S08.E25: Live Semifinal Performances

[Koffee Kup]

I guess your definition of "major city" and my definition of "major city" are very different. I'm from Michigan.  I'd classify Traverse City as a tourist town, definitely not a major city.  It may be one of the larger towns in Northern Michigan but its not large.  And its is remote.  I don't know if it qualifies as "little, tiny" but according to some definitions a population of 15,000 and under is considered a small town so Traverse City meets that definition.  I don't think Josh was misleading anyone on the size of his home town.  Its little & tiny compared to major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles or Nashville or other places associated with Music opportunities.

I said major city of northern Michigan, (It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse City micropolitan area.) which it is with the airport, hospitals, malls, college, etc.    I would say Sawyer comes from a "teeny, tiny town" with a population of 1,200.  Traverse City is also next to Interlochen famous for the Interlochen Fine Arts Camp and in the summer home to many concerts.

[mercfan3]

Also, another note on Sawyer. 

 

A lot of guts to sing "For What It's Worth." He got away with it, and no one really mentioned it..but that's clearly applicable to today. And his original songs suggest to me he knew damn well what he was doing. 

[nbsmom]

As others have mentioned already, I'm at a loss as to why India's songs weren't doing better. While she was clearly nervous on Gravity, she did a lovely job on Earth Song. 

 

Not understanding all the slamming on the contestants at this point in the competition. (So "boring," etc.) Everyone does realize that these are people who have to perform on a live television broadcast, correct? Pretty sure the majority of people making that sort of comment (here on these boards and elsewhere) have forgotten that the performer is usually working on muscle memory, and no doubt just trying not to do anything too embarrassing.

 

Taking that sort of potential for stage fright and anxiety into consideration, I am completely in awe of how much poise and resonance Sawyer (a 16-year-old boy!) and India (21?) showed tonight. (Joshua and Meghan are older, seasoned veterans, so I am still impressed but it's not quite as big a feat for them, right?)

 

I am NOT on Team Koryn, and hope she's the one who goes home tonight.

[Kcat1971]

I said major city of northern Michigan, (It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse City micropolitan area.) which it is with the airport, hospitals, malls, college, etc.    I would say Sawyer comes from a "teeny, tiny town" with a population of 1,200.  Traverse City is also next to Interlochen famous for the Interlochen Fine Arts Camp and in the summer home to many concerts.

 

 Even as the largest "city" in the 21 county region. (Read that again 21 county region!) I would not call Traverse City a major city.  Your demographic facts are correct, but in my opinion Traverse City is nothing like a metropolitan area.  The airport is a small regional airport that primarily services private airlines because Traverse City includes summer homes for some very wealthy people. (In part due to the fact that their children attend that very expensive summer camp you mentioned.)  As I said, we have a different definition.  My point was that I don't think Josh's statement was misleading and your post did seem to imply that Josh was trying to mislead. ("TC is not a little, tiny town as Josh would like you to believe.")  Clearly, we both have some experience or insider knowledge of Traverse City.  Being from someplace that is definitely a major city in Michigan, my perspective is that Traverse City is not and I don't feel that the label of little or tiny is misleading. YMMV

[beaker73]

I think that's a good question that's related to another good question. How did we get all the way to this point with such a collection or boring, run of the mill singers?

 

Not that I remember any of the earlier eliminated contestants as being huge talents, but at least they weren't pageant bots like Koryn and India, who represent a style of super serious, OTT singing that I thought American Idol ran into the ground years ago. Joshua and Sawyer are equally boring in their own way, although I appreciate that tonight they sang songs from my musical era. I might've enjoyed Sawyer's "For What It's Worth" if I kept my eyes closed. His sheepish grinning conveyed that he had no idea what the song was actually about, and those prancing, hand clapping singers were equally clueless. Joshua's interpretation of The Band song at least showed some connection to the lyrics, but he remains the definition of mediocre.

 

So as someone else said, that leaves Meghan, who is a pro and as such probably deserves to win this show, but won't.

