Feb 18 2009
The Live Shows begin - American Idol hopefuls struggle at the first public hurdle
With a choice of all the hits from the Billboard 100, the American Idol contestants would need to really shine as only 3 of the 12 would go through. So the judges - and certainly our small “public sample group” - found many of the choices to be strange.
Ryan Seacrest introduced the hopefuls to “their toughest challenge of all - the public”. New judge Kara DioGuardi said the contestants will be nervous, and she is nervous too in the spotlight on her first major television show.
Jackie Tohn (photo 1) has never wanted anything more in her life. Singing Elvis is a huge task and Jackie was not up to it. Unfortunately she sounded like very bad karaoke. Randy Jackson and Kara thought she worked the stage and the performance was great. But Simon Cowell thought the acting was awkward - and she was “silly rather than good”.
Alexis Grace (photo 2) can shine when she feels confident. Never Loved A Man by Aretha Franklin is a huge song, and Alexis rose to the challenge. This was the first complete performance of the night, where voice and presentation worked properly together. Randy: “I’m lovin’ you right now” / Paula Abdul: “soul, passion and confidence” / Simon: “the best contestant so far by a mile”.
Stevie Wright (photo 3) has a big personality for a 16-year-old and chose a Taylor Swift song because it is young and bubbly. Stevie’s singing sounded nervous at times, and Randy, Kara, Paula and Simon all agreed it was the wrong song.
Casey Carlson (photo 4) can rock, and not just in a bikini, so the 20-year-old set out to impress with Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police. Her country styling didn’t work for us. We’re surprised Simon didn’t use one of the key words of the song, “tragic”. Kara said “everything” about the performance was wrong.
Ann Marie Boskovich (photo 5) is another bubbly personality and her song choice of Natural Woman was perhaps the best of the night. Ann Marie owned the stage and let her voice soar. The judges didn’t agree with each other, and at least Paula thought Ann Marie went for it.
Tatiana Del Torro (photo 6) has often irritated people and singing Whitney Houston could be boom or bust. Tatiana does let her emotions soar and her voice did as well in parts. Randy: “there were moments” / Kara was confused / Paula thought she had beautiful moments / Simon: “a complete and utter drama queen but the singing was better than expected” / Tatiana: “music is a marketing business and I am marketing myself”. Go Tatiana !!
See our scorcard in the next post.
