This week the judges split up and mentored the contestants.
John Rich (JR) is mentoring the girls – which he wanted.
Jewel (J) is mentoring the guys – she wanted that too.
Jeffrey Steele (JS) is mentoring the groups – he really didn’t want that ‘cuz he said it’s hard to get groups to focus sometimes.
We will see who the better mentor is. And can you imagine the Idol judges doing this? OK, no more Idol shots, we all know that this show could teach that show a lesson on how to treat the talent, and how to actually care about what they are doing. (seems to me the Idol judges are for the most part, bored with their show – JMHO)
This week they call contestants up to perform, and at the end the last two are up for elimination. Someone is going home.
Laura and Sophie
Jeffrey Steele is their mentor.
They sing too much to themselves and each other – they know it, let’s see if they can fix it.
“Rockin’ With the Rythem of the Rain” – The Judds
Nice harmonies. They are trying to sing to the audience more by looking at the audience, but this is something they have to work on. But that’s not enough to bounce them from the competition yet, if they are still doing it in week 5 then they are in trouble.
JR - told them that they need to find songs more their age, like Taylor Swift.
J - wants them to find a song they don’t know since they auditioned with that song.
JS - said he felt like he was at a slumber party – in otherwords they are still singing to themselves.
Ashlee Hewitt
John Rich is their mentor
“Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash
I like how it ended. She can sing.
JS – Made us worried, he questioned whether she could bring the energy and “fire” to the last part of the competition. They tried to move on to J, but JS said he wasn’t done yet and that she had “a lot of fire on that ring of fire.”
J – liked it, and liked her swinging her guitar behind her back.
JR – LOL to him embarrassing Jewel, and then telling everyone to go by Jewel’s album (which he produced so every album bought puts some money in his pocket – lol) Anyhoo, he said that Ashlee had a folk quality to her country. He’s right, she has a different type of voice, and I like it the more I hear it.
OMG the pretty boy made it!
Justin Gaston
Jewel is his mentor, and she is really focused on helping him. Says he needs to bring his hert.
“Oh What You Do To Me”
Well I think I’m over his hotness, then they give us a back shot. Don’t like him thou.
JS – Not feelin’ him yet.
JR – Says he comes off “Very, very sweet.” He said “that was terrible.”
J – OK to be who he is which is sweet. Says he can sing and needs to get control of his voice.
Now here’s where it gets interesting for me. I didn’t watch live, I taped it, but last night we channel surfed over and saw a bit of this performance. We tuned away and I told my honey that I didn’t think he was good enough to be on the show. I wanted to know how they could see thousands of talented singers and end up with him on the show. My honey said it was his looks since he thought he was awful too. Well, John Rich said the same thing!! He said he didn’t think he was good enough to be on the show, and wondered if he had snuck in the backdoor. Couldn’t believe I was hearing him affirm my thoughts. Must be tough to hear, but I really can’t see Justin becoming a country singer.
Billy Ray Cyrus has to come out and cheer him up. He tells him to “definitely listen to Jewel.”
Alyson Gilbert – yikes Shawn is in trouble.
John Rich is her mentor.
“Every Breath You Take” – The Police.
Alright, she can sing. Still can see the drama in her when she performs, but it was much better.
JS – Compared her to Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde. Saw two different people in two different weeks.
J – Liked it and told her to take advice to be like Reba, to be kind an accessible. Loved her voice.
JR – Told her it was a great job and she was crying the right kind of tears, not tears of fear (80’s Band joke!) but tears of “I just nailed it!”
That’s what this competition is about! Really improving, and she really did.
Pearl Heart
Jeffrey Steele is their mentor.
“Who Says You Can’t Go Home” – Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles
This was one that we saw live last night, and we both agreed that they can sing, but the lead needs to break out more. The other two drown her out. I really have to learn their names, they should put it on the bottom of the screen so we can learn.
JR – said their harmonies were great, but wants her to really rock it like Taylor Swift does (since they are the same age).
