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MMTV: Mediocre Music TV
Edition #10: The X Factor Live Week 2 (Going to
the Movies)
Written by: Wences Acosta
*sigh*. Sometimes, when I watch these shows, I love the moments that
happen. From Adam Lambert's "Mad World" to Chris Rene's "Young Homie",
shows like X Factor and American Idol bring out the best of me. There
are weeks though, where I just want to choke whoever is behind these
music choices. That is where this week came in. Most of the songs
tonight just made me facepalm, and had me hoping and praying that it
would end. I even told Robert that I wanted to do an induction of this
show, but this commentary is probably as close as we are going to get.
So, with that said, here is each performance and what I thought of them,
PLUS as an extra bonus, I will put in my thoughts for the sing-off.
#1. Arin Ray "American Boy" (Movie: Obsessed) Side Note: I have
never seen Obsessed, but the idea of Beyonce vs. Ali Larter is one I am
very intrigued in. With that said, I like this performance, but it is a
step down from last week. It's a good rendition but his voice didn't fit
the song as planned, and PLEASE do not get me started on his rapping.
The thought was nice, and the rhyme scheme was creative, but it was
poorly executed. Overall, I would have to say that he did a good enough
job to stay, but not good enough to really stand out.
#2: Paige
Thomas "Take My Breath Away" (Movie: Top Gun) Side Note: Never seen
Top Gun before *hides behind shield*. Regarding this performance, I know
I said that for the most part she is very rocky with her vocals but this
performance is a whole new ballgame. I do not know what she drank in the
water, but almost everything was on cue. Her vocals were amazing, the
theatrics of her being lowered down were amazing, it almost added
up....almost. In a sense, I was hoping for more in the actual stage
presence, but in the end the improvement in vocals saved this and I
loved it, and I think it was a job well done.
#3: Vino Alan "When
a Man Loves a Woman" (Movie: When a Man Loves a Woman) Oh My God...I
think I died and went to heaven. The downside was that his performance
was very bland, as much as I hate to admit it, BUT the key is that his
voice saved his ass. I can listen to his rendition so many times, and it
was just beautiful.
#4: Emblem3 "My Girl/California Girls"
(Movies: My Girl and Katy Perry: Part of Me) Ok, here's where we run
into a problem. The instrumental that was used for this was "That's What
Makes You Beautiful" from One Direction. I repeat.....ONE DIRECTION.
What was I calling them within these past couple of weeks? Even Demi,
somebody who's judging has not been the best, brought this point up. Do
not get me wrong, the mash up somewhat worked, but some of the parts
were not working with the beat. Also, I said Arin's raps were whatever,
but these guys....well they rhymed, so that's a start. The rap was just
rushed, especially for the beat. Overall it was ok but I can see this
band going bad.
#5: Beatrice Miller "Iris" (Movie: City of
Angels) No....No, No, No, No, NO!!!!!. Did I mention No? Good, well
Beatrice, I hope you are happy. You took another song that I liked, and
completely slaughtered it. It is hard to explain, but to have a little
girl singing this is an insult enough, yet alone with her vocals. She
needs to go soon, and if she isn't in the bottom 2, I will be sad.
#6: Jannel Garcia "I Love Rock and Roll" (Movie: Crossroads) Now,
I get why Demi is making her a rock chick....but this was just a bad
choice. Jannel is just too clean for a song like this from Joan Jett. I
liked it for what it was, and there was a portion where she was actually
getting into it (Second Verse), however, it was one of her lower
performances. I hope she stays, but if she does she needs to make better
choices then this.
#7: Tate Stevens "Wanted Dead or Alive"
(Movie: Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man) Now, we are back on
track with my country bear. This is a true performance, based on the
fact he chose a song that stuck with his strengths, he had actual stage
presence, and he had some nice mark out moments as well, such as when he
was trying to get the audience to shout Wanted at him and all they did
was cheer....it is brilliant. Overall, I loved it, and I know he is in
this to win it.
#8: Lyric145 "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
(Movie: Mary Poppins) Ok, let me get this off my chest: Nothing to do
with the song, but the stage. If you are gonna choose a song from Mary
Poppins, STICK WITH MARY POPPINS! Do Not go off and choose an Alice in
Wonderland theme unless you are doing a rap version of "Painting The
Roses Red"....On second thought, that's a bad idea *slaps hand*. Now, on
the actual performance, it is not as bad as I first thought. Granted, it
is very weird to hear Mary Poppins go Hard, but here it is and it is
very good for what it is. I could easily see this song on a mixtape or
even as a default song on your local DDR Machine (If DDR Still exists
somewhere in this world). I listen to this song now more then ever, and
honestly, as bad as it is for a show like this, it is entertaining and
very fun and for that I will give them a pass.
