Results 21May08

And the best man definitely won. All along I've felt David Cook was the clear winner, and I was confused by the judging last night. Enjoyed the ZZ Top collab. The whole show was fairly enjoyable. Nice of Simon to apologize.

If you've been following this blog, I'd like to say thank you for reading my comments. Several of you have written to say you learned something about singing from reading my assessments of the singers and their performances. That was really why I started this blog. At times I regretted that decision since it forced me to watch all the Idol shows and make notes on every singer and every song... but on the other hand I felt it made me take a more intensive interest in the shows that before.

One thing I would like to say is that, if 10 out of thousands and thousands of auditioners end up on AI, and tour with the show.... this is a good indication of what percentage of people make it big in this industry.

The good thing about Idol is that it does offer some talented people the chance for exposure. I don't always agree with the judges choices on the road to the top 24, but I am not in the room with them, hearing & seeing the complete audition.

The bad thing about Idol is it makes thousands of kids think that fame = success, and that all they need is a shot. What you need is time & experience. What you need is skill. What you need is practice. Nothing is instant. Even your American Idol, who, besides having to rehearse 3 songs for the last night of the competition, also had to rehearse duets, ensembles, a piece with ZZ Top, and the winning song, do media interviews, etc., all this week.

It kinda reminds me of when I was a young girl, dreaming of boys and marriage. My father wisely said to me "too many girls focus on the wedding. Marriage is what happens after the vows."

Winning American Idol, or making any step forward in your career, is not the end. It is the beginning of hard work, of having to sing when you aren't well, or sign autographs when you are dog tired, or get on the bus to go to the next gig when all you wish is to be home with your wife and family.

Lastly, you don't have to win AI or even get on AI to live your dreams. Have a clear vision for yourself, find out what it is you need to know to achieve the next level and set out to learn that. Don't expect anyone to come along and pluck you out of obscurity. Study creativity, look for inspiration, network like crazy, and build a supportive team around you. Fame and fortune mean nothing if you can't look yourself in the face. Fame and fortune mean nothing if you haven't got people you trust to share your success with. Fame and fortune mean nothing if you aren't following your heart. It's more important to get up every day and spend that day doing something that you love, than it is to have people scream your name in an arena. If those things go together, that's great. But it's the passion and the drive and the work and the experience that will get you there.

Anything is possible, if you are willing to do the work.

see you next season,
Vikki Flawith
www.vikkiflawith.com
www.myspace.com/vikkiflawith

TOP TWO - 20May08

Well, I was sort disappointed with tonight's show. I felt that David Cook either, stepped back to let the kid win... or knew that the die was cast. Not that he didn't perform well, he just didn't step out and wow me like he has in the past... and who knows, maybe it's better to be #2 & have a little more artistic freedom.

I felt they chose a rather limited song for him to perform in "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". There's so many songs he could have rocked, and while that is a nice song... just didn't thrill me. I found myself feeling slightly disappointed at the end of it.
He chose to sing "Dream Big" and I thought he put all of himself into it. Not sure if the song really sold "him" as a performer.

In his last song... he chose to sing something new, and did a good job of it.

In my educated opinion, David Cook has a very memorable voice, it's unique, it's his own. He is also a skilled musician. In both those areas he shines out & is a clear winner. He's not a cookie cutter model of someone else. His integrity and musicality will see him through and I think we will hear more of him.

David A - naturally they gave him the ballad he could sing sweetly, 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me'. I do think he sang it with his heart & soul. As I said, his voice is not as striking as David Cs in timbre. I also knew what he was going to do vocally before he did it. However, I felt he did put more of himself into the performance of his first song than David C did.

"This Moment" - was a better original song than the one David C sang, as it really seemed to fit the moment, and you could feel the audience responding to it - and really that's what it is all about, when all is said and done. He sang it to them and they soaked it up. It was sort of a la Josh Groban and showed some of the quality in his voice.

"Imagine" - I didn't think he sang this as well as he did the first time I heard it.

It was an emotional show to watch, a big moment for both these people. And whatever we think about the show, these two guys did their best to bring it. We all know David A will win. I suppose I will still hope that the superb talents of David C will earn him the Idol crown, but I doubt it.

PS - I shocked that, in the playback of the night, the first clip they choose to play of David C was off pitch. They seemed to choose sections of verses for David C, and sections of choruses or endings for David A. I thought it was odd.

RESULTS May 14-08

Well, I hoped for a different result but I knew it was unlikely that it would be any different than I predicted.

RESULTS:

David A
David C
Syesha

13May08 - Top Three

I wasn't all that thrilled with tonight's show. Some of the song choices were lame.

David Cook showed his range & musicality, and particularly showed his great vocal tone in First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

Unfortunately, Syesha had a chance to shine but chose less than stellar songs. She has great vocal tone but makes wierd song choices & has arrangements that make her gravel around in the low end of her range, Why, when you could sing any pop song around, would you choose to sing Fever. If nothing else you could choose to do a Girlicious version of an old standard. She would have sounded great doing an awesome Latin pop song.

David A was pretty predicatable. Soppy ballad & bubble gum pop.

Bottom two should be Syesha & David A. Unless there is some huge surprise, Syesha will go home.

Results - May 6th

Bottom two:

Syesha
Jason

Jason's time had run out, for sure. I hope Syesha and David C pull out all the stops next week. It's obvious who the judges would like to win, I hope they step up and blow him out of the water.

May 6 - Top 4

I felt rather uninspired by the show & was left with more questions than answers. What are the judges judging, and are they judging with integrity? Are they trying to influence the results? I ask this, because Syesha is clearly - CLEARLY - an extremely talented singer and also a very beautiful woman but the judges don't seem to support her at all. Whereas David A gets all the praise for playing it safe and singing hokey old songs -- where was the comment that he didn't change them up to be 'today' and that they made him look 'mature'. Makes you wonder, makes you wonder. David C is very talented & rocks it up well. Jason should never have made it to the top 10, but he did, and we may have to deal with the fact that he makes it to the finals.

