S14.E20: Top 12 Perform

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 12 singers perform.

[Diana Berry]

"Jet" no words no words at all

So is Daniel or Quassim the new Sanjaya?

Sweet of Joey to do a shout out for Maddie. Hope she feels better.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Diana Berry

[riley702]

Oh, hell no! Daniel over Sarina-Joi? That is such bullshit.

[ShutUpFlanders]

The first live show this year. I can't wait for the Idolsphere's fickle complaints that 2 hours is bloated, since there were so many complaints that 1 hour was too fast for everything.

 

Rayvon – First time he's focused more on a performance than delivering a perfect vocal. And it worked out pretty well. Falsetto portions was a little iffy towards the end.

 

Maddie – It started out weird, then got a lot better as it went on. The first time I haven't felt completely alienated from her, like there's a barrier.

 

Joey – YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. She is my horse in this race. And she name dropped Postmodern Jukebox! My favorite performance this season. Shut up, JLo on the "melody." It's a rap song. Was she taking about the bass line in the song? What a dumb comment.

 

Clark – Called him Taylor Hicks-ish last night, and this solidifies it. Only he's pretty hot. When "Taking it to the Streets" is the most current song you've performed on the show, I've got a problem. I think the judges are giving him the wrong advice; it's not that he isn't pushing, it's that his repertoire is super dated and uninspiring.

 

JAX – Interesting tidbit about the 80s by Borchetta, because that's exactly what she brought tonight. Vocal was meh at best.  The judges were on point with the critique. It was just there… nothing notably different.

 

Qaasim – BGWGMV. Black guy with guitar minus voice. It's all been smoke and mirrors. Dude can't hold a note steady to save his life.

 

Adanna – Much better vocal; I think she's really a rock singer at heart and hasn't quite figured it out yet. She's really interesting and hopefully she sticks around for a bit to see that unfold.

 

Tyanna – Nailed it. I love this girl.

 

Daniel – It was meh. Nothing spectacular. It wasn't bad. It was likely his best performance as Harry said. It was better than Qaasim. I just don't like it. And I was pretty sure this meant Sarina was going home at this point.

 

Quentin – I wasn't too sure about this guy or impressed with him before the last couple of parts of Hollywood/House of Blues. He's become a very different character for Idol. I dig him. He and Adanna are the first two contestants worthy of the Wildcard in years.

 

Nick – It was kind of frantic. Hard to really concentrate on him after the bullshit boot of Sarina-Joi.

 

Sarina-Joi getting the boot at Top 12 has to be the worst and most disappointing result I've seen on this show in years. But her save me song wasn't so hot either (not that the save me songs matter)... Should've been either Daniel or Qaasim.

 

Top 4 – Joey, Tyanna, Quentin, Adanna
My Bottom 3 – JAX, Qaasim, Daniel
Most Likely to Go Home – JAX

[radiochik]

I can't even right now. Daniel and Maddie over Sarina Joi? Yeah, she was pretty bad last night but so was Daniel. And a few others. Unfortunately, the combo of a not so good save song and it being too early in the season means she's leaving us. I don't think I've ever lost one of my faves this early.

I swore they weren't going to end up sending anyone home tonite after Ryan said in the beginning that one of the contestants COULD be going home tonite.

I don't know what in the world Quassim did to Jet but it wasn't good. At all.

I hate when the judges critique each other's critiques. Harry didn't care for Quassim I think it was and JLo starts booing over him and saying he's wrong. Stop it. just stop it.

[designing1]

Now that I've heard Qaasim "sing", I'd like him to return to running around the stage ASAP.

 

I'm disappointed that Sarina Joi is gone. I missed her performance last night but just caught it on YouTube and it was indeed bad; tonight's wasn't much better. But I have to think back to her Mama Knows Best performance, and damn, she's good. Not sure what's going on with her the past two performances but there's clearly talent there, unlike Qaasim and  Daniel (who sings about as well as any other 15 year old with an interest in singing, no better, and probably worse than many).

Edited March 13, 2015 by designing1

[autumnh]

I've watched every season...I cannot get past the lit up chairs, super intense stage lighting and overall? the praise of clearly bad performances. 

 

I understand they are going for a more pop type winner (Did Caleb even release his album?...much like Candace and Lee Dewyze) but the continual praise of obviously bad performances got on my last nerve. I know some people will have differing opinions but come on...some were just bad. I am leaning more and more towards the voice just due to the quality of the singers.

[KR Vermont]

Sarina Joi's song wasn't worth the one save, but she should've outlasted the likes of Daniel and Qaasim if we're basing this on singing ability. What a weak top 11.

Joey came across as more composed in demeanor and dress, and her singing was clearer again this week. Good job.

Enjoyed Tyanna, she's such a natural performer, beyond her years. Though, she appeared almost listless there in the lounge during the show that I wondered if there was something wrong/ill with her too, but then she came alive once her name was called.

Had to laugh at Qaasim's mother not liking that Ryan knew she was fasting ("did Qaasim tell you that?") because, geesh, she had no problem telling the world her son's a virgin.

[areca]

Joey, Tyanna, Quentin, and Clark can stay. Everyone else can't leave fast enough.

[Packerbrewerbadger]

I really wanted to slap JLo when she started booing Harry, that is so rude. ( Can you imagine if someone dare do that to her??). And did we ever hear what Harry was trying to say?

