The Voice UK - Live Show 1 - Tom Vs Will, round one.

TEAM WILL.I.AM
1. Joelle Moses - I'm Goin' Down (Mary J Blige).
What a way to start the show! Joelle handled the song brilliantly, in a way that was almost indistinguishable from what Mary herself would have done. Not something I always mean as a compliment, but here I do.

TEAM TOM JONES
2. Sam Buttery - A Little Respect (Erasure).
It's the male Amy Lamé! Taking on one my all-time favourite songs is going to make me picky. He clearly has the voice to do this song justice, but his choice to show case his "personality" over his voice cost him dearly in my eyes (or, rather, ears). Not terrible, but a wasted opportunity.

TEAM WILL
3. Frances Wood - Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan).
A dodgy first line made me fear the worst, but she actually did a decent job. Her voice had a tone that wasn't to my taste, and as ad libs go, oh "yeah oh yeah"s rarely get me excited. But she's definitely improved since her audition.

TEAM TOM
4. Adam Isaac - All My Life (Foo Fighters).
As the song began, he looked absolutely terrified but eased into it a little as the band kicked in. I'm not convinced he has the right, meaty voice for this song, even though he could reach the notes. But there's something about him I like, and let's face it you'd never hear THAT on X Factor or Idol. Blimey, he can talk though.

TEAM WILL
5. Jaz Ellington - At Last (Ella Fitzgerald).
This song is a reality show favourite, but I'm not sure I've ever heard a man sing it like that. He did overdo the runs a little for my tastes, but at least they sounded good, unlike American Idol's Joshua.

TEAM TOM
6. Leanne Mitchell - Who Knew (P!nk).
Uh oh, dissent in the ranks. She didn't want to do this song, so who was right? Well, she performed it like it was a Eurovision ballad, missing both the anger and the vulnerability. Anyone compared to P!nk's vocals is automatically going to come out second best in my books, but she has my favourite voice so far. She needs to hone her performance skills though.

TEAM WILL
7. Sophie Griffin - Titanium (David Guetta feat. Sia).
Pitchy, off-key, call it what you will, a lot of that was out of tune. Whilst it did occasionally sound great, she's clearly not quite ready, although that was quite a mighty task to take on. When judges keep repeating your age, that you're live, that your family are proud, rather than "you sounded great", you know something's gone wrong.

TEAM TOM
8. Matt & Sueleen - Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac).
Matt sounded great. Sueleen not so much. She was harmonising when singing solo, so it sounded odd. Together, it worked a lot better and ended up rather good.

TEAM WILL
9. Tyler James - Higher Love (Stevie Winwood).
I don't really get Tyler, and I wasn't a huge fan of Amy Winehouse either. In the auditions, his falsetto sounded off-key and desperate. But I thought that performance sounded fantastic, and it was mostly in falsetto. His vocal control was very impressive. Consider me won over.

TEAM TOM
10. Ruth Brown - Get Here (Oleta Adams).
I found Ruth's voice very affected and her timing and singing style was a strange, almost spoken delivery with final held-out notes. It actually reminded me of the way Whitney Houston would sing live. Which is both a good and bad thing, but I'm inferring the latter.

RESULTS
TEAM TOM
Bottom two: Sam and Matt & Sueleen
Tom saves Matt & Sueleen, so it's goodbye to Mr Personality. Much as I'd love to root for the fat gay man, it was the right result.

TEAM WILL
Bottom two: Joelle and Sophie
Will saves Joelle. A no-brainer if ever there was one. So it's goodbye to Sophie.

American Idol 2012 - Week 9 - Queen / own choice

Things kicked off with the final six performing a Queen medley, joined by Brian May and Roger Taylor. You can clearly feel the reverence in the room as they all set the standard pretty high, and nobody opted to showboat, they just performed the songs respectfully- and sounded all the better for it. Fortunately, it set the tone of the show, and it was right up my street.

1. Jessica Sanchez - Bohemian Rhapsody.
Opting for another untouchable song, her vocals were perfect, as usual, with only seems to highlight further her lack of stage presence. Agree with J-Lo (maybe Hell has frozen over) that Jessica could have rocked out a bit more, but it would be nit-picking to criticise that performance.

2. Skylar Laine - The Show Must Go On.
Skylar, on the other hand, does have the stage presence. She sold that song with the requisite sincerity and has the vocals to match. It wasn't perfect, and some of her "runs" sounded uncharacteristically unplanned and clunky, but it came very close to giving her a "moment".

3. Joshua Ledet - Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
I just plain don't like Joshua's voice. The ending was excruciating. There was no musicality on display, the performance being all diva sass, rather than that hip jive vibe. Ugh.

