May I let out a huge sigh of relief? It was an interesting and nerve-wracking week of competition with the knowledge that the only two contestants who had nothing to worry about were Clay and Ruben. It could have been any of the other four contestants' week to leave, no matter how well - or not - he or she performed. As luck would have it, the right decision was made and the following five weeks of competition should be fabulously enjoyable nail-biters, as I feel that just about everyone who is left deserves to still be there (I could have traded in Josh for Rickey, but I am appeased by the top five turnout, nonetheless). This is the moment of truth and no one will be able to skate effortlessly by any longer. No, not even Ruben or Clay.
I had heard the rumor that last week would pay tribute to Diane Warren and if I'm being honest, to quote Simon, I was terrified. Given the contestants' lack of creativity in choosing songs so far, I was positive we were in for a show full of nothing but - yet again - movie themes. I was pleasantly surprised for two reasons: A) good song choices were made by most and B) having met Diane myself before (and therefore understanding Simon's comment that it's hard to believe she can write the songs she does), I found that even if she wasn't the most objective guest judge of all time, she at least cracked a smile or two for the camera which was much more than I expected. Ms. Warren is perfectly comfortable to be behind the scenes ninety-five percent of the time.
Kimberley Locke was first up and she most certainly set the standard for the evening. She is coming into her own as a vocalist, performer and a rising star more and more each week. Looking her best yet, her decision to cover Patti LaBelle and Celine Dion's "If You Asked Me To" was a smart move. She chose a song we haven't heard in quite awhile, rightfully gave props to Ms. LaBelle in her pre-recorded clip (whose version is indeed preferable to Ms. Dion's) and then decided it was now HER song and set out to prove it. This woman clearly knows her voice, what it can do and better yet how to interpret a song without beating it into the listener's skull with a sledgehammer. The latter is quite possibly my favorite quality in this celebrity-to-be. She is doing her homework and learning how to be more than merely a good singer, but a true artist. Her performance was one of the two best of the night.
The other noteworthy performance of the night belonged to Clay Aiken. I must say that I appreciate that he took the previous week's critiques to heart...I very much enjoyed his rendition of "I Could Not Ask For More" and quite honestly I thought he looked fabulous. The song choice was a bit more "out of the box" from what we've heard from him before and I have a sneaking suspicion that his efforts to stretch himself won't end there. It will be interesting to see what he brings us this week. I keep thinking lately, "What would have happened if David Foster had found Clay before he found Josh Grobin..."
Trenyce's performance, as Randy said, didn't make me "mad". However, I can't say as it did terribly much for me, either. I must admit (yes, out loud) that I am not familiar with that particular song as I'm not particularly a Brandy fan, but I couldn't help but think that Trenyce may have forgotten a word or two here or there - as she's done before - and that while I thought her actual performance was more "real" than we've seen from her so far, I still felt...well...rather "eh" about it. This may be her final week if she doesn't pull something out of her sleeve. That would be a shame, because I feel Trenyce is capable of so much more than she's been able to give us so far. I still think she's a star-in-training, but I also feel the pressure and even perhaps the grueling schedule is beginning to take its toll on her.
Oh, poor Josh. Actually, poor me, because in one single performance Josh managed to wipe out what I said about him last week in regard to singing with conviction. If this song was special to him because he used to sing it to his wife when they were engaged, we in the audience sure couldn't tell. He missed notes and looked uncomfortable in general on Tuesday night. He knew he deserved bottom three placement. One thing I will NOT do is bash him for pulling different vocal styles out of his bag of tricks each week. I actually like that he has shown his versatility; that is a sign of a true talent to me. Unfortunately the American music industry doesn't seem to think that's a marketable quality, but I'll tell you this: I would listen to one of Celine Dion's French-language albums over one of her English any day of the week for their stylistic diversity. It's another reason I love Kelly Clarkson's new CD - which isn't having trouble selling at all, I might add. My desire to see the music industry break out of it's find-your-niche-and-pummel-it-into-the-ground mentality most likely won't happen in my lifetime, so I'll just say that if Josh never gets his own record deal out of this, he can at least count on a very lucrative career as a studio singer once his commitment to the Marines ends. And that's nothing to sneeze at.
Carmen, Carmen, Carmen...the proverbial albatross is gone at last. Rather than detail all the things that went wrong with her performance this week - beginning with a much too ambitious song choice (Taylor Dayne's "Love Will Lead You Back") and ending with all the flat notes - I will instead give this young woman credit where credit is due. She gave this competition her best shot, she pushed herself vocally, juggled a crazy, sleepless schedule with hours of homework, an eighteenth birthday and rumored boy trouble and - most importantly - handled Randy's uncharacteristic hatefulness with the utmost professionalism and grace. What a trooper. Even Nikki McKibbin didn't get the verbal beatings Carmen has suffered through this season. I can't honestly say that I felt Carmen had the talent to get this far, but I will say that as a professional - and a very young one at that - she has commanded my respect.
The show closed with Ruben, who sang "Music Of My Heart" from - what's that? - a MOVIE of the same name. It was an adequate performance and that's really all I can say. People around me have been talking about how he changed up his style a little this week but my question is, "How?" He sang yet another ballad. He sang yet another ballad perfectly. He sang yet another ballad perfectly and safely. He sang yet another ballad perfectly, safely and completely within the "Ruben box" we've seen nearly every week since he made the top thirty-two. I've said it two weeks in a row now and I'll say it again: CHURCH STOMP! Entertainment Tonight reported he had been sick last week; but I didn't cut Josh any slack when he was ill and I'm not about to with Ruben, either. This week he definitely needs to up the ante. As Simon said, "Watch out for Kimberley Locke"...best advice Ruben could get in his career thus far.
All in all, it was one of the more enjoyable weeks of competition musically but as I said, I think this week it will definitely begin the true showdown. Will Kimberley Locke be one of the top two, upsetting the general consensus that it will be Clay and Ruben head to head at the end? If she keeps on going like she has, she very well could be. With the dead weight now gone, won't it be fun to see how the true talents blossom...or wither?
~Darci Monet Recording Artist, Studio Vocalist, Vocal Style Coach "Talent is back." Original Music: www.darcimonet.com Studio Work: www.mp3.com/darcivox
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