Interesting editing on last night's recap, when all we heard Harry saying about Little Dan'l was that he was impressive, and clearly that was not the jest of his critique !!

Wish it had been Little Dan getting the boot tonight.........

[proserpina65]

Tonight's show established 3 things for me: some performances do sound very different live than they do on television, Qaasim Middleton can't sing, and sometimes America gets things very, very wrong.

 

No way should Sarina-Joi have gone home when Qaasim, Daniel, Maddie and Adanna are all still there.

 

 

Rayvon - The performance was boring as always, the vocals were weak and he sounded sort of out-of-breath.

 

Maddie - The vocals sounded okay, although nothing special, but the attitude was very unconvincing.

 

Joey - Let me preface this by saying I hate, hate, HATE that song.  And I loved, loved, LOVED that performance.  She took an awful song and turned it into something wonderful.  I could easily see that performance in some smoky jazz/blues club, and she seemed so much more comfortable on the stage.

 

Clark - Far from his best performance.  His voice sounded weak and thin, unlike his usual power.

 

Jax - She sounded hoarse rather than smoky, and that song was a very bad fit for her voice and style.

 

Qaasim - Ugh, that was dreadful.  He really isn't a singer.  His lower register, what little there is, kept bottoming out, and he was off-key for the entire song.  Keith, if the guitar helped him sing better, how horrible did he sound the last two times?  'Cause that was abysmal.

 

Adanna - That was her best performance, although that isn't necessarily saying much.  She was in better control tonight than she was last night or last week, but sounded a bit breathless in parts.  And she ain't no Tina Turner.

 

Tyanna - Maybe my opinion of this performance is colored by my dislike of Janelle Monae, but to me, that was Tyanna's worst performance.  She also sounded a bit hoarse - is there something going around? - and somewhat strident near the end of the song.  However, because we are talking Tyanna, it was still one of the better performances tonight, just not up to her usual excellent standards.

 

Daniel - Why is he still here?  Why????  Yes, he has some talent in there, but it's nowhere near fully formed, and he's just not ready yet.  That performance was just trying to hard.

 

Quentin - Thank god he made it!  I was starting to think that Qaasim had stolen all the weird black guy vote.  (And I mean "weird black guy" in a good way where Quentin's concerned.)  That was perhaps a little disappointing in that it was by far his most conventional performance, and did lack the emotional depth he usually brings, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

 

Nick - He really is the most fully formed artist in the competition.  I loved the more folky sound he went with tonight, especially at the beginning, and I really liked the direction he took the song in.  And man, does he look like his dad or what?  (At least, I assuming that was his dad in the audience.)

 

Sarina-Joi - Oh man, she so didn't deserve to be the one going home.  That performance, while not her best, was way better than last night.  All I can think is that a) people thought she was safe and voted for other contestants they thought were more vulnerable, and b) she and Adanna split the female R&B vote since they both sing similar styles, although Sarina-Joi was the superior singer by far.  But I don't blame the judges for not using the save this early.

 

And finally, while there's still something Qaasim's face that bugs me, I can't fault the way he offered encouragement to all of his competitors, so I'll give him that.  Although if I never see Mama Middleton on my tv again, that'd make me a lot happier.

 

Best of the night, by far: Joey

Second best: Nick followed very closely by Quentin

 

Should go home: Daniel or Qaasim

Probably will go home: Quentin or Adanna

 

So is Daniel or Quentin the new Sanjaya?

Daniel, probably.  Quentin, hell no.  Qaasim?  YES

 

[mquincy]

 

Jax - She sounded hoarse rather than smoky

Tyanna - also sounded a bit hoarse - is there something going around?

 

I wouldn't be surprised. They said Maddie was sick during the show and I know Jax had the flu and an ear infection for most of the previous week. She did a YouNow video while they were keeping her quarantined from the rest of the contestants, and at Monday's rehearsal she had to wear a face mask (although it seems the germs spread anyway) 

[RemoteControlFreak]

Tonight's show established 3 things for me: some performances do sound very different live than they do on television, 

How do you know that? Is it just because JLo said it's so?

[Shades of Red]

Getting the shallow out of the way first - really like Jennifer's outfit tonight.  I like Keith and Harry being casual - see Ryan, you too could go more casual.  Wasn't much on his suit with tie outfit tonight, I really preferred him in his jeans.

 

So how much time really passed between last night's taping of the show and tonight?  Anyone know when last night's was actually taped?  The contestants sounded much too polished for it to only be a day or two.

 

Sorry for Maddie and not sure what her issue is, but I can't be the only person who heard something rude as she was breaking the word "country" apart.  Maybe I just have a dirty mind but it took me out of the moment with her as I cringed every time she said the word.

 

Tyanna is a natural.  I have no idea what the song was she was performing, but she's very comfortable on stage which I like.  I like Clark even though I've never been a fan of the song he sang.

 

Have to say I really liked Quentin and his performance.  I adore the song and like what he did with it.  He also has a great smile!  The only thing I could have wished for was having him perform sooner and letting him know he was safe earlier instead of saving him to almost last.  Here's hoping the next time he's safe it doesn't take as long for him to get his results.

[Laurie4H]

Why is it that whenever there is someone who is a performer who really can work the state everyone hates him? I think Qassim has the most personality and stage presence of any of the contestants. I thought Maddie was ok. I have a feeling because of how pretty she is they will push her as the next county star. Joey and Nick and Quentin I liked but the rest nor so much and it really bugs me when they praise someone who is off key. Like Raycon.