J – wants her to take dance lessons so she can move better. Needs her to not act like a front woman. She says she is awkward.
JS – says they are wandering around. I think that is a good description. They need to focus more. They have some good potential. Let’s hope they’re around longer so we can see if they shine.
Tommy Stanley
Jewel is his mentor.
“Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” – Big & Rich
Rocky start for me, but I am liking it. He is a good performer. John Rich is playing guitar for him from his judges chair.
JS – calls him a “kiss a$$” But says it’s his best one yet (only two in so what does that say?)
J – Told him to not rush his phrases, but she liked it.
JR – says he could go out on the road with him as Tommy & Rich since Big Kenny is off the road this year (he had a neck injury he finally had repaired).
He is starting to feel him. Then embarrasses him by asking if any of the women are crushing on him yet (he is a man in uniform – Navy)? That JR is naughty and I am just going to leave it at that!
Gabe Garcia
Jewel is his mentor.
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” – Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR Babe!)
I like him better than last week. He seemed to connect more to the audience, to open up a bit.
JS – Thought he looked like a deer in the headlights.
J – Thought he opened up more, and that “slow and steady wins the race.”
JR – “Turn the Texas on a bit more.” LOL Thought he was good.
Shawn Mayer – OMG I am worried about Coffey now. Melinda has to make it thru, so it’s prolly bye bye Third Town
John Rich is her mentor.
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones
Wow – she is blowing me away. I loved what she did with this song. Very vulnerable too.
J – Don’t bring all this weight.
JS – Wasn’t sold on it. Don’t sacrifice the lyric for the big ‘Star Search’ note. Feel the lyric. Jewel disagreed, and thought she had done that, and I thought so too.
JR – Thought she took the challenge, but didn’t quite make it to the top of Mt. Everest.
I really want to hear more of what she can do now.
Coffey!! (say it like this – Kaw – Fay – the accent on Fay) Yes, I want to see what he can do, but I am worried about Melissa – how could she not make it, she was the best?
Jewel is his mentor.
“Waiting on the World to Change” – John Mayer
JS – Not feeling it when he closes he eyes.
JR – Likes his singing, but doesn’t think he’s seen him yet.
J – Thinks he’s uncomfortable.
They all want to see “him” more, and I do too. I hope he’s around next week. Plus, he is a tall drink of water.
Trace Adkins performs “You’re Gonna Miss This” and sounds fab! **sigh** I love Trace! He makes me melt. And I like how his t-shirt is tucked in just so you can see his…belt buckle! HA! You thought I was going to say something else!
Oooo, they sing with him, and add some nice harmony!
The last two performers will both sing. Nice that they perform before they are kicked out.
Melissa Lawson
John Rich is her mentor.
“Natural Woman” – Aretha Franklin
Wow can this woman sing! She nailed it. WOW!!!
J – can’t believe she is in the bottom two.
JS – Thought she finished strong
JR – Thinks she could be on Broadway. Thought she was acting, thinking about it too much. They need a real artist.
I wonder if she is in the bottom two ‘cuz people thought she would be safe since she was soooo good.
Third Town
Jeffrey Steele is their mentor.
“Mountain Music” – Alabama
I think they were pretty much the same as last week.
JR – didn’t like them. Said he told them to find a lead last week, and they were pretty scattered, he then name dropped and said he told Randy Owen to watch the show and that he had prolly changed the channel. (JR is Randy Owen’s producer)
J – said they got the crowd going, but she has seen Japanese Karaoke singers do the same thing (oh SNAP – OUCH!). She wasn’t feeling them.
JS – thought it was their best one yet. I didn’t think he looked happy during their performance. I think he looked like he was seeing the same performance as last week.
Third Town has to go home. And they DO!
I like using Trace’s song “You’re Gonna Miss This” as the goodbye theme.
Well, my pick to go home next week is Justin. Let’s be real folks, he has a long way to go before he is ready. He’s the only one that I don’t want to see again. All the others made me want more, even if they were a bit weak.
