S18.E08: Hollywood Week - Solos

[MarkHB]

Quote

Hollywood Week wraps up with with solo performances. One contestant experiences an unprecedented medical emergency. Will one couple’s love survive the latest elimination?

 

[Annber03]

I always keep thinking they should soundproof those rooms they separate everyone into, 'cause if I were sitting in one and heard people cheering and yelling in another, I'd be like, "...yeah. Yeah, that's great for you guys :/."

But, again, luckily, it looks like some of the better contestants are going through again, which, yay. 

The whole thing of people doing their original songs is interesting. On the one hand, it's a good way to gauge what kind of genres they're particularly strong in, and it's a nice showcase of their talents, obviously.

But on the other hand, so many are doing original songs, and I feel like for some of them, it doesn't quite work as well. Like they think they're at a more professional level than they really are, or something, if that makes sense? I think original songwriting is like anything else in this competition, some people are more ready and experienced with it, and some aren't. 

(I also keep thinking about all the people from the earliest seasons of this show watching everyone playing instruments and doing original songs and being like, "Lucky! Wish we could've had that!")

[sempervivum]

Why do I totally believe Margie is very much in love with Jonny, but him not so much?

I flat out don't believe that Lauren Spencer-Smith never heard The Joke before.

I think that Nick Merico deliberately screwed up Heaven. That whole thing looked fake as hell to me. I think they told him they'd let him back in this season, but only if he helped with their evil schemes 😈 (Idol just isn't Idol without conspiracy theories)

Again, some excellent performances: Just Sam, Arthur, Louis, Lauren M., Jovin, Genevieve, Dillon and Kimmy were really good. MIA: Francisco, Amber.

[LennieBriscoe]

I'm predicting a high school girl wins this season.

I haven't heard anything outstanding among the guys. Good, even very good, but star? Meh. 

[Tosia]

I think many do their own original songs because they're hoping for a YouTube following when Idol doesn't pan out.

When,  not if. Heh.

High Hopes.

Or just..... high.  (I live in Colorado and they were going to close the pot shops and liquor stores yesterday,  but rescinded that order cuz, duh, dude.)

Is it me or does glittery eyeshadow Cyniah seem a little too self-assured,  i.e., entitled.  Her voice is strong,  but not pleasant to me. 

Love JustSam cuz she surprises me by bringing wonderful uniqueness to her performances.  

Love Cowboy Dillon. He's purty. 

Love the ultra curly hair on several of the ladies too.. 

Not so much the yellow or multi-dyed colors.....too much. The pink hair on that one girl is nice,  but she ain't going anywhere up the ladder,  cuz we haven't seen her sing,  have we? 

I don't get British guy's tragic appeal cuz he's not that good a singer,  but he's a cute boy band type. 

Love the Nepalese guy, Arthur Gunn, because his sound is so compelling ...I cd watch him sing the phone book, as they say. His voice gives off a very masculine vibe to me, too. So appealing. He seems so nice.  Maybe I'm in love!   But I won't yell it out ever single second like Margie Mays.

I think we'll see more of Mays.  Sigh.  She gets tiresome.  Is Johnny West going for a Leonard Hofstadter look or young Josh Brolin? I liked his audition alot. 

Pretty nurse country singer with lots of eye makeup does sing well. Her relationship with older Nashville boyfriend... who apparently is somebody...creeps me out though. 

That's all that comes to mind now.  Looking forward to Hawaii as  my vicarious vacation this year.  

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Tosia

[thesupremediva1]

I really love a lot of these people. How sad that we might never get to live shows...

Just Sam is officially my pony for the season. I love everything she sings, I love her tone, she emotes through the roof... she's just special. If she can sing like that while sick, then I give her all the props. 

Jovin Webb is another favorite. No one sounds like him. He doesn't have to put on a big act or do big crazy runs and look like a sad puppy when he sings. He can pretty much pull off anything and his voice alone elevates a song. He deserves top 5.

Makayla is lovely and has potentially the best voice in the competition. She's a combo of Ariana Grande and Aguilera. I think she needs to work on picking songs that allow her to emote authentically.

Cyniah is amazing - totally a young Whitney. However, there's something a bit off there. I don't know if it's entitlement, a facade for cameras, or what, but there's an attitude that comes off as disingenuous. There's a diva thing there that I'm not sure America will find palatable, even if her talent warrants it. 

Cowboy Dillon is great. Not sure he'll go terribly far, but I enjoy watching and listening to him and he has an inspiring story. Rooting for his success.

Arthur Gunn has the same voice as Phil Squared. Closed my eyes last night and finally pinpointed it. I loved Phil Phillips, so I'm not surprised that I also love Arthur. 

