S14.E19: Top 12 Revealed

[viajero]

Yeah, James Brown was no feminist.  Rolling Stone in their "Top 500 songs of all time" list, famously referred to the song as "biblically chauvinistic", so I don't know why people think Harry just pulled that interpretation out of his ass.  

 

To make the song doubly ironic, there was a big ugly legal tussle if Brown wrote the song, or a lady (a girlfiend of his) named Betty Jean Newsome did and he stole the credit (and even if a woman DID write it that wouldn't stop it from being chauvinistic). 

 

Unless a woman sings it.  Then it can become almost like an ironic protest song.

Edited March 12, 2015 by viajero

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

 

Qaasim Middleton: How can you judge a contestant in a singing competition if they only sing the first 10 seconds or so and then just dance to the backup singers?

Daniel Seavey:  Just plain awful.  Not only did his upper register completely disappear in places, but he completely lost track of what the band was doing.

 

Qaasim hardly sang more than a few notes and showed no range during those scarce moments.  We need to hear him sing!

 

Daniel is a joke.  He reminds me of a little boy finding out he just got his first paper route and can go all by himself on his bike!  This is not Tiny Talent Time!  LOL

 

I think Rayvon is doing a Pharrell look with the hat. 

Edited March 12, 2015 by Foghorn Leghorn

[Sparkling Beth]

 

Also, am I the only one that thinks Nick looks like Steve Carell and Adam Levin got together and had a baby?

I can see that.  You want a really weird comparison?  I think Rayvon looks like a young Chevy Chase.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think it's because Clarke always looks out of breath and sweaty.  I understand he's singing really hard but I also understand why his face might make people uncomfortable.  He doesn't look comfortable himself.  I don't mind it so much though.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[JMarie99]

I really hope the people who like Quentin do start voting for him.  I too was shocked that he was a wild card, although relieved that the judges chose him over Adam, since they seem to like that oversung classic rock stuff.  Judging from this board, Quentin does seem to have a lot of fans, so I hope that translates into more votes for him so that he sticks around for awhile.  I thought his arrangement of "Royals" was hauntingly beautiful, and I attribute his pitch problems to him being so emotional.  I was crying right along with him at the end of his song.

 

I don't know what the deal is with Daniel.  He isn't even good enough for a middle school talent show, let alone high school.  Hard to believe he's 15.  The judges made a big mistake putting him through so early.   It must be the little kids and tweens who are voting for him (I don't think many older teenagers watch this show anymore) now that it's been determined that VFTW is no more.  His performance last night seemed particularly bad - "having fun-one" and squeaking through those falsettos.  I really hope he's goes home soon.

 

Qaasim should absolutely not have been allowed to do a performance like that.  Running around the stage and doing that stupid beat-box thing while BACKUP SINGERS ARE SINGING THE ACTUAL SONG!!  And the judges praise him for it!  This is not X-Factor or America's Got Talent.  The focus should still be on the singing.  The top prize is a recording contract.  If a contestant wants to dance like crazy and run around the stage as part of his performance, that's all to the good.  But IN PLACE OF THE ACTUALL SINGING?  Not so much!  Geez - now I'M getting hyper! 

[Mya Stone]

i've already made not one, but two mod notes about Joey's teeth being a forbidden subject. Y'all took it too far in the beginning. I don't care if it's a compliment, that you just "noticed" she whitened her teeth, that they're shiny, crooked, missing, I do NOT care. The post will be completely deleted. I'm copying and pasting my last note I made on the subject to remind you: 
 

I've already asked nicely to drop it about the color of Joey's teeth. I'm not going to ask nicely again. This is your last warning on the subject. I see it, you get a time out.

 

With that being said, this subject has NOTHING to do with calling a younger contestant an embryo, fetus, youngin', whatever. You want to call Daniel that, fine. It's not equatable.

