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Charice Pempengco raises bar for all female singers with incredible vocal range

vongsundara — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:00:17 +0000

LATEST UPDATES
September 5, 2009: Fixed broken links for embedded YouTube clips.
March 17, 2009: Added video and comments for Through The Rain and My Heart Will Go On.
February 25, 2009: Added some information regarding Charice’s vocal range.
February 1, 2009: Original post date.

Sometimes in life, I witness someone so talented and driven that it inspires me to work harder on my own craft. Charice Pempengco is the most recent example of this.

I recently stumbled upon videos of a fantastic young singer from the Philippines named Charice Pempengco on YouTube. It seems as though I’m a little behind the times, as Ellen Degeneres and Oprah Winfrey discovered Charice Pempengco a few months back, and Charice has since gone on to widespread fame after appearing on Oprah three times now.

I am a huge fan of talented vocalists; I won’t listen to any musicians or bands whose vocals aren’t at least up to par (which is why I can’t stand punk music and a lot of pop rock). I’ve recently taken my obsession to YouTube, as it’s the perfect venue to compare vocalists in live performances. In fact, there are many videos that splice separate performances of the same song by different artists together, which makes my life easier when I’m trying to compare different vocalists.

The last big-hype vocalist to come along was Leona Lewis. I searched for all the big-time songs that young female vocalists sometimes use to announce themselves to the world. These songs generally consist of power ballads made famous by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and other legendary divas. While I do love Leona Lewis — I listen to her album quite often — I definitely thought her promoters did her a disservice by promoting her as the next big voice in the world, as Leona is more in the mold of an Alicia Keys, a great stylized vocalist with a unique quality to her voice. Compared to the Mariahs and Whitneys of the world, though, Leona falls well short. Her lower register is almost non-existent, her chest voice range is also limited causing her to switch into falsetto a bit more quickly than I would like (though she does have a fabulous falsetto).

Enter 16-year-old Charice Pempengco. Now, I’ve heard a lot of good young singers who were considered great because they sounded like adults (Bianca Ryan and a young Christina Aguilera for instance). Charice Pempengco goes beyond this classification, as she is the best female vocalist in the world right now regardless of age. Her low register is powerful, steady and clear while her chest voice is full and lush and has the greatest range of any chest voice I have ever heard. Combine this with an equally great head voice and an incredibly full falsetto and you have the best vocalist I think I’ll hear in my lifetime.

After watching her performances on YouTube, I became transfixed to my computer monitor and literally stayed awake for overnight listening to her music, basically having to go to work the next day with zero sleep. Below I have compiled a list of must-see (and must-hear) performances by Charice Pempengco thus far in her career. I’ll be updating this article with new performances as they happen, so check back often.

Charice’s vocal range can be considered mezzo soprano though her upper register can be classified as dramatic soprano. The highest note I’ve heard her sing live is a G#5 in One Moment in Time.

I did see one hiccup as far as vocal performances go, though, and that was Charice’s rendition of Against All Odds (she was following the Mariah Carey version). Given, it was an improvised performance that was not planned, but it does sound like Charice does not have the same range in her head voice as Mariah Carey does, though really no one but Mariah has had the range (Charice does beat Mariah in the range of her chest voice though).

Charice Pempengco has now been signed and is working on an album produced by David Foster, which should help correct her one flaw (if you can call it that), which is finding her musical identity. Fortunately for Charice, though, there are two ways to prove yourself, either find your own style or outdo the masters at their own styles. Sometimes finding individual style is important because you don’t want to come off as a second-rate Whitney Houston when singing her songs, but when you can actually destroy the original version with your vocals alone, perhaps originality isn’t all that necessary. David Foster has produced a couple of arrangements specifically for a couple of Charice’s performances, and I look forward to hearing more arrangements that can take advantage of her unique vocal strengths.

Charice Pempengco performs Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time on ASAP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtyYGS5rGY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtyYGS5rGY

This is the first song that clearly demonstrated to me that Charice has basically surpassed all divas in her generation along with the previous generation, which was a particularly thin generation as far as divas go, having only really produced Christina Aguilera, who is definitely great but not at all on the same level as the all-time greats. Charice on the other hand can stand toe-to-toe with the Mariah-Whitney-Celine generation.

One Moment In Time is one of Whitney Houston’s signature songs, and Whitney performed this song live at the Grammy Awards during her prime in a very-much hyped and important performance, so it’s a good song to use for comparative purposes (you can search YouTube for Whitney’s performance if you’d like to compare).

Charice’s performance is absolutely ridiculous. Not only does she show great control in her vocals, but her performance during the climax of the song completely blows Whitney out of the water, which isn’t something I thought was possible. At one point in Whitney’s performance, she has to drop an octave after hitting her high note. Not only does Charice hit the same high note, but instead of dropping an octave for the following notes, Charice extends the climax and actually moves UP a key beyond what Whitney is able to do, even hitting a G#5.

Charice Pempengco sings Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Surive on Good Morning America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4

Charice Pempengco appeared on Good Morning America with David Foster. The arrangements were produced by David Foster specifically for Charice, and the results are spectacular. I can’t wait to hear Charice sing songs that were written specifically for her. This is definitely the most polished that Charice appears, as she is under 15 and still developing in most of the other videos shown below.

Charice Pempengco sings The Prayer with Tyler Hamilton in Edmonton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0eKts2Y9-s&feature=channel_page

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0eKts2Y9-s

Charice Pempengco sings David Foster’s song The Prayer with Tyler Hamilton during David’s charity concert. Charice shows her control and great ability to harmonize on a classically styled song, showing that she can be operatic in addition to her pop ballad stylings.

Charice Pempengco sings Beyonce’s Listen at 15 years old

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SQwMh-AsLs

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SQwMh-AsLs

This video is credited as being the first ever of Charice Pempengco on YouTube. Charice has already surpassed Beyonce easily at this age singing this song on basically a karaoke machine. It’s funny how great Charice sounds that a lot of the commenters still think she was lip-synching, haha.

Charice Pempengco sings And I Am Tellng You I’m Not Going on Paul O’Grady Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ewWvUdSqQ&feature=PlayList&p=D1381374DC68A005&index=0&playnext=1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ewWvUdSqQ

This is one of the songs that it seems all the new divas have attempted to sing and thus it’s a great display of Charice’s powerful voice in comparison with her contemporaries. Charice’s version is equal to Jennifer Hudson’s Oscar-winning rendition, though a little more crisp but with less emotion impact.

Charice Pempengco sings Whitney Houston’s Run To You on Boy & Kris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGePgO0hndc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGePgO0hndc

Run To You is an impossibly difficult song to sing live. In fact, search on YouTube and you will not find a video of Whitney Houston singing it live at all. There is a version of Christina Aguilera singing it live, though, and Christina definitely avoided some of the bigger notes and had difficulty throughout the entire song, which says a lot as Christina Aguilera is perhaps the top vocalist of her generation. Charice Pempengco seemingly has no difficulty with maintaining chest voice on some notes that Christina isn’t able to achieve even with head voice.

Charice Pempengco sings Heart’s Alone in Houston, Texas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OzToEkJ-vc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OzToEkJ-vc

Alone has quickly become a great power ballad with the signature high note coming during the climax of the song. In fact, there’s a video on YouTube comparing multiple songstresses attempting just that single note alone. The last notable version of this song was sung by Carrie Underwood on American Idol. Charice Pempengco blows Carrie’s version and even the original version away with her control on all the notes including the money high note, showing no strain at all in delivering the chorus.

Charice Pempengco sings God Bless America at Barack Obama’s Pre-inaugural Ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY

Charice Pempengco delivers yet another stunning performance with very little musical accompaniment, which is great because it allows us to hear Charice’s voice in its purest form.

Charice Pempengco sings Fantasia Barrino’s I Believe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYFZjWpADIU&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYFZjWpADIU

Charice Pempengco sings Fantasia Barrino’s signature ballad, I Believe, a song many felt could only be sung by Fantasia. Once again, Charice blows away the original. This song is a great demonstration of the power and control of Charice’s low register during verses.

Charice Pempengco sings Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You at Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA&feature=channel_page

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA

Charice Pempengco blows away a crowd of billionaires and millionaires with her spot-on vocal performance of Whitney Houston’s classics from The Bodyguard. Charice is the only singer other than Whitney Houston whom I have seen stay in chest voice throughout almost the entirety of both songs.

Charice Pempengco sings Mariah Carey’s Through The Rain

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TQr0p-5crg

Charice Pempengco has taken on a lot of Whitney Houston and Celine Dion songs but not a lot of Mariah Carey songs. I still haven’t heard Charice sing Mariah Carey with full band accompaniment, but if this video is any indication, Charice singing Mariah Carey would be phenomenal. Charice has an impromptu a cappella performance of Mariah’s Through The Rain. In the opening sequence, Charice avoids a few of Mariah’s higher notes, which had me a little worried, but I think it’s because she wanted to stay in her chest voice. Well, Charice amazed me again because the closing three notes of the song were ridiculous. Charice has a habit of taking an already high song and going up a key versus the original interpretation. I didn’t think anyone could do this to a Mariah Carey song, but Charice just did. Absolutely amazing. Now I want to hear Charice sing We Belong Together. That would be amazing.

