American Idol- Top 12
The theme was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the mentor, just in time for Passover, was Gene Simmons (born in Israel as Chaim Witz.). He is very rich and very famous, but not exactly known as a stellar singer. The longtime KISS bassist seemed pretty good as a mentor though. He has a long history of past relationships with women. During the episode, he made reference to one he once had with Diana Ross. Interestingly enough though, another ex-flame is Cher, and she was announced as being one of the new inductees to the Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but the camera did not go to Gene when her name was mentioned. He also seemed to keep his tongue in his mouth all night.
For this performance, Triston sang a classic Elvis song, which made my parents very happy. He did so without his guitar or cowboy hat. Vocally, it was alright, though I think he is better as a country singer. The hip gyrations for someone so young was probably unnecessary.
Idol then briefly paid tribute to the late Mandisa and promised a larger musical tribute next week. With the exception of Willie Spence, who was on a very recent season, I cannot recall them ever acknowledging any other contestants who had passed away.
3. Roman Collins- "You're All I Need To Get By"
I was definitely not pleased that Roman was selected to take one of the 14 spots, especially over someone like Odell Bunton Jr. It now seems though like he will be singing songs outside of the gospel genre. This is an old song, designed to get older voters in his corner. While I think there are people in this competition with better voices, and I do not always like how he rearranges the material, I have to say though that I thought this was easily his best performance.
4. Kaibrienne- "I Hate Myself For Loving You"
I was also skeptical of why America voted her into their Top 10. She sang this Joan Jett song at about 7:25 local time on a Sunday night, which is about exactly the time a version of it has aired for years on NBC's Sunday Night Football. It seemed like a football game needed to begin. I thought Kaibrienne would be compared unfavorably to Pink and Carrie Underwood, who are associated with the NFL version of the tune. I recall not really liking the way this performance started off, but by the end, I think Kaibrienne picked up steam and was credible as a rock-type voice.
5. Jayna Elise- "I Have Nothing"
Another Whitney song. This would be the second of three on the evening. How many times has this particular done been done on Idol and other singing shows? A whole heck of a lot, but it is pretty much the ultimate diva ballad. I remember thinking that I wish Julia had sung it.
Jayna pretty much did all that could be expected and perhaps a bit more. She might have been off on a couple notes but she has a big voice and this performance seemed quite impactful at the time.
6. Mia Matthews- "Those Memories Of You"
This was the first song I did not know. From what I recall, Mia sang it pretty well, but it just seemed a little boring. Compared to some of the previous powerhouse performances, it felt a little low-key for how the evening was progressing.
7. KAYKO- "High And Dry"
I do not think I know this song either. It was the first cover song KAYKO has performed on American Idol. Perhaps, it was about time. He was playing acoustic guitar and at the beginning, I thought he was singing more melodically than he been doing before. Then, as it picked up, I thought he did not sound as great. Like many other "current" Idol contestants, you either get it or you do not, and I really do not with KAYKO, at least vocally. He does indeed look far more like Woody Allen's son than Roman Farrow, whom allegedly is, but everyone knows is probably the offspring of Frank Sinatra.
8. Emmy Russell- "I Can't Make You Love Me"
On Sunday, Emmy was dressed much better and looked better than she had the previous Monday. I still like the gentle tone of her voice and thought most of this performance was decent. My mother was watching along though (who dislikes this Bonnie Raitt song) and she kept commenting that Emmy had gone off-key. It was hard for me to tell, but towards the end, the contestant did give a look like she thought she made a mistake.
9. Jordan Anthony- "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Jordan is very lucky to still be in this competition at this point. He also picks a Whitney Houston song and delivered a rendition that I think I have heard somewhere else but cannot quite place it. It started off slow and then got more mid-tempo. He definitely was not trying to sound like Whitney, which was wise. I am conflicted because at times, I thought Jordan was delivering a very effective pop vocal and at other times I thought he sounded way off. More often than not, it was probably a miss.
10. McKenna Faith Breinholt- "Hard To Say I'm Sorry"
They never said what her illness might be, but McKenna was so under the weather, they did not risk her infecting Gene Simmons during a mentor session. Her speaking voice has sounded congested for weeks now and vocally I could not help but notice she did sound a bit sick. I was very intrigued by this Chicago song being performed for the first time on Idol and really wanted McKenna to knock it out of the park (perhaps Wrigley Field of course) but it seemed like she was not at her usual standard.
11. Jack Blocker- "Don't Twink Twice, It's Alright"
I know a few Bob Dylan songs, but I do not think I know this one. However, my mother says she used to perform this back in the '60s as a folk singer. I pretty much liked what Jack did with it. He has his own vibe and the longer you are exposed to him, the easier it to focus on his voice and musicality and less on the facial expressions. Could he be a dark horse in this competition? We should remember that in his audition, he was initially given two "no's."
12. Nya- "I Saw A Little Prayer"
I associate this song more with Dionne Warwick than Aretha Franklin, as it was billed. I do not think it probably is a good one for American Idol. On this evening, Nya is blonde. As has been the case, I think she is good but not quite on the same level as most of the other contestants. The judges always give her fawning comments though. Looking back at my rankings from Sunday, I had her somewhat higher than I might remember right now.
13. Will Moseley- "Night Moves"
This is sort of a more laid-back type song, but Will excels in things like that. It is not associated with country but he also can make just about anything fit his style. He makes it seem pretty effortless although I am not expecting Will to go truly uptempo anytime soon.
14. Abi Carter- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
When I heard the song choice, I was a little suspicious, because I think there are better Elton John songs. Also, this is associated with a long ago attempt by Camille Velasco on Idol which was ranked by viewers as one of the worst vocals in the history of the show.
That was a long time ago and Abi sounded very different while playing piano and singing this ballad. I will definitely have to go back and watch this again very soon but the first time I saw it, I was incredibly impressed. The things she did with her voice made it seem like a "masterclass" to use that term. Just calling it as I see it, I think it was one of the best Idol performances in recent years.
Rankings:
Who should have been eliminated: KAYKO and Jordan Anthony
posted by Corey @ Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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