[kevkrom]

An interesting night, pushing a lot of the contestants out of their safe zones. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how well, pretty much across the board, everyone did with adapting and modernizing their song choices to their styles. (This isn't to say whether or not I'm fond of those styles, but rather that I recognize and appreciate what they did.)

My scorecard from last night...

1. Naida -- Wow. With the exception of the very end, where she was exposed on that last note, the best she's ever sounded. A nice, "smoky" jazz style, and most of all, she "sold" the performance.
2. Constantine -- I know, we all hate "Lt. Dan", but let's give him some credit here, this was a good performance -- the best he's done by a long shot. Like Nadia, a weak last note was about the only issue I had.
3. Bo -- Looks like he forgot some of the words, or had a serious lapse in diction. Still not the best voice in the competition, but did a good job with performing the song and adapting it to his style.
4. Vonzelle -- This whole 4-7 range was a toss-up for me. I'm giving Vonzelle a little more credit because of the difficulty of the song she chose, although it was a bit rocky from a technical perspective, especially in transitions from high to low registers, and vice-versa. If she had 3 or 4 more days to prep this one, it could have been really, really good.
5. Carrie -- A very average performance, and the biggest exception to my broad compliment about adaptation. Not a great challenge, and a bit shaky at times. Still, a pleasant voice (and easy on the eyes!)...
6. Nikko -- Hard to judge vocally, because he never stays on a note long enough to determine its pitch; the style seems a little too affected and forced. Nice choice and interesting adaptation, just could have been a bit more natural in execution.
7. Anwar -- He finally started and finished at the same level, but that level was at best average. This guy is turning into a major disappointment.
8. Anthony -- Speaking of major disappointments... Good vocal, lousy presence as usual. And "ford every dream?" At least he covered the lyrics screw-up well.
9. Scott -- No stage presence at all, vocal was OK, as in on-pitch, etc., but like last week, the tone was weak and thin. Not good enough for this competition.

I think the voting audience might actually agree with me this time around, as far as the bottom 3 are concerned, and "Slingblade" Scott will be sent back to Cleveland.

[silent_jonny]

Good scorecard!

I agree with your bottom three--Anwar, Fedorov and Scott. Scott tries his best, but his personality (or lack of one) is his biggest enemy. It's either going to be him or Fedorov leaving tonight, though I would be happier if Anwar was shown the door.

I thought last night's show was dull. I didn't like the music category and the performances were lethargic.

I miss the celebrity judges and the shows that were dedicated to one specific artist, like Elton John, Billy Joel, etc. They gave the shows character and provided much needed suspense, IMO.

[mupcat]

"Scott -- No stage presence at all, vocal was OK, as in on-pitch, etc., but like last week, the tone was weak and thin. Not good enough for this competition"

Boy, I just cannot understand why he's still around. How on earth Paula gave him a standing "O" is beyond me. Even Randy said it was a bit "pitch-y". Besides that I just think he's creepy. I mean he never smiles at anything.

[clamper1797]

Re post 1861 .... Simon is that you ... not that I disagree though ...

[Lijahsbubbe]

Constantine -- I know, we all hate "Lt. Dan", but let's give him some credit here, this was a good performance -- the best he's done by a long shot. Like Nadia, a weak last note was about the only issue I had. Bo -- Looks like he forgot some of the words, or had a serious lapse in diction. Still not the best voice in the competition, but did a good job with performing the song and adapting it to his style.

Agree totally. And I rate your overall review two thumbs up.