Charice Pempengco sings Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCT9h22224Q

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCT9h22224Q

This is perhaps Charice Pempengco’s most haunting vocal in a live performance. The backing is stripped down to a simple piano accompaniment and Charice’s vocal quality is allowed to shine through. Dare I say it, but I like this version better than the original, which is crazy because I love the original version too.

Charice Pempengco’s incredible journey from poverty to international stardom

vongsundara — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:00:28 +0000

UPDATES
September 5, 2009: Fixed YouTube embeds and links.
April 23, 2009: Added props to COOLSMURF for posting the Star King performance on YouTube. (Thanks to Concernedfan for leaving the correction in a comment.)

I’m still relatively new to the whole Charice Pempengco phenomenon. I’ve been following Charice’s best live performances and listening for any news about her upcoming 2009 studio album produced by David Foster. Since there’s a little lull in Charice news, I figured it would be a good time for me to find out about her past. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Charice’s Oprah debut that went through her entire history, so hopefully I can patch together information from the internet.

Charice was born on May 10, 1992, in San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines. According to various television interviews, Charice and her brother Carl were raised solely by their mother, Raquel. Charice’s father has been out of her life since Raquel left him and took the kids when Charice was still only three years old to escape a domestically violent situation. Charice has been singing since she was four years old and was taught to sing by her mother. Charice began entering singing contests when she was seven to help bring in money to support her struggling family.

Charice Pempengco during LittleBigStar Season 1 in 2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ1Ic4rShIo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ1Ic4rShIo

Charice Pempengco appeared on ABS-CBN’s talent show, LittleBigStar, during its first season. Charice was eliminated after her first performance but was brought back as a wildcard, eventually becoming a finalist and finishing third.

Now, I have no idea how Charice could be bested by anyone in the world, but since I haven’t heard the other contestants, so I will reserve my opinion. At the end of the day, though, LittleBigStar became a huge turning point in Charice’s career. Though she didn’t win, her performance from LittleBigStar grew in popularity on a Korean video sharing site which lead to her appearance on Star King.

Charice Pempengco on Star King on October 17, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS7Q0TFdt-M

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS7Q0TFdt-M

Charice gave a blistering performance of “And I Am Telling You” during her first appearance on Star King. It would be this performance that ultimately was posted on YouTube by Korean Charice fan COOLSMURF and was seen by Ellen Degeneres. After Ellen saw the video, she was blown away enough to invite Charice to the United States to appear on her show, which is where Charice began to build popularity and minshare with mainstream North Americans.

Charice Pempengco on The Ellen Degeneres Show on December 19, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fR2jroUxE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fR2jroUxE

Ellen Degeneres has been instrumental in Charice Pempengco’s adoption in mainstream America. If not for Ellen, Charice may never have been discovered by David Foster and Oprah. It’s unfortunate that Oprah has seen fit to eliminate credit from Ellen for helping to discover Charice.

Charice Pempengco on The Paul O’Grady Show on April 8, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYh7ccLD9D0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYh7ccLD9D0

After seeing Charice on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Paul O’Grady himself requested Charice to perform the exact same two songs, “And I Am Telling You” and “I Have Nothing / I Will Always Love You” on his show. I can’t say I know too much about Paul O’Grady, but he seems to have a lot of pull in the United Kingdom.

Charice Pempengco on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 12, 2008

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20080908_tows_charice

(No embedded video available due to copyright claims.)

This is where the story begins to differ depending on whom you ask. In recent interviews, David Foster has said that Oprah discovered Charice on YouTube and then alerted David to her talent.

Other reports suggest that David Foster saw Charice on The Ellen Degeneres show and was instrumental in getting Charice on The Oprah Winfrey Show. I tend to believe the second account, as the first account doesn’t mention Ellen at all despite obvious proof that she had a huge part in Charice’s career.

However Charice ended up on Oprah, she made the best of her opportunity. She blew away Oprah and thus all of North America. Charice’s performances on her first Oprah appearance is literally most Americans’ first introduction to her incredible voice.

Charice Pempengco on Hitman: David Foster & Friends on May 23, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBa3UUyE2uQ

(No embedded video available due to copyright claims.)

At this point, David Foster has completely taken Charice under his wing musically. Charice appears on David Foster’s CD/DVD combo concert “Hit Man: David Foster and Friends” alongside Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban.

Charice Pempengco at Andrea Bocelli’s birthday on July 20, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfVKYadZJGE&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfVKYadZJGE

Andrea Bocelli himself requested Charice Pempengco’s attendance at his birthday concert in Italy. Their stirring duet of The Prayer is ridiculously touching. I don’t have the proper words to describe this performance. It’s too bad that the video doesn’t have very clear audio.

Around the time of this performance, Charice has already begun receiving widespread praise from music industry veterans.

Charice Pempengco on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 9, 2008
v

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCT9h22224Q

Charice returned to The Oprah Winfrey Show to perform “My Heart Will Go On,” perhaps her most haunting vocal to date. At the end of her performance, Oprah surprised Charice with a video conference message from Celine Dion offering Charice the opportunity to sing at her upcoming concert at Madison Square Garden.

Charice Pempengco at Madison Square Garden on September 15, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBo_X2o7GVc&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBo_X2o7GVc

Charice Pempengco duets “Because You Loved Me” with Celine Dion herself and dedicates the performance to her mother, who was in the audience, receiving sterling reviews from basically every New York-based newspaper in existence.

Charice Pempengco at Grand Slam for Children on October 11, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA&feature=channel_page

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA

Charice Pempengco performed at the annual Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children charity concert, performing in front of millionaires and billionaires alike for a great cause.

Charice Pempengco on Good Morning America in November 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4

Charice Pempengco sang live on Good Morning America, accompanied by David Foster on keyboard. Charice’s performance of “I Will Survive” showed how incredibly far she had progressed as a true performer. The vocal arrangement by David Foster was masterful and highlighted many aspects of Charice’s vocals, hopefully a clear indication of future vocal arrangements between the pair.

Charice Pempengco at Obama Pre-inaugural Ball in January 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY

Charice Pempengco’s invitation to perform at President Obama’s pre-inaugural ball in January 2009 showed that she had really hit the big time. Her stirring performance of “God Bless America” was fortunately caught on videotape and uploaded to YouTube for the world to see and hear.

Charice Pempengco at Oprah’s After-Oscar Party in February 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1gpnwFhDc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1gpnwFhDc

After a bit of a quiet period while recording her new studio album with David Foster, Charice re-emerged at Oprah’s After-Oscar Party, debuting “Fingerprint,” a preview track from her upcoming album.

Kris Allen – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:15:28 +0000

Kris Allen performs No Boundaries, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Kris Allen once again does a commendable job at yet another song that is out of his vocal range. His voice strained throughout, and it was painful to listen to. Unfortunately for Kris, there’s not much that could save this song.

I liked Kris Allen’s all-black outfit. It’s strange because I generally don’t like all-black outfits in real life, but it seems to work great for performances.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Kris Allen performs What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Kris Allen’s limited vocal range just could not match up with this song. This is the second time that the song chosen for Kris was out of his vocal range. I’m not sure if the show is trying to sabotage him or not, but it does point out the fact that Kris needs to work on improving his range.

I liked how the performance was stripped down compared to the first song. It had a neat KT Tunstall type of feel to it. I’m still super annoyed with his peach fuzz facial hair, though.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Kris Allen performs Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

I’m kind of over Kris Allen’s interpretation of this song. It’s unfortunate that he says this is the type of music he wants to perform in his career, because I think it’s kind of outdated. He did do a much better job at hitting the last note, though Kris’ falsetto still leaves a lot to be desired.

Kris Allen went a lot bigger with this performance than he did the first time, and I don’t think it quite worked. The song was more emotional when he kept it simple and was on a keyboard.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Kris Allen performs Heartless (Kanye West), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Kris Allen performs Heartless (Kanye West), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge's Choice / Contestant's Choice

Kris Allen did a much better job with his own song choice this week. I like how Kris is willing to take chances week in and week out given his limited vocal abilities. The arrangement was nice and the song is definitely catchy. The range in the song was limited, so Kris didn’t have trouble staying on key.

Kris was back behind his guitar for this performance, and it definitely suits him well. The joy in his face during this song really sold it (though I suppose it goes against the theme of the song).

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Kris Allen performs Apologize (One Republic), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Kris Allen performs Apologize (One Republic), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge's Choice / Contestant's Choice

Wow, the judges must be trying to sabotage Kris Allen with this song, or they just haven’t been listening the past few weeks. Kris Allen has a horrible, horrible falsetto. Why would they choose this song for Kris when the entire chorus goes in and out of falsetto. Kris does his best, but it comes out as totally amateur. Halfway through the song, Kris just abandons the falsetto and just shouts as high as he can during the chorus. Too bad for him, he’s not able to reach the notes properly.

