American Idol 9 Top 12 – iTunes Reviews
A big thank you to the peeps who asked if I’d be reviewing the iTunes performances this year. As you can see, the answer is YES. It’s nice to know y’all enjoyed my efforts last year.
First off, nearly everyone sounds better recorded. Some of the improvements were really unexpected. Some didn’t surprise me at all, as I sensed good recording voices with a few of these kids.
The problem I see this year is a lack of performance skills. These kids can sing, they just don’t know what the eff to do once they hit the big stage–Crystal, Siobhan and to a degree, Big Mike being the exceptions.
On with the critiques. (After the Jump)
- Michael Lynche – “Miss You” – I’m digging the soulful, funkalicious vibe on the recorded performance. The transitions between Mike’s falsetto and his chest voice are much smoother in the recording. – Get it at iTunes
- Didi Benami – “Play With Fire” – I wish her interpretation of this song had more of an ominous, don’t-eff-with-me vibe, and the recorded version loses some of the live version’s slinkyness. But still, I love Didi’s lovely tone and phrasing. With the right songs she could be killer. – Get it at iTunes
- Casey James – “It’s All Over Now” – This may sound nutty, but I’m getting a 60’s era Mike Nesmith vibe from Ricky Minor’s arrangement, especially the riff. And Casey sounds fantastic. His gravelly country growl is immensely recordable. Now, he’s just got to loosen up some in his live performances. Get it at iTunes
- Lacey Brown – “Ruby Tuesday” – With the pitch problems cleaned up, the recorded version is a big improvement. Except I’m not crazy about some of the phrasing. Stretching “knows” and “mind” from the verse into three syllables is a little precious. - Get it at iTunes
- Andrew Garcia – “Gimme Shelter” – Kill me now, but this recording is really good. And it’s more than just cleaning up Andrew’s vocals. He sings the song with a conviction and dynamic range totally absent from his live performance. Astonishing - Get it at iTunes
- Katie Stevens – “Wild Horses” – Ugh. Katie turns the song’s bittersweet, sad sentiment into a prettified, souless dirge. Better than her pitchy live performance, but…Zzzzz. - Get it at iTunes
- Tim Urban – “Under My Thumb” – The recorded version of this song is even more f*cking insane than the live version. It’s incredibly creepy and offensive to hear lyrics like “The squimin’ dog has just had her day” sung as if it were a happy shiny Jimmy Buffet jam. – Get it at iTunes
- Siobhan Magnus – “Paint it Black” – I didn’t care for the live version of this, and I’m sorry to say I don’t like the recorded version either. There’s something about this that just leaves me cold. When she pushes the upper-reaches of her vocal range, I find it unpleasant. I had the same issues with Carly Smithson and Adam Lambert in their season. But it’s more than that–her singing voice sounds like a monotonous moan to me. Absent the visual presentation, I’m not feeling a connection to the lyrics. – Get it at iTunes
- Lee Dewyze – “Beast of Burden” – I love, love, love Lee’s recorded voice. He’s got a really pleasant rasp, and he knows how to phrase a song. It’s too bad he comes across nervous and unsure on stage. Get it at iTunes
- Paige Miles – “Honky Tonk Woman” – I do get a Tina Turner vibe off of Paige. But there’s something missing. Even in this recorded version, I keep waiting for her to ratchet up the energy a notch. I do like her vocals, though - Get it at iTunes
- Aaron Kelly – “Angie” – Aaron’s recorded voice sounds good. I wouldn’t say he’s not connecting to the lyrics, but I’m not hearing the deep heartbreak the lyrics of this song convey. I found that when I listened to Aaron’s live performance, without looking at it, I liked it more. – Get it at iTunes
- Crystal Bowersox – “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” - Words I would use to describe Crystals recorded performance: Bold, Soulful, Effortless. Like some of her fellow Idols, she’s not overthinking or trying too hard. Instead, her phrasing and interpretation seem to come from instinct. Love this girl. Get it at iTunes
Posted in AI Season 9, American Idol, iTunes | 
Tags: Aaron Kelly, Andrew Garcia, Casey James, Crystal Bowersox, Didi Benami, Katie Stevens, Lacey Brown, Lee Dewyze, Michael Lynche, Paige Miles, Sibhan Magnus, Tim Urban
84 Responses to “American Idol 9 Top 12 – iTunes Reviews”
After listening to Lee’s studio recording, I can finally see what Simon sees in him. I did not get all the love for this guy, but he sounds great on the recording. If he can just find a way to transfer that to the big stage, he’ll be golden. I still think we’ve “been there, done that” with Lee & Casey (I liked his studio recording too). Of the two, I think Lee has the greatest potential to grow on me.
