Last night, the top nine girls took center stage on Canadian Idol. Let’s get to it.
During the standard audience warm-up, host Ben Mulroney reminded some of the people in the front section not to hold their signs up and block the teleprompter. I found this amusing because he said that if they blocked it, “Canada suffers.”
The show started with Mulroney reminded the nation that there are only 18 singers left who are vying for the ultimate Idol crown and that the viewers would decide who would be left standing. He then introduced the Top 9 girls (who performed on Monday) and they took their places in the TD Comfort Zone.
Then it was time to introduce the judges. Sass said that she “expects more every night” while Jake said that he “doesn’t have expectations for any of them.” Zack emphasized the importance of being able to sing well and noted that the camera can let singers “get away with a lot.” Farley said that the guys have been bringing a lot of fortitude to the stage and was hoping the girls would do the same.
Time for the show.
Martha Joy
Age: 16
Toronto, ON
– Sang “To Where You Are” by Josh Groban.
– Second Groban song in two days (Matt Rapley picked a Groban tune on Monday).
– Boring song choice.
– Singing well, but needs more life.
– Tone sounds awesome.
– During the performance, the judges did not look impressed.
– Still decent.
– Toronto’s best hope?
Jake: You’re a great singer, but I still feel you’re really stiff. Don’t get enough emotion out of you..
Farley: You made some stylistic choices that I didn’t think really fit.
Sass: Tough song to sing. Shaky in the beginning. High notes were crystal.
Zack: Match your last name with what you do on stage. You belong to continue here.
Commercial
And we’re back!
Tara Oram
Age: 23
Hare Bay, NL
– Sang “Safe In The Arms Of Love” by Michelle Wright.
– Shows the stage presence of a tortoise.
– Finally speeds it up near the end of the performance.
– Can sing well, but doesn’t seem to really choose challenging songs.
– Looks good on camera but needs to match up her performance to her look.
– She won’t win, but she has another couple of weeks in her.
– Dude, she’s from Newfoundland, she’s not going anywhere.
– Strong ending but bad song choice.
Farley: Need a little bit more of a physical performance. You look good when you move.
Sass: I really love watching you (Murtz’s note… how is that different fro what she told Tara last week when she said ‘you really make me want to watch you?’).
Zack: Something about you looks 12. You look really good. Vocally you’re Carrie Underwhelming.
Jake: Show off more of your vocal skills.
Commercial.
Naomi-Joy Blackhall
Age: 25
Halifax, NS
– Sang “Here With Me” by Dido
– On-stage, she is sitting in weird position to start.
– Great song choice!
– I like it.
– Big improvement from Whitesnake last week.
– Still in trouble.
– Pretty good.
– Guys like it over in the TD Comfort Zone.
– Sass: You look gorgeous. Definite improvement!.
– Zack: You have proven in the last two weeks that you just don’t sing that well.
– Jake: Performance didn’t live up to what we have seen.
– Farley: The edge isn’t there. You gotta bring the edge back!.
Commercial.
Carly Rae Jepsen
Age: 21
Mission, BC
– Sang “Sweet Ones” by Sarah Slean.
– Murtz just might be in love.
– Knows how to play to the camera.
– Looks unbelievably hot.
– Performs better than all of the other girls except maybe Montana.
– Great vocal.
– Sits on Andrew’s lap during the song making every guy watching greener than her skirt.
– I think we might be looking at this year’s winner.
– Zack: Choose things that are consistent with who you are. You’re definitely Top 10. Ridiculous if you’re not there.
– Jake: Love the personality that you showed. Beyond Top 10.
– Farley: The girl to beat!.
– Sass: Lovely animated performance from a lovely animated girl.
Scarlett Burke
Age: 18
Toronto, ON
– Sang “Proud Mary” by Creedance Clearwater Revival
– Crowd likes song and claps immediately.
– She is really pushing the song out.
– Seems desperate.
– Screaming the song (probably because the judges told her that she was too quiet last week.
