Constructive Critques for the Top 12

[xfactor22]

This is NOT a diss thread. This is where you offer how you think each of the top 12 could improve for live shows 

[luketapas35]

My first suggestion is for Jordan. Please don't wear sunglasses inside the building for when you're performing, it's odd to say the least 

[RTV]

On 11/29/2023 at 9:23 AM, luketapas35 said:

My first suggestion is for Jordan. Please don't wear sunglasses inside the building for when you're performing, it's odd to say the least 

I'd rather contestants not wear sunglasses on The Voice, but it's part of Jordan's trademark look.

 

excerpt:

https://idolchatteryd.com/meet-jordan-rainer-from-the-voice-season-24

“The Woman In Black isn’t me trying to be the second coming of Johnny Cash … The Woman In Black, for me, represents the strongest part of myself. She’s the part of me that does the hard things — she stands up for herself; she goes after the dream when it no longer makes sense to. She’s the fighter. The bulldog. I need her. And I step into her energy and her space every time I put those glasses on. I’ll never lose the shades, because they’re my ‘bat cape.’ They’re my portal to feeling invincible and brave.”

 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by RTV

[Someone648]

Not sure if all of these are technically criticisms, more observations/things to look out for:

 

Mac - Great singer, just needs to be mindful not to overdo it with runs and falsetto. Obviously those are two of his specialties and I'm sure John/producers/vocal coaches are helping him construct a great performance - but for a voice like his, it's a great reminder that sometimes less is more.

Lila - An artist who knows who she is and does it very well. My criticism for her has been the sleepier song choices. She's done well with all, but I'm hoping she's given/gets to choose something fresh or reinterprets a hit into more her style. Otherwise she risks fading into the background. 

AZÁN - The neo-soul/R&B thing isn't usually what the audience gravitates towards, but she's been doing an exceptional job with her performances so far and has been receiving praise from most of the audience thankfully. It'll benefit her to lean into that natural charisma she has. She's got a perfect balance of confidence and humility when she performs and that'll help her in whatever she sings next, especially if it happens to be more upbeat.

 

BIAS - Personally, I prefer his voice when he gets to show off his power (Need A Favor) more than the slower ballady stuff. He needs a good balance of both.

Kara - Not sure exactly which direction the producers are gonna send her song choice-wise. While I've loved all of her performances so far, there's a notable difference between Leave (Get Out) and Boo'd Up vs. her Have You Ever and Rain performances. She sounds stronger in the more classic/90's R&B style than more contemporary. That being said, she delivers the more modern/contemporary sound very authentically as well! Once again, balance and finding moments to make her choices feel fresh. 

Tanner - He's become more confident as the show's progressed but his song choices have been a bit all over the place, so I don't know what they'll give him. I just fear that because he'll young, depending on whatever they give him, he could sorta lose himself/try to do too much to sound like the original? I could be wrong here. He's just naturally great and needs to make sure he doesn't try to sound too much like the original.

 

Huntley - A solid, consistent guy. The only thing in my mind that pops up as remotely resembling a "stumble" (if I can even call it that?) is his knockout song being a bit predictable. Like he nailed every second of it and did it confidently, but whereas his blind and KO felt like bold choices, that one felt phoned in. Hoping he takes risks in his next performance. If not in the song choice itself, just making it more unique to him and not strictly the original.

Mara - My feedback for Mara has been consistent since she was on AGT - she has a tendency to oversing and make weird runs and vocal choices. Her last two performances have been clear steps in the right direction and have me viewing her in a much more positive light. Everything's been going better for her and she's using all those cool parts of her voice effectively. I'm taking what I wrote for Mac and multiplying it by 10... sometimes less is more!

Nini - She's had really risky song choices with big moments each round and they've all paid off. I imagine she's already doing this, but she's gotta really weigh out the pros and cons of each vocal choice she makes and find the right moments. (As I play "River" in the background, I'm realizing Gwen's feedback is almost identical lol). I anticipate another bold song choice so I really hope they don't try to throw a "safe" song in her direction. That could ironically be a bus for her. Also ignore Reba, she doesn't know what the hell she's talking about with that playoff feedback lol. 

 

Jacquie - Not sure exactly what they'll try to throw at Jacquie for lives, but she's nailed each of her performances and made each of them feel like her own. Not sure if there's really a "safe" choice for Jacquie because she can do it all, but interpreting things like she did with "The Chain" will be a big step in the right direction. She should "Jacquie-fy" whatever she's given, if that makes any sense lol. 

Jordan - Personally, her playoffs performance was a bit of a step backwards, but I guess she could afford the "easier" song of the week (not negating the hard work of course). She's just gotta make sure that whatever she does next gives her a better chance to show off those strong vocals she has. 

Ruby - Do not sing "Suds in the Bucket" if presented with the opportunity. Other than that, all she's gotta do is keep being Ruby.

