American Idol 7 - Girls2

I didn't get this posted last night, but here are my thoughts while watching the show.

It's lady's night and the girls are stuck in the '70s. There are potentially some great songs to be sung and I'm hoping to see some breakout performances.

Carly Smithson
"Crazy On You"
She can sing. She's very cute. She's got a great voice. The performance wasn't perfect, but she did a good job. I liked it.

Syesha Mercado
"Mr. Jones"
Her voice is so smooth - I love it! I like Syesha a lot, but I have to agree with the judges that the softer sections of the song were not always right on pitch. I don't know that it really detracted from the overall performance, but she needs to learn to support even when she's not powering through something.

Brook White
"You're So Vain"
Great song choice for her. I think she perfectly fits that 'singer-songwriter' mold. She hit a couple of funky notes, but nothing really bad. This is one of those songs that doesn't have any giant vocal passages and that gives it the sense of being a little lower energy. But overall it suited Brook very well.

Ramiele Malubay
"Don't Leave Me this Way"
I'm underwhelmed for the first time tonight. This is not a good 'vocalist' song. She did nothing interesting with it. It was flat and boring and off pitch. Jasmine Trias, go home.

Kristy Lee Cook
"You're No Good"
Hmmm... my first impression is that the walk and stance and her whole stage presence is to calculated - almost choreographed. Not natural. My second thought is that it was all a little draggy - she took it a hair slower than the original and it suffered for it. When I closed my eyes the vocal was very strong, but the overall performance was weird. I didn't like it even though it wasn't really bad.

Amanda Overmeyer
"Carry On My Wayward Son"
I think she might be sick, but it's hard to tell. Her pitch is awful tonight, and she seems to have some hoarseness in addition to her usual husky voice. Her stage presence and presentation were fine, but the vocal performance was really not good. And her hair is ridiculous.

Alaina Whitaker
"Hopelessly Devoted To You"
She is a pretty girl with a pretty voice. That's not going to be enough to get her through this competition. Her pitch was all over the place. She had no vocal control. She wasn't as bad as some of the top contestants were in previous seasons, but she was no American Idol.

Alexandrea Lushington
"If You Leave Me Now"
Poor wardrobe choice. Mediocre vocal. Dull performance overall. I think Alex may have reached the end of her road - though the judges seem to like her. Go figure.

Kady Malloy
"Magic Man"
I like her voice. I like her look. But the song was just a little weak. In her defense, I had the impression that the mix was off and she didn't have enough gain compared to the band. But that doesn't change the fact that she just didn't exude much stage presence. It was all rather so what.

Asia'h Epperson
"All By Myself"
Another very pretty girl. And I think she has some serious talent. But this was not a good song choice for her. Her voice dropped out on the first high note because she forgot to compensate for her break. Later high parts were there, but sounded strained because she powered into them in chest voice instead of using a blended or head voice. I just don't think this performance was very good at all.

Top Honors: Syesha I think is the clear winner tonight, followed by Carly.

Pack Your Bags: I think Ramiele needs to go. And, sadly, I think Amanda might need to join her. I really like Amanda, but while her voice is interesting and unique, I think it's also just too much of the same. She needs to build a band and go start playing bars and clubs. She will not win this competition and after this performance the gig might be up for her. If it isn't Amanda though (and it might not be since she's unique and the only rocker chick), It will either be Alexandrea or Alaina who joins Ramiele in departure.


Overall, one thing is clear. All the girls need to step it up a serious notch if they want to compete with the guys. I did not see any of the breakout performances I hoped for at the beginning of the evening.

There are probably 3 or 4 guys who got it seriously goin' on (at least once they find their niche). None of the girls has the charisma to match someone like a Chikezie. None of the girls has the pipes that Archuleta has. There are a couple of girls I like, but none that really stand out and make me think I absolutely want their album no matter what they end up recording. That's a problem for the girls. I think this season is going to a guy - and probably a guy in second place as well.