I take back all my doubts I previously had about Quentin Tarantino's ability to judge AI3; he was as caustic as Simon Cowell on a bad hair day & as lavish with praises as Paula minus all her incoherent ramblings. In short, he KiCks ass~!! Simon, for once, had to actually do abit of work, to come up with something to top Quentin's comments... but I digress. It's obvious that Mr. Tarantino has been following, and is possibly even a fan of, AI3. I'm also certain that he already has his own established favorites and non-faves. Unlike Simon though, he tried to be as objective as he could and gave credit where it was due... I greatly suspect, however, that Mr Tarantino's presence was just a shameless plug for his new movie (i.e. Kill Bill Vol.2) which is opening Friday in U.S. theaters. Nevertheless, should Simon Cowell ever decide to quit AI, I think Fox network has just found his replacement... ;p
well anyway, let's get on with the contestants... the final EIGHT in this competition!
George Huff started the ball rolling with a gospel-ized version of Against All Odds but unfortunately, the judges werent feeling him tonight. I have to agree that the phil collins song doesnt seem to suit his coarse vocals yet somehow or other, Georgie finally won me over. Despite his sub-par performance, it was very sincere & heartfelt & I thought he handled the negative criticisms from the judges rather superbly. (He even thanked each of them in turn..) Jennifer Hudson came out next wearing naught-else but a skin-tight black gown which emphasized too well the amount of blubber she's got; But then, her powerful take of I Have Nothing completely blew away every other version previously done on AI, thus making up for all her fashion boo-boos. I think my Jenny should win the most-improved contestant award if ever there is one... Jon Peter Lewis might not be as vocally gifted as the other contestants, but he certainly has charisma aplenty. He did some nifty leg-work during his rendition of Elvis' Jailhouse Rock and although I may think it all resembles a pig having an epileptic fit, I'm a hundred percent positive he'll be pulling millions of teen/tween votes tonight. However, is it just me or does his eyes have a glassy look to them whenever he performs??? *shudders*
Diana Degarmo, predictably pulled off My Heart WIll Go On rather well inspite of a couple of flat notes. She looked uncannily like Kate Winslet's long-lost younger sister though.. LOL. I gotta give her props for daring to take on a Celine Dion number. In my honest opinion, I think the judges were a mite too hard on the poor wee lass... she looked so browbeaten after they practically eviscerated her performance that I juz felt sorry for her. Fantasia Barrino brought the show to a whole new level with her spectacular interpretation of gershwin's SUmmertime from Porgy & BEss. A million teens probably went "whatthehell is porgy & watever???" I was an instant FAntasia fan... I thought it was the most sensitive, honest and poignant performance she had ever executed; and no more "yeah yeah yeah"s!!!!!!
I think Jasmine Trias is rather unlucky to be performing right after Fantasia. The former's When I Fall In Love was almost good but compared to what fantasia had done, Jasmine just seemed to be trying too hard. I still like her tone & timbre of voice though and I believe she's capable of so much better. John Stevens was safe in his element with casablanca's As Time Goes By and it was quite credible too. At some point in this competition, John must realize that it is simply impossible to croon his way to the top; after last week's fiasco, it's painfully clear that his voice is just not good enough for this competition. Having said this, it is indubitable he'd get as many senseless votes going for him as that hobbit fella. Last but definitely NOt the least, Latoya London decided to pull out all the stops with west side story's Somewhere. I'm amazed at how she successfully managed to "RnB" a song which is practically a staple for Broadway luminaries like barbra streisand & linda eder, so convincingly, thus making it her own. Seriously, I got the goosebumps listening to her belt the last few seconds of her song!
It is clear from the outset that Fantasia and Latoya are the frontrunners in this competition but it seems that Jennifer and George are also major contenders.. as long as they remain to be in the judges' good books. JPL and John have improved somewhat since last we saw them whereas Diana & Jasmine have not been making much progress. Honestly speaking, the latter two are good singers but their young age is clearly a disadvantage, hindering them from evolving as quickly as their older peers. John's days are also numbered but I think his fan-base could sustain him for at least a couple of weeks more.
my Bottom three predictions: Diana Degarmo, Jasmine Trias & George Huff/Jennifer Hudson. But if God was fair, John Stevens would be one of the bottom three... ;p
