The Idols have faced harsh criticism over their song choices in recent weeks, so it must have been a relief to hand the control over to the judges. At least for half the night. Last night our Australian Idols sang a song picked by the judges, and another of their own choice. It proved to be a winning combination, with three touchdowns and some stellar performances.
Tarisai Vushe was first to perform Marcia’s choice of “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love.” It should have been a perfect song for her, and I suppose it was, but I still feel a wall between Tarisai and the audience when she performs. It felt a bit pageanty and fake to me, although I did enjoy seeing a lighter side of her. It was only a matter of time before Tarisai brought out some Whitney, and she did so with “I Believe in You and Me.” Vocally this was superb, and I felt like she connected with this one a lot more. Having said that though, Tarisai seems interchangeable with so many other diva singers. There’s nothing new here, and I’m getting a bit bored with it.
Marty Simpson had a stellar night. I really think he just keeps getting better and better. He clearly relished the opportunity to sing reggae, first with Marcia’s choice of “No Woman No Cry,” and then with his own selection, “Last Kiss.” The second song was my favourite, and in my opinion it was worth a touchdown. But we all know if you don’t do big notes and deliver a big performance, you don’t get those. Marty’s really not a “performer,” but when you have your guitar I don’t think you really need to be. I’d much rather watch someone with their instrument than see someone dancing around a stage.
In my opinion, Daniel Mifsud was the weakest link last night. While Mark chose a beautiful song in Sting’s “Fragile,” I think it also let him down. He delivered it beautifully, but it was a bit boring. “From The Sea” was a great song choice, but not for Daniel to deliver. Sadly it exposed all his vocal weaknesses, and his strong physical presence wasn’t enough to save it. I cringed every time he aimed for the falsetto.
Wasn’t Carl Riseley the surprise package? It’s almost as if now that Ben McKenzie has gone, he’s realised how wide-open this competition is. He’s definitely playing to win, and that’s exciting to watch. I was prepared to laugh all the way through “It’s Not Unusual” but I actually found myself enjoying it! It was a well-deserved touchdown. I can’t say that I liked “Jealous Guy” as much, but I think that was mostly because I hated the arrangement. Vocally he was strong though, and he sang it with real conviction. Carl’s come such a long way from the vocally weak, stiff trumpet player we first encountered.
Matt Corby showed his courage, taking on Mark’s challenge of “Music of the Night.” I have really conflicting thoughts about this performance. On the negative side, I thought it had a lot of vocal flaws. He has such a lovely lower register, but when he switched to the higher notes in his “natural” voice they were really jarring. It was almost like he was singing in two completely different voices, and that didn’t work at all. However, I really appreciate him taking this on. It was a massive risk, and while I don’t think it paid off completely it was great that he challenged himself. Still, I don’t think that makes it worth a touchdown. But this was only one song on a night where the Idols had two chances. His cover of “Transatlantacism” was brilliant, and made up for any weaknesses he showed earlier. I must admit, I’m an old fogie and I’d never heard the song but Matt performed it with so much conviction I didn’t need it to be familiar. Great stuff.
I had mixed feelings about Natalie Gauci last night. She took a song I love, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and ruined it in my opinion. It felt overblown and like just another diva number rather than the quirky heartfelt tune it is. But everyone else loved it, so what do I know. Then she took “Umbrella,” a song I despise with a burning fiery passion, and made it brilliant. It was another well-deserved touchdown and a great way to end the show.
Based on all that, I’m picking Daniel to go. Then again, I’ve been doing that for weeks and it still hasn’t happened. And no one thought Ben would leave last week, but he did. At this point, anything could happen.