S13.E36: 4 Finalists Perform

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 4 vocalists (Jena Irene, Caleb Johnson, Jessica Muese and Alex Preston) perform. The theme is "Love: Breakups and Make-Ups."

[Shannon L.]

And here is the song list:  http://tvline.com/2014/05/07/american-idol-top-4-song-spoilers-jena-alex-jessica-caleb-makeups-breakups/

 

I see Jessica has stepped outside her comfort zone and Caleb, while again choosing songs from his preferred genre, picked one that's a bit out of his box, too. 

[yourpointis]

Top 4 songs for tonight

 

Alex Preston – “Yellow” by Coldplay
Alex Preston – “Too Close” by Alex Clare
Jena Irene – “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley
Jena Irene – “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar
Caleb Johnson – “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney
Caleb Johnson – “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi
Jessica Meuse – “You and I” by Lady Gaga
Jessica Meuse – “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson

 

http://www.mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-13-top-4-song-spoilers.htm

 

Shannon L beat me to it.

Edited May 7, 2014 by yourpointis

[Sparkling Beth]

Eager to hear Jena sing "Cont Hawlp Fowling in Loaf."

Edited May 7, 2014 by Sparkling Beth

[nutty1]

I am not familiar with all of them....listening to the original songs on YouTube.

 

ETA:

I just listened to the 2 songs Alex chose. If he gets over the judge induced paranoia of changing songs up, he can do quite well tonight.

Jess could do well tonight.

Jess and Alex's song choices are so much more current.

Edited May 7, 2014 by nutty1

[Joystickenvy]

Anticipating a rough night for Jena & Jessica with those song choices, but maybe they'll surprise me. Both Caleb songs seem like they should fit his voice. I imagine the arrangement on The ballady song will be heavy on the high screamy part of the song.

I don't recognize either Alex song by the title, so maybe I won't be annoyed when he denatures them.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Joystickenvy

[ari333]

Eager to hear Jena sing "Cont Hawlp Fowling in Loaf."

Nailed it! There goes my Snapple. Omg.... totally nailed it. [it's a gift.] :)

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

 

Eager to hear Jena sing "Cont Hawlp Fowling in Loaf."

OMG there are tears squirting out of my eyes! Too much!

[ari333]

So cool that we are allowed to post before the show! (And during the show? I'm checking to make sure, although I think it's yes) I'm going back and forth b/w boards and I don't want to get confused and faux pas. :)

 

LOSS GOO !

 

(Let's go)

If I see any glow stix, Patti prepare to pass the neck pencil.

 

"Cont Hawlp Fowling in Loaf."

 

May I piggyback off, Beth's awesome, "Cont Hawlp Fowling in Loaf" and respectfully add, "...woth yaahhh." 

 

"Woo-eez ...mahn... sah....ahn-lee ...fulls... rosh.... ahn.... "

 

I am so going to hell.

 

And I can't even begin to imagine how the other JENA#%7Q! song lyrics will get butchered. Oh, the humanity.

 

Have we all placed our bets on Caleb's non-apology on air? Will he or won't he? And if so, will it be a real apology or a lame backpedal?

Edited May 7, 2014 by ari333

[nutty1]

I am listening to the songs on iTunes….Caleb's isn't on yet.

Jess sounds better without seeing her perform. She countrified her song.

Jena will be running all over with her arms in the air. It is quite karaoke.

Alex's sounds good….like Alex.

[4leafclover]

 

 

May I piggyback off, Beth's awesome, "Cont Hawlp Fowling in Loaf" and respectfully add, "...woth yaahhh."

"Woe-ze mahn... sah....ahn-lee fulls rosh ahn....

 

Thonk yuw vewy moch fuh thot---I loffed ot lod!  

[OakGoblinFly]

Anticipating a rough night for Jena & Jessica with those song choices, but maybe they'll surprise me. Both Caleb songs seem like they should fit his voice. I imagine the arrangement on The ballady song will be heavy on the high screamy part of the song.

