American Idol Group #3

Tonight it was group #3's turn to impress us with their talents on American Idol. For most, we are still waiting to find out why they were placed into the top 36. Heck, now that all 36 have performed, I'm left wondering why Jamar Rodgers, Rose Flack and David Osmond were cut in previous rounds and we got stuck watching some of these train wrecks. But I digress. Here is my personal recap of tonight's performances (also known as "the group of forgettable):

The Good

Von Smith - "You're All I Need to Get By" by Marvin Gaye -- Smith was really "Just OK" rather than good but then I couldn't use my little system if I added that so here he gets to look "good" instead. Honestly, he picked a song that was around prior to the birth of most watching the show. Just 'eh.

Ju'Not Joyner - "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's -- I cringed when I heard his version of this song. Almost as much as I cringe at his name (who was high when they came up with Ju'not?). Vocally he was good but I hate when contestants change the arrangement of great songs and then butcher the integrity of the song. I have news for Joyner - the song is NOT R&B.

Kristen McNamara - "Gimme One Reason" by Tracey Chapman -- Again, she changed the tempo of the song and took a great soulful song and tried to make it pop. She has a great voice but she clearly has an identity crisis as a performer. The sad thing is that she was the sixth person tonight and she was the first to really make me pay attention for the right reasons.

Lil Rounds - "Be Without You" By Mary J. Blige -- Yes, I know the judges thought she was fantastic. I disagree. Vocally she was great, I will give her that. The reason I have her as just good is I cannot stand when contestants change the words to the song to include a plea for votes. TACKY.

The Bad

Taylor Vaifanua - "If I Ain't Got You" By Alicia Keys -- Who? Simon was right when he had to ask who Taylor was even though she had performed just 20 minutes earlier.

Kendall Beard - "This One's For the Girls" by Martina McBride -- Of all the Martina songs and all the country songs out there, she picked this one? Barf. Like Taylor, she was generic and forgettable.

Jorge Nunez - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John -- I guess Paula was drunk again tonight. She actually said that you could not tell that Nunez had an accent during the song. Um, does Paula know what an accent is? Several times in the song you could understand what he was singing. Also, like several former contestants, Nunez's facial expression were completely distracting. At one point I thought he was taking a dump.

The Ugly

Alex Wagner-Trugman - "That's Why They Call it the Blues" by Elton John -- the guy may be a likeable dorky guy but damn this was awful. He mumbled the chorus, was the top with his "growling" during the song and he sounded like he was doing drunk karaoke.

Arianna Afsar - "Winner Takes All" By ABBA -- Arianna made some wrong moves with this song. First, she chose a song 99% of non-ABBA fans have never heard of. Secondly, she is 17 and picked a song made for a 50 year-old. Hell, the judges called the performance "gloomy" and damn did her mangling high notes make my ears hurt.

Nathaniel Marshall - "I Would Do Anything for Love" by Meatloaf -- Okay, for the record I love this song. If you've been watching the audition process, you should know that Marshall was part of the "Brokedown Diva" group with Nancy Wilson and Kristen McNamara. He tried to turn this song into a gay club dance number but I have news for him, this is a very dramatic love song. He dressed like he was doing Flashdance or 80's Olivia Newton John and the choreography reminded me of a drunk drag queen at a drag show.

And the Great

Scott McIntyre - "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby -- By far the best of the night. I knew during the audition episdoes that he would be one of the few to watch. He did not disappoint. He took a song and made it special. Granted there were a few rough parts in the vocals but even the imperfections added to the greatness of the performance.

Felicia Barton - "No One" by Alicia Keys -- Simon said she seemed too much like the original. I think if you can be compared to Alicia Keys like that, you have some serious talent. The irony is that Barton was originally told she hadn't made the Top 36. She was added when the producers disqualified Joanne Pacitti because of her connections to people with 19 Entertainment. Thank goodness she was added. I know the judges said that Rounds was the top female, but I think Barton deserves that honor.

My Predictions

Scott McIntyre
Felicia Barton
Lil Rounds

This is probably the only group where two females could advance. I also would not be surprised if Kristen McNamara was voted into the finals. If she isn't, I would not be surprised to see her in the Wildcard along with Ju'Not Joyner and possibly Kendall Beard.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 03, 2009 and is filed under . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

0 comments