John Rich (JR) is mentoring the girls – which he wanted.
Jewel (J) is mentoring the guys – she wanted that too.
Jeffrey Steele (JS) is mentoring the groups – he really didn’t want that ‘cuz he said it’s hard to get groups to focus sometimes.
We will see who the better mentor is. And can you imagine the Idol judges doing this? OK, no more Idol shots, we all know that this show could teach that show a lesson on how to treat the talent, and how to actually care about what they are doing. (seems to me the Idol judges are for the most part, bored with their show – JMHO)
This week they call contestants up to perform, and at the end the last two are up for elimination. Someone is going home.
Laura and Sophie
Jeffrey Steele is their mentor.
They sing too much to themselves and each other – they know it, let’s see if they can fix it.
“Rockin’ With the Rythem of the Rain” – The Judds
Nice harmonies. They are trying to sing to the audience more by looking at the audience, but this is something they have to work on. But that’s not enough to bounce them from the competition yet, if they are still doing it in week 5 then they are in trouble.
JR - told them that they need to find songs more their age, like Taylor Swift.
J - wants them to find a song they don’t know since they auditioned with that song.
JS - said he felt like he was at a slumber party – in otherwords they are still singing to themselves.
Ashlee Hewitt
John Rich is their mentor
“Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash
I like how it ended. She can sing.
JS – Made us worried, he questioned whether she could bring the energy and “fire” to the last part of the competition. They tried to move on to J, but JS said he wasn’t done yet and that she had “a lot of fire on that ring of fire.”
J – liked it, and liked her swinging her guitar behind her back.
JR – LOL to him embarrassing Jewel, and then telling everyone to go by Jewel’s album (which he produced so every album bought puts some money in his pocket – lol) Anyhoo, he said that Ashlee had a folk quality to her country. He’s right, she has a different type of voice, and I like it the more I hear it.
OMG the pretty boy made it!
Justin Gaston
Jewel is his mentor, and she is really focused on helping him. Says he needs to bring his hert.
“Oh What You Do To Me”
Well I think I’m over his hotness, then they give us a back shot. Don’t like him thou.
JS – Not feelin’ him yet.
JR – Says he comes off “Very, very sweet.” He said “that was terrible.”
J – OK to be who he is which is sweet. Says he can sing and needs to get control of his voice.
Now here’s where it gets interesting for me. I didn’t watch live, I taped it, but last night we channel surfed over and saw a bit of this performance. We tuned away and I told my honey that I didn’t think he was good enough to be on the show. I wanted to know how they could see thousands of talented singers and end up with him on the show. My honey said it was his looks since he thought he was awful too. Well, John Rich said the same thing!! He said he didn’t think he was good enough to be on the show, and wondered if he had snuck in the backdoor. Couldn’t believe I was hearing him affirm my thoughts. Must be tough to hear, but I really can’t see Justin becoming a country singer.
Billy Ray Cyrus has to come out and cheer him up. He tells him to “definitely listen to Jewel.”
Alyson Gilbert – yikes Shawn is in trouble.
John Rich is her mentor.
“Every Breath You Take” – The Police.
Alright, she can sing. Still can see the drama in her when she performs, but it was much better.
JS – Compared her to Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde. Saw two different people in two different weeks.
J – Liked it and told her to take advice to be like Reba, to be kind an accessible. Loved her voice.
JR – Told her it was a great job and she was crying the right kind of tears, not tears of fear (80’s Band joke!) but tears of “I just nailed it!”
That’s what this competition is about! Really improving, and she really did.
Pearl Heart
Jeffrey Steele is their mentor.
“Who Says You Can’t Go Home” – Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles
This was one that we saw live last night, and we both agreed that they can sing, but the lead needs to break out more. The other two drown her out. I really have to learn their names, they should put it on the bottom of the screen so we can learn.
JR – said their harmonies were great, but wants her to really rock it like Taylor Swift does (since they are the same age).
