The American Idol 2014 Top 10 took on Top 10 songs Wednesday night and there were some definite hits and misses.
As usual, I’ll be reviewing each performance and assigning the letter grade I think each one deserves.
MK Nobilette, “Perfect.” Well I was happy she took on Pink because it’s current and actually an artist and song I know, but the vocals were her worst ever. She wasn’t projecting and was even mumbling at times. Not good for MK. Not good at all. Performance Grade: D+
Dexter Roberts, “Cruise.” I guess that was a good song choice I didn’t know it, but I think the crowd seemed to like it. I thought it was actually kind of boring and just kind of OK. It didn’t’ really go anywhere, but I won’t call it a bad performance. Just OK. Performance Grade: B
Jena Irene, “Clarity.” I liked her song choice and her energy. I didn’t love the vocals, but for the most part it was a solid performance. This should be enough to keep her out of the bottom three once again this week. I think so, anyway. Performance Grade: A-
Alex Preston, “Story of My Life.” I never expected Alex to do One Direction, but I actually liked it. I think I liked it better than any way One Direction could perform it. It was definitely a smart song choice for Alex. He will probably pick up some fans and vote she normally wouldn’t have had. Performance Grade: A
Malaya Watson, “When I Was Your Man.” This was a weird song choice. I thought it was weird last season when Candice Glover sang it because Bruno won’ t let them change the lyrics. But whatever. It sounded great. It was smooth and the vocals were spot on and the song was smart for her. It was good. Performance Grade: A+
Caleb Johnson, “Edge of Glory.” Smart song choice, I’ll say. I didn’t love the tempo, though. I think it should’ve been a little more upbeat. But he still kept that powerful rock vibe to it and made it his own, so I give him complete credit for that. Performance Grade: A
C.J. Harris, “Invisible.” This performance was all over the place. It was tender, sure, but it wasn’t great in a technical manner. I don’t think he was ever in tune. I think it’s one of the worst performance of the night. Performance Grade: D+
Jessica Meuse, “Pumped Up Kicks.” I love this song, but I wasn’t sure it was a good song choice for her because it’s not much of a singer’s song. But she made it one. And she’s right about the lyrics. It’s not a song anyone can really relate to because, to be frank, it’s about shooting classmates and no one should be supporting that. But whatever, her vocals were great and I liked the overall performance. Performance Grade: A-
Majesty Rose, “Wake Me Up.” Eh. I think the song choice was good, but the vocals weren’t there. Her voice was a little weak throughout the song. And she seemed out of the loop. She didn’t feel confident after her bottom three trip last week and it appears she didn’t come back. Performance Grade: C+
Sam Woolf, “We Are Young.” Smart song choice. I didn’t like the start of the song, but he really made the chorus incredible. It was right where it needed to be. His vocals were spot on and he looked great in the hat and he was very comfortable. He should be able to avoid another trip to the bottom three this week. Performance Grade: A