Faced with the songs of Lennon and McCartney, front-runners stumble and underdogs shine on a night filled with unpredictability, shuffling the leaderboard.
The rundown:
Syesha, "Got to Get You Into My Life" -- There are some minor pitch problems early on, but Syesha's bigger problem is one of communication. Her eyes are closed throughout, which means that no personality comes through and there's no sharing with the audience. It makes her a very opaque performer, and it's difficult to connect with or enjoy her singing.
Chikezie, "She's a Woman" -- The love-it/hate-it performance of the night, a loopy mix of bluegrass, rock, and R&B. Chikezie takes total command of the stage, delivering a high energy performance that's technically top-notch. I could have done without those odd stuttering bits in the chorus, but the bluegrass intro was fabulous, and I enjoyed this one a lot.
Ramiele, "In My Life" -- Every breath Ramiele takes is audible, and she takes a lot of them -- most of them in places where there's absolutely no musical or grammatical justification for them ("There are places I'll [gasp] remember..."). It's a pretty enough performance otherwise, but it's instantly forgettable. If she survives to next week, Ramiele desperately needs to do something light and fun.
Jason, "If I Fell" -- The judges seem to be getting a little tired of Jason's sensitive coffeehouse vibe, but it's still working for me. I thought the song choice was perfect, and the performance beautiful, with a few moments -- the break into falsetto on the word "pain," for instance -- that gave me goosebumps.
Carly, "Come Together" -- Technically, it's a superb performance. It's very polished and confident, and she's extremely comfortable on the stage. I can't say, though, that there were any moments that really grabbed me; nothing made me say "wow."
David C, "Eleanor Rigby" -- It's certainly not the revelation that his "Hello" was last week, and I don't know that the world needed a moody rock version of the song, but if we did, this will do, I suppose. There are some pitch problems, and he's shouting a bit in spots, but it's not horrible.
Brooke, "Let It Be" -- Lovely. Brooke is completely connected to the emotion of the song, and that comes through to us with perfect clarity. One of the high spots of the season so far.
David H, "I Saw Her Standing There" -- Randy nails the problem: The song is far too simple to withstand all of the ruffles and flourishes that David is piling on it. Not only that, but he doesn't look comfortable on stage. An awkward performance on all fronts.
Amanda, "You Can't Do That" -- The arrangement works surprisingly well, and the aggression of the song is ideal for Amanda. She still can't enunciate, and her voice is still an ugly rasp, but this is as good a performance as we could have hoped for from Amanda.
Michael, "Across the Universe" -- There's nothing wrong with this, I guess, but it's dull and not remotely memorable. Michael needs to find his charisma fast if he wants to survive more than another week or two.
Kristy, "Eight Days a Week" -- The judges hated it; I thought it was absolutely charming. We saw more energy, more life, more spark from Kristy than we've ever seen, and the performance was great fun.
David A, "We Can Work It Out" -- The low notes at the beginning are inaudible, but that's the least of David's worries. He clearly hasn't learned the song, forgetting the lyrics in several spots. It's an embarassing performance.
For the night: Brooke, Jason, Chikezie, Kristy, Carly, Amanda, David C, Michael, David H, Syesha, Ramiele, David A.
For the season: Brooke, Jason, Chikezie, Carly, David A, Kristy, David H, Michael, David C, Amanda, Syesha, Ramiele.
Deserving to go home: Syesha or Ramiele.
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