Welcome back. Tonight is the final night in Las Vegas. The Final 10 men will perform tonight with 5 of them moving onto the Top 20, and 5 eliminated. As an FYI, next week's Top 20 begins on Tuesday March 5th. But that's next week, tonight hopefully the men will step it up more than their counterparts did last time out, so let's get started:
Sudden Death Performances
1. Mathenee Treco- We saw Mathenee a little bit last year, and a little bit last year, he's hoping to get further. He comes off a little smug while performing, but that might just be his personality. He sings Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation", but he changes it completely different than the original. I like his energy on stage but the voice is hit or miss.
Keith=Has a huge vocal range. Shouldn't underestimate the power of his voice, because sometimes he does so much he loses the connection.
Nicki=Felt like he was trying to please the judges. Didn't feel current, and sounded cheesy and karaoke.
Randy=The song choice was very wrong. Doesn't know what artist he is gonna be.
Mariah=Is a real genuine person, but felt a disconnect between the song and performance.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yep. He has some power, but it was like Nicki said, "cheesy".
2. Gurpreet Singh-We saw Gurpreet a few times over the course of season thus far, but his most notable performance was his group performance where he and the rest of his group forgot all the words and was just a mess, yet they all went through. Tonight he is singing James Morrison's "Nothing Ever Hurt Like You". It was a mess tonight. He was under the pitch, then almost inaudible at other points. The band just overtook him. The last note was decent but couldn't save the very messiness of the performance.
Keith=Really likes his voice. His voice is better with the acoustic guitar. Didn't the like the song choice.
Nicki=Bad song choice, should have brought his guitar. Today wasn't the day to take a big risk. Hell no!
Randy="Dude, dawg, I mean really?" That was terrible.
Mariah=Slightly disappointed because didn't hear his softer voice.
Do The Judges & I Agree? For sure. He was brutal. He messed up by taking a huge risk and changing himself up too much.
3. Vincent Powell- We learn that he is/was a back-up singer from such notable artists like Whitney Houston. Vincent decides to sing Lenny Williams' "Cause I Love You". I don't really know this song, nor artist, but Vincent sounded good. He did a ton with the song. He put everything he had, energy wise and power. He did deep voice, he did falsetto, he did short notes, he did long notes, he threw in everything but the kitchen sink. I like him. Don't love him, but like him. Keith, Randy & Mariah give him a standing ovation.
Keith=Loved it, just loved it.
Nicki= Usually comes off old fashion, but today he was a sexy old fashion. Good vocal.
Randy=The started now has started. A real complete package. Has a current vibe. In it to win it.
Mariah="All I can say is, Finally".
Do The Judges & I Agree? They love him way more than me. I don't get Mariah's comments, I am sure it is positive though. He was really good though.
4. Nick Boddington- Last year Nick got eliminated at the Las Vegas round. This year he is singing James Morrison's "Say Something Now". This James Morrison song actually fits Nick's voice, opposed to when Gurpreet tried the same artist. Nick is a very Jason Mraz kind of singer. Very pleasant and easy to listen to. He isn't gonna blow your house down, but he is very solid.
Keith= The timber in his voice is what is nice to love. Very easy to listen to. Didn't feel the connection.
Nicki=Loves the warmth in his voice, doesn't seem to try too hard. Tonight wasn't a 10, but it wasn't bad. Wasn't his best.
Randy= Not a great song choice. Needed more moments from him. Didn't even have one.
Mariah=Thinks he is very consistent. Doesn't like the song choice, didn't feel him connected to the song or performance.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Pretty much. They didn't like the song choice, but he has a nice voice that is easy to listen to.
5. Josh Holiday-In a gutsy move Josh decides to do his own original. He plays the piano for a good portion of the song and then he gets up. I actually like the song, I think it's called "Better With You", because he said about 20 times during the song, if it's not called "Better With You" it should be. Josh has a nice voice and now we know he is a good writer as well.
Keith=Well done on the original song. But wishes that he would cut loose, it was almost too controlled.
Nicki=Wanted him to stay on the piano, thought he was trying to please the judges too much.
Randy=Liked the song and the arrangements. Wasn't wowed by it.
Mariah=Loves that he is a singer/songwriter. Would have loved to see him stay at the piano.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yup. He is a good writer, and his voice is decent. Nothing stellar from Josh.
6. David Oliver Willis-Tonight singing "Fever". He really changes the original up, especially since he is playing his guitar with it. I like David's voice. It's incredible clear and has a nice tone. He isn't the most exciting performer, but I really enjoyed the whole thing. If he makes it through I would be curious about him changing it up even more.
Keith=At the end of the song their was a moment. Wasn't the right song choice, but still really good.
Nicki=Felt like he went up there just to perform. Basically it was pretty stiff. Wasn't current artist.
Randy=The song choice made him boring, but kinda liked that he is so different.
Mariah=The crowd seemed to love it, but liked past performances better.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Not really. I liked him more than the judges.
7. Bryant Tadeo-He is super proud of his heritage and coming from Hawaii, so to honor that he is singing "New York State of Mind". I liked the control in his voice and his tone. I wish he pushed himself even further with the song.
Keith=Beautiful voice and good song choice. Made a connection to the audience.
