Bittersweet Endings

Currently Listening To: Take Care - Drake feat Rihanna

Right, so I'm recapping both The Voice and American Idol in one post since both shows will be coming to an end next week. Let's start off with -

The Voice

The Top 3 will be competing for the title next Tuesday, with the Top 3 being Josh, Christina and...Jake. Of all people! It's the Blake thing again. Poor Kristen and Kat, I think they've both been better and more consistent than Jake so it's such a waste. Especially Kristen since she gave her best performance this week with Jewel's Foolish Games. Kristen, Kat and not too surprisingly, Christina were the bottom three contestants, with Christina being saved via the Twitter Save - which shouldn't have been in play in the first place! Seriously, I don't care who was the third place contestant - but the bottom two should have gone out as voted by the audience instead of through Twitter manipulation.

I'm 100% behind Josh now because I think he is the most deserving based solely on talent and consistency. Christina had quite a few amazing performances but this week she underperformed - partly due to her inexperience and also Adam's unintentional bussing (or was it intentional?!). I mean, why Imogen Heap and fun's Some Nights?? Those were terrible song choices and it was made worse by her inconsistent singing. Based on those two performances alone she should have been eliminated along with Kat, leaving Kristen in third place instead. For the record, Kat sang a Sia song and Let It Go. Like wtf Adam, are you hell bent on killing your team's chances or something? The only bright side was that it was miles better than Majesty Rose's version.

Can't say Jake deserves a spot in the Top 3 either. As consistent as he may have been, his performances thus far neither stood out nor showed any creativity so...to be frank, he has no business in the Top 3. BUT, thanks to the Blake/country factor, it would have been pretty impossible to exclude him from the finale.

Anyways, TEAM JOSH FTW!

American Idol

I'm actually more pleased with the final two in American Idol than I am with the final three in The Voice. If you're still unaware, Jena and Caleb are the remaining contestants and I'm fine with either of them winning, to be honest. In fact, I would have been okay with Alex (the third place finisher) as the winner too.

What I'm worried about is the backlash against Caleb, no thanks to TPTB's manipulations (what is up with both show's determination to display dirty laundry to the American audience? It's so damn obvious with all the intentional/unintentional digs and snubs towards certain contestants). That and also his 'retard' fiasco. It does not bode well for him although I think he still does have loyal supporters. A lot of people think that he's cocky and rude, but I haven't really seen any negative behaviour from Caleb (aside from the lack of filter, which isn't exactly a crime). The odds of winning are higher for Jena, since she has been pretty consistent all this while and appears to have an interesting personality.

So...I can't make up my mind on who to support this time. Jena or Caleb? Leaning more towards Caleb because I find his vocal prowess incredible. His weak point would be marketability though. He hasn't been singing anything current since...Skyfall? That was one of his best, and it was ages ago. He hasn't been taking risks lately and his song choices have been snoozeworthy, so that will probably work against him.

Conclusion - Team Caleb FTW but I think Jena's gonna win.

A Fateful Trio

Finally down to the final 4 on American Idol.

Level of excitement? Almost non-existent.

Since it's the Top 4, each contestant had to sing three songs with three different themes:

Breakups
Makeups 
Dedications

...seriously? Who came up with those themes? How very vague and straightforward at the same time. Might as well just scratch the whole theme thing and ask contestants to sing whatever they feel like singing.

Frankly speaking, only one person failed to live up to the hype this week and that person is...

Alex with these songs:

First Song: "Alex Clare's Too Close"
You know, a few weeks ago I would have pegged Alex as a frontrunner. Right now though, I'm not so sure. There wasn't anything wrong with this song choice or his vocals, but nothing about it was fantastic either. I think the others stepped up their game, regardless of whether it was performed well or not while Alex just...rather faded away. I don't know, I can't feel his passion anymore and that's dangerous for him. 6/10

Second Song: "Jason Mraz's I'm Yours"
Well, that was underwhelming. And how predictable of him. Of course he'd sing I'm Yours, was just wondering if he'd be leaving that for the finale - if he makes it all the way through that is. Harry's comments were really harsh too. Talk about throwing him under the bus. Why didn't they say those things to him earlier? Then he would have tried to improve yes? But it's too late now. I think he's a contender for the bottom 2 this time around, if he wasn't already there last week. 4/10

Third Song: "Coldplay's Yellow"
Poor Alex. That makes 3 mediocre song choices in a row. First of all, that song needs an interesting arrangement in order to stand out in a singing competition. Secondly, the way he sang it was actually worse than the other songs. For the first time in ages, he sounded unsure of himself and it showed in his vocals. And what in the world, the judges were complimenting his performance. All of that combined together equals disaster. 5/10

Overall: 5/10

Next would be...

