Post by S.L. on Sept 5, 2007 9:26:02 GMT -5
Erica Roane - "Get It While You Can"
Steven: That was simply your best performance ever! I definitely agree with Charly...this is Erica Roane showing what she can absolutely do! Janis Joplin would definitely be proud if she ever heard this version. This was definitely the perfect song choice, and your execution was exquisite. You pressed such profressionalism with that Erica-rawness to make this performance just great. In this performance, you put that Erica feeling into both your lighter and powerful register which makes the performance feel complete and balanced. Just when I think someone is pulling away from this competition, you're in it to win it. Heck, you can make the Ultimate 2 with that. Fantastic.
Dean:
Charly: HALLEJAH! I felt what your were preaching sister! GREAT SONG for you! You just raised the bar! That was HOT! What I loved about your vocals was that you softened up your tone in just the right amounts in the right parts of the song, but then you knew when you needed to just let it out and not hold back.
Erica Roane - "Rock And Roll"
Steven: I loved it when you did it in Web Vocalist of the Year, and I still love it now! Charly and I are agreeing the first time...scary thing...but he took the words from my mouth. What you did here is your own original take of this song, nailed the vocals, picked the perfect song, and executed it really well. Last week, it sounded like you had an identity crisis, but this week, you are not hiding anything...this authencity is what I continue to really like about you. Another great job!
Dean:
Charly: Take note, people. Erica just put herself out there as a major contender. THIS ROCKED! Best of the night....both rounds! In a night of being safe, you stood out and shined! Your energy was amazing and you engaged me with something different and you MAKE IT YOUR OWN! Your vocals were SPOT ON pretty much.
Laura Broad - "Reflection"
Steven: I didn't find it as fantastic, but I felt you did it so differently than Elisha who sang it last year. Your light tone made the song a bit more tender, frail, light, which I feel this song needs when you need to communicate the message. Actually, this song I feel is very finicky. I felt that most versions never did it for me...even Christina Aguilera's version. Most versions seemed to be too belty...so in this case...it's a bit nicer to see a softer version. But the song needs rawness...that rawness of emotion and crisis to make this song sound more serious on what it's communicating. Your vocals are always great, but I feel this song and any covers should just be retired because of it's disney-like inflexibility.
Dean:
Charly: For some reason, I didn't believe you emotionally. I thought it was way too pagenty and polished and perfect. And while that may not sound like a bad thing most of the time, here it isn't because the girl is trying to find out who she is, and she knows she isn't perfect. Last year, Elisha sang this song, and even though her version didn't grab me emotionally as I'd like, she did try to change the song up a bit to fit her style. You know very well, I know you can sing your butt off, but you have to find a way to find your style in a song so it will not be forgettable.
Laura Broad - "Somebody To Love"
Steven: Queen...you are challenging yourself with that because it's just something that was tremendously glorified for their take of glamor rock and just how they tackled their songs. I think the song was a bit too ambitious because you could have tackled something like "Who Wants To Live Forever" or something like The Beatles that can accomodate you better. But once again, very strong vocals...and I thought the performance was good. The problem is that Queen put such a stamp on this cell that it's so tough to change a classic like this. And although I like you changed it up to your style a bit, I don't know how everyone would think of it. But it was good.
Dean:
Charly: One of my favorite songs here....so pressure is on. I personally liked this better than Reflection because you at least changed it up to make it your own. And I am glad you went more uptempo-ish. That said, I don't think this was the right choice of song for you. It was sung OK, and I see the type of emotion you were going for...the innocent angel approach...but it doesn't fully showcase your vocals in my honest opinion. I also you could have expressed the need to find someone to love more by sounding a bit more helpless in your innocent approach. This has been your weakest night, but you had many MANY brilliant nights tho. If America saves you this week, I want that fighting thunder that is Laura's voice to come back and nail it with the right songs.
Muhammad Jami - "Every Breath You Take"
Steven: I think you picked a really good song for your voice. I just wished you could have changed it up besides adding those runs after that bridge. It's a good choice but it was a tad boring for me. I feel you could have put your stamp into the song to make this song into more of your vibe. It was good, but nothing special.
