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by The Trades Staff Published: August 24, 2005
Molly says: Last week, Jessica, the Comeback Kid, was sent back home. I was surprised she went this week, because I thought she'd done a good job on her INXS song, "Mystify." However, after her numerous trips to the bottom three, I can't blame the band for having doubts about her. Who wants a lead singer that the public doesn't like? This week, I'm excited about hearing some original songs from the performers. Suzie McNeil - "Start Me Up" Raul says: It's become obvious that the catchiest rock songs are often also the simplest. That may not be so true today, with elaborate arrangements by bands like Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand and the White Stripes, but back when the Rolling Stones were the greatest band on earth, a simple beat and repetitive lyrics was all it took. "Start Me Up" isn't a great song. It's just a catchy song. This performance doesn't do much to show off Suzie's musical talent (she's still upset she didn't get to perform her own composition). With musical skill taking a back seat, Suzie instead goes for a big show. She struts around, gyrates with the band, joins the other contestants for a round of chorus, and ends with a stage dive. It's all very odd for a woman who doesn't look all that young. Molly says: Suzie was excited about singing "Start Me Up," but I'm not sure why. That's not a good showcase song for anything except Mick Jagger's attitude, and Suzie doesn't have the 'tude to carry it off. It was fun seeing everyone join her at the end, though. J.D. Fortune - "Cold As Ice" Raul says: Foreigner? Really? Last week we had a Britney Spears song, but that was intentionally weird. This week, surely we can do better. There's plenty of rock songs we can do before we have to resort to bands like Foreigner. Alas, J.D.'s apparently happy to do the song. He promises to make it "deeper". Instead, he gives us a faster tempo version of the song. The words come fast, almost tripping over each other. By the end, he's got the audience pumping their fists in the air. It's a very different version of "Cold As Ice". Dave Navarro had to ask J.D. if he meant to drop some notes, though. Molly says: I could have done with a little less of J.D.'s crotch, but I loved this performance of his. He just has such a rich voice and magnetic presence. And House Band was rockin' on this number! Once again, I can't help but wish that J.D. would hit the road with these guys! Deanna Johnston - "My Truth" Raul says: The first of tonight's original songs is Deanna's "My Truth". The "truth" about this song is that it was almost entirely written, arranged and produced by fellow contestant Ty. With a name like "My Truth", I expect a slow and boring ballad. I don't expect anything pleasing. I'm surprised. The song rocks. It's up tempo and loud with a heavy guitar riff. The bridge sucked and could be dropped entirely. Other than that, it's a song I'd enjoy listening to again. Molly says: Deanna sang an original song, and I thought that it wasn't bad. Not something I'd listen to, but Deanna and I just have a different style. It was a good song for her, so I give her credit for that. But I still don't like her voice. Ty Taylor - "Proud Mary" Raul says: Ty goes the Tina Turner route here, starting slow and then shifting into high gear after the first verse. He also has Jordis, Deanna and Suzie sing back-up which is a wise decision as this song works best with female back-up. It's not a stellar performance. Any singer worth their chops should be able to do a passable version of "Proud Mary" but how do you make it stand out? If you're not Tina Turner, running and flailing in place, you're just an imitator. Molly says: Ty's Mohawk is back! But he's still got superstar attitude. His biggest problem in this competition is being too big for INXS. He poured it on in this song and owned the theater. And again, I loved having competitors Jordis, Deanna and Suzie singing backup (although they seemed to have a little problem with the doot-doots.) Mig Ayesa - "Do Or Die" Raul says: The second of tonight's original songs. I expected Mig's song to be far and away the best of the two, and was sorely disappointed. Mig has been one of the top performers on the show so far, but this song spotlights a weakness. He's not so much a rocker as he is a pop star. The song is much more pop than rock. I think Mig could make a career of writing songs... but not rock songs. Molly says: You know, after hearing Mig's original song, my admiration for Deanna's went up a tick. Mig's song was fine, but bland. Very forgettable. I'm surprised he got such kind words from the band. The performance was similarly fine, but bland. Marty Casey - "I, Alone" Raul says: Remember that viewers vote for familiarity. If that's truly the case (and I believe it is), then Marty must feel confident this week going for such an obscure Live song. Maybe it wasn't his choice. Maybe all the other songs got picked and he was left with this. Or maybe he really thought that he could make such a performance of this song that it wouldn't be a problem. Like just about any other Live song, it's got a slow, soft spoken verse punctuated with a loud (in this case thundering) chorus. Marty belts it out like a champ. INXS says may he should have done "a little less screaming." Molly says: Marty decided to go back to his harder rock roots by singing "I, Alone." Marty likes the harder style, but I like him best when he's not being him, such as last week's "... Baby One More Time." For their part, INXS was a little unsure as to how that hard edge would fit into their band. Jordis Unga - "Dream On" Raul says: Jordis closes the night and she'll be freshest in the minds of voters. She lands Aerosmith's "Dream On" which is just as catchy and popular with the sing-along crowd as the song that started the night, the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up". But mimicking Steven Tyler's vocals for this song can be tricky. It would be advisable for Jordis to rearrange the song and avoid entirely the high pitched screaming at the end. She knows she can't do it. She failed to nail it during rehearsal. She tells us that going ahead with it will be a last minute decision. She opts to go for it. It's the wrong decision. She tries once to screech out "DREAM ON!" and it sounds like nails on a chalk board, tries again, holding back, knowing now she can't do it, and the third time, she just screams "AAAAAAAA!!!" It's a mighty failure, and one that just might get her eliminated. Molly says: Fabulous job on the verses. The chorus ... not so much. And it was just the struggle with the high notes. She just didn't seem to own it. Perhaps it was nerves, because she sounded more on track after the high-note debacle. Final Thoughts Raul says: It's coming down to the wire. We've eliminated almost all the bad singers and we're going to have to start cutting good singers soon. But not yet. I fear that the voting will continue its misogynistic trend and the bottom three this week will be populated by Deanna, Suzie and Jordis. Marty may replace either Deanna or Suzie, but not Jordis. Jordis is in the bottom three for keeps. She's going home this week. Molly says: Interesting night tonight! I'm having a hard time predicting who'll be in the bottom three. I'd say J.D. and Tyler are safe. Jordis deserves bottom three, but she's been so strong in this competition that she might have fans that vote her up anyway. I think Mig has a strong chance of being in the bottom because of the unremarkable performance coupled with a song that no one else is familiar with. I think Deanna will have a similar problem with the lack of familiarity with her songs, and I'll round out my bottom three with Suzie. Previous Recaps at The Trades: - Week 6 Competition | Results - Week 5 Competition | Results Other sites: Rock Star: INXS | Sirlinksalot.net |
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