Again, I will tell you guys - I let A LOT fly on this particular board that wouldn't hold up elsewhere. This is my line in the sand. You choose to cross it, YOU WILL GET A TIME OUT. It is on all of you to read the official posts. This is now the third on the subject. I don't like to be Draconian. Please be responsible posters and read what I write. K? K. 

[Guest]

I think Clark is good-looking, a little reminiscent of Philip.  I could see him being right up Big Machine's alley... A male Taylor Swift (but with a great voice).  

 

I don't mind Quentin but something in that serious stare he does after singing is a little unnerving to me.  I understand this means a lot to them but it's bordering on serial killer intensity.  

 

I suspect for every tween watching there is an army of grandmas and they're the ones voting for Daniel.  

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

I don't mind Quentin but something in that serious stare he does after singing is a little unnerving to me.  I understand this means a lot to them but it's bordering on serial killer intensity.

 

You put into words what I was subconsciously thinking!  I watched The Hunt for the I-5 Killer last night too then AI and when he stared at me I got the creeps...does he have to finish every song like that, hope that changes.  

[4leafclover]

I agree with those who think the win should come down to Clark or Tyanna.   The poster upthread who said Daniel sings like he has a mouthful of peanut butter nailed it.  Maddie is cute but when I see her I think someone picked her up by her feet and dipped her hair in a mat of red velvet cake batter. I wish Adam and Mark had made it--they were much better singers than some who made it through (Adanna, Qaasim, Daniel).  And I just don't get the love for Quentin--other than his Jimi Hendrix looks, he doesn't bring a lot to the table--just IMO, of course.  

[Sparkling Beth]

Maddie is cute but when I see her I think someone picked her up by her feet and dipped her hair in a mat of red velvet cake batter.

You're less morbid than I am.  All I can see is hair dipped in blood.  Freaks me out.  I have mental images of Maddie leaning over the corpses of the singers who stood in her way.  (Not accusing her of anything--just saying what pops into my head when I see those scarlet tips.)

[limecoke]

The judges put Daniel in the top 24 and they had to know that a good part of America would be enchanted by this wee guy and keep him in the process longer than he deserved.  So OWN it, judges!  Don't winge about "better singers going home" when you create the "monster."  This happens nearly every year and it drives me nuts.

 

Congratulations, American Idol, you have now made "The Voice" the premiere TV singing competition in the US, with this rubbish you are churning out.  There is so much wrong with this new format and it showed in all it's glory last night.  This is no longer "must see" for me and, frankly, there are only one or two of these singers that are worth watching. I'm tired of the 15 year olds (Daniel), the quirky odd balls who can't pronounce words (Joey), the hyper-frantic glory hogs (Quassim), and the screeching belters (too numerous to name).  

 

And please, for the love, WHAT was Jennifer wearing????

Edited March 12, 2015 by limecoke

[Jynnan tonnix]

I can see that.  You want a really weird comparison?  I think Rayvon looks like a young Chevy Chase.

I can see that as well...though I was thinking during the "nooooote" that he totally has Tiger Woods teeth.

[Guest]

I can see that as well...though I was thinking during the "nooooote" that he totally has Tiger Woods teeth.

I see the Chevy Chase thing, too.  Whenever Rayvon sings I still recall Harry gushing about his gorgeousness in auditions.  So funny.  

[Prairie Fire]

I could see Qaasim messing with us down the road by starting off at the piano for a few bars, then all of a sudden the band kicks in and he goes back to his usual hyper-kinetic mode: "Just kidding, guys!"

 

It'll be nice when this thing goes to 2 hours. Maybe we'll get group sings, behind-the-scenes footage, clips of Daniel and Nick walking into Starbucks and being asked "And what will you and your dad have?" And a little more space for the performances too.

[Sparkling Beth]

This is somewhat off-topic for the thread, but since we're talking about resemblances, could I ask if anyone has a suggestion as to whom Michael Simeon looked like?  It drove me crazy when he was on.  I kept almost getting it and then it would slip away before I could grasp it.  I had a couple of possibilities (the love child of Matt Damon and Randy Travis, perhaps?) but none that gave me that "A-ha!" moment. 