DAVID COOK
Hungry Like a Wolf - he was in his element, rocked it out, but I wondered if he should have showed more range.
Teenage Wasteland - here David showed vocal quality and strength and musicality.

SYESHA
Proud Mary - I thought she came across as sexy, versatile, and powerful. Excellent musicality.
A Change is Gonna Come - this song does not have a lot of range, and sits pretty low in tessatura, but even though it was rather low, she never once went off pitch which shows great vocal ability. She sang something that really mattered to her. I thought she handled it well and I disagreed with the judging.

DAVID A.
Stand by Me - I felt it was a predictable, karoke style performance of a boring song.
Love Me Tender - another boring song, but sung with better tone & some interesting changes in the melody line. Still, with the hundreds of great songs in the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame, it's odd to pick this one. I disagreed that his performance of both songs were the best of the night. No they weren't. Syesha could outsing this boy with both hands tied behind her back.

JASON
I Shot the Sheriff - jazzy sort of folk version, showed some vocal tone, sang it okay.
Mr Tamborine Man - another strange song choice, for me. He forgot the words. But you know, the fact of the matter is that Jason is a folk singer, and he just doesn't have the ability or range to sing anything like David C or Syesha.

Personally, I think Jason should go home (as I've been saying for weeks), but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Syesha, clearly the judges are not supporting her.

Results - 30Apr08

Oops. I was watching the Results show (which is on at 9 pm my time) and then, around 9:30, when I knew Brook & Syesha were bottom two... during a commercial break, thought I'd quickly try recording something to see how it sounded... and then next thing you knew, it was 10:05 pm.

Bottom Two:
Syesha
Brook

Brook really outstayed her singing ability, as has Jason. The fact that Jason was called first means, I think, that he had the most votes. Notice that Cook was third, underneath Jason and David A.

While I'm glad I missed the torture of watching Brook sing goodbye, I'm sorry I missed Neil Diamond.

I am still waiting for an explanation of why judging of the second round song was mentioned after the singing of the first round song. There was a pregnant silence after Paula began to read her notes for the 2nd song. Are the judges not judging what we hear and see? If not, why not. If not, how can we trust what they have to say. If, on the other, Paula thought she was judging the same song twice... I don't know what's going on there.

If Jason becomes the next American Idol... #@$%$#&%!

29Apr08 Neil Diamond week.

Well, it was a different format, and I appreciated the quick nature of the show, with less chit chat. For me it is hardly necessary to finish the show, because as far as I am concerned, the best musician & performer is David Cook - and he has a great voice, too. And Syesha is miles ahead of the rest in vocal ability... but I suspect it will be the two Davids at the end.

DAVID C (I'm Alive + All I Really Need is You)
Great on both songs, especially #2. I felt the first song fit him well and I would actually like to hear him sing the whole thing. If he doesn't win this contest, something is very wrong with the voter's perception of what talent is. In the second song, I felt like I was watching a major rock star perform.

SYESHA (Hello Again + Thk the Lord for the Night)
The first song proved again that she undeniably has the best pipes on the show. Second song showed her range, good tone, and even displayed some personality. Why the judges keep trashing her I have no idea, she is another Whitney as far as I am concerned. Excellent vocals - maybe too well trained for them? Listen to her first song, people - THAT is good singing.

DAVID A (Sweet Caroline + In America)
In the first song (which came right after Brook), right away you could hear good tone, nice vibrato, and brightness in the voice - which meant he was actually singing in the right tessatura for his voice - unlike Brook in her 'I'm a Believer'. I thought he sang it well and had fun. Yeah, well somebody was going to sing In America, and cash in on the patriotic appeal of the song. However, I felt when he was singing it that this rock song didn't suit him. His voice seems to me to be more musical theatre or teen-pop, not rock. I felt he pushed his voice at the end and his face during judging looked stressed, like he knew he had gone too far vocally. He sang thru his teeth on some of the 'ee' vowels.

JASON (Forever in Blue Jeans + September morning)
Okay folkish version of the both songs, nothing really wrong with them, nothing reached out and grabbed me either. His range is very limited and he sings very tightly, the voice is compressed in the throat and the mouth is too closed. Why he is in the top 5 of a singing competition I don't know. Yes, he has pretty blue eyes, but surely someone like Syesha, with great talent, should not continuously be voted as lower than him.

BROOK (I'm a Believer + I am I said)
In the Monkees tune, she lost tone and we couldn't hear the low notes at all. This is because, with a limited range, you have to lower the song so you can sing the top. This throws the voice off kilter because you are trying to make it sing well where it is weak, and then you are pushing out the top. The upper notes sound tight, not warm, and the lower notes are weak & inaudible. This is not healthy singing. In the second song, I thought she did a little better. I think the main problem is the voice sits back in the throat and has some nasal qualities. The first song was very interesting to me because she looked comfortable and as though she was having fun, but the voice still sounded unconnected to me.

I think it's time for Brook or Jason to go, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Syesha, given how the voting has been.

Results Apr 23

Absolutely ridiculous result. Brook got the sympathy vote, Jason - who I appreciate for his personality - clearly showed he is the weakest singer, something I've been saying for several weeks... but here's the bottom two:

Syesha
Carly

Top 6 - April 22nd

Thanks to YouTube, I was able to listen & see all the performances from Top 6.

MUSIC OF THE NIGHT - David C
I know this song very well. Interesting choice. Nice raw timbre to the voice, very appealing. Clear & on pitch on the upper notes. Great performance of a beautiful tune.

ONE ROCK & ROLL - SyeshaAs usual, good vocal performance, relaxed, natural. Great jazzy style tune.

SUPERSTAR - Carly
As usual, she started out sounding like she was in great voice for this. Except on the "do you think" - you could hear the stress in the voice from trying to shout the phrase. I thought she did very well.

THINK OF ME - David A
Despite the many negative critiques I've read of David's singing, I feel David has a lot of appeal. If you are running a record label, this is the kind of performer you are looking for, young, with a soft & natural sound, cute. He doesn't leap out and grab you by the throat, but Barry Manilow and other crooners have had major careers despite their detractors.

