At this point, I think, everyone knows the score. The contestants know who is probably going to be the top 3. The juggernaut that is Dami, Jai, and Taylor only has one stepping stone to overcome before their final 3 becomes a reality. The question in my mind is did THIRD D3GREE do enough to change that outcome? We will see, let’s dive into the eight performances from tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzMPCGLlfhg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tna-spL1GwY
Frankly, Taylor Henderson killed both “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Against All Odds.” He had a few well placed growls and aside from one or two bum notes on the Phil Collins track he was pretty much perfect. I especially enjoyed his slow-downed arrangement of “Girls..” It isn’t like I haven’t heard this slowed down before by other people, but I believe Taylor probably executed this the best of anyone I can recall. Between two solid vocals, if Taylor wasn’t already a lock for the final 3, he really is now. Taylor is on the right swing of upward momentum to take this thing from Dami, who at this moment is on a slight downward motion. For “Against All Odds” we all know Ronan loves Phil Collins, for some reason, it is a bit pedestrian of a song choice and arrangement, but he does a good job with it. I suppose his creativity was used mostly on the Cyndi Lauper track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSkOmN-oxQg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycjJLd3h9k8
I kept going back and forth with Dami Im‘s placement in my head. Sometimes I thought she was third or second or perhaps even fourth, but then I looked back at “Saving All My Love For You.” And while it wasn’t a big wow moment, it was a powerful controlled vocal and in a classic where Dami shines. Miley might be Dami’s downfall though, “Wrecking Ball” made Dami sound breathy and nervous. Things I wouldn’t normally associate with her. Ultimately the song did her no favors. All of this being said, Dami is still a virtual lock for the top 3. Even if she only ends up with the third highest votes (which is completely possible after this set of performances).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWdqhxCNzeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HS5FnOGXZs
Of the two performances “Dynamite” was definitely Jai Waetford‘s stronger one. He worked the stage with confidence and swagger and the vocals were mostly on point. Another point to Jai for hitting his fan-base with the track. His core voters probably think this song is a bit old-fashioned, but they certainly know of it. I did not enjoy his ballad “I Won’t Give Up” as much, I think it exposed his thin vocals. But the candles were a nice trick, and Jai holding a guitar is a great image all of his voters can take to the bank as they mass vote for him into the final 3. Jai is probably is in the final 3 and is legitimately competition for the win. That being said, it shouldn’t be. It should be between Dami and Taylor, so I hope the farthest Jai gets is second. Both for the sake of the competition, but also for his sake. I don’t think Jai needs to be rushing out any releases. The reason Justin Bieber is so successful isn’t because of his looks or voice (which don’t hurt) it is because he has solid songs to back it up. Jai needs to think about that as he moves forward. Don’t just put out anything, put out solid, well-written, well-produced songs. Justin already has his Aussie equivalent with Cody Simpson, so you got to be more than the “Australian Justin Bieber.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmjGZmt1tkc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSKUxRUwLJs
I feel like it is an understatement to say that I am disappointed in THIRD D3GREE. They did both “Pound the Alarm” and “Give Me Everything” pretty well and fun. But in a night of two songs, you don’t want to be so one note. From both songs I got that 3D is fun and can rap. No depth there. Just two very fun performances. I really, really wanted a solid ballad from them. They did sound good. But in this world of ballads and soul searching the top three are doing well avoiding the topic is wrong. They needed to out-best them. I understand their logic. They asked what do we do best? Fun. Fun. Fun. And then they delivered it. But it just isn’t going to push them over the edge in my mind. It makes me sad to think they came all this way just to be another Three Wishez, but so is life, I guess.
- Taylor Henderson
- Dami Im
- Jai Waetford
- THIRD D3GREE
The ranking says it all. 3D is on the way out, if only and only if Jai or Dami fans falter enough to give them space, but I don’t suspect they will. To much is on the line for them too. The sad thing is, even if 3D sneak into the final 3, they certainly couldn’t win. It is a three way race for gold, like it always has been. Good luck Dami, Taylor and Jai. To the best performer goes the spoils!