Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Mr. Thatcher's Neighborhood - A.I. 5
Last week, we said goodbye to two of our female semi-finalists.
Becky O’Donahue – Although I thought Becky was better than some of the other contestants, I don’t think she had any chance of winning this show, so she would have left sometime. I saw her Maxim pictures with her sister, and I hope they do well in modeling. They both look athletic and healthy, and a nice change from the stick-thin sickly twigs you normally see in magazines. Good luck, Becky!
Stevie Scott – I’m not sure if Stevie really just isn’t very good, or if she just botched her song. Her singout after she was eliminated was better than her earlier performance, but it still had a lot of problems. I think Stevie is a good example of someone who would have done well to wait about 5 years and then try out for Idol. I think she needs more time to learn to control her voice and use it well. And yes, I do believe Idol will still be around in 5 years, as scary as that may seem. Anyway, best of luck to Miss Stevie.
On to this week's show!
Katharine – “All Is Fair in Love”
I really like Katharine, and I think the judge were a little off in their comments. I agree that her performance wasn’t fabulous, but I think they gave her the wrong advice. Randy essentially told her to sing more runs and other showy junk, but I think she sounds best when she’s just singing the melody and holding out the long notes with her beautiful, warm tone. The runs she did sing sounded forced and awkward to me, like she doesn’t want to sing them but she knows this is American Idol and you can’t win without them. I hope she makes it through this week. She’s still in my “keeper” group.
Kinnik – “Here for the Party”
This was just wrong. Her outfit was bad, the song choice was bad. She didn’t sing it badly, but it just didn’t do her any favors. I think Kinnik has great potential as a smoky jazz singer, but this performance dropped her to the “maybe’s” for me.
Lisa Tucker – "Who's Loving You"
Lisa is definitely a good singer, but again, this song just didn’t do a whole lot for her. I’m starting to sound like the judges! Ack!! I think Lisa could also use about 3-4 more years of experience to learn how to best use her voice. But she’s still better than most of the young popsters I hear on the radio. Lisa’s outfit looked like mustard and ketchup, but her hair was cute. Still a keeper.
Melissa – “Why Haven’t I Heard from You”
Melissa sounded a lot better to me this week. I think the long, held notes last week emphasized the weakness in her voice. This fast paced song was much better, and the style suited her. Last week, her voice sounded like she’d swallowed a package of razor blades; this week she moved up to “smoked 10,000 cigarettes”. If she can move up to “Kathleen Turner”, then I’ll reconsider moving her from a “maybe” to a “keeper”.
Heather – “Hero”
This girl just does nothing for me. She’s drab and dull. Her voice is serviceable, she sings in tune, but she’s just not interesting. She has that robotic prettiness that seems to be so popular with casting directors for shows like The Bachelor. I just can’t help but think that someone much better and more interesting lost their spot to Heather, and I hope she goes home this week.
Brenna – “Last Dance”
I don’t get this girl. She doesn’t seem particularly contentious to me (she’s certainly not in the league of, say Juanita “I’m axing you, what about da chirdren” Barber.) She’s like Mikalah Gordon, but not funny. Her singing was a little better this week, but she’s nowhere near the caliber of some of the other girls. On the plus side, her sparkly disco dress was cute and I really liked that color green on her. But cute outfits aren’t enough to keep you in the contest, so I say it’s time for her to make like a tree and leave.
(This week’s aside: Mikalah proved on Tyra Banks’ show again that she just can’t sing, but she is funny, and her humor is self-deprecating rather than spiteful. Tyra offered her a job as a correspondent on her talk show, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for her, because she is entertaining.)
Paris – “Wind Beneath My Wings” Paris must have read about my nervousness from her strapless top, because this week she’s wearing a bustier with straps, with a white button down underneath. She is well covered. But that weave on top of her head is horrible. It looks like a Halloween wig for a 60’s Medusa costume. I realize that makes no sense, but neither did her hair. Paris sings beautifully, and this performance was better than I expected. She maintains her keeper status.
Ayla – "I Want You to Need Me"
I just don't have a lot to say about Ayla, except she's very tall. She's better singer than I expected, but her song choices leave me pretty cold. I still have her in the keeper group, but she just hasn't grabbed my attention, yet.
Kellie – “Something to Talk About”
This was a much better song for Kellie than last week. Her voice on the high notes sounds strained and thin, so a faster song that skips right over the high notes is a better choice for her. I still don't think she's a very good singer, and her appeal seems to be all about her cuteness. I do agree about calamari though - tastes like eating a plate of rubber bands. ick.
Mandisa – “Cry”
Mandisa is obviously a great singer, and she did a nice job with the song. I liked her “dogjaw” bit. I thought her outfit looked nice this week, but I didn’t like her hair. She has such pretty flowy hair with snappy highlights, and that tight topknot made her look like a East German schoolmarm. I pick Mandisa as the best of the night, but not by much of a margin. In fact, this week my “keepers” were all about equal for me, as were my “maybes”. Only the “losers” really stood out. On the plus side, I don’t think anyone wore gauchos this week. Yay!
