American Idol 15: Top 6 Eliminations/Top 5
Finally, we are at single eliminations. Double eliminations felt like they were trying to rush through the season. They probably were but let us have something/someone to hold onto lol. 2 songs from each contestant. Well 5 out of the 6. And why do the fans get to choose songs for the contestants??? If I were on the show, I would be curious about the choice but wouldn't want to live by it. The contestants have had no say in a lot of this season. Duets and now song choice. Thank goodness that this is the last judge's save. Think about it....24 contestants and 19 of them have gone home at the hands of the judges. In previous years when we got to top 24, only two went home based on judge's save. Final season....no wonder. Now that I am out of my grouch stage of the blog, let's get to some thoughts on performances. As always, I rank the performances from least favorite to favorite.
Trent Harmon - Counting Stars: Oh boy.....well you had energy. Manic energy but it was energy. Wow this is what happens when you let America decide songs for contestants. Just don't do it. This was a mess. His voice sounded more helium like than ever before. Fast poppy songs are not for him at all. His voice was all over the place. He couldn't decide if he wanted to stay in the upper octave or take it down an octave. Wow. He is such a better singer than this song allowed.
Dalton Rapattoni - Numb: Geesh....Is this really Top 5??? Boring boring boring. I love this song. What I love about the original is the lead singer's ability to hold those notes. Dalton did not hold any of the notes that needed to be held. He speak sang 95% of the song. No good.
MacKenzie Bourg - Wild World: Another horrible song choice. Hey producers, NEVER let this happen again. Let us vote but don't let us control the content of the show. It definitely wasn't pitch perfect but it had some life in it. There were some moments when I really liked it but lots of time where I hated it.
Dalton Rapattoni - Sound Of Silence: Theatrical and full of angst. I liked this better than every other performance he has done. IMO he does not have the vocal chops to stay any longer in this competition. He should go ahead and go Broadway. Plenty of great roles for him.
Sonika Vaid - Clarity: Ummmm...I liked it in parts but it still came off as stifled. There was no connection. She was trying to be fun and playful but she was so much in her head. It came off like a talent portion of a junior miss pageant. After being in the bottom 2 twice, she needs to pick better songs.
Tristan McIntosh - Independence Day: It was connected. It was a really good vocal. Coming into this week, I was certain that you were the weakest vocalist. Yes you still have room to grow but this was really good. I loved the flow of the song. There was a bit of a battle between her and the band. I felt like the band wanted to drive it more and she wanted to lay back into it more. Overall, a really good performance from her.
Sonika Vaid - Let It Go: This song will forever be associated with a cartoon and it is hard to take it seriously in a competition for me. IDK. One of the big advantages that Sonika had with this performance was her use of dynamics. It was soft and emotional, Then it was loud and belty. Then it went back to soft. Good on her for figuring that out. It helps with the storytelling and connection of the performance.
MacKenzie Bourg - Billie Jean: Delivery....KILLA! I loved everything from the vocals to the guitar playing. I think that he just needs to really stick with this kind of lane. It was awesome in every way. I could have used a little more connection but overall, FANTASTIC!
Trent Harmon - Simple Kind Of Man: Wholesome performance. It just came off as pure and emotional. Not a flaw in it. That was just wonderful. Songs like this are built for the vocal dynamics that you possess.
La'Porsha Renae - Ready For Love: This is probably my favorite song ever. The orchestration was absolutely gorgeous. Her vocal just lived in it and it was beautiful. She did just enough with this amazing song to make it her own but not do too much to take away from the ethereal essence of the song.
La'Porsha Renae - No More Drama: NEVER EVER have I seen or heard someone leave everything they have had on that stage. She sang about REAL LIFE in this performance. Listen here....when she said "You can't rape, you can't beat, you can't take her, you can't kill me".......I LOST IT. Still losing it. She had the courage to sing that and express it to the world. The exhale that she had after her last note was so powerful. Still ugly crying from it all. That was a moment. That was the moment of Season 15 so far. When you have been through life struggles, the song gets stronger to sing and the last note of that song is the sweetest. Release it!
