To be honest, I am not entirely enthused by this year's crop. There are some different types of voice this year, which is a good thing, but I don't know if any of them are going to "stick."
But I am willing to give them all the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes.
Tonight is Rolling Stones night! This night favors Bowersox and Lee, but there should be some interesting songs to go around.
I am scared for how the young ones will do. That could be scary.
Bonus points to anyone who sings Angie well. Love that song.
I said this before; I'll say it again. I HATE the judges walking out on stage at the beginning... Pointless.
Rolling Stones montage reminds the kids at home what they will be listening to. This montage begs the ultimate question: Did Kieth Richards EVER look young?
First up is Michael Lynche (Big Mike) with Miss You. I know he is trying to play to his strengths by making the song more soul-sy, but I don't like the arrangement. His voice is okay on this, but I am not doing cartwheels. He will not go home on this, but he didn't do himself any favors.
Judges disagree with me entirely which does not bode well for the rest of the night. If they were praising this, we might be going downhill from here. The worst complaint (from Simon) was about his dancing.
Ryan gets in Simon's face. I'm hoping for a full-on man kiss! Nope. Just the usual pre-planned banter.
Next is Didi Benami with Play with Fire. This is a more emotional take on it. She seems to connect with the song, and I like most of it. There are some pitchy parts and one part where I swear she bobbled a lyric. Interesting arrangement, but the arrangement can't do all of the work. I loved the intensity, but it wasn't the big enchilada. I like Didi, so I hope she hangs around. She interests me. The judges like it.
Casey James takes on It's All Over Now. Casey paints the song with paint from his Blues-Rock bucket. Not bad; not great. Vocals aren't overly impressive here. It seems like the song is not a very difficult song to sing. He doesn't show much range or difficulty. Yes, he can play a mean guitar while singing, but I wanted more. Judges (minus Simon) loved it. Simon agrees with me. Casey will have a career, but I don't like his chances as AI winner.
Lacey Brown sings Ruby Tuesday. Her voice sounds fragile, but that's actually the quirky quality I like about Lacey's voice. Don't like the sped up "Still I'm going to miss you" lyric. Pitchy towards the end. Arrangement was odd. Five-sixths Stones, one-sixth not. Mish mash. Meh. Meh in the middle could spell trouble. Judges are mixed but generally nonplussed.
Andrew Garcia is up with Gimme Shelter. This is one of my favorite Stones songs. Don't screw it up, Andrew. A straight forward performance. Standing with a mic and singing. Very karaoke-ish. The problem with Andrew is that I don't get that awe factor. He is good but not great. Passable when passable shouldn't be enough. He didn't screw up the song, but he did it no favors either. Judges were mixed. If he doesn't show star power, he will be gone within two weeks.
Katie Stevens performs Wild Horses. Katie sanitizes the song stripping it down to just a treacly ballad. Bad Kat McPhee impersonation. Didn't love it. Judges were generally much nicer than I was. She does nothing for me.
Tim Urban sings Under My Thumb. He gives the song a quirky makeover with a more acoustic delivery with a slight reggae feel. Almost Jack Johnson-like. The version is interesting but ultimately undermines the original. It almost trivializes it. Vocally not great but not boring. He will be raked over the coals by the judges, I am sure. I was right. Tim handles the criticism well. I don't think America is done with him yet.
Siobhan Magnus takes on Paint it Black. I love the song and am intrigued by what she will do with this. Risky move! She starts the song with a more cabaret-type style before moving into the more recognizable way we are used to. She has some pitch problems. At the end she lets it all out, hitting the high note and sustaining it. I like Siobhan, but it actually sounded like she was screeching the last note. I felt the emotional connection, but it bordered on ridiculous. You could tell that she wants to be this season's Adam Lambert. I don't know how long I will feel this way, but she interests me, and I want her to hang around for awhile. She stands out. Judges agree, but no one wants to mention the screech.
Lee DeWyze is next with Beast of Burden. I love the growl of his voice. His take reminds me of John Cougar (Mellencamp, if you're nasty!). He does some interesting things with some of the lyrics, making it his own. The only problem is that he still looks mildly uncomfortable with being on the stage. Still, I really dug this. You can tell that the judges really want him to do well. I do too.
Paige Miles sings Honky Tonk Woman. Last week she butchered Smile, so she better do better this week. Karaoke rendition that I want to stop as soon as it starts. She tries to inject a little country, but I wish she'd inject some lethal dose of poison that would make the torture stop. I don't like her vibrato or tone. I hope the judges bury her. Apparently, she has had voice issues, so maybe I will give her a pass. Judges are nicer than I would have been. Maybe I'm still bitter over how she stayed while Lily Scott went home.
Aaron Kelly stays up past his bedtime to sing Angie. Aaron is going to sing Angie? Really? I doubt he has the emotional depth to pull this off. This could be rocky, but I hope he does the song justice. He comes in early on the piano intro (though no one will probably notice), Honestly he does a nice job. He maintains the tone of the song with a nice intensity. He sings in tune. He doesn't overcomplicate the arrangement. Though I'm not an Aaron Kelly fan necessarily, I thought he did a great job! Judges are likewise complimentary.
Crystal Bowersox will close it out with You Can't Always Get What You Want. Wow, I love her voice. I don't think this is the best she has done, but she shows that she knows how to work a song and make it her own. Randy steals my words. Judges are complimentary but warn her about having more fun on stage.
My guesses follow:
Safe:
Crystal
Siobhan
Aaron
Lee
Michael
Didi
Tim
In Danger:
Paige
Andrew
Lacey
Katie
Casey
Your thoughts?
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