AI - TOP 4 (spoliers) - American Idol

skf1 · 09-05-2007, 01:02

I'll just go straight to it. Ryan does mention the fact it is 3 girls and one guy...like we didn't know..

Judge Judy is in the audience!! My girl!!

Tonight 2 songs each with Barry Gibb acting as mentor.
Now a history of Barry and the Bee Gees..Cool

Melinda - Love you Inside and Out

For me, this is a strange choice....This is one of my least favourite tracks. Out of all the tracks available - THIS!! I have to say, this is going to be my first bad review of Melinda. Hated the song choice, OK performance...But BORING & PREDICTABLE!!!

Randy - This is going to be an interesting night. Solid performance, It was just OK
Paula - It is hard to critique you ...your vocals are always spot on. We just need the 'wow' at this stage
Simon - I expect incredible at this point. That wasn't incredible. That was more of a backing vocalists performance. You are better than that. Thankfully you have a second song.

Commercial

Blake - You Should Be Dancing

Oh dear...I had so been looking forward to this week...AWFUL!!! Someone really needs to tell him he is not Justin or Jamiroquai for that matter. It is now old. More beatboxing....I'm bored now.
- Where is that dudes teeth?

Randy - Sometimes when you do the beatboxing it works. Tonight it didn't. Bad
Paula - It started shaky. Your had pitch problems. Not your best night.
Simon - I'll give you unique BUT thought it was terrible.

Lakisha - Stayin' Alive

I'm in two minds over this. Part of me liked it and part of me is Why Lakisha? Again, song choice is just awful tonight.
Lakisha has fallen back...Oh dear. It sounds like she is screaming again...

Randy - Thank goodness you all have 2 songs. That wasn't working. I didn't get it
Paula - You taking the tempo down, took everyone ready to be dancing and brought them all down
Simon - No kiss tonight. We are back to the shouting,. That was verging on scary.

Commercial

Jordin - To Love Somebody

OK, before I even heard this I knew I would like this!! What a great song choice, one of my favorites. And boy does she get a compliment from Barry! 'He's heard it recorded by 100's of artists, but no one come's close to Jordin's version..(Well I'll exclude Nina Simone!)

OK...having now heard it...what can I say!! Thank god for Jordin!! Fantastic on so many levels. Great vocals, performance. I'll be getting this tomorrow!

Randy - It's been a rough night for me me, but that is the best so far. Good control.
Paula - You are beautiful. Best vocal tonight by far.
Simon - Best song choice, best performance tonight The competition starts now.

Commercial - It can only get better

Melinda - How Can You mend A Broken Heart

Melinda decides to skip a line here, rather than call herself a loser. I was very worried at this choice. Starts really weird and slow, but boy did she pick it up. Great vocal, great performance...but PREDICTABLE!! I'm just glad she recovered from earlier!

Randy - 2nd song, much beter, great vocal, you are still the pro
Paula- Beatiful vocal. I would love for you to throw your technique away and surprise us. You know you're good.
Simon - The second half of that song has put you into the semi-finals.

Blake - This is were I came In

What a silly song choice!! As much as I love Barry and the Bee Gees, he really shouldn't have encouraged him!! Sing something the majority of voters will know!!! This is just terrible!!! More Beat Boxing, bad dancing, vocal, performance. I can't find anything nice to say!!

I'm sure Blake's fan's will save him.

Randy - Better than the last. You don't need to beatbox on every song. It's old.
Paula - You are a rebel. I didn't know it but I I enjoyed you singing it
Simon - That was tuneless. I don't think you have had a good night. That is a strange song choice.

Commercial

Lakisha - Run To Me

Mint Choc chip! Sorry, but I have a craving now!! It's the dress!!
This is a great song. Again Lakisha, like Melinda has recovered from that horrid 'first song' round.
Great vocal and performance. Sorry. she just lost the note at the end. Oh poor Lakisha! That was sounding great until then

Randy - That was better than the first. I know you went hoarse at the end, but that was good.
Paula - Don't beat yourself up over that. It was good.
Simon - Better than the first, but not great. You and Blake are vulnerable tonight.

Commercial

Jordin - Woman in Love

One of my favoroite Barbra songs! I'm so happy!!!
...and another major compliment from Barry!! - Jordin will be one of our biggest recording stars..
..OK...Oh Jordin has been infected from the horrible first round!! Very very pitchy, practically the whole way through.
I'm dissapointed now. That is the worst I have heard her. Ah well!

Randy - Not your best performance. Pitchy.
Paula - You are beautiful - It wasn't the best.
Simon - I loved the song. I thought it was all pagenty, very old fashioned.

I have to give kudos to Barry Gibb. He was a great mentor. One of the best we have seen on Idol

Jordins first track was by far the best tonight...Overall, not the best of nights though. I won't call the bottom 2 tomorrow...Way to close, but I'm sure we'll be losing a diva.

