American Idol 4 Episode Review: Top 12 --- 1960s nite

OK, I admit I am bored. So what did I do? I rewatched the whole Season 4 of American Idol and decided to critique each performance. I have absolutely no musical training, and if you notice that my comments for Carrie’s performances are a bit longer, it’s because I am a fan of hers. So here are my comments from each of the shows from the top 12 on.

Top 12: 1960s nite
First of all, I didn’t really like the fact that for this season, we had to have 6 guys and 6 girls in the final twelve. It’s a pity that Mario Vazquez dropped out. With Mario out, my initial thought was that either Carrie or Bo would win the show. Glad that Nikko Smith was back as I thought he deserved the place more than Mikalah Gordon. I also thought that Amanda Avila could have been here instead of the abovementioned Mikalah.

Jessica Sierra: Shop Around
No doubt she is a good singer, which appeals to me. American Idol, after all, is a singing competition. She did have a few bum notes on the lower range of her voice. However, the performance was not too inspiring. Not a breakout, just pretty decent.

Anwar Robinson: A House is Not A Home
Background as a music teacher showed as pitch-wise, he was nearly flawless. However, the song kind of had me distracted, as I was looking at my clock: boring! He definitely has to pick better songs.

Mikalah Gordon: Son of A Preacher Man
To me, she was only in because of her personality, and I agree with Simon’s comments in the semi-finals that half the audience would find her amusing, and the other half, annoying. I belong to the latter group. To me, considering how bad her performances in the semis, this was decent. Definitely karaoke-like.

Constantine Maroulis: You’ve Made Me so Very Happy
Motown meets rock. Interesting. I like this song, and seeing Constantine doing it his way made me yearn for the original; not a great sign, but he did pretty good. Glad that he toned down his rocker image as I feel it doesn’t suit him. And what was that last note??!!

Lindsay Cardinale: Knock on Wood
She started out decently, but lost me big time in the chorus. She has a nice low husky voice that unfortunately, can be easily and cruelly exposed, since it will limit her to some types of songs (which I can’t think of at the moment). For me, I still think her audition was her best performance; not building on the promise.

Anthony Federov: Breaking Up is Hard to Do
Unfortunately, he will always remind me of a poor man’s version of Clay Aiken. Vocally he was OK, but like Mikalah, the word “karaoke” popped into my mind.

Nadia Turner: You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me
The moment Nadia started this song, you know she is going to nail it. Her low, rock-ish voice really gave this song a nice edge. I never thought of the original, which meant that I really liked her performance.

Bo Bice: Spinning Wheel
This song suited his rocker image. His experience of performing with his band paid off, as he really owned the stage. Vocally, he is not the best in the show, but he certainly knows how to use it.

Vonzell Solomon: Anyone Who Had a Heart
She looks great in her gown! Quite a challenge taking on Dionne Warwick, and sadly for Vonzell, I began to think of Dionne’s version as she sang this. She may have bitten off than she could chew. She has a sweet voice that isn’t quite suited for this.

Scott Savol: Ain’t too Proud to Beg
OK. I sat up right away since I remembered George Huff performing this song brilliantly in AI3. Scot has a nice tone to his voice, and gave this motown classic a nice and different edge. I never liked his personality, but I must give him his props for this!


Carrie Underwood: When Will I be Loved
Vocally, she is spot-on. I have always felt that Anwar may be technically the best vocalist; but Carrie has the nicest sweetest voice this season (which is amazingly untrained), which hopefully will be further developed later on with help from a vocal coach. This song does nothing to change that opinion. She tried to pick an up-tempo song to show personality. Showmanship-wise, she will definitely lose out to Bo, Constantine and Nadia. She will win with her vocals.

Nikko Smith: I want You Back
Started out OK, but lost it very soon. Given that he had not much time to prepare, I’ll give him a pass.

Overall comments:
Maybe it was the theme, but the show kind of left me cold. At this stage, I could only see 4 people winning it: Anwar, Nadia, Bo and Carrie. Anwar and Carrie need to pick better songs, and I have always felt that Nadia is somewhat limited vocally. My vote was for Mikalah to go home; but I wasn’t too surprised that Lindsay got the boot.

Top 12 performance rankings:
Nadia
Bo
Scott
Carrie
Anwar
Constantine
Jessica, Vonzell
Anthony
Nikko
Lindsay (voted off)
Mikalah

Thoughts on Lindsay:
I remembered I was impressed a lot by her during the auditions, but throughout the semis and the top 12, I felt that she never built on her promise and actually regressed.