I don't recognize either Alex song by the title, so maybe I won't be annoyed when he denatures them.

 

 

I like the song choices for Alex, even the awful Yellow (then again I have an irrational hate of all things Coldplay so my judgement may not be best in that regard)  - I think he'll do quite well.

 

Jena was handed some pretty bad songs ... Elvis and Pat Benatar?  That's a tall order; I'm afraid of what Jena will do to the Benatar song as I fear she will just shout her way through it.  There is a lot more subtlety to Heartbreaker.

 

I think Jessica could do well on the Lady Gaga song.  I despise nearly everything Yelly, I mean Kelly Clarkson puts out and contestants have a notoriously difficult time with her songs.

 

Caleb's song choices are nearly as bad as Jena's.  I can see him screeching through Mabye I'm Amazed and totally missing the emotional connection.  Of course he'll get a standing ovation for that.  Bon Jovi songs are tricky, they are very nuanced and not many people can sing those songs well.  

[rereader2]

Have we all placed our bets on Caleb's non-apology on air? Will he or won't he? And if so, will it be a real apology or a lame backpedal?

 

I can't imagine that TPTB will want to draw attention to the whole mess--I doubt there will be any mention of it. But there SHOULD be.

Bon Jovi songs are tricky, they are very nuanced and not many people can sing those songs well.  

 

This is very true! They don't SOUND tricky, but they are.

[ari333]

Thonk yuw vewy moch fuh thot---I loffed ot lod!  

 

Oh dear god! *snort* You people are killing me. BWahahah

 

The way you guys nail the vowels is so spot on  it's little spooky. (or spocky, as the case may be.) 

 

I'll be in hell if you need me.

 

Carry on, funny fellow posters. :)

I can't imagine that TPTB will want to draw attention to the whole mess--I doubt there will be any mention of it. But there SHOULD be.

 

Re: Caleb's R word. (Yum, foot) I agree that there should be an acknowledgment; but that would take some collective nads, so it won't happen. If so, I'll stand corrected and shall be open for proper admonishment. :)

Edited May 7, 2014 by ari333

[BogoGog24]

Erm why does Caleb have Travelin' Band on iTunes?????? Is the spoiler wrong?

Edited May 7, 2014 by BogoGog24

[nutty1]

It's being contemplated that if he makes it through to next week, that will be his song, being that the F3 will be traveling next week, maybe they all recorded songs for next week. (that wasn't a run on sentence, was it?). It may be an error and iTunes accidentally put that on.

[Joystickenvy]

Re: posting during the show

I've seen it stated elsewhere by the mods that you can, but don't post "live blog style" posts or in other words don't post:

OMG she just said loaf again. Or can you believe that just happened? type stuff. Or basically don't try to carry on a running commentary like people do in the comments on MJs and such.

If I'm wrong about that, I reckon someone can correct me.

[BogoGog24]

Yeah Michael Slezak seems to think the contestants have all pre-recorded their Top 3 songs since they won't be there to record if they get their hometown visit and that for some reason iTunes posted the wrong one for Caleb. Hope they fix it soon although I guess it's great to get an extra song (he will probably get booted this week so it's a great bonus for his fans that probably wouldn't have otherwise gotten to hear the track)

 

From what I've heard, we are not allowed to comment here during the show the way they do on MJs as a running commentary, as joystick mentioned. No "live blogging."

[Lisin]

@Joystickenvy and @BogoGog24 have it right, you can post, as long as it's an actual post and not "OMG LOOK!" or whatever, basically you want it to be something that makes sense to read after the episode airs, and not only if you're reading it live. 

[nutty1]

They are actually singing 3 songs each.

 

http://www.mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-13-top-4-song-spoilers.htm

[BogoGog24]

I was just about to post that- the contestants are all singing 3 songs tonight apparently, hence the Travelin' Band song.

[peggy06]

Jess should have dedicated "So What" to the judges.

[Diana Berry]

It must have really pained the judges to give Jessica positive critiques on her last song. It was really good( I thought she did fine on the other two, also).