 

 

[rereader2]

Have I said I hate the way that the Idols are announced as safe and then have to sing? Because I do.

 

...

 

Joey – I love this chick. She's not going to win, but she's sorely underappreciated. Great voice, potentially the clearest and most distinctive tone out of the girls.

 

I could not put either of these thoughts any better. ITA!

[rereader2]

One of Harry's goofs this season that wasn't open to interpretation was when Daniel sang the line, "I'll be loving you until we're seventy", thinking it was sevenTEEN.  Or maybe he was asking JLo if Daniel would be 70 in two years.  

 

I love that Sheeran song enormously, but it's impossible to sing that line so that it doesn't sound like "seventeen," no matter how carefully the singer articulates the word. When you say "seventeen" you stress the last syllable, and when you say "seventy" you stress the first, and that melody forces the singer to stress the last syllable. That's just lazy lyric writing.

I thought that incident was about Harry joking if the songwriter meant to divorce his wife when she was 71. But maybe we're thinking of separate incidents.

 

That's how I remember it. (But it's still lazy lyric-writing!)

Edited March 12, 2015 by rereader2

[Ohwell]

but that is a peeve for me a la JENA not Jenna HONDS OPP! from last season.

Oh, such good times we had with Jena not Jenna!  HONDS OPP!

 

On a shallow note, Qassim is not easy on the eyes.  Not at all.

 

Harry is still a dick.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Most of you have said anything and everything I would want to say but I'll throw in a few comments ...

 

I actually follow Qaasim on Twitter (don't judge) and he had posted beforehand that he had strep throat, so that may explain why he was light on the lyrics. Or it might not, but it's something to consider (apparently it's been going around ... I think Savion had the flu on the night he was eliminated). 

 

I keep forgetting Nick is there. 

 

I am more and more entranced, for lack of a better word, with Quentin every week. I'm hoping that he has one of those "arcs" where the longer he lasts the bigger a fanbase he develops (I think that happened with Joshua Ledet).

 

I still can't stand Jax and barely tolerate Daniel and think, like I did from the first time I saw them both during Hollywood week, that they will be the final two.

 

I still hold out hope that Tyanna will win the whole thing ...

 

And finally I still really enjoy Joey ... though I wish she'd done Moxy Fruvous' "King of Spain" instead of Tallest Man in the World (and how are there two different songs called "King of Spain"?) ... and while it is more than possible that indeed her quirky twangy pronunciation is affected, I'll add this:  We lived in her hometown for five years and my daughter attended pre-school there (for all I know, she may have overlapped with Joey, LOL -- they're a year apart in age). And a LOT of the folks there just have a strange accent ... kind of southern crossed with West Virginia crossed with some other stuff and part of the reason we moved (kidding, sort of) was when our daughter picked up a very similar accent at age 3 or 4. It's not quite southern but it's really twangy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RemoteControlFreak]

Where is Simon Cowell when you need him?

 

To quote SC, This is a singing competition!

 

If you can't sing or can't sing on key, you should not be doing well in this competition.

 

Other than Tyanna, Rayvon and Cark, I didn't hear a single performance that would even get the judges on The Voice turning their chairs.

 

The performances were so over-produced with back-up singers, a band, and a back up singing track, that people like Qassim, who barely sang a note, are in the top 12 of the competition.

 

Most of the performers were off-key and they got away with it.

 

The judges are so milquetoast that they rarely give any kind of criticism, and when they do it's sandwiched between, "but you are incredibly talented" and "you definitely deserve to be here," and the all-time favorite, "I love you."

 

Most of America tweenhood who votes doesn't have a clue who is a good or bad singer, so they end up voting for Daniel because he's cute or Jax because she has a one-word name and a tattoo on her face.

 

If American Idol is going to survive, it has to kill the home voting and have the judges give actual criticism and make the actual decisions, as is done in most every other popular competitive reality show from The Voice to Top Chef.  