It was cool seeing Kris behind a piano instead of a guitar. He looked believable as a performing artist.

Review Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Kris Allen performs Come Together (The Beatles), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Kris Allen’s voice is boring as usual. There’s really no depth to his vocals. I thought he made a great choice in singing a Beatles song, because really, the Beatles are known for their song writing, not their great vocals, so the comparison comes out well for Kris. (To all the Beatles fans out there who are hating on me right now: Deal with it. The Beatles’ vocals are their weakest element.) I liked Kris’ interpretation.

Kris Allen looks cute as usual, though his wardrobe is getting a little bit boring as is the peach fuzz that he insists on growing on his face each week.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Kris Allen performs The Way You Look Tonight, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

I absolutely love this song and Kris Allen gives a capable performance. Vocally, though, Kris just can’t compete with the other contestants. I’m a bit of a snobby vocal lover, and Kris’ voice doesn’t inspire me. Kris also has a rather horrible falsetto that he always tries to throw in for some reason.

I’m happy that Kris Allen demonstrated yet again that he doesn’t need the crutch of his guitar to perform. He looked smooth in his suit and tie with the big band surrounding him.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Kris Allen performs She Works Hard for the Money (Donna Summer), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Kris Allen did a good job of reimagining She Works Hard for the Money. I have to admit that I was shocked to hear that he picked this song, but he really came through with a cool arrangement. Kris’ vocals sounded really nice this week, though the song didn’t really stretch his abilities much as far as range goes.

Kris Allen was looking extra cute this week in a simple white t-shirt that made him look extra buff. I liked the arrangement on the stage with the other instruments, but Kris probably placed himself a little too far back behind pack.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Kris Allen performs Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) from Once, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

I really think all the idols are getting worn out. Most of their voices are sounding worse and worse by the week. Kris Allen’s voice came off as incredibly thin this week, which is tough to do on a slow ballad that should give him enough time to really collect his breath. Kris is choosing some really bizarrely boring songs lately.

Kris Allen was looking really cute this week. His light jacket worked well with his club shirt. It was nice to see him looking cute again.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Kris Allen performs All She Wants to Do Is Dance (Don Henley), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

What a boring song. I have never heard this song before, and I never want to hear it again. It’s like there’s only one line throughout the entire song to along with its one note. Was this song really ever a hit? Kris Allen is completely drowned out by the backing instruments.

Kris Allen used the mini-stage on the side, the first person to use it since Matt Giraud. Kris did not use the stage and mosh pit nearly as effectively as Matt did. The whole performance came off as cheesy and boring, completely forgettable.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Kris Allen performs Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Kris Allen performs Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

This is the best that Kris Allen’s voice has sounded all season. The stripped down musical accompaniment really allowed his vocals to soar. The arrangement was nicely done as well. I do have to deduct marks for the atrocious final note. Kris missed his falsetto by a mile, not even close.

Kris Allen did a good job incorporating his keyboard playing. Having the orchestra sitting next to him was a nice touch. I don’t know about Kris’ plain t-shirt, though. It didn’t seem to fit in at all.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Kris Allen performs How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Marvin Gaye), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Kris Allen’s rendition of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) was passable but hardly memorable. It was nice seeing him back with guitar this week, but I’m slowly beginning to forget all about him. It’s not his fault really, as he’s making the most of his vocal abilities. It’s just that when the other performers raise their games, I don’t think that Kris Allen can match.

Kris Allen is cute as usual, and I like his button-up navy-inspired shirt. HIs stage performance was good, though it’s not too difficult to stand up on stage with a guitar. Kris has showed in the past that he can perform without the guitar, though, so I can’t fault him for that.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Kris Allen performs Make You Feel My Love (Garth Brooks), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Kris Allen had a pretty good vocal performance. Kris’ voice sounded very pure. He is definitely making the most of his vocal ability. He doesn’t have the strongest vocals in the competition, but at least he’s showing off the purity of his voice.

I wasn’t buying Kris Allen’s outfit tonight. The black shirt was a little too simple. It doesn’t matter too much, though, because Kris is a natural-born hottie. The performance was definitely very memorable, and that’s saying a lot because I’ve never heard of this song before. I think the simplicity of the setup drew me in.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Kris Allen performs Remember the Time (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Kris Allen is obviously a huge fan of Michael Jackson’s song library. Kris knows this song inside and out. He does a very good job vocally. Kris performs with the song with his guitar, which gives his performance a great singer-songwriter feel.

Why on Earth is Kris Allen wearing a lumberjack top. He’s such a total hottie, but I don’t think his hotness can survive the lost-in-the-woods look. To make matters worse, Kris’ hair is way too overdone and clashes badly with his outfit.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Kris Allen performs Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 26) Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Review Score: ☆☆☆☆☆

Adam Lambert – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 20 May 2009 02:00:52 +0000

Adam Lambert performs No Boundaries, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

What a terrible way to end a season full of spectacular performances. Adam Lambert does his best with a below-average song. He falls off key a couple of times, or maybe not . . . who knows, maybe that’s how the song was written. I don’t know who Kara DioGuardi was writing this song for since it doesn’t fit Adam’s vocal quality or Kris’ vocal range.

Adam’s performance was of course great as usual, though a little understated, which was surprising. I love the jacket and the pants. It’s a great image to blaze into our minds until his album comes out.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Adam Lambert performs A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Damn, Adam Lambert does it again. From the a cappella opening to the simple instrumentation throughout, allowing Adam’s sweet vocals to shine through beautifully. I actually like Adam in this style of music much more than when he does hard rock, but I’m sure hard rock will sell him a bit better in today’s market. The emotion that Adam conveys in this performance is absolutely amazing.

I always love seeing Adam stripped down and in a nice suit. Adam didn’t move around much, which was quite appropriate for the song.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Adam Lambert performs Mad World (Tears for Fears), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Adam Lambert chose to perform Mad World as his favourite repeat performance of the year. Admittedly, it wasn’t as magical the second time around, but I commend Adam for changing up the vocal arrangement. Unfortunately, I liked the other arrangement better. This arrangement stays in the gentle zone throughout, whereas Adam’s original arrangement built to a crescendo.

Adam Lambert went way over the top with the smoke effects and trenchcoat, but I loved every minute of it. Rock ‘n roll is all about the show, and Adam is quite the performer.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs Cryin’ (Aerosmith), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Adam Lambert performs Cryin' (Aerosmith), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge's Choice / Contestant's Choic

Adam Lambert singing Aerosmith: this is what we’ve all been waiting for. Adam of course comes through with flying colours, showing that he can match vocal range with anyone in the history of rock ‘n roll. I could have done without the horrible backing vocals, though. Adam doesn’t really need any vocal backing.

Adam Lambert changed into an all-black outfit, and I really liked how it was a mix of performance wear without being too over-the-top. Adam’s performance was less dramatic for this song, which was nice to see.

Adam Lambert performs One (U2), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Adam Lambert performs One (U2), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge's Choice / Contestant's Choic

Another week, another Adam Lambert stunner. I love how Adam came out really gentle throughout the first half of the song and then turned it up to finish. Adam strayed quite a ways from the original melody at times, but I didn’t mind too much.

I’m not too sure about Adam’s jean jacket, but I guess he was trying to channel Bono, whose style isn’t exactly my cup of tea.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Adam Lambert performs Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Adam Lambert performs Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slas

Adam Lambert did a great job with a very difficult Led Zepplin classic. Adam’s upper range gets quite the workout in this song. It’s nice to hear Adam singing rock and blowing it out of the water, as we all expected him to. I’m glad he went back to his rock scream. The scream would have been boring if he overused it this season, but it is his signature, and he did a good job of showing the other parts of his voice the last few weeks.

Adam Lambert’s hair and wardrobe are pure classic rock this week. I love the jacket and the extra polished hair. Adam’s performance was great as usual. He looks so damn polished on stage it’s amazing.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs Feeling Good, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

Adam Lambert is really running away with this competition. Adam’s performance of Feeling Good may just be my favourite of the entire year from him. Generally, Adam has been switching back and forth between hardcore rock songs and soft, heartfelt falsetto songs. Feeling Good gave Adam a chance to mix in a bit of both, and I absolutely loved it!

I’m not too sure about Adam’s white tuxedo, but at this point, it doesn’t seem to matter. Adam Lambert’s entrance from the top of the stairs was definitely theatrical but also very fun. There’s not much else I can say except that this was another week and yet another breathtaking performance from Adam.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Adam Lambert performs If I Can’t Have You (Yvonne Elliman), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Adam Lambert went back to his soft and gentle ways, which is how I like him best. Don’t get me wrong, I also love Adam revving it up, but he really goes to another level when he strips down his vocals. I never heard of this song before, but Adam has a way of making me love songs on the first listen, which is not a talent many recording artists today have.