Oh mercy JLO and Gina/jena/Geena. Poor Elvis. All I heard was a lot of warbled lyrics.

Did Caleb seem off on his first song or was it just the old " he is no Bon jovi"? It just didn't do much for me and that is one of my fave 80 athems.

I feel the double decker bus was coming for Alex and Jessica tonite. I still want a shocking elimination ( Gina or caleb).

[ramble]

I really liked Jessica's final song. I don't know of it'll matter though. The judges couldn't have made it clearer they feel it's her time to go. I'm surprised they didn't give her a gift basket, mumble something about a parting gift & have Ryan push her pre-packed bags in her hand.

Caleb sounds like everyone else singing cover songs. I can't get past it. Sure he has talent but so do a lot of people singing in their local music scene. I'm looking forward to not seeing him on my tv again soon. I had an irrational desire to snap a selfie of me with Caleb holding a sign reading "I'm not a r****d & neither are your fans" but figured it wouldn't make it on air.

I think JLo came close to orgasming when Jena$!@ sang Elvis. She looked like she was having a moment & then needed a moment. I felt like I needed to ahvurt mah ahs.

[msburg]

What the hell was the JLo montage that rolled with the credits tonight?  I was so annoyed by her blatant whatever tonight in the judging.  She decides to wait until right now to tell Alex that he needs to "keep up" with the belters?  I was very happy that his immediate response was to say that wasn't his style.  

 

And yes, Jessica was definitely in f you mode tonight.  It seemed to liberate her quite a bit.

[BogoGog24]

Caleb- First song wasn't great (never been a fan of that song anyway). The CCR song and Maybe I'm Amazed Were Great. I still think even though he had a solid night he will be gone tomorrow because of the "controversy." 

 

Jessica- The Kelly Clarkson song was just all kinds of wrong for her. She was really into it emotionally, but it did nothing for her vocals and the song is not as powerful without the glory notes. The Pink song was slightly better but still felt forced. Some lyrics just didn't seem believable coming from her (I want to start a fight, I'm still a rockstar, I got my rock moves) The Lady Gaga song was great though and fit her well both vocally and emotionally. 

 

Jena- All her song choices except the Lady Gaga song felt dated for someone so young. Heartbreaker was eh. Maybe I just don't like the tone of her voice so much that it makes it hard to like anything she does. Bad Romance was a good performance song, don't know so much about vocals. The Elvis song was her best. JLo kind of overreacted though. I felt like for a tender song she was shouting too much. And was it just me or did something weird happen in the middle of Jena's performance? I think maybe what happened was JLo swore and they were bleeping it out but I'm not entirely sure.

 

Alex- I've heard Too Close too many times this season already from Hollywood Week. The Jason Mraz song was predictable and he did nothing new or interesting with it. (There go the judges again with their contradictory comments- "We missed that you didn't change it up!" when a few weeks back they criticized him for changing the Police song too much) Yellow was the best of the bunch but still predictable and boring. He wasn't awful tonight but he didn't have any stand out moments like in other weeks. He could be B2.

 

Prediction for B2: Caleb and Alex with Caleb leaving

 

Ryan was on the same thing he was on last week

Oh yeah that Selfie thing is SOOOO stupid!!!!!!

[ari333]

I was sort of kind of hoping that Jess would just say, "Bite me, fuckers!" but that's me. I'm all classy like that.

[Song of Roland]

Hmm, well that was a bit upexpected. Caleb, I have to admit, was really good on the second and  third songs. Jess's third song, Jena's firstand third were quite good. I've been a mild fan of Alex, but those were some bland, flat-line performances. I wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point, but I'm going to guess Jess will still go out tomorrow.  After that, I have no idea.

[Nedsdag]

All of the tushie kissing over JEEEEEENA's version of the Elvis song was for naught because she copied Ingrid Michaelsen's version verse for verse. Nevertheless, we'll see her next week.

 

Jess's final song may have saved her because Alex was rather meh tonight. I loved her F U attitude at the end regardless  of whether she stays or not.

 

Caleb did his usual schtick and it may get him a hometown visit.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Nedsdag

[Sarah D. Bunting]

My thoughts on the Four Play.

[yourpointis]

Meh night all around. Goodbye Jess/Alex. I'll look forward to either's post show work. Next season if TPTB cannot select some actual singer's singers, then I won't bother seeing the season out. These last 4-5 seasons have just been painful to endure. I feel as though the dedicated few deserve better. jmho

[Cherry Cola]

I love Caleb's voice best of all who are left. I am rooting for him. I love that he sang a McCartney song. ♡ Jena's Elvis song was beautiful.

[auntlada]

Caleb sounds like everyone else singing cover songs. I can't get past it. Sure he has talent but so do a lot of people singing in their local music scene.

 

He seems like he's trying to sound like the original singer. When he sang his second song, my husband (who doesn't watch the show but is a huge CCR fan) walked through the room and said, "Yeah, he's trying to sound like John Fogerty." And he wasn't absolutely horrible at that, but who wants to hear a John Fogerty imitation? (Admittedly, if John Fogerty auditioned for Idol -- assuming he was the right age, etc. -- I don't think he'd make it past the first audition. Idol would not have taken a voice like his, I think, but the judges fall all over themselves to praise someone who is imitating him.)

 

I also figured out part of what bothers me about Caleb. He tries to act all rocker and 80s hair band, but he's just too soft-looking. He doesn't look hard rock to me so much as just slovenly. And it's not that he's a bit overweight because there are rockers who are, but they're not soft. He just looks like he's never done any hard work at all. Maybe he has, and he's just taken really good care of his skin or something, but he just doesn't have an edge. It's like he's putting on an edge, but it doesn't fit so good.

 

I thought Jessica did well on all her songs, certainly better than Jena. Either my hearing is busted, or the studio has opposite sound. I'd swear that in her second song, Jena sang something about lettuce. I couldn't understand the words, so I finally just fast-forwarded it.

 

I fast-forwarded lots of the judges and Randy. Did they mention Caleb's comments of the week?

 

I also didn't understand how Keith and Jennifer could be singing along so happily with Jessica and then act like they hated her song during the judging. I don't sing along with performances I think are bad even if I ordinarily love the song.

Edited May 8, 2014 by auntlada

[MrsMoltisanti]

Well, I can't say much about tonight. I am over this show and can't watch another season. It seems the judges are being coached on what to say and who to lean towards. JLO, of everyone you have seen in your career and on awards shows, you really frigging had to go and slobber all over Jina?$. No wonder these kids think they are heavens gifts to us mere mortals. When the show is over and real life returns, "it's a hard rains a gonna fall." and whatever happened to theme nights such as American Songbook and having special mentors every week? No Kenny Rogers, no Hall and Oates, no Rod Stewart, sigh, those were the glory days

[Sparkling Beth]

Why do the judges never mention that when Jena sings in a lower register, she sounds flat and monotone?

[backformore]

I also figured out part of what bothers me about Caleb. He tries to act all rocker and 80s hair band, but he's just too soft-looking. He doesn't look hard rock to me so much as just slovenly. And it's not that he's a bit overweight because there are rockers who are, but they're not soft. He just looks like he's never done any hard work at all. Maybe he has, and he's just taken really good care of his skin or something, but he just doesn't have an edge. It's like he's putting on an edge, but it doesn't fit so good.

 

RIGHT!   To me, Caleb always seems like he's playing a part - Like, imagine, Jack Black acting in "Meatloaf the movie"   -  that's Caleb. 

I can't help think that they REALLY< REALLY want Caleb to win because they think that will re-capture AI's credibility. 

 

Oh my god - you guys really nailed Jena's pronunciation!  the lyrics were almost unrecognizable on "I can't help falling in love", and it wrecked the song for me.

 

The judges could not have been more clear - "Vote for Jena!   not Jessica, JENA!!!"    They absolutely want a Caleb/Jena finale. 

[4leafclover]

The judges made it clear this was the "Jena and Caleb" Show tonight.  It is blatant to me that they are trying hard to manipulate the voting process--Jena was average, yet she rated a kiss from JLo and further gushing from Keith and Harry.  They told Alex that he needed to change up the songs, yet Caleb uses the same formula week after week and the songs always sound like the original recordings.  Jessica had one of her best nights but continued to receive criticism and very little praise.  

 

Yes, we also noticed something weird during Jena's last song--thought it was my TV but must've been something in studio if others saw it.  And I too wondered why Keith and Jennifer were bebopping to Jessica's songs then lowered the boom on her with their opinions!  Didn't make sense at all...........

[Shannon L.]

Well, Caleb's "Maybe I'm Amazed" and Jessica's "You and I" won the night for me.  In fact, this is the first time I saw Jessica really perform with emotion with all three of her songs.  Maybe the judges want more, but it was definitely a great improvement.

 

I was ok with Jena's first two, except for the pronunciation and enunciation.  Yikes! (and you guys really have nailed her pronunciations!)   But, I hated "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You."

 

Alex does so little for me that after Jena sang her last song, I got up and started getting ready for bed.  I completely forgot that he still had to sing until I walked back through the living room and saw his song starting.  Oops.

[backformore]

Yes, we also noticed something weird during Jena's last song--thought it was my TV but must've been something in studio if others saw it

 

There was a glitchy moment, then J'Lo looking outraged.  I think an audience member shouted something obscene, and they had to do a quick video skip, to make sure it didn't make it on TV. 

[Etta Place]

"You and I" was the first performance I've liked of Jessica's in just about forever. It really worked for her and she didn't have that empty smile on.

 

I felt that Caleb sucked all the emotion out of the powerful parts of "Maybe I'm Amazed." It's a shame, too, because I was really looking forward to those parts and then they just didn't happen.

 

As for Jena, my husband, who usually calls everyone on not enunciating ("Words. Songs have them."), loved "Can't Help Falling in Love." I pointed out that her pronunciation was mushy at best and he said "oh, who cares about words?" *shrug* For me, I hated the verses - particularly those random "ohhh"s. But I came around from the chorus on, even if she sounded like she must learn the lyrics phonetically.

 

Alex did good Coldplay karaoke.

[onthebrink03]

 And was it just me or did something weird happen in the middle of Jena's performance? I think maybe what happened was JLo swore and they were bleeping it out but I'm not entirely sure.

That's exactly what happened.  JLo was in the throws of ecstasy over JENA@#&! and turned to, I think Randy, and swore.  One big ole "Fuck" from Jennie From The Block had them scrambling.  Ryan made mention of it at the end of the show.  Claiming JLo had "fun" and she was surprised the camera had been on her.  Oooopsies!

 

The judges are not hearing what I'm hearing at home.  Otherwise this would not be the Caleb and JENA show with them gushing each.and.every.week over garbled words, weak to non-existent lower registers and the same ole same ole, as long as it is reminiscent of the 70s we're good.  Ugh!  

 

And we had not one but two buses revving up in the wings tonight.  I don't think TPTB care which one goes home tomorrow as long as it's Jess or Alex.  Can the manipulation get any more rank and obvious?  What am I saying? It's American Idol so stay tuned for next week to see how low they can go.

[4leafclover]

Thanks for the info onthebrink03--my DVR cut off at the end and I didn't know Ryan said anything.  I thought Jennifer's expression looked mad but I didn't know why.  Did she say that out of frustration or because she was swooning so much?

[onthebrink03]

Thanks for the info onthebrink03--my DVR cut off at the end and I didn't know Ryan said anything.  I thought Jennifer's expression looked mad but I didn't know why.  Did she say that out of frustration or because she was swooning so much?

Well seeing as the script called for  OTT swooning from JLo, I'm pretty sure that expletive left her ruby red lips because she was so astounded with the depth, breadth and beauty of JENA@#5!'s artistry.  She just couldn't help herself, she was sooooo blown away.  I think JLo got a little too caught up in character.

Edited May 8, 2014 by onthebrink03

[4leafclover]

Ugh!  JLo experiencing the Big O.  Blech!

[UsernameFatigue]

Jessica was by far my favourite performer of the night. I especially loved her second and third songs. I also thought she looked stunning (makeup and hair colours) in her taped interviews before her performances. I wish she had looked like that tonight as a change from her always black and pink hair.

I was totally bored with Caleb's first performance, and only enjoyed the very end of Travelin' Band when he put a bluesy twist on it. His last song was the best, but overall I could never watch him in concert as he is just too unoriginal.

I was disappointed in Alex's songs. I liked the first one, thought the second was too close to the original and didn't know the third song at all. Normally that doesn't detract from my enjoyment when it is Alex singing, but this time I was bored.


And JENA!@&%$  First song was just a Pat Bentar karaoke version for me. I didn't know the second song at all, and had no idea what the heck she was singing. Just for fun I played back the last sentence she sang and asked hubby to interpret from me. After 5 times playing it back, neither of us could make out one word.

Which brings me to what is really annoying me about the judges. They all obviously know every song she is singing. But why the heck do they have no clue that not everyone does, and if you don't know the words JENA!@&%$ might as well be singing in tongues, as you have no hope of understanding what is coming out of her mouth? It is really starting to tick me off that all three of them (or 2, as I expect JLo to be that clueless) are totally ignoring this!!! Sheesh.

Edited May 8, 2014 by UsernameFatigue

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I'd bet anything that TPTB retarded any mention whatsoever of Caleb's turrible week.

 

JLo was bored out of her gourd by Alex's last song.  Her words?  You'da thunk he was Phillip Phillips.  Then again, he is the only WGWG left, isn't he.

 

Caleb's Amazing was a Top Five AI for arrangement and band execution.  Sooooooo many contestants have been done in by stylized versions of classics which are simply horrendous.  This time, we got a faithful and subdued chart with tremendous musicianship.  Add in Caleb's best performance to date and you get the moment of the season.  Helloooooooooo, Asheville!  

 

Jena did a great job on that Elvis song.  She still should not be in Top 2 ahead of Alex and Caleb.  Jess showed us all in her first two songs that she is not in the same league as the other remaining folks.  The nice thing is that she knows it.  I hope she has a nice career playing her music.

 

As much as I would rather see Slapout and not Detroit, that train done ran Jess down.  I think Alex will be B2, whether 19E chooses to say it, or not. 

 

ETA:  I just had to replay "Amazed."  The true chills happen in the bridge to the end.  My goodness how I love the guitar evoking George Harrison or Eric Clapton.  The organ subtly supporting underneath was so perfect I still can't stand it.  The chorus was also spot freaking on.  Soooooo good.  Anymore, it was all impossibly good.

 

If you choose to watch again, make CERTAIN you see Keith literally jump out of his chair (THIS is what it really looks like when one is throttled and grabbed by the emotion of the sound).  He even looks like he didn't understand what happened to his body.  Then, he was aching to have his guitar at his side so he could be a part of things.  He wasn't a judge and he wasn't on a show.  He was just a sailor being called by a Siren.

 

I also loved seeing Caleb's little hop/skip as he was shouting his truth.  Again, he couldn't help it.  He was taken there.  It takes a LOT for that big boy body to get air.  

 

And because I forgot to mention it before, I love that faux-CSA officer's coat he wore.  He had it on, I think, two weeks ago as well as for this piece of perfection tonight.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Lonesome Rhodes

[viajero]

I have no idea what the judges say about the performances because I can only watch them on YouTube.  But if they said that Jena and Caleb are the front runners coming out of tonight, then I can't disagree.  While I thought all four contestants had at least one poor performance, only Jena and Caleb had two good ones. Taking the contestants one by one:

 

Caleb:  His fist song was one of his worst performances of the season as he seemed to just phone it in. But he was much better on his other two.  I might have rated Maybe I'm Amazed even higher if not for the fact that I couldn't help but compare it unfavorably to the version that Terry McDermott did on The Voice a couple of years ago.

