well, it’s the girls turn and the big question is whether or not Krystal Bowersox will be able to compete… chances are if she does, they give her the pimp spot out of pity… and here’s the lineup, BoSAWX is at the end and she says that she’s good to go… the judges… Ellen is in the middle again… it’s a good idea for her not to be the first one to comment… and they address the issue of Kara morphing into Paula and cozying up to Simon this year… she has a huge hair tail today… totally a throwback to Paula’s cheerleading days… on we go…
TEN (OR MAYBE NINE) LEFT STANDING…
now playing: Behind These Hazel Eyes – Kelly Clarkson
Crystal BoSAWX… oh, she’s going first, and she has a twin brother… singing a gospelled up version of CCR’s Long As I Can See the Light… apparently “gospel” means taking the slow train… she’s screaching a little… and i really, really don’t like that lip thing… so distracting… it’s an alright arrangement i suppose, and she does an alright job… i don’t know how much i’ll remember it though… kind of drab over all… Randy says she is the truth, and the girl that she wants to be, and that girl is HOT!… Ellen says that she’s amazing and she needs to say healthy… Kara takes her head off of Simon’s shoulder long enough to say that she’s recovered from last week – even to the point of hitting a new level… Simon likes that she is probably a really serious artist, along the lines of Kelly Clarkson…
Haley “Smiles Too Much”… last week you butchered a Beatles song, this week, you’re taking on a Miley Cyrus song (which is supposed to sound horrible)… good freaking call… actually, this should fit her a lot better… with “The Climb”… oh, it’s a slow song… which means that the vocal is exponentially more important…and unfortunately, though she does have some good moments, they are brief moments and she quickly finds her way to off side of the pitch… she just doesn’t have a strong voice and i can hardly believe that she managed to pick a good artist, but a horrible song… that was a nightmare… Randy says that it was really, really bad… Ellen says that she didn’t seem to connect with the song at all, but she needs to keep smiling… Kara says that people probably like her, but, honey needs at least a year of vocal training… Simon says it was a complete and utter mess…
Lacey “The Token Red-haired Gal” Brown… every season has one girl with unnaturally red hair… this year is Lacey’s turn… and her personality reminds me of Leigh Nash… oh, and she’s singing Sixpence’s Kiss Me… oh my gosh… she sounds like Leigh, too… except when she gets happy enough to smile, that takes her out of the groove… it’s pretty good… i guess my biggest qualm with it is that she kind of alternates between copycatting Leigh’s vocal and just talking through the lyrics… she also seems a little disconnected from it… especially for “loving this song”… Randy says that it felt like karaoke… Ellen says that it was, and she is, adorable… Kara says that it brought back her vocal stylings, but she needs to step it up even more… Simon says that it was marginally better than last week, but it wasn’t artistic or memorable…
now playing: Twistin’ the Night Away – Sam Cooke
Katie Stevens… so, clearly SHE should be singing Kiss Me… instead of… Corrine Bailey Rae… okay, here’s what i really don’t get… THIS IS SO NOT A YOUNGER SONG… i get that CBR is a newer artist and this is a hip choice, but it’s the same style… she does sound a lot better, but it’s still skewing rather old to me… she needs to dive into something like Miley or maybe Duffy… it really opened up nicely though, certainly enough to get her through… and a lot better than last week… Randy said that he thought she can take on something more challenging melodically… Ellen says that it’s still not exactly right for her age… Kara is frustrated and says that Katie needs to be more consistent from the beginning… Simon says she doesn’t seem to know who she wants to be as an artist yet…
DiDi Benami… she looks a lot like that piano playing hippie from a couple years ago… Brooke White… and she’s got the whole jazzy, raspy thing to her voice… let’s see how that translates to Lean on Me… she’s just chillin’ on that stool here, giving the verses a rather sunny disposition… far poppier than the original… lacking in soul… her vocal sounds a bit tinny and maybe even frail… but it’s not too, too bad… i kind of liked the arrangement actually… and she did alright with the performance… Randy says it heightened her imperfections… bad song choice… Ellen says great voice, great presence, wrong song… Kara says it really wasn’t good… karaoke, inconsistent, bad interpretation… but Kara’s still a fan… Simon says something about a cat… it was screechy and genaric… a wasted opportunity… she’s about to explode into tears…