Crystal-Love her. I’ll buy anything she releases.
Aaron-Don’t know how far he’ll go in the competition, but he has potential. I think he needs a little more seasoning and then he’ll be good to go.
I enjoyed Andrew’s itunes recording. Much better than his live performance (which just didn’t work for me). I still like this guy and hope he comes back strong this week.
Couldn’t agree more. She’s competent, but that’s it. Like MJ, I felt there was something missing from her recording. It just fell flat for me.
I still like Siobhan, but I wasn’t crazy about her Paint It Black recording either.
I agree on just about everything with mj too, except for Siobhan. I thought they smoothed out the screech very well, so it fits the song perfectly. I think she’s still a little tentative in her stage presence, I wanted more attitude when she walked down those stairs Tuesday night. Good idea, but she just didn’t commit like I think she could have. That will come it time as she gets more comfortable, I think. I d/l-ed all the ones I was interested in before I read mj’s review, but went back for Lee and Andrew on her recommendation, and agree they are really good recorded. So I ended up with everyone except Katie, Andrew and Tim, lol. They are just too young for me to care about, regardless of how well or poorly they do individually. ETA: Ha! I completely forgot about Paige. I didn’t get her’s either, lol.
I actually prefer Lee’s pre-Idol music to anything I’ve seen him do on the show so far. Of his 2 albums, I like Slumberland much better. The songs on that one are much more musically and rhythmically interesting, imo. I do want to say thank you to whoever linked those YouTubes of Lee performing pre-Idol. 1) It’s great to see he can be comfortable on a stage, bopping around and groovin’ to the music. Reminded me a little of Kris (but even more low key), I want to see that Lee on my TV, and 2) all those songs were from his first album, So I’m Told, and were much better live than on the record. The recordings are very sleepy and boring imo, but he infused quite a bit of life into those songs on stage. Good for him! I’ve never disliked Lee, he just has yet to prove himself to me on the show. Glad to know he is capable. I won’t resent his staying if he can just pull it together on the Idol stage, lol.
CathyM-K, I noticed you mentioned Casey is a good songwriter, but I haven’t seen any of his pre-Idol music floating around out there, could you (or anyone who knows) point me in the right direction? Thanks!
And what is the meaning of this emoticon? >_> Thanks!
I don’t understand what about Paige’s recording that people don’t like. She sounds great to me, is it her phrasing or something?
Well, I don’t like the way Paige changed the words, point of view, tbh. If you can’t sing it the way it’s written, lyric-wise, don’t sing it, imo. It’s not so much her vocals. I just think it makes a joke of the song. IMO, YMMV, etc…
In fact, I didn’t like it when Syesha changed Mrs Jones to Mr Jones her year, either. David Cook sang Little Sparrow without changing the pronouns, even though at first look it looks like a woman’s lament, but was able to make it sound like an older man’s desire to give advice to a young woman, or a confession of a former heartbreaker.
It’s not always necessary to change the pronouns to sing a song well. Joan Baez used to sing from the male point of view on folk songs, and it never sounded weird. Just my opinion.
I think she sounds great too, despite the fact I don’t really like the song. I think she has the best pop voice of all the remaining contestants. In my review I just felt like in a couple of places she tried to add flair to the song, but I didn’t like the choice because I didn’t think it worked for the studio version the way it would have worked live. But that’s just me being picky.
I can’t wait to hear her on a song I would actually like. I hope she picks a great pop song next week (if the theme allows).
ETA: I thought about it more, and I do think phrasing is a weakness for her. She sometimes unintentionally breaks the flow of a line with her phrasing and where she chooses to breathe. It can make her singing sound labored instead of effortless. I hope she can work on this because her voice is pretty much there (minus some pitch bobbles and the Smile performance).
I don’t think that is a good example, the lyrics of little sparrow easily can be interpreted just like how you mentioned, and it isn’t as gendered of a song. If Syesha and Paige hadn’t changed the wording than they would have blatantly been singing about being in a relationship with a woman.
Didi’s recording is amazing. I really like Lee’s and Siobhan’s too.
ETA: I wish Didi’s was longer. I want a full version. Oh, and I’ve had Alex Lambert on repeat…still bitter about him being gone. His recording voice is wonderful.
Perhaps it wasn’t the best example, gangreen29, but he did pick a song that he didn’t have to change the lyrics, so on that, my point still stands. And why would you have to interpret her singing a song from a guys perspective, as if she’s the one in a relationship with a girl? If you are going to automatically assume that she’s singing from that pov, then she should have picked a different song. The other girls didn’t have that problem.
