Nashville Star - Season 6 (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

I don't know if anyone here plans to watch, but I figured I'd run it up the flagpole. It's the first season to air on NBC. I've never seen the previous seasons, but I'll give it a shot.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I've watched all 5 seasons so far of Nashville Star (sometimes it was tough to keep up since it was on USA). I will miss Anastasia Brown as one of the judges, that was one fine looking lady. I'm not sure I'll like Billy Ray Cyrus as the host of season 6, though.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I don't understand the love that Taylor Swift getsr. Her voice is so thin, but she does use what she's got, presentation-wise, to sell the rest of her performance, in spite of a weak voice.

I was sort of surprised that Charley got the boot. I'd cut Alyson, or Coffey or Shawn or Tommy before Charley. But Charley was just too cheesy with the singing in the crowd move. You have to earn that move, not just start off with it.

Melissa was out of breath after 2 verses. Her voice is big, but not all that entertaining.

Ashlee seems to have some potential, her voice grew on me as she sang.

Pearl Heart was okay, I liked them.

Gabe is destined to be the next John Arthur Martinez.

Coffey just isn't right for this show.

Laura and Sophia is one half of a decent singer, one of them sings really flat, and it just doesn't sound all that great.

Third Town has an identity crisis on their hands in terms of their signature voice for the group.

Shawn sounded flat and uninspired.

Charley did have a weird country karoake voice, but at least he sounded country while singing.

Tommy just oversang and destroyed any melody to the song he sang.

Alyson did have some weird facial expressions, which detracted from a so-so voice without much distinctiveness to her vocals.

Justin sounded weak and boring.

-----

I did enjoy the judges being brutal, and sniping at one another. Whether the sniping is scripted or not, who knows, but their critiques were mostly in line with my reaction to the performances (but some overpraised average performances, too), though it was funny to see them squabble over each other's critique when they disagreed with one another.

 

[Adam_S]

Billy Ray Cyrus hasn't gotten comfortable with the prompter yet, and doesn't seem natural talking to contestants

Taylor Swift sang the censored version of her song :frowning: 'Gay' must be a bad word now, at least in country music. And she proved to me yet again that her tone and pitch control are completely manufactored on the mixing board, she was as shrill and off pitch as she's been in every live performance I've seen her do on tv (be it the national anthem or an awards show, the girl cannot actually sing reliably)

The group sing suggests that there are some really weak singers in the top twelve.

The judges all having worthwhile comments is so refreshing. They are actually constructive and meaningful, not the empty phrases of Randy and Simon or the mindless rambling of Paula.

I've only seen one episode of the second season of Nashville star and thought it was pretty terrible, NBC seems to have improved the show (i actually thought it had died after the second season and I listen to country radio every day).

Ashlee was my favorite. she walked away with the night. I ran the DVR back and listened to her performance a second time and liked it better. A nice unique sound, a clear expression of herself but definitely room to grow and improve and develop. after a wobbly start she found the pitch after the second phrase of her song and really did fun things with her phrasing. And with her backstory she will be hard to beat. Her biggest drawback is the renee zellweger eyes that make her look perpetually squinty, but her smile is genuine and dazzling. Great stage presence.

It sounded in the brief snippets of early auditions that Coffee (really is that his name?) put on a country affectation and then dropped most of it in later auditions and in tonight's performance. He's got a solid voice, but it's not naturally country. Interesting to have him in the competition, but I got a very easy listening/contemporary christian vibe from him, granted that can cross over to country so I am hopeful he shows us something more unique than the fairly bland but well sung work he showed tonight.

Melissa, the big lady who closed the show, was only okay, bad song choice, weak performance, big voice. big meh from me.

The Laura and Sophie, the sixteen/eighteen year old duo who are super bff had an interesting harmony but some sour parts (I'm thinking of the flatness patrick mentioned) great song choice and great sense of the stage to walk down the stairs and forward to the front, pacing themselves to end the song just as they get to the end of the stage. visually dramatic, but the stairs may have thrown one of them off, I want to hear them again next week, and I hope the one with braces gets them off, she seemed a bit mumbly.