Adam Lambert subtly changed his style once again, this week going with a tuxedo on disco night of all nights. Adam looked very nice done up; it was very nice to see.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf) from Easy Rider, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Adam Lambert performs Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf) from Easy Rider, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies

Adam Lambert came back this week with a classic rock anthem, Born To Be Wild. I loved Adam’s energy on the song. He definitely turned up the electricity this week, adding a lot of screaming flourishes to the song. At the end, the song definitely got a little crazy, but I don’t mind too much since Adam has shown restraint in his voice in the past.

Overall, it was a fun performance, and Adam Lambert used the stage well. The black outfit was really cute too. Great job!

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs Mad World (Tears For Fears), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

I love the blue lighting effects. The atmosphere was extremely cool, like a true performance from a professional artist. Adam Lambert is doing a great job at switching up his styles from week to week. This week’s performance of Mad World brings back the sensitive Adam with the tender vocals.

Vocally, this was Adam Lambert’s most emotional performance of the season. I connected to it in so many ways. Every week, Adam is turning up the dial, and I don’t think anyone can catch him at this point. Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Adam Lambert performs Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Adam Lambert performs Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

I’m not so sure about this performance. I absolutely love Adam Lambert, and I don’t think there’s anything at this point that can stop him from winning the entire season, but Adam’s performance of Play That Funky Music didn’t really impress me too much. It just did not seem current at all, like a weird throwback performance that was way over the top.

Adam Lambert’s vocals were fantastic as usual, but I just did not feel the overall vibe of this performance. Still, though, Adam’s worst performance of the year (which this was) is still probably better than the best performance from most of the finalists.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Adam Lambert performs The Tracks of My Tears (The Miracles), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Adam Lambert performs The Tracks of My Tears (The Miracles), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Absolutely the best performance of the season. Adam Lambert has completely stolen the show with his tender vocals. I think this performance was really important for Adam as he’s been belting out the high notes and using his rocker scream to great effect the past few weeks. It’s nice to see that Adam is a true artist and can deliver amazingly tender vocals.

Adam Lambert’s slicked back hair and understated suit worked really well. I’m still in shock over how good this performance was. Brilliant. Awesome.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Adam Lambert performs Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Adam Lambert performs Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Wow, what a bold choice. A middle-eastern inspired version of Ring of Fire. The high notes were fantastic as usual. The performance was a little bit over the top.

The performance was most definitely memorable, and I’ll give Adam some extra points for that alone. It didn’t blow me away compared to his previous performances, but he threw me for a loop which can be a good thing sometimes.

I’m going to rate Adam a four out of five, but I don’t think I’ll really be able to rate his performance until a few weeks once I’ve understood what exactly happened.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs Black or White (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Adam Lambert performs Black or White (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Top 13: Michael Jackson

Adam Lambert is the only contestant who can match Michael Jackson’s vocal range, so I was looking forward to hear Adam’s take on a Michael Jackson song. Adam Lambert chose “Black and White,” a huge hit for Michael Jackson that I absolutely did not like when it was originally released. Adam adds a great rock edge to the song and takes some amazing liberties with the vocal arrangement. Once again, Adam has the best vocals of the night. This will probably be the case for the rest of the season.

Adam Lambert has a distinctive look. I don’t think there was much that the stylists had to do at all. Adam already looks like a star. Tonight’s blue leather top and jeans look great, though I’m not too sure about the excessive neck pieces.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 26) Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Adam Lambert performs (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Adam Lambert adds a unique spin to “Satisfaction.” Adam’s upper register is ridiculously strong, as in stronger than any current male rock vocalist in the industry right now. Adam did show a weakness in his low register, though. Mick Jagger can go really low, and Adam was sharp on almost the entire first verse. Fortunately, though, Adam’s high notes and riffing aside from the opening verse are so ridiculously fantastic that I can almost ignore the low notes. I’ll say it again, Adam Lambert’s high register is better than any current recording artist. Get this guy a contract now.

Adam’s look is an interesting mix of rock, goth and emo. He definitely has a signature look that will carry his far. His stage performance was definitely a little bit cheesy, but he had so much energy that I can forgive that too.

As you can see, I’m forgiving a lot this week for Adam Lambert. I think over the course of this competition, these points will be less forgivable, though, for both me and the voting public. If Adam Lambert wants to win, he’ll have to evolve a little bit into a true lead singer and not a theatrical singer. I say Adam is the safest bet to win it all at this point.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Adam Lambert performs Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), American Idol 2009 Season 8, San Francisco Auditions

Wow, my favourite audition by far. Adam Lambert has the look and the voice. Bohemian Rhapsody is an incredibly difficult song to sing because it requires a really strong upper register. Adam hits the high notes with almost no effort whatsoever. Adam is the frontrunner for me right now. I’d be shocked if he didn’t win the whole competition.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Danny Gokey – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:26:54 +0000

Danny Gokey performs You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Danny Gokey performs You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge's Choice / Contestant's Choice

Danny Gokey did a good job on this tender song. He even stretched his range at the higher end in a gentle way, which was nice to hear. Overall, it was pleasant, but it wasn’t enough to really capture me emotionally.

Good for Danny for deciding to sit down and not dance during this song. He looks much better on a chair. Danny took off the jacket from the first performance and put on a nice tie.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Danny Gokey performs Dance Little Sister (Terence Trent D’Arby), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Danny Gokey performs Dance Little Sister (Terence Trent D'Arby), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge's Choice / Contestant's Choice

Interesting choice of song from Paula Abdul for Danny Gokey. I had never heard this song before, but I like the tempo, and it suited Danny’s voice well. I could have done without the scatting in the middle of the song, though, but that’s just a personal bias.

Danny Gokey’s awful mini-beard has come back again. It’s too bad, because his hair looked really nice and his wardrobe was great too. Danny’s performance was amateur as usual. He can sing, but he should stand still while singing until he has a chance to work on his presentation some more.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Danny Gokey performs Dream On (Aerosmith), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Damn, that was really embarrassing . . . and honestly quite painful to watch. What on Earth was Danny thinking? Danny Gokey’s upper register is limited, so going after an Aerosmith song that includes tons of screaming is not a good idea. The final note really was horrifying, and that’s not to say anything about the mess leading up to it.

Danny Gokey’s stage performance was just as awful as it always has been. I shouldn’t be too harsh, because he is definitely still an amateur and will come around with more experience. His outfit was nice, but the facial hair needs to be fixed in a hurry.

Review Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Danny Gokey performs Come Rain or Come Shine, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

I absolutely love this song, but I don’t love Danny Gokey’s version. Katharine McPhee absolutely blew away this song with her rendition, and Danny made me want to fall asleep. He slowed down the song a bit too much and added a lot of random “yeah yeah yeah” phrases in the song. The ending where he broke down the song worked a bit better, but I’m still not impressed with Danny’s limited upper range compared to similar singers like Michael MacDonald.

Danny Gokey actually looked cute for once. He cleaned up his horrible stubble from the past few weeks and also cleaned up his awkward performing from the past few weeks. Overall, a very convincing performance.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Danny Gokey performs September (Earth, Wind & Fire), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Danny Gokey started off with shouting out his first note, and he never actually stopped. Danny really showed not much originality in the arrangement despite what the judges said. Danny’s voice sounded nice, but it definitely didn’t show much that was memorable. Most years, this might be enough, but if Danny is hoping to topple Adam Lambert, he’ll have to step up his performance skills.

Oh darn it, I can’t believe Danny Gokey came back with even worse stubble than last week. I was hoping that his awful facial hair would be a one-week blip, but I was tragically wrong. Danny’s stage performance was awkward as usual, though his clothes were actually kind of nice and simple.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Danny Gokey performs Endless Love (Lionel Richie and Diana Ross) from Endless Love, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Danny Gokey’s vocals are on their way down. He once again had little breath support, which seems to be a growing trend. Why would he take on a duet and try and make it work as a solo song, especially a Lionel Richie duet with Diana Ross? Danny tries his best at taking the song down a few keys but this song is still out of his range.

Danny Gokey’s look was absolutely horrendous. The pimp stubble absolutely did not work for him at all. Without his glasses, Danny’s eyes look kind of beady. His white attire was absolutely horrendous, perhaps the worst outfit since Allison Iraheta’s Don’t Speak outfit.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Danny Gokey performs Stand by Me (Mickey Gilley), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Nice vocal arrangement on a classic song. The opening allowed Danny Gokey to really show off his vocal ability while the second half allowed him to add some tempo and turn up the volume.

Danny Gokey’s suit and purple button-up were very cute. In fact, this is probably the best that Danny’s ever looked. His hair was cute and he chose a nice pair of glasses this week.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Danny Gokey performs What Hurts the Most (Rascal Flatts), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Danny Gokey chose a great song to sing this week. Rascall Flatts are great writers, but the lead singer’s voice often comes off as tinny and thin, leaving lots of room for interpretation. Danny did a great job of reinterpreting the song with his soulful voice.