Regardless of my reasoning, my opinion still stands that I don’t like that performance from her, nor have I liked any song from her yet this season. Walk Away is the only one I’ve d/l-ed, and it’s okay, but nothing special to me. I’m not closed to her completely though, I am willing for her to change my mind in the coming weeks, but it’s unlikely I’ll vote for her, because I have other contestants I prefer more. She seems like a nice, sweet girl (I like her much more than Katie, for example), I don’t hate her or anything, she just hasn’t impressed me yet. *smile*
Sylvanaire, Casey had several songs up on his website before the season started. Unfortunately, I only saved one of them. There must be someone else who saved the others. Hopefully they’ll share eventually. The song I saved is called Freezin’. You can download it from my Mediafire account. The 1st file is an AAC file, which is better quality, but might not work on every non-Apple device. The 2nd is an mp3, which should work on any music player.
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=715069a99ec395b77432d3c9683f450a29ef22ff3f38b470a4648785df63f216
Here are mp3s of live versions of some of Lee’s preIdol songs:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=715069a99ec395b77432d3c9683f450ab9482217d507c75c5d27c407d4c31e46
I listened to all of them and my favorites were Siobhan’s, Didi’s, Paige’s, Lee’s and Crystal’s Itunes recordings. They all sounded great, and I especially loved ‘Paint It Black’.
I’m a fan of Katie and Aaron but I was disappointed with their recordings for this week. Maybe I just don’t really like the songs that they picked – too boring IMO.
Pretty much indifferent to the others.
wOw!!! Lee’s was out.STAND.ing!!! I’ll make love to him (in my fantasies lol)!!
I didn’t try anyone elses. I’m all for Siobhan but just for the purpose of the show. She’s fun for me to watch…not completely sold on music to my ears. As far as Crystal…i think she’s truly amazing but she isn’t all “that” as far as entertaining…kinda vanilla for me.
That’s exactly how I feel… thanks for summing it up for me!
MJ, I totally agree with you about Andrew’s recorded version….I was pleasantly surprised.
And out of all the recorded versions, I like Lee’s the best. I love,love,love his recording voice and his delivery. I also like Crystal’s (not a surprise), Mike’s (but I don’t care much for the song really) and Siobhan’s….but I do agree with you that the visuals Siobhan brought to her performance (the setting, the lights, the dress with the boots….eerie) added up to the drama and overall score of her performance….but I do not deny that her vocal prowess even in recording cannot be denied…
Is there a reason she couldn’t have done that? So what if they had been blatantly singing about being in a relationship with a woman? I honestly don’t really care about pronouns…nothing about Paige really stands out to me. She’s better than some (I’m looking at you, Tim and Katie) but not the best by a long shot. I think out of many of the middle people she has a good chance of becoming a frontrunner with the right song and more personality.
I agree with pretty much all of this except the Siobhan assessment. I loved her live performance and her studio. I know a lot of people were against “The Screech” (as it’s now being called) but for me, it added emotional depth to the song, it didn’t detract from it. It’s not a happy song, and the screech/scream she did for it made me feel the song deeper than I would’ve if she hadn’t done that. Someone who connects to her song (which Siobhan did, immensely) is needed in a season that contains the likes of Tim Urban and Katie Stevens. Just sayin’.
Crystal is amazing. Anything she makes, I will buy hands down. Also, Lee’s studio was really, really good. He has such a recordable voice! Here’s to hoping that he *shows* us that he has that much talent next week. I think Simon really hit it on the head – he needs to realize that he does have a truckload of talent and get more confident.
mj, I appreciated all of your reviews last yr. and I’m glad to see them back this yr. I have only listened to Crystal and Siobhan’s and love them both. I’ve tried to go to YT to listen to the rest, but keep getting pulled into watching Crystal and Siobhan’s live performances again. (Including some from previous weeks).
I’m a little surprised at how much I like Siobhan since Crystal’s style is more of what I listen to and love, but there is something very haunting about her style to me.
Love them both.
ETA: Okay off to try to listen to some others.
I love Siobhan’s Paint It Black, her voice, the interpretation and the emotion she puts in.
Casey is a surprise, I like it a lot more than her performance.
The dispointment is Crystal. I like her but this lacks flair and personality.
I dodn’t like Didi’s and Lee’s versions.
Wow. Lee wins this round, no question. Bravo, dude!
Lee’s would be my favorite if his voice was slightly less nasally and I didn’t have these random flashes of Gokey.
I adore Crystal’s recording voice, the girl got’s soul, I have been listening to her pre-idol EP, it’s exactly the kind of music that goes straight to your heart.