[MarkHB]

I think someone said in an earlier thread that there is indeed a bug going around.

 

Also, so far as the "Save Me" song went, I have a hunch that the contestants won't have one as such: it seemed to me that that Demi Lovato song was likely the one she had planned for this week, with the lighting and everything.  So, if nothing else they still get to perform the song they worked on.

 

I wish Daniel were the one who had left.

[LennieBriscoe]

Still Team Tyanna!

[proserpina65]

How do you know that? Is it just because JLo said it's so?

Because what the judges were hearing was obviously not what I was hearing.  Well, not if any of their comments about certain performances were the least bit honest, which they may not have been.  I thought it before; it's was a constant complaint on TWOP back in the day.  Some of that particular comment was snark, though.

[proserpina65]

 

Why is it that whenever there is someone who is a performer who really can work the state everyone hates him? I think Qassim has the most personality and stage presence of any of the contestants.

For me, there's performing, there's over-performing and then there's so frantic that the performance is starting to make me wonder if I'm about to have a seizure or something, and Qasim is that third thing.  Plus, I think he uses his performance ability to cover up the fact that he really is a mediocre vocalist at best.  He can work the stage, but I find his singing unpleasant and his energy way too over the top even when he's standing in one spot.  But that's just me.  Others are certainly welcome to disagree.  A chacon son gout, et tous.

[TheGreenKnight]

After Adanna and Qaasim made it through, I knew Sarina was gone. I think she realized there was no hope when Quentin made it through leaving her with Nick, because there's no way one of the two white guys was going home. Even though I'm disappointed, after Pia Toscano was elminated a couple of years ago at 9th, I really haven't been surprised by how awful the viewers' and judges' taste can be. (I liked her more than I did Sarina, tbh.)

 

Of course Daniel still being there is infuriating, but I thought it was sweet how he hugged her after Quentin was saved. I imagine that might've been a bit of a salt-in-the-woud moment for her though.

[ichbin]

Joey - Let me preface this by saying I hate, hate, HATE that song.  And I loved, loved, LOVED that performance.  She took an awful song and turned it into something wonderful.  I could easily see that performance in some smoky jazz/blues club, and she seemed so much more comfortable on the stage.

 

Qaasim - Ugh, that was dreadful.  He really isn't a singer.  His lower register, what little there is, kept bottoming out, and he was off-key for the entire song.  Keith, if the guitar helped him sing better, how horrible did he sound the last two times?  'Cause that was abysmal.

Joey seems like the type of performer who will do well in small venues.  I think she needs more intimate settings to do her thing. 

 

Qaasim works a stage but those vocals...tonight was really bad.  Plus that was a song that needed more clear diction than he gave it.  Tyanna on the other hand oozes personality, works the stage and really can sing.  She pulls it off, and does it well.  HIs best performances have been mostly a decent James Brown imitation. His performance really suffered tonight without the frenetic dancing to distract from the singing.

[stcroix]

Can someone tell me the name of the song Joey sang?  I want to go listen to it on youtube to see how Joey's version compared.  Thank you!

[peach]

I was happy the show had a normal pace instead of the crazy rush of last night.

 

Rayvon - Already forgot about it.

 

Maddie - She doesn't have dead eyes, she has robot eyes.  Her robot eyes scare me.  Cute outfit.  Country fair Queen Contest performance.  I love that song, and she performed a very unnecessary version of it.  I'm sure she will be foisted on the public anyway.

 

Joey - Adored her performance!  She is someone I would make an effort to see perform.

 

Clark - He has been one of my favorites, but that was a safe and boring song that I've never liked anyway.  But his talent is undeniable.  I hope he picks it up next week.

 

Jax - What a let down.  Bad idea to force a comparison to Taylor Swift.  And that song is so specific to her, and such a hilarious joke about Tay Tay and the tabloids, that it's kind of dumb to pick that one to cover.  Scott gave her bad advice, IMO.

 

Qaasim - UGH

 

Adanna - I like her, but I'm not completely sold.  I'm willing to keep an open mind and see where she goes.

 

Tyanna - I feel like she is really something special, and this show hasn't had anyone truly special for a very long time. That wasn't my favorite performance by her, but it doesn't even matter, because her "worst" is better than anyone else's best.

 

Daniel - <sigh>  I accepted long ago that tweens are a large voting bloc that put us through this on a regular basis.  At least the kid seems kind of humble and nice, and genuinely happy to be there.  But I don't need to see him sing ever again.

 

Quentin - Yay!  Love his groove.  I agree that Rolling In The Deep isn't a song to walk around smiling to, but I don't really care, because the arrangement was so cool.

 

Nick - Competent...yet still dull.  He really lost me last night with his completely blah rendition of a song about being SO in love that "in your eyes, I see the doorway to a thousand churches."  I don't dislike the guy, but he doesn't really grab me by the collar.  Nick just doesn't seem to fill any need out there, IMO.  He's fine, but it's not like I can't already hear that on my radio.

 

Sarina-Joi - What's left to say?  It's a huge shame that she lost out to some of the others.

[lyric]

Can someone tell me the name of the song Joey sang?  I want to go listen to it on youtube to see how Joey's version compared.  Thank you!