Shawn Mayer from Iowa sounded great in the super tease/early clips and the group sing, but man she tried to oversing Piece of My Heart, lost her breath, phrased things poorly and barely enunciated some lyrics. Imo it was a trainwreck that got softballed. I have hopes for her and she did pull together and finish out the song at an okay level. the arrangement was poor and it wasn't the best song choice, at least not in how it was styled, she was trying to use it to show off too much, when she should have just been showing us she can sing and perform. She has a lot of potential to be very entertaining.

I really wanted to like Pearl Heart (horrible name) but felt that they were hiding behind the harmony. They never sold the song, but I like them. Kinda cute, and Missouri kids, but I thought they were kind of softballed (probably because they drew the dreaded first slot) though the judges were fairly spot on.

Gabe was very solid, lots of potential, not a great version of that song, but a pretty good one. Superb song choice.

Justin, the model from los Angeles, was hands down the worst of the night. He completely missed everything compelling about Drops of Jupiter, That was not a country version of that song, it was just a flat out bad version of the song by someone who can't sing a note. He's actually a worse singer than Amy Davis from this year of American Idol, and that's saying something. And he's on this show for the same reason--he's a pretty face. Terrible.

Charly was close behind on the terrible scale and is a fairly justified elimination. Wretched wretched version of a great song from note one. and he oversold going into the audience. Just completely out of his depth.

Tommy, Navy boy extraordinaire, will not be eliminated for some time, but his first song was a complete mess. He's got a good voice and good instincts but that performance was all over the place. He was trying to let it build but never came close to achieving it. blah. but he's an early front runner for the final two.

Alyson was the worst of the girls, but not so much because of her voice (almost everyone oversange tonight) but because of her horrible plastic surgery that makes her look like a pageant queen from the nightmares of hell. Hopefully some of that vaccummed cheeks look is
enhanced by makeup or can be covered up because she is just frightening to look act. Ugh.

Third Town sounds so very Branson it is almost embarassing. it's clear they wanted to have a complete song in their short time period and they also wanted to show off all three vocal abilities rather than just the guy standing in the middle. So they arranged the song, gave it some wild bluegrass/folksy licks and used their experience as a group/performers to get the crowd into it. I think the judges were slightly off the mark. Yes they're correct that Third Town was in no way contemporary tonight. But Third Town may have just been so retro they were almost back into contemporary land. Their sound can be molded and isn't that far away from Little Big Town. I personally like the idea that two of the members can sing lead, it makes them more interesting and opens up more possibilities performance wise in what they can do with songs and accomplish week to week. That doesn't mean that every song should feature solos, but they should be able to figure out a better balance and a more contemporary-fusion sound. they're not Old Crow Medicine Show, so hopefully we'll see something markedly different next week. They do benefit from being one of the few musically memorable acts of the night.

 

[Greg_S_H]

It's funny that in twenty minutes, they dispensed with the BS that Idol keeps going for a month. On the other hand, the Idol auditions let you know the contestants a little more, and you start to form attachments. I was a Brooke White fan from her audition tape. I found it hard to care about any of these people yet.

Billy Ray needs to stop with the, "Way to go! Great performance" thing. It leads to: "That was phenomenal! Judges?" "Terrible." Just take a cue from the 'crest and hang back until the judges do their thing.

I'm disappointed in Patrick for listing everyone out of order. I rely on his lists to help me remember what I watched the night before, at least at the point where I don't know everyone yet. I'll just say that I didn't find anyone to really cling to yet, though I do differ in that I did like Coffey. Annoying name, though. I thought the two little friends sounded thin and boring. I don't know why they were so highly praised. And, I would have sent Alyson packing over Charley.

This was my first time to see Taylor Swift. I thought she was awful. Jewel was looking good, though.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I was doing good just to remember their names in my stream of consciousness ramblings of what I thought of their performances.

 

[Greg_S_H]

It was said with a smile, if not a smiley.

 

[Bob_S.]

