|
|
GSNN
Primes |
|
Previous Episodes |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Four superstars of pop music team with eight singers for a shot at music stardom. Recaps by Chico Alexander, GSNN
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright Statement Powered by 1&1 Internet |
|
The Superstar's
Greatest Hits "One can have a dream, baby. Two can make a dream so real." We start with one superstar, the original American Idol. Then we add another, the son of two songwriters. Then we add two more... a country diva and an R&B soulster. Put it together and we have a competition. Because while one voice is good... Two voices... twice as good. Or at least that's what we're hoping for for the next nine weeks. Now here's how it's going to work. The superstars' will perform with their two contestants, each of them competing for a recording contract with Hollywood Records. Over the last few months, the stars went out into America to search for their partners. Here's who they found. JENNIFER NETTLES (Sugarland lead
vocalist) JOHN LEGEND (multiple Grammy award
winning R&B superstar) ROBIN THICKE (multiplatinum R&B
superstar) KELLY CLARKSON (Grammy-award winning pop
star) (DISCLAIMER: your compiler's sister actually went to college with Jennifer. But no favoritism will be shown because of it). Now the superstars that didn't perform will enter a secret score with 50 points for performance and 50 for presentation. After each amateur performs, we'll total the scores and reveal the standing. First up, Jennifer and J. Rome are singing "Tonight" from Sugarland. And it's a good start to the show. A good blend, but I think we needed to hear more out of J. And at the tail end of the song, it ends with Jennifer being a little flat. J was on point throughout. The bar is set. He obviously starts at #1, but the question is... will he stay there? Next is John and Johnny with "Ordinary People". Johnny is giving J some competition, making a game of it. He's got a great singing voice, but the key to the game is blending with John. We needed to see a little more than that. It's like the first performance was a mirror opposite of the second. The first was too much, the second, not enough. But Johnny is making certain that his voice is the one that stands out. The scores are locked, and he's... at #2. Good news for the amateurs; no one's getting kicked off today. But they'll have to continue to prove themselves next week as well. Third up, Robin and Olivia with "Lost Without U". It's a smooth song, but the problem is that Olivia is not a smooth singer (and it seems that they end up on a vocal collision more than not). But even so, it's the most polished of the blends seen so far (which could bode fairly poorly for the rest of the series). She ends up at.... #3. To close up the first half of competition, we have Kelly and Jason with "Breaking Your Own Heart". Of all of the voices we've heard so far, Jason's the most effected, and it's obvious that he's got a bit of the shakes. His road to redemption seemed to be the most uphill, but then something happened.... the halfway mark, as Jason regains his own footing. But that ending. Yeow. He ends up.... #4. John is back with his second partner, Bridget. They'll be singing "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" (from the movie "Think Like a Man"). Seems like this song was made for a man/woman duet, and it seems like these two were meant to make that into a reality. They have a nice blend together, both vocally and... in other ways... And Bridget has some electric stage presence. Is it enough to take the top spot? That would be a... no. But fourth is a good place to be. Jennifer returns to the stage with John (from her own backyard in Georgia), who she found as she was honored at a 4-H gala. Because that's apparently what you do in rural Georgia, I don't know. Their song, "Stay". There's an old axiom about altos and tenors getting together (C-Note: not that I would know about that sort of thing. Wink wink). But this is a perfect song for this pairing. Probably the best of the night. End result.... #3, and the audience wants a recount. J and Johnny are still atop the leaderboard. Next up, Robin takes the stage with Alexis getting everyone up with "Magic". Rather than go for outrgiht harmonies, they're going to work on stage chemistry, and that's important because performance is 50 percent of your score. Alexis needed to do a lot more singing, though. Sometimes you just have to go for it. We know you can sing. But you need to prove it to us and not let Robin do all the work. Still good enough for..... #3. Kelly needs a power performance with Jordan on "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" to make up for that lackluster performance from Jason earlier. And it looks like she just might get it. Jordan has the attitude for this song, but she doesn't have quite the range for it. And she's just... standing there waiting for Kelly to walk to her. Again, don't make the superstar do your work. This is all about you. She ends the night with.... CHART AFTER WEEK ONE 1) J ROME So we know who is where in the competition, and what those in the bottom need to do to get to the top. No one is going home today, but Kelly is saying... "That's a little suspeeeeect." Next week, classic duets as we look to avoid elimination. For more information on the contestants, or to see this episode in its entirety, go to abc.com/duets. |
|