Fancy by Iggy Azalea

[Padma]

I kind of hated the way Harry asked about the McCartney lyric of "suffragette".  A mean kind of "gotcha" designed to make Qaasim look stupid, imo, that he didn't know what one was (as many young folks might not). I don't think he's a very good singer, but I loved it that he didn't let Harry humiliate him like that. If you don't think someone is putting the right feeling into a song, just say so. The way HC did it was passive aggressive, unnecessarily mean--and he failed. I don't think Qaasim's much of a singer--he was so flat throughout that whole song--but I really disliked Harry the way he critiqued tonight.

 

So sorry Daniel is there and Sarina-Joi is gone, but I'm afraid we're going to see this happen a few more times. I don't think Daniel is talented at all. I think he has ability--the kind of ability kids have when they work at something. But a real talent? imo, no. He's likable, but very very average in his performances (average for an amateur at 15) and its painful for him to stay (I guess on "cuteness" mostly) while others with more talent go home.

 

Re: Joey. She has really grown on me. Honestly, her performances are just so refreshing. And I like that Keith in particular really sees her as an artist (not a word one uses for a lot of contestants on AI).

Edited March 13, 2015 by Padma

[Sparkling Beth]

I like Clark, Nick, and Tyanna.  That's it.  Jax showed tonight how thin her voice really is and Qaasim proved that all the gyrations were an attempt to distract from his lack of vocal talent.  I recognize the talent of Joey but just think she's too much of the same schtick over and over.  Maddie still looks like a Mean Girl with blood in her hair and she never seems to connect to the lyrics for me.  I didn't think Rayvon sounded that great and his attempt at a falsetto was cringe-worthy.  The Embryo sang another fast, uptempo song in an attempt to disguise the fact that he can't hold a note to save his life.  Adanna's okay but I can't work up much enthusiasm for her.  I didn't like Quentin's version of Rolling in the Deep at all.  Poor Sarina-Joi--she has shown in the past that she can do all kinds of wonderful things with her voice but for her Save Me song she picked something that seemed flat and uninspiring.  I knew the judges wouldn't use the Save so early in the game and unfortunately she didn't give them much incentive to do so. 

[peach]

I kind of hated the way Harry asked about the McCartney lyric of "suffragette".  A mean kind of "gotcha" designed to make Qaasim look stupid, imo, that he didn't know what one was (as many young folks might not). I don't think he's a very good singer, but I loved it that he didn't let Harry humiliate him like that. If you don't think someone is putting the right feeling into a song, just say so. The way HC did it was passive aggressive, unnecessarily mean--and he failed. I don't think Qaasim's much of a singer--he was so flat throughout that whole song--but I really disliked Harry the way he critiqued tonight.

 

ITA with you.  I thought that was rude and mean-spirited, and I can't even stand Qaasim as a singer.  I thought he handled it well, though, and Harry just ended up looking like a jerk.

[Rick Kitchen]

Man, J-Lo got the hips.

What was the point of the green chairs thing?  It only turns green after they're called.

What was with all the balloons?

I don't like the judges commenting prior to the singing.

 

Didn't like Rayvon at all.  He didn't do that song justice. Not good at all.

Maddie started off flat and didn't have any enthusiasm at all.  I felt nothing.

First words out of my mouth when Joey was called :"Oh, God."  But surprise, I liked her performance.  She won't win, of course.

Really didn't like the backup musicians or the backup vocalists to Clark's song.  It just seemed ... wrong, somehow.  But Clark's singing was spot on.  Though he didn't really do anything different to it than the original. Who was the guy they were showing below Clark when he was talking after his performance?

Ugh, Jax.  She's going to be final two, isn't she?  Ugh, Taylor Swift. Off key. Oh, so brave to choose a popular song.  smh.

"Qaasim is not one of the strongest vocalists."  Yeah, no duh.  And that performance lived up to that assessment.  Not good at all. Good on Harry for calling him out on the meaning of the lyrics.

I love Adanna.

Tyanna def. has a Janelle Monae style. See, Qaasim, that's how to dance and saaang. Didn't like the last note, but the rest was great.

I knew Daniel would make it through.  It's going to be him and Jax in the final two, isn't it? Just meh.  Not horrible, but not good, either.

Love Quentin's look tonight.  And that performance was interesting.  Different, anyway. Oh, yeah, but Harry called out that this was supposed to be party songs, and that wasn't a party song.

I'm shocked Sarina Joi is out, but last night she just wasn't very good.  Glad Nick is still there, but I doubt he was next to last in votes. How was Nick's song a party song?  It was really good, though.  The best male performance of the night.  I hate his hair, though.

Sarina Joi was off key again tonight.  I think emotion got to her both nights.

I knew they wouldn't throw the save this soon.

 

Ugh, they still have the save this season?

 

I didn't like that the contestants went over at the end to shake hands with the audience instead of hugging Sarina Joi.

 

1-Tyanna

2-Adanna

3-Nick

4-Joey

5-Clark

[Rick Kitchen]

ITA with you.  I thought that was rude and mean-spirited, and I can't even stand Qaasim as a singer.  I thought he handled it well, though, and Harry just ended up looking like a jerk.

 

Harry has a thing about young contestants knowing what the lyrics mean.  It's nothing new.

[Nedsdag]

I knew it! I knew it! 

