Before I start with my quick recap, it has been a rough week for sleep. Last night was probably the worst ever since I came home late after a concert (concert photos to be shared in the next few days), had to help get my mom's digital camera ready, and then thought I lost Chiara. It was around 2:30AM when I finally "found" her after over half an hour of looking--you see, my mom and I knew she hadn't escaped outside but I searched through the whole house (each room, cupboard, closet, and drawer) over three times before I woke up my dad to ask if he knew where she was, to which he replied by sleepily pointing to his legs. Chiara had been snuggled up under the covers behind his legs the whole time! By the time I showered and went to bed, I only had 1.5 hours of sleep before having to wake up to drive my parents to their early flight. I was a zombie for the whole drive there and thought at many times I could easily fall asleep at the wheel. Luckily I was able to take a 30-minute nap in my parked car before heading to a yoga class and then work. I also fell asleep on the couch for another 30 minutes later tonight when I got home.
My exhaustion aside, here is what you've (not?) been waiting for...
Tonight was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde episode of sorts, because it started with the contestants singing upbeat dance music and then ended with their emotional "save me" songs. A glitch in the Pepsi Challenge meant that the singers only had 24 hours to prepare for their latter selection. Stressful!
- Melanie Amaro started with a club mix version of Adele's "Someone Like You". I wasn't a fan of this version since that is one of the saddest sounding songs in recent memory but Melanie's voice was great as usual. She's a better and more confident performer than when she started but I still see room for improving her connection to certain songs. Her second song was Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey's "When You Believe". She sounded very similar to Whitney Houston and barely changed anything to the original. I loved the part when the choir started singing--truly magical!
- Marcus Canty showed his diversity with Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" and Donny Hathaway's "A Song for You". He is a skilled entertainer and has velvety vocals. The only thing that irks me sometimes is a certain look he has in his eyes, but that is me just being nit-picky. I keep saying it, he's like Usher!
- Rachel Crow gave us even more of her personality tonight and really displayed her potential in having a crossover future career into acting. Simon mentioned that she used to do stand up comedy and I can definitely see her becoming a younger and cuter [insert Disney Channel actress equivalent here]. She performed Bruno Mars' "Nothin' on You" (without changing the lyrics, I might add) and Michael Jackson's "Music and Me". I like her and know she will succeed, but I don't think she will win the competition. The judges remarked that she has an old soul and I agree.
- Josh Krajcik shocked me with his dance song choice--Rihanna's "We Found Love". It was alright but as much as I love the melody of that song, after five times it gets pretty repetitive. I would have liked to see him take on something upbeat by Coldplay but it is a tough genre to tackle. Later, he sang the Beatles' "Something", which was definitely "Something" (ha ha) up his alley. At one point though his eyes looked like they were going to burst out of their sockets, and just when I thought that maybe I was being silly, Simon remarked something similar about him looking "insane". Josh definitely needs to lose the backup dancers!
- Chris Rene was the surprise of the night. I kept pegging him as the weakest contestant in the competition, but this week he really showed his originality, artistry, and talent. He doesn't have an amazing voice but it's his songs and lyrics that really put him ahead of everyone else. He personalized T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life" and then sang an original song. It was the latter that demonstrated the reason he deserves to be in the top five. It was just an honest and touching performance with him and his guitar.
My Final Thoughts
Weakest: Rachel Crow
Best: Chris Rene
Bottom two: Rachel Crow, Josh Krajcik
My track record vs. America isn't the best, and knowing the way they vote, I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Rene ends up being sent home just when he's at his best. It's the unjust cruelty I've seen so often!
I love Chris' song! He is truly at his best when he writes his own music. Love, love, love, love. All I need is a copy of Young Homie. Even Stevie thinks it's good!
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