I'll be back tomorrow with the results. Until then.

Enjoy Steph

Quasimodo · 09-05-2007, 02:25

Never try anything different or quirky (Blake)... It will work for a couple of weeks and then people will go back to the safe arms of a nice voice singing a big ballad.

skf1 · 09-05-2007, 02:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quasimodo

Never try anything different or quirky (Blake)... It will work for a couple of weeks and then people will go back to the safe arms of a nice voice singing a big ballad.

Purely out of interest, have you listened to his performances tonight? Honestly, he was awful!

I actually liked Blake, but it has all got old. Sorry.

I'm sure he'll get to the semi's though

Steph

duncann · 09-05-2007, 04:17

Very typical of AI to end up with 3 women in the quarter final and so pick the theme to be, yes, dated over-familiar songs (to those of my age) sung in close harmony by a male trio, usually in falsetto. My first thought was this is unlikely to work. It didn't most of the time.

Melinda went from being technically perfect but singing a boring song to being sensational. I like the fact that she holds back nearly all of the time as opposed to trying to belt every single note like Jordin, it's more effective. Her mellower tone, her age and experience place her above her female competition IMO. Her second song was by far the best of the night.

Blake seems to earn a lot of criticism but I liked his take on these songs. He has his own way of doing things. It's only pop music and he suits it, he's light and does not invest every silly lyric with the import of the girls.

Lakisha has gone as far as she can go. She is less assured than the 2 other girls and her lack of training shows when she is pushed which she is every week now. She fluffed her final note tonight and left the feeling in one's mind that she'd be the person going home. Sad, because she would be the one whose life it would most change if she won. Shame, she just doesn't have quite as much X Factor as the others.

Jordin always promises the most but for me she sings every song from start to finish with the same attack and her voice is thinner than the two other women's - well she is younger and will catch up. She had the best song choice (again) tonight and the best position in the line up. She attempted to sing Streisand tonight and was strained, it was all very slightly off key and just trying too hard. I agree with Simon's pageant comment, she is being dressed like a 50 year old at Abigail's Party. I assume she and Melinda will be the final but who knows, Blake has no obvious direct competition.

Quasimodo · 09-05-2007, 05:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by skf1

Purely out of interest, have you listened to his performances tonight? Honestly, he was awful!

I actually liked Blake, but it has all got old. Sorry.

See, for you it's not that it was the wrong performance of the wrong song... It's "It has got old" (Last week it felt fresh to a lot of people, so that was bloody quick)... And that unfortunately is the fate of every performer that comes on one of these shows with something a little different.

The conservative approach will always win out. I'm not saying that's wrong, but it's what happens.

How come just singing with false sincerity hasn't got old yet? Just about every girl on the show has been guilty of it.

richie4eva · 09-05-2007, 10:55

Thanks for the review, Steph

So a mixed week from what I have read and really tough to say who will be going home as each had one good song and one bad song

But as Steph said about Blake, his fans will save him so that just leaves the 3 divas fighting it out. But the beatboxing has to stop

Jordin - One good and one bad song
Doctor Doolittle - Same as Jordin
Kiki - Reviews didn't look too promising

So I'll try some random thoughts to think about who may be going as it is so tough to decide

Can't see a shock so I reckon Doctor Doolittle will be safe

So that just leaves Jordin and Kiki

Kiki - A couple of bad song choices may prove to be her undoing as we head towards the final and I think the American public may just run out of patience and get rid of her

Jordin - A bad song last week and one this week, but given she had a good first song may be just enough to keep her in. But she needs to really practice if she survives this week if she is going to challenge Melinda for the winners spot because Melinda is going to run away with this if/when she survives this week

So based on all that everyone has said I reckon it is goodbye Lakisha, someone who really impressed in the first few weeks but the consistency left her in the later weeks and her standard has dropped really badly.

andy1973 · 09-05-2007, 11:29

I don't care who goes Mel and Jordin must stay they have made the series for me. Go girls.

Saturn · 09-05-2007, 11:32

Dialidol has Jordin and Blake as safe by a mile. I'd go with that, one of the other two is going home

HAZYWOMAN · 09-05-2007, 13:42

Thanks for the review

Arsene wenger · 09-05-2007, 14:00

Blake is neither quirky or unique....Just a very average vocalist with a couple of plastic beatboxes.

Goodbye blake.

Sidespin Nid · 09-05-2007, 15:39

Lakisha to go . I prefer her over Blake but Jordin can get more of the "diva" demographic of the vote if Lakisha goes

jmsjmsjms · 09-05-2007, 17:37

Last night was really boring for me. Hopefully, next week will be better. I don't mind who goes home out of the four tonight.