 

Serena-Joi's coasting cost her. Such potential prematurely ending. I thought she'd leave early a la Majesty, but not this early.

 

So Scott Bruscetta's TCO is LAX as in Laxative because she sh*tted bricks with her anemic, lethargic version of "Blank Space." Her sense of entitlement is becoming annoying the way it was for JEEEEENA last season. Plus, her bitch face was classic after the judges rained on her parade after the performance. I guess he'll make Maddie, whose as country as I am, another one of TCOs.

 

The good news is Qaasim actually stood still and sang a song. The bad news is his range is limited, but his guitar playing was pretty decent.

 

Who'd thought that the second best performance of the night was from Joey? Um, LAX? This is how creativity is done. I still don't see her winning, but she may finish higher than expected.

 

Of course, the best performance of the night was Tyanna. I'm not a big fan of young teens on these music shows, but I am totally invested in her now. She pulled off Janelle Monae like it was nothing.  Speaking of young teens, this Daniel kid is ridiculous and not in a good way. He sounded like the fourth place finisher in a four contestant middle school talent show. He is so out of his range, that if this were my son, I'd have him withdraw from the competition to save himself from even more ridicule.

 

Last night also showed how far AI has fallen when they have hitched their wagon to Empire's success. Cookie and her sons in the audience, and on stage? Milk it, FOX, and I'm not a fan of the show.

[peach]

Harry has a thing about young contestants knowing what the lyrics mean.  It's nothing new.

I've seen him do that in mentoring sessions, but it seemed especially designed to humiliate him on the spot on live TV.  I was glad he DID know what it meant.  Harry could have gotten across that he didn't feel like Qaasim was in touch with the lyrics without a "gotcha" attempt to make him look stupid.  Hardly any of them seem to know what the point of any of their songs are, and that's always been true on this show.  I guess it was okay with Harry that an empty blonde girl who's not old enough to drive is singing about her man cheating on a business trip.

Edited March 13, 2015 by peach

[Rick Kitchen]

 

I've seen him do that in mentoring sessions, but it seemed especially designed to humiliate him on the spot on live TV

 

He does it in auditions all the time.

[Waldo13]

I really wanted to slap JLo when she started booing Harry, that is so rude. ( Can you imagine if someone dare do that to her??). And did we ever hear what Harry was trying to say?.....

Same old same old. JLo doesn't deserve to be a judge. She can't sing she can't act. All she can do is perform by wearing skimpy outfits, shaking her booty, and hump the floor. The only thing I give her is a somewhat ability to dance. It's all about her and how many times the camera pans to her. Harry is really the only professional that is a proper judge. Standing ovations and dancing in your seat is neither professional nor fair to other contestants.

The praise for lack luster singing continues which shows that AI, like music today, is all about performances.

I'm not at all ga ga over Taylor Swift so when I heard Jax doing one of her songs, I knew she was in trouble. Taylor Swift songs are meant to be done with auto-tune and Jax was doing it live but Jax sang it better than TS ever could. For me, Joey was the best and Jax made a valiant effort. As for the rest, it makes no difference who goes home next week.

[Padma]

Harry has a thing about young contestants knowing what the lyrics mean.  It's nothing new.

The way he said it wasn't about knowing what the lyrics meant, imo. It was like baiting him about not knowing the meaning of the word "suffragette" (and he actually did. And also very nicely explained what he thought the song meant.) Harry could ask that about a lot of songs. Hopefully next week someone will sing--and Harry can explain on the spot--what "I Am The Walrus" means. I've sung it for years and have absolutely no idea whatsoever.

 

Also, for me, it doesn't matter how often he does it. I still think its incredibly rude when he does it like this. (And I was happy Qaasim aced it.)

 

Hardly any of them seem to know what the point of any of their songs are, and that's always been true on this show.  I guess it was okay with Harry that an empty blonde girl who's not old enough to drive is singing about her man cheating on a business trip.

 

Yes, that's another thing. He seems pretty selective about whom he embarrasses. I'm sure a lot of them don't have any idea what most of the lyrics to many songs mean, specifically, but if they learn the words and get the right emotion across, for 99% of the singers, AI judges treat it as "good enough" or "Great job!".

 

I was glad Daniel sang something age appropriate. I really really want him to go home, but I have to admit his genuine surprise at staying was kind of endearing (but please, America. Not endearing enough to put him through another week).

Edited March 13, 2015 by Padma

[Irlandesa]

I've seen him do that in mentoring sessions, but it seemed especially designed to humiliate him on the spot on live TV.  I was glad he DID know what it meant. 

I am too.  And he should know what it meant.  It's not a made up word he's singing about.  These contestants should look up words they don't know if they don't know them.  They should also research the song to at least get a sense of its origins.  I don't know why that's so hard.

 

Jet, is a song that doesn't make much sense to me in general, by the way.  It was about a puppy.  Or a pony.  If I were a contestant, I'd make sure I knew what the song may have meant and what it now means to me.

 

I loved Joey but Fancy feels like a song that is better sung.  I wish she would have gotten up. Otherwise, it was by far my favorite performance of the night.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Irlandesa

[viajero]

Overall I thought the performances tonight were significantly better than last night.  But add me to those upset about Sarina Joi going home.