Danny Gokey’s hair was more under control this week, but his choice of glasses was a little overdone. I’ll say this again, but I think that Danny changing his glasses every week comes off as a little strange and unrelatable to most fans. His suit and shirt, however, looked really good. Danny overall looked cuter than he usually does.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Danny Gokey performs Get Ready (The Temptations), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

This was probably Danny Gokey’s best vocal performance to date. His voice really shone through in the uptempo melody of this song. Danny had a much easier time with the higher notes than he’s had in past week. I do think it was a huge mistake that Danny didn’t take Smokey’s advice of singing entire chorus himself. Getting rid of the backup singers would have allowed Danny to really shine through.

Danny Gokey’s stage performance, however, was absolutely miserable. His interaction with the backup singers and his weird gestures on stage were horrific. Danny’s hair was a little overdone and he needs to get his facial hair in check. David Cook from last year had the same issue and finally figured out a nice look for his facial hair. Danny has yet to really decide on what look he wants to project.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Danny Gokey performs Jesus, Take the Wheel (Carrie Underwood), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Danny’s song choice was bold, but he did not deliver vocally. The verses were incredibly boring and the chorus was off key at the beginning and the end. I think Danny should have stayed in his upper range a bit more, though he hasn’t shown that he has the control to do that. If the song was moved up a key or two, I think it would have been a blow-out performance. Unfortunately, I’m not sure whether Danny has the ability to consistently stay in that range for an entire song.

Danny Gokey’s faux hawk is definitely gone for good, which is great. I’m not sure I like that Danny changes his glasses every week. It comes off as a little bizarre and unapproachable to most people, well at least those who notice. I do think it distances himself for the audience and is unnecessary. Danny’s white jacket was absolutely hideous. I thought it looked like a straight jacket, seriously.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆

Danny Gokey performs P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Danny Gokey does a really good job on “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).” This is the first performance of Danny’s that has actually caught my attention all year (and no, I did not like his performance of Mariah Carey’s “Hero” last time). Danny stretches himself vocally and successfully delivers notes across a wide range with good tone and control.

Danny Gokey’s stage performance, however, wasn’t so great. Luckily his vocals were good enough that I barely noticed.

Danny Gokey definitely got a big boost from the stylists. Danny finally got rid of his horrible faux-hawk and now has some reasonably nice hair. His glasses match his purple button-up shirt, and both go well with his jeans and blazer. Unfortunately for Danny, he still doesn’t look good enough naturally to be a real star in the music industry unless he decides to front a rock band, where ugly lead singers are easily accepted by the mainstream.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Danny Gokey performs Hero (Mariah Carey), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 17) Top 36 Group 1: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Danny Gokey takes on Mariah Carey’s famous anthem and ballad. He gives a capable performance, but I didn’t like that he avoided some of the higher notes by either grunting through or switching into falsetto. Danny has a gruff quality to his voice which can sometimes hide vocal shortcomings, which is what I think is happening right now. American Idol is notorious for loving performers who have strange vocal textures that become quite annoying when recorded across an entire album, case in point: Fantasia Barrino.

Danny’s appearance just bothers me for some reason. The way he ends the song pointing at the screen almost made me throw fall off my sofa. Maybe a makeover will help, but I just don’t see a real-world recording artist in Danny. Good luck to him, though I’d be really shocked if he won. I think he’s going to go down as one of those “surprise” eliminations that shock the judges and America at around the Top 5 show.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Allison Iraheta – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:30:22 +0000

Allison Iraheta performs Cry Baby (Janis Joplin), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Allison Iraheta did a great job with this Janis Joplin classic. The song was a little repetitive, but Allison’s voice shone through really well, and she put in a lot of emotion into every phrase.

Allison Iraheta’s new haircut this week is totally awesome. Adam Lambert’s hair stylist did her job well with Allison. Allison really rocked out the stage this week with her performance. She really does transform once the music starts.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Allison Iraheta performs Someone To Watch Over Me, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

The tone of Allison Iraheta’s voice matched this song perfectly. I really enjoyed listening to her rendition. Unfortunatley, Allison lost the melody a couple of times, which is too bad because this could have been an even better performance than it was.

Allison Iraheta looked nice in her black dress and toned-down hair. Allison’s performance skills are ridiculous for someone of her young age. She may be the most polished performer on the entire show.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Allison Iraheta performs Hot Stuff (Donna Summer), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Allison Iraheta did a good job in stripping away a lot of the production values in her opening to the song. It’s too bad that she didn’t stay tender the whole way through as the ending was way overdone. Allison sounds great when she’s in her range, but she definitely struggles when trying to stretch herself vocally, too often grunting instead of singing.

What an interesting entrance to Allison Iraheta’s performance of Hot Stuff. I had seen the stage move for the judges’ entrance, but no one had actually used it during their performance yet. Allison was looking a like a futuristic hoochie tonight.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Allison Iraheta performs I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith) from Armageddon, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Allison Iraheta performs I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith) from Armageddon, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Allison Iraheta’s voice came off as really amateur this week. The opening of the song was very weak, and Allison’s vocals had no breath support throughout. Allison did hit one nice high note, which was a welcome change from past weeks when Allison grunted instead of hitting the high notes (*cough* Alone *cough*).

Allison Iraheta’s styling was a little less fabulous than last week, but it still worked out well. Allison’s hair went well with the belt and jacket.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Allison Iraheta performs I Can’t Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Allison Iraheta performs I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Allison Iraheta chose another good song to showcase her voice. She does have an annoying habit of grunting high notes instead of actually trying to hit the notes properly. Overall, Allison’s vocals were still quite solid for this song.

Allison Iraheta’s hair and wardrobe were a great improvement over last week’s disaster. Allison’s leather jacket and black skirt were totally cute. Allison’s stage performance came off as professional as usual.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Allison Iraheta performs Don’t Speak (No Doubt), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Allison Iraheta performs Don't Speak (No Doubt), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Allison Iraheta did a great job at reinterpreting the vocal arrangement of Don’t Speak. Allison has a unique enough voice to pull off this sing, as she can easily distance herself from the original rendition. Allison’s vocal arrangement for the first verse was especially strong.

I have no idea what Allison Iraheta was thinking about when she chose her hair and costume this week. It was so absolutely over the top that I don’t know what to think. It was like a weird Cyndi Lauper Hallowe’en costume. It was nice seeing Allison with a guitar; it helps give her some extra rocker cred.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Allison Iraheta performs Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone (The Temptations), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Allison Iraheta performs Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (The Temptations), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Allison Iraheta chose a great song and was able to showcase her amazingly tone and timbre without stretching outside of her comfort zone. The last note that Allison hit was especially nice.

Allison Iraheta’s stage performance was professional as usual. Her hair was well done, and this may have been her best outfit to date. The white jacket on top of her dress with the leggings was wonderful.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Allison Iraheta performs Blame It on Your Heart (Patty Loveless), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

It’s strange hearing Allison Iraheta singing a hardcore country song. I thought she would take a fringe country song and make it rock. Instead, she’s singing this song straight up. Overall, I didn’t really quite get it. The vocals and performance weren’t bad, but it wasn’t memorable either.

Allison’s hair looks good with the flower in it and the matching red leather jacket. The dress under the leather jacket also looked good.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆

Allison Iraheta performs Give In to Me (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Allison Iraheta does an outstanding vocal job on Michael Jackson’s “Give In To Me.” I didn’t really understand Allison before this week, but she definitely proved me wrong. The tone of Allison’s voice is amazing on this song. I would like to hear Allison stretch herself vocally a bit more. This song stayed in her comfort zone the entire time and sounded like she was hitting the same two notes over and over. Allison hasn’t shown any falsetto whatsoever throughout this entire competition. I don’t want to get too negative, though, because Allison had an amazing performance. Maybe Allison will prove me wrong on the above critiques in her upcoming performances.

Allison Iraheta’s hair and black top look really great. Her short mini-skirt is a little scandalous in a Cher kind of way, which is a little too suggestive and creepy for a 16-year-old.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Allison Iraheta performs Alone (Heart), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 26) Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Allison did capably well in this performance, but I just don’t understand her vocally. First, she chooses an all-time belting classic with signature high notes and then avoids singing the high notes. The most disappointing part is that she has the backing vocal hit the high notes while she sings harmony. What’s the point of choosing this song if you can’t hit the notes or even attempt them. She couldn’t even hit some of the semi-high notes and instead grunts her way through. When Allison is in her range, though, she sounds very nice. It’s too bad that the range in her upper register is so limited. This performance was also incredibly shouty in parts.

Allison chose a nice black dress and definitely has a signature look with her red hair and black nail polish. The stage performance was very rock and definitely believable. Allison’s got potential, but I hope she doesn’t choose classic power ballads anymore.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Matt Giraud – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:00:11 +0000

Matt Giraud performs My Funny Valentine, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

Matt, Matt, Matt . . . what is going on? I used to love Matt Giraud, but the train has definitely left the station. I am very familiar with this song, so maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but I thought the whole performance was a mess. I didn’t like the arrangement or the vocals, especially in the opening verse.