Sidespin Nid · 09-05-2007, 18:08

Thanks for the review steph

Every Thurday morning , I wake up and read your review because it still gives suspense rather than just reading the result off Wikipedia! (although I look at wikipedia for the ANTM cycle 8 results on a Thursday morning for the previous night's show!) . I have to say , for the first time in the competition I'm scared for Jordin.

Ethereal · 09-05-2007, 19:32

I haven't watched them all but just got to say, how was Jordin pitchy all the way through "Woman In Love"? People throw that word around ridiculously. I agree that her first song was better but except for one voice crack at the beginning, the rest of the song wasn't "pitchy" at all.

And Steph, to say this is the worst you've heard Jordin I don't understand. Her vocals were a lot worse last week and she actually was pitchy then.

Also, LaKisha proved last week was just a fluke and she was back to being terrible this week.

signinstranger · 09-05-2007, 22:41

Hello Steph,
For me, it ain't terribly important who finishes 4th and who finishes 3rd. I think everything is heading for a Jordan, Melinda final and that will be the toughest final in the history of the show. The outstanding voice versus the star in the making. Watching Jordan's second number this week, her young age suddenly seemed to be of enormous significance - the brief clip of her singing the song to Barry Gibb was sensational - hence his comment - but in front of the watching millions it was nowhere near as good.
I feel very sad that Lakisha has faded so badly week by week. This is mainly down to song choice, and, just as important, song arrangement (what a mess the first song was).

Ethereal · 09-05-2007, 22:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by signinstranger

Hello Steph,
For me, it ain't terribly important who finishes 4th and who finishes 3rd. I think everything is heading for a Jordan, Melinda final and that will be the toughest final in the history of the show. The outstanding voice versus the star in the making. Watching Jordan's second number this week, her young age suddenly seemed to be of enormous significance - the brief clip of her singing the song to Barry Gibb was sensational - hence his comment - but in front of the watching millions it was nowhere near as good.
I feel very sad that Lakisha has faded so badly week by week. This is mainly down to song choice, and, just as important, song arrangement (what a mess the first song was).

Yeah I thought that too.

I think she sounded better with just the piano on both of the songs. She should do an acoustic number!

richie4eva · 09-05-2007, 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by signinstranger

Hello Steph,
For me, it ain't terribly important who finishes 4th and who finishes 3rd. I think everything is heading for a Jordan, Melinda final and that will be the toughest final in the history of the show. The outstanding voice versus the star in the making. Watching Jordan's second number this week, her young age suddenly seemed to be of enormous significance - the brief clip of her singing the song to Barry Gibb was sensational - hence his comment - but in front of the watching millions it was nowhere near as good.
I feel very sad that Lakisha has faded so badly week by week. This is mainly down to song choice, and, just as important, song arrangement (what a mess the first song was).

I think what this series has lacked is a serious shock exit and Sanjaya being there longer than he should have been didn't help either

Apart from Jordin and maybe Lakisha in the first few weeks, Melinda hasn't had much to worry about in terms of competition as the guys have been average at best this year and most of the good female voices were sacrificed to make way for the Sanjaya show

Ethereal · 09-05-2007, 23:50

Ok here are my critiques of all the performances.

Melinda - Love You Inside And Out: Barry summed it up. It was a falsetto song and she appears to have none so it didn't work for me. Boring performance. 6/10

Blake - You Should Be Dancing: Beatboxing didn't work for the song I felt. It just sounded awkward and like he was doing it just to show he can do it. 5/10

LaKisha - Stayin' Alive: My problem with LaKisha is she appears to be too arrogant to take constructive advice. 3 times now I recall that she has been given advice and completely ignored it. Barry said go up high for the "ha ha ha" bit and she doesn't! The tempo was too slow as well for my liking. 5/10

Jordin - To Love Somebody: Finally an above-average performance! I thought she was fantastic. Probably could have done more with it vocally but hopefully she isn't wanting to peak and saving it for later in the competition. She looked amazing too. 8.5/10

Melinda - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart: First half of the song was on par with her first performance but picked up greatly in the second half thankfully. Great vocal from her, as usual. Didn't wow me though, as usual. 7.5/10

Blake - This Is Where I Came In: He definitely had a poor night. This was also bad and the beatboxing seemed out of place again. Marginally better than the first performance. 5.5/10

LaKisha - Run To Me: Better than the first performance but that wasn't hard to acheive. I didn't really like it. Unlucky that she messed up the last note as well. 5.5/10

Jordin - Woman In Love: Don't know what Randy is talking about saying it was "pitchy" all the way through. I think that's the only musical word he knows and likes to just use it so he looks like he knows what he is talking about. Other than one voice-crack at the start, the rest of the performance was really amazing. Old-fashioned, yes. Pagenty, yes. Pitchy, I don't think so. But what do I know?

