Well, here we are folks. A new season of American Idol. Besides the awkward, forced comedy bit at the beginning between Ellen and Simon, Ellen isn’t a terrible judge. She’s obviously judging from the paradigm of total-stage-presence, though, as she is just doesn’t have the ear for the vocals.
Here are my first impressions of the girls.
Paige
Simon went out on a pretty long limb saying she had the best voice of all the girls, and that the girls were going to take the whole competition this year. Now she’ll be fighting that pressure for the whole time.
She does have potential, though. She has a pretty big voice, which gives her “mah wooooman” potential, but I really have to see her dump her soul out on stage or peel the paint off the walls to really earn that honor.
And let’s be honest… she’s no Syesha…
Ashley
Really, just a pretty face. Didn’t seem like there was a lot of vocal talent there, and she chose the absolute wrong song. The Leona Lewis song ate her for dinner. Poor thing.
Janell
Is it just me or do they have auto-tune on her vocals? And was she defying the auto-tune with completely awful, out-of-tune vocals? Poop. I think she’s pretty forgettable.
Lilly
Her style seems to overshadow her limited vocal ability. I have a feeling we won’t hear any soaring vocals or up-on-your feet performances for her. The arrangement was a little hoakie and a little too country-western for me, but she was the most connected to her performance for sure.
Katelyn
Ugh… I love the song. I hate that she is dressed like a 3 dollar hooker from 1986, though. I think she did a reasonable job singing, though. I’m just not sure know who she is going to be in this competition. Does she know? Kara was right about her look and Randy was right that it was refreshing to hear a voice that was focused on tone rather than runs.
Haeley
Haeley was 8 years old when American Idol premiered. Wow… I’m old.
Her upper register is kind of screamy and screechy, and her lisp is a little distracting on the S’s. Again, her upper register gets very flat and narrow, and could be used to do laproscopic surgery.
Lacey
I totally get what she is doing, but she’s just not quite there yet, though. She can’t sit there and entrance me with those eyes.
Michelle
She does have a great look. But the song wasn’t great. In fact, I totally got distracted during her performance chatting with my mother-in-law on Facebook.
Didi
I don’t like the song choice because it is so distinctly the style of the original artist, so you can’t help but compare it. And what is she wearing, a rug with sleeves? I really don’t like this vocal style much. Sorry. (“sorry” said in the style of Simon Cowell)
Siobhan
I liked it. I like the attention to detail on the vocals. I like her tone and how she really connected to the song. It was ten times better than the other girls, just based on her totally believing what she is singing. And she sang it well.
Crystal
Her intro video was epic: ‘I’m just here for the money’ she says… “momma needs a bigger paycheck.” While she is completely a wreck to look at, she is pretty talented. I really liked her song. Her total performance was one of the best of the night. Maybe the harmonica and guitar is a bit overkill – I mean… does she really need to do it all herself? There’s a whole band over there, ya know.
Katie
Good intro. Perhaps the most refined and consistent vocal tone of all the contestants. She has a little more to learn about performing on a stage though, and you can tell she is still 17 from the immaturity of her performance.
Sorry I distracted you 🙂
There were lots of train wrecks. Katie is good, immature is right. I think that Siobhan and Crystal were the only ones with complete performances, and Haeley DRIVES ME BONKERS. Her lisp is killing me and her upper range was just a squished scream. The surprising part was that the people that I loved in HOllywood didn’t step up like I thought they would. Gonna be an interesting year.
I’m just so glad someone gave Crystal a toothbrush. I really didn’t think I’d be able to focus on her singing otherwise. And I really like her sound; it might be my old age, but I’m just so tired of these identikit pop tarts. PLEASE let AI produce an original singer JUST ONCE!
Overall yes, I agree with you completely on the others. Haeley is going to get on my last nerve; I can just feel it. And I heart Siobhan just because that name is sooo Irish/Celtic, it’s awesome!
(Oh, and Kara is really coming into her own on this season, I think – yay! I do like her, and it’s nice to see her standing up for herself and being more confident. I also like Ellen on the panel, and I didn’t think I would.)
Haha, I’m right with you Annike. I kept telling WE how bad her teeth looked Hollywood week but then they weren’t as bad on Tues when I told him to look. Anyway, believe me they WERE nasty.
Also, I gotta say two things about Ellen:
1) I like her. She has a way of being honest but still connecting with the contestant in a nice way.
2) I’m pretty sure she’s had a face lift. (for some reason, when she was talking I noticed that her neck reveals her age WAY more than her face does…)