Well, my wife loves country music and I've slowly grown to like it over the years even though the only people I can recognize from the radio is Brook and Dunn, Reba, and Rascal Flatts. Everyone else sounds the same. Anyway, I really wanted to like this show but there are maybe 4 acts that I thought were good, that would be Gabe, Ashlee, the two young girls, and Alyson. Everyone else I thought sounded terrible or "ok". Is this the best talent they could find? Nobody comes even close to a Carrie Underwood or Kelley Pickler. Neither Alyson (she does have a good voice) or Charley should have left. They were better than that trio group, the Navy guy and Coffey.

I'm glad it's just not me that thinks Taylor Swift is waaaayyy overrated. I've seen her perform twice live (last night and at the country awards that was on CBS) and she sucked both times she sounds too whiney and high pitched. The studio does wonders to her voice.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

I didn't like how they jumped right to the top 12 in the first episode, like they're trying to get the season over in a few days or something. Was it like this in previous seasons?

I also didn't get the praise for Taylor Swift- too bad we couldn't vote her off, since she was worse than many of the contestants.

 

[RyanAn]

I'll get more into the contestants later on, but... to the first singer on the show tonight, I said "Man, she can't sing and will be off this week."

It was Taylor Swift. Ouch.

I like Coffey and the two girls - the 16 and 18 year old.

ryan

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Are they giving up on this being a country show?

John Mayer, The Police, Aretha... not country.

And did they give a phone number to vote for an act who minutes later was eliminated? What is the point of that?

 

[Bob_S.]

Chris, I was under the impression that Third Town was illiminated by last weeks voting. Last week the judges voted off one act and then after the show the callers were to illiminate someone for last night. I could be wrong. Good choice by the way. Both deserved to be there, but Third Town just plain stinks. One of the judges was right when he said they sounded like someone who would perform at a county fair.

 

[Adam_S]

Kids (Laura & Sophie) – very strong, solid, boring but a huge improvement in stage presence. They’re stronger without the crutch of looking at each other, but they also wander just a hair away from nailing the harmonies. without it they took it just a bit too far in the other direction. Ended strong though. Please keep them away from Taylor Swift type of pandering High School Musical lyrics. Give them some Pickler, Lambert, Martina and Underwood lyrics to play with. I think they’d hit gold covering some Keith Urban.

Ashlee – Overall not as good as last week, she did too much with the song in terms of affectations. I want to hear her voice stripped down to the bare essentials and sing something just straight up. Vocally a little shakier but very strong at the end, I think she’s using her guitar as a crutch.

Justin – Someone kill him now. He has an okay tone to his voice but so do I, and I can sing at that level. I can’t sing. He is only on there because of his face, he’s the sort that RPS laugh at in the initial city audition and doesn’t even make it to Hollywood. Completely does not belong. Judges nailed him to the wall, perhaps too vigorously as he’ll probably be back. He does have good song choice but I wonder if he ever actually has listened to a country song. He’s murdered two excellent pop songs. Ugh. Don’t let him mercilessly attack something else.

Alyson - Her face is so scary, but that was a million percent improvement. Pretty solid on all levels except her stage confidence, just walking seemed hesitant and jerky. She reminded Jewel of Reba too, her voice is very Reba and she’s a redhead. She’s only going to pale by comparison, so I hope she’s not singing reba next week (but I bet she is)

Pearl Heart – a big improvement on last week, I can buy them as a group with potential now. They’ve still got a ways to go though. Judges gave them excellent notes on performance, vocally they’re excellent. They are still hiding behind the harmony and using it as a crutch to prop them up

Tommy – Lots of fun and energy, contemporary and relevant, lots of attitude and personality. Vocally mostly on point. John Rich’s comments were hilarious about riding a Tommy.

Gabe Garcia – again, the most country voice of any of them, but I can’t even remember the name of the song he sang a few seconds ago. Solid vocal I guess.

Shawn Mayer – Damn that was great. One of my favorite songs of all time and she made me want to buy her version of it. I was really frustrated to not hear a complete track, and that’s the only one this season that I’ve got that from, I wanted more. Outstanding. best of the night.

Coffee – so much potential here, but the one positive noticeable thing about his performance wasn’t the vocal, it was the brief guitar solo (sound guys weren’t ready for it either), So many affectations, more like karaoke than anything.