Jessica 

First Song: "Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone"
I really question Jessica's intentions to remain in the competition with this song choice. She does realize that Kelly Clarkson is the reason why she is even on this show in the first place right? What was she thinking?? It really doesn't help that her vocals were mild and shaky and pitchy at parts. And the judges were NOT being mean to her this time. Those were actually fair comments regarding the song choice. They didn't even complain about the less than stellar vocals. And that is coming from a bunch of people who apparently hates her guts! 6/10

Second Song: "Pink's So What"
What was up with that song choice?? Even though she sang it decently, that song was completely and absolutely unsuitable for a Top 4 performance. The judges were right - that song did nothing for her, and because of her song choices she'll most likely be the one going home this week. I'm giving her a generous rating due to the strong vocals only. 5/10

Third Song: "Lady Gaga's You and I"
Still not digging the song choice much but at least Jess performed the hell out of You and I. Her best performance since The Crow and the Butterfly from weeks ago. Still no stage presence whatsoever though, just a little bit more life in her eyes and a slight amount of swagger. No match for Haley Reinhart's version at all. 8/10

Overall: 6/10

Performing slightly better than Jessica was...

Caleb

First Song: "Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name"
I'm a huge fan of this song so I'm glad Caleb didn't ruin it since it's a pretty easy song to desecrate. The problem is with his delivery. When Blake did this song in Season 6, he owned it from start to finish. It made him stand out, and it made people pay attention to him. With Caleb however, it was just good singing and that was it. No originality whatsoever. I think these Idol hopefuls need to pay attention to their song selections, find out who sang it before and how well did they do before actually choosing the song and arrangement. A mere 6/10

Second Song: "Creedence Clearwater Revival's Travelin' Band'
Alright, it's getting harder for me to comment on Caleb. His vocals were strong and in tune as usual, and until now he is still the most consistent performer. Unfortunately I didn't feel at all interested in this CCR cover. Felt rather karaoke to me, albeit a very good karaoke. I guess I'm a little bored with his song choices. Whatever happened to that dude who gave us Edge of Glory and Skyfall? It's like he disappeared somewhere into old man's land. Time to shine dude, not the other way round. It's Top 4, wake up! 6/10

Third Song: "Paul McCartney's Maybe I'm Amazed"
Again there was nothing wrong with Caleb's performance, however I'm really wondering if he'll be able to pull through this week. No thanks to that scandalous interview from last week where he called his fans retarded. Like wtf was he thinking? His vocals were good as usual, but the song choice was straightforward and rather uninteresting. I disliked it as much as I disliked James Durbin's version from Season 10, which is kind of a compliment I guess.  7/10

Overall: 6/10

Which leaves us with...

Jena who stole the Top 4 crown tonight, singing:

First Song: "Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker"
Weird phrasing aside, I think Jena's taking up the rocker chick persona much better than Jessica or even Kat from The Voice. Heartbreaker, to me, was a really good performance that showed off Jena's lovely tone and her energy on stage. Out of all the other contestants, Jena has the best stage presence. Alex and Jessica's are non-existent (just like my excitement for this Top 4) while Caleb is kind of like a drama queen without the flair. So yeah, great song choice and good job on delivering it beyond expectations. 8/10

Second Song: "Lady Gaga's Bad Romance"
Very interesting arrangement but I wasn't feeling it. Despite the overwhelmingly positive responses from the judges, I couldn't sense actual excitement from them. Don't know if I'm the only who feels that way though, TPTB are supposedly pimping Jena. 6/10

Third Song: "Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling In Love"
Vocally, Can't Help Falling In Love was really, really beautiful. It was leaps and bounds ahead of everything and everyone else tonight. I loved the way she navigated her way through the song, with the ups and downs, the loud and the soft moments - combined together it was just pure magic. The only technically amazing performance from this week. (Now what did I say about her dark horse status before? I'm right!)  9/10

Overall: 8/10

Who should be bottom 2: Alex and Jessica
Who should go home: Alex

Let's give the contestants a big round of applause for choosing more unusual songs than The Voice contestants this week. And the previous weeks.