BTW, I really, really hate it when someone changes the gender on the lyrics just to make it fit. It’s absolutely unnecessary, IMHO, a bold singer dares to sing the song as it is. For example, I remember Kat MacPhee’s version of The Beatles’ Something performed at the Top 12 results show on S7. Hearing her sing “Something about the way HE moves” just ruined the song for me (one of the most beautiful Beatles songs ever).
I just don’t think music should be that literal, specially when those are songs that we all know. So thumbs down for Paige for this decision.
LOL. What are you saying ? You mean Kara is wrong when she said that Tim/Aaron can not sing a certain song because they are only 16 (on the last day of semifinal)? I forgot the specifics.
LOL, I think Simon did say that he didn’t agree with Kara on that one, but I don’t exactly mean that, I think it would be wrong if Aaron changed the lyrics to make them suit his age. For me, it’s all about respecting the original song.
I have seen Andrew’s videos on youtube and he is not a bad singer. I think Andrew might have one of those recording voices.
Lacey has a voice for Country.
I really liked Lee’s recording. He gave it his own spin.
Thanks for the reviews, Mj. I wasn’t going to buy any after listening to some of them but after you said how good Andrew’s was, I checked it out and loved it. I loved Siobhan’s live performance but it didn’t translate to the recorded one for me. I do agree about Lee & Casey’s recording voice but didn’t like the songs enough to buy.
I usually pick up quite a few recordings each season but it kind of bugs me that these early ones are now $1.29 instead of .99. I know it’s nothing in the grand scheme of things but will probably make me think twice. Maybe it’s because I have 5 favorites, lol.
I cannot believe how much I love Lee’s recording. I’ve had it on my ipod on repeat. I’m anxious to get some more of his stuff!
Actually I would like to think it’s a tie between Lee and Didi. Lee was probably the best sounding guy on this week’s recording but Didi was amazing!! And she has the most hits on youtube for her recording, hehe. She’s like a Sarah Mclachlan but slightly unpolished version. I can’t wait to buy her album!! Her voice is so unique and records like an angel!
I find no real surprises in the review. Sioban continues to get the hot, red poker down the throat and buckets of hydrochloric acid in the eyes. Meanwhile, Crystal walks on water. Neither treatment is warranted by any objective standard.
Oops, I messed the quote thing up, so posted below
Is there a studio recording of Alex? Didn’t know that and would love to hear it. I couldn’t find it in this thread. Could you find a link for that Dlynne? Thanks.
i love lee’s and i find his vocals pretty much similar to his live performance. its a very pretty song and cant imagine it being a rolling stones song.
i dont think he had a studio version but perhaps a live performance version? since his vocals are pretty good live, his live performance recording may be similar to studio recording.
I have listened to all of the studio versions. This is my take.
Siobhan – the girl has a glorious voice. That high note was cleaned up and came across beautifully. She has an incredible voice, simple as that.
Aaron – I just do not like the sound of his voice. He has the emotion, but the voice is lacking, not enough power, seems on the verge of going off key, too weak for me.
Andrew – This was a real shocker! Who knew this guy could sound that good! But he can’t do it live. That’s his problem.
Casey – I have to be honest here. I just do not like his voice. There are so many guys who could sing like him. I still do not hear anything remotely original or unique enough for me.
Crystal – She sounds marvelous on the recorded version. Her voice is great live or recorded. Just great!
Didi – She really comes across stronger on the recording. Live she was kind of walking a tightrope, fighting in parts to stay on pitch. It did lose the power of the live performance, but the vocals came through quite well.
Katie – This is someone else whose voice does not connect with me at all. The recorded version cleaned up the pitch issues, but her voice is ordinary, not particularly special or different, just boring.
Lee – Now this is the way I want to hear him. He has the superior voice over Casey. They are both very similar, but Lee is the real thing for me. Now all he has to do is somehow manage to do this in his live performances. I knew the guy had potential.
Michael – He sounds smooth, those high notes are beautiful. Very good, both live and recorded.
Paige – This may sound strange, but I liked the live performance better. Her hoarseness gave it a grittier feel, which worked better for this song. I do not like her recorded version at all. She doesn’t have enough power for an r&b diva voice. Just not nearly good enough!
Tim – I am truly at a loss for words. How he could take a song like “Under My Thumb” and make it sound so insipid, I just don’t know. His voice is total crap. The guy had no business getting to the finals. This is a voice you could hear in any bar or club.