God I love this Trace Adkins song. But Trace is not nailing it: warbly. The chorus of contestants is an interesting change but it’s a bit weak, not what I was hoping to see.

Melissa – scary eyes! Great tone and then she way oversings it. Nice ending note, not as good when she tries to go high, strong beginning. One of the strongest singers.

Third Town – that was better. Good performance. They chose the wrong lead singer for this song. His voice is too high for the song so it becomes more bluegrass than “Mountain Music” (a great song) already is. Vocally they were awesome, imo. Judges were overly harsh, but they still haven’t found their little big town groove. Too different last week, not contemporary, so they’re eliminated.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Frankly, the judges are the most entertaining aspect of the show. I can't quite muster the energy to run through all the contestants, but Tommy was entertaining, Pearl Heart was okay, Sophie and Laura improved, not yet sold on Shawn, Ashlee seems too sweet (no grit) for this contest. The rest either don't have the charisma or the talent to go all the way.

I liked the Trace Adkins song, but liked it better when he performed it on The Apprentice finale this season. He was okay last night.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Frankly, I forgot about this show after last week. I was debating deleting the recording unwatched, but I guess I'll keep it around and try it tonight.

 

[Adam_S]

Nashville Star week three – top ten – pop goes country

Group sing, Gabe bombs out with bad mic technique and Justin demonstrates he can’t sing. Pearl Heart, Melissa and Shawn tear it up. None of the men are remarkable. The kids are weak.

The super package they start out the show with and the mentoring is quite fun.

Billy Ray doesn’t know the prompter script and keeps reading it rather than throwing to camera.

Gabe – Living La Vida Loca
Solid, maybe a bit too fast for him, the lead into the chorus was excellent. He’s using his guitar as a crutch and it keeps him from really selling the song and making use of his backup dancers, can he step out of the eighties and into contemporary country? This is the sort of song to Chesney it up on, and he didn’t do that because he was concentrating on his guitar and singing so much.

Pearl Heart – Love Shack
Really old fashioned, nothing but harmony, no breakout lead vocal—this is supposed to be increasing her front person ness? However it did solidify them as a group and they were really a big improvement over the last two weeks. Kind of monotonous; they really looked phenomenal.

Alyson Gilbert – I’ve gotta think we’re alone Now
Alyson has no sense of the camera, and or the crew is incompetent at keeping her face in view. I heard a lot of sourness in her vocal and the song did nothing for me, and no stage presence (very awkward up there) in my opinion. John Rich nailed it as a vanilla rendition, but if the judges keep hammering her she’ll be safe (sympathy votes).

Ashlee Hewitt – You Drive Me Crazy
Very good country version, stronger stage presence, a little awkward yet. She still adds too much vocal gymnastics but some of her phrasing/highlights are outstanding. She has some of the strongest instincts of toying with the lyrics of any of the contestants. Another guitar crutch though, let’s see her do it without it and sing something straight and pure with just the right Ashlee Twist. I think she has the most clearly defined sound/voice/sense of herself of any of the contestants.

Coffey – Umbrella
Great stage presence and the most fun performance of the night. More charisma than the first four performers combined. Where is the country though? The call and response was a little odd but he sort of pulled it off, should have let it drop rather than repeating the gimmick. It did kick ass but utterly nothing country about it.

The Kids (Laura and Sophie) – Pretty Young Thing
They look like they’re ten. Pick something better from wardrobe next time. This is their best performance to date, they’re not relying on the harmonizing and finally come off as a really interesting duo, the back and forth handshake between lyrics from one to the other was great. Terrific arrangement. It’s a problem when their producer gets more praise than the performers. Their confidence has gone up.

Shawn Mayer – Bye Bye Bye
That was sweet. Country, rocked the guitar (this is when it isn’t a crutch), rocked, the intro, schooled everyone on how to perform and OWN that stage. Once again the best in show, two weeks in a row. As relevant and country as Carrie Underwood is with her rockier songs. And I hate this song. Really hate it. She actually made it sort of interesting building the transitions into the song that sold what she can do. The TD screwed up twice, once in performance and once in her exit interview. On top of the audio guys that don’t know when someone’s mic needs to be up it’s a little pathetic how many mistakes there are in the broadcast every week. I suppose that’s what you get producing the show in Nashville.