Edit with Results:
And so the journey ends for Jessica Meuse. Not a surprising outcome, but she was better than Alex this week. I guess what killed her in the end was her aloofness and lack of connection with songs. It's too late for improvement, and frankly speaking she hasn't improved THAT much (contrary to what her erstwhile supporters would like us to believe). Her fanbase wasn't as big as Alex's either.

Despite all that negativity from the judges (especially Keith Urban), I think Jess handled the situation quite well. J.Lo might not be her biggest fan and Jess may be aware of that, but honestly Ms. Lopez wasn't THAT cruel to her. You can kind of tell that the general public isn't that big a fan of her, so...Jess fanatics are overreacting in my opinion.

At any rate, good luck to Alex, Jena and Caleb for the finale.

The Voice - Top 10

Currently Listening To: Kyline Minogue - Silence

I used to love The Voice because of the unusual and interesting song selections made by the contestants. This season however, proves to be the total opposite. As Idol seeks to revamp their old and dated song catalogue, The Voice apparently decided to take a leaf out of theirs. The result of that is rather muted and dull performances from -most- of the contestants.

Rankings this week, starting with the worst of the lot. I present to you -

Bria 
I think this is a unanimous opinion from most people - Bria was, hands down, the worse performer this week. I would equate her version of Avril Lavigne's I'm With You with Majesty Rose's disastrous Let It Go. Yes, it was that bad! She has no place in this Top 12, let alone Top 10. None of the judges could muster a positive comment on her vocal performance, instead opting to sugercoat their commendation of her efforts so far. Usher made a really, really bad decision with this girl.

Kat
Honestly, Kat wasn't much better than Bria this week. Her vocals were not strong at all, even though she claimed that Landslide was an emotional song choice for her. Maybe it was too emotional. She lost the Kat 'essence' in that process. Not a good week for her.

Jake
Jake, oh Jake. Usually he sounds quite steady but for the first time since his audition, I detected shaky vocals. Of course he's the country darling, so he'll be safe for quite a bit. Otherwise, I'd say that his charm is starting to get old and might in fact, backfire on him.

Tess
Nothing wrong with Tess's singing this week, but nothing about her stood out either. By right, that song (Paramore's Ain't It Fun) choice should have made her pop. By right, but it didn't. At this stage I can only feel sorry for her, because I know she won't be getting a lot of votes. Other than her existing fans, I don't think she won anyone over this week.

Josh
Unfortunately for Usher, Josh is the only decent candidate on his team but I have a hunch he isn't going to last for long. He has this really amazing, versatile voice and he is relatable to the audience, but honestly I think he peaked too soon. Right now, his vocally perfect performances are boring me, and I don't think I'm the only one.

Audra
This little dark horse country powerhouse is starting to prove her worth. I've never paid attention to her voice before, until today that is. In spite of the country inclinations, she actually has a really good tone, good range and she rarely misses notes. And although I found the song choice boring, I found myself drawn to her voice. I hope she continues to improve.

Kristen
Well, I've always liked Kristen but what a surprisingly good performance from her. Despite choosing to sing Passenger's Let Her Go (Cole Vosbury's version was one of my favorites last season), I was genuinely impressed by her vocals. She is definitely improving and learning to own the stage as well. It's really nice to see contestants improving as opposed to remaining the same or getting worse .

Delvin
Wow, he really bounced back from last week's yawn inducing performance and finally showed what he's capable of doing. Talk about a 360 degree turn! Excellent song choice which allowed him to demonstrate his vocal prowess and stage presence.

Sissaudra
Right now Sissy is one of the contestants to beat, mostly because she is ever so consistent. Even though she wasn't at her best last week, it was still very true to herself and vocally she was never faltering. And she still didn't falter this week, but the song choice could have been a little bit more interesting. Still, gotta give her props for the excellent vocals and for working the stage like a pro!

And the best performance of the week undoubtedly goes to...

