Livelier Times

Currently Listening To: Anna Kendrick - Cups (Pitch Perfect's When I'm Gone)

Apart from a few questionable song choices and terrible execution of said songs, this was actually a pretty good night for Season 13. I see improvement from most of the contestants this week. They're beginning to make riskier song selections and trying to put their own touch to it. 

From the worst to the best:

Majesty - Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine
I'm afraid I'll have to rank her at the very bottom this week. Initially I thought it was gonna be awesome, but Majesty unfortunately got steadily worse as the song progressed on, and the end was just disastrous. She can't sing high notes and yet she keeps choosing big songs! I don't understand. Where did that Majesty who sang Violet Hill go?? 0/10

CJ - If It Hadn't Been for Love by The Steel Drivers
What a great song choice, I'm inspired to listen to it again. Now if only CJ had sang it in tune, I would have given him a better grade.  He has a big problem with pitch. What's the point of having good tone and good range, if you can't utilize it to sing in tune? I don't think CJ has a good ear, Harry. It's been weeks, he should have at least improved a little! 2/10.

Dexter - Boondocks by Little Big Town
I guess he's trying to take the Scotty McCreery route with his steady choice of country songs, but he does not have the good looks nor the charm of the Season 10 champ. So what does that spell for Dexter? Probably bottom 3 each week until he gets eliminated. Why is that so? Because although he sings well, his song choices are pretty much snoozefests, and that will not encourage the public to vote for him. Consistent but boring. 3/10

Sam - Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's
To quote Keith, Sam's voice is like butter. Unfortunately, it is unsalted butter. So it's not entirely appealing to the masses. I mean seriously, the kid sings with this blank, empty look on his face. Even J.Lo was commenting on his lack of connection with the song. And it's true, there is nothing. Nothing on his face, nothing in his voice, nothing in his delivery that would make people FEEL for him. There was no emotion when he was standing there listening to the judges' feedback either. In conclusion, Sam is an emotionless robot and I don't know if that's gonna work out for him. 5/10

Malaya - Long and Winding Road by The Beatles
Honestly she has improved so much since the disastrous Top 13, but her high notes still needs a looooot of work. All in all I thought that was a pretty decent performance for Malaya, minus the caterwauling high notes. Will she get votes? Most probably since AI is determined to promote her anyways. 6/10

Jessica - Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
I really love the song Rhiannon, but I can't say I liked Jessica's rendition that much. I think Didi Benami and Haley Reinhart sang it better. However, it was still a good and solid performance from Jessica as the song fits her so well and unlike Sam, she seems to be learning to connect with the audience better. 6.5/10

Alex - Don't Speak by No Doubt
Now that was an interesting performance. An unexpected song choice from Alex as well. I liked his jazzy take on the No Doubt tune, though it seemed to take away a bit of the anguished emotions from the song. This performance felt like it belonged to Season 8 or 9 instead, and that's a good thing. 7/10

Jena - Bring Me to Life by Evanescence
Although there were a couple of bum notes, Jena as a whole gave a very convincing, impressive performance with Bring Me to Life. She really brought the stage to life, something that is sorely needed this season. On top of that she looked great and what better way to end the night than with a gorgeous young girl singing beautifully! 8/10

Caleb - Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin
OMG he totally gave me goosies! That was a fantastic performance from the resident Season 13 rocker, incredible vocals and excellent song choice (Led Zeppelin FTW!). And yes, hats off to Ricky Minor and his band for that awesome performance! 9/10

Bottom 3? MAJESTY, CJ, Dexter

Who should go home? MAJESTY. 

It has become a travesty to keep Majesty in the competition based on her performances so far and compared to the others. So disappointing.

Edit with Results:
For the third week in a row, I made the correct prediction - Majesty is gone.

As horrible as her exit performance was, I think she still sang more notes in tune than CJ.

I can't help but feel sad about it though, she had seemed so promising during her audition and the Hollywood rounds. It's such a shame to see her lose herself in the live shows and departed with barely a whimper. All the best to her Majesty.

