Big Kenny talked about how Jay pushed the range of her singing key so that it was out of the zone that would give her optimum performance. He said no. Scott said that he knew how much they want this, to win the competition, but he just doesn’t think it’s gonna be there. Ms. Naomi noted that musically Jay is okay but emotionally there’s a disconnect. She also said no. O’Shea was given a chance to speak and Jay said that after last week’s vote of three immediate yeses, tonight came as a bit of a shock to them. Mark said he knew the criticism was important and is “what makes you grow,” that he takes it to heart.
The Stellas hit the stage. In the clip we were shown Ms. Naomi saying she’s personally invested in every duo, but more so with these two. Marylynne said she felt like they have yet to shine because of her nerves. Wynonna laughed as she put them to ease by telling them she’d just had her forty-fifth birthday and she's “just now is walking out on that stage like I know what the heck I’m doing.” Before this clip ended Ms. Naomi took all the girls upstairs to show them her wardrobe because they all need to figure out what their “look” is. She told Marylynne expressly that “she was a work in progress.” When it was finally time for The Stellas to perform, they sang “Hanky Panky” in a kind of mix-in of rockabilly and honky tonk. It sounded great and their energy level was very high. The weird thing about their performance to me was there was no connection with either of them or the crowd but it didn’t matter to me at all. It seemed like they were an a whole ‘nother plane of existence and we were just lucky enough to be able to watch.
Scott Borchetta said that, like last week, he wasn’t really happy with their song choice, it was “strange.” He’s really looking forward to next week’s Original Song Night because there were several of their own songs that knocked him out. Ms. Naomi commented that they were very entertaining but also can’t wait for next week and their original song because they “definitely have their niche.” Big Kenny was in agreement about the songs, both the covers and their own. He did think they were the best he’d seen them be as of yet. Some solid praise, but no yeses, so they will have to wait til the end of the show to find out if they would stay or go.
Article comments
1 - tomflush
If the judges were completely honest they would have pointed out how flat Avalon was and Steel Magnolia was a little off too. I'm a musician and it was painful and not fair to the others. Politics were at play with the whitewash !
2 - tink
I've noticed that the judges don't bring up the imperfections. I'm not sure why, perhaps it's a way of distancing themselves from the,sometimes uber-, critical A.I. panel. I've noticed I'm much more openly brutal myself when I'm viewing/reviewing Idol.
Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one noticing those off notes and performances.