Christina and her lovely rendition of Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home. It may not have been vocally perfect, but this is what contestants are suppose to do - pick a song, put a bit him/herself into the song and sing it well. I love the original, and I really like Christina's version as well. Unlike the other popular teenager on this show *cough*, Christina is actually living up to her earlier hype and performing consistently well every week.

Results

This time the audience got it right - Bria (finally!) and Tess (unfortunately) are gone, while Kat won the Twitter Save and gets another week.

Sweet Surrender

Currently Listening To: Lord Huron - Time to Run

Tonight is the night where American Idol front runners fell apart.
Well, almost fell apart at least.

Isn't it depressing when the person you like and support is faltering a bit while the others are kind of overtaking the said person. And just last week this person was doing so well.

Anyways. Let's start off this week's review with...

Sam
Sing by Ed Sheeran
Never heard the song before. As far as Sam goes, this was quite a decent performance. It may have been a boring and slightly uninspiring song choice, but he was pitch perfect and his buttery voice did wonders for him. 5/10

How to Save a Life by The Fray
While his first song was pitch perfect, the second one was a lot less so. The first verse was really...yikes. The rest of it was marginally better, but with another boring performance I don't really know what to say. Where did I go wrong? Everything, everywhere, everytime. 4/10

Final Rating: 4.5/10 (!!)

Caleb
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith
A bad song choice, and very duly noted by Caleb too. This is the person (and the performance) who has disappointed me dearly this week. His vocals were completely off here. I lost count of the number of notes he missed. The pitchiest music I've heard in weeks, the only things worse are C.J. Harris's weekly performances and Bria Kelly's horrendous goat bleats. 2/10

Still of the Night by Whitesnake
...Keith and J.Lo were rocking out on their feet. Like head banging and everything. Sure, it was a much better performance than the Aerosmith one AND he was closing the night, but geez in no way was that better than any of his previous performances. Unwarranted -standing ovation-. If that counts as a standing ovation. 7/10

Final Rating: 4.5/10 (!!)

Jessica
Human by Christina Perri

Out of her two performances, I thought Human was the superior one. She sounded vulnerable and her tone was at least pleasant to listen to. Liked it, didn't love it. I think Christina Grimmie should sing this song for The Voice. It should suit her better than Jessica. 7/10

Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey
Seems like a lot of people liked this performance of Jessica's. I guess I'm in the minority cos I did not like it at all. Her voice didn't sound very  pleasant in my opinion and at times it was bordering on Bria Kelly territory (don't get me started on that girl). The 'big beauty queen' style did not suit her either. The only good thing I can say is...she had on a pretty red dress? I am one who is not getting the Jessica love, but I do feel sorry for her when she was waiting for the judges to comment. She looked so miserable I could almost cry for her. This time though the judges' comments weren't bad at all, seeing as I would have said MUCH worse things to her. In fact, I thought J.Lo's comment was actually good advise and Jessica should seriously take it. 5/10

Final Rating: 6/10

Alex
Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood
I liked it. He sounded like he was having fun, and his voice was excellent. Perfect song choice for him. 7/10

Say Something by A Great Big World (feat. Christina Aguilera)
Was that a moment? Definitely not, but that was one of the night's better performances among all. Sailing through to next round for sure. I think. Maybe. Perhaps. 8/10

Final Rating: 7.5/10

Jena
My Body by Young the Giant
I liked this performance of Jena's, though she did lose quite a few words when she was bouncing around. Those moments, I could barely hear her. The band was a bit too loud as well, so that kinda killed the mood for me. At any rate that was still an excellent vocal experience from Jena. 8/10

Valerie by The Zutons/Amy Winehouse
Another excellent showing from Jena. Valerie really showcased her unique tone and big range, so it's no surprise she's the best of the night. 8/10

Final Rating: 8/10

Who should be Bottom 2? Sam & Caleb
Who will be Bottom 2? Sam & Caleb with Sam going home.

I'll have to say that the song choices this week are excellent, most of the songs have never been performed on the American Idol stage before. Nor The Voice. Come to think of it, AI Season 13's song choices have been a lot better than The Voice's Season 6.

Edit with Results:

This week's results show revealed TPTB's desperation to keep a certain contestant on the show. Or so it would seem. Perhaps it was just desperate cry for attention.