Edited March 13, 2015 by remotecontrolfreak

[JMarie99]

But the judges LOOOOOVE Jax and Daniel.  They've been pimping them from the beginning.  So I don't see how that would improve the results.

[RemoteControlFreak]

 

But the judges LOOOOOVE Jax and Daniel.  They've been pimping them from the beginning.  So I don't see how that would improve the results.

Obviously, a show in which the judges actually judge rather than just say, "I'm so excited for you!"  and "Im happy you're here" would require either different judges who actually know what to listen for and are willing to give actual criticism, or producers who are willing to let the existing judges say more than, "I love you."

 

The show would also be aimed at a different audience. Instead of tween girls who watch so they can vote for the cute boy, it will be aimed at adults who watch so they can see good singing talent. Catering to the 18-34 crowd should also help get sponsors who want a show watched by people who actually have their own money to spend.  There's a reason why Coca-Cola bailed on Idol.

 

An expert judging panel that holds all the power is a proven formula in reality TV.

Edited March 12, 2015 by remotecontrolfreak

[Sentient Meat]

Most of the long posters said what needed to be said about the singing...

 

Some good recaps.

 

I just wanted to add that if you are going to make contestants go through the charade of "any of you five can win the last save"... maybe try not to have all the girls sit on one side of the stage... all the men can sit on the other, and have one open chair next to the girls.

[Prairie Fire]

Obviously, a show in which the judges actually judge rather than just say, "I'm so excited for you!"  and "Im happy you're here" would require either different judges who actually know what to listen for and are willing to give actual criticism, or producers who are willing to let the existing judges say more than, "I love you."

 

I think Harry and Keith are capable of this. It's really more about the producers deciding whether they want their show to be an honest-criticism zone or a no-honest-criticism zone. I may not be one of them, but it sounds like there are a lot of viewers out there who want shows like this to be all safe and nurturing (those would be the ones who complained about Cowell). Apparently, those are the marching orders the current producers have given the judges, and JLo seems to be playing the "cheerleader" role most willingly (in exchange for the minimum 40 JLo reaction shots per episode).

 

I wonder if the producers' plan is to reduce the upper age limit a lot - like to 17 - and the lower limit to something like 12. Daniel Seavey may be their test case. They might concede the grown-up singers to The Voice.

[Kromm]

The judges are so miiquetoast that they rarely give any kind of criticism, and when they do it's sandwiched between, "but you are incredibly talented" and "you definitely deserve to be here," and the all-time favorite, "I love you."

 

Most of America tweenhood who votes doesn't have a clue who is a good or bad singer, so they end up voting for Daniel because he's cute or Jax because she has a one-word name and a tattoo on her face.

Yeah, but it could have been SO much worse if Loren had also gotten through too, with her faux-diva super-oversinging (which Adanna has too, but Loren had it 200% worse). So I'm trying to count our blessings.  Jax at least actually can control her voice, even if its pretentious.  Daniel?  Well again, I've been hoping that even with Votefortheworst gone, it's somehow some kind of joke/protest vote.  Somehow. 

[auntlada]

An expert judging panel that holds all the power is a proven formula in reality TV.

 

Whereas those shows that have audiences vote for their favorites never last more than one or two seasons?

[RemoteControlFreak]

Whereas those shows that have audiences vote for their favorites never last more than one or two seasons?

I can only think of one of those shows currently on TV and it's struggling to survive.

Edited March 13, 2015 by remotecontrolfreak

[RemoteControlFreak]

Now i'm only waiting for Rayvon to stop wearing that hat. I really dislike for someone to wear a hat 24/7 (here's looking at you Gavin DeGraw). Makes me think there's (lack of) hair issues he's trying to hide.

  

Yup.

 

Edited March 13, 2015 by remotecontrolfreak

[auntlada]

I can only think of one of those shows currently on TV and it's struggling to survive.