8/10

So I would rank Blake and LaKisha the same but I think Blake has a lot more fans and will go through. So I'm predicting LaKisha to go and rightly so if she does.

skf1 · 10-05-2007, 00:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ethereal

I haven't watched them all but just got to say, how was Jordin pitchy all the way through "Woman In Love"? People throw that word around ridiculously. I agree that her first song was better but except for one voice crack at the beginning, the rest of the song wasn't "pitchy" at all.

And Steph, to say this is the worst you've heard Jordin I don't understand. Her vocals were a lot worse last week and she actually was pitchy then.

Also, LaKisha proved last week was just a fluke and she was back to being terrible this week.

This is a loving 'Streisand', and I do know better than to compare the original to the idol...but with Barry's praise of Jordin, I spoke my mind.
He gave her so much praise, and I was left dissapointed. Soz

She was awful in the final song, and it was all over the place. Agree to disagree ?

Steph

Quasimodo · 10-05-2007, 01:20

The beatboxing worked fine on You Should Be Dancing with the exception of one important thing... He shouldn't mess around with the "Yeah!" part of that song. That was irritating.

Ethereal · 10-05-2007, 08:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by skf1

This is a loving 'Streisand', and I do know better than to compare the original to the idol...but with Barry's praise of Jordin, I spoke my mind.
He gave her so much praise, and I was left dissapointed. Soz

She was awful in the final song, and it was all over the place. Agree to disagree ?

Steph

Yeah that's fine that you were dissapointed. I thought she sounded better in the VT as well. But I still don't think it was the worst she has ever been vocally.

T--SJ · 10-05-2007, 11:43

I caught the show in Canada while I was away-- which was interesting in itself as I'll explain later.

I was really surprised to see how Barry Gibb has aged, especially since he's always seemed ageless to me. It really bothered me to hear him speak--I finally decided that he must have been wearing badly-fitted dentures.

I definitely agree with duncann's thoughtful comments -- in particular the differences between Jordin's power-singing and Melinda's more restrained approach. Although the Gibb brothers did write several songs for women, these are few and far between as compared to the songs written for a male trio singing in falsetto. I really wish that they'd spent some time discussing how much modification was made by the contestants vs. how much Barry may have contributed.

The judges seemed harsher than in the previous couple of weeks, somewhat merited- and yet, a lot of it was probably the material. Many of the chosen songs are not particularly easy to sing and we are used to hearing the BeeGees unique style on them, so I think the contestants' task was made harder.

That said, Melinda did okay with the first song and slightly better w/the second. I didn't seen the huge difference that the judges did.

Blake... was he trying to sing falsetto on that first song? I thought his vocals were thinner than usual and the beatboxing came across louder and deeper, making for a really odd contrast. This Is Where I Came In is actually a favorite song in our household and I thought he did a decent job of it.

I'm echoing what steph wrote about Lakisha. If it were me, I wouldn't have picked Stayin' Alive. I'm guessing that she and Barry Gibb worked together to modify it to suit her, because usually when she's picked an iconic song, she sings it pretty much the way the original was done. I rather liked the changes (more than the judges did anyway) and will download it later to give it another listen. Her second song was purer and except for a few off-notes delivered a bit too loud, not bad.

I liked both of Jordin's choices, although I don't think her first song was really miles above the others. I think she took fewer risks, sticking with the style that she is most comfortable with. I liked her interpretation of the "Woman in Love" song -- I didn't find it "pitch-perfect", but thought that the emotions were right, particularly for a 17yo.

As I mentioned up top, I saw the show in Canada. Most of the commercials were teasers for an evening magazine show that was going to discuss the feud between Simon Cowell and Zack Werner (sp?) who is Simon's counterpart on CI. Probably just publicity for the upcoming CI series, but it promised to be an interesting show. (There are four judges on Canadian Idol and three of them are eerily like the American judges.)

NightHawk123 · 11-05-2007, 00:32

Barry Gibb week with some great songs from him.

Melinda - 1st song - Song with falsetto like Barry Gibb mentioned definately made Melinda fall out of her comfort zone. Struggled with some high notes 7/10
2nd song - Absolutely outstanding, vocal masterclass IMO 9/10. Average - 8/10

Blake - 1st song - Sounded like a girl but then again so did the Bee Gees. Still found vocals quite poor but overall OK 7/10
2nd song - Much better vocal. Blended lyrics with beatboxing alot better than first song 8/10. Average- 7.5/10

LaKisha - 1st song - horrible mess 5/10
2nd song average boring and pitchy 6/10. Average - 5.5/10

Jordin - 1st song - spot on performance 9/10
2nd song - Again consistent and good vocal but surprised to hear judges found it "pitchy". Sorry but unless I'm deaf I found it hard to find any pitchy spots baring one or 2 moments but nothing major. 8/10 Average 8.5/10

Top performer for me this week

Jordin

Bottom performer for me this week

LaKisha

Overall scores from me for weeks 1-9

1. Jordin - 8.5 + 9 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 7 + 9 + 6 + 8.5 = 72/90
1. Melinda - 8 + 9 + 8 + 8 + 7 + 8 + 7 + 9 + 8 = 72/90
3. Blake - 7.5 + 9 + 8 + 6 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 8 + 7.5 = 67/90
4. LaKisha - 7.5 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 8 + 5.5 = 63/90

So Jordin improved from last week and has tied with Melinda for top spot. Lakisha was poor this week along with Blake but he kinda made up for it with his 2nd performance unlike Lakisha who just sounded bad in both.