– She needs to find balance between being too loud and being too soft.
– Performance isn’t the best.
– Not memorable.
– She’s from Toronto (aka Idol purgatory).
– She’s finished.
– Jake: I just don’t know what to say. I have seen better performances in a bar on Queen St. Why that song? I just don’t get it.
– Farley: Just didn’t happen.
– Sass: Killer note, but rest of the song didn’t use the best key for your voice.
– Zack: (*Just shakes head*).
Montana Martin Iles
Age: 16
Sainte-Julienne, QC
– Sang “THNKS FR TH MMRS” by Fall Out Boy
– Amazing entrance and she comes out almost hidden from behind the stage.
– Not showing a particularly great vocal.
– Is she all style and no substance?
– Performance is still memorable.
– Everybody was waiting for her to come out and she came through.
– Still not the best singer I have ever heard.
Farley: Next week, I want to hear you sing as best as can just for me.
Sass: Your performance was great!
Zack: You’re breaking all the rules. I don’t know about you in a Lukas Rossi lookalike contest (Murtz’s note: Lukas was the winner of Rockstar Supernova.
Jake: Every week people asking ‘what Montana’s going to do’ and that is a good thing.
Commercial.
Mila Miller
Age: 17
Toronto, ON
– Sang “Try A Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding.
– Really performing well.
– Singing with gusto.
– Clearly had routine planned out before she hit the stage.
– Uncanny improvement over last week.
– Crowd loves.
– Her pitch is perfect.
– Did she manage to save herself with a good performance?
– Sass: Sweet moves from Mila!
– Zack: Some moments in that were crystal pure groovy. You’re a completely undefeatable star.
– Jake: You really feel the song. Every word meant something to you.
– Farley: You know I like my rhymes. Killa of a thrilla with Mila!
Annika Odegard
Age: 16
Calgary, AB
– Sang “Super Duper Love” by Joss Stone.
– Good.
– Another decent performance.
– She’s very young. She will definitely have Calgary’s support and that might just be enough to propel her into the next round.
– Average performance from Annika.
– I liked it, but didn’t do that much for me.
– Average seems to be the theme of the evening.
– The guys seem to be much stronger this week.
– Zack: We make mistakes in the Top 22. Immature, uncool and not a good performance.
– Jake: I agree with you. 100% not enough soul or experience to sing a song like that.
– Farley: That recipe takes 3 cups of soul and you’re in the teaspoon category.
– Sass: Really nice to see the energy that you performed that with.
Commercial. I did not think Annika was that bad and she definitely did not deserve to be ripped like that. I don’t think she is going home, but we will see.
Khalila G
Age: 23
Dorval, QC
– Sang “I Can’t Help Myself” (Sugar Pie Honeybunch) by The Four Tops
– Second week in a row that Khalila gets to go at or near the end which is a major advantage.
– Song choice must be inside joke, because I think Zack and Ben had a Sugar Pie Honeybunch gag going on Monday… can anyone out there refresh my memory?
– Good performance from Khalila.
– I don’t like the song, but the performance is good.
– I don’t think it would be great on most nights, but considering how bad the girls were tonight… it certainly is one of the best on a bad night.
– Jake Out of tune a lot of the time. A valiant effort.
– Farley: Fantastic shoes. Pick songs that are good for you. You’d never put that song on your record.
– Sass: You can do more.
– Zack: You look like a star on camera. Sing songs that matter. This song is not what you’re about. Don’t sing something that is radically irrelevant!.
Recap.
End show.
Definitely not a good night for the ladies. Carly and Khalila were the best on a bad night. I think that Carly is the only shot for the girls to win this year. The boys just have too many memorable characters.
So who’s going from the girls?
I think Scarlett for sure. I also think Naomi will likely be the second. Outside chance that it is Mila.
So my predictions this week are Clifton and Andrew along with Scarlett and Naomi.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Murtz is a tired media icon.
