(First and foremost, what kind of lame theme is this???)
1. Nadia Turner - When I Dream (Crystal Gayle)
2. Bo Bice - Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
3. Anwar Robinson - I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again (Dionne Warwick)
4. Anthony Fedorov - Every Time You Go Away (Paul Young)
5. Vonzell Solomon - Let's Hear It for the Boy (Deniece Williams)
6. Scott Savol - She's Gone (Hall & Oates)
7. Carrie Underwood - Love Is A Battlefield (Pat Benatar)
8. Constantine Maroulis - Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
I have to concede, albeit grudgingly, that Constantine (and none of Simon's Cowell-isms has rung more true) was simply astonishing tonight. Though his greasy hair looked like it hadn't been brushed or combed for a good number of years, dear old Connie really managed to do some justice to a classic Queen number, complete with wildly empassioned hair-flicks and microphone-stand-swinging that made Bo's earlier performance (with similar stunts) seem tepid by comparison. Moreover, for the first time in her blessed life, Paula Abdul was actually right (on the money!) -- Constantine has become the person to beat in this competition. (And I did not say this without alot of grimacing... )
So that's actually pretty bad news for Bo, who tried his best with FreeBird but unfortunately, he didn't manage to distinguish this performance from his previous weeks' performances. I've begun to suspect, however, that the dastardly producers have intentionally selected themes which always seemed to encompass a broad plethora of song genres, thus enabling contestants like Bo, Constantine and Carrie to perform within their comfortable niches (if they choose to). Whilst Connie has grown from strength to strength (in fan-base size if not vocal prowess) by his deft manipulation of schmaltzy songs, Bo has not been quite as successful.
On the other hand, Carrie showed us what a sport she was with a rollicking rendition of Love Is A Battlefield; some notes sounded abit off but at least she wasn't as boring as the only other blonde in this competition -- Anthony Fedorov. Granted, I've never heard Anthony this good for ages, yet I dont know why I always get this hollow feeling in my insides whenever he ventures into his upper register. Perhaps, the trouble is, he can't seem to emote as well as, say Nadia Turner, despite possessing a good set of vocal chops. Delivering the emotional nuances of a song is all for the better of course, but then, Nadia is just not there vocally. Why else would she need an eye-popping afro and the skimpiest vermillion dress I've ever seen?? All the better to distract us from less-than-stellar vocals, I'd say...
It would seem then, that Vonzell is one of those contestants who has the whole package; she has the voice and the diva credibility to carry off a denim mini-skirt with six-inch heels while delivering a convincing Let's Hear It For The Boys. Even so, there's something lacking in her performance -- only I'm unable to put my finger on it. The judges, and the crowd, still lapped it all up nevertheless.
Scott Savol wasn't so lucky. Despite being spot-on for the later half of his song, the first half was just plain awful and his little diatribe at the end, about how "millions of people at home wouldn't have the nerve to do this", made me subtract a dozen marks from his scorecard. Heck, I used to like Scotty -- now all I see is a snotty, chubby guy who thinks he's a hotshot... :(
Anwar is as per last week and the week before that (and the week before that). He's starting to become quite a yawn... and his slightly nasal inflections are getting to me. For a change, maybe he should do something a little more uptempo next week -- or else, chop off his dreadlocks??? LOL!
Bottom Three predictions: Scott, Nadia and Bo/Anwar.
