Audio Review: American Idol Top 8

The Internet boards are all abuzz about Constantine's performance of "Bohemian Rhapsody". People who have hated him intensely are suddenly jumping onboard the love-wagon, and in the case of some women posters, practically ovulating. I wondered what the fuss is all about. I have said that I don't alway like Constantine but I think my aversion to him could be mostly visual because of his tiresome pout and smoulder act. If I didn't look at him, I might like the way he sounds.

To test this hypothesis, I decided to take 20 minutes to download and listen to the mp3's, without having seen this latest episode yet. These are impressions formed entirely from listening to the performances, without visual distractions.

(I later saw the episode, and have appended further comments based on the visual performance in parentheses)

Nadia: When I Dream
Nice quality to her upper register and some good transitions between notes. Her lower notes have a nice throaty quality that goes well with the country-flavoured lilt of the song. That said, the song itself is not all that interesting, so her vocal improvement this week is rather wasted.
(Nadia looked great in her rather odd short red dress, but this song didn't allow her to play to her strengths as a performer. It's too slow for her to get into her move groove. The visuals did not change my initial impressions.)

Bo: Free Bird
His voice is always dependably solid and rich. But his low notes at the end of phrases got swallowed by the band. Rather dull to start with, but the middle to end sections were excellent. Vocally strong and true to the style.
(This was definitely a case where having the accompanying visuals made the performance seem far less exciting. Bo's mic-carrying, stage-stalking style has become predictable and he seemed to move with less energy than in the past. As a complete audio and visual experience, this was okay, but not exceptional.)

Anwar: I Know I'll Never Love this Way Again
Nice and controlled vocal projection at the start of the song. His voice in this middle register has a pleasant woodwind tone, like a clarinet. He deploys it well in this song and employs a nicely judged vibrato in the slow opening verse. Towards the end, he kicks it into high gear, as is his wont, with some embellished semi-melisma and a few held notes. The last note is great, even and sustained.
(I think Anwar has a very pleasant stage presence, but not an exciting one. I did like his outfit tonight, Renaissance Man meets Hip Hop.)

Anthony: Every Time you go Away
A song that showcased his lovely tone in his middle and lower-high register. I found his phrasing in the chorus rather strange, "You Go A -a -way". It made him sound like he was having trouble supporting his vocal projection, but I think it might have just been the transition down to the low note on "way". Good last note, but not sustained enough.
(Frankly, I usually cringe when I watch Anthony because I find his movements so cheesy and awkward. Not so bad tonight, as he spent most of the time just walking around and doing some hand-waving. No time for strangely uncoordinated dance moves involving the lower body, so much the better.)

Vonzell: Let's Hear it for the Boys
Her voice is really growing on me. She has a "black" voice, in that it carries with it reminders of old-time gospel and R&B. She sang this with great attitude, with phrasing that made sense, after a couple of weeks when she tended to modulate at strange spots. Her high notes also did not sound quite so "spread" and strained this week, although she was slightly sharp on ocassion.
(Vonzell was so engaging on stage, so full of energy and a sense of fun. She communicated her joy in singing to the audience and pulled us all into the song, not just the performance of it. I enjoy listening to her, but watching her is beyond enjoyable, it's joyful.)

Scott: She's Gone
Ouch. Weak opening verse, due to a very shaky lower register. He was noticeably off-key, which I think was down to not being able to reach the low notes and hitting something not quite in the vicinity. The chorus was great, though, very strong and powerful. Of course, this showcased his much stronger upper register.
(He really has zero stage presence and basically does nothing more than the ocassional finger jab in the air. Did nothing for me.)

Carrie: Love is a Battlefield
I have realised that I simply don't like the tone of Carrie's voice, although I do think she is technically sound and has good range and vocal "elasticity". Her tone lacks the richness and purity that I usually find appealing in female voices. Even when she sounds well, her singing is not pleasing to my ears. Tonight, she sounded like she was congested. Her high notes were strained and several times, she lost control over her vibrato. This is a rock song and she tried to dirty up the vocals with attempted growls and shrieks. Good try, but it didn't quite pay off. The whole time, I kept thinking "damaged vocal chords". It was a very effortful vocal performance. On the plus side, it was probably the first time that I detected any passion in her voice.
(I liked the look she had this week, with the dramatic rock star make-up. But what was going on with the ... I hesitate to call it dancing, as it would insult even the worst dancing in the history of bad dancing ... the shoulder-shuffling? She leaves me cold because her facial expressions and eyes register no emotion at all.)

Constantine: Bohemian Rhapsody
Vocally, this was very uneven. He started with a couple of beautiful notes in the first verse, then deteriorated into inaudible murmuring. When the song swung into its dramatic sections, his voice was suitably full of angst and he modulated his tone and phrasing to suit the dramatic intent of the song. At the same time, some off key notes crept in, which rather marred the moment for me. The soft ending was a bit of a mess, a couple of sor notes which he quickly cut short and corrected and a last note that wandered around several quarter-tones before settling on one which was still not quite the one he was looking for. It was certainly not boring, but I wouldn't buy an album of this kind of singing. Heck, I might not even bother with free downloads.
(What can I say? He got the theatrical Son of God lighting. With his frizzed hair silhouetted against the blinding white backlight, it was like a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar on the AI stage. I think these effects helped the performance, by making the vocal shortcomings secondary to the overall dramatic impact. The few times Constantine tried to smoulder into the cameras, the backlight was so bright, we could not see his face at all. I rather liked that part of it! I can see why people loved this performance; it was riveting to watch. Even though I am not sure I liked what I saw, I give him credit for livening things up.)