the top 7 vs. the standards (feat. rod)

finally. finally. finally.

a good week for pretty much everyone! pretty much...

it was all about the voices this week. the traditional arrangements let the vocals come through loud and clear, and again, pretty much everyone managed to put their own stamp on the song they chose.

chris - "what a wonderful world"
randy: "dude, you just slayed it...it was the bomb"
paula: "you did a fantastic job"
simon: "i have to take a certain amount of credit...a great performance"

i thought this was really good, although his vibrato when he holds a note is a little grating. I love the song and he did a great job on it. He ended up being overshadowed by a few of the other singers tonight, though. (and it wasn't as good as anwar's version)

paris - "these foolish things"
randy: "your greatest night ever...so the bomb"
paula: "if you made an album in this genre it would blow up"
simon: "i thought it was teriffic"

paula was right. she's got the perfect voice for this style of music. randy was right too, her best night so far. and so was simon, she does sound like minnie mouse when she talks...

taylor - "you send me"
randy: "that was hot that was hot that was hot"
paula: "the ending was superb"
simon: "lame cabaret, and then... magic"

finally he belts one out like we know he can! awesome. one of my favorites of the night.

elliot - "it had to be you"
randy: "very very nice...very nice job, baby"
paula: she couldn't manage to put more than a couple words together here, but she was positive
simon: "it was a good vocal...the performance lacked a degree of personality"

i dunno about a lack of personality, but the singing was kickass. i really dig this guys tone, and i think his style came through clearly throughout the song.

kelli - "bewitched, bothered, and bewildered"
randy: "definitely pitchy in spots"
paula: "you got it going on"
simon: "it was a boring song...you could have just done 'bewildered'"

she said it all herself, "ah butchered it". she did. if america decides to judge this on a night by night basis, she's gone. she doesn't deserve any points for knowing she fucked it up, this is a singing competition, and she sang like shit. she hit one of the worst notes an idol has ever hit at this stage of the competiton, and the judges were very easy on her, maybe to stave off sympathy votes? she'll get plenty of those anyway.

ace - "that's all"
randy: "you worked it out in the end...the false is your money"
paula: "this is a magical night...you did great"
simon: "it wasn't bad...a charming performance"

yeah, his falsetto is cool... he should have used it more throughout the entire competition. this was decent, probably one of his best, but if it wasn't for kelli's blunder, there would be no question who was going home tonight. we'll see. his new look reminded my wife of vincent vega. heh heh heh

katharine - "someone to watch over me"
randy: "i loved it...it was excellent"
paula: "you were elegant"
simon: "you made the others look like amateurs...you look like a returning pro"

she could have won the competition with this song. i think i was kinda hypnotized by it... reminded me of when bo sang the a capella song last season - it was a performance that set him apart from the rest of the singers, and i agree with simon, katharine managed to do the same tonight.


I felt katharine was head and shoulders above the rest, with taylor, paris and elliot close behind. i'm not sure what the bottom three will be, or if they're even going to do a bottom three... don't they usually start changing it up about now?

i'd guess elliot, ace and kelli will be in the bottom three. kelli should absolutely go home - you gotta bring it every week - but it'll most likely be ace.