 

I never heard that "Tennessee Whiskey" song before, but what a blatant rip-off of "I'd Rather Go Blind." If Pharrell can be successfully sued over "Blurred Lines" then the writers of "Blind" should have a big fat check coming. (Though I don't know how much money "Tennessee Whiskey" actually made)

To be perfectly honest, we get to this point because America’s votes control it all.  I officially bailed on AI after Haley Reinhart got eliminated and we were left with the Hootenanny Finale. 

 

I don’t know what the solution is.  Maybe include a combination of audience votes + coaches’ votes like they did in earlier seasons? Doesn’t one of those dancing shows do something similar?  Although, that probably wouldn’t work.  I used to really, really like this show and I feel like it’s going the way of AI.  Makes me sad.

 

It’s seems to be a forgone conclusion that Sawyer will win this thing and that’s fine, I guess.   Whatever.  To me, he’s like vanilla soft serve—perfectly fine when you have an ice cream craving, but doesn’t knock your socks off like a banana split does.

Edited May 12, 2015 by beaker73

[basiltherat]

Yes, but the banana split contains vanilla soft serve, and will grow and ripen from the green-ness of 16.

[limecoke]

Sawyer looked good in the ponytail and hatless.  He seems like a nice kid so if he wins (which he will), I'm ok with it.

 

Observations from the home visits:  So American Idol contestants fly by private jet and Voice contestants fly commercial.  Koryn gets Kelly Clarkson, Meghan gets Naomi Judd and Big and Rich, India gets to sing at Yankee Stadium. Josh and Sawyer get...squat.

 

I did not understand ONE WORD of "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep."  Not even one word.  Even "Mary" didn't sound like "Mary".  I cannot grasp the point of a vocal if you cannot understand the words.  Maybe it's just me.  Koryn's voice is not my cuppa.  Way too muddy and guttural and I'm more a fan of the clear, bell-like tones.  It sounds like she needs to hock up something and can never quite get it out.

 

India stepped it up this week but it's probably too little too late.

 

If Josh is boring, so am I.  I love his music and hope he does well and enjoys life after this competition.    

Edited May 12, 2015 by limecoke

[Nedsdag]

Late coming from me, so here:

 

• Sawyer - Quaint homecoming. Better than expected on his two songs. The winner of The Voice Season 7.
• Meghan - Every time I hear her sing, I worry about her vocal chords. She overdid it on the Sam Smith song, which is a subtle song. However, I must applaud her on her second song choice. Nice play for the Southern/Country vote with the George Jones song.
• Joshua - Lullaby Man put me to sleep on the first song, slightly amped it up on the second song. But like Sawyer and Meghan, he's bulletproof.

 

Which brings up the sing off between Koryn, whose first song was overly dramatic, but better on the second song, and India, who was stellar on the first song, but limp on the second song. Toss a coin between these two to see who finishes fourth.

 

By the way, if I were in a drinking contest to hear how many times Blake says "I don't know this song," I'd be in a rehab clinic. Stop embarrassing yourself, Mr. Lambert!

[Padma]

I really don't like Pharrell's blatant pandering for the Christian vote. (Yes, I'm using that word again. Because he actually came out and talked about God and she did, too, last week in what she was thankful for in his coaching.)

 

They may both be sincere, but it continues to seem calculated to appeal to a particular voting block (my definition of "pandering" in this context).  I don't like it.  And even without that I hope she's the one going home tonight instead of India or Joshua. I just am never convinced she is connecting with the emotion behind most of her songs and I'm tired of the belting. India and Meghan both have moments of more subtlety than Koryn.

[susannot]

Donny Ketchum or somebody, can anyone explain what it takes, saleswise, to land at # 2 and #3 on I tunes? Sawyer has been tearing up Itunes this season.  Does he earn actual money, or do his sales just count as votes?

[Babalooie]

Well, certainly, Pharrell learned the art of pandering from the supreme panderer,  Blake.