YOU MUST LOVE ME - Brook
I'm never been a fan of Brook's singing, I'm afraid, and this performance showed exactly why. Started out sounding breathy & pitchy. There is no support under the voice. She breathes too often, and this is because the breath is so high in the chest it is not connecting. There are no long notes, there is no breath for them. When she sings, she is in her head, not in her body. I thought she acted it well. With my critique I would like to say that I feel that if Brook worked with the right coach for 2 or 3 years, she would find and release the voice.

MEMORY - Jason
Tough song. Way too low for him, but what else can you do when you have no range? So he sings the verse with no tone. There is no technique in his singing, and I have always felt he did not belong in the top 12. The audience squeals with pleasure at the end, while I'm shaking my head. There are MANY other songs Jason could have chosen to sing, but he chose this one and I felt he was not really present in his performance. Perhaps he knows his time is at hand.

Tops, Syesha & David C; and worst: Jason & Brook.

Ack.

Well, I went to the opera tonight, having not set my VCR (despite putting a big note on my desk to remind myself) to record the Top 6. This is disappointing. However, based on past performances, I think Jason *should* go but likely Brook will.

16Apr08 - Results

Bottom 3:

Syesha
Brooke
Kristy

I do recall saying almost every week that I felt Kristy & Jason were the weakest singers. However, I thought Kristy did a credible job this week. I think Brook was lucky to stay, given that she kinda fell apart at the end of her song. Kristy at least sang on key this week. It must be very tough, because someone is going to go home, no matter how talented, and as a contestant one must be torn between wanting desperately to stay and feeling bad because if you're the one who stays, someone else you care about, goes. I do agree with Carly's comments that the judges have been very tough on her. And I don't know why on earth Syesha would be rated lower than Jason as a singer, people. But I do understand that he is cute - I used to be a teenage girl myself with crushes on various young men & papered my bedroom with their pictures.

I've read a lot of comments about AI this year, and I have to say one thing. I am singer, I've been training for 17 years & teaching for 11, and while I have tried to use this season's singing as a way to perhaps offer some enlightenment about the act of singing, I hope that I haven't dispensed a large amount of negative energy. These kids are working harder at singing & being in the public eye than they ever have before in their lives. They spend every day rehearsing, recording, with media, etc. And they are expected, no matter what, to pick the right song and pull out all the stops and perform brilliantly in front of 30 million or more people every week knowing that if they blow it, they will go home. Knowing that whatever they do or say will be broadcast around the world and discussed ad nauseum by everyone. It ain't that easy folks. It's not that easy at all.

TOP 7 - APRIL 15/08

Was a better show than I thought it might be. Nobody was really really awful.

DAVID COOK (Always Be My Baby) - I thought David really put himself out there and proved once again what a great musician & singer he is. Songwise - and it's hard to judge a song in 1.50 minutes, but I kept waiting for it to go somewhere. But when it did, he nailed it.

SYESHA (Vanishing) - Syesha proved once again that she has a great voice. I thought she negotiated the song well and did a good job. She's not scared to challenge herself.

CARLY (All By Myself) - I really appreciated that Carly did not oversing this week. I thought she negotiated it well. Still I think her issue is not understanding how to support the big notes and the top notes. You don't do it by going wide and pushing. Unfortunately I don't think she's going to last much longer - she may even go this week - she looks 'mature' and probably doesn't have the same appeal as David A & Jason & Kristy.

DAVID A (When You Believe) - I certainly did NOT like the breathy wispy falsetto and I would recommend that David NOT sing in falsetto at all at this point. Otherwise, it was a heartfelt rendition and yes, he does all those runs that thrill the tweenies.

KRISTY (Forever) - Kristy really surprised me this week, this was the best I ever heard her sing, she had some clear tone and her top notes were solid. I liked how she opened more and sang with less twang. She actually SANG.

JASON (I Don't Wanna Cry) - well, Jason, the least talented singer, actually managed to kinda survive Mariah Carey week. I liked the Latin-folk vibe of the song and I thought he sang it fairly okay.

BROOK (Hero) - unfortunately for Brook I think her nerves continue to get the better of her. I thought her breathing was slightly better this week, but she really needs to work with a good technical voice teacher so she begins to understand how to breathe effectively for singing. Shallow breathing makes us feel off balance and creates insecurity. She was very pitchy on the bridge, up til then I thought it was okay. However, she does sing from the heart.

Although Brook didn't sing her song as well as the others, I predict that Carly will go this week. There's something about her energy, I think she is tired, and I think that the pressure of trying to prove herself is getting to her. IMO she needs to stop thinking 'this is my last chance' cause that's BS. I do think she needs a) some rest, and b) some good vocal coaching to help her break free of where she is.

TOP 8 - 10APR08 - RESULTS

Okay, so the worst singers get voted through. Uh huh.

Bottom three:
Syesha
Carly
Michael J

Pretty shocking result. However, I think he will be okay career wise, if he gets some technical help to fully develop the great voice he has.

TOP 8 - 8APR08

Overall I think everyone tried too hard this week, and the voices are giving a little under the strain. No one really blew me away.

DAVID A (Angels) - what I liked best about David's performance is I felt that overall he did not stress his voice in order to deliver the song. We lost him a little on the low notes, but he negotiated it well & sang it easily, with feeling.

SYESHA (When You Believe) Overall, good performance & good vocal. However, a little bit pushed in some notes. The top note was a bit weak. Still I thought she sang it smoothly and she has good stage presence.

MICHAEL J (Dream On) - I felt Michael did better with the not-so-great vocal habits this week. He kept his head down more. I thought he sang it pretty well but I was a little worried about the falsetto shouting, that could cause nodes or even permanent damage. He's got such a lovely voice but really needs some technical instruction.

DAVID COOK (We are all innocent) - I'm afraid the song didn't thrill me. Still, I thought it was an okay performance with nice vocals.