Keepers:
Mandisa
Ayla
Katharine
Paris
Lisa
Maybes:
Melissa
Kellie
Kinnik
Losers:
Brenna
Heather
My prediction for the homebound this week: Heather and Kinnik
Becky O’Donahue – Although I thought Becky was better than some of the other contestants, I don’t think she had any chance of winning this show, so she would have left sometime. I saw her Maxim pictures with her sister, and I hope they do well in modeling. They both look athletic and healthy, and a nice change from the stick-thin sickly twigs you normally see in magazines. Good luck, Becky!
Stevie Scott – I’m not sure if Stevie really just isn’t very good, or if she just botched her song. Her singout after she was eliminated was better than her earlier performance, but it still had a lot of problems. I think Stevie is a good example of someone who would have done well to wait about 5 years and then try out for Idol. I think she needs more time to learn to control her voice and use it well. And yes, I do believe Idol will still be around in 5 years, as scary as that may seem. Anyway, best of luck to Miss Stevie.
On to this week's show!
Katharine – “All Is Fair in Love”
I really like Katharine, and I think the judge were a little off in their comments. I agree that her performance wasn’t fabulous, but I think they gave her the wrong advice. Randy essentially told her to sing more runs and other showy junk, but I think she sounds best when she’s just singing the melody and holding out the long notes with her beautiful, warm tone. The runs she did sing sounded forced and awkward to me, like she doesn’t want to sing them but she knows this is American Idol and you can’t win without them. I hope she makes it through this week. She’s still in my “keeper” group.
Kinnik – “Here for the Party”
This was just wrong. Her outfit was bad, the song choice was bad. She didn’t sing it badly, but it just didn’t do her any favors. I think Kinnik has great potential as a smoky jazz singer, but this performance dropped her to the “maybe’s” for me.
Lisa Tucker – "Who's Loving You"
Lisa is definitely a good singer, but again, this song just didn’t do a whole lot for her. I’m starting to sound like the judges! Ack!! I think Lisa could also use about 3-4 more years of experience to learn how to best use her voice. But she’s still better than most of the young popsters I hear on the radio. Lisa’s outfit looked like mustard and ketchup, but her hair was cute. Still a keeper.
Melissa – “Why Haven’t I Heard from You”
Melissa sounded a lot better to me this week. I think the long, held notes last week emphasized the weakness in her voice. This fast paced song was much better, and the style suited her. Last week, her voice sounded like she’d swallowed a package of razor blades; this week she moved up to “smoked 10,000 cigarettes”. If she can move up to “Kathleen Turner”, then I’ll reconsider moving her from a “maybe” to a “keeper”.
Heather – “Hero”
This girl just does nothing for me. She’s drab and dull. Her voice is serviceable, she sings in tune, but she’s just not interesting. She has that robotic prettiness that seems to be so popular with casting directors for shows like The Bachelor. I just can’t help but think that someone much better and more interesting lost their spot to Heather, and I hope she goes home this week.
Brenna – “Last Dance”
I don’t get this girl. She doesn’t seem particularly contentious to me (she’s certainly not in the league of, say Juanita “I’m axing you, what about da chirdren” Barber.) She’s like Mikalah Gordon, but not funny. Her singing was a little better this week, but she’s nowhere near the caliber of some of the other girls. On the plus side, her sparkly disco dress was cute and I really liked that color green on her. But cute outfits aren’t enough to keep you in the contest, so I say it’s time for her to make like a tree and leave.
(This week’s aside: Mikalah proved on Tyra Banks’ show again that she just can’t sing, but she is funny, and her humor is self-deprecating rather than spiteful. Tyra offered her a job as a correspondent on her talk show, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for her, because she is entertaining.)
Paris – “Wind Beneath My Wings” Paris must have read about my nervousness from her strapless top, because this week she’s wearing a bustier with straps, with a white button down underneath. She is well covered. But that weave on top of her head is horrible. It looks like a Halloween wig for a 60’s Medusa costume. I realize that makes no sense, but neither did her hair. Paris sings beautifully, and this performance was better than I expected. She maintains her keeper status.
Ayla – "I Want You to Need Me"
I just don't have a lot to say about Ayla, except she's very tall. She's better singer than I expected, but her song choices leave me pretty cold. I still have her in the keeper group, but she just hasn't grabbed my attention, yet.
Kellie – “Something to Talk About”
This was a much better song for Kellie than last week. Her voice on the high notes sounds strained and thin, so a faster song that skips right over the high notes is a better choice for her. I still don't think she's a very good singer, and her appeal seems to be all about her cuteness. I do agree about calamari though - tastes like eating a plate of rubber bands. ick.
Mandisa – “Cry”
Mandisa is obviously a great singer, and she did a nice job with the song. I liked her “dogjaw” bit. I thought her outfit looked nice this week, but I didn’t like her hair. She has such pretty flowy hair with snappy highlights, and that tight topknot made her look like a East German schoolmarm. I pick Mandisa as the best of the night, but not by much of a margin. In fact, this week my “keepers” were all about equal for me, as were my “maybes”. Only the “losers” really stood out. On the plus side, I don’t think anyone wore gauchos this week. Yay!
Keepers:
Mandisa
Ayla
Katharine
Paris
Lisa
Maybes:
Melissa
Kellie
Kinnik
Losers:
Brenna
Heather
My prediction for the homebound this week: Heather and Kinnik
# posted by Thatchermom @ 8:15 PM 