Matt Giraud is back in his signature hat and suit. I’m not a big fan of the hat, but to each his own I suppose.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆

Matt Giraud performs Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

This song was a total mess for Matt Giraud. Matt has a great falsetto but avoided singing the chorus in his falsetto. The song seemed a little too fast for his own good. I didn’t like Matt’s raspy voice during this song, and he didn’t really show off his voice very well.

Matt Giraud looked a total mess of weird colours tonight. It’s almost like he gave up after last week’s elimination and save. He looked very awkward on stage which he doesn’t often look.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆

Matt Giraud performs Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman? (Bryan Adams) from Don Juan DeMarco, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies

I really like what Matt Giraud tried to do with this song, but I’m not sure he completely succeeded. I enjoyed the opening and the artistic liberties that Matt took with the melody worked well for the most part. The ending note was also rather spectacularly. Overall, though, I just didn’t have a connection to the way he was singing the lyrics, which is unfortunate. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Matt’s performances usually spellbind me, and this one failed to do so. It still wasn’t all that bad a performance, though. It just wasn’t as good as his performances in the past.

Matt Giraud looked absolutely gorgeous in his classic button-up shirt and black vest. It was nice seeing Matt back behind his piano for the entire performance. I still can’t believe the crush I have for Matt. His looks realistically aren’t all that spectacular, but ever since nice Top 13 makeover, I can’t get enough. Plus there’s just something about his voice that draws me in.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Matt Giraud performs Part-Time Lover (Stevie Wonder), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Vocally, this was Matt Giraud’s best performance of the entire season, which is saying something. Stevie Wonder songs are ridiculously difficult to sing as Stevie’s voice is so stylized and powerful. Matt did a great job of sticking to the melody while adding his own soulful flourishes. Matt’s lower register did well and his upper register and falsetto absolutely dazzled.

Matt Giraud’s stage performances are getting more and more polished, even incorporating some dance moves. Matt looked great in his gray button-up shirt and leather jacket, though I’m still not convinced with the jazz hat.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Matt Giraud performs You Found Me (The Fray), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Matt Giraud went back to his rocker ways in his performance of The Fray’s You Found Me. I absolutely love this song, and Matt performed it very well. Matt’s vocals this week took on a nice raspy quality that suited the song very well. It was great hearing Matt sing a contemporary song straight-up, without any crazy vocal gymnastics.

Matt Giraud performed on mini-stage beside the main American Idol stage that was surrounded by a mosh pit. This is the first time I’ve seen any of the contestants use this mini-stage, and I hope it isn’t the last. The effect of Matt being surrounded by a crowd of fans was really neat (and kind of sexy). If you can’t tell yet, I’m totally developing a Matt crush.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Matt Giraud performs Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Motown week helped showcase Matt Giraud’s sweet soulful voice, as expected. The choice of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On was brilliant, as the song choice allowed Matt to show off his wonderful falsetto. Matt definitely has nice control in his upper register and can transition between his head voice and his falsetto almost effortlessly.

I really liked Matt Giraud’s preppy look this week with the sweater draped over a button-up shirt and tie. The performance was definitely cool, and it was really nice seeing Matt get up off of his piano and work the crowd a little bit.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Matt Giraud performs So Small (Carrie Underwood), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Matt Giraud’s crisp vocals rescued an otherwise boring night (well, other than Adam Lambert of course). The performance felt like it was coming from a professional, like I was at a concert. This was the best performance of the night.

Matt Giraud looks absolutely fantastic. Matt’s hair has cropped nicely and his suit looked great on him.

Review Score: ★★★★☆

Matt Giraud performs Human Nature (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

I really like Matt Giraud’s performance of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” Matt added a bit of a soulful feel to the song, and he isn’t afraid to stretch himself vocally unlike the other men tonight. Some of the notes are a little shaky, but overall Matt did an absolutely fantastic job tonight, especially on the closing falsetto section. Out of all the performances this week, Matt Giraud’s is the one that I keep rewinding to hear again and again.

Matt Giraud looks believable as an artist in his brown leather jacket performing with a black piano. He doesn’t look too different from previous weeks, but I’m guessing the brown leather jacket is courtesy of the stylist’s clothing budget.

Review Score: ★★★★★

Matt Giraud performs Who’s Lovin’ You (The Jackson 5), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (March 5) Wild Card Round: Billboard Top 100 Hits

When I heard Matt Giraud was going to sing a Jackson 5 song, I immediately thought, “Oh no.” Matt actually does a really good job on the song. He definitely went a little bit overboard with the riffs. Matt did better with the high notes, but I still think that Matt’s high register lacks fullness.

Matt Giraud’s look is kind of dreary this week. He’s wearing a lot of black, and that hat and scarf are just not great. Matt commanded the stage a lot better than last time, although he didn’t move around a lot. He still definitely has to work on his performance skills, but I think he will be fine as long as he continues to improve as he did this week.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Matt Giraud performs Viva la Vida (Coldplay), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 26) Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Matt Giraud butchers this song. He flat-out misses some notes, particularly his entrance into falsetto was embarrassingly horrible. The shouty parts at the end are also equally terrible. I don’t really know what went wrong because Matt has a fantastic soul voice. Maybe if Matt slowed the song down a little bit so he could add more soul to it.

Matt’s hair and wardrobe were actually okay. He’s not the best looking guy in the world, but he reminds me a bit of Michael Buble. The stage performance itself wasn’t that horrible. Let’s hope Matt comes back in the Wildcard round with a more soulful song choice.

Review Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Anoop Desai – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:57:42 +0000

Anoop Desai had the vocals to compete, but his presentation was completely off. Anoop’s stage performances were dreadfully boring, especially given that he spends most his time on stage with his eyes closed. Ultimately, though, it was Anoop’s arrogance when dealing with the judges that turned his younger fans off of him and did him in.

Anoop Desai performs Dim All the Lights (Donna Summer), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Anoop Desai’s voice was boring boring boring as usual. I’m totally not digging his vocals. I don’t think I’ll remember this performance at all.

What on Earth is going on with Anoop’s facial hair this week? First Danny and now Anoop. This awful stubble needs to stop. He looked absolutely dreadful with the stubble combined with his grey suit and pink sweater (though I kind of liked the sweater if it were on its own). This weird preppy geek frat boy look needs to go away. Anoop’s stage performance was as absolutely sleep-inducing as usual. Dude needs to open his eyes when he sings.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Anoop Desai performs (Everything I Do) I Do It for You (Bryan Adams) from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Anoop Desai performs (Everything I Do) I Do It for You (Bryan Adams) from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Anoop Desai does a good job with the vocal arrangement of this song, once again infusing R&B flavour into a rock song. Unfortunately for Anoop, his performances still bore the heck out of me. Please, please open your eyes Anoop. Please. Seriously.

Anoop Desai’s preppy look is here to stay, I guess, no matter how horrible it is, and his hair seems to have gone backward in its development. At this rate, Anoop has no chance of winning unless he can turn his image around.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Anoop Desai performs True Colors (Cyndi Lauper), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

I love True Colors, and Anoop Desai actually does a pretty good rendition of the song. Anoop adds some nice R&B flair to the end of the song.

Unfortunately for Anoop Desai, his stage performance is as dreadful as usual. He really needs to open his eyes. I understand feeling the music, but closing your eyes throughout an entire performance is not the way to connect to an audience. Anoop’s wardrobe also has to change completely. Frat boy meets neon green Freddy Krueger is not a star look. Just who is dressing these kids?

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Anoop Desai performs Caught Up (Usher), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Oh Anoop, why on Earth would you choose a song from Usher? This type of song only works as a performance if you are a singer who can dance. This is not a song you can sing if you stand still. Worse still, Anoop missed the notes in his lower register, basically talking his way through some of the lyrics. You’d think he would be able to sing this song great since he’s standing still.

Anoop Desai’s hair was looking better this week, but he really needs an eyebrow wax. I don’t think it’s entirely about his looks anymore but about his lack of personality while performing. He needs to stop closing his eyes so much.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Anoop Desai performs Ooo Baby Baby (The Miracles), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Anoop Desai is boring me to death. I’ve totally lost all hope for him as a true recording artist. This song was so over-the-top sappy that it made me want to throw up, seriously. He did well with the high notes and falsetto, but there was zero connection to the audience (and to me).

Anoop Desai seriously needs to stop with the preppy frat boy look. The jacket, the tie and everything else just did not work. Anoop’s facial expressions during his performance are really, really boring. He also closes his eyes way too much while singing.

Review Score: ★★☆☆☆

Anoop Desai performs Always on My Mind (Brenda Lee), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

A much better vocal performance by Anoop Desai this week. I liked some of the liberties Anoop took with the vocal arrangement tonight.

