American Idol 14: Top 12 Elimination/Top 11 Party Songs
I am going to try to be as neutral as possible with this post. I will save my rage for the end of the post. Here we go. The top 12 from last night will be whittled down to 11 by the end of the night. I still think that this format is just asking for a majority of trainwrecks. Nerves, performing anxiety, having to rush up on stage if your name is called, nerves, nerves, and more nerves. I think that Idol needs to have a performance show and then maybe a reveal during the commercials of another show...maybe Empire since they keep pairing the two. I just need something other than this rapid fire elimination. I mean you work so hard all week to rehearse a song and performance that you might not even get to perform. Let me get on with my thoughts on this awful theme, Party Songs. As always, my ranking goes from least favorite to favorite.
Jax - Blank Space: This was the first time that I saw the teenager in you come out. It didn't work for me. I was with you for the first 10 seconds but then I wanted to run away. It was very timid in spots but I see what you were trying to do. You wanted to be subdued but it came off as out of sync. This was a bad song choice for you. Lots of leaps. Lots of breathy spots. I didn't enjoy it. And grabbing the hat from the random audience member was a little....unconventional. And you spent a lot of time with him which caused a little bit of a disconnect for me.
Daniel Seavey - Happy: While I feel that you should have gone home this round, I will say that this is probably the most comfortable that I have seen you on stage. That in turn, makes this your best performance. I still feel that you could easily use a year or two before we really start seeing you blossom. There was a confidence there but the voice wasn't ready to follow just yet. I would work on extending your phrases so that everything doesn't seem so choppy.
Qaasim Middleton - Jet: Were there moments where I said "this boy can't sing"? Yes. Were there moments where I said "this boy can sing"? Yes. I just want you to stand and deliver a song without being such a showman. Great to have that attribute but I want to hear that you have a voice that can stand up against everyone else. It was a little concerning when J Lo said that she has yet to hear an excellent vocal for you...How did he get this far if you, the judge, have not heard an excellent vocal yet???? That ending was atrocious. Please. Never do that again.
Nick Fradiani - Wake Me Up: Good song choice. I wanted you to do something a little different with the melody besides the talking part. That was kind of weird and seemed a little out of place. Your tone fit nicely with the texture of the song in the beginning. I wish that you had left the guitar out of the equation.
Rayvon Owen - Burn: This is one of my favorite songs but I don't know if it was the right song for you. There were some awesome moments in there. They were trumped by the screechy moment towards the end. The falsetto during the pre-chorus was great but then you tried to go for the gold and it didn't pan out how I wanted it to. I still think that you have a golden voice but when choosing up tempo songs, choose something that doesn't take away from those butter vocals.
Maddie Walker - She's Country: I really enjoyed this performance. There were a couple of pitch problems but they were few. You injected energy and fierceness behind this song. I don't know the original but I do know that I want to give it a listen now. I could see that you were having a blast and really enjoying the performance. That makes all the difference in the world.
Quentin Alexander - Rolling In The Deep: I was digging this arrangement. Loved the quasi a cappella beginning into this funky beat. I thought that your vocals were spot on. Nothing too different from the original vocally but still I think that you definitely delivered. Nice tone quality. Very reminiscent of John Legend.
Clark Beckham - Taking It To The Streets: Groovy song choice for you. I enjoyed your vocal tone during this performance. It wasn't as exciting as I wanted it to be. You truly proved that you are comfortable up there. I would like to see more passion behind what you are singing. Overall, good job!
Adanna Duru - Runaway Baby: Thank you for reigning it in! That is all you needed to make me change my mind on you. I thought that there were great dynamic levels to this performance. You created that rise and fall that performance should have. The vocals were great minus that last note. And your performance was very professional. There was an ease about this that you had.
Tyanna Jones - Tightrope: Look...I have been waiting for this performance since I first heard her in auditions. That execution with the lyrics in the opening was enough to make me happy but you gave us a performance. Now. those backgrounds..questionable at times lol. Back to Tyanna, girl you just SANG. I would like for you to think a little on top of the note more to secure that you are right on the money but performance was AMAZING!!!!
