Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Could Syesha Mercado be "Vanishing" tomorrow night?


I'm wondering what Syesha Mercado did to piss off Mariah Carey, because so far, she's hugged the contestants upon meeting them, but with Syesha, for some reason, she stands very still and Syesha, feeling nervous, probably, makes no move to hug Mariah. It all looks kind of awkward. But anyway, Mariah says Syesha made a really good choice with the song, "Vanishing." She says she was a teenager writing this song that ended up still being one of her favorite songs. She gives Syesha some tips and Syesha says that Mariah really took her time to show her that she could make the song her own so she feels confident. Mariah tells her she was amazing. And finally, at the end, Syesha gets her Mariah Carey hug and kisses on the cheek. Mariah says she thinks Syesha was very cool and composed and that she did a great job.

She sounds pretty good, but there are a couple of parts where she falls a little flat, but more importantly, I feel like she's doing the same thing every week - ballad after ballad after ballad. For me, it's gotten to the point where there's nothing left to say. I could post the exact same words about her every week, that's how little she changes - she takes on songs that are too big for her, but never really puts her own spin on anything, never really shows her personality. How will anyone be able to sell her? She has no appeal, nothing special that would make people run out and buy her music. That's my opinion, anyway.

Randy says that for the last couple of week he's been saying that she always picks the toughest song and that tonight, it's probably the toughest song again, and he likes that she's bold. He says he was afraid when he heard she would be singing that song, but he think she did a good job, all things considered. He says there were some pitchy moments, but that it was pretty good. Paula says she's extremely smart because she picked a song that not many people know and she won't be compared as much, and that tonight was an unbelievably magical night for her. Simon tells her that technically, it was very, very good indeed, but having said that, he's not sure he would have chosen a song that not many people know about, so she runs a risk.


Brooke White is singing "Hero," and Mariah Carey says she initially wrote the song for Gloria Estefan. She says she loved Brooke, that she was really genuine as a person. Brooke says Mariah told her to just sing how you're feeling in the moment, to just be in the moment and be real. Mariah says she thinks it's a good choice for and she hopes people will listen to it like something brand new that's coming from her heart.

She's on the piano this week and she starts out really great, but something happens somewhere in the middle that freaks her out because they show a close-up of her and she's kind of shaking and she starts to speed up the song, probably trying to get it over with. So, the end was way too fast, I think. But overall, I think her voice sounded good - a couple of moments where she went out of tune a bit, but nothing major.

Randy says he liked the fact that she brought a whole singer/songwriter to the thing, that it was kind of cool (in case you're stumped on what he means, don't ask me, because I have no idea) and he was really digging it... until the bridge. He also says that at the end, he could see that she was starting to lose a little confidence, but he appreciates the singer/songwriter look and he thought it was pretty good. Paula says every ounce of her is totally authentic and that it's a beautiful thing. She says she sounded really good, with the exception of a few bad notes, but she should never let that speed her up, because she said she felt like the song kept getting faster. Simon says he didn't think she had much choice other than to do what she did. Having said that, he says it was a bit like ordering a hamburger and only get the bun. IN order words, the vital ingredient, the bit in the middle, was missing, because he doesn't think her voice is strong enough to carry that song.


Mariah Carey says she really enjoyed Kristy Lee Cook doing "Forever" because a lot of people don't know that song and she really delivered it well. She even tells Kristy Lee that she got goosebumps listening to her sing it. Of course, Kristy Lee is beside herself, and says, "I can't believe I gave Mariah Carey goosebumps. Like, that's amazing." Mariah seems pretty taken with Kristy Lee because she tells her that she likes the way she sings the better than her own version. Kristy Lee says she's going to try get connected with the song and that she'll give it her best.

I have to say, the vocal coach they have on the show totally needs to get a raise. He or she took Kristy Lee, who was a total disaster for the first four or five weeks and completely turned her around. She sounds great tonight - I don't know if I'd say her interpretation is better than Mariah Carey's version - but I feel like she improves every week. She looks beautiful tonight, too.

Randy says he didn't think it was amazing, that there were a couple of pitchy notes in the first part, but she stepped it toward the end. Paula says she's blown away and that the way the arrangement was done, she could have a hit with it in the country/western world. Simon starts by saying, "Well, you probably weren't jumping for joy, were you, when you heard it was Mariah Carey week? Kristy Lee responds by saying, "I was just happy I gave her chills..." Simon interrupts and says, "Really? OK - you didn't give me chills." He says he thinks she managed with what she could, that it was a little bit whiny at times, but that the theme was never going to be an advantage for her, so she was quite smart, but it just wasn't great.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Randy meant that Brooke was playing alone at the piano without any accompaniment

Anonymous said...

The singer/songwriter genre alludes to the performer doing the song just as they would when they were "writing" it...naturally, unaccompanied and stripped down - kinda like saying unplugged, but it meant something extra back in the early 70s. kind of like "all natural" or "down to earth"-ish (carole king, carly simon, james taylor, etc.) and i think that is the actual definition that randy wants to imply - the all natural back to basics down to earth part of brooke that makes her so appealing (even in a horrid yellow dress).