J – wants her to take dance lessons so she can move better. Needs her to not act like a front woman. She says she is awkward.
JS – says they are wandering around. I think that is a good description. They need to focus more. They have some good potential. Let’s hope they’re around longer so we can see if they shine.
Tommy Stanley
Jewel is his mentor.
“Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” – Big & Rich
Rocky start for me, but I am liking it. He is a good performer. John Rich is playing guitar for him from his judges chair.
JS – calls him a “kiss a$$” But says it’s his best one yet (only two in so what does that say?)
J – Told him to not rush his phrases, but she liked it.
JR – says he could go out on the road with him as Tommy & Rich since Big Kenny is off the road this year (he had a neck injury he finally had repaired).
He is starting to feel him. Then embarrasses him by asking if any of the women are crushing on him yet (he is a man in uniform – Navy)? That JR is naughty and I am just going to leave it at that!
Gabe Garcia
Jewel is his mentor.
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” – Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR Babe!)
I like him better than last week. He seemed to connect more to the audience, to open up a bit.
JS – Thought he looked like a deer in the headlights.
J – Thought he opened up more, and that “slow and steady wins the race.”
JR – “Turn the Texas on a bit more.” LOL Thought he was good.
Shawn Mayer – OMG I am worried about Coffey now. Melinda has to make it thru, so it’s prolly bye bye Third Town
John Rich is her mentor.
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones
Wow – she is blowing me away. I loved what she did with this song. Very vulnerable too.
J – Don’t bring all this weight.
JS – Wasn’t sold on it. Don’t sacrifice the lyric for the big ‘Star Search’ note. Feel the lyric. Jewel disagreed, and thought she had done that, and I thought so too.
JR – Thought she took the challenge, but didn’t quite make it to the top of Mt. Everest.
I really want to hear more of what she can do now.
Coffey!! (say it like this – Kaw – Fay – the accent on Fay) Yes, I want to see what he can do, but I am worried about Melissa – how could she not make it, she was the best?
Jewel is his mentor.
“Waiting on the World to Change” – John Mayer
JS – Not feeling it when he closes he eyes.
JR – Likes his singing, but doesn’t think he’s seen him yet.
J – Thinks he’s uncomfortable.
They all want to see “him” more, and I do too. I hope he’s around next week. Plus, he is a tall drink of water.
Trace Adkins performs “You’re Gonna Miss This” and sounds fab! **sigh** I love Trace! He makes me melt. And I like how his t-shirt is tucked in just so you can see his…belt buckle! HA! You thought I was going to say something else!
Oooo, they sing with him, and add some nice harmony!
The last two performers will both sing. Nice that they perform before they are kicked out.
Melissa Lawson
John Rich is her mentor.
“Natural Woman” – Aretha Franklin
Wow can this woman sing! She nailed it. WOW!!!
J – can’t believe she is in the bottom two.
JS – Thought she finished strong
JR – Thinks she could be on Broadway. Thought she was acting, thinking about it too much. They need a real artist.
I wonder if she is in the bottom two ‘cuz people thought she would be safe since she was soooo good.
Third Town
Jeffrey Steele is their mentor.
“Mountain Music” – Alabama
I think they were pretty much the same as last week.
JR – didn’t like them. Said he told them to find a lead last week, and they were pretty scattered, he then name dropped and said he told Randy Owen to watch the show and that he had prolly changed the channel. (JR is Randy Owen’s producer)
J – said they got the crowd going, but she has seen Japanese Karaoke singers do the same thing (oh SNAP – OUCH!). She wasn’t feeling them.
JS – thought it was their best one yet. I didn’t think he looked happy during their performance. I think he looked like he was seeing the same performance as last week.
Third Town has to go home. And they DO!
I like using Trace’s song “You’re Gonna Miss This” as the goodbye theme.
Well, my pick to go home next week is Justin. Let’s be real folks, he has a long way to go before he is ready. He’s the only one that I don’t want to see again. All the others made me want more, even if they were a bit weak.