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American Idol Performances Mini Rankdown

Alex95

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Elliott
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CQB0FNtlLrs/ Happy for Archie! 🌈🏳️‍🌈

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I’m so happy and proud for him. 😭 I’m sure this is something he has struggled with this for years so the fact that he’s comfortable sharing this now speaks volumes. I’ll always love and support him. ❤

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20. Colton Dixon "Decode"

V52OcqU.png

14.8/20

Watch Here

@Zoey - 4/20

@sublymonal - 4/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 5/20

@Elliott - 7/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 9/20

@JC - 11/20

@NGM - 13/20

@*Diana - 13/20

@*Chris - 14/20

@goofycilla90 - 14/20

@1234567890 - 14/20

@jarmon - 15/20

@Steven_ - 15/20

@Solaris - 16/20

@*Wallace - 17/20

@QueenKalie - 17/20

@taylorkat - 19/20

@#jeah - 19/20

@*Lily - 19/20

@hayden98 - 19/20

@rdhaley96 - 20/20

@totes4totes - 20/20

@*Amanda - 20/20

@Crisis - 20/20

@Alex95 - 20/20

@FrogLenzen - 20/20

 

Kevin

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Sorry Alex lmao, but I loved this. I've always had more unpopular favorites from Colton anyway (this & Lately >> everything else).

 

Elliott

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Loved it.

 

JC

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Probably out of this group of finalists, his music is most likely what i would actually listen to on the radio. but perhaps more in my teenage/college years.

 

Chris

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As someone who is not necessary a fan of Colton, I thought this was a great performance.

 

Steven

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I do think Colton getting on top of the piano was a bit much, but it was a dynamic and exciting performance. Colton was already a favorite going into the live rounds, and his first performance was a standout that helped him keep that early frontrunner status.

 

Sola

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meh

 

Wally

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I pretty much echo Alex's earlier comments on "Decode" making it into the finals. I liked and thought this was a cool performance, but I was surprised this was popular enough amongst to make it into the finals. I personally would have preferred having "Piano Man" made the finals over this one, which in really loved from Colton but oh well. I do still like this performance.  I thought it was cool and kinda unexpected how he sang a Paramore song. I also think this performance shows a great balance of him as an artist where he starts off the song gently on the piano and then rocks it out as a rockstar and owns the stage. I do think he sounded great on the piano part of the song. His vocals weren't as great when he removed himself from the piano, but he did perform well. Oh wow at how he sang on top of the piano too. All in all, this is a cool performance but not one of my top favorites.

 

Andy

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First of all this song f*cking slaps. Matching Hayley Williams’ vocal prowess is no small task and Colton does fine I guess. I think he sold it with his theatrics because otherwise the vocal was just average to me

 

Lily

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I thought this was fine but could have been a lot more exciting. I kept waiting for it to have a big moment and it gradually got there but just didn't really peak for me like I hoped it would.

 

Richard

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I was gutted initially watching season 10 because in the brief snippet we saw, Colton gave a great performance of this song at the piano (and was inexplicably cut afterwards), so when I heard he was going to reprise it in the season 11 semifinals, I was super excited. 

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, and it doesn’t really hold up that well on the rewatch, either. I do love how he once again stripped the song down at the beginning because I think the intimate sort of approach with the piano was really interesting. Once he got up from the piano, though, it sort of devolved into second-rate karaoke. The performance just came across as though he was trying to do too much; it felt showy instead of authentic. I also thought vocally, it wasn’t his best performance. His tone came across a bit whiny and just wasn’t my favorite to listen to here.

 

Overall, I’m a bit confused by this advancement. There were so many better performances to choose from in that last round. Even if we wanted another Colton performance, “Piano Man” was right there (which is my #21 for the season). While this certainly wasn’t a bad performance, it’s not even remotely top 20 material for me, especially in such a stacked season.

 

Crisis

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Rewatching these performances made me remember how much I didn’t care for Colton’s voice. He sounds so shrill and whiny here on Decode. With that said, this is one of the few performances I could somewhat tolerate; nonetheless, it’s still my least favorite performance in the Top 20.

