Canadian Idol – Week Two – The Top 9 Guys Perform

[Sorry for the lateness on this particular recap: I was away for the day and had to watch Idol in two parts thanks to travel time]

And we’re back for another week. After the debacle that was last week’s episode, the producers are allowing performers to bring their guitars (Or other instruments) on stage with them to give them a boost of confidence and showmanship. Will it make all the difference in the world, or just drag them down? Let’s find out.

Liam Styles Chang – “She’s So High” (Tal Bachman)

This song basically all comes down to whether or not he can hit the high notes in the chorus, and the answer is that he can. He can also nail the lower register stuff, which makes for an engaging and quality performance.

Instrument? Nope, Liam has gone guitar-less. And I think it’s a good choice, as he is able to focus on hitting the notes in the song as opposed to performing with the guitar as well.

What do the judges think? Everyone loves the ability to go from high to low, but Zack felt that there wasn’t enough dynamism in the high notes to make it a record worth buying…but then completely back tracks and claims that he’s a rock star. Oh Zack.

Growth from Last Week: A less inventive performance might knock him down a few pegs, but staying vocally consistent is important at this stage in the competition.

Andrew Austin – “Sunday Morning” (Maroon 5)

This is a tough song to sing, but I think Andrew did a decent job. He kept the vibe of the song moving, and there was a good mellow quality to the performance that fit the song well. It’s one of those songs that I, like Farley, quite like, and I did not hate his rendition.

Instrument? Guitar, which worked well for his laid back Jack Johnson style performance of the song.

What do the judges think: It’s unanimous that Andrew stepped up to the plate and reminded the judges why they put him through in the first place. I guess that would be considered positive comments, no?

Growth from Last Week: Huge. He went from awkward singing George Michael to really falling into a nice singer-songwriter vibe.

Dwight D’eon – “Used to be Alright” (I Mother Earth)

Sporting a bandanna turns Dwight from a 28-year old into a 23-year old in about two seconds flat. The result is a performance that has a lot more youthful energy than last week, which fits better with his rocker persona. It’s still a bit off technically, but energy makes up for it.

Instrument: Nope, because he wanted to be able to rock it out.

What do the judges think: Zack thinks that it’s the pageant crowd vs. the rockers, and that Dwight is the first balls to the wall Canadian rocker we’ve had. They did feel, however, that for revealing his rocker side a more recognizable song might have been in order.

Growth from Last Week: It’s kind of a complete switch. After compromising with Philosopher Kings last week, he went all out. This week was certainly more natural, but less technically sound.

Clifton Murray – “Ummm…” (Jamieson?)

I completely missed the song title on this one, but it sounded quite terrible. Cliffton misses almost every single note, his voice audibly cracks, and he is still acting his entire way through the song. Just utterly terrible.

Instrument? I don’t think he could handle acting and playing guitar at the same time.

What the judges think: Everyone is really iffy on it, but Jake was particularly insane. He says that he felt he was acting, but then his voice cracked “and it felt real.” Jake, a voice cracking is NEVER A GOOD THING.

Growth from Last Week: Amazingly, even worse than last week.

Greg Neufeld – “Geek in the Pink” (Jason Mraz)

Chris Richardson performed this song on American Idol earlier this year, and it became a nasally mess. Neufeld gives it a much more subtle treatment, and it’s for the best: it’s a nuanced performance that shows he is comfortably with this type of scenario.

Instrument: Rockin’ his guitar, Neufeld seems once again much more comfortable much like Andrew, his Group performance colleague.

What the judges think: Everyone loves him, Farley compares him to lint, Sass is curious as to his lack of success to this point, and Zack continues to bring up Rocket Man to my delight.

Growth from Last Week: About the same, but this week felt a bit more natural thanks to the guitar.

Brian Melo – “Angels” (Robbie Williams)

This is a tough song choice mainly because the song demands the same type of low/high split as “She’s So High”. Brian pulls it off admirably, but he seems less comfortable singing a ballad compared to last week’s rockin’ out to the Watchmen. And he didn’t quitte hit the high notes as well as he could have, at all.

Instrument: Nope, it’s not that type of song I don’t believe. And he seems like an instrumentless lead singer.

What the judges think: Zack felt it was a bit pitchy (And I would agree), but everyone else heaps praise onto him for his performance.

Growth from Last Week: He wasn’t terrible, but he definitely performed worse on the ballad than he did with a rock song last week.

Jaydee Bixby – “I Got a Woman” (Ray Charles)

They attempt to claim that Kanye West brought this song back fifty years later, but that would only be relevant if he wasn’t singing it as a Rockabilly song. His voice is much better this week on his type of song, but I find him infinitely more annoying in the process.

Instrument? He plays the guitar throughout.

What the judges think: Sass thinks he’s a young Elvis, Zack thinks he’s got a Nashville career ahead of him, Jake thinks it wasn’t explosive enough, and Farley felt it was great, package wise.

Growth from Last Week: I agree with Zack, where did this kid come from? His reactions are sly, his singing is clear, and his personality is just…strange. I personally find it annoying, but I can see the appeal. With his guitar, he was better than last week.

Matt Rapley – “You Raise Me Up” (Josh Groban)

He is still a high school student, but is there any need to keep dragging out these clearly already learned songs for this competition? He has picked the most boring and clichéd songs that I can’t take his seriously as a musical talent. This is the type of stuff that they sing in talent searches, not on Idol.

Instrument? His voice is strong, and it’s all he has.

What the judges think: Zack hates the song and feels that his maturity isn’t quite there yet despite strong singing, Jake is worried about the vibrato, Farley likes the vibrato but wants more showmanship, and Sass feels that his dynamics were graceful and she had chills.

Growth from Last Week: Exactly the same as last week, he sings well but he’s just so hideously boring and uninteresting that I think he has no potential at this point in time.

Tyler Mullendore – “Have a Little Faith in Me” (John Hyatt)

My frustration with Tyler lies in the fact that when he really gets into it he sounds really good and distinctive, which popped up in parts here. However, at other times, he sounded like a really bored Mick Jagger. Which, amazingly enough, isn’t that interesting. But this was, on the whole, quite good.
Instrument? Interestingly, he doesn’t play the guitar, and instead decided to rock it out Jagger style.

What the Judges Think: Sass is going to buy a ticket, Jake is going to buy his record, Farley dug it, and Zack felt he lost focus thanks to the shortness of the song but rocked it in the end.

Growth from Last Week: He proved able to dial it down a bit, but there was still a bit of screaming stuff in there to connect them. But his voice was better, and more consistent, so he has certainly shown more depth.

Best of the Night

I’m torn on this one, but I think I’ll give it to…can’t decide. Liam was good, Tyler was good, Greg was good. No one really stood out.

Who’s in Danger?

Clifton and Andrew will struggle to get out of the Bottom from last week, even with Andrew’s improvement. As for new entrants into the bottom levels, I’d say that Brian Melo is in danger despite being quite good. And Matt Rapley continues to skirt the bottom of the barrel with his cliched nature.