CARLY (Show Must Go On) - Great song choice, good tessatura for her, the beginning was powerfully done. Again, she tends to sing very wide on the upper notes, which causes a lot of strain. Think of it like this. If you are watering the lawn, and you want more power, you put your finger over the end of the hose to make the stream more powerful. If you take your finger away, the water falls out more slowly. Apply that to singing. If you sing an upper note very wide, you lose focus, you lose power, and therefore you are tempted to push to get more sound. Make the right kind of shape for the vowel you are singing, smaller, rounder and you focus the sound. You get more power with less effort. And it's healthier.

JASON CASTRO (Somewhere Over the Rainbow) - I do get disappointed when I hear what I think is a new arrangement of a song by an Idol contestant, and find out later they borrowed it from someone else. This is the case here. I thought Jason did a nice job, his whispy folky sound suited the song. to me I think he'd be a great children's entertainer. IMO he really can't sing like an "Idol" but he knows how to entertain.

KRISTY (Anyway) - bad song choice, IMO. Martina can sing the heck out of this, Kristy can't. Very low and pitchy on the bottom, which is what happens when you choose a song with a high tessatura you can't support. I did hear more good tone in the middle voice, and I thought it was the best performance I've heard from Kristy to date. However, I really don't think she will be in the top 4 or 5.

BROOK -- I find that Brook sings with the vowels far back in the throat, which makes the tone dull & also kind of strangles the voice a little since there is no flow out the aperature. She also tends to sing hunched over - I mentioned that last week, but attributed it to her playing of the guitar. But even standing with a mic her posture is not great. I found the song pitchy but I thought she pulled it out at the end.

APR 3rd - RESULTS

Remielle went home. I know it was very difficult for her to leave the show, but I think the experience of being on the show, and touring with the top ten, will do a lot to help her with performance skills. She is very young. She definitely has a great voice but needs some help in understanding how it works. Some solid, technically based vocal coaching would help her achieve more vocal confidence and that would create a better foundation for performance. I'd also recommend some dance lessons for a sense of grace and fluidity.

Apr 2nd - Top Nine

BROOK WHITE (Jolene) - I'm afraid I am still not a fan of Brook's singing. The song seemed set too low, meaning there was no life in the voice until the very end. Sitting down with the guitar (like sitting at the piano) put her in a physically awkward position. Her shoulders were up, head forward, and mic placed slightly too low so she was curving down into it. You can hear the lack of support in the way she breaths, and the breathiness of the tone. Because she doesn't connect to the core, her vocal tone lacks energy and yet at the same time loses energy. Either she is, week to week, too nervous, or too distracted by playing an instrument, but she always seems vocally uncomfortable to me. I'd like to see her stand, perferably with a hand held mike that allows some physical movement, as that might help her get into her body more.

DAVID COOK (Little Sparrow) - Note how David holds his guitar - standing up, shoulders straight, not curved over, neck well positioned. He definitely knows his voice, knows how to use it, with confidence.

REMIELLE (Do I ever Cross Your Mind) - I thought it was an odd song choice, or an odd arrangement, as there seemed to be no clear chorus. She was pitchy, and I didn't think she performed it very well. She is a sweet girl, and she has a big voice, but I don't think she has the knowledge to use it well - yet.

JASON CASTRO (Travel Thru) - I thought Jason picked a good song that worked for him, because of the lightness & folkiness of the piece. Vocally I think he's very tight and needs development. But I wonder, is an okay folk singer good enough to win AI? I hope not. More talented people have been voted off, or in the bottom 3. Seems strange he's made it thru this far.

CARLY (Here You Come Again) - She's definitely the strongest female voice, she's a very confident performer, has good tone. She still sings a little wide on the vowels but I felt she was more grounded when going up this week. Kinda a safe song but good.DAVID A (Smokey Mtn Memories) - Good tone, a little lifting of the head on high notes. Definitely has a voice. I felt he picked a good song with a good chorus and sang it well.

KRISTY LEE (Coat of Many Colours) - Kristy actually sang better than Brook this week. She had some tone in her voice, the song sat in the right tessatura for her voice... until she went up - then she pushed/tried - and the voice got tight & pitchy. Good example of what happens when we don't understand how to support the voice effectively. I still find that her performance is stiff, and I wonder if she has the capactity to go much further.

SYESHA (I will always love you) - I was waiting for someone to do this one. I hoped Syesha would pull it off as she definitely has the range & depth to do it. I felt it was a great song choice for her, and that it did show off her range, tone and power... she drew you in. She pushed a tad at the end, but managed to pull it out - she needed to trust that a sweet tone is enough, instead of trying to create something more.

MICHAEL J - see how he lifts his head when he's going up the scale? And at the same time, his mouth goes flat & wide. This places the voice in the back of the throat. You could hear this dullness clearly on words like "love", which sounds like "ugh" instead of "ah". By placing the voice back there you lose energy and bright tone. I thought it was a wierd arrangement, but vocally I thought he did well, despite his need for technical skill.

AI's vocal coach

I just read an old interview (2004) with Debra Byrd, she says

"I encourage the singers that if they are having technical problems, they should consult a voice instructor who specializes in correcting technical deficiencies in the singing voice. They are allowed to do this, as my job is to ensure that the performing elements are in place when the show goes live. There is not enough time, during the course of the week, to work on technique in addition to my work in developing their performance skills, charting song arrangements, etc." and "At times it is frustrating for me as a voice coach as I have to correct many bad habits in a short period of time."

Exactly what I wondered about. The difficulty with technique - like any skill - is that it takes time to practice it and integrate into what you are doing.

anyway, there's suppose to be a video of the singers coaching, but I can't get it to come up -http://www.americanidol.com/videos/?vid=304

Results 26Mar08

"If this was a singing competition, then Kristy should go, or possibly Brook. Likely it will be Chickezie, though."

RESULTS - Bottom 3:

Jason
Syesha?????
Chikezie


I called it.

25Mar08 - Top 10

In this week's show some singers showed vocal stress. I do respect the vocal coaches that work with the kids, but I also think that a knowledge of technique needs to be part of what they do. I also notice that many of the singers are approaching high notes by lifting their heads and singing to the ceiling, and opening their mouths really wide. This works against the voice, as the neck is stretched, and the breath thins out. They would do better to sing focussed forward with the head in a neutral position and the jaw relaxed down, while the corners of the lips are rounded. It's crucial to sing with some technical application, not only so that the vocal tone is good during today's performance, but so that you don't tire out the voice so it can't perform tomorrow.

