Is it a cardinal sin to use the same title for two different posts? Oh well… I guess I’ll change it to Top Twelve instead of Final Twelve. Maybe I’ll work some consistency in around here… doubtful. Of course I didn’t last long with the whole “I’m not watching” mantra and ended up catching most of last night’s performance. What can I say, I’m a sucker. For those uninterested – DON’T CLICK NOW!
Let’s start off with the most obvious question: What the hell is Bo still doing in this competition? I’m dead serious. He should already be in the studio recording his first album. The guy is flat out amazing. Every single week he has nailed it. It’s to the point that Lisa and I were practically swooning as soon as they said his song choice – “Spinning Wheel” – we already knew how awesome it would be. Sadly I’m listening to the original right now and I almost think Bo sounded better! Later on in the show I was lamenting the soulless Scott’s performance of “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” – how incredible would Bo sound on that. The show is an absolute… on no… don’t tell me I’m going to… yes, I’ve got to… the show is an absolute BO-NANZA!!!!
Ok, I got that out of my system, let’s cover the rest of the contestants. Nadia has once again proven that she’s the only female that deserves to be on the same stage as the top guys. She’s got a great voice, an incredible look, and some serious stage presence. She’s gotten better each week, now I just wish she would stop sneering so much. The only other female that could possibly compete is Vonzell, but she has yet to wow me. Solid vocals, but she doesn’t drive it home.
In the meantime we’ve got Lindsey once again squandering that sultry voice of hers. Nice performance, but not exactly highlight material. Carrie remains shakey on stage, and Jessica continues to be uneven. And then we have Mikalah… Nice try flaunting the cleavage, but it still doesn’t make up up for that irritatingly nasal voice. Not only should she be kicked off the show, she should be taken out back and put out of her misery!
Maybe the rest of the guys can cheer me up. Indeed, Anwar continues to push the point that he is probably the greatest voice this competition will ever see. And his style is improving, too! But Simon is right, he needs to take a chance. We already love you, now try to push for the top. Unfortunately, I think we have our top 3 already (Bo, Anwar, and Nadia), because the rest are just lost.
Constantine (yes, Sara Jane, I know you’re going to cringe when you read this) finally put together the performance Lisa and I were waiting for. Great choice of song, and a solid performance. But this is what I wanted from him 3 weeks ago, not now. I’m not sure that he’s really going to build on this one. Nikko was decent, but you can’t pick an early Michael Jackson song like that when you clearly can’t compete with his voice.
I’ll admit that I’m liking Anthony’s voice more and more, but it doesn’t make up for the sheer bland whiteness of him. I need more than a good voice. And that brings us to Scott, who has dodged more bullets than Neo. The guy has decent vocals, no soul, no power, and no presence. Sure he sang “Ain’t too Proud to Beg” well, but there was practically no emotion behind it.
My hope remains that Mikalah and Scott will be gone tonight. My guess is that Jessica Lindsey is more likely to get cut.
UPDATE: I’m not trying to retcon my entry here, but for some reason I keep calling Lindsey Jessica. I was really thinking Lindsey might lose out, and she did. But I can find some comfort in the fact that Mikalah was right behind her. I think the big problem is that you can only vote for people, not against them. A poll on MSN showed almost 40% felt she should be the next to get the boot. My biggest fear (at least how as far as this show goes) is that she will not suck next week, and then be praised for being on mildly adequate and continue her trek to suck.
I agree and disagree with you simultaneously about Constantine. That was a pretty excellent vocal performance – definitely the best I’ve heard from him, and he deserved to stay in this week.
The problem I have is that he insists on portraying himself in this slimy fake “rocker” image that is so far from the truth it’s laughable. The boy was a theater major. He was in Rent. He’s a decent vocalist that does well when he sticks to Broadway/Pop type songs, but the whole bad boy farce is so laughably bad. As I mentioned to Miceli, Constantine is Bill Shaw.
And then there’s the eyefucking and the fact that his stubble/double chin/super deep cleft always looks so disgusting… like the boy hasn’t showered in months. I like Bo because he not only sings well, but he seems genuine – he’s someone who wants to interact with the audience and engrosses himself in the song that he’s singing whether he looks a little dorky or not. Constantine wants to smarm and sleaze it up for the 13 year olds watching him who will furiously dial in votes because they think he’s hot based upon the false image that he projects. The whole overdone package bugs me, in the same way that boy bands bug me. There’s nothing genuine there.
But when I closed my eyes on Tuesday, he sounded damn good.
“Constantine is Bill Shaw.”
I can’t even explain how freaked out that comment made me. You’re totally right on that one. You’re also right on the whole rocker thing. I’m sure he does it well on stage when backed by his band, but on AI he can’t pull it off. He has a far more pop vocal presence when put out on the stage by himself.