Maybe I'll be less crabby this week
... because wandererjen is here and I have ice cream.
And now for the Top 8
Starting with a most hilarious entry by the judges. J Lo has a big wad of tulle stapled to the front of her dress, and Mr. Tyler continues in the Polyester Mom top vein.
Tonight they are singing "Music from the Movies"
Paul is up first in a most hilarious jacket from the Liberace collection. He's sort of a manic Kenny Loggins in the opening package. And unfortunately, running down the stairs for the opening lines didn't help him sing the notes straight. OH DEAR -- it's not just a jacket; it's a SUIT! Jen says he kind of looks like he should be in The Three Amigos! Is he sick? He isn't full voice, and his pee pee dance is bugging me. Jen: "clearly he didn't get the memo that you hit the tambourine against your thigh -- he's hitting it against his chest." Basically, he's the crazy roommate from Notting Hill. The judges are crazy - they think it was great. It was weak and weird. "Frenetic" is the nice word for what that was.
Lauren (Blair Warner) is singing a song from the Miley Cyrus movie. Seriously? Oy. I can't believe I have to listen to this. Poor thing -- the lighting is awful and unflattering at the beginning. The stylists must just hate the female competitors - this skirt makes her butt look about 5 miles wide. She sounds ok, but sort of like karaoke night. Nice job on the key change. I'm not a fan of scoops that start by sounded flat. She might be hoarse, too. That wasn't bad, but sadly, the only appeal of that song is if you actually like Miley. There's nothing fabulous or deep or touching about that song. *shrug* OHMYWORD, her mother DOES look exactly the same. Creepy. The judges evidently don't give actual criticism anymore. They just gush.
Side note: EVERYONE on this show has a TON of makeup on tonight. And I'm watching in HD on a big screen.
So evidently it's a big shock that Stefano is still here. He's singing "End of the Road" by Boys II Men ... and he starts the song with The Rock's trademarked eyebrow. This sounds fine, but it has no emotional pull for me. I suppose R&B is his thang, but the problem with that is that all the songs sound the same. Hey! Nice note held out by himself with the band and backups dropping out. As always, no dynamic change in this song -- the entire thing was in the same volume. However, that might have been the best of the night from a strictly musical perspective. He wasn't flat at all, and he was in control of his notes the whole time. I think it was a weak song choice, but it sounded good. Jen just pointed out that Ryan is excited that Stefano isn't taller than he is! LOL
The judges are phoning it in. They are giving NO actual criticism or advice at all.
Another side note: I had told Jen one of the competitors looked like a leprechaun. When Scotty stepped up, she asked, "is this the leprechaun?" Me: "no, believe it or not; there's another guy who looks even more leprechauny than this!"
Surprise! A song from "Pure Country" coming up from Scotty. This kid confuses me because as Jen nailed it on the head, "voice does not match the face". He's holding the mic off to the side like he's playing a flute. Weird. I have to say that as much as I dislike country music, this kid is good. But something weird is happening. He's either forgetting the words, or the backup singers screwed up or ... I don't know what. Plus, the backup vocals are way too loud. 1. he's the kid from Mad Magazine! 2. he's going flat at the end of his phrases, and 3. he went flat at the very end. Something happened tonight and I'm not sure what it was. I thought it was a weak song choice, but this kid is one of the best in the competition.
Casey is going to do a Nat King Cole song? He's going to sing "Nature Boy". Hm. Jen may have called it: "he's a total drama nerd". I'm REALLY impressed by his command of these weird interval progressions. I don't like this kind of music much more than country, but he's really really good. Really. The way he looks straight into the boom is freaking us out. He's a total hipster nerdy something. And the judges gave him a standing ovation. The judges can't stop using the word "artist", and honestly? I think they're right.
Haley is going to do a Blondie song. Hm. "Call Me" from "American Gigolo". I hope this doesn't suck. I AM IN LOVE with these purple suede boots. The arm movements are too contrived. What's up with her voice? Is it the sound editing? She doesn't sound full voice -- sounds too breathy, but I can't tell if it's her, or the sound feed. She's singing Blondie with a pop grin on her face. Needs more angst. Not bad, but ok.
Oh man. I forgot Jacob was still here. *sigh* Aaron Neville sings "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" ... flatly. Ok, now he found where he's supposed to be, and it's getting better. But the way he's standing bugs me. Oh man. How do I put this? He's got a nice voice (not much dynamic range, but), and did this pretty well, but here's the thing. He should go rock -- and trust me; he would rock -- a drag show. That's where he needs to go. Even the way he holds his mouth ...
"Innuendos"? What the Eff, Steven Tyler? Innuendo is NOT the opposite of crescendo.
Jen and I were just discussing Randy's comments about how emotional that was. Neither of us thought it was -- Jen said, "did he even care about the song?" And here's what I think it was: that was the first song that actually had any depth. And since he sang it well, it seemed emotional. The R&B song? The Miley song? No depth whatsoever. So this actually seemed like he was emoting. When in fact, he just sang it. He could have sung anything -- it would have been the same amount of emotional investment.
The title track of "Heavy Metal"? James (Dominic Monahan's brother) is channeling Sammy Haggar? He's also too heavy to wear a tank top and skinny jeans in his opening package. This kid really REALLY wants to be David C. Cook is what he wants. So ... he's holding his own, and then ... it got weird. He limped out on the proscenium (too tight skinny jeans?), he sang to the judges (AWKWARD) and then it got weirder -- and he gave a good 20 seconds of his time to the guitarist. Well. That was good, I guess. He did sort of rock it. He didn't lose a step, I have to say.
Predictie McLeaverson would like to see Paul, Lauren, Jacob or Haley go home. Guessing It'll be Haley or Paul after tonight's performances.
And now for the Top 8
Starting with a most hilarious entry by the judges. J Lo has a big wad of tulle stapled to the front of her dress, and Mr. Tyler continues in the Polyester Mom top vein.
Tonight they are singing "Music from the Movies"
Paul is up first in a most hilarious jacket from the Liberace collection. He's sort of a manic Kenny Loggins in the opening package. And unfortunately, running down the stairs for the opening lines didn't help him sing the notes straight. OH DEAR -- it's not just a jacket; it's a SUIT! Jen says he kind of looks like he should be in The Three Amigos! Is he sick? He isn't full voice, and his pee pee dance is bugging me. Jen: "clearly he didn't get the memo that you hit the tambourine against your thigh -- he's hitting it against his chest." Basically, he's the crazy roommate from Notting Hill. The judges are crazy - they think it was great. It was weak and weird. "Frenetic" is the nice word for what that was.
Lauren (Blair Warner) is singing a song from the Miley Cyrus movie. Seriously? Oy. I can't believe I have to listen to this. Poor thing -- the lighting is awful and unflattering at the beginning. The stylists must just hate the female competitors - this skirt makes her butt look about 5 miles wide. She sounds ok, but sort of like karaoke night. Nice job on the key change. I'm not a fan of scoops that start by sounded flat. She might be hoarse, too. That wasn't bad, but sadly, the only appeal of that song is if you actually like Miley. There's nothing fabulous or deep or touching about that song. *shrug* OHMYWORD, her mother DOES look exactly the same. Creepy. The judges evidently don't give actual criticism anymore. They just gush.
Side note: EVERYONE on this show has a TON of makeup on tonight. And I'm watching in HD on a big screen.
So evidently it's a big shock that Stefano is still here. He's singing "End of the Road" by Boys II Men ... and he starts the song with The Rock's trademarked eyebrow. This sounds fine, but it has no emotional pull for me. I suppose R&B is his thang, but the problem with that is that all the songs sound the same. Hey! Nice note held out by himself with the band and backups dropping out. As always, no dynamic change in this song -- the entire thing was in the same volume. However, that might have been the best of the night from a strictly musical perspective. He wasn't flat at all, and he was in control of his notes the whole time. I think it was a weak song choice, but it sounded good. Jen just pointed out that Ryan is excited that Stefano isn't taller than he is! LOL
The judges are phoning it in. They are giving NO actual criticism or advice at all.
Another side note: I had told Jen one of the competitors looked like a leprechaun. When Scotty stepped up, she asked, "is this the leprechaun?" Me: "no, believe it or not; there's another guy who looks even more leprechauny than this!"
Surprise! A song from "Pure Country" coming up from Scotty. This kid confuses me because as Jen nailed it on the head, "voice does not match the face". He's holding the mic off to the side like he's playing a flute. Weird. I have to say that as much as I dislike country music, this kid is good. But something weird is happening. He's either forgetting the words, or the backup singers screwed up or ... I don't know what. Plus, the backup vocals are way too loud. 1. he's the kid from Mad Magazine! 2. he's going flat at the end of his phrases, and 3. he went flat at the very end. Something happened tonight and I'm not sure what it was. I thought it was a weak song choice, but this kid is one of the best in the competition.
Casey is going to do a Nat King Cole song? He's going to sing "Nature Boy". Hm. Jen may have called it: "he's a total drama nerd". I'm REALLY impressed by his command of these weird interval progressions. I don't like this kind of music much more than country, but he's really really good. Really. The way he looks straight into the boom is freaking us out. He's a total hipster nerdy something. And the judges gave him a standing ovation. The judges can't stop using the word "artist", and honestly? I think they're right.
Haley is going to do a Blondie song. Hm. "Call Me" from "American Gigolo". I hope this doesn't suck. I AM IN LOVE with these purple suede boots. The arm movements are too contrived. What's up with her voice? Is it the sound editing? She doesn't sound full voice -- sounds too breathy, but I can't tell if it's her, or the sound feed. She's singing Blondie with a pop grin on her face. Needs more angst. Not bad, but ok.
Oh man. I forgot Jacob was still here. *sigh* Aaron Neville sings "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" ... flatly. Ok, now he found where he's supposed to be, and it's getting better. But the way he's standing bugs me. Oh man. How do I put this? He's got a nice voice (not much dynamic range, but), and did this pretty well, but here's the thing. He should go rock -- and trust me; he would rock -- a drag show. That's where he needs to go. Even the way he holds his mouth ...
"Innuendos"? What the Eff, Steven Tyler? Innuendo is NOT the opposite of crescendo.
Jen and I were just discussing Randy's comments about how emotional that was. Neither of us thought it was -- Jen said, "did he even care about the song?" And here's what I think it was: that was the first song that actually had any depth. And since he sang it well, it seemed emotional. The R&B song? The Miley song? No depth whatsoever. So this actually seemed like he was emoting. When in fact, he just sang it. He could have sung anything -- it would have been the same amount of emotional investment.
The title track of "Heavy Metal"? James (Dominic Monahan's brother) is channeling Sammy Haggar? He's also too heavy to wear a tank top and skinny jeans in his opening package. This kid really REALLY wants to be David C. Cook is what he wants. So ... he's holding his own, and then ... it got weird. He limped out on the proscenium (too tight skinny jeans?), he sang to the judges (AWKWARD) and then it got weirder -- and he gave a good 20 seconds of his time to the guitarist. Well. That was good, I guess. He did sort of rock it. He didn't lose a step, I have to say.
Predictie McLeaverson would like to see Paul, Lauren, Jacob or Haley go home. Guessing It'll be Haley or Paul after tonight's performances.