4. Elise Testone - I Want It All.
It began off-key, but improved a little. This should have seen Elise in her element, but I was left a bit wanting. I must admit she has crept up and up in my esteem, and I feel my expectations of her are possibly too high. But she is a natural musician, no doubt.

5. Phillip Phillips - Fat Bottomed Girls.
The biggest shock came when he performed this at (almost) the correct tempo. Clearly pushing his vocals to their limit, I was waiting for the vein on his forehead to pop. As PP performances go, it was definitely one of his best. Whatever Randy says.

6. Hollie Cavanagh - Save Me.
A strange choice, as it's not one of their most familiar songs, but it's lyrically appropriate. Overall it was a bit meh, when she could have blown our socks off with something like Who Wants To Live Forever. Oh well.

Which brings us to the return of the comedy VT. Moving on...

7. Jessica Sanchez - Dance With My Father (Luther Vandross).
One of those emotionally devastating songs (if you're in the right mood), and definitely a great choice for Jessica's voice. I can't say she connected enough emotionally for me to feel it as much as I usually do, but still pretty flawless.

8. Skylar Laine - Tattoos On This Town (Jason Aldean).
Back in her country vein, she was competently comfortable, but the song redefined bland. It may not have gotten me too excited, but she is a natural when in her comfort zone.

9. Joshua Ledet - Ready For Love (India Arie).
The first half was rather nice, avoiding the excruciating sounds of his first song and then... Oh, there they are. Just as I was on the verge of liking it.

10. Elise Testone - Bold As Love (Jimi Hendrix).
Quite a talky song, so it's a strange choice for a singing competition. Did nothing for me, but she clearly enjoyed herself.

11. Phillip Phillips - The Stone (Dave Matthews Band).
I don't know what the Hell that was, but never want to hear it again. By him or by anybody.

12. Hollie Cavanagh - The Climb (Miley Cyrus).
Perfectly suited to her, and she hit every note perfectly. Still lacked emotion, though she's definitely improving on that front.

RESULTS SHOW
Katy Perry pays a (no doubt unintentional) tribute to Madonna, donning her American Life fatigues for a rather out-of-breath rendition of Part of Me. We also see last year's Stefano return to prove he has clearly learned nothing in the last 12 months.

The bottom three are Elise, Hollie and Skylar. Inevitably, Elise goes home, but not before a reprise of her crowning glory, Whole Lotta Love.

American Idol 2012 - Week 8 - Post-Millennium & Soul Train

1. Hollie Cavanagh - Rolling in the Deep (Adele)
One of her strongest performances yet, she was pretty close to perfect on a very tough song.

2. Colton Dixon - Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)
It was an interesting idea to rock this up, and I can imagine a full-length version of this kicking some serious arse. Unfortunately, the edit used here was a little bit all over the place. Still very, very good, however.

3. Elise Testone - No One (Alicia Keys)
I don't like this song (by which I mean I fucking HATE this song) and can't say Elise did anything to change that. Bits of it were excruciating, but then so is the original.

4. Phillip Phillips - U Got It Bad (Usher)
Taking an urban song and making sound like a folksy Eurovision song is no bad thing. It didn't set my world on fire, but the guy clearly is a talented musician, and have to agree with Randy's point that he's a "true artist". It's certainly one of his better reinterpretations.

5. Jessica Sanchez - Fallin' (Alicia Keys)
Having to prove the judges were right to have saved her, she pulls out one of the big guns. By her standards, it was safe. By which I mean perfect, but dull.

6. Skylar Laine - Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
Needless to say she opted for the country version, and, surprisingly, it wasn't great. The lower register sounded out of her range and the upper bits were shouty. Hmmmm.

7. Joshua Ledet - I Believe (Fantasia)
I was so ready to hate this and so didn't. (Mostly.) Again, agree with Randy for commending him on holding back. THAT is the performance I've been waiting to see and hear from Joshua. A giant leap in the right direction, as long as I overlook that he still hacked up a few hairballs.

8. Hollie Cavanagh - Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
Blimey, Liverpool FC! Even I'm impressed. More near-flawless vocals, more inexperienced performance. She's improving, but not fast enough.

9. Colton Dixon - September (Earth, Wind & Fire)
Turning a disco classic into a OneRepublic-esque ballad worked surprisingly well. He even managed to make "ba-de-yah" sound sincere. But why? Why? WHY? A wasted opportunity, I fear.

10. Elise Tesone - Let's Get It On (Marvin Gaye)
This is the side of Elise that I like. Clearly in her element once more, she was effortless in this song and the musicality dripped from her fingertips. Definitely the best performance tonight. JLo picked a very odd time to attack Elise's stage presence.

