This week’s intro piece divulged a little known secret about each contestant.
Blake Lewis (Alter-persona comedian)
I enjoy Blake’s sense of style and confidence as a performer. I love that we have a contestant with more of a hiphop edge. He’s original and I always expect a good performance from him. I was surprised Randy and Paula had not heard the song… I’m quite sure I have. That was odd.
Sanjaya Malakar (with straight hair and a hula fetish)
Agreed with Simon that there was improvement over the past week. Vocally, I thought his voice had a great tone and warmness, but his song choices are “safe” to me. Then again, I see him as a ballad singer, so singing something different might not fit him. This week’s piece allowed him to show more of his range and strength, but was still “a-ight”. He’s got the cute kid vote from America.
Sundance Head (The Man with the Fat Suit)
I always think of Meatloaf when I see and hear Sundance sing. I enjoyed his rendition of Pearl Jam, although I never really thought of them as “singers”. He is this week’s pick for VFTW.
Chris Richardson (Less 40)
Boy, you still looked good in your “chunky” football days. Nice to see a non-bouncy performance from Chris. Found this article on the hometown boy and his very own fan forum.
Jared Cotter
Fun song choice and challenging, too. The chorus was a little rough, but the verse and bridge sounded smooth and on-key. Having been on this side of the screen, I didn’t “feel” that Jared was yelling. It sounded full and powerful. His movement on the stage flows, but still pushes the border into over-performing.
Brandon Rogers (The classic pianist – awesome!)
I enjoyed his energy and choice of song. I still think he can do so much more and hope he’ll make it back to show his stuff.
Phil Stacey (the self-imposed bald guy)
Tough song. I looked for the trax to sing it for a performance once and decided the range was too broad (for my non-Idol voice LOL). You have to have a strong upper and lower register to really make this song float and sound natural.
Chris Sligh (Curly Sue Sligh)
Loved the song choice (although the judges didn’t). Chris has a full, rich sounding voice – I thought this song
By TVJunkie Jenn