Top 10 - Year You Were Born

Finally, we're back. I was out of town last week and didn't get a chance to watch the show until late Wed night (after Amanda had already been eliminated) so I didn't bother writing a review. But I'm back tonight and ready to go. The last two times they've done this theme I've enjoyed it. We get a variety of songs so it doesn't get boring too quickly. So let's get it started.

Ramiele - "Alone". Whoa, this is going to be a tall order for her. After Carrie and Carly have sang this and rocked it on this stage it'll be tough for Ramiele to match that. We'll see how it goes. Well, right off the bat her voice isn't as strong as the others that have sang it. She doesn't sound very confidant. The chorus isn't as powerful as it should be. She shouting the highest notes and changed it up a little bit to fit her register. I hated the way she ended the song. Not her best. Grade C
PS, what's up with everyone being sick? Ramiele, Randy, and even Paula sounds like she's drugged up from cold medicine.

Jason - "Fragile". Haha, he has no idea what to say in his interviews. His awkwardness is what makes him endearing. And his eyes are definitely beautiful. I have nothing to say really. It sounds alright. It's cool that he's singing in spanish. It definitely has a coffeehouse vibe to it. It was ok I guess. Nothing really bad about it. Grade B-.

Syesha - "If I Was Your Woman". Well she is serving it up tonight. She sounds great and picked a great song for her voice. This actually reminds me of Tamyra from season 1. She's a little pitchy towards the end but overall it's a great performance from her. I really think she needed that tonight. Grade B+

Chikezie - "If Only for One Night". He's pitchy on his first verse. I think he's definitely nervous doing the ballad. His voice keeps dropping out of pitch but he also doesn't have the same type of swagger that he's had the last couple of weeks. It's all pretty boring. Not a good performance from him. Grade C.

Brooke - "Every Breath You Take". Whoa, she messes up right off the bat. Luckily, because she's the only playing she can start over. This is Brooke's comfort zone. When she's sitting there playing an instrument and singing a song she blows us away. The coffeehouse vibe fits her so well. I love the subtle changes she's done with the song and her voice sounds really strong. She really knows how to emote a song. There's a Carly Simon sound to it. I think this was a strong performance for her. Grade B.

Michael - "We Are the Champions". Well, considering her was born in 1978 and pretty everything at that time was disco I don't think it's a surprise that he chose this song. Plus, he might be able to show off some of the magic he found singing Queen during Hollywood Week. Well, right off the bat he's sounds better than he has all season. He's finally showing some of that rocker attitude that I've been waiting for. Interesting to transition from "We Will Rock You" to "We Are the Champions". He sounds good singing Queen song. This is his best performance so far. FINALLY! Grade A-.

Carly - "Total Eclipse of the Heart". This is kind of a crappy song to choose (already been done by Nikki in Season 1 and Jessica Sierra in Season 4) but I am actually very curious to hear her on it. I want to see how much she rocks out. Well, vocally she sounds brilliant. Even the power notes seem like nothing for her. However, I would like her to do something a little more for the performance. She's just standing there. Move around, use the stage, do something. Ouch! Hated that run at the end. Ruined what was a stellar performance. Grade A-

David A. - " ". What song is this? There were some great pop songs in 1990 and he picked something i've never heard. He's shown a weakness in his lower register tonight. It's definitely not as strong and his mid/high range. Well he's definitely having fun performing but his voice
is kinda cracking in parts. His cuteness definitely adds to the performance aspect. Grade B

Kristy Lee - "God Bless the USA". Well, she's definitely sticking to country. I feel like she's just behind the beat but she sounds good. Her voice sounds really strong today. It's all very pagenty for me though. I can see Miss America trying to sing something like this. It's pleasant; not good, not horrible but still her best performance thus far. Grade B-.

David C. - "Billie Jean". Interesting choice. Chris Cornell singing Michael Jackson. So far I'm unimpressed. It's pretty boring. It does get better as the chorus kicks in. David has a really strong voice that lends itself well to these alternative rock type songs. Another good, very smart performance from him. First "Hello" now "Billie Jean". He may have found his niche with random 80s pop that are turned into alternative songs. Grade A.

So there you have it. Tonight is interesting because no one was really bad. There were some that were more memorable than others but no one was horrible. I think the bottom three for this week will be Ramiele, Jason and Chikezi (somehow Kristy had a good enough performance to keep her out of the bottom 3). Jason should be safe since he has such a big fanbase already. I think Chikezi might be the one that goes because Ramiele seems to have a bigger fanbase as well. It's kinda sad because I was just starting to get into him. We'll see what happens tomorrow.