Melissa Lawson – True Colors
She is just so bland, never grabbed my attention except on the power notes. She’s got the most incredible tone though. She has the most control over her voice of any of the contestants. At least this week she didn’t oversing, Carly Smithson style. Very old fashioned, you don’t hear that kind of song on the radio anymore from the women that top the charts. She could probably do really well covering Mary Chapin Carpenter, but when was the last time you heard her on the radio?

Justin – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Is this going to be a gay anthem, is this him coming out? Holy shit. Worst song choice for a guy on this show ever. He’s already setting off gaydar as a male model. Oh man. His voice is better this week, still the worst of the top ten (or top 24 of idol). They really slowed the song down tremendously to give him a chance to actually be able to hit some notes. This version was the most dull version of a song on a singing competition I’ve ever heard. Yawn. So very high school talent show because it’s such a completely limited performance.

Tommy Stanley – Maniac
Not very country, you could see him trying though. Very American idol. Just didn’t do anything with the song arrangement to bring it over to the Nashville star universe. His best performance. But he doesn’t deserve to get hammered on the not country point when there were more egregious examples of that problem tonight. Jewel is absolutely right that he needs to get his Keith Urban vibe on.

and Justin is understandably and deservedly eliminated. Good riddance.

 

[Adam_S]

I don't think anyone cares cause the lineup of competitors is so haphazarad but I think after they get rid of two or three more the show will become interesting.

Nashville star week four

Someone needs to get rid of the director of this show (and get rid of the TD as well). Why is there no steadycam to speak up, just bad jib shots cut between frenetically with no sense of song performer or beat of the music? Idol knows the song down to the measures, get with it Star or don’t do the live gimmick; do the show a day early and give editors a chance to fix the line-cut’s many egregious errors.

I saw the show on you tube so I missed the packages which is annoying because they’re interesting because they allot a great deal more time and interesting material to packages than idols 35-50 second pre-song packages. The converse is that the packages have a bigger impact on the voting, which is not as good.

Apparently they’re doing two songs each this week, their show piece and a 45 second piece to show off versatility and as a gimmick to distinguish the show from idol. But it’s really just a gimmick. 45 seconds is what they get at the audition level if they’re good, no need to shoe-horn it in here. Additionally it doubled the song budget of the show, so it’s an odd but bold choice to make

Ashlee Hewitt – Don’t Stop Believin’
Ashlee wants to win this competition more than any of the other singers. She’s really fighting for it and making smart decisions. Yes it’s a stupid manipulative little gimmick to switch instruments, yes it is a really smart thing to do to impress voters (if the judges don’t hammer her for it). She should have either stayed at the piano and slowed it into a ballad or started it mournful and accapella but it was sort of all over the place vocally and as a performance piece. She is making the smartest choices of the competition, but this song is too eighties electric to fit into the modern country woman sound. Very bad arrangement even if her voice is authentically and interestingly country.

Help me Make it through the Night (second song)
Glue her feet to the floor and let her put some cry into the song and it’d be one of her best performances. She is very, very uncomfortable without the guitar (or piano, instruments really are a crutch for her) and she looks far too vulnerable on stage without it. She doesn’t know what to and sort of wanders. What she should do is stay rooted to one place and take a few steps to lead into the peak of the song and hit a power note to end it off. Very average and overall this week reveals so many of her weaknesses.

Coffey – Hey Good Lookin’
I’m used to the Tennessee Ernie Ford version which is about as country as you can get. He starts off very mellow pop and then puts just a bit of country into the first of the chorus. He seems to think his throaty little gimmick of vibrating a note is what makes him country but it’s really not. I think he’s going home. The arrangement is pretty good. But old fashioned. And he seems embarrassed and uncomfortable with the whole thing. I wonder if he entered the competition on a bet/dare/lark or mere desperation. Vocally he’s very solid, one of the strongest and most consistent singers, but he’d never make the top 24 of idol if he even made it to Hollywood week which I would think is doubtful.