 

Joey and Tyanna pretty much owned the evening and were far superior to everyone else.  Here’s my take on each performance (in order from best to worst):

 

Joey Cook – I haven’t been the biggest Joey fan, but wow did she do some convicing tonight.  This is what I like to see, a completely different version of a song from the one we’ve heard way too often and it worked.  I’m also happy that she properly credited the arrangement.

 

Tyanna Jones – An all around solid performance.  Very professional.  Jennifer is correct, there’s absolutely nothing to criticize.  She has to be the frontrunner by now.

 

Clark Beckham – pretty good, though perhaps not quite as good as last night.  I agree with Keith, it was “impressive without being inspiring”.

 

Adanna Duru – Pretty good performance.  While she had a lot more vocal control that usual, her vocals really also needed to be a bit more explosive for that song.

 

Maddie Walker – One of her best performances. Decent vocals and she wasn’t so stiff on stage.  Given her age, she’s coming along nicely.

 

Nick Fradiani – Much better than last night, though still uneven and he still drones too much.  There is a persistant lack of dynamics to his vocals and screeming out a verse wasn’t the answer.

 

Jax –Her vocals were quite uneven for her, without being redeemed by her usual artistry.  I did kind of liked the rasp that she brought into it towards the end. Bad song selection.

 

Quentin Alexander – I’ve been a fan, but this arrangement just didn’t work for me.  I also agree with Harry that it was a shallow interpretation of the lyrics.  His weakest performance of the season.

 

Sarina Joi Crowe – Another one who improved over yesterday, but she was still far from her best.  No way the judges were going to use the save this early in the season anyway.

 

Rayvon Owen – His falsetto just wasn’t good.  He was really straining there and was uncharacteristically pitchy.

 

Daniel Seavey – Not quite as bad as most of his performances, but he was still among the weakest.

 

Qaasim Middleton – Amazing. For once he actually mostly just stood there and sung a song.  Unfortunately it only highlighted the weakness of his vocals.

 

Should go home:  Daniel
Will go home:  Adanna or Qaasim

Edited March 13, 2015 by viajero

[Prairie Fire]

I have to give Qaasim credit for at least picking "Jet". The common critique of this show the last few seasons has been that it lets contestants stay in their boxes the whole time.

 

Joey's version of "Fancy" was genius. She was bound to improve if she just got a grip, and she did.

 

I think Borchetta managed to get a little more out of Daniel. He also gave his best performance so far.

 

Whenever Clark performs, I keep thinking: Where did Tom Brady find time to get on this season of Idol while also winning the Super Bowl?

[Prairie Fire]

(2x post)

Edited March 13, 2015 by Prairie Fire

[lilwhitelion]

Normally I fast forward through the entire beginning of Idol until someone is actually on stage singing, but this time I happened to hear the montage of clips from last night's performances that they showed right at the open.  They played short excerpts of the singers reaching for glory notes, and they all sounded So. Darn. BAD.  Anyone else catch that and hear how jarring it sounded?  It just seemed so weird that the producers would expose the talent is such an unflattering way.

 

Also, how ridiculous for them to show, in Maddie's intro video, the mentor Scott giving her the advice about how to strike the sideways pose and exactly how to hold the prop cowboy hat over her head before flinging it away.  I don't want to be reminded with these behind-the-scenes mentoring sessions how much they try to make these singers into 'the whole package' .  I just want them to sing.  Why is that asking too much?  I'm beginning to hate this show.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Holy macaroni!  I am so jazzed that Jax got derailed on a song by the freaking producer's biggest claim to fame.  How could he have let that happen?!  It's like the garbage world of AI collided with the universe of pop music suckitude and vaulted Randy Jackson into a deity!  Even HE never came close to wrecking a Mariah or Journey song presentation as this idiot Scott allowed with Jax.  What an epic moment on AI.  Of course, TPTB had Ryan walk this new worthless mentor through a cred segment basking in Swift's glow.  Nice try.

 

Harry so knew he had stepped in it with Qaasim.  Then he went and mocked a gay.  And he will totes get away with it.  I happened to love that he challenged the wannabe on his interpretation of the song.  I am not the majority, either.  Not by a long shot.  It'll be interesting to see if anything comes of this in the media.

 

To me, Sarina was the only one for whom I would have used a save this early.  No way was 19E gonna allow that drama to go away in the first week.  

 

The cream of this crop in my opinion are Joey, Clark, and Tyanna.  That's not saying much.

 

I, too, am bothered that TPTB ordered the new happy happy glad-handing ending with the cast.  It's nice that they have made the most concerted effort of any season to keep them grouped together on camera in support of each other.  I get why they do not want the final image of amy ep to be tears and disappointment.  I simply much prefer to see at least that last bit of "real."     

[Sentient Meat]

Tyanna's one of my favorites but I think I preferred Majesty's cover from last season.  Tyanna's voice is stronger and I think she will develop into a better performer, but Majesty's version seemed more polished and professional.

 

I spent some time last thread defending Jax, but she really screwed the pooch with the Blankspace cover.  Agreed with the judges that she'd be better off taking an oldie and giving it the Jax treatment instead of a generic cover of Taylor Swift.  Made the original sound superior which was surprising to me.  She should try covering something like the Sundays... if they'd let the show use their songs.

 

I also said that Joey needed to up her game to continue... and she sure did... one of the few of the bunch to show any type of artistic vision.

 

A lot of the front runners were lackluster...  Clark and Nick both had off nights.

