The American Idol 2014 live performances kicked off Tuesday night as the Top 10 girls took to the new idol stage to sing for America’s votes.
That means before the live performances, the judges decided which 10 of the Top 15 girls got to perform and which five would be going home without the chance to sing for America.
So how did the girls do during “Rush Week”? Let’s take a look. I will review every performance and assign the letter grade I think each one deserves.
Majesty Rose, “Happy.” I wasn’t crazy about the song choice. It just felt really low-energy even though it’s not that much of a low-energy song. She’s a great artist, though, so I hope it’s enough for her. For me, though, I’d have to grade this with slight disappointment. Performance grade: B+
Kristen O’Connor, “Turning Tables.” I have to say I was surprised she made the judges’ cut. She’s got a nice look and she does command a stage nicely, but I find her just a little boring. And for her to take on Adele was silly. She’s not a huge singer like Adele and I don’t see America getting behind her. But we’ll see. The ending of the song was pretty solid, but the rest was just kind of there. Performance Grade: B-
Brianna Oakley, “Warrior.” I’m not a fan of song choices yet. I don’t want this to end up being The X Factor, but I’ll try to overlook the songs for now. Wait, no I can’t. This song is awful. And she was kind of irritating, so I have to say with this performance I’m not a fan. There were some good moments, but overall, I thought it was a bit sloppy. Performance Grade: C+
Jena Asciutto, “Paint It Black.” Finally, a song that doesn’t suck. But the performance wasn’t my favorite. I think it was a good representation of the kind of artist she’ll be, but there were clearly some nerves. So the vocals weren’t great, but they weren’t end-of-the-world bad. I still like her, but I hope she doesn’t completely flop. And like JLo says, she’s kind of a badass, so I like that, too. Performance Grade: B-
Bria Anai, “Wrong Side Of A Love Song.” I haven’t paid much attention to Bria up until now and I don’t know why. I guess she wasn’t exactly getting a lot of screen time, but she can sing. I loved her vocals and the energy she put in this performance. She got a little overwhelmed at one point but it sounded like it was on purpose. I liked it. Performance Grade: A
Marrialle Sellars, “Roar.” No. Come on. Why do we have to hear Katy Perry and Demi Lovato songs? Ugh. This aren’t SINGER songs. These are songs made for studio artists who can’t sing. And according to this performance Marialle isn’t that good either. This performance was actually atrocious. Sorry, it just was. Performance Grade: D
Jessica Meuse, “Drink a Beer.” Wait, she’s a country singer? I’m confused. Anyway, I liked the performance. She doesn’t exactly match the genre she chose to perform, but I liked her tone and the performance as a whole. Maybe she thought singing a country song would get her the votes to stay in? Or is she a country singer? I’m confused. Anyway, I liked it. Performance Grade: A
Emily Piriz, “Paris Ooh La La.” Another Top 10 pick I’m surprised with. I just find some of these girls totally boring. Stupid song. But she sounded OKish, so I’ll be nice about how inappropriate the song choice is and how awkward she looked on stage and just stop now before I say something I shouldn’t. Oh, and major props to Harry’s passive-aggressive remarks. I don’t agree with passive aggression, but I loved the point he was making because I agree. Performance Grade: C-
MK Nobilette, “All of Me.” Well she looked terrified, so that was a little off-putting. But her vocals were great. And when her nerves calmed, and she opened up, her vocals improved and she connected to the song. It was tender, soft and emotional. I thought it was one of the best of the night. Performance Grade: A
Malaya Watson, “Hard Times.” Yes! I’m so glad she made it. She was among my top picks. Her performances give me goosebumps and this time was no different. I think she is completely amazing. And I loved this song choice for her and I loved her performance. I can’t get enough of her. Performance Grade: A+
So there’s your Top 10. That means Brandy Neelly, Adrina Brogden, Kenzie Hall, Jillian Jensen and Austin Wolfe are out of the contest. Some of those snubs I’m surprised by. I thought we’d see Brandy, Adrina and Austin in the Top 10 for sure.