Nicki=Loved that last note, with the falsetto and riff. Didn't like anything else but the last note.
Randy=Loved the beginning, but didn't feel it went anywhere. Never just went there.
Mariah=Sounded professional, and his tone of voice is beautiful. Had a couple moments that he went lost.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yea. He didn't really go that far with the song. He has a nice tone and has talent but it didn't go really anywhere.
8. Burnell Taylor-He said that since his initial audition round he lost 40 pounds. That's pretty impressive. He looked fine before, but he does look even better. He sings John Legend's "This Time". You can hear some of the John Legend inflections in his voice. I wish Burnell sang more like himself than sounding like the original artist, but it doesn't mean he didn't sound really good. His hand motions were pretty sporadic and all over the place, but his voice was very controlled. Nicki gives him a standing ovation.
Keith= Liked that performance. There were a few critiquey things but his singing style was very original. Connected from beginning to end.
Nicki= Would pay to see him sing. Thinks he was the best by far tonight.
Randy= Doesn't know if it was his best performance, but he was really good and loved that he put his own spin on it.
Mariah= Thinks his first audition was so special, and although this was fantastic, that was just intense.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Yep. They loved him maybe a bit more in the past, but he was still really strong tonight.
9. Lazaro Abros-We saw a lot of Lazaro thus far this season. His story is that he has a very strong stammer, but it disappears when he sings. He decides to sing Keith Urban's "Tonight I Wanna Cry". Given that Lazaro is more R&B and this was originally a country song he does a nice job in changing it up. I've always liked Lazaro's voice but I never was blown away, I am still not blown away, but I can see why he has a ton of fans already. The way he is able to overcome his stammer while he sing is just incredible.
Keith=Beautiful song. Has a great song. Wasn't the best song choice. Thought the song was a little ahead of him the whole time. Despite that he has a spirit that burns through his vocal.
Nicki= Always gives Lazaro. Just is being himself. Played it safe in a good way.
Randy=Wasn't the best song choice. Sometimes he gets nervous, but he just needs to relax, because he has a great voice.
Mariah=Knows he has a stronger vocal than what he showed. Proud that he got through something that isn't easy.
Do The Judges & I Agree? We do. It wasn't the best song choice, but his voice is still really good.
10. Cortez Shaw- We have seen Cortez be very hit or miss throughout this competition. Tonight he is singing David Guetta's "Titanium". I like the version that he is singing because it gave him a chance to really have his voice heard, but I wouldn't have him minded going a bit more up-tempo rather than ballad. At the end the crowd thought he was done, but he had one last note, and it was a really really good one.
Keith=Really bold and brave move. Not necessarily a compliment. Has the range but there were some points that really went awry. A lot of inconsistency in the performance.
Nicki=Liked him a lot tonight. Sexy.
Randy= Range was surprising. There were some pitch things, but that last note at the end was crazy. A fan.
Mariah=Loved the arrangement. Thinks he made some very good choices tonight.
Do The Judges & I Agree? Mixed. Keith agrees that it wasn't the best song choice because it exposes some weakness, but Nicki and Mariah loved him despite showing inconsistencies.
Predictions
Eliminated=Gupreet Singh, Bryant Tadeo, David Oliver Willis, Josh Holliday, Mathanee Treco
Top 20=Vincent Powell, Burnell Taylor, Nick Boddington, Lazaro Abros, Cortez Shaw
Judges Decide Who Stays/Who Goes
David Oliver Willis=Eliminated
Bryant Tadeo=Eliminated
Vincent Powell=Top 20
Mathanee Treco=Eliminated
Lazaro Abros= Top 20
Cortez Shaw=Top 20
Josh Holiday=Eliminated
Burnell Taylor=Top 20
Gupreet Singh=Eliminated
Nick Boddington=Top 20
Final Thoughts
* Well our Top 10 guys are now complete. Check back next week to see where we rank the Top 10 men and Top 10 females remaining. I wasn't truly blown away by anyone tonight. I almost felt like if they were just not brutal or had super off moments tonight they were getting through. I have yet to really get fully engrossed by any of the guys. Curtis was good, Lazaro was good, Devin is pretty good. So there have have been hints of it, but they just aren't strong this season, thus far. Anything can change I guess, but so far it's been very middle of the line or below the line.
*I love that when Mariah is talking either to Ryan or the contestants that Nicki either turns her head or is rolling her eyes, and I love that when Nicki is speaking that Mariah just has no expression and just looks straight ahead. These 2 despise each other, but if this is how it's gonna be then that's ok, because it's highly entertaining, especially when you see Nicki just not able to take anything that Mariah says seriously.
*They didn't really leave any suspense at the end with leaving Gurpeet and Nick as the last 2 with only 1 spot left. Sure they sang the same artist James Morrison, but Gurpreet was brutal and Nick was solid.
That's it. We now know our Top 20. A mixed bag for sure. Next Monday we will present our list of Top 10 Males and Top 10 Females. Then Next Tuesday begins the Live Top 20 round with the Top 10 females performing. Followed by Wednesday with the Top 10 men, and Thursday with the results show of the complete Top 10. So lots going on next week. Have a great weekend, we'll see you here on Monday so until then, see ya!
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