Lakisha to go this week.

Arsene wenger · 11-05-2007, 12:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by richie4eva

I think what this series has lacked is a serious shock exit and Sanjaya being there longer than he should have been didn't help either

Apart from Jordin and maybe Lakisha in the first few weeks, Melinda hasn't had much to worry about in terms of competition as the guys have been average at best this year and most of the good female voices were sacrificed to make way for the Sanjaya show

Who are the 'good female voices' that have had to make way for 'The Sanjaya show'? Lesley? Stephanie? Gina? Please!

It was never the judges or producers intention for the show to be 'The Sanjaya Show'. EVER!

The only reason why it became 'The Sanjaya Show' was because everyone else was so ridiculously bland and boring. No one was all that fussed about anyone other than Sanjaya.

Every single year there is a teen who 'stays longer than he should' there was nothing wrong with the shows in them years.

geraniums · 11-05-2007, 15:13

Just checking in after giving AI a miss for a couple of weeks. I think (apart from the bland and uninteresting singers) the main problem is that they are extending the show too much. An hour for the results show is just ridiculous.

This year has been dire. It`s been the year I gave up on Idol. A successful show always leaves the viewer wanting more, not checking their watches to see when it`ll finish.

09-05-2007, 01:02	#1
skf1 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: DC/ NoVa Posts: 6,851	AI - TOP 4 (spoliers) I'll just go straight to it. Ryan does mention the fact it is 3 girls and one guy...like we didn't know.. Judge Judy is in the audience!! My girl!! Tonight 2 songs each with Barry Gibb acting as mentor. Now a history of Barry and the Bee Gees..Cool Melinda - Love you Inside and Out For me, this is a strange choice....This is one of my least favourite tracks. Out of all the tracks available - THIS!! I have to say, this is going to be my first bad review of Melinda. Hated the song choice, OK performance...But BORING & PREDICTABLE!!! Randy - This is going to be an interesting night. Solid performance, It was just OK Paula - It is hard to critique you ...your vocals are always spot on. We just need the 'wow' at this stage Simon - I expect incredible at this point. That wasn't incredible. That was more of a backing vocalists performance. You are better than that. Thankfully you have a second song. Commercial Blake - You Should Be Dancing Oh dear...I had so been looking forward to this week...AWFUL!!! Someone really needs to tell him he is not Justin or Jamiroquai for that matter. It is now old. More beatboxing....I'm bored now. - Where is that dudes teeth? Randy - Sometimes when you do the beatboxing it works. Tonight it didn't. Bad Paula - It started shaky. Your had pitch problems. Not your best night. Simon - I'll give you unique BUT thought it was terrible. Lakisha - Stayin' Alive I'm in two minds over this. Part of me liked it and part of me is Why Lakisha? Again, song choice is just awful tonight. Lakisha has fallen back...Oh dear. It sounds like she is screaming again... Randy - Thank goodness you all have 2 songs. That wasn't working. I didn't get it Paula - You taking the tempo down, took everyone ready to be dancing and brought them all down Simon - No kiss tonight. We are back to the shouting,. That was verging on scary. Commercial Jordin - To Love Somebody OK, before I even heard this I knew I would like this!! What a great song choice, one of my favorites. And boy does she get a compliment from Barry! 'He's heard it recorded by 100's of artists, but no one come's close to Jordin's version..(Well I'll exclude Nina Simone!) OK...having now heard it...what can I say!! Thank god for Jordin!! Fantastic on so many levels. Great vocals, performance. I'll be getting this tomorrow! Randy - It's been a rough night for me me, but that is the best so far. Good control. Paula - You are beautiful. Best vocal tonight by far. Simon - Best song choice, best performance tonight The competition starts now. Commercial - It can only get better Melinda - How Can You mend A Broken Heart Melinda decides to skip a line here, rather than call herself a loser. I was very worried at this choice. Starts really weird and slow, but boy did she pick it up. Great vocal, great performance...but PREDICTABLE!! I'm just glad she recovered from earlier! Randy - 2nd song, much beter, great vocal, you are still the pro Paula- Beatiful vocal. I would love for you to throw your technique away and surprise us. You know you're good. Simon - The second half of that song has put you into the semi-finals. Blake - This is were I came In What a silly song choice!! As much as I love Barry and the Bee Gees, he really shouldn't have encouraged him!! Sing something the majority of voters will know!!! This is just terrible!!! More Beat Boxing, bad dancing, vocal, performance. I can't find anything nice to say!! I'm sure Blake's fan's will save him. Randy - Better than the last. You don't need to beatbox on every song. It's old. Paula - You are a rebel. I didn't know it but I I enjoyed you singing it Simon - That was tuneless. I don't think you have had a good night. That is a strange song choice. Commercial Lakisha - Run To Me Mint Choc chip! Sorry, but I have a craving now!! It's the dress!! This is a great song. Again Lakisha, like Melinda has recovered from that horrid 'first song' round. Great vocal and performance. Sorry. she just lost the note at the end. Oh poor Lakisha! That was sounding great until then Randy - That was better than the first. I know you went hoarse at the end, but that was good. Paula - Don't beat yourself up over that. It was good. Simon - Better than the first, but not great. You and Blake are vulnerable tonight. Commercial Jordin - Woman in Love One of my favoroite Barbra songs! I'm so happy!!! ...and another major compliment from Barry!! - Jordin will be one of our biggest recording stars.. ..OK...Oh Jordin has been infected from the horrible first round!! Very very pitchy, practically the whole way through. I'm dissapointed now. That is the worst I have heard her. Ah well! Randy - Not your best performance. Pitchy. Paula - You are beautiful - It wasn't the best. Simon - I loved the song. I thought it was all pagenty, very old fashioned. I have to give kudos to Barry Gibb. He was a great mentor. One of the best we have seen on Idol Jordins first track was by far the best tonight...Overall, not the best of nights though. I won't call the bottom 2 tomorrow...Way to close, but I'm sure we'll be losing a diva. I'll be back tomorrow with the results. Until then. Enjoy Steph

