Tonight the Top 4 will be revealed on American Idol and that ridiculous #idolsave is no more. There are two themes for this evening's show - Round 1 will be "songs from the judges hometowns," which includes New Orleans for Harry, New York for JLo and....Nashville for Keith. Um, I think we all know Keith isn't from Nashville. Anyway, Round 2 will be "songs that best captures the contestants' soul," or as Harry calls it, "the gravy song." Ryan promises us two hours of solid entertainment and I'm gonna hold him to it. Let's get going!
ROUND 1
Contestant: Clark Beckham
Song: "Living For the City" by Stevie Wonder
Clark let some stylists dress him tonight and I'm not sure what's going on here. Sure, they were trying to get him away from the "just a normal guy" look...but skinny jeans and boots? No, no, and no. And to add insult to injury, this song is too high for my boyfriend. I appreciate him running to the piano for a hot second and the big finish, but these are the last 15 seconds of the song and I do not enjoy anything before that.
Judges Say: Keith loved the piano as well and thinks Clark should have stayed there. JLo says Clark sounded really good but thinks he's more comfortable with an instrument. Harry notes that there's 5 contestants left (thank you) and tells Clark he needs to be more "in the pocket."
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Contestant: Jax
Song: "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys
Jax starts behind the piano for this performance and pops up about half way through to interact with the audience. This is not a song I would have chosen for her but she does a good job. Her voice is a little strained at times, however, those moments bring out more rasp in Jax's voice and I like it. I think Jax has absolutely earned a spot in the Top 3 and most likely the finale, even if this isn't one of her best performances.
Judges Say: JLo feels like Jax understands she can win the competition. She wasn't feeling the song so much but thinks Jax can take the whole thing. Harry dug the performance and asks if her voice is okay. Jax says she's a little hoarse and Harry compliments her for singing through it. Keith loved the song choice and thinks Jax has a very strong artistic foundation.
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Contestant: Nick Fradiani
Song: "Bright Lights" by Matchbox Twenty
Oh heyyyy Nick. I had never noticed that Nick does sound a lot like Rob Thomas. I've been making the Chris Daughtry comparison all this time. Anyway, this is exactly the type of song I'd expect to hear on a Nick album and he's made a very smart choice tonight. He's become quite the showman as well and I think this is hands down his best performance all season.
Judges Say: Harry thinks this was the most comfortable performance Nick has given. He also says Nick sang the hell out of the song. Keith says Nick has an incredible killah instinct and he goes up and up with every performance. JLo tells Nick that he's peaking at just the right time and she can't wait for Nick to watch the performance and see how far he's come.
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Contestant: Tyanna Jones
Song: "Run the World" by Beyonce
WTF?!?!?! We're just going to go ahead and eliminate her now?!?! And then ask her to sing a freakin' Beyonce song? This is a terrible way to send someone home. Terrible. Hell, I'd rather bring the #idolsave back, have Rayvon win it AGAIN and eliminate Tyanna with way more class than this. The kid cries through the whole song (which had the potential to be a kick ass performance) and I'm just pissed. Oh...and she also doesn't get to sing the second song either. I mean, it's not like she made it to the Top 5 and earned that chance or anything. And it's not like we haven't let the eliminated contestants for the past two weeks perform twice. Sigh.
Judges Say: Harry calls Tyanna a gift and wants her to keep working on her craft. JLo says Tyanna has a long, fun journey ahead of her. Keith tells her "if you're going to do one last performance, that's the way to do it."
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Contestant: Rayvon Owen
Song: "Need You Now," by Lady Antebellum
I'm trying to get over my bitterness when the song begins. It's not easy. Rayvon's voice sounds really great through the the first chorus, but then he goes all dramatic and his voice suffers. I think he's trying to "sell" the song but I'm not buying. There's a huge difference between bad acting and feeling and I don't know that we've seen Rayvon feel a song all season.