REMIELE: According to what was said, she is not sick, but she lost her voice. This doesn't surprise me. These kids have been singing more in the last month than they have in a year. Besides the pressure of being in the public eye, consistently learning new music & choreography, there is also a lot of pressure to be "big".

In Remiele's case, the strain showed. She has a lovely voice, but she pushed it. It was very tight. I felt that she yelled some of the song. She sings with wide, big vowels, which is very hard on the vocal chords. She would do better to sing with round shapes, and if she needs space, to go long (tall). In particular, on the big wide vowels, she was off pitch.

I am concerned for her vocal health.

JASON: Jason finally impressed me a little this week. I thought he sang with more tone in his voice. However, I still say his kind of singing is not what is required for this competition. He is a folk singer, and there's nothing wrong with that, but there's a big divide between folk and pop a la Kelly C.
I was disappointed in the song itself, as I was waiting for a payoff to a good chorus what would show some vocal skill and tone... and it went nowhere. For me I think Jason is one of the weaker singers. I know the girls like him, and I think he has a good heart, but vocally he doesn't do it for me.

SYESHA: I thought Syesha sang the best she ever has. She looked and sounded like a total professional. Great tone, great performance, beautiful top notes. Well arranged. Excellent.

CHIKEZIE: Poor Chikezie, he doesn't get what's going on. I thought he sang with good tone. He needs better vowel shapes on the bottom to help keep the tone consistent, otherwise he runs the risk of sounding pitchy. He's got that bluesy sound - which came in towards the end - that actually makes him sound deep and mature. Sure, it's a bit sweet and old fashioned. But if Michael Buble can do it, why not Chikezie?

BROOK WHITE: Brook has not impressed me as a singer throughout the competition. As she played the piano, I felt the combination of dealing with the instrument, a stationery mic, and the performance, caused a lot of tension in her neck and shoulders. You could see it. Sitting down is not always the best position for singing. So, between the tension, and the lack of centered breathing, the voice was not supported effectively. She needs to work on singing with her entire instrument -- which is all of her. The piano in this case was a distraction that made her disconnect from her body.

MICHAEL JOHNS: Finally. Finally! Finally he showed his potential. Unlike Brook, he put his whole self into what he was doing, and it paid off. That being said, he's a great example of what I said in my opening remarks. When he goes up, he lifts up his head, and he sings with his mouth shaped wide and flat. This compresses the voice. I wish I could spend 30 minutes with him and show him a different way of doing it. Because I think he's got one of the top voices in this competition, but he doesn't have the tools to understand how to make that voice really work in the top.

CARLY: Another vocal strain candidate. She's always sung her upper notes wide, and now we are starting to hear the results of that approach. The voice gets tight, it sounds stressed, there is no vibrato. I felt it was the wrong choice to try to push the voice to sing Pat Benetar. I felt that she was trying too hard. I am concerned that she is going too far. When you saw her face and the look in her eyes at the end, she knew she hadn't sung it the way she wanted to. But I'm not sure if she knew what had happened.

The voice is a delicate instrument. With the right support, you can do amazing things, if your voice is well-developed and healthy. But vocal strain will do you in very quickly in this competition.

DAVID ARCHULETA: Here's another singer with a very good voice, who has always impressed me with his tone... who didn't impress me this week. On some of the vowels, the voice was sitting at the back, this makes the tone sound hollow, dull. It also saps energy from the voice. It's a sutble form of holding back.

Again, another singer starting to lift his head when he goes up - this is totally wrong, it means we lose quality, and QUALITY *not* quantity, should always be the goal. I think his voice shows some fatigue, probably because the chosen song was too big for him - he is not a rock singer, and he should push himself to try to imulate the rock singers in the competition. However, I always have and still do appreciate his spirit.

KRISTY: Again Kristy sang in a way that doesn't impress me. What she thinks singing is, is not singing. She pushes the voice, she opens wide, she lifts her head, and in result you hear tightness, pitchiness. It's not that she doesn't have some potential, but I really it would be best for her to be voted off, go away and work with a coach for a year, and come back.

DAVID COOK: Along with Syesha, the clear winner of the night. Original, skilled, professional... and hopefully humble. Very interesting - and brave - way of doing the song, and it paid off big time. It showed his range & ability. Well sung.

If this was a singing competition, then Kristy should go, or possibly Brook. Likely it will be Chickezie, though.

Results - 19Mar08

So the bottom three were

Carly
Kristy
Amanda

and Amanda went home. Obviously this is not a singing competition.

TOP 11 – 18MAR – BEATLES SONG BOOK

I looked at my watch at the end of no. 7's song and realized it was 9:15. Ridiculous. A two hour show for 11 singers, who each sing 1:30 minutes. Calculate that out. That means about 17 minutes of singing, and 103 minutes of judging, inane chit chat and a million endless commercials. It's funny, in past years I've always enjoyed watching the show, but this year, after an hour, I feel so impatient. I feel this way with a lot of television, after the 3rd commercial break, I'm thinking -- I could be spending this time writing music. If I spend 2 hours every Tuesday night watching AI and another hour on Wednesday night watching the results -- that's a piece of music for film/TV. It's just not worth it. I'm interested in hearing the singers and seeing their progress. But the show itself is dragged out so long, it is, in Simon's words, incredibly boring. And yes, I can tape the show and zip through everything, but I really would rather watch a jam packed one-hour show and go on other things having enjoyed myself.

In addition, I don't understand the logic of doing two weeks of Beatles songs. Surely there must be a whole host of songs that people could sing. I was not that impressed with the songs this week.

Here are my results:

DAVID ARCHULETA (Long & Winding Road) - I don't care what other people say, this young man has a lovely voice with nice tone, and he does interesting things with it. I think he's a pop singer, not a rock singer, but if Josh Groban and Michael Buble can find their niche, I don't see why David can't. He was the tops this week in my book.

