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