Guys Night in Vegas: The Top 10
Elijah Liu "Stay" by Rihanna
Sleepy, pretty boring performance. Adequate vocal I suppose, but nothing that really wows me or really makes me want to see more. The judges liked his song choice, but I really don't think it did him any favors.
Cortez Shaw "Locked Out of Paradise" by Bruno Mars
The problem with doing a song like this in it's original style is that it will always sound like the original, and will always pale in comparison. That's the case here. This was a performance you'd expect to see at any karaoke bar.
Charlie Askew "Mama" by Genesis
Was there nobody else at the auditions or through the Hollywood rounds? Or are the producers trying to make a funny? Also, I'm legit in pain over how awkward the post-performance interview was.
Nick Boddington "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls
I totally get what Nick is trying to do with this song, and as I said last night with Angie's performance, I typically love it. But this was really messy, all over the place. Good song choice, but the vocals weren't there, often times not even close. The honesty and feeling was there, but that's about it.
Burnell Taylor "I'm Here" from The Color Purple: The Musical
This song is such a terrible choice for Idol. There's no chorus to really show the singer off, save for the final note. And also, Burnell brought nothing really new to the song. Pretty generic. And he's done it before on the show? Risky indeed. Also, watch the hand gestures!
Paul Jolley "Just a Fool" by Christina Aguilera
Easily the best so far, and not even close. Pitch issues on the top notes, but got a lucky draw with the background vocalist being too loud. If he works that out, though, Paul could be onto something. Great tone. And look. And I completely get the pop-country path for him. More pop. For obvious reasons.
Lazaro Arbos "Feeling Good" from The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd
Worked the song out in a huge way. This is a song done to death post-Bublé, but Lazaro totally made it work for him. Strong vocal, and equally strong performance. Good stuff! But Mariah is right: a song that sits better in his voice would have made this even better.
Curtis Finch, Jr. "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly.
REALLY? Why do contestants chose this song? It's an automatic tune-out for me. When the opening notes are played, you know exactly how it's going to be sung... and Curtis does it exactly how you'd expect. Pass. Un-PC comment: Good to know Idol filled it's gospel singer to jam down your throat quota!
Devin Velez "Somos Novios" by Andrea Bocelli
Obviously I'm the wrong demo, but the whole Spanglish thing totally turns me off, puts me at such a distance. Capable enough vocals, but the whole thing seemed so generic to me.
Vincent Powell "The End of the Road" by Boyz II Men
Again with the predictable, overindulgent, saccharine song choice. I enjoy that he just gave up singing the song by the end and just went for all sorts of vocal tricks and gimmicks. Annoying.
Wrap-Up
I've vaguely followed along with assorted Idol bloggers from the beginning of the competition, so I had a very general idea of what to expect coming into this. I'd read that the guys were a rough bunch this year, but I figured that was overstating it a bit. Boy, was I wrong. Eek. There may be a few guys here that could blossom into a good contestant, but I can't see too much more than that. Hopefully I'm wrong, but this seemed mostly like tired gimmick after tired gimmick.
I guess there is a way for the producers to avoid yet another "white guy with a guitar" winning the thing... don't bring any to the voting round!
THAT SAID, I do have some favorites...
I guess there is a way for the producers to avoid yet another "white guy with a guitar" winning the thing... don't bring any to the voting round!
THAT SAID, I do have some favorites...
Timm's Votes
Elijah - 5
Nick - 5
Lazaro - 15
Paul - 25
I could get used to supporting Paul. While Lazaro seems like he could be a product of his story, I really enjoyed him tonight, so he gets some love. I threw some votes to Elijah and Nick, because I wouldn't mind seeing what else they can bring to the table. All that said, I'm fully, 100% expecting that Curtis will go through, no problem at all. Hell, he'll probably be the one that is trumped up as the favorite all season long until his "SHOCKING!" elimination in the top 4. But I'm so over that. Vincent will probably go through as well. Devin's got an endearing mother... him too. Hopefully, at least Paul can cut through the noise.