Clarity And Then Some

Currently Listening To: fun, - We Are Young

I'm not sure if the themes for this season are suitable so far, I mean yes everyone is now choosing current songs but those songs don't really showcase much, especially if the contestants are adamant about just singing it straight on without doing anything interesting with it. The 'theme' this week is Billboard Top 10 songs from 2011 onwards, and here's how the contestants fared from the worst to the best:

MK - Perfect by Pink
Oh boy, I wish I could root for her but MK's performance was so devoid of life I wanted to lie down and sleep about a quarter way through. Vocally shaky, aesthetically empty and completely lacking in emotional connection. She's not gonna last for long now, is she? Very disappointing. 2/10

CJ - Invisible by Hunter Hayes
Um. So CJ is back in the bottom 3 for me. He did not do anything for me this week with his uninspiring song choice and lack of pitch. He's so much better than what he's doing right now. Harry was spot on about CJ going off pitch and being too sharp. And it's so...unnerving to see J.Lo trying to encourage him to do better. Another disappointment. 3/10

Dexter - Cruise by Florida Georgia Line
As expected from Dexter - a safe, country song delivered perfectly albeit rather monotonously. Harry was right in criticizing his safe song choices and his on point but boring delivery. 4/10

Sam -  We Are Young by fun.
I can't say that was a bad performance, but he desperately needs to stand out more. Being one of the better singers, and yet not catching anyone's attention? That's not good Sam. He has the potential so it's time to start choosing more interesting songs, and doing something unusual with it. 4.5/10

Jena - Clarity by Zedd
Ah the glowsticks. Talk about a gimmick? Quite a big fall from last week's No. 1 spot. Let's see...there was nothing special about her performance. Jacquie from The Voice sang it much better last season. Much, MUCH better, and that was one of her worse performances! Sorry Jena, please try to pick songs that show off your voice instead of just, karaoke-ing. 5/10

Jessica - Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People
Harry and his problem with questionable lyrics. Honestly I think he was nitpicking a little. Sure, the lyrics are...questionable but she knew what she was singing about and understood the implications. Lyrics aside, she actually sang Pumped Up Kicks well. She showcased her voice, hit all the notes and made the song 'Jessica'. I think Sam should learn a thing or two from her? 6/10

Malaya - When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars
It wasn't anything to get excited about but I'll have to admit that she sang it well, hit all the notes and actually sang from her heart. Though she was never anyone's man. So yeah, good job Malaya, do keep it up, you're finally living up to your potential. 6.5/10

Caleb - Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga
Well that was an interesting song choice. The judges were pretty harsh on him but I thought he did a pretty good job with one of the more boring Gaga songs. I would agree with the judges on lacking connection with the lyrics, otherwise it was a really solid performance. 7/10

Majesty - Wake Me Up by Avicii
Poor thing sounded and looked scared throughout the song, although it's a huge improvement from last week. Very apt lyrics. Vocally I thought she was great, the arrangement was perfect for her, however she kinda took a leaf out of MK's book and was totally lacking in confidence. I guess last week's disastrous song choice and her trip to the Bottom 3 really shook her up. And what J.Lo said to her was so accurate, here's hoping that Majesty will really think about what J.Lo said and regain her confidence. 7.5/10

Alex Preston - Story of My Life by One Direction
I really liked the way he ended the song! It's such a breath of fresh air to hear someone in this competition, sing with passion, and at the same time, in tune. What is this, I'm actually excited to hear someone who sounds like Lee Dewyze omg. Shows how low this season's standard is.  8/10

Bottom 3 Prediction? MK, CJ and Jena

Who will go home? MK.

You know, I really don't understand the so-called fans. First, they were so happy that Harry's joining the judging panel because apparently he will not hesitate to point out the contestants' flaws and bad choices. Now that he is a judge, and is actually being honest about their shortcomings, the fans are annoyed because he's too harsh and cold.

Seriously? Wasn't that what you wanted? Although he does come off as a bit snotty sometimes, his comments are usually accurate and I think that'll get the contestants to WAKE UP and DO SOMETHING to impress ALL the judges (Keith and J.Lo are too nice to be assholes to the contestants).

It's already the Top 10 but everyone is still sleeping their way through the competition. I really don't understand, there's so much potential. Unfortunately none of them seems to have the drive to succeed, or even to stand out in the crowd. Last year's girls were great, but all the boys were horrendous. In my opinion, this year's girls AND boys are both good. So what's going on? Maybe they're just too young...I think all of them are younger than me =/

Edit with Results:

As expected, MK is gone. Too bad, cause she really does have a lovely voice.
Hopefully she'll continue to improve?

The Voice (Season 6) - On to the Battlefield

Currently Listening To: Shakira - Did It Again

Well well, this marks the first time I'm blogging about The Voice! It's already been six seasons (wow, how time flies!), but to be honest I only started following it religiously last season, and I must say the talent here is so much better than the freshies from American Idol.