#9: Diamond White
"I Have Nothing" (Movie: The Bodyguard) So, somewhere along last
weeks eliminations, they decided to pull a Melanie and bring Diamond
back at the last second. According to them, she was a wildcard, Which
means between her, Sister C, David Correy, and Willie Jones, they
brought her back, and if that's the case, wise choice. I digress though,
as this weeks performance proved both that she deserves to be here but
she doesn't deserve to win. Let me explain, the song choice was
beautiful, and as shown in Boot Camp, she did the song justice. HOWEVER,
there are times when she is right there, and she barely misses the
notes. I love her, and I honestly think that if she was given more then
a week to practice these songs she would be a genius, but it is what it
is. I also believe that give her a few years and she will be
unstoppable, as she is practically Whitney's lost love child, but for
now, I want to see how far this child can go.
#10: CeCe Frey "Eye
of The Tiger" (Movie: Rocky 3) You can somewhat combine what I said
with Beatrice (No No No!) with Jannel (Should not have done this song).
I will give her credit, as in the middle of the song, when it turns into
a dance track, it actually becomes listenable. Overall though, the
arrangement was bad, the vocals were not there, it was just the wrong
song.
#11: Carly Rose Sonenclar "It Will Rain" (Movie: Breaking
Dawn Part 1) Ah, I had a feeling we were going to see Twilight
somewhere in the mix. As a side note, I have always loved the Twilight
soundtrack, especially the first one with Paramore's "Decode" and Linkin
Parks "Leave Out All The Rest". With Carly Rose, I know she could blow
this song away, and I was not disappointed. The song built itself up
from an acoustic performance until it hit an epic finale with choir and
all. I love Carly, and hope she has a future after this show, win or
lose.
#12: Jason Brock "I Believe I Can Fly" (Movie: Space Jam)
First off, to choose a song from Space Jam is ballsy, although it pains
me that he didn't choose the rap. On a serious note, I am sad that he
went with this and not Monica's "For You I Will", because that would
have fitted his voice a little more in my eyes, but instead he sings R.
Kelly's song with the same background they used last year for the finale
when Melanie Amaro sang that song. With that said, I liked it, and it
certainly wasn't the worse of the night, I just couldn't take his
performance serious. I like him, but this was just there for me.
#13: Fifth Harmony (Formerly 1432) "A Thousand Years" (Movie: Breaking
Dawn Part 1) Oy, what is with all the teenage girls going with
Twilight? Robert, don't answer that. So, after all these transformations
from Lylas to 1432 and now finally Fifth Harmony, I have to say I love
this name, it actually sticks for the group. Not only does it have an
official-ness to it, and there are 5 members of the group....The
harmonies are what make this group. As solo artists, they are
incredible, but as a harmonic group they are an army. I can legit see
them towards the end, and dare I say they might be the next Pussycat
Dolls in their impact into pop music.
Singoff: CeCe Frey (W) vs.
Jason Brock (L) CeCe chose "You Haven't Seen The Last of Me" from
Cher, while Jason chose the always fabulous "Total Eclipse of The Heart"
from Bonnie Tyler. This is the second time both of them have been in
this position, especially from last week mind you. On CeCe, this was a
very emotional performance and even with a few scratches in her voice,
this was an amazing live performance, especially for survival. As for
Jason, this was a song made for his type of voice, especially in the
final moments. There was a moment where he needed to catch up to the
timing, but he played it off well. The vote went to deadlock as follows:
Demi sending home Jason (protecting her act), L.A. sending home CeCe
(protecting his act), Britney sending home CeCe (Either as a big fan of
Jason and/or doesn't like CeCe) and Simon sending home Jason (Either as
a big fan of CeCe and/or wanting to see what America thought). No matter
what, it was a right choice to send it to deadlock, but America got it
wrong in the sense of who was on bottom. CeCe should be counting her
lucky stars.
Well, until next week guys, here are my Top 12
revised, and again I am not changing no matter how good or bad an act
is. See ya next week guys.
My Rankings of The Top 12 (Plus
Diamond, Minus Jason) 1. Carly Rose Sonenclair 2. Vino Alan 3.
Emblem3 4. Lyric 145 5. Tate Stevens 6. Diamond White 7.
CeCe Frey 8. Fifth Harmony 9. Arin Ray 10. Jannel Garcia 11.
Beatrice Miller 12. Paige Thomas If you have any opinions or
comments, please let me know at Slackercub@yahoo.com.
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