This week's elimination of Sam introduced probably the worse twist ever on a reality TV show. For some inconceivable reason they made the final 5 contestants vote for whether they want the Top 5 to remain for another week while next week's show will eliminate 2 contestants at one go. And that'll only work if all contestants vote unanimously.

So it happens 3 contestants voted yes while 2 voted NO. I don't know who voted no, but according to Wikipedia:

"During interviews with the remaining contestants it was revealed that Jena and Alex voted no and Caleb, Jessica and Sam voted yes."

That's actually kind of interesting. I can understand why Sam, Jess and Caleb would vote Yes though. Caleb knew he had a bad week, and the other two have been in the bottom before (in Jess's case, EVERY week).

So, I am satisfied with the results this week but that totally horrendous attempt at manipulating the situation is a BIG, FAT NO.

The Voice - Top 12 Live Shows

Currently Listening To: Shakira - Empire

Here's a quick review on last week's Top 12 episode of The Voice - two contestants were eliminated from the competition.

Ranking the top 12 from the worst to the best:

Delvin Choice
Oh boy. Never sing Unchained Melody for a live show. It rarely translates to the big stage. That was a very unimpressive performance, and I'm not quite sure what he was thinking when he agreed to that song. Talk about throwing his contestant under the bus? Isn't that what you were doing, Adam?

Dani Moz
The second half of her rendition of Just Give Me A Reason was a disaster. And she started off so well too! I don't know how to rank her thanks to that horrendous second half. The only bright side was that she was pitch perfect on that high note? Cos the rest of it wasn't. Poor Shakira.

Bria Kelly
To be honest, I can't stand the fact that she is still on the show. Seriously. Her voice gets on my nerves. Even when singing a less shouty version of Rolling in the Deep. I have nothing against the arrangement, in fact I think that's the only good part of the song. That goat bleat however - it's horrible and she can't rid of it. If that's suppose to be her trademark, then I'm gonna pass.

T.J. Wilkins
Waiting for the World to Change is another song I would never select for a Top 12 live show. It's too boring and until now I have yet to hear an inspiring cover of it. C.J. from American Idol sang this for Top 12 too, and frankly speaking he sang it better. It's a good thing that he was more or less in tune for the whole song.

Jake Worthington
I love this dude's voice, but I didn't want Anymore of that performance. It was so boring, and sleepy and I only ranked him higher than T.J because it's slightly more interesting. VERY slightly.

Audra McLaughlin
She sounded promising during the practice sessions, but her actual performance was very insipid and dull. Angel of the Morning made me want to curl up and sleep. It's a good thing her vocals were pretty solid.

Sissaundra Lewis
There was nothing wrong with her performance, but I didn't quite relate to it. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me is one of those songs that won't really appeal to the public, so with songs like that I don't think Sissaundra's chances of winning this competition is going to be high. I mean, let's be real - women like Sissaundra typically won't last long in a singing contest like this.

Christina Grimmie
She screamed some parts of the song but overall she did a pretty good job with Dark Horse. For sure it sounded better than any of Katy Perry's live performances. Other than that though, why pick that song? Based on previous experience, voters don't usually like this sort of songs. Will she outlast Bria in this competition? I sure hope so, cos I think she's a better singer and has a better personality too.

Kristen Merlin
Poor thing, her mic died about two thirds into the song. She just kept singing! Bravo lady, you have my respect. That and the fact that she sang Sugarland's Stay very well. Just my opinion though, she doesn't seem to be getting much love from other reviewers. That's worrying, cos I actually do like her and I want her to stay.

Tess Boyer
I really liked her version of Bon Jovi's I'll Be There For You. She sounded and looked amazing, and was in tune all the way through. She also sang with a lot of passion. No wooden faces ala Sam/Jess. The only minor complain I have about her performance was the somewhat odd song choice. She doesn't really seem like a Bon Jovi kind of girl.

Kat Perkins
Charismatic. That really is the best word to describe Kat, I think. Her rendition of Heart's Magic Man was by no means perfect, but somehow it stood out to me. She totally belongs on the stage. Her vocals were great, and at least the song choice isn't boring. Seriously, I can't believe she's a nanny! She looks totally bad-ass. I'm ranking her ahead of Tess and Kristen because of her stage presence.

