In the journey for Idol to find its Idol, two cuts matter to me the most. The first are the judges’ decisions on who makes/doesn’t make it out of Hollywood [cue Rod Stewart The First Cut Is the Deepest]. The second cut is the audience votes that decide the Top 10. “10” has long signified a standard of quality, e.g., being a Top 10 team, being rated a “10”, or having a top 10 hit on the charts. If you make the Top 10 in most areas of endeavor, you are part of an elite group.
This is not to say that each Idolist in the Top 10 has elite talent, especially compared to the world of professional performing artists they hope to enter. As GRAMMY-winning producer Greg Wells told a group of Berklee College of Music students, “You guys, sitting here today—you have no idea just how good good is out there.”[1] While some Idol seasons are better than others, I usually find only four or five Idolists compelling. Still, the Top 10 is my signal that things are getting serious.
So, let’s get to it and see how well Meghan Trainor coached ‘em up on the theme of Billboard #1s. As a singer and songwriter, she gave the Idolists insight into how they can do subtle things to connect listeners with different parts of a song. I enjoyed listening to how she hears a song.
Abi Taylor Swift All Too Well This was no Yellow Brick Road. Sleepy. Screechy. Pitchy. I didn’t feel a connection to the lyrics. C-
Will Chris Stapleton Starting Over Ironically, I found his Chris Stapleton-ish sound to be less Stapleton-ish when singing a Chris Stapleton song. It was solid but not compelling. And Meghan’s right – he needs to smile and physically emote more. B
Jayna Rihanna Diamonds OMG, she knows how to work a song. She is always creative and yet controlled. That was remarkable. Whew.[2] A+
Mia Miranda Lambert Over You Maybe all she is at this point (19 years old) is just OK. Her voice is nice but nothing special. And I agree with Katy that Mia’s performances need more emotional physicality. She can’t just stand there and look cute. I never got the feeling of her having someone that she needed to be over. C
Roman Katy Perry Roar I wasn’t a fan of the first part of his arrangement, although I loved the risk. But the second half of that song? Prepare for liftoff! He took over the arena and took EVERYBODY to church. Have mercy! A+
Jack The Weeknd Blinding Light I really liked the dark alt-country vibe of his take on the song. A lack of energy (bodily and/or the band) kept it from being superb. B+
Emmy Selena Gomez Lose You to Find Me Not good. F
Triston Luke Combs Beautiful Crazy I think I’m getting to the point with him where I feel he’s “good for 15“ rather than “he’s good.” He’s sounding the same every week. C
Julia Zach Bryan Something in the Orange Meghan tells her, “It’s not just about the voice.” This was her best, most dynamic, and most emotionally connected performance. B+
Kaibrienne Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball She’s hit or miss, which is usually about song choice. This was another miss. Five weeks in, I have no sense of who Kaibrienne is as an artist. D
McKenna Taylor Swift Cardigan Idolists take note. McKenna knows how to connect with and deliver the meaning and emotion of a song. And that was another professional performance without her full voice. B+
Kayko Gotye Somebody That I Used to Know He gets The Glory Spot.[3] That was a manic, shouty mess. For reasons I don’t understand, the judges bum-rushed the stage. Meanwhile, in my head, I heard Simon Cowell’s voice saying derisively, “Sorry. I didn’t get it.” I got nothing out of it. F
Top Ten (“Tom Dim the Lights! And here we go!”)
- Abi – C-
- McKenna – B+
- Will – B
- Kayko – F
- Kaibrienne – D
- Mia – C
- Jack – B+
- Emmy – F
- Triston – C
- Julia – B+
Not Top Ten
Jayna and Roman.
No. I am not OK.
[insert a very lengthy string of really offensive words here]
[1] Excerpt From This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, Susan Rogers & Ogi Ogas
[2] Lost track how many times I said that during her performance.
[3] When it gets to the last few, I try to guess (or outright hope) who it’s going to be.
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