Dean:
Charly: OOOH! This is definately a good song for your tone. My advice for you is that if you are going to rock a slow jam like that...do NOT be afraid to soften up your tone to fit the mood of the song. I think you did a great job singing it, but it was a little bit on the safe side at this point of the competition. You have to do something now to make a statement. RAISE THE BAR!!!
Tracy Lynn - "Lights"
Steven: You're no Steve Perry, but no one is. So the best thing is to put your style into this because copying Steve Perry is a stupid move. Your tone helped you big time in this song to make it different. And we hear Tracy being a bit more dynamic when hitting different notes and such. But the main problem I had was the song choice. I appreciate you going out of the comfort zone, but this is way out of the comfort zone. It was alright, you could have picked another song, yet take the risk because I think you had a similar problem like Laura's "Somebody To Love." It's so stylized to Steve Perry that no matter what...you're going to be compared. But you did well.
Dean:
Charly: One of my favorite songs ever! I liked your take on this song....not in love with it like the orignal, but it was good. But we made a breakthrough with you. You emotionally connected with the song and I felt it. This was a little bit outside your box, but you managed to put your style in it. The thing that would have made it a little bit better was if you incorporated some type of dynamic in the song just to emphasize the feelings more. Good job! The best I heard you in the finals.
Tracy Lynn - "Ready For Love"
Steven: I actually thought this was better than "Lights," just because of song choice. I do feel the song was better suited than "Lights," yet did what you didn't do last week. This week was a pretty tough week for you. I don't think you have mastered song choice when it comes to anything out of country music. Hopefully, if you get through, Dean picked some great songs for you.
Dean:
Charly: I liked this song for you when I hear you were singing this. It had the potential to a one of my favorite performances from you. But it ended up like something you would see at a bar. You didn't own the song like I invisioned. Vocals were good, but you didn't engage me. And I can't say emotionally too, because I believed what your were singing, but I think you just didn't take a risk of making yourself stand out. It was forgettable.
Steven: That was simply your best performance ever! I definitely agree with Charly...this is Erica Roane showing what she can absolutely do! Janis Joplin would definitely be proud if she ever heard this version. This was definitely the perfect song choice, and your execution was exquisite. You pressed such profressionalism with that Erica-rawness to make this performance just great. In this performance, you put that Erica feeling into both your lighter and powerful register which makes the performance feel complete and balanced. Just when I think someone is pulling away from this competition, you're in it to win it. Heck, you can make the Ultimate 2 with that. Fantastic.
Dean:
Charly: HALLEJAH! I felt what your were preaching sister! GREAT SONG for you! You just raised the bar! That was HOT! What I loved about your vocals was that you softened up your tone in just the right amounts in the right parts of the song, but then you knew when you needed to just let it out and not hold back.
Erica Roane - "Rock And Roll"
Steven: I loved it when you did it in Web Vocalist of the Year, and I still love it now! Charly and I are agreeing the first time...scary thing...but he took the words from my mouth. What you did here is your own original take of this song, nailed the vocals, picked the perfect song, and executed it really well. Last week, it sounded like you had an identity crisis, but this week, you are not hiding anything...this authencity is what I continue to really like about you. Another great job!
Dean:
Charly: Take note, people. Erica just put herself out there as a major contender. THIS ROCKED! Best of the night....both rounds! In a night of being safe, you stood out and shined! Your energy was amazing and you engaged me with something different and you MAKE IT YOUR OWN! Your vocals were SPOT ON pretty much.
Laura Broad - "Reflection"
Steven: I didn't find it as fantastic, but I felt you did it so differently than Elisha who sang it last year. Your light tone made the song a bit more tender, frail, light, which I feel this song needs when you need to communicate the message. Actually, this song I feel is very finicky. I felt that most versions never did it for me...even Christina Aguilera's version. Most versions seemed to be too belty...so in this case...it's a bit nicer to see a softer version. But the song needs rawness...that rawness of emotion and crisis to make this song sound more serious on what it's communicating. Your vocals are always great, but I feel this song and any covers should just be retired because of it's disney-like inflexibility.
