Whiskey-a-Rainbow, October 24, 2012

Week 6

by Stuart Munro

Dear friends, I have to confess that this is quickly becoming one of my favourite nights of the week, though whether it’s because I love the show or enjoy having a glass after a twelve hour day is anyone’s guess. . . . Nevertheless! Here we are with the sixth week of Over the Rainbow! With only five Dorothies to go, the pressure is on. The opening performance of “Together wherever we go” sounded a tad rough, but AJ still stood out, even in the group (she’s my girl).

This week the girls all sang ballads. Danielle’s pre-song video talked about just how good she’s always been (a bit corny) and how, as a result, she has a harder time constantly improving (which is fair). She opened the show singing “At last” and sounded soulful and rich. It was a really fun performance, and she looked so comfortable and relaxed on stage. If there was a moment or two of “showiness,” or a few sour notes, they were easily overshadowed by the real honesty the majority of the performance showed. She easily kept me engaged enough to ignore all the back-up dancers, and even the handsome fellow they had as her love interest. OK. He stole my attention once or twice. But is that so wrong? Arlene was “impressed beyond belief” and loved her vocal versatility. Louise recognized the truth of the performance and bought it “100%,” and Tom wanted to throw his shoe at her and praised her story-telling abilities. Danielle’s another favourite of mine.

It seems to me she should’ve been thinking about this from week one, but who am I to say

Stephanie, in her pre-song video, said how much she was looking forward to connecting with the audience and “making them feel something.” It seems to me she should’ve been thinking about this from week one, but who am I to say. . .  Stephanie was given Adele’s “Someone like you.” For someone so young (she’s only seventeen), I was genuinely surprised and thrilled by how honest and simple her interpretation was. She seemed to really connect with the text. Having said that, I don’t like Stephanie’s voice, especially this week. It sounds untrained and overused – if this competition is wearing her out, how will she handle eight shows a week? There’s a wonderful natural talent there that just needs a little fine-tuning before it’s really ready for the stage. Louise loved her fresh-faced unique quality, but wanted more emotion – to see her “hurt, truly.” Tom said she had a quiet magic, but still managed to go deep with the material. Arlene loved her voice, but said she needed more confidence to stand toe to toe with Danielle.

AJ’s video talked about how she needed to work a bit harder to “be honest” and less “showy,” and her performance of “Nobody does it better” managed to convey that for the most part. The girl has a set of pipes like nobody else and she seems most comfortable when she’s belting. The softer material of the song was a little less confident, but still strong. Tom, who thinks she’s one of the girls in the lead of the competition, wanted to give her some harder criticism and wanted to see a better acting performance. Arlene really loved her control and totally believed her, and Louise just wants AJ to trust herself.

Before her song, Colleen talked about how she reacted to the judges' tough comments from last week, and her vocal coach suggested this week could be a turning point for her. She sang “The first time ever I saw your face” and, once again, her lack of training (at least I assume she’s lacking vocal training) really stood out. The song was presented quietly and simply, but she seemed unable to support her voice properly – it always seemed on the verge of breaking. There was a genuine quality to it, but the insecurity of her vocals stood out too much for me. Arlene thought the song was too pretty and without enough pain. She wanted more. Louise disagreed however, and said it was the most Colleen has given, but she wanted more. Tom sat somewhere in the middle, but didn’t feel Colleen could carry a multi-million dollar show. Colleen, understandably, was in tears after all this, but I think the judges were perfectly fair with her. Nothing about this competition is easy, and when other girls are nailing it, a competent performance simply won’t cut it.

Louise didn’t feel the emotional connection either, and Tom didn’t feel it cost her anything emotionally.

Cassandra closed the show with “Your song.” In her video she talked about her glasses and how they’re a part of her personality, but being an actor means being someone else – I won’t be going to the theatre to see Cassandra in Oz. She finally lost the glasses this week! The performance just didn’t work for me. Cassandra’s voice has become less and less consistent as the competition has gone on, and I don’t think she’s really able to mine the emotional depths of the songs she’s given. Louise didn’t feel the emotional connection either, and Tom didn’t feel it cost her anything emotionally. Arlene said it was “nice, but ordinary.”

Marissa Jaret Winokur mentored the girls this week on “You can’t stop the beat” from Hairspray (a marathon of a song) which they sang at the end of the show. Somehow they sounded fresher and more energetic than they did off the top, which is kind of impressive. By the end they were clearly exhausted, but still managed to sound pretty decent. There was another round of critiques from the judges afterwards. Arlene thought AJ and Cassandra did great, but wanted more physical energy from Cassandra. Louise called Stephanie and Colleen “happy and joyous,” and Tom said he couldn’t take his eyes off Danielle.

So Danielle was the only girl who really sold it for me this week, but AJ was a solid second place.

This week’s elimination episode found Cassandra and Stephanie in the bottom two, and after the group sang “The trolley song” with Tom (who was particularly brilliant), the girls faced off with “On my own” from Les Misérables. Both girls had a few pitch problems, but really seemed to grasp the pain of the song. Arlene commented how hard these elimination episodes were getting now that we’re down to five such talented girls, and Tom said they both sang for their lives and both had futures regardless of what happened. This one’s a tough call for me. In the end Arlene opted to save Stephanie, calling her ethereal and otherwordly. The girls all sounded heartbroken as they sang the verse of “Over the rainbow,” and Cassandra sang it simply and sweetly.

At this point in the competition it’s hard to say, but there are two girls I would be very happy to see win this thing – Danielle and AJ. There are, I believe, two episodes left before we all get our answer!