Territorial Bloggings

The girls get their chance, both to take on the music of the 70’s, and to put the guys to shame for the load of crapulence (the Davids & Chikezie excepted) they loosed upon us last night. Let’s hope they’re up to the task.

(Oh, and the Territorial Spouse seems to have located my online scribblings. Hi, sweetie! I wonder if this means that I need to behave better…)

Judges’ thoughts about last night: “The guys were on fire!”?? “Pretty fantastic!”??? Wow, Randy & Paula were obviously watching a different show last night that I saw on my TV screen.

Carly Smithson - Crazy On You - She’s domestic and has a great accent? Nice. Heart? Strong choice. It really gave her a chance to show her vocal range & power. The performance wasn’t all that great, but the vocal was hot. A much better start to the show than we got last night. The judges might think she’s the girl to beat, but for me, setting the producer-generated buzz aside, she’s not quite there yet.

Syesha Mercado - Me And Mr.(sic) Jones - An actress who can cry like a baby? Can’t they all? ;^) She’s got power & charisma to spare. Despite that, the performance was a little boring. Good, but boring. I agree, mostly, with Simon re: the indulgent nature of changing the song from “Mrs.” to “Mr.” Jones. She’s safe, though, because she’s so likable.

Brooke White - You’re So Vain - A beautician? It somehow makes sense. Almost reminds me of the Darryl Hannah character in Steel Magnolias. Acoustic? Nice choice. Carly Simon? Outstanding choice. She actually sounded much better when it was acoustic, and merely “OK” when backed by the full band/music. I liked it. Simon thought she was looking at him, eh? How vain. ;^) She’s got a 70’s chick vibe about her, and it should keep her safe through into the finals.

Ramiele Malubay - Don’t Leave Me This Way - A hula dancer? What a cutie. Good song choice, from the standpoint that a ‘belt-it-out’ disco diva song suits her vocal power. She suffered a little during the down/quiet sections, mayhaps because she doesn’t have quite the level of control and/or maturity that she’ll eventually have. All things considered, she’ll be safe this week, but she needs to do better next week to ensure her spot in the finals.

Kristy Lee Cook - You’re No Good - A tomboy. Ok, cool. She cleaned up nice, but the performance was lacking in both vocals and presentation. And the presentation was better than the vocals. Nope, I didn’t like that at all, even if it was better than last week’s effort. She might be back, but she’s still at risk. Big time.

Amanda Overmyer - Carry On Wayward Son - A bookworm, biker-nurse. Sure. Who convinced her that the “Hair by Lily Munster” was the way to go? Her presentation sucked. Her vocals sucked. Her chances, you know, suck. That was atrocious. Simply horrific. Over produced & contrived - nice observation by Simon. Paula used “juxtaposed”? Wow, how erudite. I betcha David Cook took notice…

Alaina Whitaker - Hopelessly Devoted To You - Not only does she not like her food to touch, she obviously doesn’t like her two front teeth to touch, either. She looks (and sounds!) like Carrie Underwood’s cute little sister, until she smiles, that is. Oh yeah, the song. She got a little shouty in spots, but overall it was a good job. The Country twang suits her. I think she’ll be safe, having distanced herself a little bit from Kristy Lee in the ‘AI: Battle of the Blondes’.

***Wow, it took this long for us to get our first “Simon takes a gay shot at Ryan” episode of the season. At least it was reasonably funny in context…

Alexandréa Lushington - If You Leave Me Now - A Fire Dept. postergirl. Hot. ;^) Not a bad performance, though it was boring. Good tone, but she’s awfully nasally. I didn’t like her outfit (those spiked-heely boot thingies were atrocious), as it didn’t match the song’s vibe. After last week’s stellar outing, she did herself no favors. And she knows it. Hopefully it won’t cost her.

Kady Malloy - Magic Man - She’s an Opera diva. Hrm. I don’t know quite what to make of that. Another Heart song. Brave girl. Too bad it didn’t pay off for her. It was ok-to-good in spots, but as a whole it was weak, particularly when compared to Carly’s Heart-attack to kick off the show. It was better than last week, but then it had to be, didn’t it? She’s at risk again. I think she’s losing the ‘AI: Battle of the Blondes’.

Asia’h Epperson - All By Myself - A cheerleader. Yeah, I can see that. She’s peppy. It wasn’t Imagine, but then what would be? I had started to write something much more favorable, but what the hell happened on that first big note of the chorus? Good Lord - she lost it there & never really got it back. Sick? Ok, that would explain it. She looked very good, and she did a good enough job bringing it home. Even if she’s fully healthy she might not pull it off - Simon might be right, in that it was a little too big for her. Even so, I think she’s safe.

At Risk: Kristy, Amanda, Alaina, Alexandréa, Kady

Should and Will Go Home: Kristy & Amanda

Let’s hope that America gets it right tomorrow when the results are announced.

-ghp