Stonewall Sensation Week 8

It is now getting down to the wire as we say hello to our 5 remaining finalists.

Alex Amarosa

Sarah Cummings

Creighton Fraker

Jeff Jones

Sara Straw


This weeks Top 2 and Bottom 2


Top 2

with 50 votes Creighton Fraker

with 47 votes Sarah Cummings

Bottom 2

Sara Straw

Jeff Jones

This was a non elimination round so everyone was safe, but had some been eliminated it would have been Jeff Jones.

Alex Amarosa was safe in the middle as this weeks "Lucky Pierre" everyone likes to be in the middle.

Judges

MFI Ariel Sinclair

Poppi K

Adam Feldman

Guest Judge Beca Johnson Southward


Staffing the Circus

Brandon Cutrell Hosting

Kat, I know girl! I keep misspelling your name, Sherelle on the 88's

CT in the DJ booth

Lawerence and Mike getting us all drunk


All righty kids, so this week was Duets in the first ACT each pair had to sing a song of the judges choosing.


1st up Sara Straw and Creighton Fraker; Take me or Leave Me, From Rent, picked by Poppi K

This number was good they preceded it with a few lines prior to the song starting and the two played well off each other.

Sara sounded good but could tell that she needed a little bit more time with the song and on some of the higher parts. Breath control and projection still needs a little work but all in all well done Ms. Lady.
Creighton has great musicality, and played the audience well, singing the part of Maureen was perfect for his unique voice. Creighton has never had a problem with going all out and putting on a show for the audience, but in this case he may have been a little into the part and I felt he could have toned down the performance a little, and played it less campy. But still the two were fine together as a team.


2nd Duet Alex Amarosa and Sarah Cummings; Separate Lives, Phil Collins, picked by Adam Feldman. Now I have never heard of this song and candidly the two singers had said just as much to me. Both Alex and Sarah show that they are professionals and even though they both clearly struggled get through the song, they didn't wimp out and half ass it. At points the range was a bit high for Alex, but he went for it anyway. Sarah had a few flat notes as well but I think it was due to the fact that she wasn't totally behind the song. I will say Alex and Sarah sing well together but, I would have liked them to sing a different song. "Take me to the World" from Evening Primrose or "Elaborate Lives" from Aida would have suited them very nicely. But Thank you Adam Feldman for Challenging these kids.


3rd up Jeff Jones and Brook Ishibashi (last season's winner); A Whole New World, from Disney's Aladdin. All I have to say was Jeff and Brooke did such a great job. There is a reason why Brooke won last season and I love to hear her sing. Jeff has a nice baritone voice and had bit of a struggle to hit some of the higher notes in the song, a little more practice and he'll be fine.


Ok so I really didn't think the Duets went all that well this week. There were some good things about the performances but there were alot of things that went wrong. I don't know if each pair had a lot of time to rehearse together, but I think a little more rehearsal would have produced a better number on the whole.

Prior to intermission Brooke Ishibashi brought down the house with a great number that I forgot to write down, but thanks Brooke!!!!!

As the second act started up, we were entertained by the Inspirational styling of Ariel Sinclair with her show stopping tribute to and I quote our Host Brandon Cutrell "5 time Grammy award Winner and the best contemporary Christian singer to ever live!!!! Ms. Sandi Patty" Ariel gave us "Make his praise glorious" click on the link so see it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nd_0IDVpnI

So with the crowd full of the Holy Spirit or Jack Daniels, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference, we begin the solo portion of the show.

The Theme for the contestants was an Inspirational song of their choosing.

Sara Straw: Wild Angels, Martina McBride. I could tell that this song meant something to Ms. Straw. I felt that this week Sara decided to "Bring It" and she did very well with her song choice.
Alex Amarosa: Being Alive, Company. Alex gave us a very good rendition of this song and I could tell that this also meant something to him, and the depth of this song was expressed in his voice, he faltered towards the end of the song on a note or two but he still attacked the song with confidence. Alex got slightly slammed by the judges on his song choice, they felt he played it a little to safe. I would have suggested to him if he wanted to sing a song from company I would have chosen "Someone is Waiting" or "Marry Me a Little". But I think, "If you can find me, I'm here" from Evening Primrose, would be perfect for his voice.

Jeff Jones: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in; Hair. Jeff Jones gave us a wonderful up lifting number that will always gets the crowd going. He sang it very well and was spot on with the notes and the musicality of the piece. The only real suggestion I would have made was put a little more soul in the beginning of "Let the Sunshine In" the beginning of the song is slow and mournful like a funeral dirge and needs to be treated as such, then you break out with chorus.

Sarah Cummings: I do it anyway, Martina McBride. This girl has such a great voice and the song was perfect for her and I really enjoyed it. There was a slight touch of a "Miley" sound to her take on the song, which is not a bad thing. But try not to mimic, be yourself and find YOUR own voice and sound and use that when you sing.

Creighton Fraker: What if God was one of us? Joan Osborne. Ok this kid is a trip I can't express this enough. I have heard him sing all throughout this contest, and he keeps going and going, he has a following, and the judges seem to like him. Creighton's performance this week was well sung I guess and since it was a song sung by a girl it is perfect for his voice. The question I am wondering is if he can't help the fact that he sings in a high register? But it also seems like he is straining when he does sing that high, I know he is a man and I just wish he would allow his balls to drop and sing either in his chest voice or somewhere father down ,the boy has chops, but even Kurt Hummel from Glee sings in a low register every now and then. So Crieghton don't be scared to sing low, and like a man. You have the ability, talent, and showmanship to do great things just step out of your comfort zone.

This week had a some very interesting bits and pieces to it, and I can now see that the contestants are starting to take this more seriously, but I caution them to try and think about not just what they are going to sing but how. Really read into the lyrics of the song listen to the music and feel it in your soul and heart.
Next Week:
Songs by up and coming songwriters and Bartenders Choice.
See you at the Stonewall kids.