10-05-2007, 11:43	#22
T--SJ Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: New England, US Posts: 401	A few days late and still really long! I caught the show in Canada while I was away-- which was interesting in itself as I'll explain later. I was really surprised to see how Barry Gibb has aged, especially since he's always seemed ageless to me. It really bothered me to hear him speak--I finally decided that he must have been wearing badly-fitted dentures. I definitely agree with duncann's thoughtful comments -- in particular the differences between Jordin's power-singing and Melinda's more restrained approach. Although the Gibb brothers did write several songs for women, these are few and far between as compared to the songs written for a male trio singing in falsetto. I really wish that they'd spent some time discussing how much modification was made by the contestants vs. how much Barry may have contributed. The judges seemed harsher than in the previous couple of weeks, somewhat merited- and yet, a lot of it was probably the material. Many of the chosen songs are not particularly easy to sing and we are used to hearing the BeeGees unique style on them, so I think the contestants' task was made harder. That said, Melinda did okay with the first song and slightly better w/the second. I didn't seen the huge difference that the judges did. Blake... was he trying to sing falsetto on that first song? I thought his vocals were thinner than usual and the beatboxing came across louder and deeper, making for a really odd contrast. This Is Where I Came In is actually a favorite song in our household and I thought he did a decent job of it. I'm echoing what steph wrote about Lakisha. If it were me, I wouldn't have picked Stayin' Alive. I'm guessing that she and Barry Gibb worked together to modify it to suit her, because usually when she's picked an iconic song, she sings it pretty much the way the original was done. I rather liked the changes (more than the judges did anyway) and will download it later to give it another listen. Her second song was purer and except for a few off-notes delivered a bit too loud, not bad. I liked both of Jordin's choices, although I don't think her first song was really miles above the others. I think she took fewer risks, sticking with the style that she is most comfortable with. I liked her interpretation of the "Woman in Love" song -- I didn't find it "pitch-perfect", but thought that the emotions were right, particularly for a 17yo. As I mentioned up top, I saw the show in Canada. Most of the commercials were teasers for an evening magazine show that was going to discuss the feud between Simon Cowell and Zack Werner (sp?) who is Simon's counterpart on CI. Probably just publicity for the upcoming CI series, but it promised to be an interesting show. (There are four judges on Canadian Idol and three of them are eerily like the American judges.)

09-05-2007, 02:25	#2
Quasimodo Banned User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 262	Never try anything different or quirky (Blake)... It will work for a couple of weeks and then people will go back to the safe arms of a nice voice singing a big ballad.

