Tuesday 17 February 2015

American idol: Hollywood Round Pt 4 Solo Performances




Now we have the solo rounds, when the contestants just get to perform. This is the big chance for everyone, make or break for everyone!

Lauren Lott sounds very professional and actually good with Adele's Skyfall. A powerful song and current which helps her to appeal but she really did know what she was doing anyway. That was as a stunning version that ought to see her very safely home. Jennifer rightly calls that a superstar performance. Well done, Lauren.

Daniel Seavey is very young and even sounds very young. Ed Sheeran's  I See Fire he can sing well and he has a nice personality but I would give him another few years to learn about love and girls and the world. He is very good but it would be as some sort of cartoon teen idol if he were to go further in this competition.

Veyron gets a lot of good advice from the mentor guy. Over-singing is a common complaint and that's almost a certainty with the 70s Let's Get It On. He is pretty critical of the mentor and I would imagine he gets whacked behind the scenes. Not a clever move. We smile at him but also grimace a bit. He can sing but is he really an American idol?

Shi is nervous and bubbly but is a fabulous performer and seems to relax once she gets going. She sings an Etta James number I am not familiar with but wish I had been as it sounded superb. Too short; maybe it was edited down although that wasn't obvious. I like her but the panel didn't feel that was a particularly good job. She may survive as there is no-one quite like her.

Adam Lasher is at home on his own on the stage with an earthy Free Falling. Is it a bit bland maybe? Decent bloke but maybe that's the last we see of him. There are some competitors in that area.

Big Ron and Adam get axed at that point so some good people are still in there, including several that, frustratingly, we didn't see perform. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Quinton Alexander is one of the very visible candidates. He is just 20 but really does own the stage and put across tracks well. I don't know the song he does but it was good and the panel love him. Looks like he'll be around for a while.

Maddie Walker is the Country girl we need in the show. She also does pretty blonde in spades. Well done indeed.

Trevor gets a brief burst on our screen. He's a cool guy and seems to have found a place in all the panel members' hearts as well as many of my readers'. If he's through then he's got bags of support out there.

Alexis seems to have recovered a bit more and puts on a reasonable performance but to my mind she's out of key. Harry stops her anmd suggests she tries again which is a nice gesture. She has had to deal with a lot of nerves but still can't find the right note to start with. That's tough but she's out.

Jax follows and sings Let It Be. She manages to bring a massive amount of emotion and star quality to her performances. I don't know how or where it comes from as she is an odd little thing to watch but it works whatever it is. Easily and straight through.

Michael Simeon is the guy that has the cheeky look Jennifer finds very attractive. I don't really get it but I think we can assume he'll be through.

Nick is the 'old guy' at 28 and that is the cut-off age for the competition. He sings a great version of a David Gray number, Babylon. I'd put him through to the next round as he just seems to be totally reliable and the panel pick up on this and his likeability. A winner? No, but a good TV contestant.

Competing with him is Katharine Skinner at just 15. She looks a lot older. Not a good performance, though, of Alone. In fact it was quite painful and I am sure she's out for another year or two.

We see Michael, Nick and someone called Emily get through. Emily we will, presumably see another day.

Clark Beckham is a busker who is looking much healthier now. He plays a piano on stage this time and puts on a great version of Try A Little Tenderness. Nice.

Mark Andrews is 29 which I thought was past the age limit but maybe he was allowed to join at 28 earlier in the competition. He trundles along with a track that I didn't know and he forgot the words too but it was well covered. He says he was really tired and the panel remark that many people are just looking tired and failing because of that as much as anything else.

We get a glimpse of Alexis Gomez and Naomi too. Alexis and Mark and Clark get through with Katharine Winston who we'll see another day. I would definitely like to see more of Alexis Gomez.

Joey Cook is very individual and chooses Nothing's Going To Change My World. There are some cool Beatles tracks this year. Unless we miss a lot of her performance here, she wouldn't have had any trouble remembering those words this time! She gets all nervous but afterwards which is just as well.

Lovey James is one of the best really young ones. Just 16 but good. Rayvon is a clear favourite too. He is one of the stand out guys. Riley Bria started the whole Season off and does Keith Urban numbers that just work for him and, especially, America. Nice guy with cool tracks and a guitar.

Rayvon, Riley, Tiana, Lovey and Joey get through and we get a glimpse of several others, including Hollywood!

One more cut and then American gets to vote. The next cut is the really tough one.

There are some very good people this year. Some seem to have made it through so far on just fairly average but solid performances and may start to excel in Live Shows whereas others are quirky and make mistakes but have an adorable quality about them.


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