 

I liked Sarina-Joi... she was cute, had a sweet personality and had a great voice.  She also sung poorly two nights in a row so she only has herself to blame for that early exit.

 

If a few others don't step up like Joey did, this is going to be a long season.

[cinsays]

   Wow, what an awful show all around.  

   What the heck was that duet of the Empire guys? Was that supposed to make me want to watch that show?  Didn't work... Good thing they weren't being critiqued, but since Harry and Keith seem to have lost their ability to judge talent, maybe they'd have loved 'em.    

   Still think the best ones there are Tyanna, Clark and Quentin (and, yeah, can we please not make this poor guy sweat by calling his name out so near the end ever again?  I may get an ulcer on his behalf just agonizing over the possibility that he's going home).

  Joey was very entertaining and knows how to take a song and make it work for her style.  I don't like Iggy, didn't like the song until tonight.

  Strangely, I enjoyed Jax more than usual, but that may be because I like Taylor Swift (yeah, I know the rest of you don't) and her performance was a little more toned down without all the usual dramatic movements.  I'd still lose the glove though.

  Maddy was better vocally than prior attempts, and a little more animated, still not great, but maybe it's nerves and as she learns to relax there's promise.  

  Adanna sings ok, but whoever did her makeup and hair last night should be fired.  She's a pretty girl but this was bad.  

  Hated, hated, hated Quassim's performance.  It really did show that there is no singing talent there, it is all just dance routines, which would be fine for America's Got Talent or someplace else.  And I do mean someplace else....please.

  Daniel......ugh.  Did JLo say something to the effect that he's so cute you just have to keep him?  No, you don't.  He sounds no better than a lot of teens who stand in their room singing to the mirror.  And Harry comments on how great he is?  Really.

   Hated the way they ended the show.  Sarina-Joi just kind of stumbles off the stage along and then the rest of them come out and play with the audience.  Kind of cold.  

  

  

[RemoteControlFreak]

It was absolutely appropriate for Harry to ask Qaasim what he thought Paul McCartney meant when he said "suffragette." Harry did not ask Qaasim what he though the word meant. He asked what he thought Paul McCartney meant when he wrote the song.  

 

This is a very valid question that should be raised more often in regard to songs like McCartney's with an odd combination of lyrics.  Understanding what the songwriter meant is key to delivering a good performance. 

 

In this case, if Qaasim had taken a second during his prep for the performance to look up what McCartney has said about the song, he would know that it's about McCartney's dog. This knowledge might have changed how he performed the song.

Edited March 13, 2015 by remotecontrolfreak

[ProfCrash]

OK, what the heck is going on with the voting? It seems like there are two nights of voting now? Color me confused. I am used to the contestants sing and then there is a result show. Why the heck is there voting on the night that should be the result show. How did I miss this?

 

Qaasim needs to go ASAP. He is hard for me to watch. The exaggerated expressions, the emphasis on performance, the weak vocals. And I find it hard to see him as excited because his excited sure looks angry to me. I know he is excited because it is how he is responding to other people being safe and going to sing but his excited mannerisms just look angry. I am guessing he is working so hard on appearing to be high energy at all times that his celebrations are so calculated and over the top that they look off. And I really don't appreciate his Mother. She way over shares info and is embarrassing. Got it, she loves and supports her kid but just far too much.

 

Daniel needs to go but won't. He seems to have a solid group of supporters.

 

I like the diversity of performance styles and genres.

[MarkHB]

OK, what the heck is going on with the voting? It seems like there are two nights of voting now? Color me confused. I am used to the contestants sing and then there is a result show. Why the heck is there voting on the night that should be the result show. How did I miss this?

 

The results shows are no more; this was probably the last night of the year, except for finale week, when we'll get two Idol episodes.  Thursday was the Top 11 show... next week will be the Top 10 / tour participants reveal.  So they essentially crammed two weeks' worth of Idol into one this week.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I'm "of an age" to have listened to not only Paul McCartney's decidedly-inconsistent solo material upon release (hell, I actually bought all of the Beatles albums in order upon release dating back to "Meet the Beatles" -- okay, my mom bought that for me) and I'm not sure I could have told you exactly what "Jet" meant. 

 

Maybe next week Qaasim can do "Monkberry Moon Delight" and try to explain the lyrics of THAT one. I'm sure many people would thank them for it.

 

That said, looks like the strep throat/flu bug has hit half of this cast ... Maddie has it, Qaasim tweeted a few days ago that he had strep, Savion had it during his last performance (Savion Mary?) ... between the stress, exhaustion (even this early) and close quarters, couple with this year's killer flu (I had strep/flu and was down for the count for almost three weeks), could continue to take its toll.

 

I'll give Qaasim a pass for this week based on that and because I DO find him entertaining and fun and likable and certainly, "suffragette" or "giraffe" (which I swear is what I thought they both said) or whatever, more watchable and listenable than either Maddie or JAXblerg or boring Nick.

 

Tyanna is all that and a bag of chips.  And so is her mom.

 

I think we saw the real Jax last night. The one who actually CAN'T sing a pop song or anything outside of her ooooooky odd breathy whispery genre. 

