Thursday, March 03, 2016

American Idol: Season 15 - Top 10 Perform, 8 Move On

Hello American Idol friends!  We're all probably still reeling from last week's amazing Kelly Clarkson performance, I'm sure! But, we have to keep moving on without our inaugural winner and have a job to do.  Things are still crazy in the V. House so I will continue to do my real-time recapping.  Here goes nothing!
Performance Recap - Theme for the week "Grammys"

  1. Dalton Rapattoni - "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons - I think I speak for popular culture and we're all tired of this song.  Dalton was singing in a lower octave than the original and it didn't really work for me.  Boring is the word that comes to mind.  It was sung finely in tune so that wasn't the issue.  
  2. Lee Jean - "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon - I appreciate him wanting to branch out and try and stand out.  Vocal sounded a little better than previous weeks.  Maybe he's getting a little more comfortable.  First half of the song was a bit too "manicky" for me (I know it's not a word!).  I'm a little surprised he survived elimination this week, so I'm a little curious who may be going home in his place. 
  3. Sonika Vaid - "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson - Always bold taking on the queen of the Idol stage.  Many times it has been the kiss of elimination for a contestant.  Felt very choreographed.  She has a good voice, but when you compare it to the soulful sound of the original Idol it just doesn't match up.  
  4. MacKenzie Bourg - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston - I like this kid.  I tried to hate him, but he's just too darn talented.  Great performance.  Idol winning performance?  Tough call with La'Porsha hanging around.  We'll see how she does tonight.   Harry thought he should've mixed it up more.  I hear him, but I thought he did change it up a bit and it worked out.   Plus, he's got the grandmother vote coming in now after the shout out to Nona! 
  5. La'Porsha Renae - "Halo" by Beyonce - Loved the pre performance clip on the hair.  There's not much else to say about her voice and the control on the voice.  It's in another league.  She's ridiculously good.  My only critique is that she did 2 slow songs 2 weeks in a row now.  But, when you're that good who cares? 
  6. Trent Harmon - "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Michael Bolton - Nice control on the face dude!  Trent sang some sweet melodies and that high note was quite impressive!  He still remains relevant in the competition.  
  7. Tristan McIntosh - "Go Rest High on That Mountain" by Vince Gill - Wow.  I didn't expect such a good vocal from her.  That's the best she's sounded.  Smart to tone it down a notch and get on the piano.  Great tune too. 
  8. (Bottom 3) Avalon Young - "Earned It" by The Weeknd - Definitely deserving of the bottom 3 last week after that "off" performance.  This definitely felt more in her wheelhouse and showed off her unique sound in the competition.  Good stuff! 
  9. (Bottom 3) Olivia Roxx - "Trouble" by P!nk - Not a bad performance by Olivia.  She really rocked the stage.  Seemed like the crowd wasn't into it.  You also can already tell the judges bias on who they'll probably select.  With all of the stage antics I do agree something seemed to be missing from the performance.    
  10. (Bottom 3) Gianna Isabella - "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys - In tune, sang perfectly.  Forgettable. 

My picks from last week: Gianna and Lee
Eliminated: Gianna Isabella and Olivia Roxx

1 for 2 ain't bad.  Olivia was good, but I didn't really see her in contention for the crown.  Farewell to both of you.    

This is tough if we need to pick 2 each week! Tonight was a pretty decent night of performances.  But I think 3 of them were a little underwhelming.  So I'm going to dive right in here to my picks, 

Top 8 Botton 3: Dalton, Lee, Sonika  Wildcard: Avalon

Top 8 Elimination Picks: Lee Jean, Sonika Vaid - Lee's a fighter. I've counted him out a couple times now.  Definitely talented, but I don't think he can last too much longer.  Sonika - She took on Kelly, and like many before her she paled in comparison.  

It's crazy how quickly this shortened season is going.  We'll be saying goodbye to American Idol in 5 weeks!  Until then, I'll still be having something to say as always.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

4 comments:

Leslie said...

I didn’t have time to read and comment last week, but Kelly was GREAT! I loved her energy and nostalgic emotions, and, that song had me crying!!! I had not heard it before and that performance was powerful! Then, when they cut to Keith all teary eyed, I was gone! BTW, I have since downloaded that song!

OK, enough of that. I was sorry to see Olivia go. She was a favorite of mine. I won’t miss Gianna. Dalton is another favorite of mine, even though he’s not the best singer, but I just like his comfort on stage and energy. And, he’s from Dallas! But, I didn’t care too much for last night’s song. I’m glad they told Trent about his facial expressions! Tristan sounded great! Funny about La’Porsha’s hair!

Anonymous said...

Pretty good analysis. Sonika in my opinion was downright awful. It's one thing to have an 'off' night, it's another thing entirely to have a performance feel like nails on a chalkboard. The fake smirk on her face at the end just sealed it -- it was awful.


I actually think this isn't for her...as good as her voice is (I really believe it might be the best in idol history), I think her heart and soul just aren't in it. She knows she was born with a voice God gives about once in a generation, but that doesn't mean she has to like it.

Until she figures out why she wants to sing and someone to sing it for, she will never go anywhere. And last night proves even the best can be downright awful.

Mike V. said...

Hi guys, sorry just getting to your comments now!

@Leslie - Oh yeah I really gushed over KC 2 weeks ago as expected. But she was phenomenal as a judge and performer. She really made the most of her last time on the Idol stage. I'm sad she won't be there for the finale. Yeah...we were all in tears in our house and every house tuned in across the country as well!

I thought Olivia would go further for sure. Though, that voice of hers was a little bizarre in hindsight! I like Dalton as well, but agree his voice doesn't match up to the competition. Agreed on his performance this past week. I think he'll get a scare. Agree on everything else as well!

@Anonymous - thanks for the props. I'm not going to disagree with you on Sonika. Any time anyone picks a KC song, I already get a pessimistic view on what's about to happen. She is by far the best Idol (in my opinion) and her voice and attitude she brings to every note is so unique that if you sing a carbon copy of the song you're going to be compared against the original. I do agree Sonika has a really good voice. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say the best ever, but it is pretty awesome. She needs to grow a lot in the competition to fight against the other talent and she appears to have run out of time.

Anonymous said...

Jennifer Lopez sucks, maybe if she wasn't on American Idol the sbow would have better ratings and could continue on.