I am too emotional right now to give a really in depth look. Sad to see Tristan go. She gave a really good performance. I felt like we have seen the best of Sonika, unfortunately. I am ready for Dalton to go. Can I get Jessica Cabral back??? La'Porsha and Trent made me cry. Like really cry. I wasn't ready. MacKenzie will be good. Billie Jean really gave him some steam.
Until next time....
Trent Harmon - Counting Stars: Oh boy.....well you had energy. Manic energy but it was energy. Wow this is what happens when you let America decide songs for contestants. Just don't do it. This was a mess. His voice sounded more helium like than ever before. Fast poppy songs are not for him at all. His voice was all over the place. He couldn't decide if he wanted to stay in the upper octave or take it down an octave. Wow. He is such a better singer than this song allowed.
Dalton Rapattoni - Numb: Geesh....Is this really Top 5??? Boring boring boring. I love this song. What I love about the original is the lead singer's ability to hold those notes. Dalton did not hold any of the notes that needed to be held. He speak sang 95% of the song. No good.
MacKenzie Bourg - Wild World: Another horrible song choice. Hey producers, NEVER let this happen again. Let us vote but don't let us control the content of the show. It definitely wasn't pitch perfect but it had some life in it. There were some moments when I really liked it but lots of time where I hated it.
Dalton Rapattoni - Sound Of Silence: Theatrical and full of angst. I liked this better than every other performance he has done. IMO he does not have the vocal chops to stay any longer in this competition. He should go ahead and go Broadway. Plenty of great roles for him.
Sonika Vaid - Clarity: Ummmm...I liked it in parts but it still came off as stifled. There was no connection. She was trying to be fun and playful but she was so much in her head. It came off like a talent portion of a junior miss pageant. After being in the bottom 2 twice, she needs to pick better songs.
Tristan McIntosh - Independence Day: It was connected. It was a really good vocal. Coming into this week, I was certain that you were the weakest vocalist. Yes you still have room to grow but this was really good. I loved the flow of the song. There was a bit of a battle between her and the band. I felt like the band wanted to drive it more and she wanted to lay back into it more. Overall, a really good performance from her.
Sonika Vaid - Let It Go: This song will forever be associated with a cartoon and it is hard to take it seriously in a competition for me. IDK. One of the big advantages that Sonika had with this performance was her use of dynamics. It was soft and emotional, Then it was loud and belty. Then it went back to soft. Good on her for figuring that out. It helps with the storytelling and connection of the performance.
MacKenzie Bourg - Billie Jean: Delivery....KILLA! I loved everything from the vocals to the guitar playing. I think that he just needs to really stick with this kind of lane. It was awesome in every way. I could have used a little more connection but overall, FANTASTIC!
Trent Harmon - Simple Kind Of Man: Wholesome performance. It just came off as pure and emotional. Not a flaw in it. That was just wonderful. Songs like this are built for the vocal dynamics that you possess.
La'Porsha Renae - Ready For Love: This is probably my favorite song ever. The orchestration was absolutely gorgeous. Her vocal just lived in it and it was beautiful. She did just enough with this amazing song to make it her own but not do too much to take away from the ethereal essence of the song.
La'Porsha Renae - No More Drama: NEVER EVER have I seen or heard someone leave everything they have had on that stage. She sang about REAL LIFE in this performance. Listen here....when she said "You can't rape, you can't beat, you can't take her, you can't kill me".......I LOST IT. Still losing it. She had the courage to sing that and express it to the world. The exhale that she had after her last note was so powerful. Still ugly crying from it all. That was a moment. That was the moment of Season 15 so far. When you have been through life struggles, the song gets stronger to sing and the last note of that song is the sweetest. Release it!
I am too emotional right now to give a really in depth look. Sad to see Tristan go. She gave a really good performance. I felt like we have seen the best of Sonika, unfortunately. I am ready for Dalton to go. Can I get Jessica Cabral back??? La'Porsha and Trent made me cry. Like really cry. I wasn't ready. MacKenzie will be good. Billie Jean really gave him some steam.
Until next time....
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