[Ketzel]

I never heard that "Tennessee Whiskey" song before, but what a blatant rip-off of "I'd Rather Go Blind." If Pharrell can be successfully sued over "Blurred Lines" then the writers of "Blind" should have a big fat check coming. (Though I don't know how much money "Tennessee Whiskey" actually made)

If you listen to the original recording that David Allan Coe did, the melody isn't nearly as similar to "I'd Rather Go Blind" as it sounded when Meghan sang it. I wonder if in the process of making the song more soulful and less classic country, she didn't change it a few notes too far.

[Biggie B]

I did not understand ONE WORD of "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep."  Not even one word.

 

Me neither! I've never heard of this song (gee, I sound like Blake), so it was absolutely impossible for me to decipher a single word. I felt she was simply yelling at me. Very unattractive and stressful. I didn't feel inspired or motivated at all by that performance. I just wanted it to be done.

 

And you know what, Pharrell? I'm an atheist. I put no god first. Stop shoving your beliefs down my throat. I don't care if you have those beliefs, but I have no desire to hear them in this context. 

 

Sawyer looked great without his hat. I was happy to see him like that.

[Archery]

Mary, Don't You Weep lives at the intersection of gospel and R&B. Koryn's version updated one of the black classics. I think I even liked it better than Aretha' s (the gold standard), because Aretha can get shrieky on it.

World: That India, man she needs to get out of her head and show some personality.

India: Earth Song.

[susannot]

Bruce Springsteen recorded a beautiful version of "Oh Mary Don't You Weep"  on his Seeger Sessions album.  You can understand every word with crystal clarity.

 

I fail to understand how Blake can be a judge on an American singing competition when he is totally ignorant of songs like Glory, whcih won the Oscar this year, or When I Paint My Masterpiece, written by Bob Dylan.  I'm not a big country fan, but I could identify its most iconic songs performed or written by its most important artists.

[Archery]

Even if he doesn't know the broadest range of songs, I don't understand why Blake doesn't at least listen to the songs prior to performance night. I mean, there's such a thing as YouTube. Good grief.

[jjjmoss]

Donny Ketchum or somebody, can anyone explain what it takes, saleswise, to land at # 2 and #3 on I tunes? Sawyer has been tearing up Itunes this season.  Does he earn actual money, or do his sales just count as votes?

This is an imperfect answer, but here are Kworb.net's weekly sales estimates so far:

Sawyer's Shine On 39k, Meghan's Amazing Grace 31k, Sawyer's Take Me to the River 21k

Sawyer's Simple Man 56k (Was #18 in downloads of all songs that week), Joshua's Fields of Gold & Kimberly's Creep 22k (#39 and #42 downloads). iTunes peaks were around #s 2, 7, and 12. 

Koryn's Make it Rain 48k (#22 download), Sawyer's Iris 40k (#25 download). iTunes peaks around #s 3 and 5.

Sawyer's Imagine 45k (#25 download), Kimberly's House of the Rising Sun & Meghan's Girl Crush 43k (#27 and #28 downloads). iTunes peaks were around #s 3, 4, and 5.

Sawyer's Trouble 32k (#39 download). iTunes peak around #17.

Sawyer's Have You Ever Seen the Rain 28k (#40 download). iTunes peak around #13.

 

Nice, but Matt McAndrew's The Blower's Daughter last season got 91k and was the #8 seller that week.

Edited May 13, 2015 by jjjmoss

[bluepiano]

If you listen to the original recording that David Allan Coe did, the melody isn't nearly as similar to "I'd Rather Go Blind" as it sounded when Meghan sang it. I wonder if in the process of making the song more soulful and less classic country, she didn't change it a few notes too far.

 

Thanks for posting that, and you're right, they (either Meghan or the musical director) completely changed the melody. All the time I was listening to that I was thinking, if you really want to sing "I'd Rather Go Blind," then just sing it. But the original did not sound like that at all.