Dean:
Charly: For some reason, I didn't believe you emotionally. I thought it was way too pagenty and polished and perfect. And while that may not sound like a bad thing most of the time, here it isn't because the girl is trying to find out who she is, and she knows she isn't perfect. Last year, Elisha sang this song, and even though her version didn't grab me emotionally as I'd like, she did try to change the song up a bit to fit her style. You know very well, I know you can sing your butt off, but you have to find a way to find your style in a song so it will not be forgettable.
Laura Broad - "Somebody To Love"
Steven: Queen...you are challenging yourself with that because it's just something that was tremendously glorified for their take of glamor rock and just how they tackled their songs. I think the song was a bit too ambitious because you could have tackled something like "Who Wants To Live Forever" or something like The Beatles that can accomodate you better. But once again, very strong vocals...and I thought the performance was good. The problem is that Queen put such a stamp on this cell that it's so tough to change a classic like this. And although I like you changed it up to your style a bit, I don't know how everyone would think of it. But it was good.
Dean:
Charly: One of my favorite songs here....so pressure is on. I personally liked this better than Reflection because you at least changed it up to make it your own. And I am glad you went more uptempo-ish. That said, I don't think this was the right choice of song for you. It was sung OK, and I see the type of emotion you were going for...the innocent angel approach...but it doesn't fully showcase your vocals in my honest opinion. I also you could have expressed the need to find someone to love more by sounding a bit more helpless in your innocent approach. This has been your weakest night, but you had many MANY brilliant nights tho. If America saves you this week, I want that fighting thunder that is Laura's voice to come back and nail it with the right songs.
Muhammad Jami - "Every Breath You Take"
Steven: I think you picked a really good song for your voice. I just wished you could have changed it up besides adding those runs after that bridge. It's a good choice but it was a tad boring for me. I feel you could have put your stamp into the song to make this song into more of your vibe. It was good, but nothing special.
Dean:
Charly: OOOH! This is definately a good song for your tone. My advice for you is that if you are going to rock a slow jam like that...do NOT be afraid to soften up your tone to fit the mood of the song. I think you did a great job singing it, but it was a little bit on the safe side at this point of the competition. You have to do something now to make a statement. RAISE THE BAR!!!
Tracy Lynn - "Lights"
Steven: You're no Steve Perry, but no one is. So the best thing is to put your style into this because copying Steve Perry is a stupid move. Your tone helped you big time in this song to make it different. And we hear Tracy being a bit more dynamic when hitting different notes and such. But the main problem I had was the song choice. I appreciate you going out of the comfort zone, but this is way out of the comfort zone. It was alright, you could have picked another song, yet take the risk because I think you had a similar problem like Laura's "Somebody To Love." It's so stylized to Steve Perry that no matter what...you're going to be compared. But you did well.
Dean:
Charly: One of my favorite songs ever! I liked your take on this song....not in love with it like the orignal, but it was good. But we made a breakthrough with you. You emotionally connected with the song and I felt it. This was a little bit outside your box, but you managed to put your style in it. The thing that would have made it a little bit better was if you incorporated some type of dynamic in the song just to emphasize the feelings more. Good job! The best I heard you in the finals.
Tracy Lynn - "Ready For Love"
Steven: I actually thought this was better than "Lights," just because of song choice. I do feel the song was better suited than "Lights," yet did what you didn't do last week. This week was a pretty tough week for you. I don't think you have mastered song choice when it comes to anything out of country music. Hopefully, if you get through, Dean picked some great songs for you.
Dean:
Charly: I liked this song for you when I hear you were singing this. It had the potential to a one of my favorite performances from you. But it ended up like something you would see at a bar. You didn't own the song like I invisioned. Vocals were good, but you didn't engage me. And I can't say emotionally too, because I believed what your were singing, but I think you just didn't take a risk of making yourself stand out. It was forgettable.