 

Alex

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Obvious last place is obvious. I love the song and Colton did it no justice. Colton's at his best when he holds back, he was just trying way too hard here. This is more something I could see Dalton Rapattoni failing at instead of Colton.

 

Derek

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atrocious whiny garbage.

 

 

 

 

19. Jessica Sanchez "You Are So Beautiful"

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13.7/20

Watch Here

@JC - 6/20

@1234567890 - 6/20

@FrogLenzen - 6/20

@taylorkat - 7/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 7/20

@*Lily - 8/20

@rdhaley96 - 10/20

@goofycilla90 - 10/20

@QueenKalie - 10/20

@totes4totes - 11/20

@*Wallace - 13/20

@jarmon - 13/20

@#jeah - 15/20

@Crisis - 15/20

@hayden98 - 15/20

@Zoey - 17/20

@*Chris - 17/20

@Solaris - 17/20

@NGM - 17/20

@Alex95 - 18/20

@*Amanda - 19/20

@*Diana - 19/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 20/20

@Elliott - 20/20

@Steven_ - 20/20

@sublymonal - 20/20

 

JC

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This was not the Jessica performance I wanted to put through, but I do still love it a lot. Jessica does not have a bad performance, and this was another stunning performance even if I would have preferred to get through Dance With My Father.

 

Derek

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Jessica I want you to try to do a more original arrangement this time" "oh, you want it slowed down as much as possible? Got it" "wait no---"

 

Lily

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Maybe my least favorite Jessica performance in the top 20 and yet I still prefer it to a lot of the songs here because I am what? Predictable! It's another stunning vocal from here.

 

Richard

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True to its name, this performance from Jessica was so beautiful. You probably wouldn’t expect her to pull off a Joe Cocker classic so well, but for me, she absolutely did. 

 

Jessica showed a vulnerability here that was simultaneously inviting, and her vocal was absolutely gorgeous. It seemed like she was gently caressing the song with every word she sang. There weren’t too many standout moments here apart from the falsetto note and runs near the end, but I like that she kept things simple because it showed that she was capable of setting aside the vocal gymnastics. 

 

All in all, Jessica really brought something special to this performance, and I’m both happy and pleasantly surprised that it cracked our top 20.

 

Wally

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After hearing and seeing in the thread, that JC & Jordanfan were stuck between this and "Dance with My Father," darn I really wish they had gone with DWMF. That was one of my many main favorites from Jessica, and I was bummed seeing this get cut on the battle rounds. :broken: I do still love "You Are So Beautiful," but this is a Jessica performance I could have been fine without as I would have preferred "Dance with my Father" or "Everybody Has a Dream" here instead. But I do still love this performance from Jessica, even though it's like a.... 9th or 10th favorite of mine from her run? This was a really understated and gorgeous performance. I do love how Jessica took her time with this song and sang this song so beautifully. ❤️ I love all of her vocal choices and dynamics that she shows. She shows off a lot of the lighter softer sides of her voice here. It's all so lovely. ❤️ I do really love how,she builds up the song on the bridge with the "You're everything I hoped for.....you're everything IIiii nnneeeeeddddd." That high need note was an incredible moment. Okay, this was lovely and I do love this from Jessica!

 

Andy

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Why the candles? This would be better without the candles. It’s distracting! A perfect vocal though, let’s not get it twisted. A liiiiiittle boring but that’s the song choice, not Jessica’s voice

 

Crisis

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This performance highlights one of the issues I had with Jessica. She’s a strong technical singer, but she didn’t get the feeling of the song and focused too much on hitting the notes. This was technically good, but I’m thinking so what during it. This lacked the tender emotion the song should have.

 

Chris

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It was a beautiful performance but again, it didn't really WOW'ed me - that was my problem with Jessica as she delivered great performances vocally but was lacking some WOW moments.  And when I think of Jessica's journey, this one does not come to mind.