[Discovolcano]

8 hours ago, luketapas35 said:

My first suggestion is for Jordan. Please don't wear sunglasses inside the building for when you're performing, it's odd to say the least 

I like the sunglasses 

[evansHARA]

1. Azan needs to intensify her eyes just a little bit more  since she's too focusing on body movement

2. Lila need to more serious, she has habit to smile or like flirty like saying "yes!" through her face expression in the middle of a song. she has a jazzy vibe that needs to be showed off.

3. Bias, well, what he need is his breakthrough moment, just his voice and spotlight lighting while doing acapella at the 1st verse , a serious song to backup like russians or moon over bourbon street

4. Ruby need more fun, free, more yodel stage.

5. Mac, i want him utilizing head voice and falsetto from start to finish with heatwave's or DeBarge's time will reveal

 

[peachfuz]

LILA FORDE: A storyteller has to understand the story before they begin singing. If you're not able to understand the mournful story behind "Fire & Rain" or the wistful melancholy behind "Angel From Montgomery", then they're not songs you're ready to tackle on this show. Next time you choose/are given a song, look up the lyrics on your device of choice, take out a piece of paper, write each lyric down one by one, and start getting a feel for what your song is about.

KARA TENAE: There's a difference between "never heard on the show before" and "unexpected". A lot of comparisons have been made to the earlier seasons of American Idol when it comes to Kara, and she comes with a strong appeal for those of us who are a fan of neo-soul or early-2000s R&B, but for the general audiences, they're not going to see anything that'll catch their eye. The time's approaching where Kara has to take her streak of really strong song choices and elevate it to beyond a certain genre – the kind of cross-genre appeal that made people root for Aliyah Moulden, Rose Short, Wendy Moten, etc.. 

 

TANNER MASSEY: You have to be able to sing a song within your vocal range before you begin considering your emotional range. Tanner's wheelhouse is digging into every song he's given and absolutely tearing into its emotional core, and it works. But – and I say this as someone who loves his voice and most of his performances – the song's gotta work from a conceptual level first. You're not gonna be able to win over audiences with emotion alone for long – at a certain point, you gotta find what songs work for your voice without emotional appeal first.

 

MARA JUSTINE (and, to a much lesser extent, RUBY LEIGH): Look at what happened to Kaylee Shimizu and learn from it. Kaylee's elimination should serve as a grave reminder to every artist aged 21 or below that you gotta act your age. It isn't just song choice – it's presentation, it's aesthetic, it's stylization. Kaylee didn't deliver a single solo performance in her run that didn't feel trapped in the days of early American Idol or Star Search, not because she sang Aretha Franklin and whatnot, but because she carried herself like she was at a pageant when she needed to prove she was current. Between Mara's archaic song choices before the Playoffs ("Without You"? "Son of a Preacher Man"? Dude.) and Ruby's "born in the wrong generation" aesthetic that surely killed any chances Grace West had at winning last season, these two need to prove that they not only can sing current, but perform current. That said, these two are already off on the right foot with their most recent performances being easily their best thus far – if they keep up what they've got going so far, then I'm not worried. 

 

NINI IRIS: The choice of "Karma Police" in the Knockouts set an example – start following it. "Karma Police" was revelatory – a fantastic performance of one of the most unexpected song choices of the season. Now put "Karma Police", as a song for a contemporary female pop-rocker, next to "I See Red", "Heart of Glass", and ESPECIALLY "River", and we start seeing a conundrum. Nini has never underdelivered on a single one of these performances, but she's gotta throw away the songbook of "what a girl rocker in a singing competition in 2023 is gonna sing" and go back to the drawing board that made "Karma Police" such a delight. Maybe covering more bands with male frontmen could serve as a jumping-off point – is it just me, or does anyone else wanna see her sing "Love Reign O'er Me" or "The Way It Was"? 

 

JACQUIE ROAR: Your audience knows you're a country powerhouse already – now's the time to start showing them what else you can do. Jacquie has nothing to prove with the songs she's been performing all season. "Here For The Party", "Need a Favor", "The Chain"... even a refreshingly raucous take on "GIRL" has fallen into the same circle of "Girlboss Country™", and there's nothing wrong with that! But Jacquie can't sustain herself on the biggest numbers she can pull out of her sleeves, and that'll be the thing that determines if she's gonna end up more like Bria Kelly or Meghan Linsey.

 

JORDAN RAINER: Find the alleyway that Ruby and Jacquie aren't already standing in. It's not really a secret that people think Jordan has a bit to prove on Team Reba, and, frankly, I can't disagree – Ruby is undeniably a frontrunner, and Jacquie has been really strong in her corner of modern country rock. Jordan's got a ton of personality, but her performances have been really similar genre-wise to Jacquie's at times, and the overlap is gonna only work against Jordan as we head into the next few rounds. What can Jordan do that Ruby and Jacquie haven't done? This might be a risk, but I think Jordan needs to go the storytelling route – only with all of the earnestness and wisdom an adult can bring to a song that someone Ruby's age can't even pretend to have. 