Take me Home Country Roads
This is actually a very smart song choice and should have been his primary song. It’s both a country and a pop song from a performer he could do well to emulate (Denver’s voice isn’t very country though his material sometimes was). No emotion in the song, probably he was mad from judge comments? You tube didn’t include the judgments of the first song so I don’t know. A lost opportunity here and a terrible first song choice.

Tommy Stanley – God Bless the Broken Road
He has some major problems in phrasing and enunciation, that’s not good because good country depends on those as much as it does on pure singing ability. Additionally, there were a lot of sour notes although he recovered. He didn’t depend on his guitar this week, but he’s actually stronger vocally when also strumming. He also came in behind the backup choir that scrambled to adjust to him making the whole middle of the song off. He did handle the staging of the song well. He did not do the song justice which is a perfect choice for this type of singing competition show. I’m guessing he has no power note range as he didn’t manage any and this is an apt point to display some goosebump raising vocal gymnastics. He did end the song stronger than he began it, which is about the best praise I can level at him. More country than last week, but his biggest problem is he didn’t “emotionally connect” to the song which is all in the phrasing of the lyric and how you hold the note.

Tiny Dancer
Like Coffey’s second song this is actually a better song choice than his 90 second primary song. The Rascall Flatts song is already iconically country in it’s most well known iteration, however the second song choice is more pop (very pop) and the forty five second limitation is murder on this song but because you’re giving Elton John a bit of a twist to get it to country you can hear more of the country element to Stanley’s voice. The arrangement and backing instrumental was brutally cruel both to the song and to Stanley. L

Peart Heart - I’ll Still Be Loving You
Has anyone told them how their name is too much like Pearl Harbor when you write it or read it? I really don’t like their name. and this performance was an absolute mess. Their harmonies and group sing were spot on last week not so this week. And for the second week there is no clear lead vocal. I guess that’s what they decided on rather than having a clear front person. But this was weak, terrible performance. They look hot, but the one that is not the center/lead singer is not as good looking as the other two. Pretty much exactly like the Dixie chicks. Why do I get the feeling that they were almost manufactured and massaged into being a DC clone group? Another big problem they have no identity as individuals, they’re only a group, I doubt anyone watching knows all three girls names, much less the name of the center one who is supposed to be their lead.

One Way Ticket
Started off very strong, I think they really need Center as their lead vocalist. That does reduce the others to backups ala the Supremes, big whoop, still weak on the harmonizing. I’m going to chalk that up to having to rehearse two new songs and hope they do better next week if they survive.

Melissa Lawson – This One’s for the Girls
She’s not as solid on the rocking chorus but her phrasing of the verses was absolutely exquisite (and she sang it beautifully as well). First time I felt she’s relevant, not great on this type of song, but certainly worthy of still being on the show. Best so far of the night, by quite a lot, the difference was she actually meant every single word of the song. Guitar seemed more of prop than anything, make it look like she’s doing something since the producers of the show are afraid to just let them sing.

Landslide
Again excellent on all levels. Apparently I have to retract my bit about someone not be allowed to just sing because that’s what she did and she was awesome. This short bit was the best of the night so far.

Shawn Mayer – Breathe
Probably second of the night behind Lawson, pretty much nailed the song, a bit of enunciation problems with the start of the second verse/bridge she used after the first chorus. But Overall a very strong performance and very good for her overall. Her look was outstanding. I’m liking her voice more and more every week, and she has great instincts for the competition. I could see a final two between Shawn and Ashlee if Melissa falters, but I think Melissa’s support is growing and her perfect song choice this week will have her at number one next week.

Forever and Ever Amen
Another great song choice and she’s good on it. She’s declaring herself one of the most country of all the performers with her choices and her voice backs it up. I love how she covers iconic country songs for men and makes them work for women that’s fan-fucking-tastic. Let’s hear her do Keith Urban’s tonight I’m gonna Cry. Or a Kenny Chesney or Brad Paisley song. She’s so consistently interesting to this country fan I really hope she stays on the show til the finals.

