Unfortunately, this is way late, so chances are you’ve seen the results show. So what I’ll be giving you here is a slightly abbreviated version of my recap.
We meet Ben Mulroney, Jake Gold, Farley Flex, Sass Jordan, Zack Werner and pianist Mark Lalama.
Let’s get to the competitors:
Luke is grateful to make it this far after making the Top 100 last year. Genevieve is an enthusiastic mountain biker and snowboarder, but she prefers music. She’s up first.
Genevieve Nadeau is singing “Some Kind of Wonderful”, and goes for a Joss Stone-ish rendition. Mark infused the song with a nice blues feel, but Genevieve gave it maybe a little too pop for my taste. Still, a good way to start the show. 6.5/10
Jake – A really interesting song for her to do. Wasn’t blown away, but thought it was pretty good.
Farley – Nice presence on stage, tone was a bit too nasal for him.
Sass – Song was more bluesey than she could handle.
Zack – For the second year in a row there won’t be a representative from La Belle Province.
Ben tells us that Zack knows absolutely nothing about Quebec. And I suppose Ben should know, given that his dad’s riding was in Quebec. Luke is up right after the
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Luke O’Reilly is singing Rascal Flatts “Bless The Broken Road”. And he seems to waver between pop and country inflections, as if he wasn’t sure which to use. It’s a very nice performance, but Luke seems to be a bit too into himself. 6.5
Farley – A composed performance, a bit too studied.
Sass – Worked the camera well, really professional.
Zack – Somewhere in between Kalan Porter-lite and the Fratboy next door (Chris Leben?), not the greatest singer in the world, will appeal to his demoraphic
Jake – Agreed with Farley and Sass, and that’s a problem for him. Luke needs to sing more from the heart.
Ben notes that Carrie won American Idol after singing Rascal Flatts.
Keely and Aaron are up after the
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Keely’s musical influences include her aunt. The long wait to perform has been killing Aaron. But before we get to Aaron we’re getting
Keely Hutton, singing “Don’t Cry Out Loud” by Melissa Manchester. Emily Vinette belted this one out in Group Four, and Keely has a fairly similar performance, except that it’s not nearly as good – Emily hit the glory notes well, while Keely sounds too nasal. 4/10
Sass – Don’t SING out loud. Not the greatest.
Zack – May have been the most unlistenable performance ever in the Top 32.
Jake – Great to watch, really pitchy, oversang it.
Farley – Very difficult to listen to. The song didn’t gel for her.
Ben notes that 1.8 million votes came through last week, so four wouldn’t matter in the long run.
Aaron Walpole is singing “Try” by Blue Rodeo, and gives it an Elton John spin. And it works pretty well. It’s kinda like watching Scott Savol, if Scott didn’t dress like Frankie May and showed something resembling emotion. 8/10
Zack – Really appealing, but the theatrics bug him.
Jake – Professional is a good thing for Aaron. Jim Cuddy would be proud.
Farley – A really good performance. Really warm and well presented.
Sass – Really appreciates the guts he put into it.
Ben really felt the emotion.
Danian and Suzi will be singing after the
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We’re back, and we find out that Suzi’s band helped her pick out her song. Danian’s been in singing competitions since she was nine, and it may help her deal with the pressure. She’s up.
Danian Vickers. Danian’s singing Oleta Adams’ “Get Here”. And the soulfulness is there, but she seems to lack the power to really project. Also there was some flatness towards the end that maybe took away from the song. 5/10
Jake – Always worried about whether she could emote, and this time she did.
Farley – Really pleased to hear her let it all out. Had some issues with tone.
Sass – Not really a performer, that there’s a wall between them.
Zack – Unique ability to sing louder but not sing louder. Thought it was great.
Ben supposes that all the years of preparation did help. But next is
Suzi Rawn singing “Fortunate Son” by Credence Clearwater Revival. And gives maybe the performance of the night. She’s playing to the crowd, she’s singing with power and soul, and it’s absolutely the right song for her. 9/10
Farley – You’re da bomb
Sass – You’re a female rock star. You own the stage.
Zack – With all the cheese on stage, to actually rock, good job.
Jake – Kudos on the performance
Ben notes that it’s a shame that Suzi isn’t more confident. The last two performances are on after the
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We’re back, and Ben asks Matt about his army reserve status. He notes that they’re supportive of his dream. He’s singing now.
Matt Kennedy is singing “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain, and it’s a nice and smooth performance, but aside from serenading his wife, it seems rather generic. Not a big fan of it. 6/10.
Sass – It was OK in the soft part, but too much shouting.
Zack – May belong in the Top 10, but he found it completely contrived and soulless.
Jake – Wasn’t blown away, but thought it was pretty good.
Farley – Didn’t feel anything special.
Ben is sure that Matt’s wife thought the performance was special. One more performer to go after the
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Melissa O’Neil is up and singing “Concrete Angel” by Martina McBride. And it’s a pretty good performance. Not as memorable as Suzi, but Melissa has got the goods to go on. 7.5/10
Zack – One of his favourite people in the whole thing, but be funkier in the Top Ten.
Jake – A Top Ten performance.
Farley – Really really really well done.
Sass – Agrees with the other judges, absolutely terrific.
Ben says it was an awesome job. Subway recap, and we’re outta here.
I’m also outta here. See you in 3 weeks!!
