I also watch w/US-pacing. I live on the East Coast and have found that it seems to have a better sound-mix when it airs later on the West coast.
Sometimes I think I am watching a different show from what the judges are watching or maybe I just don't share their taste. Here are my random comments (w/thanks to Dreamer27 setting up all the names in bold):
B]Lauren [/b]- I think that the song she chose is probably not a good one. She sang it well enough and seemed very comfortable (can I say almost too comfortable?) but it just wasn't that great.
Ashton - She needs to sing some non-diva songs, because unless it was nerves last night, she wasn't fantastic. I was surprised that they brought Barry Gordy in to hear her.
Haley - I honestly don't get her. I didn't think it sounded good at all in the beginning. I know that the judges love all the things she can do w/her voice, but instead of yodeling & growling, I'd prefer if she just sang.
Pia - She's good and it's hard to pick flaws with that, but there's nothing that stands out.
Thia - It wasn't the best performance, but what I liked about it was that not only did she just sing, but she attempted to put her own spin on it. To me, this was more memorable than Pia.
Naima - I loved the performance and the contrast to "Summertime" from last week. It was probably the most current as far as songs for today go, but she seemed to have some trouble combining singing and moving.
Karen - Karen as a person seems very nice and likeable, although her singing falls into that "hard to remember" category for me. What makes her unique is that she draws on her Latino background. She's a bit to pageanty for me as far as stage presence goes.
Stefano - He is the equivalent of Karen and Pia for the guys: decent enough performance, decent to look at, but not overly memorable.
James - I didn't want to like it, but I did. Maybe because he is different from the others.
Casey - I had to laugh when he said he wanted to sing Joe Cocker's "W/A Little Help...", since it's a Beatles song, but it was a good performance. It might have been the best of the night.
Paul - Think Rod Stewart & Taylor Hicks combined. I wish his voice were a bit stronger on some of these quieter songs.
Scotty - I don't like country, but I am enjoying Scotty. I have noticed that he tends to do the same with with each line of the song-- not sure exactly how to describe it, except to say that it almost sounds like he's scooping deep and rising up with each line. If he does that all the time, I'll get tired of him in a week or two.
Jacob - Here's another nice contestant that obviously knows how to hit the notes, but my reaction to him is kind of like my reaction to Haley: enough of the vocal gymnastics. I don't need to hear every trick you've got, when all I really want to hear is you singing and interpreting the song. Less can be so much more.
