Laptop Television Mom

Dixie is back to share her recap of the girls’ performance Wednesday night!  Tune in tonight to see if her predictions are correct.

DIXIE SAYS: Since when did not being able to carry a tune
become known as picking the wrong song? Come on Randy, let’s really keep it REAL:
The reason most of the girls sound horrible on the slower, lower verses is
because they purposely begin their songs too low, below the capacity of their
lower register.  Okay- why would they do this? Because they want the sweet
spot, the notes at the end of the song, to be well within their range so that
they can belt them out! The higher they start, the higher they have to go and
no one wants to squeak and squawk the ending glory note!   

This is bad technique, not bad song choices!
Solution: they need to learn how to sing a simple melody that is well within
the limits of their lower register… and then train with a vocal coach on how to
expand their range and control those upper register notes.

In the meantime, here are my reviews:

1. Carly Smithson “Crazy On You”
Hey, I think I’m actually starting to like this girl! Maybe it was the
Heart song choice. Maybe it was the new hair style and much more flattering
side part. Or maybe it was her love of cleaning or perhaps I’m finally being
drawn in by her lovely Irish accent.  Most of her icky habits from last
week (breathiness, belchy low notes, screechy glory notes) didn’t show up tonight
and for the most part, her vocals were spot on and professionally
polished.  She slightly got off track near the end and had a couple of
missed notes, and the overly strained facial expressions are unbearable, but
overall, it was leaps and bounds better than last week.  I am now a
believer in her potential.  My favorite of the night, by far.

2. Syesha
Mercado “Me and Mr. Jones”

LOVE this song and see
nothing wrong with a female singing it to Mr. Jones, Simon. This performance is
a perfect example of my opening statement about starting too low in an effort
to be in the right place for the glory notes. She seemed extremely
uncomfortable singing so far out of her bottom range and then in the end, her
last note was dangerously sharp anyway!! However, I will try not to complain
when she screeches for the rest of the season because all three judges pretty
much told her to go back to her wailing. Syesha definitely had a few fabulous
moments, so I believe she is more than capable with the right training. 

3. Brooke White “You’re So Vain”

Brooke might want to consider spending less time
thinking about what she could do with other people’s hair, and more time
thinking about her own. But yes, it looked MUCH better tonight. After AI,
Brooke and her John Mayer look-a-like hubby should host a Kid’s Show. Can’t you
see them singing folk nursery rhymes, surrounded by several little toe headed
children? Brooke is SO Carly Simon and how ironic that she was singing a Carly
SIMON song to SIMON!! Her singing during the verses was about as close to
perfect as you can get; she lost it a little during the chorus, even sounded
like she was “talking” the words at one point. This one is definitely a keeper!
My second favorite of the night.

4. Ramiele Malubay  “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

Yet another example of
my opening statement. I won’t repeat the whole rant, but in addition to
starting too low, this performance just never got off the ground. The vocals
were “okay” but she was obviously disconnected and I was bored.  Her intro
video about the dancing was so cute, and then she chooses a disco song… and
stands there.  Up until now, I’ve loved her sense of style, but girl,
those pants were not working for you! Acid washed jeans on females under 5’3” =
stumps for legs.   

5. Kristy Lee Cook
“You’re No Good”

This song was dedicated
to one of the horses she couldn’t sell to fund her Idol audition. In her video,
she told us that she is an athletic tomboy who likes sports and athletics.
Redundant much? Last week, it was the weird eye thing- this week it was the
distracting singing stance. It looked like she was pretending to ride a horse.
In fact, I was so distracted by it, I had to go back and listen to the vocals
without looking at the television.  And like most of her fellow contestants,
there were lower register problems.  I had to laugh when Randy told her
that she was pretty on key!  Very unmemorable, so she could be in danger.

6. Amanda
Overmyer “Carry On My Wayward Son”

Amanda!!! That was
absolutely horrible… a pitchy nightmare from Hades!  She was too low, off
kilter, off key, and sounded just plain ugly… not unlike the Cruella Deville
hair.  But like the lyrics said, there was peace when she was done.
If I were her, I would head to the local bookstore and buy some reading material
for that long plane ride back to Indiana.
Bye-bye!! 

7. Alaina Whitaker
“Hopelessly Devoted To You”

Who would have guessed
that Alaina’s fun fact is that she needs a shrink.  Visually, she reminded
me of a bigger, rougher Carrie Underwood the day after the prom… oh, in
1987.  Vocally, she was pitchy and those opening notes weren’t straight
out of a high school talent show circa 1978. What made this more tragic for me
is that she was so fabulous last week. Hopefully, she’ll get another week to
redeem herself.

8. Alexandréa Lushington
“If You Leave Me Now”

Yawn!! When is this
night going to be over? For the first time tonight, I really do believe the
problem was a bad song choice. Despite the clever arraignment, it was boring
and old-fashioned, and she is not a boring girl!  Her vocals were okay and
she demonstrated a nice range, but as Simon rightfully pointed out, it’s just a
dated tune! The most exciting thing about the performance was the audience’s
rhythmic arm waving.  She’ll be better next week.

9. Kady Malloy
  “Magic Man”

Jason Castro’s pot
smoking buddy, for sure. Tell me she didn’t look (and sound) half-baked! Kady
abused her lower register something fierce, to the point that I was embarrassed
to listen to her. In my opinion, she sounded just as bad, if not worse than
Amanda.  The finish was a little better, but not enough to save her.
She may have many hidden talents (mimicry, acting, opera), but unfortunately,
singing is not one of them.  If she doesn’t get the boot, people are
voting for reasons other than vocals. 

10. Asia’h Epperson   “All By Myself”

Prime
example of my opening statement! As smart as her song choice/arrangement was
last week, it’s never smart to choose the Celine route on this song unless you
have a range the width of say… Whitney Houston’s! I love this little girl,
despite the fact that she thought we would be surprised to know she was a
cheerleader.  I’d be surprised if she wasn’t! Not sure why they gave her
the pimp spot unless the rehearsal went a heckuva lot better. Goodish vocals,
okay performance, but she was missing something.  Let’s hope that next
week, she brings back the “I’m Going Down” WOW.

If there is
any justice in the AI world, Amanda and Kady will be leaving on Thursday
night.