Unfortunately, the only interesting part of The Voice is the Blind Audition rounds, where the judges select (or will be selected by) contestants based solely on their voice and emotions since they can't actually see them perform! A great concept for sure, but once the auditions end it's back to the more or less normal singing competition style.

Then again, they do have the Battlerounds, where 2 members of each team battle each other for a spot on the live shows. And so we're here at this stage of Season 6, where the 12 members each of Team Blake, Team Adam, Team Shakira and Team Usher battle it out for the Top 12/13 live.

Anyway here are the contestants from each team, the italicized contestants are those who had caught my attention. Did I mention that all the contestants that made it through the blinds actually got to record studio versions of their audition songs? How awesome is that?

Team Blake
Alaska & Madi (interesting country duo, their studio version is awesome!)
Audra McLaughlin
Cali Tucker
Jake Worthington (I found his voice interesting...)
Kaleigh Glanton
Megan Rüger
Noah Lis
Ria Eaton (One of the most interesting auditions! It wasn't perfect but she definitely stood out to me)
Ryan Whyte Maloney
Sisaundra Lewis (Girl has amazing pipes! What a strange pick for Team Blake though...)
Biff Gore
Paula DeAnda (sound familiar to you?)

Team Adam
Austin Ellis
Caleb Elder (He came off as a joke contestants but he actually has a good voice. Should be interesting.)
Cary Laine
Christina Grimmie  (Great pop vocals, and she kinda looks like Carly Rae Jepsen)
Dawn and Hawkes (Another interesting country/folk duo)
Delvin Choice
Josh Kaufman
Josh Murley
Joshua Howard
Kat Perkins (She embodies rocker chick with a touch of country! Very promising.)
Sam Behymer
Patrick Thomson

Team Shakira
Cierra Mickens
Clarissa Serna
Dani Moz
Ddendyl (I think she's the only interesting contestant in Shakira's team...)
Deja Hall (She has potential but she seems a bit bland to me)
Music Box
Emily B. (She has a really good voice and made a smart song choice for the audition.)
Jeremy Briggs
Kristen Merlin
Lindsay Bruce
Lindsay Pagano
DeShawn Washington

Team Usher
Bria Kelly (Her voice reminds me of slightly better version of Jacquie from Season 5)
Brittnee Camelle
Brothers Walker (Something about the duos this season. Interesting pair here.)
Madilyn Paige
Melissa Jiménez
Morgan Wallen
Stevie Jo
Tanner James
Tess Boyer
T.J. Wilkins
Biff Gore  (Excellent vocals but he's a bit on the older side so...)
Jake Barker

Have a listen to some of their auditions/studio versions:

Emily B

Kat Perkins

Alaska & Madi

Ria Eaton

The Battle Rounds have already started, but I have yet to watch the episode so I'll be saving my judgment until then.

Sound of Silence

I just couldn't resist blogging about AI even though I actually have other more important stuff to do! *smacks self* 

Anyway, this week's performances are so much better than last week's. A really big improvement for most, while some frontrunners tumbled down quite badly.

Ranking from the least impressive to the best of the night:

Majesty Rose - Let It Go by Idina Menzel (At least I THINK that's her name ;) )

Very current but...I could hardly hear her voice because the low notes were just too much for her. Well the high notes were too much for her too. That was totally fail karaoke! I think even I sound better than her on a bad day! Don't know what she was thinking when she picked that song! Do excuse the exclamation marks, I was just too shocked! -10/10

Ben Briley - Bennie and the Jets by Elton John

Very, VERY brave song choice after Haley Reinhart's slamdunk from Season 10. What the heck, he was even dressed like Elton John. So...he had a fail falsetto, he didn't sound too good on the low notes, and he was out of tune most of the time. Way to go Ben. Granted, that was still better than most of last week's performances. 2/10

Sam - Come Together by The Beatles

He was very bland again. And why that song? So many contestants have covered that and Sam didn't do anything with the song. Bad choice. 4/10

Jessica - Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel

I love the song, I love the beginning but...girl has more bleat than Elliot Yamin. She sounded amazing when it was just her and the guitar. Unfortunately she lost it when the band started playing. Not a good end to the song. Very helpful and accurate feedback from Jen and Keith too. 6/10

Dexter - Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Oooh he had a haircut. Not that it's relevant but anyways he looks pretty clean and neat now. I think so far Dexter is the most consistent performer. Can't say there's much improvement from last week though... 6.5/10

MK - To Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan

Wow, that was surprisingly effective. Her voice sounded subtle yet lovely, by far her best vocals since Rush week. And she looked pretty amazing too. The only negative thing was that she still looked very uncomfortable on stage. Needs a lot of work in that aspect. 7/10

