Her dream to become the next American Idol ended Thursday night for 16-year-old Malaya Watson.
The Southfield resident and her fellow contestant C.J. Harris found themselves in the dreaded bottom two. Harris received more votes, allowing him to remain in the competition.
With tears in her eyes, Watson struggled to sing her final song on the “Idol” stage. The seven remaining contestants surrounded Watson, supporting her as she tried to sing “Through The Fire,” choking with tears by the end.
As judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. gave Watson a standing ovation, for viewers at home, her picture went dark.
On Wednesday night, the “American Idol” Top Eight retuned to the 1980s for their song choices this week. While neither Farmington Hill’s Jena Irene nor Watson were born until the late 1990s, they channeled hit songs from the era of big hair and jelly shoes. Irene choosing Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll,” with Chaka Khan’s “Through The Fire” as Watson’s choice.
All eight “idol” singers returned to the stage Wednesday night with no safety net. Judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. used their one save of the season last week to keep Sam Woolf, formally of West Bloomfield Township, in the contest following his elimination. With a jolting message repeated by judges and coaches to “get it done or go home,” the stressed contestants poured every ounce of energy they could muster into their performances. Both Irene and Watson were outstanding.
The “Idol” folks found a pink piano, probably in storage since the ’80s, to complement Irene’s vintage outfit. Sitting at the keyboard, she pounded out her own version of the well-known rock song, then moved to the audience, touching hands and asking them to clap with the music. Urban and Lopez danced in their chairs and sang along.
“Kinda cool to start on the piano,” Urban said. “I love the originality you bring to your performances, Jena.”
Lopez agreed that Jena put her stamp on the performance, but said “it languished in the middle.” Connick encouraged her to react to the audience’s energy and toss aside her choreography.
In sharp contrast to Irene’s loud, rocking performance, Watson took it down to a softer, sweeter, yet powerful rendition of the popular Chaka Khan song, earning a complement from Connick.
“Not many people can hit that Chaka note in full voice,” he said. “However, it seemed like the whole performance was a set up for that. Just relax.”
Judges Urban and Lopez also urged Watson to relax. Urban telling her to “chill out and coast, you have the voice to do it.”
Each “Idol” was then given a second opportunity each week to impress the judges and America with a duet.
With Connick in the audience, a teenage girl on his shoulders, Irene and Caleb Johnson belted out “It’s only Love,” by Bryan Adams and Tina Turner.
Watson teamed up with C.J. Harris to perform the Aretha Franklin and George Michaels song, “I Knew You Were Waiting.” While the judges were not supposed to critique the duets, Connick continued his strange, distracting behavior, likening the performance to regional theater, then agreeing with Lopez that it was adorable.
With the end of the competition next month, the pressure is on the final seven “Idol” hopefuls to turn in flawless performances every time. For the first time in the series’ history, each finalist will select a song for their fellow finalists to perform next week, leaving each singer with a list of six songs from which to choose.
No comments:
Post a Comment