy for me, and I definitely started to zone out a little bit. Then, Kree hit the middle of the performance and she really started to take charge and emote and I was pulled right back in. Kree's high notes were crystal clear and they are really what saved this from being, overall, just a mediocre performance.
OK. Two down, one to go. Round Three, here we come!
Idol Producers Picks
Angie begins round three with another Emeli Sandé song, "Maybe." Um... did Idol make some sort of Faustian pact with Emeli. I love her and her songs, but, come on! This was Angie's weakest peformance of the night, which was unfortunate since it was her last and was the one that America would probably remember the most. I can appreciate people taking liberties with the melody, but in this case, they didn't really work. The song was basically unrecognizable. This could be the point where Angie lost the show. If only she wasn't a well adjusted girl from the 'burbs. America loves tragedy.
Kree Harrison stomped all over the stage with The Band Perry's, "Better Dig Two." I was living for this performance. Kree was really enjoying herself and you could tell. She was all over the place, but in the best way. She was really giving it her all. Her interactions with the band seemed really genuine and I was loving the hairography with the fiddle player joining in the fun.
When I head that the producers had picked the song "Somewhere" from West Side Story for Candice I groaned audibly. I had already decided that this was going to be horrible, but as soon as Candice opened her mouth and started singing I was immediately proven wrong. She sang my doubts away. Seriously. There are no adjectives or superlatives to describe how flawless this performance was. There was no doubt that Candice would be in the final two.
So, what did you guys think? Were you swayed to Kree's side after that hometown visit? Did Candice knock you off your sofa with that last performance? Let me know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment