The first American Idol studio recordings are in. The verdict? Nearly everyone sounds better recorded than they do on the Idol stage. How to translate some of these performances to the live setting? If that question could be resolved, we’d have a show.
My favorite recordings: Alex Preston, Jessica Meuse, Jena Irene and MK Nobilette. Honorable mention goes to Majesty Rose.
Alex Preston – Story of My Life – Download from iTunes – Alex records really well. REALLY well. His phrasing and tone are gorgeous and lend a resonance not found on the cheery pop version by One Direction. A keeper.
CJ Harris – Invisible – Download from iTunes – The magic of autotune fixes CJ’s persistent pitch problems. I love his voice. Too bad it’s wasted on this song, which is generic by even pop country standards. Zzzz.
Sam Woolf – We Are Young – Download from iTunes – Nate Ruess doesn’t have Sam’s beautiful and pristine tone. But I’ll take the former’s quirky and lively phrasing over Sam’s snoozy “perfection” any day. A pretty voice can’t make up for the flat affect he brings to everything he sings.
MK Nobilette – Perfect – Download from iTunes – Harry is right about MK. She will make a good record. The subtly of her intonation and phrasing is not lost on the recording as it was on the big Idol stage, where MK had no idea what to do with herself. I believe that’s Allison Iraheta singing backgrounds!
Malaya Watson – When I Was Your Man – Download from iTunes – Hm. I wasn’t expecting to like the live version better than the recording. On stage, Malaya brought emotion and perfect dynamics to her performance. Her recorded vocal falls flat. She sings the words without embodying the lyrics. Maybe she needed more rehearsal to get it right.
Majesty Rose – Wake Me Up – Download from iTunes – I, like Keith, prefer the propulsive dance beat of the original. However, performed as an acoustic song, Majesty brings some folk country realness to the performance. I hope Majesty gets her mojo back soon.
Jessica Meuse – Pumped Up Kicks –Download from iTunes – Jessica takes on dark material here, and her raspy, raw alto is perfect. Another contestant that records beautifully.
Jena Irene – Clarity – Download from iTunes – I don’t know what happened to Jena on stage last week, but despite the judges praise, her performance didn’t make an impact. If you were disappointed, this recording is everything the live performance should have been–confident, powerful with a phrasing tone that’s pure Jena. I still believe in her!
Dexter Roberts – Cruise –Download from iTunes – You know what this song could use? A rap break! Just kidding. This song is even more boring slowed down. Bah.
Caleb Johnson – The Edge of Glory – Download from iTunes – The plodding arrangement of this song is all wrong. Which is too bad, because Caleb could have killed this song. His big big voice is impressive recorded. But alas, just like the live version, I keep waiting for a big moment that never comes.
