S13.E30: 7 Finalists Perform

[ramble]

This entire group just doesn't interest me enough to care who goes or who stays. I don't like some more than others, but not enough to get worked up in any way. My personal complaint is JLo's numerous close ups, as y'all have discussed. Enough already. My winner for the night was Rafael Moreira, the guitar player, I've loved Rafa since RS:INXS & enjoy seeing him play again.  

[yourpointis]

I feel Jena is being forced down my throat and me no likey. Also, I really hate it when Jena talks about "next week"  like she's a sure thing and she's going to do this and that next week. At least say, "If I'm here next week" and feign some humility for cryin out loud Jesus.

 

This. I don't care who says it, fave or not, its too presumptuous on the part of someone who is dependent on public votes. It just drives me crazy when a contestant says 'when' and not 'if'.

Oh and Jessica, Haley says welcome to the club.

Edited April 17, 2014 by yourpointis

[DancinCat]

One of those moments when I question having a big HDTV is when Jessica kneels next to Rafael and we get an extended close-up of his leather-clad crotch. Twice. YMMV, of course.

[BogoGog24]

Wow, what a “meh” night.  The band was out of control last night, there were times where they completed drowned out the contestant; though I’m not sure if that’s the band’s fault or the sound engineer.

Jennifer - do NOT boo Harry.  I thought he made a very valid point when explaining to Jena that she shouldn't take Harry's lack of clapping or standing as a sign he didn't like the performance; that as a JUDGE he wants to focus on the performance and provide useful critiques.  Personally I find his approach very refreshing.

Dexter and CJ are still so mumble-mouth that I have a hard time understanding what they are singing; even when I know the words I can’t understand them.  Dexter brings nothing new to the vocals and CJ still has a difficult time staying in tune.

Jessica looked like she was mailing in that entire performance.  That being said, I did like the sound of her voice on the Miranda Lambert song.

Caleb does what Caleb always does; sings competently enough yet brings nothing new or interesting to the song.  To me he (along with Dexter) are the very definition of cover/karaoke singer.

Alex does his thing – I appreciate the fact that he stuck with the basic melody of the song changing it just enough so that it doesn’t sound like an exact copy.

Sam is improving by leaps and bounds and I can only imagine how good he will be once he’s had a solid year or three of mentor-ship to help him.  His voice sounded clear and lovely and I really thought he connected with the song.  I disagree with Harry and Keith when they suggested that Sam stick to familiar songs to help him connect.  I’ve never heard the song before and I thought Sam did a wonderful job with it.  Because I was unfamiliar the song, I really concentrated on Sam’s voice (which is wonderful).

I’m still not sure if I like Jena’s voice.  I find the tone very interesting and it makes me want to listen to her.  I am intrigued by her – so I guess that’s a good thing. 

I disagree with the judges about the critique of Sam and Alex’s duo.  I understood what the guys were trying to do and I enjoyed it.  Of all the group sings, I think these two were the best; they looked like they were having fun, were in tune, and their voices blend really well together. 

Something was completely off in the Jena-Caleb duo and I did not like that performance.   The Dexter-Jessica-CJ trio was a total train wreck; out of tune and detached.  Thank goodness Jessica was there because her lyrics were the only ones I could understand -that and the fact that she was the only one who was in tune the entire song.

 

Caleb (and all the other contestants) did get to pick their own song .... they had a list of six songs to chose from.  Now the list may not have had the best options but, to me, this is no different than the producers presenting the contestants with a list of 25 songs to select from.  Additionally, I agree with Harry that it shouldn't make a difference what the song choice is - as an artist/performer it behooves you to incorporate your style into that song.  David Cook was a master of doing this - Alex does this very well; Jena to a lesser extent.  

 

 

EDIT: Because it's Miranda not Amanda.

Well what I meant was that, even though they had 6 songs to choose from, all 6 songs were still chosen by someone else. Although I think all of them made it clear which songs or artists they liked, so the contestants tried to sort of pick songs they knew the contestant would have wanted or chosen for themselves. They probably just ended up choosing from the best of the bunch. I can't remember what other options Caleb got, but maybe the KOL song was the best one out of the options he was given.

[ari333]

I got the feeling that many of the contestants said off camera, "Hey, you pick this for me and I'll choose the one you want for you." [/jaded]

[ramble]

ari333, in the even more jaded category I think TPTB gave them suggestions for the suggestions.

[yourpointis]

Jaded? Nah. Here's three of the contestants performing the same songs from last night pre Idol. Every season the contestants perform songs they're already familiar with if the theme allows. The other four probably performed their respective songs as well.

Jessica Gunpowder and Lead 2008

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSh6_GnUQEw

Jena Creep 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ZgyfNlGcs

Alex A Team 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iwiHRC3mS8&list=PLPOlZF6z9XfvoEMWuFw-p-pHZGH7LLxKd

eta missing link

Edited April 18, 2014 by yourpointis

[TheGreenKnight]

Oh and Jessica, Haley says welcome to the club.

Hollie also says hi.

Edited April 18, 2014 by TheGreenKnight

[glowlights]

OakGoblinFly, Yes, the issues with the band drowning out the singers should be faulted to the sound techs. I don't know what the hell everyone's doing at soundcheck but they're not paying attention to levels. Unless they don't have the vocalists present at soundcheck, which would explain everything. And also be stupid. And ITA that it was no different from choosing between 6 songs selected by the producers. What was the point? At least they asked the other contestants to explain why they suggested the song. Even though some (most?) of the explanations were lame.

I "watched" most of AI from another room this week (long story) and was surprised how much I loved Sam's voice when I didn't have to look at him. Alex underwhelmed me. Caleb sounded a lot better covering Kings of Leon, even though he's still too cheesy for my liking. Did not love Jena's performance the way the audience and judges did. Jess sucked the guts out of Gunpowder & Lead, but she sucked all the sex out of Call Me so what's new. That Jena/Caleb duet was a very good night at the karaoke bar, which would be okay if this were a karaoke competition. Dexter and CJ, meh.

Would have preferred CJ or Jess to go, but I'm fine with Dexter leaving. Frankly, I don't care which one of them wins.

[ari333]

Wow, if these folks are performing songs that they've done a gazillion times before, shouldn't they be, "blowin' the roof off the place.. literally?"[/tm Caleb]

Which now makes me want to search for clips of Mad TV's hilarious "literally" skits. (Michael McDonald and Nicole Sullivan)

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

Jena Creep 2013

Why does that look so natural to me? lol!

[ari333]

Itshellopattiagain, I didn't even open that Creep link until I saw your snark-a-licious response. hee.

Now I hate that performance even more

I hope Jenna gets Pia'd.

[BookWoman56]

Sam remains the only contestant whose voice I like enough to want to listen to, and his stage presence is improving. I think what he actually needs more than anything is some life experience away from his current home. Essentially, there's nothing wrong with him that five years and a couple of bad relationships won't cure.

Of the rest, Alex IMO does the same thing every week, and he's obviously talented, but I freaking hate the Jason Mraz style of singing, and I can't watch Alex perform without cringing. And yes, he looks as if he's about to piss himself to the point that I have to take a bio-break myself when he finishes a song. Caleb strikes me as a total poseur; adequate voice, all right, but brings absolutely nothing new to the table. Jena continues to bug. Jessica is obviously getting the villain edit, and while I've liked one or two of her performances, she's not a strong enough singer for me to care, CJ apparently cannot stay on pitch, although he was much better this time around. But one competent performance doesn't make up for all the other weeks. Dexter is the  country equivalent of Caleb: adequate singer, no originality, fine to listen to in a bar if you like that genre, which I don't. Nobody was really a train wreck, but nobody had a standout performance either.