The first half of yesterday's performance show was a tribute to country music (which seems like a pre-requisite for every season of AI) and I guess Carrie Underwood must have jumped with joy at some point because she was so spoilt with choice... This IS her niche genre, afterall. The second half paid homage to the songwriting duo, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, who are responsible for such hits like I Love Music, If You Don't Know Me, Me & Mrs Jones, etc.
1. Carrie Underwood - Sin Wagon | If You Don't Know Me By Now
2. Bo Bice - Great Day To Be Alive | For The Love Of Money
3. Vonzell Solomon - How Do I Live | Don't Leave Me This Way
4. Anthony Fedorov - I'm Already There | If You Don't Know Me By Now
I have no idea why Vonzell became so emotional after delivering a slow-mo How Do I Live. I know it's a very boring song and all but she didn't have to cry about it, rite?? But I liked her flowery, RnB-flavored finish... it sure sounded waaaaaay better than the country-inflected original. Then again, this week's episode was a mush-fest; the producers decided to let the contestants' family members leave a message and later on, the contestants themselves left a personal note for the ones they missed the most. Now, wasn't that just so sweet?? :p
So it seems I've been If-You-Don't-Know-Me-ed to death, what with Anthony and Carrie doing the same song. But Randy was right; Anthony sounded much better and Carrie's version was quite weird. However, like what Simon said, the arrangement of the song was to blame. Anywayz, it doesn't matter now because Anthony was the one eliminated... Awwwww... that's sad but I think he has out-stayed his welcome anyhow.
With Anthony gone, this looks like one of the hottest Top 3 on AI eversince season 2 when Kimberley Locke, Ruben and Clay slugged it out on stage (or so to speak). Back then, it was pretty clear that Ruben and Clay were the crowd favorites but dear old Kimberley sure made it a tough fight... This time round, I think Bo and Carrie are the favorites; I dont think Carrie had ever been in the bottom 3 positions and Bo was there only once...
On the other hand, although Vonzell have made a number of trips in the bottom 3, she's the one who has shown the most improvement over the last few weeks of this competition, both vocally and performance-wise. I think a number of viewers would agree that the once enigmatic Bo has somehow lost his luster and becoming rather bland and boring of late. Aside from his inspiring take of Stand By Me last week, all his other performances haven't been memorable. Carrie's vocals are (nearly) always spot-on but I think she's an erratic performer. Sometimes she bores me to death because she seems so disconnected from the song she's singing but at other times, she's simply awesome.
Despite my analysis of next week's top 3, I still think Bo and Carrie have the requisite fan-bases necessary to carry them through to the top 2 finals whereas Vonzell, judging from voting turn-outs from previous episodes alone, might not make it. That is such a shame because when it comes down to talent, all three of them are almost on par with each other...
