American Idol: Round of 10 Recap - March 27th, 2007
It's No Doubt night. Gwen Stefani guest stars on American Idol tonight. Songs are from No Doubt and bands that inspired their unique sound. We have ten singers to get through in just an hour, and Ryan Seacrest wastes no time in getting things started. He shows a quick montage introducing Gwen Stefani and we're ready to go.
LaKisha kicks the night off singing Donna Summer's hit "Last Dance". It starts off a little shaky, her voice warbling a little bit, kind of like Stephanie's last week. It gets better as the song progresses, but never really gets to the level at which we're used to seeing her. The judges really seem to like her, but I wasn't really feeling it this week. She gets the lowest Buzz Score that she's received so far at an 8.
Randy: It's the first time I've seen you do an uptempo joint. That was hot!
Paula: Donna Summer's not an easy artist to start out with. You did her proud.
Simon: Love the boots. Great! You're 30 years younger this week. Great vocal.
Buzz Score: 8
Chris Sligh is next, and apparently they're not too strapped for time, because Seacrest is asking Chris a question; "What does he do in his spare time?" Answer: He doesn't have much spare time, and any he gets, he spends sleeping so he doesn't get sick. Tonight, Chris performs the Police hit "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." It starts off really pitchy, and without a lot of emotion. Towards the end of the song, he regains control of the song, but like LaKisha, he doesn't reach the standard that he's set in previous weeks.
Randy: It was a good song for you. The biggest problem was your tempo. You were way ahead rushing.
Paula: Stay in the pocket (huh?). Vocally, it sat really nice.
Simon: Forgets pockets, timing, whatever. I thought it was a mess.
Buzz Score: 7.5
Gina is up next with "I'll Stand By You". Gwen Stefani thought this song was perfect for Gina's voice, and I have to agree. The song fits very well with her. It's lacking a bit of emotion, but she gets control of it toward the end. The last note didn't really do it for me, but overall, it was one of her better peformances. The judges agree with me, all of them saying this was one of her best performances. Simon even said it was the best performance so far tonight.
Randy: I thought this was one of your best performances ever.
Paula: You're improving each week. The song allowed you to soar. Your best performance so far.
Simon: It was your best performance. The right song.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Sanjaya sings a No Doubt original, but the biggest surprise (if you can call it that) is his crazy mohwak-like hairstyle. In the video before his performance, Gwen sounds a little doubtful that he can pull it off, and I'm sure that most of America shares her sentiment. Hunger-strike girl is probably dancing around the room about now(if she can move).
Sanjaya is full of surprises, though. He actually sounds pretty good. This wasn't the best performance tonight, but it wasn't the worst either. Hunger-girl may have to starve herself for another week. Or maybe she could spend her time and energy on something actually important. Either way is good.
Randy: The hairdo is interesting. You can sing if you would just pull it out of there.
Paula: If you had the gumption to really go for it, you could really do well.
Simon: I don't think it matters anymore what we say. I think you are in your own universe.
Buzz Score: 8
Haley chose one of Gwen Stefani's favorite songs, "True Colors", but she was a little too over the top for Gwen. Would she tone it down for the television performance ? She starts off very mellow and sounds pretty good. The performance as a whole wasn't fantastic, but I think it was one of her better performances so far. Like Simon said, it was a little forgettable, but it was still good.
Randy: It started a little rough for me. It was just a'ight.
Paula: It's a beautiful song that requires the melody. Aim to be more contemporary.
Simon: Sweet, but forgettable. There was nothing to remember really.
Buzz Score: 8
Rebecca of Indianapolis asks how it feels to go from being a nobody to a star in a matter of weeks. Phil Stacey says it's nice, but he's just in it for the money! He's singing the second Police song of the night with "Every Breath You Take." Gwen was surprised at how good he sounded, and America might be surprised too. He sounds very good, even Sting-like. Hey, maybe even better than Sting. This is easily his best performance, and one of the best performances tonight. He's wearing a bit too much makeup, but no one's perfect. The judges liked it, but not as much as I thought they would.
Randy: I actually kind of liked that.
Paula: That's a good choice. There's so much personality and color to your voice.
Simon: I thought that was very good.
Buzz Score: 9
Melinda is singing "Heaven Knows", and Gwen is very impressed. She sounds quite confident that Miss Doolittle will perform fantastically tonight. There's no need for her to worry. Melinda did a bang-up job, as expected. Her dress is very nice, her energy is high, and her presence on stage is just phenomenal. There's only so much I can say. Melinda is great!
Randy: The reason I called you the pro is because a pro does what you do every week. You are living the words.
Paula: You have charisma from the word go. It's fun. You're so joyful when you're singing.
Simon: Vocally, you were, as usual, outstanding. Hate the outfit.
Buzz Score: 9.5
Blake came out singing "Love Song" by the cure as remixed by 311, bringing his reggae feel to it. The singing was very good, if a little boring, but the overall performance was very solid. I think we'll see Blake back next week.
Randy: It's not my perfect song choice. I liked it.
Paula: I love what you did with the song.
Simon: You're the strongest guy in the competition.
Buzz Score: 8
Jordin Sparks sang "Hey Baby" by No Doubt. All decked out like a Holla Back girl, with lots of makeup, she looked like maybe she was going a little too far in emulating Gwen Stefani. The verses were very good, but the chorus wasn't great. That's mostly the fault of the song itself, though. I mean, there's not a whole lot you can do with "Hey baby hey baby hey." Overall, pretty good.
Randy: That was a very risky thing to do. You can literally ding anything. That was brilliant.
Paula: You're adorable and hip and young. I love seeing you in this kind of mode.
Simon: I think you are probably the most improved contestant. I'm seeing another side of you.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Chris Richardson sings one of my favorite No Doubt songs, "Don't Speak". Gwen tells him to focus on the song and the emotion. Chris brings a Blake-style remix to the song with some record-scratching, etc., and the vocals are solid. I think he is lacking a bit on the emotion side, and the vocals got really pitchy at the bridge. When he breaks it down at the end, it adds some of the energy he was missing before, and turns it into a solid performance, though not a great performance.
Randy: I liked your twist on it. I enjoy the runs. That was good.
Paula: You're good, Chris. You're good.
Simon: This was a much much better choice of song. I wasn't crazy about the vocal.
Buzz Score: 8
And with that, we've wrapped up yet another week of Idol action. On the whole, it was a good night for the performers, making it a very hard night for me to predict who will be booted tomorrow evening. Despite their strong performances, I think Phil, Gina, and Haley are all on the bubble. Chris Richardson seems like he doesn't resonate well with America, but his late time-slot should help him some. Big favorite Chris Sligh may even be in trouble this week. It's a tough choice, but I think I know who to go with.....
The Buzz Prediction
Going home tomorrow night will be:
Haley Scarnato
LaKisha kicks the night off singing Donna Summer's hit "Last Dance". It starts off a little shaky, her voice warbling a little bit, kind of like Stephanie's last week. It gets better as the song progresses, but never really gets to the level at which we're used to seeing her. The judges really seem to like her, but I wasn't really feeling it this week. She gets the lowest Buzz Score that she's received so far at an 8.
Randy: It's the first time I've seen you do an uptempo joint. That was hot!
Paula: Donna Summer's not an easy artist to start out with. You did her proud.
Simon: Love the boots. Great! You're 30 years younger this week. Great vocal.
Buzz Score: 8
Chris Sligh is next, and apparently they're not too strapped for time, because Seacrest is asking Chris a question; "What does he do in his spare time?" Answer: He doesn't have much spare time, and any he gets, he spends sleeping so he doesn't get sick. Tonight, Chris performs the Police hit "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." It starts off really pitchy, and without a lot of emotion. Towards the end of the song, he regains control of the song, but like LaKisha, he doesn't reach the standard that he's set in previous weeks.
Randy: It was a good song for you. The biggest problem was your tempo. You were way ahead rushing.
Paula: Stay in the pocket (huh?). Vocally, it sat really nice.
Simon: Forgets pockets, timing, whatever. I thought it was a mess.
Buzz Score: 7.5
Gina is up next with "I'll Stand By You". Gwen Stefani thought this song was perfect for Gina's voice, and I have to agree. The song fits very well with her. It's lacking a bit of emotion, but she gets control of it toward the end. The last note didn't really do it for me, but overall, it was one of her better peformances. The judges agree with me, all of them saying this was one of her best performances. Simon even said it was the best performance so far tonight.
Randy: I thought this was one of your best performances ever.
Paula: You're improving each week. The song allowed you to soar. Your best performance so far.
Simon: It was your best performance. The right song.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Sanjaya sings a No Doubt original, but the biggest surprise (if you can call it that) is his crazy mohwak-like hairstyle. In the video before his performance, Gwen sounds a little doubtful that he can pull it off, and I'm sure that most of America shares her sentiment. Hunger-strike girl is probably dancing around the room about now(if she can move).
Sanjaya is full of surprises, though. He actually sounds pretty good. This wasn't the best performance tonight, but it wasn't the worst either. Hunger-girl may have to starve herself for another week. Or maybe she could spend her time and energy on something actually important. Either way is good.