British Philly Pizza Boy is adorable and belongs in a boy band. They'll put him through to the top 10 for eye candy, because the hot brunette guy who skated through on the bad solo round has no more strikes left. 

Sophia Wackerman finally got my attention tonight. So much power and control. Somewhere is no easy feat. She could be a game-changer if she builds on that performance. 

There are some people I just don't get, like Kimmie and that country girl with the old, well-connected fiancee who doesn't even NEED to be on this show. 

[Ladyrain]

So many really good singers this season.   I hope they can keep it up.   And I hope the season can carry on when it goes live, all things considered in these times.

I too love JustSam.   But all those tattoos are troubling/distracting/something.   I doubt there's any way to remove them (there are so many) or that she would even ever want to.   But when she wore an outfit with a high color that covered them up, I found myself concentrating so much more on her and her voice, instead of the tats.   Just an opinion.   Sam herself seems like such a sweet person and has endured so much in her young life.   No matter how Idol plays out for her, I hope she finds success in the music business and is well taken care of.   She deserves good things to happen for her.

[proserpina65]

Okay, so here are my thoughts, starting with the performers I liked.

My favorite was Lauren Macitti.  She reminded me of a young Roseanne Cash vocally, and her song was really good.  Why she isn't playing clubs in Nashville where producers, artists and songwriters could hear her is beyond me.  Although maybe she has been without any luck - I never watch until Hollywood week so I don't know her backstory.

Second favorite was Lauren Spencer-Smith.  She has range, power and control, the third of which is the most important to me.  Clearly she can hit powerful high notes, but knows when not to, and she has a lovely lower register.

I really liked Franklin.  His voice has an unusual but lovely tone, and he isn't all high notes and frills.

I liked Dillon a lot.  His original song was quite good and his voice is really nice, too.

I also liked Louis.  Yeah, he probably would fit better in a boy band, but his voice has a really lovely tone to it.  Plus, I liked his song choice a lot better than most of the singers' choices.  Gotta check out that song.

There were a few singers who didn't impress me as much here as before, mostly due to bad song choice: Sophia Wackerman, her roommate Sara, Kat and Just Sam (who needs to stop using the pretentious name).  And I don't get the judges adulation for Fernando; his voice is pleasant but nothing special.

There were some people who got through whom I would sent home: Jimmie (? Margie's boyfriend), Robert, girl in jumpsuit who couldn't remember the name of her original song.  And a couple of shrieking divas whose names I don't know.

But I'm not hating the selection for next week.

Edited to add: another commenter's post reminded me that I also liked Jovin's performance.  I enjoy nuance in a singer.

Edited March 24, 2020 by proserpina65

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I flat out don't believe that Lauren Spencer-Smith never heard The Joke before.

It was a really well-done performance, so yeah, I'm suspicious as well.

4 hours ago, Tosia said:

Is it me or does glittery eyeshadow Cyniah seem a little too self-assured,  i.e., entitled.  Her voice is strong,  but not pleasant to me. 

She does seem to think very highly of herself.  She's one of the shrieking divas for whom I did not care.  I'm not fond of big, diva voices with no nuance to them.  Who was the girl with the feather-trimmed top who did a Lizzo song not as well as she thought?  Mikayla, maybe?  Yeah, she's another one.

4 hours ago, Tosia said:

Love the Nepalese guy, Arthur Gunn, because his sound is so compelling

He has an interesting voice, but I haven't heard enough of him to be sure.  Still, like to hear more.

1 hour ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Cyniah is amazing - totally a young Whitney.

I have never been a fan of Whitney Houston, so this is not a plus for me.  Cyniah has a strong voice but hasn't demonstrated much control.  Whitney was at least capable of nuance, even if she stopped using it much.

1 hour ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Jovin Webb is another favorite. No one sounds like him. He doesn't have to put on a big act or do big crazy runs and look like a sad puppy when he sings. He can pretty much pull off anything and his voice alone elevates a song. He deserves top 5.

He is definitely a strong contender for me, but the judges love runs so with my luck he won't make the live shows (whenever they happen).  Which would be a real shame.

 

[Tosia]

20 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Okay, so here are my thoughts, starting with the performers I liked.

My favorite was Lauren Macitti.  She reminded me of a young Roseanne Cash vocally, and her song was really good.  Why she isn't playing clubs in Nashville where producers, artists and songwriters could hear her is beyond me.  Although maybe she has been without any luck - I never watch until Hollywood week so I don't know her backstory.

Second favorite was Lauren Spencer-Smith.  She has range, power and control, the third of which is the most important to me.  Clearly she can hit powerful high notes, but knows when not to, and she has a lovely lower register.

I really liked Franklin.  His voice has an unusual but lovely tone, and he isn't all high notes and frills.

