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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2006 > February > 21
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
2/21: Pip Pip Hooray!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s time for the rankings, ladies’ edition! Overall, the pool of 12 girls is better than last year. And there were at least four great performances. And none were complete disasters.
With two hours, “Idol” has time to do more bio on each contestant and for the first time, in their own words. That’s good and especially helps the women who didn’t get much airtime early on. Let’s rank’em from best to worst (Top six in the main entry body, the rest in the “extended entry” portion) I start with my immediate thoughts before I hear the judges, then I provide some of their thoughts.
My crack prediction for the two to go: Stevie Scott and Heather Cox. But don’t take my word for it. My track record last year was fairly miserable. In the final 12, I could usually name two of the bottom three but for eight straight weeks failed to predict the person to be voted off. It was embarrasing. Let’s see if I can do better this year.
Paris Bennett (Gladys Knight & the Pip’s “Midnight Train to Georgia”) — She’s representing Georgia! And I’m not just giving her hometown props. She was joyous and fun, had me on my feet. Her choreography/dancing background helped. I loved the 70’s flip hairstyle, too. Wow! That was one of the best performances in “Idol” history. “We got a hot one America!” Randy said. “Looks like you’ve been doing this all your life.” “You’re my Idol,” Paula said. “You are a showwoman!” Simon: It’s very interesting. You come in 17, showed what you have to do well in this competition. It’s a performance everyone is going to remember… the likability factor. It’s not about being good. It’s about being great. That was great.”
Lisa Tucker (“I Am Changing” Jennifer Holliday)— This gal is 16? She’s a showstopper! Bravo!!! Standing o’ and all that good stuff! “You probably chose one of the biggest and most ambitious songs of the night,” Randy said. “It started a little rough but you worked it out in the end.” Paula: “You are this precious little gift. You light this fire inside my heart and are poised and your’e 16 and you have this gift… you are a star.” Simon: “You made girls who are five or six years older look ordinary. That’s what it’s all about. You have the potential with your career and we look back at this, this is the night we’ll remember Lisa Tucker.” True, true.
Katharine McPhee (Barbra Streisand’s “Since I Fell For You”) —She is one of those vocal gymnastics gals that I often find annoying. But she has a fine texture to her voice and she didn’t overdo it this time. What a range! She won me over. Go figure! Randy: “I always love your voice. You are one of the natural talents… You got it going on.” Paula: “This was a great performance. You gave your all. You own the stage. Everything about you was fantastic. I think you’ll be going all the way.” Simon: “There were four very good vocalists. You were the best.”
Mandisa (Heart’s “Never”) She rocked! Great song choice! Not predictable at all. “It shows you have personality,” Randy said. “You overdid it just a little bit.” “You were phenomenal,” Paula said. “It wasn’t a perfect vocal,” Simon said. “However, you have an unbelievable personality. You have thrown down the gauntlet to the other 11 girls. We’ll see you all the way to the finals of the show.”
Becky O’Donohue(Patti Smith’s “Because the Night”)— She picked a song suited to her lower registers. She started strong, weakened a bit midway but I liked it overall. She has spunk and a fine intensity. She could almost be on “Rock Star.” “I love the performance,” Randy said. “You don’t have to have the best voice but I liked the whole thing.” Paula: “Your charm is your pixie dust. But being realistic, there were notes that were off during the song. You guys all have to remember you don’t have to overperform.” Simon: “Slightly better than what I expected to be honest with you. Visually you are a 10. Voice is a 6 and a half. That last note was so off. I don’t think quite good is good enough for Idol 5. You’ve got to be great. There are probably five or six girls amongst this 12 are great. It was just okay.”
Kellie Pickler (Martina McBride’s “How Far”) This sweet gal picked a really tough song. She was pitchy at times and she just barely pulled off the chorus. She did okay, ended well. “I still feel a little nerves hitting the high notes,” Randy said. “It was good.” Paula: “You’re unpretentious. You don’t have the diva attitude… I think on the chorus you sang your heart out. But you have to carry the song through on the verses.” Simon, who clearly likes Kellie: “You have the likability factor… It felt heartfelt and sincere. That’s what we always like. You’re not a stage school monster… I thought you did very well.” “I’m just glad to be here,” Kellie said gleefully.
7— Kinnik (pronounced ki-NEEK) Sky (Oleta Adams’ “Get Here”) — Brings back memories of one of Justin Guarini’s better performances in 2002. Her voice isn’t nearly as light as Adams. She clearly showed off her theater vocals. But for some reason it didn’t blow me away. It was very good but compared to Lisa Tucker, Mandisa and Paris, not quite there. “Choosing those stylized songs, you’re always compared to who sung it originally. The middl ewas really rough. You brought it home at the end. I have to give it a 6.” “Sharp notes, a few. So what. Your performance was powerful. Your showmanship was on point. I thought you did a lovely job,” Paula said. Simon: “We have seen one or two quite stunning performances from very young girls. We’ve gone incredible young talent. With somebody like you who is 28 years old. You’re very elegant, very regal. It was very cabaret… You’re being overshadowed by the young pretenders.”