 

I confess to not knowing much of the work of David Allen Coe, even though my band does play his "Walkin' Bum."

[ToxicUnicorn]

I am out of step.  Maybe I was paying too much attention to my laundry.  (That's just sad.)  From what I could tell:

 

I liked Megan's staging on the Sam Smith song and I didn't mind her singing all that much because she showed she understood how to be quiet, for once.  Of course, that makes me resent her earlier performances, but I'm trying to stay positive.  She sounded good on the Tennessee Whiskey song.  However, I've never even heard the title of that one before ... I think it was not a safe choice, by a long shot.  Also, I kept wincing every time they did those country star cameos.  I don't see how that wins her any popular votes.

 

I respect Koryn for going after every performance, I really do.  I never can decide whether I like her singing, though.  Sometimes she sounds good, sometimes she sounds like she has a cold and a sore throat.  Last night, I was thinking more on the sore throat side, and it sounded to me like she very nearly lost control of that last note on the first song. 

 

I did not like Josh's first song at all, compared to the original, and I can't remember his second.  Typical.

 

Sawyer's first song was excellent, to me.  I remember thinking that he had this in the bag - nice way to make an impression again after being boring for so many weeks.  His second song sounded pretty bad, but I don't think it will matter.

 

India finally came out of her shell.  Finally.

[viajero]

I only got a chance to watch yesterday’s show this afternoon.  My comments:

 

The Bad:

 

• Song selection.  Only 30% of the songs selected were less than at least two decades old and most were a lot older than that.  What a way to try to make your contestants seem relevant.  Plus the coaches did a really lousy job on selecting songs for the first three performers.

 

• Joshua’s First:  What a way to take a highly emotional song and make it as tepid was lukewarm soup.  Never has his limited range and total lack of charisma been more apparent.

 

The Meh:

 

• The hometown visits.  The only one that had me at least smiling a little was Koryn’s, just because she showed so much enthusiasm.  The rest were just a repeat of what we’ve seen all too many times on this show and AI.

 

• Sawyer’s Second:  I simply did not like his voice for this song, especially when he went up high.  Maybe I have Perri’s version too ingrained in my mind.

 

• Joshua’s Second:  Even though he was better on this one, my problem is that I grew up listening to The Band (one of my Mom’s favorites), even it this is far from one my favorite of their songs.  Though he roughened up his vocals a bit, it’s almost like he didn’t do it enough.  I was missing the rawness, mild irony and general character of Levon Helm’s vocals.  Check out this The Band version:

 

 

• Koryn’s First:  She started well, but was too monotonous during the second half of the song.  This is another one of those songs I’d like to see retired from singing competitions.

 

• Meghan’s First: She was kind of flat in places during the first part and then the song just kind of drifted with a little too much screeching instead of melody.  It made me wish she’d gotten the Bonnie Raitt song instead of Joshua.

 

The Good:

 

• Both of India’s:  Though I didn’t like either version quite as much as the original, this was the best she’s done in weeks.  She really showed off her vocal ability and kept the vibrato under control.

 

• Meghan’s Second:  I liked the bit of soul she added to this song.

 

• Sawyer’s First: The best of the first hour.  The only knock is that for once his enunciation wasn’t the best.  If I hadn’t already known the lyrics, I wouldn’t have understood half of what he sung.  But as you will see below, this isn’t a deal breaker for me.

 

The Great:

 

• Koryn’s Second:  This was the only performance of the evening that got me up off my couch and gave me goose-bumps.  It doesn’t matter that I’m not the least bit religious or that her enunciation wasn’t the best, she communicated the emotions of the song better than anyone else in this episode.  A Bravo performance.

Edited May 13, 2015 by viajero

[Village]

As others have mentioned already, I'm at a loss as to why India's songs weren't doing better. While she was clearly nervous on Gravity, she did a lovely job on Earth Song. 

