S14.E24: Top 7 Perform

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 7 singers perform. Also: One contestant is eliminated.

[ShutUpFlanders]

JAX – Not to steal a line from Simon Cowell, but that was Lady Gaga as pure cabaret. Vocal was fine, but that arrangement was… strangely campy. (I guess I always have a problem with her arrangements, admittedly).

 

Nick – I'm struggling to see how he's relevant. He's technically fine usually (tonight there were some iffy moments) but he's so completely forgettable. It's like an adult version of S13's Sam Woolf. I was shocked he wasn't in the bottom 2. WGWG powers, I guess?

 

Quentin – A bit of an unexpected choice from him. I enjoyed it, and thought the falsetto was pretty solid. It was a good choice for him to sing a song straight instead of doing a new arrangement.

 

Joey – So she does something different for her and she stuck to a similar arrangement of a pure pop song, and the judges of course nitpick it. Her vocal was lovely, particularly the verses. The chorus was fine as well.

 

I guess the two oddballs for Idol (Quentin and Joey) took the Billboard theme to a "don't fuck around with the arrangement and sing a damn pop song" theme. Good for them to go out of their comfort zone.

 

Clark – Fantastic. I'm a bit miffed he doesn't go outside of the blues realm just because that can get stale in Idol land, but he's just a crazy good singer. The critique he got was a bit odd. They aren't wrong but why didn't they say that to him a few weeks ago?

 

Tyanna – Gorgeous connection. Beautiful tonality here. I was worried she wouldn't make it through. We have a real showdown on our hands for that second finale spot between Joey, JAX, Quentin, and Tyanna (because there's no way Clark goes out before then, he's like Phillip Phillips with Joshua Ledet's voice).

 

The Twits:

 

Rayvon – Maybe he needs to be in the bottom 2 every week. Seems to be the only time Rayvon's gets a fire lit under his ass. I'm shocked he made it through a second twitter save.

 

Qaasim – I… I can't with him. It wasn't as bad as it could've been. But I'm glad he's gone. I was worried that the song choice alone was going to save him. Phew.

 

With Qaasim gone, this may be the strongest Top 7 since S11. Yes, they've all misfired, but collectively they're a crazy strong group. I don't think they're getting the credit they deserve.

 

Best of the Night – Clark, Tyanna, Joey

Bottom 2 – Rayvon for sure, Nick/Jax in spot two.

[Suzysite]

I just don't like Joey. Her voice, her look, her quirk...nothing.  Hate it all.  I hope she gets voted off very soon.  I don't know who I do want to win, exactly.  Maybe Clark.  Or Tyanna. Or Nick.  Anyone but Joey.  Or Jax.  Definitely not Jax.

[areca]

I'm officially off the Tyanna train.  Joey's got another week of not really being present for me to disembark.  Clark and Quentin continue to be enjoyable.  If there's anyone else left, I'll be damned if I can remember them, which says pretty much all of it.

[laschifosavita]

All the mentors are a lot more competent than I was expecting.  Jason Derulo was talking total gibberish with Joey, but I think I kind of got what he was attempting to say.

 

Jax: Not into it.  It was too one-note, and it just wasn't interesting to listen to.  She shouldn't let them give her another spray tan.

Nick: I love covers of "Teenage Dream."  It's a questionable choice for the oldest guy in the competition, and he was overshadowed with everything else that was going on.  He actually did look more comfortable on stage, so I guess singing to the mirror helped.  I feel like the show brainwashed me, because I was actually enjoying the judge's banter until they started trying to get Harry to sing "Teenage Dream."  I'm glad he totally abandoned the lyrics and chased Keith around, because it somehow ended up being the only acceptable way out of that situation.

Quentin: This is not the kind of performance that I would want to see from Quentin.  There's some notes in that song that he really shouldn't have tried to hit.  Maybe it doesn't help that I don't care for the song?

Joey: Bad song choice.  Someone should have tried to talk Nick, Joey, and Jax into swapping songs.  "Poker Face" seems like it would have been the safe choice for her, since Lady Gaga already does a version that's what Joey would probably do to it.  "Wrecking Ball" would make a good rock power ballad.

Clark: This is probably my favorite performance of his so far, but he's whatever the male equivalent of pageant is to me.  I know Keith kind of mentioned it, but I would have liked them to have called out some of those notes at the end.

Tyanna: Best performance since "Tightrope."  Normally, I'd consider the grandmother thing manipulative, but she's young enough to get a pass and I'm okay with whatever it takes to get her to connect with a song.

Rayvon: He apparently needs to be up for elimination every week.  He's considerably better under pressure.  It doesn't take a genius, but he's crafty for the God mention.

Qaasim: I wanted Quentin to do this song.  Qaasim didn't make me any less disappointed.  It brought out everything I don't like about his voice.  The back-up singers didn't help anything.

[riley702]

How long are they going to do this twitter save shit? It gets less fair the further it goes. It should be that the person with the fewest votes goes home. Period. Not that I've minded the last two, because I wanted Qaasim and whatever the hell that little kid's name was to go home ASAP. But the person who gets second to last every week should not have to sweat being voted out.

[MrsMoltisanti]

First off the top of my head I cannot believe they are doing this twitter save thing. How fair is it to the whole fanbase across all timezones? How do we even know if it is accurate? Just stick with the voting that everyone does after the show.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Jax is trying too hard to hit every angle that she is missing the marks? Tonight was so offbase for me. Was she trying to channel Joey? I dont even know who she would be as an artist.

Nick was alright I suppose, Tyanna was struggling but I know it was emotional for her, Rayvon will be in bottom two I think, Joey was good for me. Quentin seemed lighter and happy and I enjoyed him very much. I thought Qaasim would get through tonight. Clark has a great voice though but he barely moves. Maybe the mentor should be Mick Jagger next.

[mojoween]

They were completely right, that Jax can be compared to Gaga, because they are both females on planet earth. Otherwise, GTFO with that shit.

I love Qaasim as a performer, but that song only showcased his performing. It is not a singer's song.

I don't see Rayvon beating anyone out next week, no matter what he sounds like.

I hate the Twitter save so much I want to steal Ryan's dog Georgia and send him increasingly terrifying ransom notes on Instagram until they put an end to it.

[ichbin]

Jax is too early in her game to start trying to develop a brand.  That arm crossing thing, together with the x on her face thing and her affected way of singing is just too much too soon.  In some ways she reminds me of Ryan Starr from season 1.   

[Prairie Fire]

Oh hell no! Jax plagiarized the Leftover Cuties' cover of "Poker Face" without giving them credit? I think that means we can call bullshit on her "making that song her own".

 

Edited April 9, 2015 by Prairie Fire

[stcroix]

I'm so bored with this season I fast forwarded through so much :(   I've never done that before!  I liked Quentin until the mentor showed him how it's really done...  and what's with those looooong fingernails on one hand?  I still do like him as much as I can like anyone this season.  Rayvon is technically good, but boring.  In fact, they're all so boring I can't make myself review anymore of them.  That's all I got.

[KR Vermont]

Jax's Poker Face sounded Joey-esque to me.

 

Happy that Harry took the challenge to sing Katy Perry (and he really can't dance) and laughed when Nick razzed him by saying it wasn't his best performance.

 

I enjoyed Quentin's performance, Amish hipster look and all.

 

lol at Jason teasing Joey about her crab hands when she performs, though she then almost seemed more preoccupied with keeping her eyes and hands open more.

 

Clark was good, could've been a little more animated.

 

Tyanna's back to good form.

 

Rayvon and Qaasim instant twitter save redux. ugh.

Edited April 9, 2015 by KR Vermont

[Nedsdag]

Not much to say, except Clark, Quentin, and Tyanna were the only ones worth watching tonight and I hope they make the (Top 5????) tour. Everyone else can draw straws.

 

Speaking of the Top 5 tour, how the mighty has fallen, American Idol that is. Where will they perform? State Fairs? Senior citizen centers? Quinceneras? Entertainment after Single A minor league baseball games? Why bother?

 

Can we have a Jaxative/Joey bottom two next week with both of them going home just to see Borchetta wet his pants when Jaxative leaves? Joey is limited. Jaxative lost her mojo, decided to mimic Joey and did lousy job of it. Plus, she has the worst b-face after some slight criticism. You're not as good as you think, X-face!

 

Who'd thunk Jason Derulo would be a decent mentor. It's too bad I think he's a second rate Drake and I can't stand Wheelchair Jimmy either (DeGrassi reference).

 

It's gotten that bad for Jennifer Hudson that she has to sing with Ugly Australia to be relevant in the music industry?

 

The bottom two? Well deserved. The eliminated one? Once he sang a song I despised, he couldn't leave fast enough for me.

[Stratego]

Jax          She gave Poker Face the vocal equivalent of a "Chicago Sunroof".

Nick         Likely the best he could do with that song--which wasn't much.  Why pick Teenage Dream?

Quentin   Since I don't like the song Latch I can't find anything good to say.  Suffice to say he isn't in Smith's league.

Joey        Her "unique voice" isn't suited for Wrecking Ball.  I wished I could "un-hear" that song.

Clark       Easily the best performance of the night--by a mile.  He is trying to an entertainer and not simply a singer--and is improving. The front runner.

Tyanna   Much better than before. She needs to pick songs that "pluck yer strings"--or she will soon be gone. 

Rayvon   He was better than Qaasim.  OK that's a low bar, but enough to delay his elimination--until next week.

Qaasim   Tries hard. Seems like a good guy with a dream that is much bigger than his skills.

[Waldo13]

Nothing outstanding tonight. The uniqueness of Jax and Joey didn't come out in a positive way. The rest are pretty good singers but none of them have anything different from any other good singer. They sound the same, to me, as any good singer heard on the radio.

Jax made a mistake with singing a Lady GaGa song not because of Jax's voice but because of Lady GaGa's artistry and delivery. Lady GaGa is one of very few performers, today, that don't need auto tune and does not lip sink with prerecorded music. Joey made a mistake singing a Miley Cyrus song because of the quirkeyness of her voice doesn't relate to "Wrecking Ball". It's not that Miley is a better singer, far from it, but the benefit Miley got from auto tune.

I'm so sick and tired of JLo and the dildo on top of her head. She is by far the most disengenious obnoxious bitch that ever judged a singing competition show. She continuously shows disdain for women with talent and gets moist over male singers that are far less talented. JLo never knows when to STFU and is constantly rude to Harry who knows that there is more to the music industry than shaking your ass or humping the floor. What's with the stupid remarks about Qaasom tonight at the end of the show? His voice is great but it's overshadowed by his performances sp it's not noticed. What is she smoking and I want some. One last thing about JLo; she is the master of the left handed comment or in other words the Jessica Meuse comments.

I just read that only the top 5 will tour this summer. So I now understand the comments that were made tonight where the judges will be disengenious enough to push their favorites or should I say productions favorits to the top 5.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Waldo13

[Rick Kitchen]

No, Jax is nothing like Lady Gaga, you moron.  Lady Gaga can sing. I hope all the Little Monsters vote against her for that terrible performance.  If there are any who watch AI.

 

I thought I was going to hate Nick, but he actually did a decent job.  But I'm tired of "made it your own" after just two performers. Sorry, Harry, you just made a fool of yourself.

 

That was a lot of "live" autotuning going on with DeRulo (who will be one of the full-time judges on So You Think You Can Dance this summer).

 

Quentin was pitchy, dawg.  Really not on key.

 

I don't really dislike Florida Georgia Line, but my God, they're overplayed!  Especially on my non-country station that I listen to.

 

What t'hell is Joey wearing?  No crab hands!!!  She didn't need to change the song, her vocal stylings are exactly the same as the original.  I liked it a lot.

 

Love me some Ed Sheeran. And Clark killed it. I would buy that song.  He still needs to connect with the audience.

 

They should have just had JHud on, I can't stand Iggy Azalea.

 

Tyanna was beautiful early on, but her voice started wavering halfway through.

 

I love "Set Fire to the Rain", but now we know Rayvon always sings falsetto -- he can't hit the low register.

 

Qaasim was equally as bad.  If I had had a chance to vote, which being on the West Coast I don't, I wouldn't have voted for either one of them.

 

Don't care who won the East Coast-biased vote.

[Waldo13]

Excuse me Rick Kitchen, but who are you calling a moron. It better not be me.

[Guest]

All the mentors are a lot more competent than I was expecting.  Jason Derulo was talking total gibberish with Joey, but I think I kind of got what he was attempting to say.

Listen again.  It was hilarious and totally spot-on.  He was making fun of her 'crab hands' the whole time, and her squished shut eyes.  I wish he'd hit on her head-grabbing, too.  

 

I hate Latch and Stay both but kind of liked Quentin's and Tyana's versions.  

[Rick Kitchen]

Excuse me Rick Kitchen, but who are you calling a moron. It better not be me.

 

No, Scott.  I hadn't even read anybody's posts when I posted.

[Waldo13]

No, Scott. I hadn't even read anybody's posts when I posted.

Got you. Thanks for clearing that up. Your right, Lady GaGa can sing and is very unique. That is why attempts to cover a song of hers usually fails. Billy Joel songs are very hard to cover also.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Waldo13

[viajero]

That was pretty bad.  The only performances that I found to be somewhat good came from Clark and Tyanna, even though neither one quite matched covers of those same songs that have been done on The Voice in recent seasons. 

 

While this wasn’t one of Joey’s best performances, I thought the judges were a bit harsh, particularly given how much worse many of the others were this evening.

Of the rest, I at least found something interesting in what Jax and Quentin tried to do, though neither one quite pulled it off.  I certainly can’t say the same about Nick, who was still kind of blah, despite being a bit manic in the way he ran around the stage.

 

Rayvon and Quentin were excruciatingly bad and I wish both had gone home.

 

Jax's Poker Face sounded Joey-esque to me.

 

Me too.  Except that it came off as a less than authentic imitation of Joey.  But it was still better than about half the other performances.  I just hope Jax gets back to the kind of thing she did last week.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I was furious with HCJ last week as he stole Joey's moment from her.  Tonight, he was really excellent as he explained musicality and performance.  It seemed to me that he was more precise with her than anyone else.  My take is that is due to his belief that she actually has something to offer once this show ends.  The others, with one exception?  Nope. 

 

I felt sorry for Joey in that she gave in to TPTB notorious pressures to conform.  Look what it got her: 2nd worst performance she has given.  All she knew was to fake the song and her presentation.  The result was a mess.  This just might cost her the tour.

 

Didja see how pretty Jax looked in the package without that X on her face?  Who knew?  Only all of us. 

 

Overall, this was a nadir for this show.  Beginning with Ryan's sickly voice through to Harry playing Duck, Duck, Goose with Keith, and on to JLo's attempts at justifying Qaasim's singing, this was amateur hour with awful music.

 

Can we vote on the Tour taking the finalists out of the country and keeping them there?

[LennieBriscoe]

I, too, thought Jax was channeling Joey, not Lady Gaga.

 

And then HCJ's antics with Nick put me to sleep; woke up to see Clark's critique only; changed the station..

 

Wow, Nedsdag, I thought you were sadly misinformed, but no! Only the Top 5 to Tour! Idol keeps shooting itself in the foot......

But they should be so lucky as to play "State Fairs"! Carrie Underwood and Meghan Trainor will be at ours this summer!

 

It's gotten that bad for Jennifer Hudson that she has to sing with Ugly Australia to be relevant in the music industry?

She just appeared on "Empire" and has a song on its soundtrack,  and sang on the Academy Awards show. Plus, duets or "songs featuring..." are not new!

Edited April 9, 2015 by LennieBriscoe

[cinsays]

   Well, for me, not an especially good night for most of the folks.

   Jax's performance of Poker Face was really horrible in both style, vocals, the whole thing was just a mess.  She needs to stick to soft and pretty vocals because she has a nice voice and this did not show it at all.

   Nick......ugh.... Teenage Dream?  really?  and JLO loves the lyrics and its message?  I guess for a middle aged woman who likes to date boys this isn't hard to understand, but......

  I loved Quentin's performance, always do.  I think perv Scott was encouraging him to use his falsetto thinking he'd fail so he would be gone.