Josh Kaufman
I guess the performance of the night goes to Josh, based solely on his vocal performance AND his stage presence, singing Sam Smith's Stay With Me. Although he was just standing in his place and not exactly prancing around on stage, you could feel his earnestness, his devotion to his craft and his emotions. That's something all of the AI contestants could stand to learn. And that falsetto! Just perfect.

I gotta say though, despite the mostly positive performances from the majority of the Top 12 contestants, there were no wow moments anywhere. Still better than AI's Top 12 I suppose?

With Results:
Unfortunately the bottom 3 were Tess, Dani and T.J, with Tess being saved via #TwitterVote.

I can understand why Dani and T.J were there and then subsequently eliminated, but Tess? She was pretty darn good! I guess she doesn't have a big fanbase? I hope she'll survive to at least Top 6!

And I was way off about Christina. That girl's fanbase alone will win her this damn thing. Or so it would seem at this point of the competition.

Poor Dani as well, she had a bad week and I guess that's all there is to it. Not sure why Delvin was safe though. His performance was more bland and boring than all of the bottom 3.

Rock vs Country

Currently Listening To: Keane -  The Frog Prince

Finally we're down to the Top 6 of American Idol.
With the exception of C.J. and maybe Sam, I think we actually have a pretty decent Top 6.
It's still not much compared to last year's Top 3 but considering how this season has been I'd say that the end result is pretty satisfying. I've given up watching it on TV so I'm just watching the videos on Youtube, and (thankfully) bypassing the judges' comments. At least that'll make me a little less biased?

Moving on.
This week the contestants have to sing two songs each - one Country and one Rock & Roll.
It's quite a good theme as it gives the contestants a chance to sing a mixture of new and old songs. So how well did they do this week? Let's start off with...

C.J.
The Guess Who's American Woman and Zac Brown Band's Whatever It Is
Can somebody please tell me why has he been avoiding bottom 2 for the past...5..6 weeks? He started the song on the wrong pitch again. The rest of the song was slightly better, but in all seriousness - who in the world has been voting for him? Usually contestants like C.J. are eliminated quite early in the competition. What does his voters see in him? Why is he still here when even Dexter's gone? 3/10

So the first song was still acceptable (in C.J. standards) but the second one takes the cake for the worst Top 6 performance ever. That was like, watching him sing in the shower without the bathroom acoustics. At least he was kinda in tune. And that was still better Majesty's Let It Go. In hindsight, I think I still prefer C.J. over Lazaro (season 12 6th place finalist). It'll be mind-boggling if he survives this week. 3/10

Final Rating: 3/10

Alex
Neon Tree's Animal and Willie Nelson's Always On My Mind.
Um I don't know what to make of his song selections. His rendition of Animal was quite off pitch and nasally all over, so that's not good. Usually his reinventions are pretty spot on, but Animal just isn't one of them. So many rock songs out there and he chooses Animal? Seriously? 4/10

Always On My Mind was truckloads better. I had a problem with his look though. He looked constipated and uncomfortable in that suit and all I could think of was Elliot Yamin. Don't ask me why. These are the reasons why I can't rank him in the Top 3 tonight. In fact if not for his WGWG status I would be doubting his chances of survival. 6/10

Final Rating: 5/10

Sam
Imagine Dragon's It's Time and Shania Twain's You're Still the One
It's a good thing Sam's vocals are so strong because that performance was completely devoid of emotion. At least, that was the impression he gave to me. The unfortunate result was that bland, forgettable performance There were some bright moments in there but it's not good enough for even Top 12, let alone Top 6. 4/10

On the bright side, I thought You're Still the One was one of his best performances. A little conviction goes a long way. For Sam, that is. Solid vocals, but overall still very vanilla.  6/10

Final Rating: 5/10

Jessica
Jefferson Airplane's Somebody to Love and Dolly Parton's Jolene
I found Somebody to Love rather repetitive and although Jess sang well, I don't think that song did her much justice. Yes, it's the other way round. At this stage in the competition, the contestants NEED to choose songs that will draw people in to vote for them and honestly Jefferson Airplane isn't going to win her new votes. Unless the audience are big fans in the first place. Since she was in the bottom 2 last week, it's not a very wise decision on her part. 6/10

