Two songs apiece tonight, and none of our Idol wannabes is able to put together two really good performances. The differences between their good and their bad, though, are instructive as to the strengths and weaknesses of each, so let's consider each pair as a unit. The theme for round one is "the year I was born;" round two is "top ten of any current Billboard chart."
Elliott, "On Broadway"/"Home" -- When Elliott is nervous, as he is in the first round, his voice really suffers. His pitch wavers a bit, that ugly raspy growl sneaks in, and his vibrato goes even wider and wobblier than usual. But when he's relaxed, as he is in the second round, he sounds so much better; I still don't really like his singing, but I can understand why some might. "Home" is one of his best performances.
Paris, "Kiss"/"Be Without You" -- When they said "Kiss," I thought, "Hooray! Paris is going to sing something more youthful and appropriate to her age!" And then she started to sing, and it just didn't work. Paris's voice is so freakishly not that of a 17-year-old girl that she faces a nearly unsolvable dilemma when choosing songs: Either pick something that suits the sound of her voice, but that she doesn't have the emotional chops to pull off (as she did last week with "The Way We Were"); or pick something that suits her age, but will clash horribly with the maturity of her voice. The Mary J. Blige song in the second round went better, but it wasn't a performance I'll remember 30 minutes from now.
Chris, "Renegade"/"I Dare You" -- More than any of the other contestants, Chris knows his comfort zone, and both of these performances are solidly competent; he is the most consistent singer of the night. But as the judges note, his voice is starting to go; he's screaming near the end of both songs in a way he hasn't done before, and it's ugly to hear. There's also a painful falsetto note in the middle of "Renegade" that he should have avoided.
Katharine, "Against All Odds"/"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" -- Round one: Overwrought, melodramatic theatrics, as Katharine tries to force herself into standard diva mode. Round two: A more eccentric song choice, a more offbeat approach, and a far more interesting performance. I still think she's got the best pure voice in the competition, but it's going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to shoehorn her into the pop star mold. Katharine has to be quirky, because as a generic pop queen, she's boring as hell.
Taylor, "Play That Funky Music"/"Something" -- Points off for sneaking around the "sing something current" goal of round two by picking a Beatles song from the "Pop Catalog Albums" chart. Even more points off for not adequately learning the song. And the performance suffered for that lack of preparation; Taylor looked depressed and bored, and the song had no life at all. The first round, on the other hand, was busting with life, and walked right on the edge between goofball fun and insane disaster. For my money, it came down -- just barely -- on the fun side of the line, and it was the best thing we heard all night. But if you hated it, I can't say I'd blame you.
For the night: Chris, Paris, Taylor, Elliott, Katharine.
For the season: Paris, Chris, Katharine, Taylor, Elliott.
Needs to go home: We're at the point where there are no more genuinely awful singers who must be ousted in the name of decency; from here on in, it's a matter of personal taste. My taste says that Elliott needs to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment