From the Archives at americanidol.com:
Lil Rounds: The Way You Make Me Feel
"The day you let go of your dreams, is the day you let go of your life." Lil is spunky, and I like her vocal inflections and her style. This was a professional performance, but it left me feeling a bit cold.
Song Choice: She brought something almost innocent and playful to it. But it's not an innocent and playful song.
Performance: Highly competent. She is clearly comfortable on the stage, but in this performance, I didn't feel she was tremendously dynamic.
Vocal Quality, Conviction in Delivery or Both? Very convincing and lots of tricks and treats in the vocals--maybe a little too many vocal curlicues for my tastes.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Both, but not enough of either unfortunately. She seemed to go through it by rote. Something lacking in her passion.
Music To My Ears? 3.5/5
Scott MacIntyre: Keep The Faith
He's a deeply genuine contestant who is truly sharing a part of himself with the audience. Scott felt he was being artistic. "It's fine being artistic, just not on this show" says Simon. Well, that's a sad, sad comment.
Song Choice: It's a far-too-literal song designed to be inspirational, but it's filled with non-sequiturs. Still, it's got a catchy melody, and I disagreed with Simon choosing to slam Scott for the song choice when it was really the song, not Scott's performance, that Simon didn't like.
Performance: Sitting at the piano inhibited Scott's ability to connect with the audience, at least on TV. He is certainly an awesome piano player, though.
Vocal Quality, Conviction in Delivery or Both? Both, I thought he delivered a bad song well.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? I'm not sure he was totally connected to the song, seeing as he had just learned it a few days before. Still, he must have picked it for a reason, and like I said, he did deliver it well. I do think there was something missing in his connection to the audience, both because the song is less well-known, and also we saw only his shoulders above the piano.
Music To My Ears: 3.5/5
Danny Gokey: Pretty Young Things
Yes, Simon, he is a goofy dancer. I can recall another goofy dancer who went pretty far, ok, all the way, in the competition. What you see in Danny is that same inherent, deeply-felt sense of musicality, and a self-confidence that lets him engage with the audience and share his joy. This was an awesome performance.
Song Choice: hated the song, loved his interpretation of it. He brought just the right energy and joy to it.
Performance: deeply felt, nothing contrived and he absolutely commanded the stage. And looked great doing it (loved the red glasses and shirt combo!!)
Vocal Quality, Conviction in Delivery or Both? Yes, both in spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? BOTH. Unbelievable connection to the audience, offering the judges and the audience the mic was not the least bit staged, but a natural expression of his connection to the music and desire to share it with others.
Music To My Ears: 4.75/5
Michael Sarver: You Are Not Alone
Song Choice: Big song, and it could have been too big for him. There's an epic feeling to it, and he delivered up to the promise and potential of it.
Performance: There was something "loungey" about this performance -- something a little over the top in both mannerisms and vocal delivery. But he really felt it, and I'm always a little surprised that he ends up being as good as he is.
Vocal Quality, Conviction in Delivery or Both: He was totally committed to the song. I thought he was bellowing it out a bit -- good thing he knows how to pull that mic back!
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? He was connected, but he also seemed really nervous. He didn't move into the audience at all, or use the stage much--he kept his distance from the audience, both in vocal delivery as well as staging.
Music To My Ears: 3.25/5
Jasmine Murray: I'll Be There
I'm surprised to say that I got a couple of chills during this performance -- she was good!! Her voice has a depth to it that sneaks up on you. She was a little flat here and there, but the richness of the vocal overcame that.
Song Choice: there's not a lot to hang your hat on lyrically with this song, but it has a great melody and it worked well for Jasmine's voice.
Performance: here's where Jasmine falls down a bit, since she's still a little young and green to really deliver a knock-out performance of a song. Gorgeous dress -- I liked the retro vibe to go with the song, but it looked age-appropriate too (she has struggled with that, at least in terms of song choice)..
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: Both
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Stronger than I would have thought in terms of song connection based primarily on the strength of the song itself and her vocal skill; but while a technically good performance, it wasn't a huge stand-out in terms of audience connection.
Music To My Ears: 4/5
Kris Allen: Remember The Time
I'm really not sure why he bothered to bring the guitar, since we barely heard it over the band and from the looks of it, he can really play!! I'd like to hear him more with it. That green-checkered shirt -- it looked like he wasn't really trying on the fashion front. That said, Kris is very talented, very comfortable performing and has a cuteness to him that is endearing. Awwww, and he's five-month newlywed!
Song Choice: Great choice for him, and he put a nice contemporary twist on it. It felt a little jazzy--someone on the PBP said it sounded Fray-like; Randy said Jason Mraz ... I'm thinking John Mayer.
Performance: good, nice energy and lots of comfort on the stage. Bad green shirt though--not sure what the heck he was going for in the way of a fashion statement. LOL
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: huge conviction, and he sounded good to me even despite the few off notes.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Oh yeah, really nice eye contact and an engaging performance. I really like his bouncy delivery, which may have impacted the vocals a bit but really enhanced the performance and connection with the audience.
Music To My Ears: 4.25/5
Allison Iraheta: Give In To Me
She totally blew me away, second week in a row! This show finally may have found a true rocker chick! (sorry Gina Glocksen and Amanda Overmyer fans ... but they weren't it). Too many of the contestants this year are already so "packaged" -- they are contrived and practiced, and everything they do, say, wear is pre-planned. Did you hear Allison counter Simon's comment about the song being not very happy with: "well, it's a dark song ... it's not like I'm cutting or anything..." That slipped out, and good for her. She is unfiltered. It might end up backfiring on her, but for now, what you see is what you get. Just when we thought this show had lost its way in terms of finding raw, untapped talent and bringing it to light ... Allison might be it.
Song Choice: GREAT song choice to bring out her raw, rocker edge.
Performance: Riveting, raw and real.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: she nailed this on both counts. And why? Because she got the darkness of the song, and she matched her performance to it.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Totally both.
Music To My Ears: 4.75/5
Anoop Desai: Beat It
Oh, Anoop. Anoop, Anoop, Anoop. I think I've got you pegged: you are an actor. You figure out who you need to be based on the lyrics and context of the song, and you know how to act the part, but it's not really coming from YOU. It backfired on you tonight because you picked the wrong song: again, like last week, a song that is just fundamentally inconsistent with your personality. The stylists did a good job on you, but you were playing a role and it showed. And so ... you got the "k" word from the judges, and from so many who watched you.
Song Choice: the only thing that might have been worse would have been Billie Jean.
Performance: the clothes don't make the man. I didn't even believe MJ when he tried to act tough with this.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: He was having trouble with the mic, and there was a little too much movement to let him retain control over his vocals. Everything about this looked staged.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Ummm...not so much.
Music To My Ears: 2.75/5
Jorge Nunez: Never Can Say Good-Bye
Song Choice: I disagreed with the judges. I LIKED this song choice -- yes, it's a bit old-fashioned, but that suits Jorge. He's got a retro, Latin-lover, romantic crooner persona, and this song fit that perfectly.
Performance: Solid.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: Nice on both counts...he still has challenges with enunciation, but he overcomes it with vocal technique, quality and control.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Bit of both
Music To My Ears: 3.25/5
Megan Joy Corkrey: Rockin' Robin
WHAT?!? Megan picked a strange, gimmicky song and then corkscrewed through it, adding a crow's caw right at the end to just cap off what was a truly bizarre set of performance choices.
Song Choice: abysmal.
Performance: uncomfortable to watch from start to finish.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: she "cawed" at the end of it. Like a CROW. Need I say more?
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? More like, made the audience recoil.
Music To My Ears: 2/5
Adam Lambert: Black & White
I'm up and down with this guy. There is no denying his incredible mastery of the stage; he OWNS it. But ... he's a screamer. Even when he's not screaming; he's projecting a little too much.
Song Choice: this was a great song choice. First, it was a little unexpected, but also felt right. It has a great message in it and it's a message that has resonance when a personality like Adam -- who is decidedly uncloseted and probably knows a little about prejudice and inequality -- sings it.
Performance: what's to say -- he DELIVERS. I love to watch him, even when I know it's a very staged performance, it's FUN. I'm always entertained, but I'm not always moved.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: Both. A lot of both, with the caveat that he needs to find a way to modulate -- he made some choices to go over-the-top with certain phrases, where he could have pulled back and put some subtlety into it.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Another one, like Danny Gokey, who has the self-confidence to put himself right among the audience and really connect with them. When you watch an artist like this, you feel comfortable, because they feel comfortable. As an audience member, you can lose yourself in the performance, just sit back and let yourself be entertained.
Music To My Ears: 4.5/5
Matt Giraud: Human Nature
I. LOVED. THIS. Again, Matt won me over with a song and style to which I'm not naturally inclined. He has a lovely, smooth tone; a whispery, sexy quality to his voice that worked really well with this song.
Song Choice: it's a great song, great lyrics and has a poignancy, yearning and "urban" quality to it that let Matt's expressive intonation and phrasing fly....
Performance: gorgeous. Loved him on the piano. He can really play. In comparison with Scott, we saw more energy from Matt's performance, even though he was seated, than we did from Scott. It's probably not a fair comparison...but there it is.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: Both. Matt's piano playing and vocals are perfectly integrated; one complements the other -- together, they make a unified whole. I think this is NOT a song that he just learned this week--he has likely performed this before. As a result, he had a looseness and comfort level that allowed him to take liberties with the melody and timing, both vocally and on the piano.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Both. His comfort level and superior performance skills, with his vocals playing off his piano and vice versa, let him open up and connect better with the audience, and us with him.
Music To My Ears: 4.75/5
Alexis Grace: Dirty Diana
I don't know this song. I also confess, when someone's in the pimp spot, my expectations go up. So maybe she was great, but I'm only going to judge her as good. I think I'm definitely going to be in the minority on this one.
Song Choice: great song, really raw with terrific edge, and I admire her for picking it. But ...
Performance: ... but, she didn't really sell it to me. She dressed the part, but I don't think she's got that grit in her. She also took the lyrics and acted them out in first person, instead of how they were written, in third person. She should be singing ABOUT Dirty Diana, not acting as Dirty Diana. That didn't work for me. Plus, her shoes were too high and she looked like she was going to fall off of them. It made for an awkward performance.
Vocal Quality, Conviction In Delivery or Both: Here's where it gets really dicey. Her voice was thin, again, not gritty and growly enough for this song. Plus, something REALLY strange in her diction and phrasing. She was rushing or something; she seemed out of breath and as though she was struggling to get one phrase out and keep up to the music. Someone with a more musical or professional ear can likely explain this. I'm just trying to describe what I heard, and I started to fixate on it as I was listening. That's never good.
Connection to the Song, Connection to the Audience or Both? Yes, she was definitely connected. , but I wasn't.
Music To My Ears: 3.5/5
Allison Iraheta: 4.75
Danny Gokey: 4.75
Matt Giraud: 4.75
Adam Lambert: 4.5
Kris Allen: 4.25
Jasmine Murray: 4
Alexis Grace: 3.5
Lil Rounds: 3.5
Scott McIntyre: 3.5
Jorge Nunez: 3.25
Michael Sarver: 3.25
Anoop Desai: 2.75
Megan Joy Corkrey: 2
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