Thursday, March 05, 2015

American Idol: Season 14 - Top 8 Guys Perform

Hello Idol friends and welcome back!  So I went 2 for 4 with my picks for the guys last week.  I'm not too surprised by who went home instead.  We'll get right into it this week.  The Top 8 performed Motown Hits in Motown itself.  The crowd seemed fairly unenthused/uneducated by the local historical music selections, except one dude that was dancing and singing like no one was watching.   Anyway, we'll return to Hollywood next week to reveal the Top 12 on Wednesday and for Top 12 performances on Thursday.  Then, my assumption is we go to 1 day a week.  I assume that one day is Wednesday, but what do I know!?  Our job, should we choose to accept it, is to pick 2 more guys to kick out of our group!  Let's do it!


Recap
  1. Daniel Seavey - "How Sweet it Is" by Marvin Gaye - I have no regrets picking Daniel to be eliminated even though I was pretty sure the American conglomerate would vote him through.  The kid is not ready.  This week was the same inexperienced display.  Flashing those cute little boy smiles with a semi-okay monotone voice.  The judges picked up on it too saying that he sung the song too low.  He certainly has showcased his talents in earlier rounds with the various instruments he plays.  They have not really been on display too much in the voting rounds.   I'm sure he'll get through, but I don't think he should! 
  2. Mark Andrew - "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by the Temptations - I still like this dude, but still fear his chill vibe may get old after awhile.  The rendition was decent, but in his chillaxin version, he lost some of the intense vibe of the original Temptations' cut.  Harry referred to Mark's antics as "Jam Band" which is a pretty good term for it.  I just assumed this guy would be in the top 12, but he could be in danger.  
  3. Rayvon Owen - "My Girl" by the Temptations - In case no one noticed the only 2 artists from the Motown era were The Temptations and Stevie Wonder.  Joking of course, but they certainly were the most popular of the night.  Rayvon definitely has a good voice.  I wasn't feeling his performance.  I'm sure that's what Keith and Harry were talking about when they said they want to feel weight to his performances and "see the other side".   We'll see. 
  4. Adam Ezegelian - "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 - Ahh the ol' "let's slow this popular song down and show how artistic we are" trick!  Okay, clearly someone out there likes this crazy manic screaming dude.  The judges loved the performance.  I'm still not totally on board.  Same as some of the other guys.  He clearly can sing, but the crazy eyes take me a little out of the performance. 
  5. Clark Beckham - "Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson - I'm sure I could get assaulted for saying this, but I think Clark did a pretty top notch job on this performance and may have even rivaled Adam Lambert's version of the track.  (Okay, I listened to that again, maybe not!)  Regardless, Clark is the real deal and here for the confetti on finale day.  He showcased the electric guitar this week, we know he can play piano and he has good control over his voice and emoting.  Harry demanded his performances to have a beginning, middle and end.  Based on a lot of the competition, I thought he did a standup job.  But there's always room for improvement. 
  6. Nick Fradiani - "Sign Sealed Delivered" by Stevie Wonder - Sounding like a broken record.  His performance was technically good, but it just seemed to be missing something.  Keith thought it was the guitar that made him look uncomfortable.  I don't know.  I just think he'll get lost in the mix of all of these other personalities. 
  7. Qassim Middleton - "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder - There is no doubt this guy was made for the stage.  He owned it, went crazy with his dancing, and commanded the band.  He's certainly a frontrunner.   That said, I will say his performance looked eerily familiar to last week's.  Could you imagine an entire concert of that intensity and monotony of dance moves?  Just trying to be constructive here!  Also, his facial expressions during everyone else's performances were getting a little on my nerves!  I'll wait to see some versatility to the guy but he's certainly going to be around for awhile.  
  8. Quentin Alexander - "Master Blaster (Jammin') by Stevie Wonder - If you dress up like Jimi Hendrix, people will love you.  He certainly grooved with the band, and felt his performance.  I thought it was just okay, but he has the goods to be in the Top 12.  I'm sure he'll be safe! 
This means that the following 4 were eliminated from competition:
  1. Michael Simeon (correctly picked by yours truly)
  2. Savion Wright (Not picked)
  3. Trevor Douglas (Wildcard pick by yours truly)
  4. Riley Bria (correctly picked by yours truly)
Farewell folks!  Didn't know you long enough to miss you! 


Elimination Picks

Okay, one more job to do.  Let's figure out which 2 will not go through.  Discuss amongst yourselves if my rhyming was intentional there. 

Totally Safe based on merit: Qassim, Clark
Could be safe based on being cute: Daniel
In danger of being forgetful: Nick, Rayvon
Safe based on the way he dresses: Quentin
If I could kick 2 off myself: Adam and Daniel 
Couldn't think of a joke for this segment: Mark

Elimination Picks: Nick Fradiani and Daniel Seavey

Wildcard pick: Adam Ezgelian

The more I thought about it, if America does right by America, they have to note vote for Daniel.  It wasn't a good vocal performance.  They didn't vote Trevor in last week and he was all over the map with his vocals.  We'll see how things go next Wednesday!  I'll see you tomorrow for a recap of the Top 8 girls performances!  Get ready for lots of Aretha and The Supremes!  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week. 

2 comments:

Leslie said...

I'm with you on Nick, Adam or Daniel this week. Daniel is adorable, but just not ready. He will do great in a couple of years! Nick is forgettable, and I don't think Adam is "Idol material" as they say. Clark is good and Mark is laid back, but talented. The Q guys are both characters!

On a side note, can I say that the flashing of the XIV so many times during the show is irritating me. I feel like it's some weird subliminal thing or something! They just need to stop it! lol

Mike V. said...

lol...my wife and I laugh about the XIV thing too. Like they put stickers on random things and shot it before each commercial break before the live shows. But yeah now the flashing of it? Just silly.