Seperating the men from the girls
Jan. 26th, 2007 09:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unionstationI've been surprisingly pleased with this season of "Nashville Star" thus far. Most of the eliminations I've agreed with. Occasionally I'll beg to differ with the judges, but what the hell do I know about country music anyway? I'm more of a "I know what I like when I hear it" type than true blue country music lover. I don't think Jewel and Cowboy Troy have particularly any chemistry as hosts. Compared to last season's cutting up with Wynonna, it's really a disappointment.
Little Big Town started us off with their new single "Good as Gone". I love their song "Boondocks", so I may have to look into their albums. They blended their harmonies very nicely, reminded me vaguely of a country Mamas and Papas for some weird reason. (Turns out I was close, but wrong pew there. Apparently they styled themselves off another harmonically blended group Fleetwood Mac, even appeared with Lindsey Buckingham on CMT Crossroads. I may need to see if I can dig up that episode.)
After last week, I was quite surprised Meg Allison was the first one to perform. She responded to Randy's criticism by singing an Alabama song "Take me Down". She really needs to learn how to perform, not just sing. She obviously has the musical chops, but connecting to the audience seems to be massively hindering her.
David St. Romain continues to show why he's one of my favorites by singing "Life is a Highway". Everyone is shaking their heads over the song choice. Personally I loved it. (Take a hint, Blake Shelton, not all women want to be wooed with ballads and love songs.) He's a bundle of energy. Hopefully he sticks around. A final between him and Angela would have me wringing my hands though.
Joshua Stevens sang "I Still Believe in You". I had issues with his performance, but I think it's because I prefer lower male voices. Funny for all he was touted as the best male singer in the first episode, suddenly he has vocal limitations.
I was a little surprised Zac Hacker made it through before his sister did. He never disappoints in his performances. Between him and David, no one can accuse the guys of not bringing the energy. The girls seem fairly low key by comparison. He performed "Memphis Women and Fried Chicken". Randy cautioned him on song choice. He does run a risk by picking gimmicky songs. On the other hand, he's commended by staying true to his Southern rocker roots.
That left the three women standing. For a half a second, I was terrified they'd pull a Tamika on Angela. Fortunately Angela sailed on through, performing Bonnie Riatt's "I can't make you love me". Her voice sounded a big more haggard than usual tonight. She really does sell the song well though. She was an early pick by two of the judges to win the whole thing with Whitney or David as other possibilities.
I would have been happy with either Whitney or Kacey being eliminated for different reasons. Both women had limitations.
Kacey Musgraves was eliminated. I anticipated as much based on her performance last week. Her voice was always interesting to me, a more folksy or bluegrass than the usual twang. Maybe Blake is right and she needs more time. Some artists never do make that leap from honkytonk to album.
Whitney Duncan was really off last night. She was singing Sheryl Crow's "First Cut is the Deepest" and she was just pitchy as hell. Even I cringed when she went for the big notes. Ironically, she did exactly what Jewel suggested, which was standing up there and singing straight, no guitar or anything, and she was dinged for it. She also apparently had music clearance issues. She found out on Tuesday she couldn't use "When a Man Loves a Woman", so she had to change gears. She obviously tried to make the best of it. But it was clear that it really wasn't her comfort zone, compared to Angela.
Next week they're pulling a "surprise" by having the judges choose the songs for the contestants. That'll be interesting to see how they see them. In previous years, judges have given them suggestions or "homework" of songs to consider. I do hope they make some flattering choices.
Little Big Town started us off with their new single "Good as Gone". I love their song "Boondocks", so I may have to look into their albums. They blended their harmonies very nicely, reminded me vaguely of a country Mamas and Papas for some weird reason. (Turns out I was close, but wrong pew there. Apparently they styled themselves off another harmonically blended group Fleetwood Mac, even appeared with Lindsey Buckingham on CMT Crossroads. I may need to see if I can dig up that episode.)
After last week, I was quite surprised Meg Allison was the first one to perform. She responded to Randy's criticism by singing an Alabama song "Take me Down". She really needs to learn how to perform, not just sing. She obviously has the musical chops, but connecting to the audience seems to be massively hindering her.
David St. Romain continues to show why he's one of my favorites by singing "Life is a Highway". Everyone is shaking their heads over the song choice. Personally I loved it. (Take a hint, Blake Shelton, not all women want to be wooed with ballads and love songs.) He's a bundle of energy. Hopefully he sticks around. A final between him and Angela would have me wringing my hands though.
Joshua Stevens sang "I Still Believe in You". I had issues with his performance, but I think it's because I prefer lower male voices. Funny for all he was touted as the best male singer in the first episode, suddenly he has vocal limitations.
I was a little surprised Zac Hacker made it through before his sister did. He never disappoints in his performances. Between him and David, no one can accuse the guys of not bringing the energy. The girls seem fairly low key by comparison. He performed "Memphis Women and Fried Chicken". Randy cautioned him on song choice. He does run a risk by picking gimmicky songs. On the other hand, he's commended by staying true to his Southern rocker roots.
That left the three women standing. For a half a second, I was terrified they'd pull a Tamika on Angela. Fortunately Angela sailed on through, performing Bonnie Riatt's "I can't make you love me". Her voice sounded a big more haggard than usual tonight. She really does sell the song well though. She was an early pick by two of the judges to win the whole thing with Whitney or David as other possibilities.
I would have been happy with either Whitney or Kacey being eliminated for different reasons. Both women had limitations.
Kacey Musgraves was eliminated. I anticipated as much based on her performance last week. Her voice was always interesting to me, a more folksy or bluegrass than the usual twang. Maybe Blake is right and she needs more time. Some artists never do make that leap from honkytonk to album.
Whitney Duncan was really off last night. She was singing Sheryl Crow's "First Cut is the Deepest" and she was just pitchy as hell. Even I cringed when she went for the big notes. Ironically, she did exactly what Jewel suggested, which was standing up there and singing straight, no guitar or anything, and she was dinged for it. She also apparently had music clearance issues. She found out on Tuesday she couldn't use "When a Man Loves a Woman", so she had to change gears. She obviously tried to make the best of it. But it was clear that it really wasn't her comfort zone, compared to Angela.
Next week they're pulling a "surprise" by having the judges choose the songs for the contestants. That'll be interesting to see how they see them. In previous years, judges have given them suggestions or "homework" of songs to consider. I do hope they make some flattering choices.