 

I wouldn't characterize Idol as "struggling to survive." And it's in what season? Then there's Dancing With the Stars, America's Got Talent, The Voice (which I think has audience voting at some point -- I don't watch it much and never have understood the whole battling thing; that's where the show lost me) and So You Think You Can Dance, which I would say does struggle for ratings, but as I understand still has been renewed for this year, so it's apparently got good enough ratings for summer anyway.

[Sentient Meat]

Jax is actually a talented singer, and if reigned in a little bit with a brilliant producer that could help her rethink some of her odd artistic decisions, could really make a splash in the industry.

 

I think she suffers from being on a show like this because her personality is kind of vacuous and it detracts from her natural craft which is quite lovely.

 

If she had just showed up out of a nowhere with a polished album and a publicist that didn't allow her to do interviews, I think she would have made quite a splash.  This is one case where being sold to the public as a mystery would have played to her advantage.

[4leafclover]

That little "x" on her upper cheekbone reminds me of Charlie Manson.  

[Kromm]

Jax is actually a talented singer, and if reigned in a little bit with a brilliant producer that could help her rethink some of her odd artistic decisions, could really make a splash in the industry.

 

I think she suffers from being on a show like this because her personality is kind of vacuous and it detracts from her natural craft which is quite lovely.

 

If she had just showed up out of a nowhere with a polished album and a publicist that didn't allow her to do interviews, I think she would have made quite a splash.  This is one case where being sold to the public as a mystery would have played to her advantage.

Jax just plain doesn't bother me much.  I've seen so many people who are MUCH more pretentious--she has affectations, it's true, but they almost seem like signs of innocence to me rather than being manipulative, because they're these "arty" signposts that are so cliched it's like she doesn't really know any better.

 

Really Joey is far more pretentious if you think about it.  But she's not young and pretty, so I think she nabs the "quirky harmless" label quicker than a pretty girl (who a lotta folks LOVE to hate on).  Not that I'm attacking Joey in trade for Jax.  Like Jax, Joey is actually a good craftswoman.  It's just that her bag of arty quirks is even bigger than Jax's.

 

To me, the people where I scream "POSEUR!" at the screen are the ones where the quirks SUBSTITUTE for talent instead of SUPPLEMENTING them. It's the Emperor Has No Clothes scenarios I hate.  For example all the fucking glowing praise of Loren for two episodes, simply because she affected the pose of a "Diva" and the judges propped that up, while all she actually did was scream and screetch and MISS all of those notes.  That's a poseur.  Vs. Jax and Joey, who had all kinds of laughable visual quirks and tones of voice that had little to do with their natural ways of speaking, but who actually reached any notes they tried to sing.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Kromm

[Sentient Meat]

Jax just plain doesn't bother me much.  I've seen so many people who are MUCH more pretentious--she has affectations, it's true, but they almost seem like signs of innocence to me rather than being manipulative, because they're these "arty" signposts that are so cliched it's like she doesn't really know any better.

 

Really Joey is far more pretentious if you think about it.  But she's not young and pretty, so I think she nabs the "quirky harmless" label quicker than a pretty girl (who a lotta folks LOVE to hate on).  Not that I'm attacking Joey in trade for Jax.  Like Jax, Joey is actually a good craftswoman.  It's just that her bag of arty quirks is even bigger than Jax's.

 

To me, the people where I scream "POSEUR!" at the screen are the ones where the quirks SUBSTITUTE for talent instead of SUPPLEMENTING them. It's the Emperor Has No Clothes scenarios I hate.  For example all the fucking glowing praise of Loren for two episodes, simply because she affected the pose of a "Diva" and the judges propped that up, while all she actually did was scream and screetch and MISS all of those notes.  That's a poseur.  Vs. Jax and Joey, who had all kinds of laughable visual quirks and tones of voice that had little to do with their natural ways of speaking, but who actually reached any notes they tried to sing.