I liked Dillon a lot.  His original song was quite good and his voice is really nice, too.

I also liked Louis.  Yeah, he probably would fit better in a boy band, but his voice has a really lovely tone to it.  Plus, I liked his song choice a lot better than most of the singers' choices.  Gotta check out that song.

There were a few singers who didn't impress me as much here as before, mostly due to bad song choice: Sophia Wackerman, her roommate Sara, Kat and Just Sam (who needs to stop using the pretentious name).  And I don't get the judges adulation for Fernando; his voice is pleasant but nothing special.

There were some people who got through whom I would sent home: Jimmie (? Margie's boyfriend), Robert, girl in jumpsuit who couldn't remember the name of her original song.  And a couple of shrieking divas whose names I don't know.

But I'm not hating the selection for next week.

Edited to add: another commenter's post reminded me that I also liked Jovin's performance.  I enjoy nuance in a singer.

Hi, I'm reading The Hazel Wood now. Is that where you got your post name?

[proserpina65]

8 minutes ago, Tosia said:

Hi, I'm reading The Hazel Wood now. Is that where you got your post name?

No, I'm just a fan of Greek mythology.  And of the very hot actor who played Hades, god of the Underworld on Xenia, Warrior Princess.  But I just googled the book - it sounds very interesting, I'm going to have to check it out.

[Tosia]

It's young adult lit I think. Very contemporary references. But I love fairy tales and mythology so I'm a sucker for  it all.

I do highly recommend Nikita Gill's book: Fairy Tales is awesome!  

Another book of hers is Goddesses--which are more obscure for me but you probably would understand it better.  Kind of poetry/short prose writing. Easy to read.

I met a student who's actual name was Ariadne.  Beautiful.

I love Idol for the singing and the drama, plus my sister and I text about it during the show. It's a great way to connect long distance.

 

 

[sempervivum]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

She reminded me of a young Roseanne Cash vocally, and her song was really good.  Why she isn't playing clubs in Nashville where producers, artists and songwriters could hear her is beyond me

Er, here's her 'events ' page from last year: Lauren Performs  She's also apparently recorded 9 albums in the last 12 years or so. And her fiancé, who's 53 🤮 and pretty famous, just might have helped her along the way.  I think it probably says something about how competitive it is for women in country right now that she still felt she needed Idol to get more eyes/ears.

3 hours ago, Ladyrain said:

I too love JustSam.   But all those tattoos are troubling/distracting/something. 

Her neck tattoos look like scars left after something clawed the hell out of her, which is definitely disturbing, imo. 

3 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Arthur Gunn has the same voice as Phil Squared. Closed my eyes last night and finally pinpointed it. I loved Phil Phillips, so I'm not surprised that I also love Arthur. 

Ugh, don't say that. I like Arthur and despised PP, who I thought was usually off key, had no range and performed like he really needed to get to the bathroom as soon as he was done singing.

[proserpina65]

39 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

Er, here's her 'events ' page from last year: Lauren Performs  She's also apparently recorded 9 albums in the last 12 years or so. And her fiancé, who's 53 🤮 and pretty famous, just might have helped her along the way.  I think it probably says something about how competitive it is for women in country right now that she still felt she needed Idol to get more eyes/ears.

Okaaay, I did not know that.  Well, I still like her voice.  And it's not like songs by female artists get played on country radio much, so I can understand wanting more exposure.  (I'm not going to judge the age difference - it's more than I would go for myself, but I've known people with almost that many years between them who've had long, good relationships.)

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by proserpina65

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Arthur Gunn has the same voice as Phil Squared. Closed my eyes last night and finally pinpointed it. I loved Phil Phillips, so I'm not surprised that I also love Arthur. 

For me, his voice is a mix of Paolo Nutini and Ray LaMontagne. Which is good, 'cause I like songs by both those guys. 

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

For me, his voice is a mix of Paolo Nutini and Ray LaMontagne. Which is good, 'cause I like songs by both those guys. 

He gives me Ray LaMontagne vibes too which is why I was into him instantly. I don't know that other singer and will have to look him up now.

[LoveLeigh]

A nice show but how can they ever start the competition with "social distancing" in place and all that is going on? I think this season will have to finish up at a later date. 

[suebee12]

Several thoughts after the last show. Who would guess that someone named Laine Hardy won last year? Just watching this year's shows, one would think Alejandro Aranda was the winner(and I never liked him). The other thing that struck me a bit on the humorous side is all the talk about singing their own music...I am so far out of the new music it all seems the same to me. I have heard of some of the newer singers but don't know their music at all...OK, I am old but I am not impressed by most of the newer singers that I have heard when listening to what my granddaughter listens to.