Anoop’s hair looked a lot better this week. The jacket and pants were nice as well, but the awful purple hoodie has got to go.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Anoop Desai performs Beat It (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Anoop Desai should not have chosen Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” The chorus is out of Anoop’s vocal range, and Michael Jackson’s dance moves are out of Anoop’s (and everyone else’s) class. I was happy when this trainwreck performance was over. It’s really unfortunate because I liked Anoop Desai a lot early on, but his past two performance don’t warrant his being around.

Anoop Desai’s hair was thankfully corrected by the American Idol stylists. The jacket and overall looked great compared to how Anoop looked last week.

Review Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Anoop Desai performs My Prerogative (Bobby Brown), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (March 5) Wild Card Round: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Anoop Desai chose to sing one of my favourite songs of all time. When I first heard Anoop sing Boyz II Men during the auditions, I thought he had sparkling vocals, but the last couple of weeks have shown me that Anoop’s vocals are actually quite limited. Bobby Brown had incredible vocals for the original rendition of this song, and Anoop just can’t compete. There’s nothing particularly awful about Anoop’s vocals tonight, but the original version is so much better than it’s difficult not to notice.

Anoop Desai’s outfit tonight is quite plain, just a simple collared shirt. I didn’t much like his stage performance either. It definitely came off as amateur.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Anoop Desai performs Angel of Mine (Monica), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 17) Top 36 Group 1: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Anoop chose to sing a slow ballad and give a passable job. Anoop has very strong and clear vocals reminiscent of Boys II Men. This song, however, was not the way to showcase those skills. I had to watch the performance several times over, and I’m still kind of bored with it. I’m really hoping he comes back in a future round, though, because I do think he has potential.

Anoop’s look is unique if somewhat dorky. His blazer paired with jeans was an okay choice for the performance. His grooming doesn’t really reflect a performer though. He is in desperate need of a makeover. His stage presence also needs a bit of work. There were moments that got a little corny, even if the performance as a whole wasn’t corny overall.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆

Lil Rounds – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

vongsundara — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:08:28 +0000

I’m quite conflicted about my how I feel about Lil Rounds. At the start of the competition, the judges went waaaayyyy overboard with their praise for Lil’s performances, particularly her horribly shouty rendition of I Will Always Love You during Hollywood week. As soon as the actual competition started, though, the judges turned on her completely, giving her crazy random advice that she would incorporate the next week only to be shot down again and again and given completely new and conflicting advice. Lil took it all in stride and showed her class. I really do think that the judges went way overboard with the praise early on and with the criticism near the end, even when Lil had some good performances.

Lil Rounds performs I’m Every Woman (Chaka Khan), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

I wasn’t crazy about Lil Rounds’ vocals to start off the song. Lil sounded a little rushed, and the music drowned her voice out. Halfway through, she was able to project a little more and commanded the music. All in all, she did pretty well considering she had no voice the day before.

LIl Rounds once again changed her hair. It wasn’t a bad look at all with her simple black dress showing off her curves nicely. Lil used the entire stage and even went behind the judges. She was more animated than usual, which served her well.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Lil Rounds performs The Rose (Bette Midler) from The Rose, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

This was definitely Lil Rounds’ best performance of the year. She took a beautiful song and added her own twist to it. Lil had great emotional connection to the lyrics and it really came through. The gospel flavour at the end of the song was a really nice touch.

I’m not so sure about Lil Rounds switching her hair up again, seeing as how last week she looked her best ever. She was looking kind of rocker, which did not really fit with the song.

Review Score: ★★★★½

Lil Rounds performs What’s Love Got to Do With It (Tina Turner), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Lil Rounds performs What's Love Got to Do With It (Tina Turner), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Ooh Miss Lil Rounds, what were you thinking? Lil hit some good notes, but she tried to imitate Tina Turner vocally, which is never a good decision. Lil’s voice came off as weak and less soulful in comparison. I don’t mind the song choice, but Lil had to do more to separate herself from the original version instead of trying to imitate it.

Lil Rounds looked really good this week, but the stage performance was dreadful. Lil tried to copy Tina Turner’s moves: her walk, her hand motions, even her facial expression. It came off as a weird drag performance of Tina Turner.

Review Score: ★☆☆☆☆

Lil Rounds performs I Surrender (Celine Dion), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

I’ll give Lil Rounds credit for challenging herself and going after a Celine Dion ballad. She hit some nice notes, but Lil was unable to sustain some of the higher notes and at times sounded too screechy. Given the difficulty of the song, though, I’ll give her extra marks.

Lil Rounds changed her hair again. The hair was nice, but I think Lil has to decide on her look and stick to it. Changing her hair length from week to week doesn’t let her connect with fans. Lil’s dress was fabulous, though.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Lil Rounds performs (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (Martha and the Vandellas), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

It was really nice hearing Lil Rounds singing an up-tempo song. She did well staying in front of the song and maintaining the melody. Her voice was able to shine through, as this song sat in her comfort zone for the most part. The ending notes were spectacular, especially the “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” parts.

I really liked Lil Rounds’ redone hair in the video package but found it strange that she wore a wig for the performance. Maybe I’ll get used to the wig next week. Her makeup was nicely done, and her dress was kind of cool.

Review Score: ★★★½☆

Lil Rounds performs Independence Day (Martina McBride), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Lil Rounds had a good performance vocally. The opening verses were a little boring, but Lil did a great job on the chorus. She would have been smart to get to the chorus a little earlier as Paula advised.

Lil Rounds finally got rid of her awful hair! I really liked her look tonight. Other than the dress being a bit over the top and not country enough, I thought her hair and makeup were a huge improvement over previous weeks.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Lil Rounds performs The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Lil Rounds had a pretty decent vocal performance. Most of the song stayed in her comfort zone, though she did go into falsetto on a couple of notes, including a nicely sung final note.

Lil’s stage presence definitely needs some work. She has a couple of weird slinky moves that need to be addressed. She just doesn’t come off as a star when she’s performing.

Lil Rounds’ outfit is absolutely hideous. The white pants would be bad enough, but she paired those up with fluffy-shouldered pink top. I was really hoping the stylists would help Lil out with her horrible hair. No such luck this time. It’s amazing that Lil ended up looking even worse after the stylists gone done with her. Maybe she was too stubborn to listen to their advice.

Review Score: ★★★☆☆

Lil Rounds performs Be Without You (Mary J. Blige), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (March 3) Top 36 Group 3: Billboard Top 100 Hits

I’m not sure why Lil Rounds chose a song with so many backing vocals. Her voice got a little bit lost. Lil doesn’t have the depth to her voice to sing a Mary J. Blige song. There was no emotion behind what she was singing, but is a big no no when you sing a Mary J. Blige song. Lil changing the lyrics at the end of the song was amazingly obnoxious. That last note was especially shouty, and Lil shortened the note before she could riff on it like Mary J. did in the original.

Lil’s look just doesn’t cut it. Her hair is obnoxious and that dress was horrendous. Maybe I’m missing something here, but I just don’t understand Lil Rounds at all. I find her performances incredibly ridiculous and over the top. Her facial expressions and head tilting just need to stop. She is absolutely not likable and has zero chance of winning. I see her going out around Top 5.

Review Score: ★★½☆☆

Susan Boyle performance emotional but technically inferior? Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables, Britain’s Got Talent 2009, West Lothian, Blackburn, Glasgow, Scotland

vongsundara — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:41:17 +0000

I should preface this by saying that I am definitely a fan of Susan Boyle. In fact, I teared up when I first saw her performance. The emotion behind her vocals were absolutely amazing. That being said, I thought it would be a good idea to take a step back and actually analyze her performance of “I Dreamed A Dream” and figure out why exactly it has been so successful in capturing the hearts of millions.

Susan Boyle performs “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables on Britain’s Got Talent 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5TBgD9kHI

And there you have it, the performance heard around the world. Susan Boyle’s personality shines through. She’s immensely likable and sassy to boot. Susan’s best decision was in how she framed the song, choosing the parts that made it sound like it was an inspirational song when really it’s a depressing song about someone giving up on their dreams after being beat up by life.

The shock value of the performance was insane, and the first phrase that Susan Boyle utters is technically spot on. It’s from this point, though, that the performance falls apart for me. Susan starts out in her head voice but is unable to sustain notes without deep quivering, though that may be a case of nerves. The unfortunate parts, though, are when Susan flat-out misses the notes in her low register, barely even trying. She showed no breath control and you can barely hear what she is saying.

Now overall, I think that the performance was still spectacular but moreso due to its shock value than for its technical achievement. Susan Boyle’s performance has sparked a deep debate on the internet and across blogs about superficiality in the music industry and in the world as a whole. While this is a good debate to have, I think that Susan is not very good subject matter to have this discussion framed around.

Some of the many posts on the internet have discussed how the music industry has shunned talented vocalists due to their looks since the video era. I think that this is true but that Susan Boyle is a terrible example of this, as I think she directly benefits from the video era, as her voice doesn’t hold up technically when viewed without the visual. It’s the shock value and juxtaposition of her looks against her talent that carries her through.