Joey Cook - Fancy: So many things that I loved about this performance. I enjoyed the arrangement and awesome of you to give props to Postmodern Jukebox for the influence on the arrangement. I want everyone to be clear on this. Joey's arrangement was much different than Postmodern Jukebox's arrangement. She was just crediting them for the influence. Back to the actual performance. You proved that you are not just some quirky one act. You proved that you can sing for real!! I loved that you were able to maintain your composure but still let it peek through a little at times. Overall, this was your best performance. It was elegant, classy, poised but still fresh.
Now we have come to point of the post where I get a little sad. I don't know how this elimination happened and how the judges didn't use the save. Sarina-Joi Crowe, 4 weeks ago, was deemed the one that they should watch out for. She delivered 3 KNOCKOUT performances. I mean flawless musicality and artistry. She gets called first for the Top 12 performances with literally 5 seconds to hear the pitch, gain composure, and deliver a performance after running down a small flight of stairs and up another flight. Torture. Yea she did not deliver the best vocal but was not the worst of the night. So she doesn't make it through by America's vote with the top 12 and she has to sing for her life. Of course, the only song that was rehearsed all week was her "party song". UGH. And it's Neon Lights by Demi Lovato. That song does not lend itself to allow you to sell to the judges to use their one and only save. I knew that once she announced her song choice that she was doomed. I immediately started to tear up. Sarina-Joi has auditioned for Idol 4 times. Made it to the top 48 and gotten a no. Came back and made it to this round. 4 times. She wanted this BAD. And for a young lady with so much potential, charisma, talent, dedication, and poise to go out on a song like this just broke my heart. You could even see that she had accepted that she was not going to get the save and that she just needs keep pushing. Mama Knows Best was hands down one of the most amazing performances to ever grace the Idol stage. The judges have seen the potential and drive that this young lady had. I was kind of mad that they didn't use the save but understood at the same time. UGH this process. Hate it.
There were some great performances tonight. Some of my favorites faltered and some of my non-favorites rose to the occasion. I think that the bottom 3 should be Jax, Daniel Seavey, and Qaasim Middleton. Jax needs a little bit of a scare to shake her back into the game. I really really need Daniel to either shape up or ship out. Qaasim needs to give us more vocal and not a lot of tom foolery. I think that Nick might be in trouble as well. He is good but he needs to be great to stand out.
Jax - Blank Space: This was the first time that I saw the teenager in you come out. It didn't work for me. I was with you for the first 10 seconds but then I wanted to run away. It was very timid in spots but I see what you were trying to do. You wanted to be subdued but it came off as out of sync. This was a bad song choice for you. Lots of leaps. Lots of breathy spots. I didn't enjoy it. And grabbing the hat from the random audience member was a little....unconventional. And you spent a lot of time with him which caused a little bit of a disconnect for me.
Daniel Seavey - Happy: While I feel that you should have gone home this round, I will say that this is probably the most comfortable that I have seen you on stage. That in turn, makes this your best performance. I still feel that you could easily use a year or two before we really start seeing you blossom. There was a confidence there but the voice wasn't ready to follow just yet. I would work on extending your phrases so that everything doesn't seem so choppy.
Qaasim Middleton - Jet: Were there moments where I said "this boy can't sing"? Yes. Were there moments where I said "this boy can sing"? Yes. I just want you to stand and deliver a song without being such a showman. Great to have that attribute but I want to hear that you have a voice that can stand up against everyone else. It was a little concerning when J Lo said that she has yet to hear an excellent vocal for you...How did he get this far if you, the judge, have not heard an excellent vocal yet???? That ending was atrocious. Please. Never do that again.
Nick Fradiani - Wake Me Up: Good song choice. I wanted you to do something a little different with the melody besides the talking part. That was kind of weird and seemed a little out of place. Your tone fit nicely with the texture of the song in the beginning. I wish that you had left the guitar out of the equation.
