I'm getting pretty tired of all of this hype about how good the guys are, especially after nights like last night. It started pretty good, and got progressively worse as the night went on (with the "blip" in the middle of the side-show contestants, i.e. Kevin and Bucky). Maybe I'm just cranky, or maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't see how any of these guys can challenge the top girls.
Ok, the rankings, and this time I'll remember to number them:
- Gedeon - A good start to the evening, although the very beginning was pretty shaky. It's hard watching him sing with all of the strange facial expressions, but once he got going, he nailed the song. My Grade: B+
- Will - Probably the best pure voice among the guys (only Elliott could challenge him for that title), this was a serviceable, safe, and pretty bland performance. Again, he tackled a song that is so strongly tied to a single artist, and avoided the trap of trying to impersonate that artist. My Grade: B
- Chris - May I remind everyone that this is a singing competition? Everyone savages Ayla on Tuesday when she does one of those "5-note" songs, and then gushes when Chris does one, and in the process swallows the microphone so much (to the extent that it's illegal in some states) that you can't make out the words. He also didn't have the same connection with the audience as last week. He only gets a mark this high because I'm grading on a curve. My Grade: B
- Taylor - And I'm still waiting for that "wow" factor I know he has. The diction was muddled in the middle, and the herky-jerky movements are actually getting more painful to watch, not less. My Grade: B-
- Elliott - Too safe, dull, and slow. (Maybe the DJ Sammy Sam version would have been better?) Was dropping the ends of phrases. Needed much more energy. My Grade: B-
- Ace - First the good news: the falsetto was much better than Sway's, though that's hardly a compliment, and he certainly did the song the way it's supposed to be done. The bad news: I'm actually growing to loathe watching and hearing him. My Grade: B-
- Bucky - Ok, he's still way out of his league, but let me throw out some props for being the only guy to go out there and not only do better than I expected, but to show improvement from last week. That said, there were still major diction issues and it just isn't good. My Grade: C+
- Kevin - Please, please, please can we end this painful charade? This would have been an "also-ran" performance for a high school talent show, and believe it or not, it actually got worse when I closed my eyes. Maybe if he can ever conquer the nerves, he'll be OK in musical theater, but he's not cut out for pop. (Maybe, as scary as it sounds, he should have tried to rap instead.) I'll give him some credit for hitting the notes. My Grade: C-
Overall rankings:
- Will Makar (NC)
- Elliott Yamin (+1)
- Gedeon McKinney (+2)
- Chris Daughtry (NC)
- Ace Young (-3)
- Taylor Hicks (NC)
- Bucky Convington (NC)
- Kevin Covais (NC)
If the voters are basing their picks on the competition to date, Kevin and Bucky should easily be the ones shown the door. If the votes are based on last night's performances, any of the guys except Gedeon could be vulnerable, because none of the other contenders stepped up to the plate.
Always appreciate your post-mortems, but methinks you are off about Will. Nice kid and my wife says he is tres cute, but too bland and unimpressive to go any further. He goes tonight. Agree with you on Chris - sucking mic doesn't work for me either!
But I think both Chris and Taylor have built up so much support that they can "coast" on occasion with less than great performances - at least until the final 10. In fact, it may not hurt them to lower expectations a little and save their best for later.