 

Yeah, I also have your take on Jax... she's more of an airhead type than a phony calculated one.  Don't get me wrong, she does calculate... but it is in the naive way that one who grew up watching shows like this might calculate moves based on a naive meta-conception of what the music industry likes rather than simply conspiring a cynical way to make money or get famous.  Agree also that Joey is talented, although she'll need another gear to get much further in the show.

[Kromm]

Yeah, I also have your take on Jax... she's more of an airhead type than a phony calculated one.  Don't get me wrong, she does calculate... but it is in the naive way that one who grew up watching shows like this might calculate moves based on a naive meta-conception of what the music industry likes rather than simply conspiring a cynical way to make money or get famous.  Agree also that Joey is talented, although she'll need another gear to get much further in the show.

I don't think its even as calculated as a naive meta-conception of what the music industry likes. 

 

I think it's more like a naive meta-conception of what "being an artist" is.

 

She's not literally copying quirks from any single source, but I get the impression she's seen stuff that appealed to her as "arty" over her short span of years and has made her own melange of it. It comes off as pretentious to people and maybe they see it as an attempt at manipulation because a lot of it is so familiar in the back of our heads, and enough of it relies on her looks that this stirs things up (she's the "pretty" arty stereotype vs. Joey's less pretty arty stereotype).

 

To me, at least with Jax, it all seems kind of innocent.  There's no super-self-aware camera glomming in interviews, for example--she babbles instead.  Babblers aren't generally manipulators.

[Kromm]

Jax radio interview from early February:

 

https://youtu.be/qQQcmcGjcAA

https://youtu.be/0TtuEuv11LU

https://youtu.be/7S1x3ZTr7rQ

https://youtu.be/xPPeGHteK44

 

Like I said upthread.  It's babbling.  Which to me is oddly reassuring.  I like her a lot more for seeing these--she just comes off as an honest weirdo.  In the last clip she also says she was homeschooled.  Come on.  Doesn't that explain SO much?

[riley702]

Ha ha, it just might!

[Sentient Meat]

I don't think its even as calculated as a naive meta-conception of what the music industry likes. 

 

I think it's more like a naive meta-conception of what "being an artist" is.

 

She's not literally copying quirks from any single source, but I get the impression she's seen stuff that appealed to her as "arty" over her short span of years and has made her own melange of it. It comes off as pretentious to people and maybe they see it as an attempt at manipulation because a lot of it is so familiar in the back of our heads, and enough of it relies on her looks that this stirs things up (she's the "pretty" arty stereotype vs. Joey's less pretty arty stereotype).

 

To me, at least with Jax, it all seems kind of innocent.  There's no super-self-aware camera glomming in interviews, for example--she babbles instead.  Babblers aren't generally manipulators.

 

 

Yeah, I can get with that nuance.  She's like a hot Chauncey Gardner... or the 2.0 version of Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.  The awkward homeschool kid trying to cut and paste her way through a music competition.  But, like you said she can sing, so that's the main thing.

[susannot]

I liked Joey for her musical artistry.. She won't win, of course.  I liked Tyanna for her great voice, stage presence,and Janelle Monae androgyny.  She might win. I liked Nick for his Jersey boy Springsteen vibe and I really, really want him to sing me some Bruce.  We neeed a young Bruce.

Everyone else, IMO, meh or bad.

 

ETA:  I just loved Jax when she did her punked -out version of Bang Bang. Jax doing a Taylor Swift song-- not for me.

Edited March 13, 2015 by susannot

[Kromm]

Yeah, I can get with that nuance.  She's like a hot Chauncey Gardner... or the 2.0 version of Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.  The awkward homeschool kid trying to cut and paste her way through a music competition.  But, like you said she can sing, so that's the main thing.