I'm actually not sure why I am watching this year....I turned off last year. Will make it through the top twenty and I figure I will tune out again. Time will tell!

[proserpina65]

21 hours ago, Annber03 said:

For me, his voice is a mix of Paolo Nutini and Ray LaMontagne. Which is good, 'cause I like songs by both those guys. 

I liked his voice but hated what he did to the arrangement of Have You Ever Seen The Rain.  Some songs don't need fixing, damn it.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I too struggled through all of the Alejandro slurpage....interesting that they didn't mention Laine by name once in the entire two hours.

Super convenient that the entire montaged group who sang the wrong song by doing originals according to the judges all found their way into the two yes rooms. Even the girl who blanked on the name of her original!

There's always a couple people that we never hear (literally) the entire competition who make it to the one no room and you are left wondering what they would've sounded like. For me that was the girl with big hat and the golden (Hayley Williams throwback) yellow hair. I thought for sure, we might get to see perform once during the Hollywood.

Also, does anyone know what round in Hollywood Layla Spring was cut in? They literally stop Dancing with the Stars to give her a golden ticket to Hollywood (and a second chance at that)...and we never saw her once. Way to throw your sister program under the bus there AI...

If was guessing (no spoilers so far), I'd say the Top 20 is going to include Jovin Webb, Dillon Casey, Robert Taylor, maybe that Jeb Vonderbruegge guy, Arthur from Nepal, Louis from the UK, Devon Alexander, Genevieve, Mickayla, Just Sam, Lauren the country girl, the girl that fainted, Cyniah the cocky one, Geena of the unique style (no lie, I was digging the purple glasses) and maybe Amber the redhead who gave her daughter up for adoption, and Francisco the guy they think is miles better than what he actually is. That's 16. I feel like Johnny of Johnny and Margie might sneak through, Sophia Wackerman, Demi something rather, Lauren the 16 year old from Canada, and Kamryn Leigh Smith (if she actually made it to Hawai'i and performed) might also be in the mix as well...seems like more of the females that we've gotten to know along the way are going to get cut unless they unbalance the Top 20.

Edited March 25, 2020 by PhD-Purgatory15

[marykat71702]

Every time I see Arthur I think of Jonny Depp.  Is that just me? <shrug>

[Blissfool]

The people in the "No" room must have known right away that they were being rejected. The guy who forgot the words to his song, tried to restart twice, and just gave up, was in that room. He was sitting right next to Margie Mays, who was making weird faces because I'm sure she knew what was up 

[GonnahearmeRoar]

Lol Johnny’s gf was basically distancing herself like I got to do me and worry about myself. She doesn’t have near the talent he has. He’s not going to like seeing that part of his sweetheart. Maybe he should follow in her lead. 

[GonnahearmeRoar]

That guy who didn’t return to finish out his season but returned to auditions is the best eye candy 🍭 He should be modeling. 

[DaphneCat]

On 3/24/2020 at 1:48 PM, proserpina65 said:

I have never been a fan of Whitney Houston, so this is not a plus for me.  Cyniah has a strong voice but hasn't demonstrated much control.  Whitney was at least capable of nuance, even if she stopped using it much.

When Whitney was good, she was terrific.  However, I will ALWAYS hate "And I Will Always Love You."  That song is all about wistful angst.  You do NOT scream your wistful angst.  You can scream your love, your joy, your pride, your pain and your anger.  (As an aside I loved "One Moment in Time" - the song they used for the Special Olympics.)  But for IWALY it was just so wrong I never liked it.  The REALLY bad part about that song, is that now, every time anyone on any singing competition, anywhere wants to show EMOTION, they do that song.  And they scream it.  Usually badly.  

 

On 3/24/2020 at 12:17 PM, Ladyrain said:

I too love JustSam.   But all those tattoos are troubling/distracting/something.   I doubt there's any way to remove them (there are so many) or that she would even ever want to.   But when she wore an outfit with a high color that covered them up, I found myself concentrating so much more on her and her voice, instead of the tats.   Just an opinion.   Sam herself seems like such a sweet person and has endured so much in her young life.   No matter how Idol plays out for her, I hope she finds success in the music business and is well taken care of.   She deserves good things to happen for her.

I feel the exact same way about her.  Every time she sings it's like I've forgotten how good she is.  But the tats - especially the eyes in them are REALLY distracting.

[MarkHB]

3 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

(As an aside I loved "One Moment in Time" - the song they used for the Special Olympics.)

I believe she actually did that first as a theme song for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

[DaphneCat]

4 hours ago, MarkHB said:

I believe she actually did that first as a theme song for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

I guess I didn't know that.  But that is one example of where her VERY loud singing is appropriate.