Oh dear god, thats a huge song to give her - after she ruined 'Somewhere' i'm a bit nervous about this one!

Yay for musical theatre songs though - they always seem to really sort out those with talent from those who can't really hack it.

Anyone know what the others are going to sing

God yeah, what a waste of that gorgeous song.

I don't know what it is, but Sam just seems to grab songs and brutalise them - really attacks them. There's a distinct lack of subtlety or finesse. She seems to hit most of the notes but its not a very pleasant listening experience.

I was really excited till I saw that. Surely it can't be anything other than a disaster!

No, it's not that high (I think it is a top F), but it is quite high for a belt.

She'll kill it, she may prove me wrong, but I doubt she will.. although I shall give her a chance, but I hope she pulls it off because its one of my favourite songs.

If Sam manages to carry that song off then she will deserve to win IDA. Luckily, they've given us enough time to buy some ear-plugs before Saturday.

Before the operation that went wrong Julie Andrews had a 5 octave range.

i'd like someone to sing "on my own"- les mis

maybe niamh?

There is a solo version of it which takes out Glinda's part and puts a little bit of W&I in the middle. This is the version that is in the vocal selections book you can buy.

And having thought about it, there are versions out there which aren't 'shouty' or anything like performed in the show. Idina's single version of it is on iTunes and that is AMAZING!

Couple of thoughts...
Out Tonight from Rent (though it may be too raunchy...), maybe for Jessie?
Also I would LOVE to here anything from Titanic, a highly underrated musical. Would be interesting for someone to do Ladie's Maid, which I think may be deceptively difficult to pull off

I've never seen Wicked, but I've heard enough people going on about it. I just youtubed the song and I might be wrong here, but I don't think it's as hard as you're making out. That said, as I said, I've never seen the musical and listening to the song on youtube isn't the best indicator (plus I'm not a singer, only instruments). What I do think is that if she sings it like she sung Somewhere, with the same attack, then she'll be on very shaky ground, and will be in the sing off. However, if she doesn't shout like she has done on some (denote use of that word ) of her previous songs, and pulls it back slightly every time she reaches that top note, then she'll nail it. There are harder songs in MT. She's back over here this week visiting her old school apparently - one of the people at work, her son goes there.

Yeah Sam is singing Defying Gravity!! She will murder it - just like she did with 'I'm a survivor'

I have to agree. I can't understand why she is still in the competition and hasn't been in the bottom two.

If she pulls this song off though, I will take my hat off to her. Actually I will eat it.

Interesting song choice.

It has been repeatedly said that she has a powerhouse upper range.

I have never heard the song before. Just listened to it. Fairly ghastly but it seems to be a shameless money note song.

Bit of a gamble here by the producers. After Jessie's performance of the Garland song this may be Samantha's best chance to put in a definitive performance.

Any clues as to what any of the other girls are singing?

Oh I love the Titanic musical! The ending is so powerful, with the shoes.

Anyway, yeah, Nancy..

I'm just listening to Defying Gravity (amazing song, one of my favourites) and I'm trying to imagine Samantha singing it. I can't. Earlier I posted that she'll either do a wonderful job or she'll make a complete pigs ear of it; but the more I think about it, the more I think this could just turn into a shouty mess. I don't want it to because I love Sam, but I am worried for her!

EXACTLY!! That's been driving me mad for weeks. I know for a fact, actually, that she struggles with low notes (from people who've been in shows with her on the IOM). How exactly she's going to sing all Nancy's low Gs and Fs I don't know. Yes, Sam has a great high belt, but like JB said, it's a casting competition, not a talent competition...

...if Nancy goes down to F or G then it's more likely suitable for an "older" girl. Jodie or Rachel.

The teenagers shouldn't be encouraged to go so low so young.

Not Sam or Jessie or Niamh.

very high pitched though... more howling at the top end, wouldn't do any of them any favours imo, and I love the musical... if they could turn "Take me or leave me" into a solo, I'd like to see that

with respect, "Survivor" had no life in it in the first place to be murdered by anybody

I want someone to sing something from Les Mis! But I'm not sure if they'll be singing ALW songs, because he would be able to criticise it more than songs he didn't write, which would kind of be unfair.

If any of them sing anything from Les Mis, I can guarantee that I will hate it - it has an almost sacred status for me and there's only a few that can do it full justice!