Last night, the girls sang, and about half of them did a good job. Tonight, it’s time for the guys.
Credits
Ryan Seacrest welcomes us this, the first show featuring the guys, and Let Us Take You Back to Last Night where a few ladies proved themselves, others got a push from the judges, and others just sucked. We see the girls in the audience, and now here are the guys!
And let’s introduce the judges
Simon sums up the guys by saying that they’re a mixed bunch.
Paula thinks that voters are looking for something unique and different. Which means that Taylor Hicks should win. Sadly, it’s not likely to happen.
Randy says that the guys need to bring it.
Patrick and David are up next, after a “journey” montage set to Robbie Williams’ “Let Me Entertain You” – obviously a hint as to what they need to do.
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We’re back, and leading off, it’s Patrick Hall, singing Melissa Ethridge’s “Come To My Window”.
Patrick gives a mellow rendition of the song. I didn’t think it was all that powerful, and what was with the Celine Dion movements. Still, nothing horrible – just nothing great either.
Rating: 4/10
Randy – It started rough but you did your thing. Not your best performance, but I dug it.
Paula – You’re needed in this competition. Stick to what you do best.
Simon – The song’s not for you. You look like you’re missing your piano.
David “the Crooner” Radford is up, and don’t we have to have one of these guys every season? He’s singing Fantasia’s favourite big band song, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen.
Oh man, he’s got some freaky facial movements. Still the Elvis-singing-Queen thing works for him, and he’s definitely got more range than John Stevens. The only problem is that it feels like he’s hit his ceiling, and he’s not going to get much better.
Rating: 4.5/10
Randy – I thought that was terrible. This is like some kind of act.
Paula – Her standard “stayed true to yourself” comment.
Simon – This came over as a bit of a joke. Having said that, I think the voters will like you, but you need to take yourself more seriously.
More to come after the
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Bucky Covington is up now, and he’s singing “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
OK, Bucky’s on the wrong show. And even then, it was pretty terrible. He’s a Southern rocker, we get it, but he just doesn’t show the energy needed for this kind of song. It’s telling that the girls didn’t get up until the last half of it either.
Rating: 4/10
Randy – You don’t have to sing that hard. I thought it was a cool choice for you.
Paula – I think we’ll see you next week.
Simon – I like the fact that you’re very raw. (Takes a shot at Constantine) You’ll find singers like you in bars across America.
Will and Jose are coming up after the
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We’re back, and Will Makar (from Travis Leamons’ neck of the woods) is singing “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5.
I little flat in places, but lots of enthusiasm from Will made up for it. It wasn’t the type of kickass-type performance we saw last night, but it should be more than enough to propel Will to next week.
Rating: 6/10
Randy – You did your thing. I was entertained.
Paula – You remind me of Bobby Brady.
Simon – You are a nice looking kid. Vocally, it was completely and utterly average. It was just OK.
Now, singing “Reasons” by Earth, Wind and Fire is “Bustos the Second” Jose “Sway” Penala.
Nice falsetto from Sway. And unbelievably, not too out of tune either. Nice stuff when he hit the high note. Smooth performance, and clearly he’s holding something back for later.
Rating: 6.5/10
Randy – Philip Bailey, you did him proud. You showed originality, you showed range. Congrats.
Paula – It proves you know who you are, you know how good you are, and you deserve to be on that stage.
Simon – I thought it was a third-rate copy of Earth, Wind and Fire.
Chris is singing after the
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As promised we’re back with Chris Daughtry, and he’s singing Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive”.
Nice, intense performance from Chris. Following Sway, this was about the best thing he could’ve sang, and the contrast between the two songs really helped highlight Chris’ strengths here as well as Sway’s. Solid start for the rocker.
Rating: 6.5/10
Randy – Dude that was really, really good. Great recording voice. You got it.
Paula – Babbles.
Simon – That was a good choice of song. For the first time tonight, I’m hearing someone with potential. But we need to hear some more charisma.
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Back from commercials, and here’s Kevin Covais, singing Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry”.
Flat in places, and you could tell he was working hard to get that forcefulness out. He probably could’ve chosen a better song, but he made his point here. Unfortunately, we’ve seen on many occasions where people make a point, choosing a song against type, and getting booted later.
Rating: 5/10
Randy – That was the bomb, man.
Paula – Babbles, again. Can we replace her with someone who can talk coherently?
Simon – I like you, but that would appeal to anyone over the age of 90 who is hard of hearing. Vocally, it was verging on the edge of excruciating.
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It’s time for Gedeon McKinney, singing the classic “Shout” by the Isley Brothers. I’m expecting big things if he’s singing this.
…and I’m disappointed. Why? Because the backup singers were louder than Gedeon, that’s why. All the other elements were there – good voice, enthusiasm, charisma – but there wasn’t the power I was expecting for this song. So while it was one of the better performances tonight, it just wasn’t THE performance that it could’ve been.
Rating: 5.5/10
Randy – Very good song choice. Had a lot of energy to it. I didn’t see any flashes of amazing vocals, but I was very entertained.
Paula – I just think that it was marvelous.
Simon – It was like I was watching the warm-up for the Chippendales. (Um, how would Simon know?) Gedeon, your smile bothers me.
And yes, Ryan jumps all over that comment.
Two more singers are up after yet another
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Elliott Yamin is ready to let the good times roll, singing “If You Really Love Me” by “Idol Killer” Stevie Wonder.
Not bad, considering how poorly others have botched Stevie in the recent past (coughBrennacough). Still, the chorus was mostly poor and off key (note the abundance of runs), although the power was there. Good job with the verse though.
Rating: 4.5/10
Randy – We got another hot one! Trying to sing Stevie is really hard, but you put it down.
Paula – It’s effortless. You just had fun. Great performance from beginning to end.
Simon – Out of five seasons, I think potentially you are the best male vocalist we’ve ever had.
Elliott, meet Josh Palmer, Canadian Idol 3’s “Judge’s Pet”.
Next up is Bobby Bennett, singing Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana”.
Ugh. Total cheese performance. Bye Bobby.
Rating: 0/10
Randy – I’m watching somebody from a whole different era. I thought it was just alright for me.
Paula – It was very risky to do that. You commit 100% with passion. You could sing Old Macdonald had a Frickin’ Farm and I’d buy into it.
Simon – That was a complete nightmare.
More to come after the
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We’re back, and singing George Michael’s “Father Figure” is Ace Young.
Best performance of the night. Vocals, emotion and connection to the audience were all there. Not that Ace really needed to have a great performance since he’s going through to the top 12 on looks alone, but at least he’s justifying it.
Rating: 7.5/10
Randy – You definitely are a star. You can really sing. I’m loving you.
Paula – Incoherent again, but he’s her new Corey.
Simon – Not the best vocals we’ve heard tonight, however, you’ve got the “X-Factor”. Once you ease up on your nerves you’re gonna sail through to the next round.
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Here’s the last performer, the salt-and-pepper-haired young’un named Taylor Hicks. He’s singing “Leave On” by Elton John (and Bernie Taupin, of course).
It’s pretty flat in parts, but he’s got the right energy for the song, and he puts some soul into it that was lacking with some of the other contestants. Chalk this up to age and experience, I guess.
Rating: 6.5/10
Randy – It’s a great song, but it doesn’t show how talented you are vocally.
Paula – Incoherent yet again.
Simon – I said in the beginning that you shouldn’t make the finals of this competition. I was wrong.
Ryan wraps things up with the recap, and we’re out.