 

Sola

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Jessica was such a hit and miss artist for me.  While she sang this well, this was a huge mess for me for a song choice.

 

Alex

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Obviously she sang this extremely well, I expect nothing less from Jessica. However, it was an extremely boring song choice and not a particularly memorable performance. I wish "Everybody Has A Dream" was here for her instead :broken:

 

Kevin

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I hate this song, it is soooo bad. The performance was boring because the song is nothing.

 

Elliott

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Waste of a top 20 spot.

 

Steven

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I'm not ranking this last because I think it's bad. It's not a tank either. "You Are So Beautiful" is just a song I don't care much for. It's kind of sleepy and doesn't capture my attention much. Nice vocals from Jessica, but there are a lot of other performances I'd rather have seen in this Top 20.

 

 

 

 

18. Skylar Laine "Gunpowder And Lead"

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12.7/20

Watch Here

@QueenKalie - 3/20

@*Chris - 4/20

@totes4totes - 5/20

@Solaris - 6/20

@Zoey - 7/20

@sublymonal - 7/20

@*Diana - 7/20

@taylorkat - 9/20

@*Amanda - 9/20

@Elliott - 11/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 12/20

@NGM - 12/20

@Crisis - 13/20

@hayden98 - 13/20

@*Wallace - 16/20

@JC - 16/20

@jarmon - 16/20

@Alex95 - 16/20

@#jeah - 17/20

@*Lily - 17/20

@FrogLenzen - 18/20

@Steven_ - 18/20

@rdhaley96 - 19/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 19/20

@1234567890 - 19/20

@goofycilla90 - 20/20

 

Chris

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Excellent performance from Skylar - it was very modern and showed what kind of music she was able to make. And this is the kind of performance that made me root for Skylar as she was different to all the other country singers who came on the show to be the next Carrie Underwood.

 

Sola

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So much spunk!

 

Elliott

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I actually preferred her sing-out of GaL to this performance, but it was still nice. smh at how dirty Skylar was done in this rankdown.

 

Kevin

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Really good.

 

Crisis

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Although Skylar did great on ballads, I’ve always enjoyed her up-tempo performances more, and Gunpowder And Lead is one of these performances. If there was any song that fit someone to a T, it would be this one. Skylar had a solid stage presence and attitude here.

 

Wally

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This was a really good performance from Skylar where she was completely in her element and showcases herself as an artist. I do really like how she performs this song and she has such great stage presence. She always owns the stage and has so much fun on these uptempo songs. Omg lol I love how she goes all crazy and spazzy with it towards the end of this performance. :haha: She sang this song well too. I don't really know where this ranks amongst my favorites from her. It's not one of my top faves but not certainly not one of my lesser faves from her. But yeah, this was really enjoyable.

 

JC

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the better of her performances, but just not a fan of female country, or country at all on idol.

 

Alex

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Yeah I mean I liked it as much as I'm gonna like a country performance on Idol. Surprisingly more than I expected, but obviously I still like the majority of other performances more.

 

Andy

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Hmm interesting choice for a Skylar performance to end up in the finals, I guess the bigger threats got taken out over this? She performs the hell out of this but the vocals aren’t perfect for me. I actually think I’m just not the biggest fan of her tone, lol.

 

Lily

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She had great attitude and personality in this performance, it lost its way a little bit towards the end for me but it was a great fit for her otherwise.

 

Derek

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she sounds like a parody lol

 

Steven

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Skylar was clearly comfortable with the song, but she did come off a little bit like a Miranda Lambert copycat. Nonetheless, Skylar delivered a fun performance and sang it well too.

 

Richard

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This performance from Skylar was fun, but it was also just kind of average. Skylar’s stage presence and overall personality were on point, and I think that those things salvaged this performance somewhat.

 

Everything else was pretty unremarkable. The song didn’t really give Skylar anywhere to go vocally, and as a result, the whole thing just came across as repetitive and not as enthralling as I would have liked. She also dropped the ball a bit in her lower register by not supporting those notes as well as she should have.