  Same with Clark,  loved him.  He just knows his strength and the type of music he likes and is good at.  I agree about losing the guitar.  Just sing.

   Tyanna was back to being really good.  I just hope she sticks with it.

   Joey picked a crappy song and didn't know how to do her thing with it..... or, as others have said, the advice they gave her got her scared and she choked. 

   As for the Rayvon/Qaasim playoff, I think Rayvon did a really nice job.  Qaasim, on the other hand, blew it by his choice of song.  Catchy little thing, but not a good way to display your vocals......oh, wait, he doesn't have any... never mind.

   I agree with others, the fan save needs to go.  I kind of think it was an attempt by the producers to keep Daniel and Qaasim for some reason that is beyond me and maybe now that they are gone it won't be used again.  Unless Jax is the bottom vote getter because old Scott wants to be able to keep her for perv, I mean personal reasons.

   And, again, JLO, please  remember your manners and stop talking over Harry when he's trying to give the kids good advice.

 

[Ohwell]

Some years ago, there was a story about someone who went into seizures when he saw a certain female newscaster or actress (whose name escapes me), on TV.  I feel the same way about Clark.  I don't think he's at all ugly or unattractive, and I'm not about to go into seizures, but there's just something about his face that's unsettling for me to watch.  So I don't look at him, but I do like his voice a lot. 

 

I like Quentin's voice too, but I hear flat notes sometimes.  I think he should focus less on his "look" and trying to be different, and more on his singing.

 

At least my long Qaasim nightmare is over.

 

The rest are just a blur to me.

[drafan]

Nick: I'm supposed to like him, since he is a "local", but can't tolerate the Daughtry-ness of all his performances. And he's too old for "Teenage Dream". Ick.

 

Jax: Can not stand one thing about her.

 

Joey: I liked her vintage bridal gown and I kinda like her....but anyone who sings anything Miley Cyrus has serious problems. And there were a few crab hands.

 

Quentin: When I saw the Michael Jackson suit and hat, I got goosies, and not the good kind. Couldn't enjoy anything about it after that.

 

Clark: He really is the Carrie Underwood of this season....really good, somewhat bland, super-nice, camera-friendly. Lots of potential that all the other WGWG winners never had.

 

Tyanna: She looks so terrified about everything now. What happened? So was loaded with confidence at the beginning.

 

Qassim and Rayvon: They could've both gone home with no problem. Rayvon was so boring, that I thought we'd be stuck with Qassim yet again.

[Qoass]

Yup, it was definitely Freaky Friday when it seems Joey and Jax exchanged identities for the night.

 

And Clark, please stop dressing like my dad.  

[sharifa70]

I think Jax has a decent voice but she still doesn't have a sense of who she is as an artist. Some of her performances ("Poker Face" and that song from "The Wedding Singer" come to mind immediately) feel more like she's imitating Joey than putting her own mark on things. She has potential but I think she still has some growing up to do. And yes, lose that stupid X from her face. Does anyone remember that leopard-spot girl from "X Factor US"? That's all I think about when I see Jax.

I really like Nick's voice. I agree with Harry that "Teenage Dream" was not a good song choice and that he needed something with grittier lyrics. My take on the antics that ensued afterward: Harry was being goaded into singing the same song. I realize he'd essentially said he wouldn't be caught dead so they were making fun of him, but he was also being urged to sing the song right after a contestant had done it. So he could have played it straight, leaving *his* rendition in our minds, or he could clown, leaving Nick's rendition intact. I think in this case the clowning was pretty much the classy way out.

I also agreed with their criticism of Joey's performance. Full disclosure: she's one of my favorites. I liked that she didn't change the song, but I also felt like she was holding back. Throughout her performance I felt my whole body tense up in sympathy, and I kept waiting for her to really sink into the song, which never happened. I don't think she got slammed by the judges - I think they were right to point out the she didn't just kill it.

This was the first time I didn't like a Quentin performance. I blame song choice tonight - fingers crossed for next week.

I loved Clark's performance. I want him to lose so he can come to the Blues Festival in Portland.

This was the best Tyanna has sounded in a long time. I really liked that.

