Sarah’s Tampa Recap
Preface: Please note the lack of the use of the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“awesomeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ in this recap. Heh. Thank you. On with the show.
Read Sarah’s recap, after the jump!
So, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll take this straight to the concert. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just going to give basic impressions of each contestant from their performances in the show, because thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no way I can do it song by song. Let me preface this by saying that, obviously, my favorite throughout the season was Blake. My other favorites (who were on the tour) were Melinda and Chris Sligh. So, I was expecting that they would all live up to expectations. I also liked Phil and Gina a lot, but kind of came into the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“fandomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ later in the game for each of them. I was really (and I mean really) hard on Chris Richardson all season long. There were a couple performances I liked and I thought he seemed like a nice guy, but mostly I just didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really like his performance style or his voice at all. The others, I was pretty much à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mehà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ on. The tour changed a lot of these feelings for me on several of the contestants. The biggest turnaround I had was with Chris Richardson.
Basically, I thought that Chris R sounded very very good live. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“nasally is a form of singingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ comment will always stick in my mind when I hear him, but in this show, the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“nasallyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ is close to non-existent. The only time I really heard it was on his duet with Jordin, singing Rascal Flattsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“What Hurts the Most.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ And letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s face it. The lead singer of Rascal Flattsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is the king of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“nasally,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ so what else can you expect? Overall, I was very impressed with him. His medley with Blake was the highlight of the night for me. I am now a Chris Richardson fan. So, this is me publicly saying that I was wrong about Chris. Now, I know I said last night Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m now a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Cakeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ fan, but that might have been a bit premature. Still not quite there yet. Blake and Chris separately? Definitely.
Speaking of Cake: Blake. Wow. The beatboxing last night wasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ wait for ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ incredible (heh, tricked ya didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t I?). There was a lot of it, yes, but in appropriate places, and he showed remarkable skill. His mini-set was not perfect (the technical glitches with the looping pedals on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“She Will Be Lovedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ were sad, especially after heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d spent a few minutes doing a little tutorial on how it works.), but à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“You Give Love a Bad Nameà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ more than made up for any of that. Incredible. He changes it up a little each time he does it, and that impresses me every time I see it. And considering that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Time of the Seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ was the performance that solidified my Blake à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“fangirlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ status, I would be remiss not to mention that I got just a *little* fangirly during that number. I wish Blake had more of a presence in the second half of the show beyond the first 15 minutes, and I was highly upset that his duet with Melinda was cut.
Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s see. Chris Sligh is a freaking amazing guitarist. He played guitar (or bass) on just about every song he had a part in, and really showed remarkable skill. He also got to show a bit of the humor we all know and love with his comedy act with Phil and Sanjaya. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Typicalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ was one of his best numbers on the show, and a perfect choice for his solo. It really showcased who heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be as an artist, I think. He also sounded very strong on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Crazy.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ His parts in the show were very impressive but not nearly long enough – I just wish heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d had more songs. I really am looking forward to following his career. He really should have gone so much further on the show.
I love Gina Glocksen. This girl tore it up on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Lady Marmalade,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ singing Christina Aguileraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s part. She can just flat out sang. Her duets with both Chris Sligh and Phil were two of the best duets of the night. I was wondering how the one with Sligh would turn out, since that song is so recent, but they sounded great together and really pulled it off. And she finally got to sing Pinkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Who Knew,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ which she seemed to be very excited about, and definitely more than did the song justice. She can sing just about any genre, and I was reminded yet again that she went home way too early.
I hopped on the Phil train a little later in the game than some people, but by top 10 week, I was really starting to like him. There really is absolutely no denying that he has a fabulous voice. And nothing showcased that better than à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“America the Beautifulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . I had goosebumps. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Blaze of Gloryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ was the perfect choice for his soloà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ it was one of his strongest performances on the show and translates really well live. And he RAPS on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Get it Startedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ! And he is GOOD! I was shocked! Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not kidding! That sold me forever. He should have more songs, or parts in songs, in the show than he does, but he makes the most of his time on stage, for sure.
Sorry to be lazy and group them together, but Sanjaya and Haley are really the two in the top 10 who got ragged on the worst by the judges and media, so truthfully, I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t too interested in them going into the show. But, they were really pretty good! Haley sounded very good in her solo and definitely held her own in the group numbers, and Sanjaya was just plain fun to watch, and quite funny in his little comedy act with Phil and Sligh.
Melinda. Wow. I just love her, and after she sang last night, I was just astounded, wondering how the heck she didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win. I was not bored by her at all last night. She tore it up with her solo, and really shined during the medley with Lakisha at the beginning of the concert. She really connects with her live audience. Again, I was so disappointed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Killing Me Softlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ was cut from the set. I love that song and I want a Melinda/Blake duet! I really felt robbed that we didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get more Melindaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.
And that we didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get more Lakisha. Her solo performance of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Will Always Love Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ was the performance of the night, hands down. I was sitting at the very beginning of the song, but I had goosebumps. The second she hit the key change in the middle of the song, I was on my feet. It was incredible. From all I could see, she got the only standing O of the night from the crowd. She was very strong on the girlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ numbers, and really tore it up during à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Lady Marmaladeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . She is definitely a powerhouse singer.