 

Overall, Skylar is definitely an underrated performer among the season 11 finalists, but this performance isn’t even close to one of her best in my book. I’d say there are 10 or so Skylar performances that I’d place above this one, so this is another advancement that I’m pretty confused by. 

 

 

 

 

17. Skylar Laine "Stay With Me"

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12.6/20

Watch Here

@Zoey - 1/20

@NGM - 3/20

@Solaris - 4/20

@QueenKalie - 4/20

@*Amanda - 7/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 8/20

@Crisis - 8/20

@Elliott - 9/20

@sublymonal - 10/20

@#jeah - 12/20

@*Chris - 12/20

@goofycilla90 - 12/20

@Alex95 - 12/20

@rdhaley96 - 13/20

@JC - 13/20

@FrogLenzen - 16/20

@*Diana - 16/20

@taylorkat - 17/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 17/20

@totes4totes - 18/20

@hayden98 - 18/20

@*Wallace - 19/20

@Steven_ - 19/20

@jarmon - 20/20

@*Lily - 20/20

@1234567890 - 20/20

 

Sola

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I wanted Didn’t You Know How Much I loved You here instead, but I am happy this made it too.

 

Kevin

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Great opening night performance, she basically came out of nowhere and proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with. Fantastic.

 

Crisis

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Skylar definitely made a statement with her first performance of the season! The attitude, stage presence, and vocals were all there. Between this and Baylie Brown bombing as badly as she did, Skylar established herself as the country female this season. This is my favorite Skylar performance and I consider it to be her best (although Wind Beneath My Wings (🤮) supposedly takes that title).

 

Elliott

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Really enjoyed it.

 

Andy

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Yeah, this is fantastic. Skylar is a natural born performer and her skill is on full display here

 

Chris

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I am a fan of Skylar but I am not sure if this is one of her best - it's a good performance but there's a few performances of hers that I wish was in the end over this one. 

 

Alex

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Oof sorry Skylar stans. She ended up having a rough go in this game. This is definitely my favorite Skylar performance. It's just so much fun and such a high energy performance. With performances like this, Skylar definitely became my favorite Country singer on the show.

 

Richard

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This performance from Skylar was so fun! If I remember right, she hadn’t been shown that much in previous rounds, so this was really her chance to make a big splash, and she definitely did.

 

In her less than two-minute performance slot, Skylar took advantage of every moment and absolutely commanded that stage! She looked like such a consummate professional while at the same time giving tons of energy and attitude. What keeps this from placing even higher from me was the vocal. While Skylar did a great job hitting the notes and mostly staying on-key, there was something slightly guttural and unpleasant about her tone that kept me from really LOVING her here. Otherwise, this performance would have easily made my top 20. 

 

JC

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this is lame.

 

Derek

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meh. she has a great range and then doesn't arrange the songs to use it well and puts all that vocal styling on top

 

Wally

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This was a pretty cool performance from Skylar. It was interesting how she did a classic rock song, and I feel this was an unexpected song choice for her to sing on an open free choice round, but that does make the performance more exciting. Skylar sang this well, but performed this even better. She performed this in a fun electrifying kind of way. She did kinda perform in a spazzy way, particularly that part where she sings that "come on, get up, get up now," which also cracks me up. :haha: I also liked her final notes at the end. Overall, this was a very fun and really good performance but not one of my favorites from Skylar (which were "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go.")

 

Steven

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This was a great breakout performance from Skylar. She delivered an energetic performance and showcased her personality too. It was fun, but this is a strong Top 20. Some good performances will have to be ranked low by default, and that's what happened here with me ranking "Stay With Me" this low.

 

Lily

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An ok vocal and a cool song choice. Felt like she was doing a bit too much at times, but I'd probably take an entertaining and occasionally messy performance over one that is crystal-clear and boring.