 

I can't hate on Daniel quite as much as everyone else does, though I agree he is going to go much further in this competition than he should be all rights. But that is not his fault. He's been perfectly humble and surprised and all that jazz since Day One. The judges have no business pulling the constant "you're too young, you aren't ready, yadayadayada" when it's 100% THEIR fault he's there. They could have and should have taken him to the Green Mile and told him WE LOVE YOU, come back in two years and you'll get a pass right to judges audition and given it to him in writing. Once they kept moving him along to voting rounds, they basically greenlighted the fact that every tween and grandma will vote for him right to the end.

 

QUENTIN entrances me. I'd love to see him perform just one week when his nerves haven't already gotten to him as he remains one of the final candidates for a spot because I feel like the occasional pitchiness may be tweaky nerves but I may have actually jumped up and cheered when they called his name as NOT THE LAST PERSON last night.

 

Love Joey. Love Joey. Sorry. Obviously she's polarizing but I love her voice and her style and seeing what song she'll choose next. 

 

Clark bores me. Someone said something about ugly facial expressions which I agree with but mainly he's technically excellent but boring. He'd be the star of high school talent shows and voice lesson end-of-semester showcases.

 

Adanna keeps surprising me with a really great powerhouse voice but distracting me with her outfits. Basically, I confess, when I try to go over the list of finalists in my head I keep forgetting about her, Maddie and Nick.  

 

Oh, and apparently Rayvon, since I had to go through this post twice to figure out who was No. 11. Sorry, Rayvon.  Nice hat, nice voice, just hasn't done anything memorable for me yet. The anti-Qaasim LOL.

 

Finally, just like it's show's "fault" that Amurika is stuck with Daniel for the duration, it's also responsible, I think, for Sarina-Joi's early departure. You'd think with her being there for her FOURTH audition they would have given her a little more pre-HOB camera time, more backstory, more love to familiarize the voters with her. If they did, I missed ALL of it. I did not see her until the episode where they basically trotted out the finalists. And by that time I think a lot of the "power voter" types already had their favorites.

 

My perfect-world Top 4 would be Tyanna, Quentin, Joey and Qaasim.

 

The Top 4 will be Jax, Daniel, Clark and Maddie (hell, SOME big fanbase has to be voting for her, because she's sure not making it through on voice or talent). 

 

 

[TallulahBelle]

I'm "of an age" to have listened to not only Paul McCartney's decidedly-inconsistent solo material upon release (hell, I actually bought all of the Beatles albums in order upon release dating back to "Meet the Beatles" -- okay, my mom bought that for me) and I'm not sure I could have told you exactly what "Jet" meant. 

 

Love Joey. Love Joey. Sorry. Obviously she's polarizing but I love her voice and her style and seeing what song she'll choose next. 

 

To be fair, neither does McCartney - I've read it was about his dog at the time, or a pony, that his use of suffragette didn't mean anything, but still it drives me BONKERS when contestants know NOTHING about the song they're singing, so I was with Harry. 

 

Joey singing Fancy might be the coolest thing I've ever seen on Idol.  I can't stop watching it and it's made me search out the band Postmodern Jukebox because it was SO COOL.  Also, her pre-song interview where she said that they're all spunges and should be soaking up everything they can with the people they get to work with?  Awesome.

[Sparkling Beth]

 

Glad Nick is still there, but I doubt he was next to last in votes.

Ryan said several times during the evening that the contestants were being called to the stage "in no particular order" so the fact that Nick was the last to be called to sing doesn't mean he was next to last in votes.  In fact, my Knollish mind wonders if he wasn't one of the more popular vote-getters and they called him last to put a scare into his supporters.  Idol has been pulling stuff like that for a long time.

 

This method of elimination seems unfair, because the contestants who have to wait a long time for their names to be called are going to be far more upset before they perform than the ones who are called very early on.  There has to be a better way to do this.  Shira above mentioned how much she hates the "neon lights of loserdom" that the contestants are forced to sit in while they await their fate, but I'm not sure that's any worse than the Stools of Shame to which the bottom three contestants were banished in the result shows of previous years.  It's always hard to be rejected. 

 

The least cruel way to do it, if they're not going to have result shows, would be to just announce the person who is going home at the beginning of the next week's performance show, but I can see where the producers would think that too many people would turn off the show once the suspension is over, especially if the contestant sent home is their favorite.  I watch to see the performances so I would stay tuned for the whole show regardless, but I'm sure many people don't feel that way.

[ShutUpFlanders]

The best solution to this results/performance business, if they really want to keep the drama but make the performances less tense all around, would be to announce at the very top of the show which two contestants are in the bottom 2. Yeah, sucks for them, but I could see why you wouldn't want to announce the boot at the top of the show. If that had happened last night with Sarina-Joi, people would've been pissed off AND not watched the show.

[Waldo13]

It was absolutely appropriate for Harry to ask Qaasim what he thought Paul McCartney meant when he said "suffragette." Harry did not ask Qaasim what he though the word meant. He asked what he thought Paul McCartney meant when he wrote the song.

This is a very valid question that should be raised more often in regard to songs like McCartney's with an odd combination of lyrics. Understanding what the songwriter meant is key to delivering a good performance.

In this case, if Qaasim had taken a second during his prep for the performance to look up what McCartney has said about the song, he would know that it's about McCartney's dog. This knowledge might have changed how he performed the song.

Agreed! Too many times we see a lack luster performance due to an improper interpretation. It's tuff to cover songs especially of singer/songwriters because it's specifically written and performed with what's in their mind and heart. Edited March 13, 2015 by Waldo13