Now, her rock version of Jolene however was just brilliant. The way she sang it - I could feel the desperate plea to the judges in her voice. Not to mention her vocals were just perfect. I love this song, but I'll have to completely disagree with Keith on the arrangement. What was up with his attitude? It seems like he hates her even more than J.Lo does. In my opinion that rock arrangement was perfect for Jess, perfect for American Idol and a perfect way to prove the judges wrong. So yeah, thanks J.Lo for that kind comment even though she has been so hard on Jess for the past few weeks. At least she acknowledges improvement and good performance when she sees one. 9/10

Final Rating: 7.5/10

Jena
Heart's Barracuda and Carrie Underwood's So Small
What a way to start off the show! Barracuda was the perfect song for Jena to showcase her vocals and personality. She definitely caught everyone's attention even though she had the so-called death slot. Brilliant, energetic and memorable. 9/10

And then we have a Carrie Underwood song. Vocally I thought it was pretty strong but there were some moments where Jena's enunciation just got on my nerves so I couldn't fully enjoy the performance. Nevertheless, this dark horse is definitely shaping up to be THE contestant to beat. Yes, ahead of Caleb simply because she has shown a lot more improvement and made 'cool' song choices. Plus, she's female and not a WGWG so that gives her an edge of sorts as well. 7/10

Final Rating: 8/10

Caleb
The Black Crowe's Sting Me and Carrie Underwood's Undo It
You know what, Caleb is just...wow. In my eyes he is pretty much this season's Candice - very consistent and generally just kicking ass every week. This week is no different. What he did to that Black Crowe's song was just pure Caleb. To quote J.Lo, that was just pure rock and roll and awesome. Great vocals all the way through. And omg that wail - just perfect! 8/10

As for his second song - I know it's suppose to be the Country theme but Caleb pretty much just did his thing and rocked it. Another Carrie Underwood song. I'm not a fan of Carrie Underwood or her songs, so I'm kinda pleased with this arrangement. It was cool, and although I wish he could have made an effort to stick to the theme, I'm still pleased with the outcome. Keep it going! 9/10

Final Rating: 8.5/10

Who should go home? C.J.

Who will go home? Sam

Edit with Results:
C.J. is finally gone! *cheers* Long overdue.

The Voice - Gateway to the Live Rounds

The Voice continues to be more exciting than American Idol, but I'm not sure if the energy level will be the same moving into the live rounds.

Anyways, let's get right into the remaining 9 contestants who joins Team Blake's contestants in the Top 12 of The Voice Season 6.

Team Shakira

Tess Boyer

Oh yes, I'm so glad Tess is still in the competition! She basically went through the earlier rounds as cannon fodder but prevailed over the so-called frontrunners. Personally I think she is one of the best girls in the competition, seeing as she has the looks, the voice and also charisma. Here's hoping she won't disappoint in the live rounds!

Dani Moz

Dani's audition wasn't shown and she wasn't featured much in the Battle Rounds, so I can't say that I remember her performances. BUT over the last 2 weeks, she has proven to be one hell of a singer and her rendition of Edge of Glory for the play-offs rightfully earned her a spot in the Top 12. Plus, she kinda looks like Daryl Hannah.

Kristen Merlin

I think it's safe enough for me to say that none of Shakira's final contestants were pimped nor overly-hyped, and that is especially true for Kristen. She impressed me during her audition, and then after that she just kinda disappeared. None of her battle rounds were shown, so I had actually forgotten about her until the playoffs. Well, she didn't disappoint! Thank you Shakira for making the correct decisions.

Eliminated from Team Shakira - Deja Hall, Patrick Thompson.

Team Adam

Delvin Choice

Delvin isn't a  bad singer, but he hasn't been very impressive. Not sure about his chances in the live rounds. Then again, the other Team Adam contestants were even worse than him so deserves this more than they do.

Christina Grimmie

The Youtube sensation who didn't quite live up to the hype. Still, she is one of the better singers left in Adam's team and she has that tween/teen appeal. I really don't think Adam is going to be able to replicate his success from the previous season, what with a bland R&B singer and a not-quite-so-interesting pop artist. At most he'll only be able to rely on...

