So when I heard Nicki Minaj was going to be singing I admit I was not excited. I am not a Nicki fan, I don't get her. I hate that I like Super Bass, but I do. The like basically stops though. So part of me was hoping that she would sing that even if it is a bit old at this point. I would have settled for her singing anything by the end of it because she barely sang anything! They played her entire song for her and she would jump in with a line here and there but nothing significant. Then she would just jump around. At lease when Usher stops singing mid song he does really impressive dance moves. I realize that American Idol's ratings are dropping and they are probably looking for big names to bring in some viewers but this show is about finding the next big singer, so why would you bring in artists that the contestants can't learn from. Nicki has the stage presence, yes, but this performance especially had nothing to do with vocal talent. End rant.
Scotty McCreary. Oh Scotty, how I love you. Last year he was one of my picks from auditions and then quickly rose to the top of my list during the live shows. I was glad to see him back and I still love his voice. I think in a few years he will actually be one of the American Idol winners who continues to thrive.
Before I get to this year's contestants, I want to point out that if you read the Yahoo blogger Lindsay Parker's take on the shows and like what she has to say you will probably hare what I have to say. Just a head's up. I also want to point out that I think all of the contestants have talent, so I am comparing them to each other not just to the world. Ok, here we go.
Hollie and Jessica were compared by Jimmy this week. Jimmy said that Jessica showed more soul in her songs than Hollie did and because of this that Hollie could not stand up to Jessica. I disagree. I love Hollie so much more than Jessica. At first I didn't really care for either of them, but Hollie has won me over whereas I'm stilling wondering why there is even a Jessica bandwagon to jump on to. I don't have strong feelings for Carrie Underwood's Jesus Take The Wheel, but I thought Hollie's version was so powerful that I didn't understand why she was in the bottom three.
Sklyar is by far one of the best performers on the show. She brings so much energy to all of her songs and you can tell that she is having so much fun with it. I was more surprised by her ending up in the bottom three than Hollie. She's in my final two.
Joshua is another one that the judges keep raving about that I just don't see as a performer. They, along with Jimmy, always put him in the top and talk about him as if he is a guaranteed finalist. When they do use their one save I feel like it will be either on him or Jessica.
Colton however, SHOULD be a guaranteed finalist. He is my absolute favorite and my winner. His rendition of Piano Man was the best cover of any song I have ever seen on Idol. He's been getting a lot of crap for his twitter and fb posts because he is a strong Christian and proud of it. Guess what guys, he wants to go into Christian music if he wins so would you rather he show you that now or wait til he wins and then flips vibes? The joke is 'That person could sing the phone book and I'd buy it" but I'm telling you, as someone who is not religious, that boy could sing the Bible and I would happily stare at him as he did it. Uh, gorgeous and talented. Deal with it.
Phillip Phillips is this year's Casey Abrams. They've both got this weird style and presence on stage that just works for them. Phillip is his music. If Colton and Sklyar aren't both in the final two, Phillip better be.
If Phillip is this year's Casey, then Elise is this year's Haley. I mean this in the sense that both girls were in the bottom three for the first few weeks of the show but by sliding by they have earned a lot of respect and have proven to be kind of dark horses. I'm still on the fence about Elise because while she has the chops, she has the emotional equivalent to Kristen Stewart in her eyes. She never seems excited by anything and none of her performances are memorable.
DeAndre is the last one left in the top 8. This kid has a great falsetto.
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And nice hair....It's just not my style. I'm sure he will go farther in the competition that I think he should (or he's going home next week because I said that) but Jimmy said, and I agree with him, that you either buy into DeAndre or you don't. I am on the latter half.
Heejun left last night and while I thought he was a funny guy in real life, he was the last one left that I was wondering how he even made it onto the top 10. I was upset when the judges wasted a spot in the top 24/25, but then shocked when he made it to the top 12 without their help.
