Clive Davis' Choice
Vonzell - I'll Never Love This Way Again
Bo - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Carrie - Crying
Contestants' Choice
Vonzell - Chain Of Fools
Bo - In A Dream
Carrie - Making Love Out Of Nothing At All
Judges' Choice
Vonzell - On The Radio
Bo - I Can't Get No Satisfaction
Carrie - Man, I Feel Like A Woman
I think that old fart Clive Davis was out to get Vonzell last night. Not only did he pick a song which had already been done (brilliantly, I might add) by another contestant before (i.e. Anwar Robinson), it was a difficult and rangy one too. Hey~! Didn't he do the same thing to Jasmine Trias last year?? Well anywayz, Vonzell's vocals were abit shaky in some parts but thankfully, she managed to hit all the money notes. After her second song, Clive commented that our Baby V lacked "soul"... On the contrary, all the other judges had only nice things to say about her delivery which was I thought, perfect. For a song which had been sung to death throughout every Idol season, Vonzell made "Chain Of Fools" seem so fresh and entertaining.
Simon's pick for her was equally good; Donna Summer's disco-ey "On The Radio" managed to show off Vonzell's effervescent stage personality and Whitney-esque vocals to superb effect although I've a feeling its too light-weight to make any lasting impression. Still, it seems that Vonzell's strength lies in these kind of numbers; the crowd-pleasing types that would go down the ears well. Having said that, I would have preferred a showstopping ballad instead -- something which would re-affirm her status as a vocal powerhouse, especially after the less than spectacular first song.
After weeks of forgettable and sub-par performances, you've got to hand it to Bo for being able to up the ante when the going gets tough. He successfully performed a rousing hat-trick: a coarse but superb rendition of an Elton John classic, a haunting acapella number, and a rock-it-all-out Rolling Stones song. Honestly though, I think it was pretty sly for the producers to allow him to sing without music accompaniment, something deemed to be a "first" on American Idol. Such an act has, in my eyes, already singled him out to win this competition... and this isn't fair at all for Carrie and Vonzell, both of whom deserve a fair shot at the Idol crown. Moreover, I don't really see why most people were so awed to death by it because I thought those last two notes on the acapella song were abit excruciating.
Carrie had always been accused of failing to "emote" on her ballads... Probably it's due to her uncanny ability to sing her ballads note for note flawlessly, as on the original (like a robot~ ;p ). Whatever it is, I could find no fault with her version of KD Lang's "Crying". I thought it was her best performance on AI ever~!
The second song was completely unintelligle in the middle part and it was obvious she was guilty of straining her vocals, as the observant Simon had noticed. However, she acquitted herself quite well by the last portion of the song, and even attempted to do a Diana Degarmo, i.e make that last note last as long as humanly possible. Frankly speaking, Degarmo would have done a better job. Anyway, the Shania Twain number was just a piece of fluff and if anything, it confirmed my suspicions that Carrie's lower register isn't very good.
So Bo Bice in the top 2 is a shoe in but will we see country-bumpkin Carrie or disco-diva Vonzell eliminated? My bets are on Vonzell. For once, I think my gut instinct is accurate, albeit I'm abit sad by the prospect of seeing her go...