SYESHA (Yesterday) - Clear tone, good power & range, sings with her heart but also with skill. Very good.

CARLY SMITHSON (Blackbird) - Well, we knew someone was going to do this one. You have to agree, she has the chops.

DAVID COOK (Day Tripper) - Lots of talent, has some range too. Good job.

AMANDA OVERMEYER (Back in the USSR) - She sang well, rocked it up, was okay but didn't thrill me. I thought the timing was off a little and I wasn't sure if she was always on pitch.

REMIELLE (I Should Have known Better) - This girl definitely has a voice but I don't think the songs she chooses show it off. I think she needs to 'go for it' more.

CHIKEZIE (I've Just Seen a Face) - He has a very nice tone, but I think he was trying too hard to rock it up or sing a bluesy style. It was a bit messy.

MICHAEL JOHNS (A Day in the Life) - He sings his high notes by lifting his head and stretching his neck, and he keeps his mouth closed. This is not good for the voice, you lose energy & support when you stretch up, and when you have your mouth closed the energy of the voice hits a wall. It's like the voice gets 'choked'. He has a good voice - that's why he's made it this far - but he needs some training to bring it out. If he could do that he would be a real contender. But I think he's not going to make the top 3 with this approach to singing. I think he knows it too, he doesn't understand why it isn't working for him the way he wants it to.

BROOK WHITE (Here Comes the Sun) - Well, sorry to say the performance didn't do much for me. The song sat low in whatever key was chosen, so her voice didn't have the bright tone / aliveness. When we play it too safe vocally we take the edge away from what we do.

JASON CASTRO (Michelle) - I did think he sang with more tone this week. I still find his phrasing mechanical and a bit pitchy. I really don't know why he got into the top 12, I don't think he belongs there. I think he will be going home soon.

KRISTY LEE COOK (You've Got to Hide Your Love Away) - I like Kristy, she's a great person, but unfortunately I felt she should have been voted off last week, her performance last week and this week were the weakest of the lot. She tries too hard, therefore that means she sings with too much pressure against the vocal chords. What she thinks singing is, is not singing. In addition, I feel that her performance is 'lifeless'. I think she needs some good coaching. Because what she focuses on when performing is the wrong thing, so it comes across as though she isn't all there. I think she has potential, but it would be best if she was voted off, and went away and worked on her voice & performance skills for another year.

Results 13Mar08

David Hernandez is gone. Tood bad. I felt he deserved to stay another week. On the other hand, the voice is tight and lacks depth. Several months of serious vocal coaching would help him reach deeper and release more effectively. He did make it to the top 12, and he should be very proud. That's an amazing accomplishment. And I'm sure his journey isn't over yet.

Top 12 - 11Mar08 Lennon & McCartney

Well, tough night. Great venue – huge band, wonderful audience, pressure must be even more. I thought all of the performances were acceptable, but only a few really shone out. No one totally blew me away, though.

Here's how I rated them, from top to bottom:

CARLY SMITHSON (Come Together)
Strong vocal. I thought the back-up singers overshadowed her more than once, could be they were settling into the sound set-up but this stuff should ironed out before they go live. Best of the night, IMO.

CHIKEZIE (She’s a Woman)
Hey, he rocked it up, he proved he has the vocals to do it, he had fun with it, he didn’t look like he was trying too hard. I thought he did great.

AMANDA OVERMEYER (You Can’t Do That)
I thought she engaged more with the audience, vocal was strong, she rocked it up well.

DAVID COOK (Eleanor Rigby)
I thought he performed well, rocked it up nicely… even his hair looked a little better this week.

MICHAEL JOHNS (Across the Universe)
Nice tone. Still waiting for him to really take me somewhere, but he was not bad.

REMIELE MERCATO (In My Life)
Very sweet performance, lovely tone, nicely sung song. You can hear the potential of where she could go. I don’t know if she’s just too young to get there yet, or if it’s that she’s playing it safe, or if it’s that she’s nervous. I think she could sing much more powerfully in time. When that will be… is kinda up to her, and up to nature as well.

DAVID HERNANDEZ (I Saw Her Standing There)
Nice clean tone. He doesn’t seem to have a big range, but that could be a function of how he sings. I still think he tends to sing in the throat & then tries to push it out to be ‘big’. This actually works against the voice.

DAVID ARCHULETA (We Can Work It Out)
Not that great this week. He made the mistake of saying on his tape that he wasn’t sure about the song. I don’t think put him, or the audience, in a positive mind frame. Then he came out and stumbled on the words… and the rest is history, really. He was already defeated before he began. Still, I think he has a fair bit of agility. I would like to hear him sing with a more solid tone. Some training would help with that. He finds it up higher but he sings too breathy in the middle voice and he loses a lot of energy because of that – makes him sound asthmatic. And we also lose energy when we sing big wide vowels.

SYESHA MERCADO (Gotta Get You Into My Life)
Good tone, lose her a little in the low notes. I thought the phrasing was funny in the verses. The last note was great, but the rest didn’t grab ahold of me.

JASON CASTRO (If I Fell)
I thought it was a weird arrangement that didn’t suit his voice. Towards the end it got better but it was still pitchy. Perhaps sitting down with the guitar made him lose his support, but I’m not a fan of this breathy singing that shows little agility or range. He’ll have to do more to convince me he deserves to be in the top 12.

BROOKE WHITE (Let It Be)
Sitting at the piano, playing & singing. I expected her to get up and take the song somewhere, but she didn’t. It took a long time to even lift into a chorus. I wondered if she was ill. The voice was pitchy, and the voice sounded tight at the end. I thought perhaps she was distracted by having to play as well as sing, or perhaps she was overwhelmed by the whole experience (which I can understand). Anyway, I have to say she didn’t do anything for me.

KRISTY LEE COOK (8 Days a Week)
Poor Kristy. It was a horrendous arrangement, the whole thing was weird. I know she tried, but I don’t think she gets how to be herself and bring herself into the music. She could have sung a standard pop arrangement and made it her own. Unfortunately, she may not make it to next week.

