(03-24-2013, 08:13 PM)My Alter Ego Wrote:

(03-24-2013, 07:30 PM)danzeb Wrote:

(03-20-2013, 08:09 PM)Tusk Wrote: Watching over at Mjs, Haven't seen Candice's, but IMO Amber did the best with the riskiest song choice. I thought she had the best cover of the night,and liked some of the choices she made that made it just a little more her own.

I've been wanting to root for Kree, but she's not compelling enough, nor Angela or Candice, for me. Amber's performance tonight makes me think I could like her above the rest.

Amber's performance was one of the few this season that I will listen to again. I know the song well and like it. I find very few Beatles covers that I like but that was one of them. She sounded great, was connected with the song and told the story with emotion.

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danzeb, I'm so glad that you, like a minority of us, recognize how good Amber's performance was. It's true -- she didn't help herself by looking so uncomfortable during her performance (at least in the beginning).

But the arrangement was excellent: slightly different from the original, but still recognizable (if one knew the song), but it allowed Amber the opportunity to infuse her "Amberisms."

I loved this performance -- it was beautiful and evocative. Despite looking a bit awkward at the beginning (that walk was too long) her singing was lovely from the start. I also liked the arrangement. Once she got in front of the musicians and stopped walking it all jelled nicely. It was my favorite of those I listened to (including Candice and Kree).

As a kid, I always chocked up a little bit listening to this song, I had a similar reaction hearing her perform this, the first time.

Studio version


The ((over) production detracts from it IMO, but still a good vocal

Don't we have to listen to them all to say who is best?

(03-25-2013, 12:59 AM)alpha7388 Wrote: Don't we have to listen to them all to say who is best?

Personally, I've already eliminated a couple of contestants from consideration. Most of the performances I watched didn't hold my interest for a minute. I never seem to actually watch the show.

I listened to them all, and Amber was still my favorite. She's raw but has a good foundation and better potential.

I know that Kree and Candice do really well, but again, it's about finding someone/something you can root for.

I'm not all in, by any means, but I have to admit Amber's potential makes a dull season just a little more interesting.

Not to mention, possibly the best 'group performance', since S10 with the S12 Ladies....too bad there's no studio of this



I could listen to all these ladies' versions of this song.... well done, and wtf ? They sang harmony (well) too.... who'd a thunk ?

The ladies really should be top 5. And as much as I think Candice is the best, a good outcome is any one of them winning. I don't have a contestant that I'm absolutely in love with yet. But it's an enjoyable show because these 5 are excellent.

(03-24-2013, 11:56 PM)john Wrote: I loved this performance -- it was beautiful and evocative. Despite looking a bit awkward at the beginning (that walk was too long) her singing was lovely from the start. I also liked the arrangement. Once she got in front of the musicians and stopped walking it all jelled nicely. It was my favorite of those I listened to (including Candice and Kree).

Watching it again I could see that the walking part did not work for her as she may have been thinking more about her walk than the song. Once she stopped she really got into the song.

(03-25-2013, 12:00 AM)Tusk Wrote:

As a kid, I always chocked up a little bit listening to this song, I had a similar reaction hearing her perform this, the first time.

Studio version


The ((over) production detracts from it IMO, but still a good vocal

Thanks -- I hadn't heard the studio version. Nice. I can't help but wonder if lack of familiarity with the song wasn't of benefit to Amber. The original wasn't so indelibly entrenched in her head that she couldn't find ways to make variations (very nice variations, BTW) on the melody.

She should not have been in the bottom three because of this performance!

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(03-25-2013, 01:14 AM)Tusk Wrote: I could listen to all these ladies' versions of this song.... well done, and wtf ? They sang harmony (well) too.... who'd a thunk ?

Well, I, for one, expect such things. I know. Silly me - I expect musicians to be -- well -- musicians.

I'm pretty sure I've raved about this gor-ge-ous version earlier, but it is undeniably beautiful. If you'll forgive an analogy: at the beginning, when each of the ladies/contestants sings the melody, it's a bud -- a perfect flower bud, with all its promise.

As a line of harmony is added, that bud is opening a bit, teasing us with it's promise of greater beauty. And at 1:39 when the harmony explodes into a fullness so rich and heavenly, so the flower is completely open and displaying it's full beauty. And, as quickly as all that glorious beauty is shown, it's over.

How well the women blended was astonishing to me! If one is going to be a soloist, one needs to develop a distinctive sound (we've all mentioned that about Haley). That can often mean that one doesn't "play well/work well/and in this case, sound good with others." (Yes, Haley always blends with others as well.) But, although each of these singers does have an unique sound, they blended together so well, that it's just a delight to listen to this performance. Yum!

(03-25-2013, 06:56 PM)My Alter Ego Wrote: I can't help but wonder if lack of familiarity with the song wasn't of benefit to Amber. The original wasn't so indelibly entrenched in her head that she couldn't find ways to make variations (very nice variations, BTW) on the melody.

Yes, I think you could be right on this. When I first heard her performance I was struck by the fact that her "interpretation" of the song worked really well. For me,the songs the Beatles wrote usually are closely tied to their performance of the song. It can be hard to imagine the song beyond the recording by the Beatles themselves. Covers of their songs are often hard to take (I remember those awful renditions of Beatles songs playing on Muzak loops in elevators and department stores).

But Amber made it fresh and showed me just how good the song is, in and of itself.

I enjoyed Janelle's performance the other night. It was a "moment" for her and it came after Nicki had bashed her hard for her duet with Kree.

The praise of Mariah and Keith for her solo performance brought tears of joy to her eyes. In the prelude to the performance she demonstrated a sense of humor when, as she was exiting the studio, she told the guy Jimmy had threatened the week before that she was "glad he was still here, too." During the results-night performance they showed the Idols visiting a school and she was seen crying and she explained it was because she was moved by the experience of sharing music with the children.

Being beat up, being humanized and giving a good performance is a powerful combination. I think she gained ground on the leaders.

This is an arrangement she said she came up with when she was 14. She expressed after the performance this was the first time she had been accompanied by a full band when she played guitar. She was thrilled by that.

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Devin on not being saved:

Quote:The judges seemed to be split three-to-one on whether or not to save you. How do you feel about that?

I kind of knew it was going to happen. Even yesterday, I felt really good about my performance but it's just, in the end there can be only one winner. And everyone has to go home, it's just a certain time. Obviously, today was my time. I think I know who didn't want to put me through.

[Note: Devin never once said the name of the judge he suspected. It's kind of obvious though.]

She has a lot of girl power. And a lot of girl thoughts -- maybe she just wants a girl to win. Just the fact that the girls have been so consistent with their songs and having such higher votes. I mean, the girls are amazing this year and I have nothing bad to say about any of the contestants.

As for the judges, you know...

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/...minaj.html

Quote:Did the judges talk to you afterwards?

Yes, I had three come up.

I had Keith come up first and he gave me this big hug and he was just like, "Dude, you were great, it was an honor having you on the show." And coming from Keith, that was awesome.

And then I had Randy and Mariah come up, and Randy was just like, "Dude, I want to keep in contact with you because you are an amazing artist and we would love to work with people like you." Hearing that from people like Randy, who's been in the business for ages, that's awesome!

And then, well Mariah, she was emotional but she said the same exact thing. She said, "I would love to sometime down your road, do something with you." And that coming from Mariah -- and she doesn't say that to everyone I will tell you that right now. The hug was so sincere and her tears were not of joy but I got to wipe a few. So I'm not washing this finger and I love Mariah she's such a sweetheart!

Plans on doing some Spanish albums:

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/...minaj.html