11. Phillip Phillips - In The Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett)
Probably on a par with Elise's last performance when it comes to sincerity and (a more awkward form of) musicality, and yet his growly vocals still did very little for me. He really is this year's Scotty.

As pleased as I am to see the under-rated former Idol Kris Allen, I was far more excited to see the awesome John "Walter 'Fringe' Bishop" Noble sat behind him. #geekout

12. Jessica Sanchez - Try A Little Tenderness (Otis Redding)
This is one of those showboating songs that requires great vocals, but rarely impresses due to its overfamiliarity. Case in point.

13. Skylar Laine - Heard It Through The Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
It's not me, it's you. Skylar's just not doing it for me tonight. I actively hated this. Not only the worst tonight, but her worst to date.

14. Joshua Ledet - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)
Ah. There's the Joshua I know and hate. Bored bored bored. I KNOW this guy can sing but these aren't "goosies", they're hackles.

RESULTS SHOW
The dodgy group number is back, this week it's Dancing in the Street. For some reason Jessica's mic is turned down to almost off and Skylar still sounds terrible, whilst Colton and Joshua's voices actually blend rather well and Elsie sounds great.

2009 Idol champion Kris Allen did a decent job with what he made sound like an impossible song to sing (The Vision of Love), whilst LMFAO did everything they could to distract you from their abysmal vocals on an even worse song (Sorry For Party Rocking).

The bottom three are revealed to be Hollie (again), Elise (again) and, for the first time, Colton. To be fair, he's getting a bit big for his boots so kind of glad he's had a dragging down to earth. But not enough for him to actually leave, which is the unfortunate scenario we now face. I almost wish they'd let Jessica go home last week instead, but he's clearly going to have a huge career outside of Idol. To prove it, he reprises Everything, the only Idol performance of his I didn't like, and does it brilliantly. Gutted.

American Idol 2012 - Week 7 - 2010s

1. Skylar Laine - Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You (Kellie Pickler)
Skylar performed that like it was the winner's single, throwing all of her emotion into it and stretching her voice to its limits, but in a very, very good way.

2. Colton Dixon - Love The Way You Lie (Skylar Grey/Eminem & Rihanna)
For a man to pull off a song with such a large range that was written for a female vocal is impressive indeed. No bells and whistles, no showboating, no screeching. Just respect for the song, and a great delivery.

Again with the duets.
First up, Phillip and Elise do "a Gotye track" and surprise everybody by choosing "Somebody That I Used To Know". It was evidently Elise's choice, if Phillip's stropping is anything to go by. As it turns out, it wasn't a great choice as the song suited neither of them, let alone both of them.

3. Jessica Sanchez - Stuttering (Jazmine Sullivan)
Back in her comfort zone of ballads, I don't know the song, but it sounded absolutely perfect to me.

4. Joshua Ledet - Runaway Baby (Bruno Mars)
I felt his moves were a bit cringe-inducing, but at least he's trying something new. He managed to get a few of his trademark screeches in, but it wasn't his usual car crash. I heard the first duff notes of the night though.

Duet #2 sees Colton and Skylar reunite for Kelly Clarkson & Jason Aldean's Don't You Wanna Stay. Apparently people think they're dating, although it appeared to me more like that's what they're hoping people will think. Colton had the vocal edge as Skylar's harmonies sounded a little off, but they do make a good team.

5. Hollie Cavanagh - (F***in') Perfect (P!nk)
I flat-out adore this song, and quite liked (though certainly didn't prefer) Hollie's slowed-down interpretation. Surprised by the judges' muted reaction as the vocals were phenomenal. No it wasn't [hesitates] "perfect", but yes it was a huge improvement on last week.

6. Phillip Phillips - Give A Little More (Maroon 5)
What is it with Phillip and slowing songs down to a near dirge? The original has a similar vibrancy to Moves Like Jagger, and this was more of a mellow jam. Ironically, the more the band kicked in, the closer to 33rph it felt. Phillip actually managed to fall below Joshua for me this week. Yawn.

Joshua and Hollie are joined by Jessica for Kelly Clarkson's What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) for the final triet. Jessica sounded inexplicably awful, Joshua was mostly tolerable (until the end) and Hollie looked a bit lost. Oh dear.

7. Elise Testone - You and I (Lady Gaga)
It's a pretty dreadful song, but a good one for a show like this, as it's an excellent vocal showcase. And it showed Elise to be an excellent, if not perfect vocalist. Had this been last week I'd have said she's on a roll, but I'm not sure if it was strong enough to save her after last week.