 

 

 

 

16. Jessica Sanchez "Try A Little Tenderness"

CCEPUjk.png

12.3/20

Watch Here

@goofycilla90 - 5/20

@1234567890 - 5/20

@taylorkat - 6/20

@QueenKalie - 6/20

@*Lily - 7/20

@#jeah - 8/20

@JORDAN_FAN - 8/20

@JC - 8/20

@totes4totes - 9/20

@jarmon - 9/20

@FrogLenzen - 9/20

@*Diana - 11/20

@Zoey - 12/20

@*Wallace - 12/20

@Alex95 - 14/20

@Solaris - 15/20

@*Amanda - 16/20

@Crisis - 16/20

@Steven_ - 16/20

@NGM - 16/20

@rdhaley96 - 17/20

@*Chris - 18/20

@sublymonal - 18/20

@Weedy_Speedy - 19/20

@Elliott - 19/20

@hayden98 - 20/20

 

Lily

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She commands this performance and all the changes to it throughout so well especially for such a young age. Amber Riley's cover of this is always kinda where the bar is set for me but I still adore Jessica's version.

 

Andy

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I forgot this performance existed, but rewatching it I was wagging my finger the whole time so it’s a Yes from me

 

JC

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Another phenomenal vocal from Jessica, she doesn't have a bad one!

 

Derek

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this got a little scary in the end but good. someone needs to explain light/shade to her

 

Wally

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During the petty cuts round, there were 3 Jessica performances I was really hoping would survive that round. Those were performances were: "Everybody Has a Dream" (which Elliott ended up cruelly cutting :broken: ), "Dance with My Father" (which shockingly lost out to "Proud Mary" in the Battles round which I didn't get?) and  "Try A Little Tenderness." I will admit I was much more passionate and hopeful for one of the first two to make it into the finals, while I wasn't expecting  "Try A Little Tenderness" to do so. But I do still really love this performance so I'm glad this made it here (although the other two would have made my Top 10, while this falls a bit short at #12).

 

"Try A Little Tenderness" was an interesting performance for me because I didn't really love this at first but thankfully I corrected my ways and grew to really love this. I do love how she was singing this song soft and gently at the start of this performance. She sounded so,gorgeous there. But then she added in some grittiness here and there. I do love how she gradually built up,the song and would just crush and slay it vocally. I love how she belts out "try a little tendernnessss" around the middle of the performance. But the latter half of this performance was really something special. Those "You got to squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave her" section of the song! She got all gritty and stank vocally on the song, and it was something we never really saw from her. She was slaying it and hit some impressive notes there, and that buildup was electrifying! :omg::dead: All the vocal range and dynamics she shows here are insane! I often find this performance underrated and overlooked, but then it made the Top 20..... So I guess that doesn't apply? :lmao: But this performance is fierce, and I'm glad we got an uptempo performance from Jessica here!

 

Alex

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Such a soulful performance. Not Jessica's most memorable performance, but just another example of Jessica #slaying up there on the Idol stage.

 

Crisis

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Another BB Chez performance I never cared for. The growls were somewhat interesting; other than that, not much to say about this one.

 

Steven

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Jessica showcased a lot of stage presence with this performance. This isn't my favorite version of "Try A Little Tenderness" done on American Idol, but Jessica still delivered a strong performance here.

 

Richard

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Of all the Jessica performances that made it, this is the one I was most surprised by, because I’ve never really seen anyone show a lot of love for it. Honestly, I could have done without it in this top 20.

 

I did love the beginning part of the performance, but once the tempo kicked in and the more loungey arrangement started, I wasn’t as big a fan. I liked the “growly” approach she took vocally, but her lower register here wasn’t as well-supported as it could have been. As a whole, Jessica was definitely giving a lot of energy and doing her best to make the performance work, but when it came down to it, this performance was just solidly ‘good’ for me instead of great. 

 

Chris

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No offence to anyone but how did this performance made it to the end ? There's other performances of Jessica that were more deserving to be in the end game than this one.  

 

Kevin

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Didn't care for this. Thought it was indulgent.

 

Elliott

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Waste of a top 20 spot.

 

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