Wednesday, March 11, 2015

American Idol: Season 14 - Top 12 Revealed and Perform

Hello America! What a crazy packed hour of revealing the top 12 and asking for votes at the same time.  I was so confused, and they didn't even have time to explain what was being voted on.  It turns out that next Thursday will be a Top 10 performance.  So I guess either 11 perform Thursday night or 12 will perform again and the bottom 2 compiled votes will get the boot.  We'll find out.  In any case, I'll pick someone to go home after tonight's performance.  I wasn't expecting to recap tonight, so this will be brief!

Recap


  1. Sarina-Joi - That annoying One Republic Song - Entire song was out of tune.  After last week I was hoping she'd do better.  I really don't like this "revealing they're moving on to the next round" right before they perform.  It gets them all out of sorts.  Combination of it being bad and her going first is a bad combination.  It'll depend on how the show works tomorrow I think if she'll move on. 
  2. Rayvon Owen - "Wide Awake" by Katy Perry - Probably his best performance I've heard since the live shows.  Not great, just his best.  He's a good singer.  I'm sure he'll be okay. 
  3. Daniel Seavey - "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul (or a rip off of what that dude did on Idol a few seasons ago) - I've already expressed my feelings on this dude. At least Harry finally agrees he's too young and inexperienced.  That said, he sounded his best tonight until he forgot his place in the song.  Someone is voting him through.  And it's going to get more humiliating for Sanjaya every week he stays in.  Oh wait, did I say Daniel? 
  4. Maddie Walker - "Suitcase" by Gwen Sebastian - Maybe it's the idol stage vs. Detroit.  This is the best I've heard her sing too.  Could hear a nice country tone in there.  Judges talked about her being in her head.  Maybe but this seemed more vote-worthy than her past performances. 
  5. Tyanna Jones - "Wings" by too lazy to look up - Besides her blue clown hair, she did a pretty awesome job.  The big highlight was the way she worked the stage, which all 3 judges noted as well.  She seems like a natural up there.  A few notes were a little cringe-worthy but she'll be fine.  
  6. Nick Fradiani - "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (but he's totally ripping off the Jeffrey Gaines version) - Once he sang this song, I finally remembered him from the audition.  There's a chance the cover version of this song is so old now people think he's being original.  He sang a perfectly capable version of the song, but I still don't see the "idol" appeal in him.  He's just a dude that can play guitar and sing.  Not really sure how to explain it.  Maybe the judges saying he doesn't believe in himself is what I can't put into words myself. 
  7. Jax - "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles - She still has a unique style that keeps me interested for now.  I agree she was better on the piano alone before bringing the band in.  But the band version wasn't bad either. 
  8. Qaasim Middleton - "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder - Qassim was smart starting off with a quiet start to the toe tapping Stevie song.  He needed to show some versatility.  We know he can bring the crazy, and he did once again in this song eventually.  But he proved he can sing a powerful ballad without resorting to the dancing and screeching off pitch high notes.  The man is an entertainer and he's obviously one of the favorites. 
  9. Clark Beckham - "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown - I still really like this guy.  He feels what he's singing and sneaks in some crazy runs naturally.  I always feel like he's going to crack his voice but he always finds a way to hit his notes.  He's a favorite this year as well. 
  10. Joey Cook - "King of Spain" by Tallest Man on Earth - Was she playing an electric ukulele?  I figured she'd get in after her better performance last week, but I still don't see longevity on the show for her.  She's a strange bird and that will appeal to some.  We'll see!   
  11. Quentin Alexander - "Royals" by Lorde - (WILDCARD PICK) - Surprised he didn't make it in on votes.  I'm sure the bursting into tears at the end of his performance was enough to win over votes.  He sang well though too! 
  12. Adanna Duru - "You and I" by Lady Gaga - Another case of the "too excited to sing"  I guess getting picked first or last will do that?  I'm still shocked she got in over some of the others.  I think I picked her 2 weeks to go home.  (And she might have if they didn't do a wildcard).  Her performance was a little intense and a little out of tune for the reasons stated above.  I guess she has potential, but I don't know if I'm too interested at this point.

The Pick 

So I picked 1 of the 4 that went home.  Alexis Gomez.  Not good odds, but I still feel pretty good about picking Nick and Daniel based on how they did tonight. Maddie redeemed herself a bit.

Here's my rundown for tonight:

Safe: Rayvon, Qassim, Clark, Quentin, Tyanna, Jax
Should be okay: Maddie, Daniel
Might be in Danger: Sarina Joi, Adanna, Joey, Nick

Elimination Pick: Nick Fradiani - Not sure how confident I am in this, but his performance was pretty forgettable and he's pretty forgettable too.  We'll see what happens!