Rayvon/Qaasim: I'm sorry to see Qaasim go because I appreciated his performances, but it was time. he just isn't as strong as the others vocally. I keep forgetting Rayvon is on the show, even though when he sings I think "wow, nice voice" every time. He really needs to figure out how to bring some passion into his performances.

Finally: I'm house-sitting with no dvr or cable. This was the first time in years that I have suffered through two full hours of this show. I was ready to throw a shoe at the tv when the second celebrity performance happened, but then there was a third! If they have that much time, they need to have the contestants singing twice. Or cut it to an hour. This show dragged so incredibly much. After 57 performances and 9,000 commercial breaks, I realized only three actual contestants had gone and there was still an hour and a half to go. Idol needs to figure out their huge pacing problem before I owe the homeowners a new tv.

[WhineandCheez]

I feel the same way about Clark.  I don't think he's at all ugly or unattractive, and I'm not about to go into seizures, but there's just something about his face that's unsettling for me to watch.

 

I know what it is, ohwell.  It's his super pink lips.  They look like Micheal Jackson's when he would wear that pink lipstick (or had permanent lip makeup tattooed on, not sure which).  Jen was totally right, he needs some style. He seems like someone your parents would approve of and vote for, and who wants that??

 

Scott Borschetta had his ridiculous facial hair styled and thinned and now it looks even creepier.  How can he not know how dated he looks?

 

I wish Tyanna would up her game somehow--she is just dissapearing.  Maybe if her styling was less conservative.  I don't really know what it is.

 

I was looking at Joey last night and was amazed that I realized she is pretty/cute. When you consider the awful hair style/makeup and dental issues she had when coming on, she looks good now.  I cannot imagine her voice on the radio though, and that's what this show is all about.

 

Final 2 will be Clark and Jax/Quentin/Tyanna in that order.  I don't think Joey will make it that far?

 

(Edited because I completely forgot that Nick was on the show! Boy is that a Freudian slip or what??)

Edited April 9, 2015 by WhineandCheez

[ProfCrash]

I would have enjoyed Qassim's performances more of he didn't always look pissed. I don't think he is pissed. I think he is enthusiastic, excited, and supportive but my god does he always look angry. He is a solid performer who could be a great performer but he needs to work on his voice and watch back some of his performances and his face. The more I think about it is that he is just really, really intense and his intense face is easy to look at and think pissed.

 

I like Clark's voice but he bores me.

 

Quentin is another one who needs to focus on the music first and then worry about style and performance. He could be really good.

 

Nick is even more boring then Clark.

 

Rayvon is someone I simply fast forward through. No idea why, but he has never caught my interest.

 

Joey and Jax I like but I want the Judges to let them do what they want to do and see where it goes.

[Branchop]

I realized tonight it is not a Face Tattoo but deliberately drawn on and occasionally glittered "X" on Jax' face. Kinda of made me like her more.

Instead of being a stupid teenager, she intelligently decided to "brand" herself so people would remember her, instead of being clumped with all the other 18 year old blondes.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

I liked Quentin until the mentor showed him how it's really done...  and what's with those looooong fingernails on one hand?

 

I thought Derulo was great and I was sure Quentin was going to take it up a notch like JD guided him to do but it wasn't the same in the performance.  And once I saw those long fingernails that is all I saw from that point on.  

 

JLO needs to always go last for judges comments.  Maybe that will put an end to her contradicting or adding to everything Harry says.  I did like how he pointed out to her she had her turn but it still fell on deaf ears.  Is that how she interacts with her kids?  I like the dress she had on which played to her body strengths instead of a too short hemline that cuts her thighs in half at their thickest point.  I absolutely HATE those hair top knots!  CAN'T.STAND.THEM.  

 

I think Keith offers great feedback but he could take it up a notch, he seems to want to finish as the nice guy and say the bare minimum in order to do that.  

 

I thought JHudson looked amazing!  She rocks that short hair and looked terrific in orange.  Why did they need IA who looked like death warmed over beside the vibrant JH!