Jordin sounded great, but her mike was really loud (quite funny, after all the technical glitches throughout the night). Truthfully, I skipped part of her set to hit the bathroom. Six songs in a row is a little tough for me from her. She did sound very good on the Jewel song, and I was glad to hear her sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Heartbreakerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ again. I also really liked her duet with Melinda. She looked beautiful and was very perky and sweet all night. She will represent the Idol franchise well, I think.
The opening number was great, and a great way to open the show, but I do have to say that the encore left a lot to be desired. I get that they each had to learn a lot of songs for this thoughà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ but still, it was kinda boring to just reprise a part of a song theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d already done. Oh well. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s my only real gripe, I guess. Overall, it was a fantastic show, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d totally recommend it to anyone who enjoyed season 6.
Posted in 20 Responses to “Sarah’s Tampa Recap”
Fabulous review, Sarah! No “awesomes” and only one “amazing!” Thanks for making us feel as though we were with you at the concert!
Sarah…just wanted to pop in and tell you how much I enjoyed your recap. I was a big Blake fan all season and it was Time of the Season that got me on board. Glad to hear that you were a fan as well. I was hoping to see a Blake/Melinda finale but have to admit that Jordin has a wonderful voice even though she lacks Melinda’s ’seasoning’.
I agree that all these contestants are very talented. I was a little annoyed all season by the ‘boring’ and ‘not as good as last year’ crowd. I enjoyed it thoroughly and hope to see the concert.
Again, thanks for the recap.
Thanks, Sarah. Great review!
Great recap, Sarah! So glad you had a good time. I was thinking about you guys! Thanks for sharing. :biggrin_wp:
I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of your recap, Sarah. The others are making me wonder what Gina did.
Thanks for the recap Sarah! Sounds like you guys had a great time.
(I see you got a shoutout from Ken Barnes over at Idol Chatter….Go Sarah!)
LOL, really Kirsten? I haven’t seen that yet. Now I have to go look.
Terrific recap, Sarah! It is such fun to get multiple points of view on the same events. Everyone has something different to add!
Sure did. He thanked you for your tour report and encouraged others to follow your example. You are a trend setter!
What is the “Gina Glocksen story” that others refer to, and say that Sarah will describe…have I missed it? Ahem…don’t be a tease.
Greast recap Sarah! I’m glad you enjoyed the show.
We have to let Sarah tell it, but I assure you if she doesn’t provide enough detail I will jump right in.
Great recap Sarah! So glad you had a blast!
LOL Spense. Okay okay okay. I was gonna save it for Part II, but I guess I’ll spill now.
So, Chris R was the second person we got to talk to once we walked into the room for the meet and greet. We talked to him for a minute or two, and that’s when I took the pic of him and Spense. Later on, I realized that I didn’t get a pic with him, so I worked up the nerve to ask for one. But later, as I was looking back through my digital camera, I noticed that half of my head was chopped off in the pic. I was sad, and wondering how in the world I was going to manage to approach Mr. Hottie for a THIRD time for a pic without seeming like a stalker.
So, as we’re walking around later on, we stop at the table where Sanjaya and Gina are sitting, because we hadn’t seen Sanjaya yet, and we wanted to talk to Gina again. Well, Gina remembered us (I guess) from earlier, and asked how we were doing, if we’d met everyone yet and gotten pics, etc. Well, in the essence of not thinking before I speak (which often happens when I have adult beverages in me), I blurted out something to the effect of (this is all paraphrasing) that yeah, I did pretty much, but in my pic with Chris Rich half my head was cut off. So she says something to the effect of “aww, well we’ll fix that. Chris! CHRIS!” trying to get his attention.
Well, when he doesn’t hear her, she gets up and works on convincing me to go over with her to where he’s standing. I literally have my face in my hands (I think… it was *some* measure of embarrassment, lol), and I’m like “oh no way, that’s okay.” But she is a girl on a mission. So, she literally puts her arms around me and drags me across the room to him, explains to him what happened, and asks if he’ll take another pic with me. This whole time, I’m embarrassed as hell and thinking “Oh my God, he thinks I’m a weirdo”… But, he says yes of course, and somehow we end up in that “prom pose” that Spense referred to, and Gina takes the pic, after fiddling with the camera for a minute, while we stand there waiting. And yeah, as she’s taking said pic, looking through the viewfinder, she laughs and exclaims “This is so cute! It looks like you’re on a date!” I was positively mortified, but I thanked them both and tried to regain some confidence. lol. But it’s all okay, because it turned out to be the cutest pic of all of them… and the one that almost didn’t get taken.
And that is why Gina is now my new best friend. LOL. (Did I do a good enough job, Spense?)
If you want to see the pic, ask me in chat. I’m not posting it on the blog for the internet world to see, sawry! lol.
It’s an adorable pic! That may be the best story of the night. *smiles*
OK, first you guys had the Chi-Town trip, and I became on an official h8er, and now this, i’m speechless, lol…..I love you guys anyway. Off to check the frequent flier miles, now I must join you ladies in Seattle.
Absofreakinglutely. Although, I do wish we would have been quick enough to take a pick of the bear hug Gina had you in.
That was really nice and cool of Gina.
I saw your photos, Sarah. They’re fantastic! And that pic with Chris IS cute. It’s great to hear you had a fabulous time.
I, too, am a big jellus h8er. LOL
Sarah..you are hysterical!!! But where is that pic of you and my boyfriend Chris R?? LOL I didn’t see any pics here..
ealbino, click on Sarah’s name.