Shane Avery
Staff Writer
It’s getting SERIOUS up in here!!
Caleb Johnson, Jessica Meuse, CJ Harris, Jena Irene, Alex Preston, and Sam Woolf remain in the competition, and one of them would be going home this week, but after tonight’s performances, who would it be?
The Idol hopefuls would be tackling a mixture of country & rock while being backed by the live Idol band!! Each contestant would be performing a rock song and a country song.
First up:
1. Jena Irene – “Barracuda” by Heart
Now THAT’S how you kick off a show!!
Jena stormed the stage with the Heart classic, and this song fit her like a glove. Her vocals were out of this world good, and I do agree with Keith that she just needed to move around more. However, a note to producers:
GET HEART FOR THE FINALE AND HAVE THEM PERFORM WITH JENA!!!!!!
2. Sam Woolf – “It’s Time” by Imagine Dragons
Color me, very impressed with Mr. Woolf tonight. Sam delivered yet another strong vocal, but also seemed to really push himself even more. The last few chords were probably the strongest he’s ever sounded. I did want a little more personality (once again) but looking past that, it was brilliant. He really seemed to mesh with the lyrics. Bravo!!
3. CJ Harris – “American Woman” by The Guess Who
My poor CJ.
For the past few weeks, CJ has been struggling (at least in my eyes) and this was no different. I truly found this song to be completely out of his range and not suited for him at all. Let’s hope the country song is a better selection.
I need more from CJ if he wants to stay in the competition. This wasn’t enough.
4. Alex Preston – “Animal” by Neon Trees
Interesting song choice.
However, anything that Keith Urban sings along to is a plus in my book!
Keith kicked things off with a few negatives while Jennifer reciprocated those feelings. They felt Alex was missing something with the performance with Jennifer calling it “contained.” I must admit that Harry’s comment got under my skin. He said, because of how good Alex has been, he somewhat deserves a pass this week.
WHAT!?
I don’t feel like that should be said to anybody. Yes, Alex has always been great and has his own vibe, but that is not something the judges should be saying.
What did you guys think of it???
5. Caleb Johnson – “Sting Me” by The Black Crowes
We all knew the resident rocker would slay this performance, and he DID!
I absolutely loved this performance! Everyone needs to look to Caleb when it comes to adrenaline and personality on stage because he has it in SPADES. This was just crazy from start to finish. Funny thing during the performance is the mic fell out of Caleb’s hand during a break in the song, and he managed to grab it IMMEDIATELY when the lyrics picked back up.
What a moment for Caleb!!
6. Jessica Meuse – “Somebody to Love” by Jefferson Airplane
Once again, PERFECT SONG CHOICE. There has been much talk about how similar (vocally) Jessica is to Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick, so I was very happy with this. I found her delivery very strong, although I agree with Keith about her connection. She doesn’t connect with her eyes while she’s singing and it leaves every performance lacking in some ways.
Ready for country round!!
1. Sam Woolf – “You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain
YES! YES! YES!
He connected with the audience!!!!!
ABOUT DAMN TIME. When Sam walked over to the girls while he was singing, I started jumping up and down in my living room because he finally made a new step. He needs to tap into that with every performance and he’ll be absolutely UNSTOPPABLE. I have to mention that the vocals were killer as well.
2. Caleb Johnson – “Undo It” by Carrie Underwood
While his first performance was definitely much better, I still enjoyed this. Caleb took on Idol champion Carrie Underwood and it was a great kind of twist to the country tune. Maybe we were all just high off the first that kind of brought this down, but I still very much enjoyed it. Caleb had a GREAT night.
3. Alex Preston – “Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson
Now for the complete opposite of Caleb.
Alex made this performance of the Nelson classic completely his own and it was incredible from the first note. His passion and emotion completely rang through and I can’t rave about this enough. It was so beautifully done and he sang the CRAP out of it. This is hands down one of my favorite performances of the night. Just incredible.
4. Jena Irene “So Small” by Carrie Underwood
Just……WOW.
I can’t even begin to talk about this. The control in Jena’s voice during the song was just amazing and while she changed a bit of the arrangement, it still worked. Harry disagreed with his other judges calling the performance a little off. He said her vocal didn’t match the melody.
Whatever that means.
I thought it was GREAT.
5. CJ Harris – “Whatever It Is” by The Zac Brown Band
CJ has officially had a rough night.
The judges called him out on what should have been a comfort zone for CJ, but it fell flat. I 100% agree with everything they said and unfortunately, I think it’s going to hurt him. I truly believe CJ should go home this week.
6. Jessica Meuse – “Jolene” – by Dolly Parton
I have to admit to wanting to hear this acoustically but unfortunately, she went with the full band. This song should have fit Jessica’s voice perfectly, but she was drowned out by the music (and the fabulous backup singer).
The judges were split on it, with Keith admitting to hate the arrangement and Jennifer and Harry praising her.
I’m with Keith though. The band/arrangement was NOT necessary.
That’s it for tonight everyone!!
What did you guys think? Who’s going home??
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