Lacey – I do not like her recorded version, even with the voice cleaned up. Just not enough voice for this competition. Even her unique sound doesn’t record well. Another one who should never have made it to the finals.
no notions of Rolling stones songs. I thought Tim really did a good job with the song. It had a cool vibe and would be something I could hear on the radio now for the summer. YMMV.
of the rolling stones itunes recordings…
LEE - my fav is lee’s beast of burden. the angst with which he rocks it gives it more poignancy than the stones original. i was blown away & frankly quite surprised at that level of earthy vulnerable sexiness from him.
CRYSTAL - crystal’s is just so polished, effortless, instinctual – like melinda doolittle, she just doesn’t “belong” on idol. the live version showcased her clearer-than-expected tone.
DIDI - didi is less in-your-face than in her live performance, but more cool-as-a-cucumber (like “i don’t get mad, i get even”), a diff but equally valid interpretation.
MICHAEL - i like michael’s miss you, very clean & showed off his vocals.
CASEY - casey’s was fun for its arrangement. his singing neither added nor subtracted. it was a win for ricky minor, not for casey.
the rest had very forgettable rolling stones i-tunes, but did have some good other itunes…
Michael – this woman’s work – his lower-than-maxwell’s voice add’s poignancy to the lyric
Didi – rhiannon - i like her rhiannon better than stevie nicks because she makes me relate to the lyric.
Lacey – the story – she sounds very diff from brandi carlisle, so brings a jewel-like intimacy to the song.
Crystal – give me one reason – agree with sleazak of EW that she makes the song more sexy in an urgent & raw way.
Andrew – sugar we’re going down – his spin makes the song cooler & more interesting than fall out boy’s own version.
Paige – walk away – i was surprised at how good (not yet great) it was, showed she’s capable of being a pop-rock artist. but can an african american female make it in this genre? it’d probably sound even better w/ laryngitis!
Casey - i generally liked-not-loved all his i-tunes.
Aaron - his 2 country i-tunes songs were pretty good, better than i was expecting! country’s justin beiber?
Siobhan is better on TV than on i-tunes, where she’s completely boring. I *don’t* get the paramore / flyleaf thing from her. But I could see her fronting an 80’s-influenced band, like the killers or panic at the disco or franz ferdinand – she has the rounded tones of ’80s new wave / modern rock. Her quirky-ugly-cute thing is more 80s-early90s too. I also love her head-tones live – almost enya-like!
Katie is on the wrong show. She needs to hook up with Disney fast, before she ages out of that genre. She looks & sounds like Selena Gomez & Demi Lovato, if a little more boring than them, but Disney could coach & morph her.
Tim reminds me of Ashton Kutcher in That 70s Show! He has the clearest tones of this group of 12, but that makes him better as a session singer or k-tel singer. I find his come on get higher even more comical than his under my thumb (“swing of your hips”, “pull me down hard”… seriously??). Could he pull off “hey soul sister”, with its reggae vibe? Maybe a singer, not an artist.
There are only the performance recordings available for those that went out 24 – 13, unfortunately. So they’re short & definitely ‘tweaked’ in spots, which may or may not be necessary, depending on the performer.
The tracks are still on itunes but they’re pretty buried – searching for a contestant out before Top 12 will only bring up the main Idol page that does not list contestants other than, yes, the Top 12. But if you go to any of the T12 contestants second performances there are “listeners also bought” links to the bootees.
Here’s a link to “Everybody Knows” to try:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/everybody-knows-american-idol/id359964508?i=359964595
I spent 4 bucks on all three of Alex’s tracks as a small amount of support b/c I dig his voice and wanted to show TPTB that I’d buy his music. They amp up the background vocals/music and put some subtle but unnecessary & annoying echo/reverb on his voice in places. Grrrr. I prefer the vocals taken straight from his performances.
These varied reviews show how much of a “YMMV” quality there is to music. I adored Lacey’s studio version of “Ruby Tuesday” and I’ve listened to it multiple times because I can’t get enough of it. I told my partner that I’d definitely buy an album by Lacey, based on that one song, even though I didn’t care for any of her live performances. I also loved Siobhan’s studio recording of “Paint it Black” more than I liked the live version, and again, I’d love an entire album from her. When she sings she seems to really feel/mean/interpret the lyrics, and I think her voice is gorgeous.
The big surprise for me about the iTunes studio versions of the songs was that I didn’t really like Crystal’s recording, and in fact, I’ve only listened to it once. I much preferred her live AI performance, which I felt had more personality. If I had to name my one single favourite artist it would be the Indigo Girls (I’ve been a fan since I first saw them live 22 years ago), but I’ve always preferred them live to recorded, too.
Crystal was definitely my favourite when this season of AI started, but I’ve since gravitated towards Siobhan. I hope Crystal will shake things up a bit this week and surprise me with an unconventional song choice/arrangement like David Cook did so often.