Rayvon Owen - Burn: This is one of my favorite songs but I don't know if it was the right song for you. There were some awesome moments in there. They were trumped by the screechy moment towards the end. The falsetto during the pre-chorus was great but then you tried to go for the gold and it didn't pan out how I wanted it to. I still think that you have a golden voice but when choosing up tempo songs, choose something that doesn't take away from those butter vocals.
Maddie Walker - She's Country: I really enjoyed this performance. There were a couple of pitch problems but they were few. You injected energy and fierceness behind this song. I don't know the original but I do know that I want to give it a listen now. I could see that you were having a blast and really enjoying the performance. That makes all the difference in the world.
Quentin Alexander - Rolling In The Deep: I was digging this arrangement. Loved the quasi a cappella beginning into this funky beat. I thought that your vocals were spot on. Nothing too different from the original vocally but still I think that you definitely delivered. Nice tone quality. Very reminiscent of John Legend.
Clark Beckham - Taking It To The Streets: Groovy song choice for you. I enjoyed your vocal tone during this performance. It wasn't as exciting as I wanted it to be. You truly proved that you are comfortable up there. I would like to see more passion behind what you are singing. Overall, good job!
Adanna Duru - Runaway Baby: Thank you for reigning it in! That is all you needed to make me change my mind on you. I thought that there were great dynamic levels to this performance. You created that rise and fall that performance should have. The vocals were great minus that last note. And your performance was very professional. There was an ease about this that you had.
Tyanna Jones - Tightrope: Look...I have been waiting for this performance since I first heard her in auditions. That execution with the lyrics in the opening was enough to make me happy but you gave us a performance. Now. those backgrounds..questionable at times lol. Back to Tyanna, girl you just SANG. I would like for you to think a little on top of the note more to secure that you are right on the money but performance was AMAZING!!!!
Joey Cook - Fancy: So many things that I loved about this performance. I enjoyed the arrangement and awesome of you to give props to Postmodern Jukebox for the influence on the arrangement. I want everyone to be clear on this. Joey's arrangement was much different than Postmodern Jukebox's arrangement. She was just crediting them for the influence. Back to the actual performance. You proved that you are not just some quirky one act. You proved that you can sing for real!! I loved that you were able to maintain your composure but still let it peek through a little at times. Overall, this was your best performance. It was elegant, classy, poised but still fresh.
Now we have come to point of the post where I get a little sad. I don't know how this elimination happened and how the judges didn't use the save. Sarina-Joi Crowe, 4 weeks ago, was deemed the one that they should watch out for. She delivered 3 KNOCKOUT performances. I mean flawless musicality and artistry. She gets called first for the Top 12 performances with literally 5 seconds to hear the pitch, gain composure, and deliver a performance after running down a small flight of stairs and up another flight. Torture. Yea she did not deliver the best vocal but was not the worst of the night. So she doesn't make it through by America's vote with the top 12 and she has to sing for her life. Of course, the only song that was rehearsed all week was her "party song". UGH. And it's Neon Lights by Demi Lovato. That song does not lend itself to allow you to sell to the judges to use their one and only save. I knew that once she announced her song choice that she was doomed. I immediately started to tear up. Sarina-Joi has auditioned for Idol 4 times. Made it to the top 48 and gotten a no. Came back and made it to this round. 4 times. She wanted this BAD. And for a young lady with so much potential, charisma, talent, dedication, and poise to go out on a song like this just broke my heart. You could even see that she had accepted that she was not going to get the save and that she just needs keep pushing. Mama Knows Best was hands down one of the most amazing performances to ever grace the Idol stage. The judges have seen the potential and drive that this young lady had. I was kind of mad that they didn't use the save but understood at the same time. UGH this process. Hate it.
There were some great performances tonight. Some of my favorites faltered and some of my non-favorites rose to the occasion. I think that the bottom 3 should be Jax, Daniel Seavey, and Qaasim Middleton. Jax needs a little bit of a scare to shake her back into the game. I really really need Daniel to either shape up or ship out. Qaasim needs to give us more vocal and not a lot of tom foolery. I think that Nick might be in trouble as well. He is good but he needs to be great to stand out.
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