In last week's IDOL LIVE poll of the week series, there was a strong showing for virtually all of Group 3's contestants, as the results were scattered all over the board rather than being concentrated for one semifinalist.
Lil Rounds came out on top with the most votes, taking 24 of the 115 total votes cast over the course of the poll's eight days of being open. Her percentage was 20%. Not surprisingly, Felicia Barton was next up with 21 votes (18%) cast in her favor. It's a shame that result could not have been reflected in the actual voting for the show.
Next up was Scott MacIntyre, who was able to manage 12 votes (10%), followed by Kristen McNamara and her 11 votes (9%). Aside from these top finishers, everyone else was able to come up with at least two votes each, which supports the idea that Group 3 was the strongest of the three.
In this week's poll of the week, readers are asked to vote for their Top 13 favorite finalist. You will have exactly six days to vote.
Arianna Afsar 6 (5%)
Felicia Barton 21 (18%)
Kendall Beard 2 (1%)
Ju'Not Joyner 7 (6%)
Scott MacIntyre 12 (10%)
Nathaniel Marshall 7 (6%)
Kristen McNamara 11 (9%)
Jorge Nunez 2 (1%)
Lil Rounds 24 (20%)
Von Smith 8 (6%)
Taylor Vaifanua 8 (6%)
Alex Wagner-Trugman 7 (6%)
Total votes: 115
Showing posts with label taylor vaifanua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taylor vaifanua. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Poll of the week: Lil bit of competition in Group 3
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
About last night: Where has Group 3 been this whole season?
So it's apparent that the producers saved the best for last, but what for? So that a lot of great semifinalists will be shut out of the Top 12? Well whether or not that was a concern when they formed the groups, it will surely come true tonight.
It's true there were still a few clunkers, like Arianna Afsar's depressing "The Winner Takes It All" and Alex Wagner-Trugman's growl-a-thon on "I Guess It's Why They Call This the Blues," but the majority of the performances last night were memorable and the contestants had song choices that were near perfect fits for their vocals.
There were a few surprises last night, one of the more notable ones coming early on when Von Smith toned down his theatrics tenfold as he opened the show with "You're All I Need to Get By." It was a much different Von than the one we saw during Hollywood Week, where Simon gave him the lashing of a thousand tongues with his critique. It was obvious Von didn't see the Clay Aiken comparison coming last night, but he handled it well by saying Clay is successful so he doesn't mind the comparison.
Another surprise was Puerto Rican Jorge Nunez, who proved to be a true contender when he sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me," which has generally been considered to be a cursed song on the show. Paula's and Kara's cougar fangirlism following his performance could have been left out of the scheme of things, but the fact that he went near the end of the night was a great help for his Top 12 prospects.
There were also a few semifinalists that were kind of just there for the sake of being there, like Kendall Beard, who filled the role of the blonde country girl very nicely, but it was apparent the judges did not have her set in their sights for the Top 12. Nathaniel Marshall, while his vocals are sort of alright deep down beneath his glammed up drama queen look, managed to receive the most commentary from the judges and gain pretty much nothing constructive from it except a chance to shake Simon's hand. That awkward exchange just goes to show that Ryan really doesn't think before he acts most of the time.
Taylor Vaifanua was in a strange position because while she did not sound all that bad, she has an issue with standing out amongst a crowded crew, and her rendition of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" could be described by the three b-words: bland, boring and blah.
As for some other bright spots last evening, Kristen McNamara came out of her shell and defined herself as a new girl minus purple-streaked hair on "Give Me One Reason." The judges (mainly Kara) had some weird fixation on suggesting that Kristen should sing more Kelly Clarkson songs, something Kristen took to heart when after her critiques she said she could see herself recording similar material to Kelly and Leona Lewis.
Scott MacIntyre, while he picked an interesting song and sounded pretty solid overall, was given the second-most unnecessary praise of the night by the judges. It's a tricky territory to tightrope considering the whole blind thing he's got going on, and no one wants to suggest that will help him out on this show, but when something like this is so obvious it can't help but be said. It should also be noted that Simon's comments about Scott being relevant were very misguided. Scott is a great guy, but there's no way he should make it over Ju'Not Joyner, whose "Hey There Delilah" was much more original than the original and sounded smooth and soulful, actually making it listenable after radio ran the song into the ground in 2007.
