Whew! It rolled around already. Another Tuesday, and we are now down to one hour shows.
I’m a Dolly Parton fan. Have been for years and years. I’ve got a number of her CDs. And if you pay attention to my "Added to My iPod" list in the sidebar, you know that I bought Backwoods Barbie a couple of weeks ago. Love the video that goes with Better Get to Livin’. (And since I’ve been discussing plastic surgery in my past two posts, I’ll say, I wish Dolly hadn’t had so much done. She’s looking way too stretched.)
Brooke kicked off what will be a fast hour with Jolene. I liked it a lot. I thought it was a solid performance and it suited her voice well. Randy and Simon were okay with it though not raving. Paula was more raving like an idiot. Sorry but she says the same thing all the time. "You are true to yourself." Yeah, but what does that mean?
David C. sang Little Sparrow. It was very good, but I can’t say I was bowled over by it like last week. Still he is one of the frontrunners.
Ramiele sang Do I Ever Cross Your Mind? Sorry. I thought she looked cute and bubbly, but it was still a forgettable performance.
Jason sang Travelin’ Thru. I liked it, but then I like his "folksy" style. Simon hated it. I guess we will agree to disagree tonight.
Carly sang Here You Come Again. A very slow version of it and rather over-performed. I’m sorry, but as pretty as her voice is, I wasn’t wowed by this performance. But then, I love the Dolly version of it, which may explain a lot. So I agreed with Simon this time.
Paula is really in "pointless things to say" mode tonight. Sometimes I feel like asking her if she is taking her prescribed meds. Or maybe she is taking too many?
David A. brought us Smoky Mountain Memories. In rehearsal, Dolly was fighting tears. Oh, wow. Perfect song for his voice. I loved it!! Randy calls it the "best of the night," Paula babbles, and Simon thought it was "on the money."
Kristy Lee picked Coat of Many Colors (another Dolly song I love). I think this performance was one of her best. She didn’t try to over-sing it. Simon called it "pleasant but forgettable."
Syesha chose to sing I Will Always Love You. Now, I have enjoyed both the Dolly version and the Whitney version of this song through the years, and Syesha sort of combined the two (which Dolly liked). Even before the end, I knew Simon wouldn’t like the Whitney portion. To an extent, I’ll have to agree. I liked the first half better. But I thought it was a solid performance.
Michael closed the show with All Wrong But It’s All Right. A very bluesy version. I wasn’t crazy about the arrangement (a little too much of the band, perhaps). But I liked him. He sounded awesome.
The hour whisked by and felt a bit rushed to me. I think they cut it from 90 minutes to 60 minutes a little too soon.
My favorites of the night (in order they performed): Brooke, David C., David A., and Michael. In danger? I’m thinking Ramiele. And unless lots of other viewers like Jason’s folksy style, I think he could be in danger too.
-rlh-
