To sum everything up: James Durbin sucked, which is unusual. Jacob Lusk sucked, that's nothing new. Lauren Alaina was good. Scotty McCreery was really good, but awkward. As for Haley Reinhart, she just destroyed the other four. Sadly, the judges didn't see/hear it the way I did.
But they've been useless anyway. I mean, did Randy make any comment, ANY, that he hasn't made before, not just in seasons past but even this season? I don't think so. His presence is pointless. Did Steven Tyler contribute anything meaningful? I don't think so. He seems pointless. Jennifer Lopez was also too cloying. If there's indeed "nothing to judge", why are three still there??
Sorry to rant, but the blatant favoritism - in this episode, in particular - was just disgusting! Nothing more to say.
DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha.
Round 1: NOW
If this is a shock to you then you are probably Helen Keller. Haha. This performance was far worse than Alone, and I thought that was as bad as Jacob could sing. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Why does Jacob hate Jordin Sparks? What did she do to him? This was so bad it seemed like revenge. Haha. 3/10
Pick a pitch, James! Any pitch! Possibly James' weakest performance to date! I wonder if he could hear himself or something as the band was too loud and he was really off pitch a couple of times. His vocals were terrible, he clearly had a couple of sharp and flat notes in there and when he hit those high notes, his voice became shrill. James is really talented, and he obviously has a good voice, but if someone told him that he needed to work on his pitch a couple of weeks ago - instead of the usual cheerleading thing the judges have been doing - he'd probably worked on it and get much better. Just saying. 6/10
Hmm. Of all Carrie Underwood songs, Lauren chose this? I was seriously hoping for So Small, but whatever. I thought she started out great and while she did seem out of breath a couple of times, I think it was because she FINALLY brought out power in her voice. She went for the big notes, came out with more confidence and she stretched her vocals even further than last week. Very nice. 7.5/10
These judges need to fall off a cliff!! Seriously. They praised James Durbin's off key performance, and then they gave this performance crap? Heck, even Jacob got better remarks!! Jennifer Lopez criticized Jimmy Iovine's advice. Randy Jackson blasted on Lady Gaga's song. How was the singing, judges? No, Haley's performance wasn't perfect by any means, but it was undeniably solid. For her to start out practically lying on her side and sounding so perfect showed that she really had some AMAZING vocal control. Plus, the last note was incredible. I guess, they will smack her down at ANY opportunity they have. 8/10
Shocked. Yes, this sounded like every other Scotty performance, but I enjoyed how he worked the stage for an upbeat joint like this. He showed so much personality, his vocals were pretty solid and those crazy eyeballs were hysterical. I was entertained, that's for sure. 8/10
Round 2: THEN
Love Hurts
I was told before that if I couldn't think of ANYTHING nice to say, I wasn’t allowed to say the bad stuff. Therefore, my critique of this song is over. Haha. 4.5/10
Without You
Well, I could have lived without that! Haha. This was definitely not James Durbin's night. I don't know. He started out pitchy as hell, but improved when he went into his upper register and kicked it up a notch. Sadly, I didn't care for his performance anymore when he was almost able to recover. Oh, and Randy, let me get this straight, emotionally perfect is ok and the notes don't matter anymore? Personally, pitchiness can NEVER be ignored lest we have a disaster like last year. Go figure! 6.5/10
Unchained Melody
To be fair, Lauren started off great, but she seemed to lose steam by the end. I thought she held back a bit in the end especially when she avoided that big note. She could have used her falsetto - if she has one - but instead she just chopped her notes short. I also saw her straining to reach those high notes. It was still a very pleasant performance though. I'd say A for tone and possibly C- for breath control. 7/10
Always On My Mind
What I like about Scotty, which the Jennifer Lopez also mentioned last week, is the fact that he can actually take a simple lyrics and tell a story from it. No need for screams or shrieks, oversinging or tears pouring out of his eyes to garnish attention. Yes, Scotty did beautifully with this classic. It didn't move me like his ballad from last week, but I'm happy to see a male vocal that's controlled and almost pitch perfect - not just emotionally perfect. 8/10
House Of The Rising Sun
Judges, you have NOTHING - and I mean, NOTHING - to bitch about this time! This performance of Haley was absolutely brilliant. Outstanding vocals. Lovely phrasing. Great musicality. Every week, it seems like Haley's performances are becoming more challenging than any of the other contestants and after tonight, she DESERVES to be in the Finale. Oh, and I love the look on her face after her performance. It was like saying, How you like that judges? What are you got to say now? Abso-fcukin'-lutely bada*s! 9.5/10