Judges Say: Keith likes that Rayvon made the song his own but would have appreciated more heart and less dramatics. JLo agrees, saying there needed to be a connection. She gives him a brief acting lesson and tells him that the lyrics don't carry as much weight when he doesn't make the song personal. Harry felt that Rayvon's delivery of the lyric was strong and says he sang the pants off the song. Ugh.
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ROUND 2
Contestant: Clark Beckham
Song: "Your Man" by Josh Turner
I had really thought I'd heard the last of Josh Turner when Scotty McCreery turned the lights down low all throughout the audition rounds in Season 10. During rehearsals Clark is given the same "connection" advice Rayvon just got and he essentially tells his mentors that he wants to do things his way. "If this loses me the competition, then I don't want to win it." Wow dude. This performance is definitely better than his first one and overall I dig it, but I definitely don't think this is a "bare your soul" performance. I probably would have been a lot more into it if I hadn't been thinking about the pre-performance video, but maybe that's the point. Maybe Clark has quickly become the front runner who suddenly no longer walks on water and the Idol producers want us to know it.
Judges Say: JLo stumbles through a lot of words about what kind of music Clark wants to do and what music would help him win the competition. She says Clark sang the song well but didn't think this was his gravy song. Harry tells Clark he has to choose songs based on votes versus what he wants to do. Keith says Clark needs singles and not album tracks. Then there's a huge back and forth between the judges and Clark about his truth as a musician versus what he "owes" his audience. Where's Quentin when we need him? And WHERE is my fast forward button?
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Contestant: Jax
Song: "Human" by Christina Perri
Love. This. Song. And here's a clear scenario where a performer feels the song and delivers it. Jax's voice is still a little shaky, but given the lyrics she's singing, the breaks in her voice almost make the performance better. The dropping to the knees in the fog part is a bit much for me, but this is a song that I could (and probably will) download tonight.
Judges Say: Harry mentions that Jax's pitch was all over the place but says her emotions trump everything. Keith says the song choice was perfect and she killed it. JLo loves the way Jax looks into people's eyes and connects with her audience.
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Contestant: Rayvon Owen
Song: "Believe" by Justin Bieber
Rayvon is dedicating this song to his mother and finally emotes in a performance. His mom is crying and dancing in the audience throughout the song and these are very touching moments. I'm not sure why it took a theme like "pick a song that captures your soul" for Rayvon to dig deep, but thank God he finally did. I'm still not a fan, but I loved this particular performance and believe it's his best by far.
Judges Say: JLo and Keith are both emotional and tell him the performance was beautiful. Harry thinks the "Believe" songwriters would be very happy with Rayvon's performance. Rayvon's mother then joins him onstage as Ryan relays the voting information. Interesting.
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Contestant: Nick Fradiani
Song: "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts
Nick chooses an excellent gravy song as well. I'm not sure if his moment of stepping away from the mic while the backup singers sing "still upsets me" is planned or not. I can't tell if he's lost his breath or taking a dramatic pause. Either way, Nick gives another great performance and is making this competition far more difficult than I thought he would when we got to the Top 12. My thoughts then were "he's a cute guy with a nice voice and I hope he sticks around for a little while." Dude has come a long way.
Judges Say: JLo tells Nick that he has been the star of the night and Harry says Nick killed the performance. Keith thinks Nick will climb the iTunes chart with that song.
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And with that, the night is over. For me Round 1 goes to Nick and Round 2 goes to Jax. Clark had a rough night and I worry for him going into next week. I also think the judges turned on him very quickly. They've spent the past 6 weeks practically planning his coronation but the support has shifted dramatically to Nick now...and then of course bringing Rayvon's mom on stage was a nice touch. Jax's status and consistency have never really wavered so I'm not concerned with her at all tonight. However, I think viewers could have decided for themselves that Clark's first performance fell short and his second performance completely missed the memo on the theme without all of the backlash. I also think viewers are smart enough to pick up on what a great night Nick had and the strides Rayvon made in his second performance. If Clark doesn't make it to the Top 3, I sure hope its based on his performances tonight and not a completely staged scolding on live TV. Just my opinion. We'll see how this plays out next week. Til then!
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