I've been watching American Idol for the past several weeks, and have my clear favorites, but I'd like to talk a bit about my objective opinion on all seven contestants performances this week, singing country music.
The Guest Mentor this week was the outstanding Country female vocalist, Martina McBride. She met with each of the contestants and critiqued their song choices and performances in the pre-performance video clip.
Phil chose the song, "Where the Blacktop Ends" from Keith Urban.
I think this is a great song choice. Sometimes people will pick someone's signature song, and it's so hard to think of any person singing that song but the artist themselves. That wasn't the case here. While it was a Top 3 hit for Keith Urban, it's not like if he would have picked "Days Go By," or "Somebody Like You." I really enjoyed the way that Phil worked the stage. 8 1/2 out of 10 from me.
Jordin was big time brave, choosing to sing "A Broken Wing,"a song that was made popular by Martina herself, and it could have backfired on her. But, Jordin pulled it out, and totally sang the heck out of this song. I have to say, just as well as Martina herself. And that is saying a lot! Each week as I watch her, I'm more impressed that she seems able to sing any type of music and make it work. Excellent song choice. 10 out of 10 from me.
Sanjaya chose the Bonnie Raitt song, "Something to Talk About," because he said he thought it would be fun to do since he seems to always give people something to talk about. Now, if he could actually sing, maybe it would be something to talk about. Such was not the case. He did an awful job with this song, and was off key in various parts. Please, America, send him home!! Totally wrong song choice. Not sure what he could sing, really, as I don't think much of his voice. 2 out of 10 from me.
LaKisha was passionate about her song choice, which was Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel." She has a strong voice, and I thought maybe she could pull this off. She started out very well, but on the chorus, she just screamed out the words. Not her best performance by a long shot. I will say, she looked fantastic in that beautiful brown dress and those boots were sassy! 6 1/2 out of 10 from me.
Chris chose Rascal Flatts' "Mayberry," which I think was a great song choice for him vocally. I think he had a similar sound to Rascal Flatts' lead vocalist, Gary LeVox, and it worked. I bet Simon wouldn't like their version of this song either, if he didn't like Chris' "nasally" sounding voice. LOL! 8 out of 10 from me.
Melinda chose an odd song in Julie Reeves' "Trouble is a Woman", but it fit her totally. When I say odd, I mean that she didn't chose something that most people that listen to country music might recognize. I know the song, but this is my job, and I should know that song. It's not that old, and I'm rather surprised that Martina hadn't heard of it. Of course, it wasn't a Top 10 song. It barely cracked the Top 40, back in 1999, when Julie Reeves released it. Melinda worked the stage like a pro, and totally made the song her own. 9 1/2 out of 10 from me.
Blake chose Tim McGraw's "When the Stars Go Blue," which is probably one of very few country songs that would fit his style. Still, I wasn't as impressed as the judges seemed to be about his performance. I thought he was pitchy in places, and didn't care for the performance that much. 7 out of 10 from me.
Would you like to purchase the original songs? Here are the country music albums these songs can be found on.
- Where The Blacktop Ends
Keith Urban's Keith Urban read review
- A Broken Wing Martina McBride's Evolution read review
- Something to Talk About Bonnie Raitt's Luck of the Draw
- Jesus Take the Wheel Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts read review
- Mayberry Rascal Flatts' Melt read review
- Trouble is a Woman Julie Reeves It's About Time read review
- When The Stars Go Blue Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits 2: Reflected read review