Well she also not unaware of how she looks--although again I don't think it's overt manipulation as opposed to some weird arty-farty conceptions of how to "artistically" be a pop star (thanks Gaga for THAT part of her "cut and paste" job as you refer to it)

 

I mean this is on her YouTube channel:  https://youtu.be/1DaWYK8dBPM

 

As overtly sexy as what's on that video is, again I see a kind of cliche teenage (maybe homschooled weido) filter on this.  I mean forward to the outside shots of her in Manhattan starting around 3:10 in that.  It's this totally hilarious bag of cliches where she struts down the street, then stops and "accidentally" poses against one of those construction site walls, then her outfits magically change to other outfits, and she street struts and wall-leans some more. Lord I laughed hard watching it.  But again... harmless.  Totally harmless.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Kromm

[Sentient Meat]

Well she also not unaware of how she looks--although again I don't think it's overt manipulation as opposed to some weird arty-farty conceptions of how to "artistically" be a pop star (thanks Gaga for THAT part of her "cut and paste" job as you refer to it)

 

I mean this is on her YouTube channel:  https://youtu.be/1DaWYK8dBPM

 

As overtly sexy as what's on that video is, again I see a kind of cliche teenage (maybe homschooled weido) filter on this.  I mean forward to the outside shots of her in Manhattan starting around 3:10 in that.  It's this totally hilarious bag of cliches where she struts down the street, then stops and "accidentally" poses against one of those construction site walls, then her outfits magically change to other outfits, and she street struts and wall-leans some more. Lord I laughed hard watching it.  But again... harmless.  Totally harmless.

 

Yeah, that video is like a young Kristin Wiig parody of an aspiring pop artist. 

[Simon Boccanegra]

This year I did not have the heart or the stomach for the auditions and whatever else we call the interminable first couple months of AI, so last night was my first look at any of these people. 

 

My three best were all on the male side, Clark, Rayvon, and Quentin. Clark may have impressed me the most, because I don't think he was even singing a song that was "right" for him in fundamental ways (the visual was off, and the soulsy vocal mannerisms felt appliqued), but he still made it work. He is one to watch. Quentin gave a serious, big-kids-table performance. Rayvon has a stunningly gorgeous instrument.

 

Qaasim struck me as a born performer, and there was some daring in his decision to do something that abdicated so much of the actual singing to the back-ups. Yes, I did say "daring," rather than "laziness," because he could have gotten nailed for it. He had to provide energy and a kind of musicality that were like spices in the mix -- like what you would hear a real recording artist do toward the end of a song, but this was almost all "the end of a song."  It worked for me and I enjoyed him, but if he's doing that every single week (I don't know), it's too much of it and he's going to go fast. 

 

I don't know why the female contestants didn't make as much of an impression, good or bad. Sarina-Joi got things off to an awful start. I wasn't as taken with JAX as I apparently should have been. Likewise Tyanna (hate that song). 

 

Is Joey the same person as Lily Scott from season 9? Is Daniel an even more watered-down Aaron Kelly from same season?

 

This show is all right to have on while folding bath towels or something, but it would be an understatement to say the thrill is gone. The thrill is beyond gone. The thrill got a new job and moved far away, and you had a going-away party for the thrill, and the thrill promised to stay in touch, but at best you and the thrill wish each other happy birthday on Facebook. 

[peach]

This show is all right to have on while folding bath towels or something, but it would be an understatement to say the thrill is gone. The thrill is beyond gone. The thrill got a new job and moved far away, and you had a going-away party for the thrill, and the thrill promised to stay in touch, but at best you and the thrill wish each other happy birthday on Facebook. 

 

Ouch.  So, so true. 

 

And I actually was folding bath towels while watching it.

[peach]

double post

Edited March 13, 2015 by peach

[proserpina65]

I can only think of one of those shows currently on TV and it's struggling to survive.

In it's 14th season!  And still getting the kind of ratings that a lot of shows would kill for, if not the kind it used to get.

[Guest]

Is Joey the same person as Lily Scott from season 9? 

Joey reminded me of her, too.  But Lily had the advantage of the vocal affectation being somewhat fresh 5 years ago.  Now we see a couple girls with it on every season of every singing show.