Top Gals - March 5/08

Here's how I rated them, from top to bottom:

CARLY SMITHSON
I’ve read the comments that are cynical about Carly being in this competition that say the judges are pushing her to be one of the finalists. I have to say, though, that IMO she is a good singer. I thought the song was set a little low – I don’t like hearing someone gravel around in the low notes so they can sing out on the top, I think we should strive for balance. However, I definitely felt she pulled it off.

ASIA’H EPPERSON
I didn’t like the song choice, myself. However, I thought she showed good tone and depth, and a little range. I think she has to be careful not to sing in the throat. Her voice needs to come forward, and show more brightness. This can be achieved by making sure you have rounded shapes on vowels. When you put too much weight in the middle voice, and sing with wide shapes, the colour of the voice gets darker. The extra weight in the middle voice makes it more difficult to go up, or the change is resonance as you go up becomes too obvious. The trick is to sing the low and middle notes lightly, brightly, so that you can negotiate the change in registers more effectively… and sound like you have one voice from top to bottom.

AMANDA OVERMEYER
I find it difficult to rate Amanda against the rest of the girls, because it’s like comparing apples and oranges. I think this week she did what she does very well. She doesn’t have a huge range. One thing that bugged me about her performance is that she never looked up at the audience or the camera, so there is a sense that she is disengaged… or so focused on getting through the song that we don’t matter. She sang much better than last week.

KRISTY LEE COOK
I think Kristy has great tone in the middle voice. I didn’t like the song much. I felt she pushed the top notes, singing too wide and cracking because of it. We need to understand that singing wide puts a whole lot of pressure on the vocal chords. You can actually achieve more tone, and more ease, if you have the proper vowel shape. And I know people might say, this is pop/rock, not opera. But there’s a reason why opera singers can sing powerfully on the top and it has to do with technique. I find it hard to compare her to the other girls, however, they made a comment about her throat so perhaps she isn’t 100%. We shall see.

SYESHA MERCADO
When you get to the singers you are rating as being on the bottom of the pack, they each have their own issues but seem to be almost at the same level. I felt that Syesha’s singing is a little manufactured. It just didn’t move me.

RAMIELE MALUBAY
This is another singer who feels unattached to her instrument and her performance. She has a nice tone and negotiated the song okay, but she didn’t thrill me in any way.

KADY MALLOY
I wasn’t very impressed with her performance this week. I found the song to be pitchy, and the voice sat in the back of the throat. This can make us sound off pitch even when we aren’t, because the voice is strangled, we are singing too internally. And it makes the top notes tight because the breath is not moving effectively. I agreed that she needs to sing with more animation. In particular, she needs to be more present on the vowels, thinking round shapes, to help the voice come forward. When we try too hard (and hey, the environment these people have to sing in is full of pressure), we lose it. I agreed with Paula that she shows good quality in the tender soft parts, but she doesn’t understand how to bring that quality into the rest of her voice. She needs some training, IMO.

BROOK WHITE
I thought it was a very weird song choice. She sounded slightly off. I felt the chorus didn’t go anywhere. I feel like she’s out of her depth in this competition and I disagreed with the judges who said it was great. To me it was, unfortunately, forgettable.

As an aside, the banter between judges gets to be too distracting. I wish they'd give the singers more time to sing a proper arrangement of a song and give less time to all the talking after each performance. It gets a bit boring.

Top 8 Guys - March 4/08

David C, David A, and Chikeze were the top singers this week. Very close in my scoring, but this is how I rated them, from top to bottom.

DAVID COOK
Sang with good, clear tone that showed quality. Sang with ease. I thought he was excellent.

DAVID ARCHULETA
Overall David has a clean, bright tone which I find pleasurable to listen to. He doesn’t push his voice, he sings easily. I think he shows musicality. I thought he hit the pitches clean for most of the song, however, he chose a song that goes down too far, and when we sing too low for our voice, we take the energy out of the tone, and that makes it difficult to stay on pitch. We also run the risk of pushing for volume down low, which also creates pitch problems. It’s important to pick songs that fit the voice and show it off.

CHIKEZIE
Good choice of song for him. Showed good tonal quality, flexibility and sang easily, without effort.

MICHAEL JOHNS
Everything he’s sung since Bohemian Rapsody has been a little disappointing. Tonight I felt that he fell into the same trap as some others, by picking a song that sits pretty low much of the time. Hanging there too long takes energy from the voice and from the performance. He actually disappeared in the low notes. His voice is begging to sing in a higher tessitura*. So in the low notes, we can barely hear you, and then you punch out the ‘top’ and the whole thing seems off balance. Not only for us, but for the voice. Gravel around low, and then expect your voice to jump into the high notes with ease? And wonder why it doesn’t work.

DAVID HERNANDEZ
You know, David actually has a pretty good voice but he doesn’t understand how to use it. He sings with his voice at the back of his throat. It can feel really comfortable & powerful to the singer when doing that, but the audience loses something. As I watched him sing, I felt he was opening his mouth enough for the voice to come forward, but I suspect it’s tension in the jaw and neck that is creating the constriction. This is why his last note was not off pitch but sounded like it was. The apparatus has the right information, and is trying to vibrate at the right frequency, but the constriction in the throat means they are unable to work freely. I also felt the back-up singers and band overshadowed him in a few spots.

LUKE MENACH
I found his vocals to be a little tight and pitchy. I agree with Simon, who used the word “weak”. I feel that Luke sings in an “unattached” way. By that I mean it’s like he is disassociated from his voice. I don’t know yet if that is nerves or lack of training. He needs some work with a good coach who can teach him how to reach down into his core for depth, and release it. Right now it’s like he’s singing ‘on the surface’, and that isn’t compelling to listen to.

JASON CASTRO
I disagreed with the judges. I’m not a fan of noisy breath instead of good tone. I would have liked to hear more solid tone, better phrasing, and longer notes on some of the vowels. To me he sounded like someone getting over strep throat who was doing his best to sing a challenging song. He needs to work on understanding how to breathe effectively for singing. I don’t know what kind of sound set-up they use but sometimes I wonder if there’s too much compression on the voices because every breath stands out so loud. Or maybe it was that the whole thing sounded like unsupported singing.