09-05-2007, 04:17	#4
duncann Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: London Posts: 8,095	Very typical of AI to end up with 3 women in the quarter final and so pick the theme to be, yes, dated over-familiar songs (to those of my age) sung in close harmony by a male trio, usually in falsetto. My first thought was this is unlikely to work. It didn't most of the time. Melinda went from being technically perfect but singing a boring song to being sensational. I like the fact that she holds back nearly all of the time as opposed to trying to belt every single note like Jordin, it's more effective. Her mellower tone, her age and experience place her above her female competition IMO. Her second song was by far the best of the night. Blake seems to earn a lot of criticism but I liked his take on these songs. He has his own way of doing things. It's only pop music and he suits it, he's light and does not invest every silly lyric with the import of the girls. Lakisha has gone as far as she can go. She is less assured than the 2 other girls and her lack of training shows when she is pushed which she is every week now. She fluffed her final note tonight and left the feeling in one's mind that she'd be the person going home. Sad, because she would be the one whose life it would most change if she won. Shame, she just doesn't have quite as much X Factor as the others. Jordin always promises the most but for me she sings every song from start to finish with the same attack and her voice is thinner than the two other women's - well she is younger and will catch up. She had the best song choice (again) tonight and the best position in the line up. She attempted to sing Streisand tonight and was strained, it was all very slightly off key and just trying too hard. I agree with Simon's pageant comment, she is being dressed like a 50 year old at Abigail's Party. I assume she and Melinda will be the final but who knows, Blake has no obvious direct competition.

09-05-2007, 10:55	#6
richie4eva Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Gender: Male Location: The Batcave Posts: 65,294 Blog Entries: 13	Thanks for the review, Steph So a mixed week from what I have read and really tough to say who will be going home as each had one good song and one bad song But as Steph said about Blake, his fans will save him so that just leaves the 3 divas fighting it out. But the beatboxing has to stop Jordin - One good and one bad song Doctor Doolittle - Same as Jordin Kiki - Reviews didn't look too promising So I'll try some random thoughts to think about who may be going as it is so tough to decide Can't see a shock so I reckon Doctor Doolittle will be safe So that just leaves Jordin and Kiki Kiki - A couple of bad song choices may prove to be her undoing as we head towards the final and I think the American public may just run out of patience and get rid of her Jordin - A bad song last week and one this week, but given she had a good first song may be just enough to keep her in. But she needs to really practice if she survives this week if she is going to challenge Melinda for the winners spot because Melinda is going to run away with this if/when she survives this week So based on all that everyone has said I reckon it is goodbye Lakisha, someone who really impressed in the first few weeks but the consistency left her in the later weeks and her standard has dropped really badly.

09-05-2007, 11:29	#7
andy1973 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 6,126	I don't care who goes Mel and Jordin must stay they have made the series for me. Go girls.

09-05-2007, 11:32	#8
Saturn Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,685	Dialidol has Jordin and Blake as safe by a mile. I'd go with that, one of the other two is going home

09-05-2007, 13:42	#9
HAZYWOMAN Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In the Village Posts: 3,211 Blog Entries: 5	Thanks for the review

09-05-2007, 14:00	#10
Arsene wenger Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Gender: Female Location: ALLENATION Services: Justin Bieber one time, Miley Cyrus Noel Liam gallagnher Posts: 3,278 Blog Entries: 2	Blake is neither quirky or unique....Just a very average vocalist with a couple of plastic beatboxes. Goodbye blake.

09-05-2007, 15:39	#11
Sidespin Nid Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Services: Congrats Kim Clijsters and Juan Martin Del Potro - US Open Champions '09 :D Posts: 21,047 Blog Entries: 3	Lakisha to go . I prefer her over Blake but Jordin can get more of the "diva" demographic of the vote if Lakisha goes

09-05-2007, 17:37	#12
jmsjmsjms Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 984	Last night was really boring for me. Hopefully, next week will be better. I don't mind who goes home out of the four tonight.

09-05-2007, 18:08	#13
Sidespin Nid Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Services: Congrats Kim Clijsters and Juan Martin Del Potro - US Open Champions '09 :D Posts: 21,047 Blog Entries: 3	Thanks for the review steph Every Thurday morning , I wake up and read your review because it still gives suspense rather than just reading the result off Wikipedia! (although I look at wikipedia for the ANTM cycle 8 results on a Thursday morning for the previous night's show!) . I have to say , for the first time in the competition I'm scared for Jordin.

09-05-2007, 19:32	#14
Ethereal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 30,765	I haven't watched them all but just got to say, how was Jordin pitchy all the way through "Woman In Love"? People throw that word around ridiculously. I agree that her first song was better but except for one voice crack at the beginning, the rest of the song wasn't "pitchy" at all. And Steph, to say this is the worst you've heard Jordin I don't understand. Her vocals were a lot worse last week and she actually was pitchy then. Also, LaKisha proved last week was just a fluke and she was back to being terrible this week.

