The final 4, Jenna, Marisa, Elicia and Jayme, looking like Ann of Green Gables wanna-bes in their straw hats, open with I Have Confidence. After the number finishes Gavin introduces the judges. He then introduces Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber as, “The Phantom of the Opera himself,” accompanied by a sinister organ chord and we know we are in for some serious corniness (is that a contradiction in terms?) as they stretch this thing out to a full hour with only 4 individual songs to be sung. ALW is seated on a platform somewhat lower and off to the side of that upon which the other judges sit. It makes him look a bit like he has been relegated to the kids table at a family reunion.
Remember in last week’s recap I wondered how the practice of musical director Simon Lee saving the Maria of his choice would work as the eliminations proceeded to their conclusion? We learn the answer. The top vote getter this week will be guaranteed a spot in the final two and (presumably) the final decision will be by votes only.
Jayme performs first, doing Bacharach’s Say a Little Prayer. The chief knock on Jayme has been that her polish is at odds with Maria’s naiveté. In the opinion of Barrowman, Overholt and Lee, in her performance tonight she lets her guard down and inhabits the song in a more genuine way than she has been. Personally, I don’t see it. Jayme is professional but uninspired, as per usual. ALW, on the other hand, finds the performance a breakthrough for her.
Just before we cut to commercial we get a clip of Barrowman and Jenna stretched out prone on the stage, singing a duet to one another, followed by the host saying, “When we return, John evidently eats a Maria.” Cut to Barrowman flicking his tongue like some gross lizard. Put it back in your mouth, John – nobody wants to see that thing.
When we come back we watch Barrowman working with the women on their kissing. Corniness².
Elicia does You Needed Me. She builds nicely to the final chorus, but then her voice thins badly as she goes almost falsetto on the money notes. Overholt, Barrowman and Lee would disagree, as all praise her excessively. Overholt mentions that the song was changed at the last minute and ALW adds that the Elicia “wasn’t allowed” to sing I Will Always Love You. As one who has long lobbied to have the Dolly Parton-penned Whitney Houston la-la fest banned from competition, all I can say is, “It’s about time.”
It’s back to the Bacharach/Warwick catalogue for Jenna’s number. She does Anyone Who Had a Heart. Lee criticizes her for being too reserved, while Barrowman praises her for her choice to play down the song. Funniest part is when Overholt mentions working with Richard Gere and takes a shot at Barrowman’s incessant name dropping (“You’re not the only one who knows people.”). ALW forgets where he is and wonders out loud whether they will be discussing gerbils next.
Marisa gets a rather odd song assignment – River Deep, Mountain High. What does her ability to do a Tina Turner rocker have to do with her qualifications for Maria? She is clearly not comfortable with the song and actually gets lost at one point.
Barrowman, Overholt and Lee all express reservations with Marisa, from Barrowman and Overholt’s concern that she “over-thinks” her performances to Lee worrying whether her voice (not a true soprano) can handle doing soprano eight shows a week.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have this week’s loser.
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It's JaNNA, not Jenna. The role appears to be hers to lose but my $$$ is on Elicia who gets better and better each week. (And she has a fresh naivete that Janna lacks.)
ReplyDeleteBut you're right on this note: this week we're probably gong to say Auf to Marisa.