In short, Susan Boyle’s success is a product of her looks. She is famous because of how she looks not in spite of it. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I think people are taking some of this discussion a little too far in talking about the role of superficiality in the world when Susan is as much a product of it as anyone. You give her average looks and she would have few fans.

Lea Salonga performs “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNojZg_mrTg&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNojZg_mrTg

I’ve included a technically spot-on rendition of the full song from Lea Salonga for comparison purposes. Now, Lea Salonga is definitely more theatrical in her delivery, which is to be expected, but you can clearly see by comparison that Susan Boyle doesn’t quite have the technical ability to pull off the full range in this song with sustained high notes and powerful low notes.

supercute.ca» Listening

Charice Pempengco raises bar for all female singers with incredible vocal range

Charice Pempengco performs Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time on ASAP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtyYGS5rGY

Charice Pempengco sings Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Surive on Good Morning America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4&feature=related

Charice Pempengco sings The Prayer with Tyler Hamilton in Edmonton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0eKts2Y9-s&feature=channel_page

Charice Pempengco sings Beyonce’s Listen at 15 years old http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SQwMh-AsLs

Charice Pempengco sings And I Am Tellng You I’m Not Going on Paul O’Grady Show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ewWvUdSqQ&feature=PlayList&p=D1381374DC68A005&index=0&playnext=1

Charice Pempengco sings Whitney Houston’s Run To You on Boy & Kris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGePgO0hndc

Charice Pempengco sings Heart’s Alone in Houston, Texas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OzToEkJ-vc

Charice Pempengco sings God Bless America at Barack Obama’s Pre-inaugural Ball http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY&feature=related

Charice Pempengco sings Fantasia Barrino’s I Believe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYFZjWpADIU&feature=related

Charice Pempengco sings Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You at Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA&feature=channel_page

Charice Pempengco sings Mariah Carey’s Through The Rain

Charice Pempengco sings Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCT9h22224Q

Charice Pempengco’s incredible journey from poverty to international stardom

Charice Pempengco during LittleBigStar Season 1 in 2005 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ1Ic4rShIo

Charice Pempengco on Star King on October 17, 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS7Q0TFdt-M

Charice Pempengco on The Ellen Degeneres Show on December 19, 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fR2jroUxE

Charice Pempengco on The Paul O’Grady Show on April 8, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYh7ccLD9D0

Charice Pempengco on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 12, 2008 http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20080908_tows_charice

Charice Pempengco on Hitman: David Foster & Friends on May 23, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBa3UUyE2uQ

Charice Pempengco at Andrea Bocelli’s birthday on July 20, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfVKYadZJGE&feature=related

Charice Pempengco on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 9, 2008 v

Charice Pempengco at Madison Square Garden on September 15, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBo_X2o7GVc&feature=related

Charice Pempengco at Grand Slam for Children on October 11, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA&feature=channel_page

Charice Pempengco on Good Morning America in November 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4

Charice Pempengco at Obama Pre-inaugural Ball in January 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY&feature=related

Charice Pempengco at Oprah’s After-Oscar Party in February 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1gpnwFhDc

Kris Allen – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

Kris Allen performs No Boundaries, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Kris Allen performs What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Kris Allen performs Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Kris Allen performs Heartless (Kanye West), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Kris Allen performs Apologize (One Republic), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Kris Allen performs Come Together (The Beatles), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Kris Allen performs The Way You Look Tonight, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

Kris Allen performs She Works Hard for the Money (Donna Summer), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Kris Allen performs Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) from Once, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Kris Allen performs All She Wants to Do Is Dance (Don Henley), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Kris Allen performs Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Kris Allen performs How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) (Marvin Gaye), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Kris Allen performs Make You Feel My Love (Garth Brooks), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Kris Allen performs Remember the Time (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Kris Allen performs Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 26) Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Adam Lambert – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

Adam Lambert performs No Boundaries, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Adam Lambert performs A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Adam Lambert performs Mad World (Tears for Fears), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 11 (May 19) Top 2: Contestant’s Favourite / Simon Fuller’s Choice / Winner’s Single

Adam Lambert performs Cryin’ (Aerosmith), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Adam Lambert performs One (U2), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Adam Lambert performs Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Adam Lambert performs Feeling Good, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

Adam Lambert performs If I Can’t Have You (Yvonne Elliman), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Adam Lambert performs Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf) from Easy Rider, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Adam Lambert performs Mad World (Tears For Fears), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Adam Lambert performs Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Adam Lambert performs The Tracks of My Tears (The Miracles), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Adam Lambert performs Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Adam Lambert performs Black or White (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Adam Lambert performs (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 26) Top 36 Group 2: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Adam Lambert performs Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), American Idol 2009 Season 8, San Francisco Auditions

Danny Gokey – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

Danny Gokey performs You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Danny Gokey performs Dance Little Sister (Terence Trent D’Arby), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 10 (May 12) Top 3: Judge’s Choice / Contestant’s Choice

Danny Gokey performs Dream On (Aerosmith), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Danny Gokey performs Come Rain or Come Shine, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

Danny Gokey performs September (Earth, Wind & Fire), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Danny Gokey performs Endless Love (Lionel Richie and Diana Ross) from Endless Love, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Danny Gokey performs Stand by Me (Mickey Gilley), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Danny Gokey performs What Hurts the Most (Rascal Flatts), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 4 (March 31) Top 9: Popular iTunes Downloads

Danny Gokey performs Get Ready (The Temptations), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 3 (March 25) Top 10: Motown (Smokey Robinson, mentor)

Danny Gokey performs Jesus, Take the Wheel (Carrie Underwood), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 2 (March 17) Top 11: Grand Ole Opry (Randy Travis, mentor)

Danny Gokey performs P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (Michael Jackson), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 1 (March 10) Top 13: Michael Jackson

Danny Gokey performs Hero (Mariah Carey), American Idol 2009 Season 8, (February 17) Top 36 Group 1: Billboard Top 100 Hits

Allison Iraheta – Performance Profile, American Idol 2009 Season 8

Allison Iraheta performs Cry Baby (Janis Joplin), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 9 (May 5) Top 4: Rock Music with mentor Slash

Allison Iraheta performs Someone To Watch Over Me, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 8 (April 28) Top 5: Rat Pack Standards with mentor Jamie Foxx

Allison Iraheta performs Hot Stuff (Donna Summer), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 7 (April 21) Top 7: Disco

Allison Iraheta performs I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith) from Armageddon, American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 6 (April 14) Top 7: Idol At The Movies (Quentin Tarantino, mentor)

Allison Iraheta performs I Can’t Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt), American Idol 2009 Season 8, Week 5 (April 7) Top 8: Year They Were Born

Charice Pempengco performs Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time on ASAP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtyYGS5rGY

Charice Pempengco sings Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Surive on Good Morning America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4&feature=related

Charice Pempengco sings The Prayer with Tyler Hamilton in Edmonton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0eKts2Y9-s&feature=channel_page

Charice Pempengco sings Beyonce’s Listen at 15 years old

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SQwMh-AsLs

Charice Pempengco sings And I Am Tellng You I’m Not Going on Paul O’Grady Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ewWvUdSqQ&feature=PlayList&p=D1381374DC68A005&index=0&playnext=1

Charice Pempengco sings Whitney Houston’s Run To You on Boy & Kris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGePgO0hndc

Charice Pempengco sings Heart’s Alone in Houston, Texas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OzToEkJ-vc

Charice Pempengco sings God Bless America at Barack Obama’s Pre-inaugural Ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY&feature=related

Charice Pempengco sings Fantasia Barrino’s I Believe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYFZjWpADIU&feature=related

Charice Pempengco sings Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You at Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA&feature=channel_page

Charice Pempengco sings Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCT9h22224Q

Charice Pempengco during LittleBigStar Season 1 in 2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ1Ic4rShIo

Charice Pempengco on Star King on October 17, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS7Q0TFdt-M

Charice Pempengco on The Ellen Degeneres Show on December 19, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fR2jroUxE

Charice Pempengco on The Paul O’Grady Show on April 8, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYh7ccLD9D0

Charice Pempengco on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 12, 2008

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20080908_tows_charice

Charice Pempengco on Hitman: David Foster & Friends on May 23, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBa3UUyE2uQ

Charice Pempengco at Andrea Bocelli’s birthday on July 20, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfVKYadZJGE&feature=related

Charice Pempengco on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 9, 2008
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Charice Pempengco at Madison Square Garden on September 15, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBo_X2o7GVc&feature=related

Charice Pempengco at Grand Slam for Children on October 11, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7St70jmsA&feature=channel_page

Charice Pempengco on Good Morning America in November 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEImOOA2rh4

Charice Pempengco at Obama Pre-inaugural Ball in January 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJUg3wHoRIY&feature=related

Charice Pempengco at Oprah’s After-Oscar Party in February 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1gpnwFhDc

Susan Boyle performs “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables on Britain’s Got Talent 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5TBgD9kHI

Lea Salonga performs “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNojZg_mrTg&feature=related