Michelle Delamor… she’s the corporate singer… whatever that means… she teaches kids how to sing and this will be interesting, she’s singing Creed’s With Arms Wide Open… Scott Stapp will be proud, if he’s sober… (sorry, i think he has changed his ways)… i don’t like those gloves… and i really don’t like this arrangement… somehow, with all the dramatic touches and the big runs, it loses all the emotion of the original song… i’m not ashamed to admit that the original gives me goosebumps… vocal is a little off tonight too, that last note really didn’t hit… Randy says it fell flat, but she looks hot… Ellen says she looks fabulous and she almost forgot that it was a rock song and it almost worked, but not quite… Kara waxes on and waxes off (danielson) and says it was her favorite Michelle performance… Simon kind of agrees with Kara… she took a risk and tried to make it her own…
Lilly “Tinkerbell” Scott… she’ll be playing a twelve-string and singing Sam Cooke’s masterpiece, A Change Is Gonna Come… okay, somebody stop her, i’m already done… we’ve heard enough… no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO… sorry, my fingers just got stuck there for a second… that’s just a bad, bad arrangement of a truly great song… Randy says she’s unique and she worked it out and it was his favorite from the night… Ellen says she’s got “it”… again, the best performance of the night… Kara says she had a rivoting moment… she’s gonna change the game… Simon says it was good, but he wasn’t crazy about it like the others…
now playing: Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
Katelyn Epperly… playing the piano and singing Coldplay’s The Scientist… (GREAT song)… she really has a great voice… and she’s tweaked the arrangement a bit, throwing in some extra pauses and breaths here and there… but i kind of like it… i liked the way she dropped down on “this hard”, but i don’t like the huge breath before the last note, which fell a little flat… she’ll learn from that though… Randy says that he liked it even though it was really slow… Ellen pulls a Paula and calls a piano a guitar, then mentions that it was too, too slow… sleepy slow… Kara says she kind of loves her… she needs to figure out who she is to make the most of it… Simon says it was a smart choice, but she can border on being corny when she performs…
Paige Miles… she likes to color… and she’s singing Kelly Clarkson’s Walk Away… Simon is tying his shows or something… it’s so weird to hear people perform such energetic songs with absolutely zero energy… how do you do that?… okay, her vocals just aren’t doing it… she’s probably oversinging, but whatever it is, it’s really grinding on the ears… the song really doesn’t let her open up the vocals though, so maybe that’s part of the problem, she’s overcompensating for the quick pace of the verses… i don’t know… didn’t really work out for me… Randy says he liked it, but it wasn’t the best song choice… Ellen says she loved everything about it… Kara, who wrote this song, says it’s not a song you smile about, but she liked it anyway… Simon says it was the wrong song and she got lost in it, just like last week…
Siobhan MAGNUS VER MAGNUSON… closing out the show with a big old Aretha Franklin song, Think… (wonder how much thought went into that)… this is kind of like a mouse trying to roar loud enough to scare a lion… yeah, it’s definitely like that… she’s got a really strong voice actually, like strong man competition strong, but this is totally the wrong song for her… she’s not got the soul… i loved that high note… but the follow-up was not where it needed to do… i’m really torn on that… great chops, but no real rhythm, great highs, but lots of lows as well… Randy says she slayed it… Ellen calls her a Snuggie… Kara can’t get over that note… Simon says she’s such a strange person… and that it was really good and really bad at the same time…
AND NOW IT’S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE…
now playing: Should I Stay Or Should I Go – The Clash
well, the girls are definitely better than the guys… there’s not much argument there… now, who’s going home… well, it’s between Haley, Didi, Paige, and Lacey… and despite how i really feel… it seems to me that Didi and Paige are going to find the hot seat this week… what’s your call, people?
peace… love… bdg…