Felicia Barton came out strong last night. She showed everyone why she belonged in the Top 36 in the first place, and despite hitting a few bum notes here and there while singing "No One," she was overall the second best girl of the night. Simon got it right when he said the first half of the performance was better than the second half, but Felicia's originality should make up for that. If she doesn't make it tonight, she will definitely be a wild card contender.
And then there's Lil Rounds, whose smart song choice of "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige coupled with her inevitable pimp spot and overwhelming praise by the judges virtually reserved her a spot in the Top 12. That's not to say she wasn't good, she was probably the best vocalist of the night, and the fact that she didn't pick something by Whitney Houston should earn her a few extra credit points. Lil has a great personality to boot, so that will only help her down the road.
After all is said and done, Group 3 is for sure the most talented of the bunch and it will be sad to see many of last night's contestants not go through. Can we just swap out Michael Sarver and Alexis Grace for a few of tonight's performers? If only...
P.S. it was hilarious how they went the whole show without mentioning Joanna Pacitti's name. What if someone had been watching the season without venturing online or watching any of the entertainment shows to see the fallout of the controversy? They must have thought "Where's Joanna and what's up with this Felicia chick?" Chalk up another one for Idol producers.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A few names to know for Season 8 (*Spoilers*)
IDOL LIVE has shied away from talking about the upcoming season in order to keep the focus on the news and activities of those that have transitioned from the show to actual careers in music because once the seasons starts that coverage will certainly take a hit. So I have saved all the pre-season spoiler stuff for now.
As you are all probably well aware, JoesPlace of JoesPlaceBlog.com is the place to go when you're looking for spoilers for all things Idol. With that, here are a few of the names you should get acquainted with before the auditions start so that you will be able to differentiate the fodder from the plants from the true talents:
Felicia Barton
Felicia Barton seems like a nice girl with a little experience with the music world. With a singing style (and looks) similar to Nelly Furtado, Felicia might have a hard time standing out from the crowd and could be placed into the "fodder" folder if she makes it through to the Top 36, but her version of Alicia Keys' "No One" is very good.
Terrence "T.K." Hash
Terrence "T.K." Hash made it to Hollywood last season. He's from Charlotte, N.C.
Ryan Paul August Johnson
Ryan "P.A." Johnson fronts a Christian rock band called instereo from Hamilton, Ohio. The band has toured many churches and youth groups nationwide among other concert events. Ryan, who is a father and railroad worker, recently appeared on Cincinnati's FOX 19 News to perform. He previously auditioned for the show four years ago.
Adam Lambert
A flamboyant theatrical stage performer and part time goth rocker, Adam Lambert will surely light up the screen on Idol. Some of his ventures have been a little less conventional than what most Idol fans are used to, so he might have a hard time finding a sturdy footing, not to mention the strong probability that Simon will hate him (think Danny Noriega on steroids). Look for him to have a lot of buzz (and major VFTW support).
Angela Martin
Angela Martin previously auditioned for Idol last season, when she sang "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder and was unanimously sent through to Hollywood. The 27-year-old single mother with a daughter that has cerebral palsy certainly has a story, but her voice is another matter. Knowing that she makes the Top 50 gives her a good chance at going further this time around.
Joanna Pacitti
Joanna Pacitti has not yet been confirmed as a member of the Top 50 but it would be a huge surprise if she did not make it. Coming into the season with the most extensive resume and "plantiness," Joanna has previously released an album courtesy of Geffen Records called This Crazy Life.
The 24-year-old has also had songs featured on soundtracks like "Watch Me Shine" on the Legally Blonde soundtrack and "Out From Under" on the Bratz: The Motion Picture soundtrack, the latter of which was covered by Britney Spears for her latest album Circus. Before recording career, Joanna starred as Annie in the 20th anniversary of the musical Annie on a national tour but was replaced when the show opened on Broadway, which caused a national controversy in the mid-1990s.
Justin Williams
Justin Williams has experience in the recording studio and seems like he'd be a good bet for the Top 36, but Top 50 will have to do for now. There's video of him singing "The Prayer," the original "Adore You" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" at an Arizona Cardinals game on YouTube. He has a Josh Groban-esque voice.
Other potential contenders rumored to have made the Top 50 include Taylor Vaifanua, Brent Keith Smith and Lil Rounds. Others with familiar names that are rumored to have been cut before the Top 50 include Michael Castro (Jason's little brother), Sharon Wilbur, Alisha Dixon and Colton Swon.
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