[Winterfan]

My constructive critique for Nini and honestly, for all the members of the top 12, is pick a genre of songs you'd like to sing and stick with it. I feel Nini should continue singing rock songs or if she must sing something outside that genre, something by a more rock-oriented pop singer, like Pink, might work.

[RTV]

I hope Niall or a vocal coach encourages Huntley to enunciate so that the audience can understand all the lyrics he's singing.

[Hsamid]

On 11/30/2023 at 11:17 AM, peachfuz said:

LILA FORDE: A storyteller has to understand the story before they begin singing. If you're not able to understand the mournful story behind "Fire & Rain" or the wistful melancholy behind "Angel From Montgomery", then they're not songs you're ready to tackle on this show. Next time you choose/are given a song, look up the lyrics on your device of choice, take out a piece of paper, write each lyric down one by one, and start getting a feel for what your song is about.

KARA TENAE: There's a difference between "never heard on the show before" and "unexpected". A lot of comparisons have been made to the earlier seasons of American Idol when it comes to Kara, and she comes with a strong appeal for those of us who are a fan of neo-soul or early-2000s R&B, but for the general audiences, they're not going to see anything that'll catch their eye. The time's approaching where Kara has to take her streak of really strong song choices and elevate it to beyond a certain genre – the kind of cross-genre appeal that made people root for Aliyah Moulden, Rose Short, Wendy Moten, etc.. 

 

TANNER MASSEY: You have to be able to sing a song within your vocal range before you begin considering your emotional range. Tanner's wheelhouse is digging into every song he's given and absolutely tearing into its emotional core, and it works. But – and I say this as someone who loves his voice and most of his performances – the song's gotta work from a conceptual level first. You're not gonna be able to win over audiences with emotion alone for long – at a certain point, you gotta find what songs work for your voice without emotional appeal first.

 

MARA JUSTINE (and, to a much lesser extent, RUBY LEIGH): Look at what happened to Kaylee Shimizu and learn from it. Kaylee's elimination should serve as a grave reminder to every artist aged 21 or below that you gotta act your age. It isn't just song choice – it's presentation, it's aesthetic, it's stylization. Kaylee didn't deliver a single solo performance in her run that didn't feel trapped in the days of early American Idol or Star Search, not because she sang Aretha Franklin and whatnot, but because she carried herself like she was at a pageant when she needed to prove she was current. Between Mara's archaic song choices before the Playoffs ("Without You"? "Son of a Preacher Man"? Dude.) and Ruby's "born in the wrong generation" aesthetic that surely killed any chances Grace West had at winning last season, these two need to prove that they not only can sing current, but perform current. That said, these two are already off on the right foot with their most recent performances being easily their best thus far – if they keep up what they've got going so far, then I'm not worried. 

 

NINI IRIS: The choice of "Karma Police" in the Knockouts set an example – start following it. "Karma Police" was revelatory – a fantastic performance of one of the most unexpected song choices of the season. Now put "Karma Police", as a song for a contemporary female pop-rocker, next to "I See Red", "Heart of Glass", and ESPECIALLY "River", and we start seeing a conundrum. Nini has never underdelivered on a single one of these performances, but she's gotta throw away the songbook of "what a girl rocker in a singing competition in 2023 is gonna sing" and go back to the drawing board that made "Karma Police" such a delight. Maybe covering more bands with male frontmen could serve as a jumping-off point – is it just me, or does anyone else wanna see her sing "Love Reign O'er Me" or "The Way It Was"? 

 

JACQUIE ROAR: Your audience knows you're a country powerhouse already – now's the time to start showing them what else you can do. Jacquie has nothing to prove with the songs she's been performing all season. "Here For The Party", "Need a Favor", "The Chain"... even a refreshingly raucous take on "GIRL" has fallen into the same circle of "Girlboss Country™", and there's nothing wrong with that! But Jacquie can't sustain herself on the biggest numbers she can pull out of her sleeves, and that'll be the thing that determines if she's gonna end up more like Bria Kelly or Meghan Linsey.

 

JORDAN RAINER: Find the alleyway that Ruby and Jacquie aren't already standing in. It's not really a secret that people think Jordan has a bit to prove on Team Reba, and, frankly, I can't disagree – Ruby is undeniably a frontrunner, and Jacquie has been really strong in her corner of modern country rock. Jordan's got a ton of personality, but her performances have been really similar genre-wise to Jacquie's at times, and the overlap is gonna only work against Jordan as we head into the next few rounds. What can Jordan do that Ruby and Jacquie haven't done? This might be a risk, but I think Jordan needs to go the storytelling route – only with all of the earnestness and wisdom an adult can bring to a song that someone Ruby's age can't even pretend to have. 

When IDF users give better constructive criticism than the coaches.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Hsamid