 

Not understanding all the slamming on the contestants at this point in the competition. (So "boring," etc.) Everyone does realize that these are people who have to perform on a live television broadcast, correct? Pretty sure the majority of people making that sort of comment (here on these boards and elsewhere) have forgotten that the performer is usually working on muscle memory, and no doubt just trying not to do anything too embarrassing.

 

Taking that sort of potential for stage fright and anxiety into consideration, I am completely in awe of how much poise and resonance Sawyer (a 16-year-old boy!) and India (21?) showed tonight. (Joshua and Meghan are older, seasoned veterans, so I am still impressed but it's not quite as big a feat for them, right?)

 

I am NOT on Team Koryn, and hope she's the one who goes home tonight.

 

All this talk about not understanding all the slamming of the contestants and being impressed with the poise India and Sawyer showed considering their ages but in the same post hoping seventeen year old Koryn gets the boot because you're not a fan comes off a bit hypocritical. Policing other people's criticisms and then being negative about a contestant yourself is a bit much.

Edited May 13, 2015 by Village

[ToxicUnicorn]

Also, another note on Sawyer.

 

A lot of guts to sing "For What It's Worth." He got away with it, and no one really mentioned it..but that's clearly applicable to today. And his original songs suggest to me he knew damn well what he was doing.

 

I'm listening to this again.  I think he pulled off my favorite performance of the season.  I will remember it.  Good showing of his original ideas.

 

My second favorite: Cody Wickline's audition "He Stopped Loving Her Tonight".

 

Ok, both white guys with guitars.  Sue me.  :)

 

ETA:  Forgot my intended comment: I did not care for what India did to Gravity at all.  It was too different from Sara Bareilles' version for me.

Edited May 13, 2015 by ToxicUnicorn

[Princess Lucky]

It made me wish she’d [Meghan] gotten the Bonnie Raitt song instead of Joshua.

Ooh, that would have been fantastic.

 

I watched some of the performances, but without Hannah and Kimberly there it just isn't fun anymore. I didn't even watch the results show, I just saw who was eliminated a few minutes ago. That's how little I care. Eh.

 

Meghan is the only one I still enjoy because she does something different with her vocals. I don't know what to expect because she puts a lot of flourish but she's not totally in your face, she's great at doing that "dynamics" thing the coaches always go on about. That Tennessee Whiskey song was lovely; I hadn't heard of it before. Going by previous versions on youtube, I totally agree that she/the Voice people put an "I'd Rather Go Blind" twist to it, but it really worked in de-countrifying it just enough.

 

Sawyer does have that Bob Dylan allure, a voice that isn't technically solid but it appeals to some people. I am not one of those people. I can't say he'll be an undeserving winner, but technically speaking, well, he is not "The Voice". He does have a compelling presence, though (which I find creepy, but still, I see how others are into it).

 

Joshua and Koryn don't stand a chance. Neither does Meghan, but still.

[Muffyn]

This was a very fast episode for me.  I skipped all of the coaches comments.  Although, while I forwarded through I did take the opportunity to yell, "Sit down Pharrell!"   Of course he's short enough that he's not blocking anyone's view.  He's barely taller than the chair.

 

I also forwarded through the hometown visits.  Just don't care. 

[AwesomO4000]

Thanks for posting that, and you're right, they (either Meghan or the musical director) completely changed the melody. All the time I was listening to that I was thinking, if you really want to sing "I'd Rather Go Blind," then just sing it. But the original did not sound like that at all.

 

I confess to not knowing much of the work of David Allen Coe, even though my band does play his "Walkin' Bum."

 

David Allen Coe sings one of my top 3 favorite country songs ever: You Never Even Called Me By My Name (Written by Steve Goodman). The last verse is brilliant, in my opinion, and David Allen Coe sings it just right, including that talking part in the middle to explain the last verse.

 

The chorus is just what one would expect from a country song:

 

"And I'll hang around as long as you will let me,

And I never minded standing in the rain,

But you don't have to call me Darlin', Darlin'.

You never even called me by my name."

Edited May 18, 2015 by AwesomO4000