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.