Randy: The hairdo is interesting. You can sing if you would just pull it out of there.
Paula: If you had the gumption to really go for it, you could really do well.
Simon: I don't think it matters anymore what we say. I think you are in your own universe.
Buzz Score: 8
Haley chose one of Gwen Stefani's favorite songs, "True Colors", but she was a little too over the top for Gwen. Would she tone it down for the television performance ? She starts off very mellow and sounds pretty good. The performance as a whole wasn't fantastic, but I think it was one of her better performances so far. Like Simon said, it was a little forgettable, but it was still good.
Randy: It started a little rough for me. It was just a'ight.
Paula: It's a beautiful song that requires the melody. Aim to be more contemporary.
Simon: Sweet, but forgettable. There was nothing to remember really.
Buzz Score: 8
Rebecca of Indianapolis asks how it feels to go from being a nobody to a star in a matter of weeks. Phil Stacey says it's nice, but he's just in it for the money! He's singing the second Police song of the night with "Every Breath You Take." Gwen was surprised at how good he sounded, and America might be surprised too. He sounds very good, even Sting-like. Hey, maybe even better than Sting. This is easily his best performance, and one of the best performances tonight. He's wearing a bit too much makeup, but no one's perfect. The judges liked it, but not as much as I thought they would.
Randy: I actually kind of liked that.
Paula: That's a good choice. There's so much personality and color to your voice.
Simon: I thought that was very good.
Buzz Score: 9
Melinda is singing "Heaven Knows", and Gwen is very impressed. She sounds quite confident that Miss Doolittle will perform fantastically tonight. There's no need for her to worry. Melinda did a bang-up job, as expected. Her dress is very nice, her energy is high, and her presence on stage is just phenomenal. There's only so much I can say. Melinda is great!
Randy: The reason I called you the pro is because a pro does what you do every week. You are living the words.
Paula: You have charisma from the word go. It's fun. You're so joyful when you're singing.
Simon: Vocally, you were, as usual, outstanding. Hate the outfit.
Buzz Score: 9.5
Blake came out singing "Love Song" by the cure as remixed by 311, bringing his reggae feel to it. The singing was very good, if a little boring, but the overall performance was very solid. I think we'll see Blake back next week.
Randy: It's not my perfect song choice. I liked it.
Paula: I love what you did with the song.
Simon: You're the strongest guy in the competition.
Buzz Score: 8
Jordin Sparks sang "Hey Baby" by No Doubt. All decked out like a Holla Back girl, with lots of makeup, she looked like maybe she was going a little too far in emulating Gwen Stefani. The verses were very good, but the chorus wasn't great. That's mostly the fault of the song itself, though. I mean, there's not a whole lot you can do with "Hey baby hey baby hey." Overall, pretty good.
Randy: That was a very risky thing to do. You can literally ding anything. That was brilliant.
Paula: You're adorable and hip and young. I love seeing you in this kind of mode.
Simon: I think you are probably the most improved contestant. I'm seeing another side of you.
Buzz Score: 8.5
Chris Richardson sings one of my favorite No Doubt songs, "Don't Speak". Gwen tells him to focus on the song and the emotion. Chris brings a Blake-style remix to the song with some record-scratching, etc., and the vocals are solid. I think he is lacking a bit on the emotion side, and the vocals got really pitchy at the bridge. When he breaks it down at the end, it adds some of the energy he was missing before, and turns it into a solid performance, though not a great performance.
Randy: I liked your twist on it. I enjoy the runs. That was good.
Paula: You're good, Chris. You're good.
Simon: This was a much much better choice of song. I wasn't crazy about the vocal.
Buzz Score: 8
And with that, we've wrapped up yet another week of Idol action. On the whole, it was a good night for the performers, making it a very hard night for me to predict who will be booted tomorrow evening. Despite their strong performances, I think Phil, Gina, and Haley are all on the bubble. Chris Richardson seems like he doesn't resonate well with America, but his late time-slot should help him some. Big favorite Chris Sligh may even be in trouble this week. It's a tough choice, but I think I know who to go with.....
The Buzz Prediction
Going home tomorrow night will be:
Haley Scarnato
2 Comments:
Anyone think they were using a filter on the gwen stefani shots? Her face was all fuzzy with no texture.
She looked different than she usually does, that's for sure.
I figured it was probably because she wasn't wearing the huge amount of makeup and lipstick that she usually does. I think she looked much better without being all made up but I guess that's part of her "stage persona".
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