Remember the slew of Singapore Idol commericals on TV last year, where they had a bunch of people expressing their delight (and gratitude) because they were able to catch the SgIdol telecast over on TVmobile while on the bus home from work etc etc??? Well, I can boast of the exact same thing as I caught the whole AI show yesterday on TVmobile. And thanks to the air-conditioned comfort, good seats, and my trusty mp3/FM player, it was almost as good as watching at home. ALMOST lah.. hehe
Here is the lineup of last night's performances:
1. Jessica Sierra - Shop Around
Fun factor: 3/5 -- Vocals: 3.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 3.5/5
2. Anwar Robinson - A House Is Not A Home
Fun factor: 3/5 -- Vocals: 4.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 3.5/5
3. Mikalah Gordon - Son Of A Preacher Man
Fun factor: 4/5 -- Vocals: 3/5 -- Overall showmanship: 4/5
4. Constantine Maroulis - You've Made Me So Very Happy
Fun factor: 4/5 -- Vocals: 3/5 -- Overall showmanship: 4/5
5. Lindsey Cardinale - Knock On Wood
Fun factor: 2.5/5 -- Vocals: 3.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 2.5/5
6. Anthony Fedorov - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Fun factor: 2.5/5 -- Vocals: 3.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 3/5
7. Nadia Turner - You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
Fun factor: 4.5/5 -- Vocals: 3/5 -- Overall showmanship: 4.5/5
8. Bo Bice - Spinning Wheel
Fun factor: 4.5/5 -- Vocals: 4.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 5/5
9. Vonzell Solomon - Anyone Who Had A Heart
Fun factor: 3.5/5 -- Vocals: 3.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 3.5/5
10. Scott Savol - Ain't Too Proud To Beg
Fun factor: 3.5/5 -- Vocals: 3.5/5 -- Overall showmanship: 3.5/5
11. Carrie Underwood - When Will I Be Loved
Fun factor: 3.5/5 -- Vocals: 4/5 -- Overall showmanship: 4/5
12. Nikko Smith - I Want You Back
Fun factor: 3.5/5 -- Vocals: 4/5 -- Overall showmanship: 3.5/5
First of all, I honestly think the judges have placed a tremendous amount of pressure and pinned great expectations upon their so-called "favorites" of the competition. They (i.e. the judges) keep insisting on a show of "personality" and in return, the contestants sing uptempo numbers to prove that they're not ballad-singing robots. On AI it seems, having a personality means being able to look happy onstage, jump or dance around abit, and get the crowd going. Following this definition, the only people who have gotten the unanimous approval of the judges so far are Nadia and Bo, and I must admit, the latter two have been very consistent singers who keep delivering fresh and engaging performances.
While we always trust Bo and Nadia to deliver showstoppers, we've come to expect a different sort of excellence from Anwar and Carrie. No matter how dubious their song choices seem to be (especially Carrie's), their vocals are always top-notch. Although not as wild or uninhibited as the former two, Carrie and Anwar are seasoned pros in their own right.
Nikko, Scott, Jessica and even Vonzell, have rather good vocals but their performances were only lukewarm (rather than spectacular) at best, and probably it's due to the fact that they're not so pleasing to the eye. (yes, I'm pretty shallow but I bet most of you guys out there are too~!) On the other hand, Mikalah and Constantine's vocals have certainly had their ups and downs thru'out the competition, yet they do possess natural stage charisma and therefore have that slight advantage over some of their peers.
Vocals-wise, I've always been rooting for Anthony and Lindsey but unfortunately, they don't seem to be delivering anything really noteworthy so far; and in this competition, anything subpar would be lethal. Lindsey might be one of the hottest chicks this season of AI, but she is lacking that IT factor which makes one look forward to her performances. Basically, she's been disappointingly lame (though I'm still in love with that sultry voice of hers!). In contrast, Anthony, who's been equally dull, might just scrape to the top 6 or 7 based solely on his cutesy looks and fan-following.
Judgin by last night's performances, and my estimation of fan-base sizes, I predict tonight's bottom three would be Lindsey, Mikalah and Scott.