Kat Perkins

Arguably one of the best singers left in the competition, Kat is Adam's only bright hope for the live stage so I think she has a lot to live up to. All of her performances were shown (from her audition right up to the playoffs), and she more or  less nailed all of it. And I don't know if that's going to be a good thing for her since expectations will be VERY high. Best of luck to Kat.

Eliminated from Team Adam - Morgan Waller, Jake Barker

Team Usher

T.J. Wilkins

Okay, T.J. is by no means a bad singer but I don't think he has what it takes to be a star on the big stage. Above average voice yes, stage presence not so great. Honestly, Team Usher is starting to look like it's at a disadvantage.

Bria Kelly

Seriously, I can't stand Bria's voice and tone. In terms of goat bleat, she is actually worse than Jessica Meuse (Jess is bad enough). I wish she'd sing at normal levels all the time because her idea of high notes is 'SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM BLEAT'. Do. Not. Like. Either Usher teaches her to control her voice or she'll be going home VERY soon once she hits the main stage. Talk about overhyped.

Josh Kaufman

I present to you Josh, otherwise known as Usher's only chance at winning The Voice title. A four-chair turn who never failed to disappoint, Josh is probably the only contestant left on Usher's team that has some kind of chance at winning. Good vocals, good song choices, and I hope he'll continue making the right decisions.

Eliminated from Team Usher - Melissa Jimenez, Stevie Jo (a travesty! He should have been Top 3 instead of Bria or T.J.!)

Bad decisions aside, I'm looking forward to the live shows next week.

Here Comes the Bus

Currently Listening To: Muse - Uprising

Another delayed review for American Idol.
Shows just how dedicated I am to this season huh?

But seriously, I didn't really have the time to watch it last week so I just skimmed through the performances in Youtube. Anyway this week the contestants picked songs for each other, so it was quite interesting. Not a bad week but it was nowhere near great either.

Rankings:

So Who Went Home Last Week? Dexter did.

He sang Muckalee Creek Water, whatever that is. It wasn't a bad song choice for him but at this stage he needed to stand out badly. However, he didn't and I guess that's why he was actually eliminated this week. There goes the country chances this year. 3/10

Jessica - Gunpowder and Lead
Something about her vocals was off. She wasn't pitchy or anything - I just can't place what went wrong with her performance. And while that may not have been her best performance, the judges' harsh and unnecessary criticisms were completely unwarranted. I guess Jess is this season's roadkill for TPTB. Why though? What did she do to make them hate her so much? At least with Haley (Reinhart), I could understand. She was a threat to their beloved country duo. But Jess? Who exactly is she a threat to? Caleb? Sam?? 4/10

C.J - Gravity
First time in weeks he actually sounded decent I think. What a shame cos it really destroyed Dexter's chances in the competition (and probably Jessica's as well. Sad.) 5/10

Sam - Sail Away
I have never heard the song before, and yet Sam managed to make me love it. That's a huge improvement for him I think. He sounded good, genuinely felt the song for once and looked slightly more comfortable on stage. 7/10

Alex - A Team
Oooh, the only Ed Sheeran song I like. That was a good one from Alex, though I guess he didn't quite stand out? He's not as consistent as Caleb, but he has been doing pretty okay for the past 4 weeks or so. 7/10

Caleb - Family Tree
I'm completely unfamiliar with this Kings of Leon song (OMG! Kings of Leon on American Idol? I didn't think that was possible wtf), but what the hell I thought Caleb totally rocked it. He actually sounded like Caleb Followill (another Caleb zomg) in some parts. Damn, is he consistently good or what? Seriously, he's the only contestant who seems to belong in this competition. 8/10

Jena - Creep
Is this the first Radiohead song in American Idol as well? I can't believe Caleb picked this song for Jena - I don't think it's good news for him cos she totally slayed it! The best cover ever of Creep by an amateur singer in a singing competition. Especially since this is American-Freaking-Mainstream-Idol. 9/10

And Idol-Cameraman? Please stop zooming in on Jennifer's face every bloody second. I only watched the full show on TV for a couple of performances and all I kept seeing was J.Lo. You got that right. Not the contestants, but J.Lo. Cut it out, you're making all of us watching at home hate her, and I actually enjoy her critiques okay?

That's all for this week, folks. Now I'm gonna go listen to some David Gray.