8— Melissa McGhee (Faith Hill’s “When the Lights Go Down”) — The pageant gal says with the “Idol” contestants, “it’s a big family.” Uh huh. I’m not familiar with this particular tune. She has an interesting huskiness to her voice and definitely enough heft to it as well. The song is a snoozer. She was good, not incredible, definitely in the middle of the pack overall. “Started a little rocky, but I like that you worked it out,” Randy said. “It didn’t quite come together.” Paula: “I thought this was a shining moment for you. You have a sexy sultry voice.” Simon: “I’m somewhere in the middle here. Before you sang tonight, I would not have remembered you… You’re a bit lifeless when you sing. That worries me. You sang it well. “
9— Ayla Brown (Christina Aguilera’s “Reflections”) - This really is a lame Disney song. I wasn’t impressed with her from her initial audition but she was far better than I expected. Still she isn’t all that distinctive. “I didn’t expect it to be that good,” Randy said. “I was pleasantly surprised.” Paula: “I totally agree with you. That is a very ambitious undertaking. What I really enjoyed is you made it your own song and showed vulnerability.” Simon: “I think you’re probably a hard worker. There’s a limit to where your voice can go. We discovered that toward the end… For the first time for me, I saw some emotion… one of your better performances.” “I felt amazing!” she exclaimed.
10— Brenna Gethers (Stevie Wonder’s “You are the Sunshine of My Life”) The drama queen opts to go understated (like Mikalah tried a couple of times last year). Subtlety is not her strong suit. She plays to the cameras well but the performance felt kind of blah. What happened? “You chose a very safe song,” Randy said. “For me, I gotta keep seeing the girl with attitude… Be who you are. Paula: “Humility and a little bit of humble pie. There is a sensitive side that redeemed you.” Simon: “I don’t think you need to eat any humble pie. That’s what we like about you. That was horrible. Completely and utterly. You’re like a wild little cat. Somebody just put gloves on you. Everything we liked about you just evaporated.” She promises the claws to be out if she makes it. She will. She poses in the most irritating manner. Makes Constantine seem like a modest fella.
11— Heather Cox (The Idols’ “When You Tell Me That You Love Me”) She says she loves the show “like a stalker.” Hmmm… I wouldn’t know, would I? Her vocals are rather ordinary. The power notes were not that powerful, either. Not bad, just not good enough to get into the finals. She looks like a more innocent Jenny McCarthy. “It was kind of really boring,” Randy said. “I wanted to hear you go for it. It was kind of pitchy. It didn’t work for me tonight.” Paula: “I have to agree with Randy. It sounded reall rough… This was not a great performance.” Simon: “It was forgettable. You sang it like someone taking an elocution lesson.”
12— Stevie Scott (Josh Groban’s “To Where You Are”) - The opera girl strives to be the girl version of Groban. Not my type of song. Fairly subtle and difficult at the same time. Her voice is okay but a bit thin in the falsetto compared to some of her peers. She could be in trouble. “That was really difference,” Randy said. “It didn’t capture my attention at all.” Paula said: “I disagree. I felt it was very brave of you to take on that and be very ethereal with the falsetto and be very intimate. You’re very trained and did the exactly right thing with the song.” Simon: “You completely utterly messed that up. It was like being at some horrible Sunday lunch.”
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2/21: Who stands out?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Standing out early in the audition rounds certainly helps at this stage of the game. Last year, semifinalist Melinda Lira commented on that unfairness on her way out the door before the final 12 was named. Most of the final 12 last year got some airtime before hand. Exception: Bo Bice. He stood out big time in the semifinals thanks to a riproaring version of “Whipping Post” (I wasn’t a huge fan of it but it cut through the pap.). So to make it this far without the airtime, someone like Kinnik is going to have to really shine or she’ll be gone.
Of course, the early airtime doesn’t guarantee a final 12 spot. Last year, there was David Brown, who sounded so good before the semifinals, then choked.
Nonetheless, there are probably five gimmes that would have to completely collapse NOT to make it to the final 12.
— Kellie PIckler. Talent, looks and a good sob story (plus not a trace of arrogance) should get her in.
— Paris Bennett. She had arguably the best first audition of anybody we saw but showed some flaws vocally during the Hollywood portions. We’ll see how things play out starting tonight but I still think she has already built a fan base ready to get her into the final 12 easily.
— Mandisa Hundley. She’s already dropped her last name but Simon may have gotten her into the final 12 with his nasty weight comment, as much as her skills. She was extremely articulate right before she made the final 24 and made Simon eat crow. She is a lock.
— Ace Young. He’s the looker of the guys and there’s nobody else like him in the bunch at all. He would have to do what David Brown did and fold during the semis not to make it through. The teen girls are already going gaga over him.
— Taylor Hicks. This man has such a giddy personality, he practically bursts from the TV screen. He too has a big fan base and should cruise into the final 12.
There are two others that showed a bit too much ego for the fans to fall in love with them: Brenna and Gedeon. Both will have to be careful from here on in. A lot of folks seem to love Katharine McPhee (whose mom is a voice teacher) but I don’t see it at all. And Lisa Tucker is young and talented but might get overshadowed by Paris.
The teens may latch onto William Makar, who has impressed me. Both David Radford and Kevin Covais might catch that John Stevens/ Anthony Fedorov crowd, but I just don’t think either are that good. Southern rockers who miss Bo might go for Chris Daughtry. Jose “Sway” Panala apparently already has a following in the Phillipines with his group 6th Day and might grab the Asian-American audience.
Everyone else is going to have to do something to break out of the pack and take full advantage of their 90 seconds on stage each week. We’re all looking forward to it tonight and tomorrow!