09-05-2007, 22:41	#15
signinstranger Inactive Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,303	Hello Steph, For me, it ain't terribly important who finishes 4th and who finishes 3rd. I think everything is heading for a Jordan, Melinda final and that will be the toughest final in the history of the show. The outstanding voice versus the star in the making. Watching Jordan's second number this week, her young age suddenly seemed to be of enormous significance - the brief clip of her singing the song to Barry Gibb was sensational - hence his comment - but in front of the watching millions it was nowhere near as good. I feel very sad that Lakisha has faded so badly week by week. This is mainly down to song choice, and, just as important, song arrangement (what a mess the first song was).

09-05-2007, 23:50	#18
Ethereal Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 30,765	Ok here are my critiques of all the performances. Melinda - Love You Inside And Out: Barry summed it up. It was a falsetto song and she appears to have none so it didn't work for me. Boring performance. 6/10 Blake - You Should Be Dancing: Beatboxing didn't work for the song I felt. It just sounded awkward and like he was doing it just to show he can do it. 5/10 LaKisha - Stayin' Alive: My problem with LaKisha is she appears to be too arrogant to take constructive advice. 3 times now I recall that she has been given advice and completely ignored it. Barry said go up high for the "ha ha ha" bit and she doesn't! The tempo was too slow as well for my liking. 5/10 Jordin - To Love Somebody: Finally an above-average performance! I thought she was fantastic. Probably could have done more with it vocally but hopefully she isn't wanting to peak and saving it for later in the competition. She looked amazing too. 8.5/10 Melinda - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart: First half of the song was on par with her first performance but picked up greatly in the second half thankfully. Great vocal from her, as usual. Didn't wow me though, as usual. 7.5/10 Blake - This Is Where I Came In: He definitely had a poor night. This was also bad and the beatboxing seemed out of place again. Marginally better than the first performance. 5.5/10 LaKisha - Run To Me: Better than the first performance but that wasn't hard to acheive. I didn't really like it. Unlucky that she messed up the last note as well. 5.5/10 Jordin - Woman In Love: Don't know what Randy is talking about saying it was "pitchy" all the way through. I think that's the only musical word he knows and likes to just use it so he looks like he knows what he is talking about. Other than one voice-crack at the start, the rest of the performance was really amazing. Old-fashioned, yes. Pagenty, yes. Pitchy, I don't think so. But what do I know? 8/10 So I would rank Blake and LaKisha the same but I think Blake has a lot more fans and will go through. So I'm predicting LaKisha to go and rightly so if she does.

10-05-2007, 01:20	#20
Quasimodo Banned User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 262	The beatboxing worked fine on You Should Be Dancing with the exception of one important thing... He shouldn't mess around with the "Yeah!" part of that song. That was irritating.

11-05-2007, 00:32	#23
NightHawk123 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: London Services: PS3 PSN: NightHawkAVF, Sky HD & BB, iPhone Posts: 1,011	Barry Gibb week with some great songs from him. Melinda - 1st song - Song with falsetto like Barry Gibb mentioned definately made Melinda fall out of her comfort zone. Struggled with some high notes 7/10 2nd song - Absolutely outstanding, vocal masterclass IMO 9/10. Average - 8/10 Blake - 1st song - Sounded like a girl but then again so did the Bee Gees. Still found vocals quite poor but overall OK 7/10 2nd song - Much better vocal. Blended lyrics with beatboxing alot better than first song 8/10. Average- 7.5/10 LaKisha - 1st song - horrible mess 5/10 2nd song average boring and pitchy 6/10. Average - 5.5/10 Jordin - 1st song - spot on performance 9/10 2nd song - Again consistent and good vocal but surprised to hear judges found it "pitchy". Sorry but unless I'm deaf I found it hard to find any pitchy spots baring one or 2 moments but nothing major. 8/10 Average 8.5/10 Top performer for me this week Jordin Bottom performer for me this week LaKisha Overall scores from me for weeks 1-9 1. Jordin - 8.5 + 9 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 7 + 9 + 6 + 8.5 = 72/90 1. Melinda - 8 + 9 + 8 + 8 + 7 + 8 + 7 + 9 + 8 = 72/90 3. Blake - 7.5 + 9 + 8 + 6 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 8 + 7.5 = 67/90 4. LaKisha - 7.5 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 8 + 5.5 = 63/90 So Jordin improved from last week and has tied with Melinda for top spot. Lakisha was poor this week along with Blake but he kinda made up for it with his 2nd performance unlike Lakisha who just sounded bad in both. Lakisha to go this week.

11-05-2007, 15:13	#25
geraniums Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: London Posts: 43,070 Blog Entries: 9	Just checking in after giving AI a miss for a couple of weeks. I think (apart from the bland and uninteresting singers) the main problem is that they are extending the show too much. An hour for the results show is just ridiculous. This year has been dire. It`s been the year I gave up on Idol. A successful show always leaves the viewer wanting more, not checking their watches to see when it`ll finish.