RESULTS SHOW

We're treated to a familiarly shambolic performance from the remaining contestants. P!nk's awesome Raise Your Glass got the "honour" of being massacred this week. Elise, WTF was that?

Last year's rocker James Durbin performed a song- possibly the heaviest track from an Idol contestant yet. But just poppy enough for me to find rather catchy, so no doubt will alienate his target audience.

Another Idol alum, Jennifer Hudson, performed a rather disposable duet with Ne-Yo. But it's worth her visit if only to remind us why the judges' save was created.

Back to agreeing with Jimmy Iovine again this week. Mostly.

The bottom three are a total shock.
Elise (okay, not that much of a shock), Joshua (I literally punched the air in delight), and Jessica (W.T.F????????)

And we say goodbye to... Jessica!?!?!?! Well, no we don't, as she's barely two lines into her "Save Me" song and the judges storm the stage in outrage to announce they're using their save. For quite possibly the first time EVER, it was used correctly. Phew. Next week promises to be exciting stuff!!!

American Idol 2012 - Week 6 - 1980s

1. Deandre Brackensick - I Like It (DeBarge)
You could pick ANY song from the 1980s, so why wouldn't you pick this, right? Well, for starters, it's not even the best DeBarge song. Rather than feeling the beat of the Rhythm of the Night I was reaching for the Horlicks. Yawn. Great voice but zzzzzzzz.

2. Elise Testone - I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner)
Her original choice, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen was anything but an original choice for a show like this. Therefore we get this far-from-left field power ballad instead, but it's not an obvious choice for her edgier voice. Unfortunately it just didn't work. It's a shame as just as I'd written Elise off, she pulled it out of the bag, two weeks running. Now I'm starting to like her, she goes and messes it up. Hmph.

3. Phillip Philips - That's All (Genesis)
The rehearsal was a bit of a car crash, but on the night he managed to avoid the obstacles and just about arrived at his destination in one piece. Phil Collins is, after all, one huge voice to live up to. Oh, hang on. Actually I'm being a tad unfair, Phillip was rather good tonight.

4. Joshua Ledet - If You Don't Know Me By Now (Simply Red)
It was exactly what I expected it to be. I really hope he passes that kidney stone soon. Excruciating.

5. Jessica Sanchez - How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)
Another pitch-perfect, effortless performance. A bit of a bland song choice, but at least she didn't do another ballad.

6. Hollie Cavanagh - Flashdance... What A Feeling! (Irene Cara)
Most of those vocals were amazing, but a few dodgy moments gave the judges the rope they needed to hang her, which is a shame as she is clearly one of the better vocalists left. Unfortunately what the judges did get right is that the criticisms are getting to her and the performances are becoming increasingly calculated and are losing that naturalism.

7. Colton Dixon - Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)
Not Phillip Phillips, as ITV2 claimed. I was a bit skeptical about the up-tempo rocking version, but he SO pulled it off. Glad to see him not only back on form, but the best of the night so far. How DARE Randy compare it to Joshua or Phillip, in the "making it your own" department.

8. Skylar Laine - Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler)
Mostly, it was competently bland with a country twang but wow, she brought it home. If you're going to ad-lib and go off-melody THAT is the way to do it. It added drama, emotion, and her own stamp of identity. That's the Skylar I've been waiting to hear again over the last few weeks.

They also threw in some duets.
Skylar and Colton duetted on Islands in the Stream. I thought it was safe, predictable and rather fabulous. Their voices blended perfectly and neither hit a bum note.
Hollie and Deandre clearly decided to each adopt one of Kylie's looks from the 1980s for their version of The Pointer Sisters' I'm So Excited. It was another good match in a sugary pop kind of way. The kind of 80s cheese that I adore.
Elsie and Phillip went for the more credible Stop Dragging My Heart Around. A good match as a couple, and with their song. Anyone who liked the previous duet likely won't enjoy this and vice versa.
Jessica sang I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) whilst Joshua joined in with the occasional screech. Sadly, Jessica even tried to keep up with Joshua's screeching at times, more's the pity. Don't sink to his level, please.

RESULTS
Surprisingly, I disagreed with Jimmy Iovine a lot this week. Colton and Skylar were the top two for me, whereas he championed the hideous sounds coming from Joshua, placing Colton mid-table.
The bottom three were revealed to be: Deandre, Hollie and Elise. It's increasingly clear that this bottom three are the only acts left that won't get the judges' save, and the American audience seem to be listening to the judges more than ever before.
And so we say goodbye to Deandre, who gave us a rather buoyant, fun version of Master Blaster that might have seen him through, had he chosen THAT as his '80s song. It's a shame he didn't wait a few years, as with some more experience he could be unstoppable. But he's definitely not ready yet.