American Idol 4, February 22: Hits and the Misses

Ryan welcomes us, introduces the boys from last night, the judges, and the girls from tonight. Again, 12 performances to get through, so no time for tomfoolery. On with the show!

Vonzell Solomon, "Heat Wave"

Randy - "Great way to start off... little pitchy in parts but you corrected it with your personality."

Paula - "Got the crowd going... did a good job."

Simon - "I think was a good start... oversang it in spots... I think you could do very well in this competition."

Sting7 - The song that almost did in Kimberley Locke flowed much better from Vonzell. There were a couple of pitchy moments, but like Randy said, she had enough moxie and presence to make them pretty irrelevant. Strong performance, good job.

Amanda Avila, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You"

Randy - "Alright... it was good... demanding vocal... you hung in there."

Paula - "It was good... wasn’t your best."

Simon - "Most people do well because they sound different... I’ve heard that performance a lot... in my next life I want to come back as your microphone."

Sting7 – The judges were hard on Amanda, I think. She’s a beautiful singer, she had nice control, if not much explosion, but that’s more the song than Amanda. I don’t know if this is the way she wanted to start her Idol campaign, but there are boys in the audience, and they will like her. A lot.

Janay Castine, "I Want to Love You Forever"

Randy - "You looked a little nervous... not your best performance... not sure I loved that."

Paula - "You’re a little showman... you’re a dynamo... this wasn’t right for you."

Simon - "The song was too old... we liked you because you’re young... you’re not 50."

Sting7 - Janay seemed like she was in a wrestling match – a three-way match between herself, the song, and her nerves. I’m not sure who won, really. I like Janay, but this was a sonic mess. I hope her youthfulness and the judges encouraging us to give her mulligan will work. She’s better than this.

Carrie Underwood, "Could’ve Been"

Randy - "What a breath of fresh air... absolutely brilliant."

Paula - "You’ve been good throughout this process and you were good tonight."

Simon - "You are a favorite to win this competition... you know who you are... you have a good recording voice, good job."

Sting7 - Carrie pulls out a Tiffany song that I hope is as close to country as she gets. I’ll just say it, I don’t want a country Idol, and while Simon flat out told Josh Gracin it won’t work, he seems to be pushing Carrie that way, and it annoys me. As for Carrie, she has surprising power. Watch out for her, I think I’m ready to peg her Top Three already.

Sarah Mather, "Get Ready"

Randy - "Fun song choice... you worked it out... I enjoyed it a little bit."

Paula - "Not the best song choice, it’s more for a group, it doesn’t feature a lead vocal... I didn’t get to hear more than one octave."

Simon - "You only get one chance to make a first impression... it was a clumsy, forgettable performance."

Sting7 - I called her a forgettable Denim Skirt Girl, and maybe... just maybe, I was a little hasty. Sarah chose a song that didn’t really let her show range. (Just when I was ready to compliment Paula, she says something stupid like, "it doesn’t feature a lead vocal." Tell Smokey Robinson he wasn’t doing a lead vocal, Paula! But I’ll give her this one, her critiques have been 300% better this season.) As for Sarah, lots of personality, I enjoyed watching her, even if hearing her was a bit forgettable. I think she has more in there to show us, I hope she gets a chance.

Melinda Lira, "Power of Love"

Randy - "I think you’re one of the best singers in the competition... a little sharp in the high spots... I still think you’re a young Kelly Clarkson in the making."

Paula - "Wasn’t my favorite choice of song... you have to watch out for Celine Dion power ballads… I still think you’re a strong contender."

Simon - "Tricky... we’re waiting for a star to come on... that was just (shrug)."

Sting7 - Another song that sounded like a struggle. Paula was right this time – future Idols, stay away from Celine! Back away from Celine! It will only get you in trouble! And with that, I have to tell you, the performance doesn’t register anything for me at all. I still hear Celine in my head. That’s not a good sign.

Nadia Turner, "(There’s) The Power of Love"

Randy - "Props to you for staying true to who you are... you came out here and rocked it... that was excellent!"

Paula - "You look great... I was really surprised, I had no idea you had that in you! I really love it!"

Simon - "The antidote of karaoke hell... what I loved about you this evening was you decided not to play safe... you said I’m original and I’m here to win, and I congratulate you."

Sting7 - You know, I’ve seen plenty of polls and message boards of people proclaiming their favorites, and no one ever mentions Nadia. They will now! Outstanding work. This is a prime example of performance over nit-picking notes. She had a couple of rough ones, but so what? She was in complete control of the stage. You could not take your eyes off her! That’s a star, people – get off the perfect notes, you’re missing the point.