 

I don't listen to billboard music and had trouble identifying with many of the songs but Clark nailed his as always.  JLO did give some good advice finally as it appears the old days of AI having stylists on the show for the participants for clothing, hair/makeup seem to be over.  Are these contestants left on their own to do this now?  I remember seeing Clay Aiken getting his hair makeover!  Show me more of that than the contestants performing like circus acts before their profile or those silly TH's of the judges before a contestant's performance.  If style is a factor show us how they transform!

 

Still Joey with the hands but only one hair grab.....why don't they tell her to use a mic stand to hold with both hands so she has something to do to break that habit.

[Qoass]

 

Still Joey with the hands but only one hair grab.....why don't they tell her to use a mic stand to hold with both hands so she has something to do to break that habit.

 

I'd like to see her go back to playing an instrument while she sings.  Problem (not that I consider it a problem at all) solved.

[proserpina65]

Clark was amazing last night, and contrary to what Jen keeps saying, he doesn't need a style makeover; part of his appeal for me is that such a soulful voice comes out of that sort of whitebread package.  Tyanna was finally getting back on form - it wasn't perfect but there was real emotion there for a change.  Joey did a song almost straight, and it was terrific and a little bit haunting; I'd love to hear her do the entire song.  (But now I want to see someone do Bastille's version of We Can't Stop.)  Nick found some energy on stage, although the vocal was a bit inconsistent and the song is crap.  (Ftr, I hate Katy Perry, so anyone would get points deducted for choosing one of her songs.)  Jax made Lady Gaga boring, and I didn't think that was even possible.  I don't know what the hell song it was that Quentin did, but I've never heard it before and I never want to hear it again; it sucked, and made me not like his performance for the first time.  Boo, sucky song!  Wow, Rayvon finally added some fire and emotion to technically very good vocals - maybe if he'd been doing something more like that all along, he wouldn't have ended up in the bottom.  And finally:

 

Hallelujah, Qaasim is finally gone!!!!  That was actually his best vocal performance on AI, and it was barely mediocre.  He truly is all style and no substance.

[Guest]

I don't listen to billboard music and had trouble identifying with many of the songs but Clark nailed his as always.  JLO did give some good advice finally as it appears the old days of AI having stylists on the show for the participants for clothing, hair/makeup seem to be over.  Are these contestants left on their own to do this now?  I remember seeing Clay Aiken getting his hair makeover!  Show me more of that than the contestants performing like circus acts before their profile or those silly TH's of the judges before a contestant's performance.  If style is a factor show us how they transform!

 

Still Joey with the hands but only one hair grab.....why don't they tell her to use a mic stand to hold with both hands so she has something to do to break that habit.

 

I think they must still have stylists because several of them look a lot better- - Joey looked good last night, Jax's X is toned down, Quentin was toned down a little.  I figure Clark is one like Phillip who probably asks them to keep him pretty plain because he doesn't want to come off as a poser.  

 

I would like to see some styling footage too but remember their foray into it with Tommy Hilfiger?  That was a disaster.  So they probably won't go there again.  

 

I didn't mind Nick singing Teenage Dream because Darren Criss pulls it off well.  It was upbeat and fun, though I didn't love it half as much as Jennifer.  I like Nick's Daughtry-ish voice (probably because I didn't watch Daughtry's season).  He does some Kris Allen mouth shapes, too.  I don't think he'll win, though.  I think Clark and Tyana have more x factor.  I think Nick, like Caleb, is more a frontman for a band than a headliner/solo artist.  Maybe like Caleb he should pull the band more onto the stage and interact with them more.  Though not quite to Caleb's level, which was often comical.  

[mojoween]

I don't know if it would have come across as copycat or if Nick is even AWARE of Darren Criss, but I wish Nick would have sang Teenage Dream stripped down and vulnerable, like Darren did at the piano in the club when he was cheating on Kurt. I think that would have been amazing. Nick wasn't bad, but I think he could have been more.

[Qoass]

When it comes to mouths, Nick reminds me of Ace Young.

 

 

Mmmm, Ace Young.  Until he dropped a sponsor's name into his televised marriage proposal.  That killed the lust instantly.

[Sparkling Beth]

All I can say about the Twitter Save is that Rayvon is darned lucky that there was a worse singer still left on the show these past two weeks.

