Last night the men rocked the stage and tonight it was the girl’s chance to show what they could do. There haven’t been any standouts amongst the females this year just yet, Did someone emerge tonight? Let’s find out!
Ta-Tynisa Wilson – Ta-Tynisa got the night started off with a vanilla version of Rihanna’s latest hit. It is a tough task to start off the show, and it seemed that she struggled with finding the rhythm of the song throughout. In what is becoming a current theme, Randy was the only judge who really critiqued her performance. Are the producers making him the new Simon, or is it just his experience coming through?
Naima Adedapo – Naima did a strange version of the DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince classic “Summertime.” Okay, it was the more traditional “Summertime,” and a great performance of it too! Her voice is well suited for the swinging jazz style of the song, so it all worked really well. It will be interesting to see her out of her comfort zone in future episodes.
Kendra Chantelle – I’m not familiar with the song that she performed, but she owned it!! I think she would have a great voice for rock, but she did this ballad equally well. At the end of the night this may be one of the stand out performances.
Rachel Zevita – I’ve got give her props, this was the only alternate version of a song performed tonight. I had never heard Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” performed as a broadway song. It was a great idea and she sang it really well, but the version didn’t retain enough of the original melody to really work. I think she deserved more credit than the judges gave her for being creative with an arrangement, even if it didn’t completely work out.
Karen Rodriguez – Karen performed Mariah Carey’s “Hero” in a pageant dress. It felt like a pageant, or at least 5th grade talent show. She sang it well, but, I just felt like I was back in the middle school gym all over again. Singing part of it in Spanish was a really nice touch, but I totally got the impression that she has been performing that version on state fair stages for years.
Lauren Turner – Apparently throwback style songs are in with this group of girls, and it is making the show all the more interesting. Of the soulful performances tonight, hers was tops. For the first time I really agreed with J-Lo that she really could have given a more energetic performance. I imagine that won’t happen too many times this season! All in all, it was solid though!
Ashthon Jones – Ashthon is one of the few ladies who I even remember from the earlier episodes. She chose Monica’s “Love All Over Me” for her song, and while it was a good performance, it wasn’t extraordinary. Hopefully it will be enough to get her through into the top 12.
Julia Zorrilla – This performance of Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” was really just bad. It’s been a good run for Julia, but I doubt she’ll see the top 12.
Haley Reinhardt – Ms. Reinhardt has one of the more distinctive voices of the top 12 females, but this performance of Alecia Keys didn’t really showcase that like another song would have. That said, I’m being picky because she is very good and will make it to the next round no matter what I write on this piddly little blog.
Thia Megia – Thai chose a song from Fame, which is quite a bold choice from the young singer. She has quite a big range to her voice and this song really showcased it. It stood out from the others with its minimalist instrumentation. Ironic that the youngest performer brought one of the most mature performances of the night.
Lauren Alaina – From the quiet simplicity of Thia’s performance to brash modern country – talk about jarring! It was good enough, but the producers did her no favors by placing her performance where they did. The performance prior to it just made it sound like a trite, loud mess. There wasn’t a lot of country tonight though, so that will definitely help her to bring in some votes.
Pia Toscano – “I’ll Stand By You” is a classic Idol chocie, this was a good version of the song but not extraordinary. To me, it was the second pageant song of the night, which I have to say for Idol is actually really low. Evidently everyone there disagreed with me, so I guess I can say that I just didn’t get it. The notes at the end were big, but there wasn’t enough of that in the performance to wow me.
All in all, there still aren’t any real stand outs in the ladies quite yet. There are several who could make it far into the final 12, but I would be hard pressed to select a “favorite.” I think it comes down to a lack of unique voices, but that will ultimately make the competition a level playing field for all of the female contestants.
I can’t wait to see who makes it through!
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