Gabe Garcia – Dead or Alive
He opened strong because he’s comfortable and safe behind his guitar but overall the song became more limp when he grasped the mic with two hands ala Val Kilmer in The Doors. His vocal went weak without accompanying himself on the guitar, which is annoying. He got more shouty than singing the song but it’s a shouty song. I would have liked for him to work with Jeffrey Steel to arrange the song more country style than leaving it the same because it just pales by comparison as a sort of lame country karaoke to have the arrangement be identical to Bon Jovi’s. Still he’s the best of the men and he was outstanding at the beginning of the song. And props for trying something different this week.


The Fireman
About time! Finally one of the men has a decent caliber performance tonight. In fact I’d say that was one of the better performances of the night. He’s so much more comfortable with George STrait than trying to do the rock-a-Brooks thing of his first song. This is his niche and he can out-country anyone on the show with this type of material. Excellent.

Walking on Sunshine – the kids (laura and sophie)
Okay there were some minor harmonizing issues and some pitchyness and one of the kids dropped a lyric in the middle of a harmony measure but this was still their best performance and it’s entirely do to Jeffrey Steel, they were actually really performing quite brilliantly, playing off each other, using the stage they had the best arrangement of anyone all night. Definitely deserve to stay and if they can be produced this easily in the competition I’d say so far they’re most likely to get a record contract simply because they’re responding so very well to notes. They look their ages this week and they sang like their age too, rather than the infantile performance from last week (in vocals and outfit).

Because of You
A very odd song choice and the one in red hit a major sour note on the first power harmony note going into the chorus. Not nearly as good. And showed their limitations. They need coaching on mic technique because they were holding their mics in a way that really covered their faces, and the one in red (hitting off notes the whole time) was grasping it like it would sustain/support her. Looked very dependent and vulnerable. The one in green is the much stronger singer/performer. I think she’s the older of the two, so it’s understandable that she’s more on point. Because of maturity and also because she doesn’t have to have a studio tutor since she’s eighteen.

Not going to cover Alyson since she went home and I never much liked her anyway

Excellent:
Melissa

Good Enough
Ashlee Hewitt
Shawn Mayer
Gabe Garcia
The Kids

Mediocre
Tommy Stanley

In Trouble
Coffey
Pearl Heart

 

[Bob_S.]

Adam, while I'm not a hard core country fan (I do enjoy listening to it), I'll give my 2 cents anyway.

Mellissa, while I hate to admit it, sang the best this show. She had great stage presence and really seemed to communicate to the audience. The problem I have with her is her weight. I know, I know I sound shallow but to me she comes across as a middle aged house wife and mother who can sing pretty good. I think she lacks that country star image. I know she has been losing weight and that's great. If she can slim down more, it would definitely help her.

Pearl Heart sound pretty good when they can harmonize. Their first song was horrible because their vocals were all over the place. I thought they sounded much better on the second one. The difference was night and day.

Coffey and Tommy will be leaving very soon. Their singing is just mediocre. Coffey has that wavering effect in his voice that just annoys me.

I don't think "The Kids" are quite good enough to make it. They seem like 2 teens singing karioke. The older one definitely has the better voice. They could be a real talent in a few years but not now.

It's hard to pick who could be in the finals because any one of them could blow it. Right now Melissa has the best voice and Gabe has the best country voice. Ashlee and Shawn are right there too.

Here is how I sum them up right now:

The Very Good:
Melissa
Gage
Ashlee
Shawn

The Good:
Pearl Heart
The Kids

The Bad:
Coffey
Tommy

 

[Patrick Sun]

I thought Shawn was mediocre. Her vocals just sound crummy to me.

Ashlee is too timid and sounds weak in her performances. But she's the easiest to "package" and foist upon the masses with her cuteness and looks.

Melissa is a pretender, she ain't got that "it" factor, and her vocals aren't strong through the entire song, only in parts, no stamina.

Gage is country-sounding, but no charisma.

Pearl Heart still haven't figure it out, and it hurts their performances.

The 2 girls need to go home.

Tommy needs to go sing in honky-tonk bars.

Coffey needs to go sing in coffee houses and warble through his songs.

 

[Greg_S_H]

So, who won?