Wow, Tuesday already.
The third group of Canadian Idols performed and it was a largely impressive show. Once again, it is time for me to raise the same issue that I raised last week. How are these groups determined? As most of you know, I thought that last week’s group wasn’t that great and it was an easy road for Emily and Casey to make the Top Ten.
Unfortunately for the members of Group 3, the task isn’t nearly as simple.
Tonight’s performers included:
Diego Alvarez, 21, Montreal, QC – Music Student
Giselle Correia, 26, Mississauga, ON – Makeup Artist
Amber Fleury, 26, Calgary, AB – Paralegal
Rex Goudie, 19, Burlington, NL – Student/Part-time Mechanic
Michelle Madeira, 18, Mississauga, ON – University Student
Devika Mathur, 27, Toronto, ON – Radio DJ
Barrett Peitsch, 23, Winnipeg, MB – Manager/Bartender
Barbra Preisman, 17, Thornhill, ON – Student
Before the show started, I thought that Devika, Amber, Rex and Diego all had a good chance of being contenders. They did not disappoint.
The show started with my least favourite performance of the evening.
I did not particularly enjoy Barbra’s “scat.” Generally speaking, jazz isn’t my thing and while I realize that my opinion means nothing, I just think that most of the Canadian viewers also are too young to appreciate Barbra’s style. It’s kind of weird saying that, considering she is only 17, but she sings in a mature fashion. One that I think won’t translate well. On second thought, her performance of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” by Ella Fitzgerald was okay, but not overtly spectacular.
The judges seemed to fixate on her “cuteness” instead of her singing which is always a bad sign.
Giselle Correia was next. The people that I was watching the show with hated the performance, but I actually disagreed and thought it was decent. She sure as hell would have been a contender last week, but given that she was in-tough with competition, I think that this was her swan song. And if I am singing my last song and one that has the extreme possibility of changing my life, it certainly is not going to be “Brass In Pocket” by the Pretenders. I know that the judges go on and on about how important song selection is, and I cannot agree more. Everything depends on what you sing.
The judges weren’t down. Neither was I.
Diego Alvarez was up next and he sang “One More Try” by George Michael. Diego was one of the people that I really liked in the early stages of the competition and he started this song off in a dynamic fashion. Unfortunately, he just totally missed the big notes and while I would have liked to remember her performance for the good, I was consumed with my recollection of the bad note. I thought judge Farley Flex hit the nail on the head when he said that he wished he could give Diego one more try. Maybe he will still have a chance to in the wildcard competition.
Devika Mathur decided to try “Hero” by Mariah Carey. Definitely the smartest choice of the night and her experience played a big part in it. You might be able to sing other songs better, but it is important that the viewing public can sing along with you and while I am ashamed to admit it, I was definitely whistling. Zach immediately complimented Mathur on her appearance and her mature performance and the judges loved her. At this point in the show, I thought that she was a shoe-in, but that’s because the big players hadn’t stepped up to the plate yet.
As soon as Rex Goudie walked up to the mic, I knew that we were in for a treat. Host Ben Mulroney gave him a nice plug and discussed his hat which his family had signed for good luck (and Rex explained that was the reason that he always had it on). Newfoundlanders generally do well in Canadian Idol competitions, sometimes for inexplicable reasons (Jenny Gear), and I can positively predict that Rex is moving on. His take on “After The Rain” by Blue Rodeo was absolutely stellar and right up there with Jacob Hoggard’s “Only The Good Die Young” from last season as my favourite Idol performance of all time. Farley said that it was the best Top 32 performance so far (that would change in less than 30 minutes) and Werner said that Rex would be in the competition right until the end. I hope everyone got a chance to see it and it is definitely torrent-worthy.
Michelle Madeira had the unfortunate job of following Rex, and while I had heard some overtures about her song not being up to par, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought that she did an excellent job with Whitney Houston’s “One Moment In Time.” The thing that stood out about Michelle was her outstanding tone and pitch. She stayed in tune with the harmony of the song and incredibly managed to do justice to Whitney. The thing that I think will hurt her chances was her attitude toward the judges after the song was over. When the judges told her that they couldn’t “feel” the performance, Michelle responded by saying that she hoped she would be able to show “feeling” in the Top Ten. Not a wise move. The viewing public takes everything into consideration, which is seriously why I think that Jasmine Trias’ tears vaulted her right into the end of the American Idol competition. While appearing cocky was definitely not her intention, I think that was definitely her result.
Barrett Peitsch tried “Walking In Memphis” by Mark Cohn. Meh. I had no real feelings either way on this. It was alright. Definitely forgettable. While the judges disagreed about it, I had to concur with Jake Gold (my buddy from last week) who said that he didn’t like Barrett from the beginning and couldn’t wait for the silent parts of the song.
There was silence of another kind after Amber’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” And it was good silence. I think that everybody knew that Amber was the class of the competition and it was a breathtaking performance. The thing that I liked the most about the song was that Amber didn’t oversing which was my fear. She kept it within her lower vocal register and that translated incredibly well. The judges said that while the Canadian public has a tendency to vote for cute boys (see Kalan Porter), they hope that they will also appreciate her talent. She got a standing ovation. It was awesome!
So there it is.
My predictions are that Rex and Amber will comfortably make it through. I expect Devika to get the third seat and give Vince Benenati some competition in the wild card.
As always, I will be at the live results show tonight and will have the full details for you.
Make sure to check out Kevin Wong’s recap for another take on the show.