Celena Rae, "I Will Love Again"

Randy - "It’s interesting... it was very safe and bit boring for me."

Paula - "You seemed a bit tentative... midway through you powered up with your vocal... not sure about your song choice."

Simon - "I think with that song, it’s hard to ask the audience to know what you’re about... this was like "I don’t have a clue." But you could have a good voice."

Sting7 - Then there was Celena. In her defense, Lara Fabian’s version did not have all that Moog in it. I think the band got a wee bit excited, and Celena seemed to have to sing over it! She found her groove about midway through, but for the singers who got no back story thus far, they have to work a little harder to compete with the fan bases that have already started. I’m not sure she made it there.

Mikalah Gordon, "Young Hearts, Run Free"

Randy - "Personality, personality, personality.... you got that going on.... I enjoyed ya!"

Paula - "You are a character... I had fun too... I was rooting for ya... you’re loveable, your goofy and you can sing too."

Simon - "I think half the audience will find you very amusing, and the other half will find you annoying."

Sting7 - Dahling! Simon is sooo correct when he says Mikalah will either seem adorable or annoying as hell. The feedback I’m getting is overwhelmingly the latter. The Black Eyed Peas have a great song with the lyrics, let me see how it goes, oh yeah, "shutup, just shutup shutup, shut it up just shutup shutup." Mikalah, shut up! Just sing. Ask Fantasia, who learned to keep her yap shut when she thought she was being endearing, someone put a bug in her ear that she was annoying folks too. That took her all the way to the top. Vocally, I like Mikalah, but with all we’ve seen, it may be beside the point. She’ll need a knockout performance (and a muzzle), to keep her from being a frequent visitor to the bottom three. Mikalah. I like ya. Shut. Up.

Lindsay Cardinale, "Standing Right Next To Me"

Randy - "I think you’re a better singer than that... take some chances."

Paula - "You do stand out because you have a deep, rich sexy tone... the song you chose didn’t show that."

Simon - "I think you are potentially a good singer, you have to take a risk... you’re better than that song, that was just boring, and you’re not!"

Sting7 - This was the song she first auditioned with (yet Randy acted like he never heard it before… Grrr!), and it’s a Karla Bonoff number. Exactly! Singing a song no one (but me) knows is a big risk! Not a good one. I like Lindsay’s voice and her presence, but this just didn’t work for me at all.

Jessica Sierra, "Against All Odds"

Randy - "I liked it man... I like the kind of husky tone you have."

Paula - "You did something very nice, you commanded the stage, it shows me that you know who you are."

Simon - "I don’t think it was the best we heard you sing, I think you were very nervous tonight... when we saw you in Pasadena we said this girl is potentially very good. I hope you stay in this week."

Sting7 - I have to admit that I’m a bit mystified about what makes Jessica special, but Rashida Johnson had to go home. Didn’t feel anything for this performance. I won’t use Simon’s analogy about hotel lobbies, but it was what I was feeling. Sorry, Jessica.

Aloha Mischeaux, "Work It Out"

Randy - "We already know, I loved it, loved it, just don’t edge that close to Beyonce... you’ve got some originality in yourself, keep that going on."

Paula - "In other words, that’s a great niche for you... pick songs that showcase who you are."

Simon - "I think you did the job tonight... of the performances tonight, I will remember three or four and that was one of them."

Sting7 - Doing a not so well-known Beyonce song is a definitely a risk, but Aloha injected plenty of personality and presence into it. Vocally, she was right on it. (As Randy pointed out, maybe too on it. I’m reminded of Kelli Glover from the first season who sang "I Will Always Love You" as well as Whitney. In fact, she sounded like Whitney, so much so that she was called an imitator.) Besides, I like the spunky girls, and Aloha has that in spades.

Lots of hits and just-misses tonight, but I am encouraged by the Top 12 potential! As for the night of the ladies, here’s how I think the voting results should go:

1. Nadia
2. Carrie
3. Aloha
4. Vonzell
5. Amanda
6. Lindsay
7. Sarah
8. Janay
9. Mikalah
10. Melinda
11. Celena
12. Jessica

And here’s how I think they will go:

1. Nadia
2. Carrie
3. Aloha
4. Vonzell
5. Lindsay
6. Sarah
7. Jessica
8. Amanda
9. Janay
10. Mikalah
11. Melinda
12. Celena

So, I think the two girls without a backstory are in trouble, primarily because their performances were... okay. Not horrible, they didn’t embarrass themselves, they didn’t do a Roman Brothers choke, they just didn’t do enough.

Am I right? Tomorrow, we’ll see!

Sting7 has been a respected published writer for many years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He also has a curious love for pro-wrestling! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com.

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