Caleb - Skyfall by Adele (NOT DAZEEM)

The award for the most interesting song choice of the night goes to Caleb. Kudos to Caleb for choosing an Adele song, and actually pulling it off. Ended with a lovely glory note too. 7/10

Malaya - I Am Changing by Jennifer Hudson

Still a little shaky at certain parts, but overall that was a really good performance, especially coming from Malaya. And she didn't mess up the last note! Finally a song choice that showcased her big voice. 8/10

Alex - Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová 

Another contestant who improved tremendously from last week. His version of Falling Slowly was almost on par with Kris Allen's (S8), and that is a huge compliment! 8/10

CJ - Can't You See by The Marshall Tucker Band

Vast improvement from the previous two weeks! For once he sounded focused and gritty, and most importantly, not sleepy so...good job.  9/10

Jena - Decode by Paramore

Where did that come from? Best performance of the season so far! Vocals on point, song choice perfect, great (and different) arrangement, plus she looked amazing. That should get her out of the bottom 3. If it doesn't...I have no idea what to say. 10/10

Who should be Bottom 3? Ben, Majesty and Sam

Who should go home? Ben

Damn, Harry was totally mocking Randy! Awesome.

Edit with Results:

Spot on this time - Ben has been eliminated from the competition.
Majesty and Sam were both in the bottom 3 as well. Sure looks like they're losing their frontrunner status eh?

So Uninspiring

Currently Listening To: Comeback Home - 2NE1

After this week's episode I think I've lost all interest in blogging about AI. Why, you may ask? Well, it's boring and contestants are just not bringing it. I don't even know why I'm still watching. If this continues on, I guess my blog will be dead again soon. But anyway here are my thoughts on the contestants this week, from the least impressive to the best (relatively speaking).

Alex - I Don't Want to Be by Gavin Degraw
Oh god. For a 'frontrunner' I thought that performance was horrible. It's Lee Dewyze all over again with the nasally tone and horrible song choice. 1/10

Ben - Turning Home by David Nail
Nails on a chalkboard. Screechy, whiny and out of tune. 1/10

MK - Drops of Jupiter by Train
Well that was very disappointing. Her voice was shaky, and she never quite connected with the song. Since she was in the bottom 3 last week, I think it's very likely she'll be gone soon, if not this week. Such a waste of lovely tone and voice. 1.5/10

Emily - Let's Get Loud by J.Lo herself
WTF song choice. Did her no favours. Her only saving grace was her decent sounding voice. 2/10

CJ - Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer
In retrospective I guess that wasn't so bad. Much better than last week. However, I'm sorry but he's just too boring. And yet he had seemed so promising during the Hollywood rounds! Geez. Won't be here for long either. 2.5/10

Malaya - Take Me to the King by Tamala Mann
She ended the song with a freaking scream wth. Although a marked improvement from last week, it is still mediocre at best. Come on judges, that last note was not beautiful even though she actually hit it. I know she's just sixteen, and she improved a bit, but that praise was undeserving. I'm weeping for all the 16 year old girls who didn't even make it to Hollywood rounds, really. 3/10

Jessica - White Flag by Dido
Unlike other reviewers I actually kinda liked this performance. Most probably because she was the only one who tried something different. I really don't get the hate for this. Maybe it was the bleating that turned people off? Oh well. She wasn't that bad, but it was nowhere near good either. 4.5/10

Sam - Just One by Blind Pilot
Another contestant with a bland song choice. Mix it up a little kiddo. Vocally okay. 5/10

Jena - Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
I didn't think that was a good song choice, but her voice sounded pretty good. Still a lot of room for improvement. 5/10

Majesty - Fix You by Coldplay
Normally I hate this song, but Majesty made me like it. A bit screechy at moments, and she lost herself in those high notes. That's why she's in third place for me this week. 6/10

Dexter - Lucky Man by Montgomery Gentry
Like I said, he's the best country dude. It's no Scotty McCreery, but he's still better than the rest. 6/10

Caleb - Working Man by Rush
Surprisingly he gave the best performance of the week, and it still wasn't very good. 7/10


If you put all the lower half of the Top 12 contestants from the past 6 seasons together, they'll still be more consistent than this bunch. Yes, even Lazaro!

Conclusion - everyone sucked! Based on this week and last week's performance, nobody deserves to win this.

Who should be in the bottom 3: MK, Ben, CJ

Who will go home: MK

Peace out.

Results Edit: -
Emily is gone. No surprises there again. Too bad, she had -some- potential.