Okay, that's all I have for tonight.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you tomorrow!

9 comments:

Leslie said...

According to the site, it looks like Top 12 perform again tonight, so it looks like 2 will go home.

The format was definitely hurting some of the singers. Has to be hard to find out you're in and then get your composure to sing. It hurt Sarina Joi and Adanna the most!

I can't believe Joey made it! I thought Tyanna and Jax were the best girls last night. Clark is probably my favorite guy. Daniel needs to come back in a couple of years. Qaasim sure has fun out there!

Joey and Nick would be my choices to go home.

Leslie said...

Daniel could go, too!

Mike V. said...

Well now that Daniel made the top 12 he can't come back! I think once you make it that far, that's it for you. He should've waited. But then again, the show may not last 2 more years so...lol

I'm getting less and less impressed with this group every week. I think it might be the intense hour of performances we're getting hit with. I'm definitely happy about the condensed format, but it's hurting in these early rounds. They need a LITTLE time to breath, just not 15 minutes per contestant!! lol

If you're right about top 12 performing again, then I'll revise my elimination picks tonight!

Agree Tyanna and Jax were the best girls. And agree Sarina-joi and Adanna got affected the most by the format.

Thanks for commenting so I'm not talking to myself! lol

Leslie said...

You're welcome! There are so many shows you guys are watching on the other blog that I'm not so I can't comment, but I still watch Idol!

Did you catch when they came back from a commercial and Ryan talked to two of the people on Empire? He asked how it felt to be on one of the top rated shows and said he remembers how that was! lol

I kinda hope they change up the format once we get to the top 10. They could just let them all sing and then announce at the end who didn't make it through from the week before.

Mike V. said...

I can barely keep up on that other blog. Man I remember when I could watch 6 shows a night and write novels about each of them. Now I'm lucky if we get an hour to squeeze in a show with these crazy kids! lol

Totally caught Ryan commenting on how he remembers being #1. lol I like that the show can be self-aware like that. They're not trying to be #1 anymore. They just are what they are!

That's probably the best approach. That way you don't have people emotionally reacting to their friend getting kicked off and then having to sing. Also, the save becomes more relevant. They will have already performed without knowing they're performing for their life on the show. And then the judges can make a decision if they saw something worth saving. Maybe that's what they'll do.

It sounds like eventually this show will stay on Wednesday...but they're just waiting until Empire is over. Maybe they're planning a 2 hour show on Wednesdays. I thought I read that at some point. If it's 2 hours, I'll just have the ability to fast forward through the fluff! lol

Bella Bliss said...

Wow, you know, I've been following your blog for a substantial period of time, and I actually thought you were a little crazy for picking Nick to go a couple weeks in a row, but he almost got eliminated tonight. And wow, with Sarina going this early, who knows what else is possible? Daniel needs to go. He's so not ready and if it goes on any further, he'll end up having the fate of Sanjaya or Lazaro. I swear, eliminations like this make me wonder why I come back to this show every couple years. Strong vocalists like Sarina struggle one night, while people who are consistently sub-par like Qaasim and Daniel get to skate right by.

Bella Bliss said...

struggle one night and end up losing their place in the competition*

Mike V. said...

Thanks for the comments Wallace! Nice to know there are other readers lurking around! :-)

I thought I was a little crazy for picking Nick too. It was a long shot, but I just don't see the appeal of him really. He can sing and play guitar, but he doesn't stand out as being a potential star or anything. I wasn't impressed with him last night either. (But I'll get to that in the recap)

Totally forgot about Lazaro.

As for Sarina, it didn't seem like she was built for the pressure of the show. She had an opportunity to redeem herself and she sounded just as bad last night. It's a shame because when she is on her voice was incredible. Anyway, off to the blog!

Leslie said...

I'm so glad to hear you were cringing, too! At one point, my fiance asked of something was wrong with our TV because we were obviously hearing something different than the judges! lol

I have to admit that I like Joey's performance! She showed she can really sing and still had a little quirkiness in there without being overwhelming with it.

Not Clark's best performance, but he can sing unlike Qaassim which is where I was cringing the most! Jax didn't have a good night either, but she is still interesting. Adanna did better, and Tyanna is really good. Quentin is good, but personally, I didn't like the change up he did on that song. It lost something for me.

Daniel just needs to go already! Nick makes weird facial movements when he sings that are distracting!

I know you predict what America will do, but my choice for bottom 3 is Daniel, Qaasim and Nick. I wouldn't miss any of them!