Canadian Idol Top 22

Ok, I think I have officially gone crazy. I found myself agreeing a LOT with Zach tonight. Fucking Zach Werner!!! I loved that he told the girls to stop trying to be what they are not, and go back to what got them in the top 22 to begin with. I couldn't agree more!!!

I was also surprised that the guys did better than the girls! Usually I start a season liking more girls than guys, but not this time around - the guys were great last night, and the girls... while most sang well, were lackluster in their performance.


Top 11 - Guys

Jaydee Bixby - “Johnny Be Goode”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVnCMyOzDis
I really like his voice. But the poor guy seems to be stuck in the 50's. His voice is PERFECT for that style - but will he be able to get out of that box? We'll see I guess.

Clifton Murray - “I’ll Be”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzuOqLn2zoI
OMFG, hell froze over. I agree with Zach!!! I think Clifton has a good voice, nice tone (tho a bit nasally), but he went way over board with the dragging of the notes and the long, sustained money notes. He didn't do bad, per say, but it was way too much and not believable in the least.

Derek Hoffman - “Move Along”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAxUYIq7dpU
Oh, this was painful. Very, very bad. I think this guy has much more in him, but he didn't show anything with that.

Justyn Wesley - “Some kind of wonderful”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsScmZhOFq0
Good voice, nice tone, and he seems to know what he's doing on stage. But I felt he held back a lot, and only let loose a little at the very end. I think he's got a whole lot more to offer than that.

Dwight D’eon - "Cry"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRMt7sDhygs
The first part of the song was way too low for him. The second part was good. Not fantastic, but good. I like this guy - like his voice, tone, look and the way he performed. I hope he can push himself more, and I think he can be really, really, REALLY good.

Greg Neufeld - "This Love"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVqwKcEUTx0
Ok, let me get it out of the way - SWOON!!! - *L* Greg did awesome with this. The first verse was off somehow tho. But when he launched into the chorus, that was awesome, right down to the end. The song suited his voice very nicely, and I am happy to see he's got new dance moves, other than what Sass calls the "bunny hop". He seems to have grown a lot since last year, and I'm hoping he'll go far this season! I like his voice and style very much.

Tyler Mullendore - “Brown Sugar”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbiThnQsPvo
That was good! I think he overdid it with the growly voice, but one can tell how much fun this guy is having. That's what the others should do - just leave it all out there every time. And that's what Tyler did.

Andrew Austin - Freedom 90"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqeNubCvI1M
Well, I guess the people who are into his voice will have liked it. I didn't. That sounded extremely karaoke to me.

Matt Rapley - “Isn’t She Lovely?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrGljqoCenA
Matt sang this song well - I really like his voice. But it was a very, very, VERY boring performance. I don't think this was a good choice for him - all he showed off was that he can do runs. His auditions were much better than that.

Brian Melo - "Stereo"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4mWksciOv4
I LOVE him for singing The Watchmen! Dany Greeves is an awesome, AWESOME singer, and while I don't think Brian sang it better than Dany (not a chance), I still think he did amazing with it. Suited his voice perfectly. The only negative for him is that not a lot of people know The Watchmen... Althought this was one of their best known song. Best of the night!

Liam Styles Chang - "This Magic Moment"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGiy3-AE-k
I like this guy's voice very much. But I have a hard time matching his voice to his face. Doesn't compute, doesn't add up for me. I didn't like the physical performance at all - but closing my eyes, he sounded great.



Top 11 - Girls


Tara Oram- "Rose Garden"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2PVYRBzyg
Woo, country! *L* She seems to want to be Carrie Underwood - the moves, the facial expressions, the little nose wrinkling thing, the motion of the arms, even the taping of the mike with the fingers. It's almost uncanny. Not bad, but not wow either.

Martha Joy- "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O1wI0Z6FtE
Oh yeah. That song again. Woopidoo. *rolls eyes* She actually technically sang that song really well. But has the judges said, she has to feel her song, not just stand there and deliver.


Montana Martin Iles- "The Bird and the Worm"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx_ZK_P_NtQ
I'm not quite sure what to make of this... She is far from being the strongest vocalist, but damn! The girl's got balls! She's totally unique in that competition. I actually really like when she waved at the guitarists to join her... She seems really comfortable on stage. Shades of Rossi in the make-up? *L*


Milla Miller- "I'm Goin' Down"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc5JU8-7Cmk
I thought she sounded good. But she seems to phone it in, which is bothersome.


Maud Coussa-Jandl- "Dreams"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J6ufEeGwb0
I actually liked that. I just don't know if she can sing songs that are totally different than that.


Annika Oddegard- "Helplessly, Hopelessly"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZALGt1Uvqs
Ouch, ouch, ouch. Not only is she pitchy, but the song choice is not great either.


Naomi-Joy Blackhall - “Judgement Day”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK-6_nsWAJk
It was not too too bad when she was still singing in her low register.... But when she kicked in her higher register... OUCH OUCH OUCH! WTF was that? She sings much much much better than that.

Christine Hanlon - “Possession”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM-x5ymiOTk
She was pitchy here and there. But I like her style and her tone. I don't think she chose the right song tho. This song doesn't really go anywhere, and does not much to wow people.

Scarlett Burke - “I Learned From You”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQvXyg3xSWM
I thought she did better than the judges gave her credit for. Yea, she was pitchy in some places, but it not that bad. Not great, but not bad.

Khalila G - “Family Portrait”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5EG4QTJcGc
I really enjoyed that. She's got a good voice, and she seems really like she's feeling her song. Good job.

Carly Rae Jepsen - “Put Your Records On”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzwAhe64gBU
Bah. That reminded me of Antonella Barba, and that ain't a good thing. She did better than Antonella, but Carly is capable of much better than that. What's with the pimping she received? Damn!



**********EDITED**********

Well, we had our first elimination show last night.

Bottom 4 - Boys:

Clifton Murray
Derek Hoffman
Justyn Wesley
Andrew Austin

Gone home: Derek and Justyn

I was VERY surprised to see Derek in the B4. Granted he was not good, but I thought the younger fans would keep him in there. Frankly, I was expecting Matt Rapley to be in the B4. Not because he's a bad singer - au contraire! But because his performance was so... boring. I was also expecting Clifton to go - I find him utterly creepy. But in the end, I do think the two guys who went home were the right choice.

Bottom 4 - Girls:

Maud Coussa-Jandl
Naomi-Joy Blackhall
Christine Hanlon
Mila Miller

Gone home: Maud and Christine

Frankly, I was surprised that Anika was not in the B4 - she would have been my choice to be there instead of Christine. I was VERY surprised to see Mila in there, too. I would have sent Naomi home instead of Christine. Naomi has great potential, but she hasn't lived up to it since her initial audition. Her top200 auditions were pretty bad. I guess we'll see if she gets better with time.