 

Jessica:  I thought her first two performances were quite poor, particularly the Kelly Clarkson song.  But she somewhat made up for it with You and I, which I would rate as one of the top 3 performances of the night.

 

Jena:  Though she lost the battle of Lady Gaga covers to Jessica, I thought Heartbreaker and Can't Help Falling in Love were the other two songs that make up my Top 3.  I was expecting a disaster when I heard she was covering Benatar, but she actually pulled it off.  And I thought the way she modernized the Elvis song was great (though the sight of J-Lo mugging for the camera did almost ruin it for me). 

 

Alex:  None of his 3 performances did anything for me.  In fact, his cover of Too Close was one of the blandest versions I've ever seen.  He seemed to have no connection at all to the song.  Where was the emotion?  Did he even bother to read the lyrics?  Also, Yellow is one of my least favorite Coldplay songs and Alex somehow managed to make it even more nonsensical and boring than the original.

 

For me, Jena was the clear winner tonight and Alex should be going home.

Edited May 8, 2014 by viajero

[Lonesome Rhodes]

By the by...A shock boot, by definition, is impossible among a top 4.

 

I now return you to regular programming.

[Joystickenvy]

Caleb - Bon Jovi song was ok, but nothing special. CCR bored me, but I reckon he sang it fine. Thought he did quite well on Maybe I'm Amazed and I was surprised he kept the screamy parts to a minimum. I think he should have raised the key, because the high parts lacked the vocal tension that makes the song memorable. It ended up sounding pleasant, but safe.

Jessica - Drove the bus over herself on the first two songs. As I feared, the Kelly song was completely wrong for her voice. It is deceptively rangy and in order to keep the high notes within her range, she kept the key too low for her to hit the low notes. Plus, in spite of her pink hair and all she is not an edgy rocker and even on a faux rock song like this one, it just doesn't fit. The Pink song was even worse. Reality show contestants of the universe....please stop singing Pink songs! They always, always, always suck. Always. These songs are hits because the lyrics are catchy and they suit Pink's voice, but they are not singer's songs. You and I was much better than I thought it would be. She kept it in her folky/bluesy sweet spot and avoided the vocal gymnastics Gaga throws on it at the end. If only she had done 3 songs in that vein. I think Jessica suffers from picking songs she likes instead of picking songs that suit her voice.

Jena - Heartbreaker was an OK karaoke performance. Pat Benatar is hard not to sound karaoke on. Bad Romance was feckless. Why would anyone choose this song and not do the a Rah Rah part? That's the fun part! Lacked attitude and completely not believable. Vocal was thin. I was shocked to find I actually enjoyed the Elvis song. I know her anti- fans will insist she pronounced all the words wrong, but I thought she actually dropped most of her weird affectations and enunciation issues and I was listening for them. It was quite lovely.

Alex - all three songs were vocally fine, but bland. I hate I'm Yours. If I had a physical copy of the master tape I'd burn it and then burn the ashes. He has a nice voice, but I wish he'd use his powers for good rather than evil.

I don't think r word gate made it far enough beyond the blogosphere to have a real impact, so I think who goes home depends on how much the producers have fudged the b2s.

If they've been giving us true b2s, then I'm gonna say Jessica. If not necessarily the b2s, then Jessica or Alex.

[ari333]

I thought Jessica did well on all her songs, certainly better than Jena. Either my hearing is busted, or the studio has opposite sound. I'd swear that in her second song, Jena sang something about lettuce. I couldn't understand the words, so I finally just fast-forwarded it.

 

Omg first laugh of the day and we thought we heard lettuce too, but didn't remember the song that way. There's also a word, "shwah." Sounds French.

 

Why do the judges never mention that when Jena sings in a lower register, she sounds flat and monotone?

 

So much word here, Beth. Also, I never thought HCJ would spew TPTB script, but they got to him too dammit.