I would like to publicly thank my younger brother for helping me to finally realize who Clark was reminding me of. Tony Dow--Wally Cleaver from Leave It To Beaver. I was going nuts trying to place the resemblance.

[Prairie Fire]

Harry is actually pretty funny doing stuff like the impromptu "Teenage Dream" cover. It's just that the others, especially J-Lo, tend to ruin these bits and turn them into hot messes.

 

I liked that Joey made a point of saying "I'm not doing an arrangement". It seems like she knew people expected that of her, and enjoyed flipping the script.

 

Rayvon was awesome, and it was a bonus that he did have a real answer to Harry's "gotcha" question. I think Harry was expecting him to be all, "Um....I'm a good singer?" and was genuinely surprised that he hit that fastball out of the park. He may be a bit boring sometimes but I wouldn't be sorry if Rayvon improbably won.

 

My friend claims her cat is fascinated by Qaasim....that he watches, transfixed, when he performs. I guess that says something about Qaasim.

 

And I'm surprised Jax seems to have gotten away with ripping off the Leftover Cuties cover. Either that band is REALLY obscure or nobody's really reacting to this show anymore.

[Morgalisa]

 

It's gotten that bad for Jennifer Hudson that she has to sing with Ugly Australia to be relevant in the music industry?

Watch Sean Hayes and his husband lip sync this song and you will love this song forever.  It will remove Iggy from your mind.

[worleybird]

So I watched the show this morning On Demand and when the Top 8 came out, en masse, at the top of the show. I wondered why Lance Bass was there and why he darkened his hair...and then I realized it was Nick. They could be twins, especially when Nick smiles.

[Nutjob]

I have been going crazy trying to figure out who Clark reminds me of, facially, and I've finally got it--a young David Gilmour! Whew... that was driving me nuts. His performance was, for me, clearly the best last night. 

[twilightzone]

Qassim wasn't the best technical singer, but he was entertaining.  He would have been good for the tour.

 

With only 7 contestants remaining, the eliminations are only going get harder - as good singers are knocked out of the competition each week. 

 

Only one person is left standing at the end.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Nick's father gets on my last nerve!  He always looks mad and grim, last night his wife even turned to look at him a couple of times like she was seeking his approval or seeing if he was happy...oy vay.  I can see Nick not only looks exactly like him but seems to have that cold guard up all the time as well.  

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I like the twitter save because it allows me to see ALL the performances. Before the TS, eliminated contestants went home without performing. I felt shortchanged and sorry for them because they rehearsed all week only to leave with their tail between their legs.

I wanted Qaasim to be saved because he's so much more entertaining than rayvon. What would happen if people misspelled #saveqaasim? That would be a non-vote, right? Sucks to have an unusually-spelled name.

 

LOL I actually Tweeted something to that effect ... that I hoped they were counting all votes where Qaasim was being misspelled. Not that he necessarily deserved to beat Rayvon based on last night's performances, but just because it would be unfair if he got penalized for having a name that everyone mispelz.

[raspberry7]

Harry nailed his critique of Clark -- I was so glad he said it. I think Clark's tendency to rush is part of the reason why he doesn't fully connect sometimes.

[rereader2]

It finally came to me--Jax's singing "accent" is that she's trying to pronounce everything like Carol Channing!

[Alison]

I'm so over everything about Jax - her look, her affected way of singing, that silly X on her face - all of it. She just reeks of "trying too hard." She's a pretty girl with a lovely voice; no need for any of these other bells and whistles.


I think Harry and some other people misconstrue the lyrics of "Teenage Dream." It's about how being with someone makes you feel like you did when you were a teenager and fantasized about what love is like. Nothing creepy about that...

[ichbin]

Tyanna: She looks so terrified about everything now. What happened? So was loaded with confidence at the beginning.

 

I totally agree.  I really thought she was the one to beat in the beginning.  She seemed more like that last night, but still not where she was earlier.  I hope she can find her way back to that.  She's super talented.

[Ohwell]

I know what it is, ohwell.  It's his super pink lips.

Yes!  Plus, it's something about his eyes.  He sometimes looks like a deer in the headlights.