I think i've been sleeping abit too much this week. i did a little math.. last night's sleep amounted to around 9 hours! what's happening to me??? i'm really turning into the incredible sloth; i must do something soon to break this vicious cycle...
oh well, wadeverlah duanduan..
Anyway, it's that time of the week again when my adrenaline rises to cataclysmic heights as i wait expectantly for the results of this week's AI3. Will any of my favorites be booted out?? Will the American audiences be totally objective & fair for once and choose someone really deserving to be eliminated??? Naturally, the results are already out in the U.S.A since our dear little country is lagging behind by at least 8 hours... and naturally too, i know who had been voted off (courtesy of the Internet, of course) but i wont leave any spoilers here. ;p As per normal, i shall give MY account of last night's show, devoid of ANY prejudices or biases, be it the judges' or my own (as if..).
The fact that the night's theme was Motown, made me feel abit cheated already. For the layman, Soul and Motown are essentially very similar; they orginate from the same era in the timeline of musical history and predictably, Motown songs would have a similar feel as those in Soul week. (However, i did a little bit of research a few moments ago in order to really differentiate the two because my earlier assumption that Motown music is more upbeat than SOul doesnt really hold true. This is what i've come to understand: Soul & Motown have their roots in Rhythm&Blues and Jazz but Soul music came first whereas Motown evolved as a sort of "pop" interpretation of Soul. As a result, Soul music has a rougher, rawer and more honest quality than Motown...) I think i cant be far from wrong if i say that Soul & Motown are both derivatives of Black music and thus, the Afro-American performers in this competition would more likely benefit from these themes as opposed to the others.
Camile Velasco opened the show with For Once In My Life which had been done by Justin Guarini in the first season. Surprisingly, for once in her lifetime in AI3, Camile did NOT let her nerves overtake her completely & managed to look as if she was enjoying herself during the performance. Unfortunately for her though, it was still very sub-par. Motown was evidently not her thang at all but i really wonder if she'd be able to pull herself together in future episodes and deliver that brilliant performance which we've all been waiting for from her... Jon Peter Lewis was equally unimpressive with his rendition of This Old Heart Of Mine; i much prefer Corey Clarke's take from last season although it pains me to admit so (i used to be anti-Corey). I've always liked JPL's slight eccentricity & the fact that he resembles a hobbit straight out of LOTR, but honestly, his voice is just not up to it.
Latoya London brought down the pace abit with Ooh Baby Baby and i was simply amazed by the subtlety and control in her delivery. On the other hand, the song didnt do much for her (not a very accessible song, i'm afraid) and neither did her awful hair-extensions... Amy Adams' rendition of Dancing In the Street may not be anything spectacular but her vocals were pretty solid & good. The only problem is will she ever be good enough to stand out from the rest of her peers??? The same can be said of John Stevens, whose abysmal rendition of My Girl only emphasizes how out of depth he was in this competition. He was horribly flat throughout the song, something which i thought my dear, old John was incapable of doing... *sigh*
i was very glad that my fave, Jennifer Hudson was up next, and gladder still that although her Heatwave was significantly different from Kimberley Locke's version from AI2, it sounded remarkably good. Straight hair is very becoming on miss jennifer and her stellar vocals, as usual, were spot-on. *Hurrah!* My other fave, Jasmine Trias also scored with You're All I need; it was something performed to near-perfection already by Kelly Clarkson in AI1 but Jasmine didnt let that deter her from executing an amazing rendition. Moreover, I just lurrve her black-shiny-patent-leather look... it was very Lucy Liu! ;p
Diana Degarmo was in fine form, as usual; she tore through Do you Love me Now like a seasoned professional. My only problem wif her is that she's just a tad chunky-looking and wearing short skirts arent helping her out at all ;p Other than that, i dont see how this girl can ever go wrong... Fantasia Barrino's I heard It through the Grapevine sounded nothing like Kimberley Locke's rendition but somehow, the former didnt win me over with this song as much as the latter. i think fantasia's nasal renderings just didnt work for me this time and why does she have to attach so many "yeah yeahs" to the end of her song anyway?? i thought it was so darn cute when i first heard it weeks ago but it's just plain irritating now. Talking about irritating, what's up with that small white towel which George Huff seemed to be carrying onstage during his Ain't Too Proud To Beg??!? Vocals-wise, George was flawless; he even made me forget that Ruben Studdard did an awesome rendition of this song in AI2. However, i still think his hand-gesturing-thingy just doesnt seem to fit. Compare this with Fantasia's cool hand-gesturing-thingy and you'll get what i mean. (Moreover, I really pity the gerl whose head the towel landed on when George threw it into the audience at the end of his song ;p )
my bottom three predictions: Camille Velasco, John Stevens & Jennifer Hudson/Amy Adams.