DANNY NORIEGA
Please, can he get voted off this week. I don’t why he’s still on the show. In my opinion he does not have the voice. I think he is a good performer, but he isn’t a singer. I feel also that he’s either outside his comfort zone with the music, or trying to make his voice do something it’s not suited for. He’s not a rock singer. Light pop, perhaps.

*Tessitura - generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable timbre for a given voice

Feb 27th - The Gals

First of all, I think it's tremendously hard to be given 1:30 minutes or whatever it is to make a song work. I think it makes it very difficult to get the song to be what it should be when it is all cut to ribbons. There is a reason for song form, and for build through a song.

Secondly, I really dislike the modern contemporary version of singing, which goes something like... since I don't have much of a range, or my top notes are weak, or since I am scared to go there.... I will take the verse so low that no one can hear me and even if they can they will hear the lack of tone & the pitchy-ness.... and then I will jump up and scream out the chorus with huge wide vowels. It's tremendously hard on the voice to sing down so low you have no support and then suddenly switch to "making the big voice". Everything is off balance.

It would far, far, far better to choose a song that sits well within your middle range and soar up to a few well-chosen high notes. Your support system works better because you never take the energy away from the voice. This is called singing in your tessatura and choosing songs that have a tessatura that suits you.

Thirdly, songs have to chosen because they fit your voice. Not because you love them, and not because your favourite artist sings them. I'm not saying you should choose songs you hate, but you have to pick things that sit correctly in your voice and show it off. Otherwise it's like wearing a dress that's too big or too small. It just doesn't work.

This week my choice for top female performances are Carly Smithson, Syesha Mercado, Christy Lee Cook, and Asiah Epperson. However, I did feel that Carly & Syesha were pitchy on the low notes. The bottom two were Alaina Whitaker (10) & Amanda Overmeyer (9). I think one of those two will go.

I think the judges must have heard a different performance for Brook White, they said it was the perfect song choice for her, etc etc. For me it was way too low and the chorus took her down even lower. Even Simon said it was great, I didn't think so.

However, it's up to the public. We will see what happens.

Feb 26- GUYS

Well, is there any question? I was moved to tears by Daniel Archuleta. He was my number one last week, and this week he proved that he has a wonderful voice, incredible musicianship, and a beautiful spirit. I also thought that Chikezie proved himself, and long with good performances by David Cook and David Hernandez. These were the only singers that seemed to realize that they are in a competition to be a pop or rock Idol and that means perform with every ounce of what you have. Song choice is critical as well, but Daniel showed exactly how to take a song from the 70s and make it your own. For me the worst singer of the night was Danny Noriega. It's up to the public now.

My only other comment is I was very tired of all the talking by the end of the show. Between the commercials & the banter, I felt the show was extended by 30 minutes. I'm going to start taping the Idol show & zipping through to see the performances, as I normally spend my evenings writing music and I don't have an extra hour to waste watching the same commercials over and over again.

Results - Top 24

Well, the people have chosen.

I was right on with the bottom two girls.
Amy Davis
Joanne Borgella

I found it difficult to mark the guys as most of the performances were equally uninspired. However, I thought there were several singers who did not do as well as Garret. Perhaps the public didn't like the song.
Garret Haley
Colton Berry

Sadly, the voted off (under tremendous pressure & emotional as well) did not relax and sing as well as they could for their final performances, which is a shame.

Although the songs this week were supposed to be from the 60s, there were several chosen ('Where the Boys are'?) that I thought were more 50s. Why someone would choose a song like that and not make an effort to do it in a contemporary style, I don't know. I felt like I was watching The Love Boat cabaret most of the time.

Hopefully next week will be better!

Top 24 - The Girls

Well, another relatively uninspiring night. However, I think most of the Girls - even sick - sang better than most of the Guys. Still, whether it was nerves or being ill, I heard a lot of pitchiness. Nerves cause us to sound flat because our breath doesn't work right. Trying too hard makes us sound flat or sharp because there is too much pressure on the vocal chords.

The ladies in the bottom are so close together it's really hard to give them a ranking, but here's how I marked them (hope I got the spelling of the names right) for 20Feb08:

#12 - Amy Davis

#11 - Joanne Borgella

#10 - Christy Lee Cook

#9 - Brooke White

#8 - Kady Malloy

#7 - Alaina Whitaker

#6 - Ramiele Malubay

#5 - Amanda Overmeyer

#4 - Alexandreas Lushington

#3 - Asia'h Epperson

#2 - Syesha Mercado

#1 - Carly Smithson


Well, tomorrow we will see how the public voted.

Top 24 - The Guys

I watched the first top 24 show. I was a little disappointed with the guys. I felt that too many of them played it safe. I felt that too many chose keys that were too low for their voices. That's how pitch problems begin - you're down at the bottom of your range, where there isn't much tone or volume, but you are trying to make an impact, so you push out a little in the bottom, and then, when you go up, the voice doesn't respond with flexability because of the weight you used in the bottom. It's like trying to jump rope with someone hanging on your leg. Most chose songs that didn't challenge them range-wise either. It was a big night for most of the contestants, performing live on television, under pressure. So one can understand why some of the performances were stiff.

I actually found myself agreeing with Simon's feedback. Horrors of horrors. Not that people were 'grotesque'. I found that no one really stood out for me, although I had high hopes for Michael Johns after his Hollywood week Bohemian Rapsody .... he didn't deliver as well as I wished he would.

So here's my vote for Feb 19th - the Guys (I hope I got the names right). In my scoring, they were all pretty much equal. Bottom to top:

#12 - Luke Menard

#11 - David Look

#10 - Robbie Carrizo

#9 - Danny Noriega

#8 - David Hernandez

#7 - Colton Berry

#6 - Jason Yeagar

#5 - Chikezre

#4 - Garret Haley

#3 - Jason Castro

#2 - Michael Johns

#1 - David Archuleta