***Official Top 9 Show Thread***

[soflat]

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IMO the problem people are having with Melinda is not that she's boring - it's that she's so much better than this weak field that she's making this season boring. Which is not her fault. As a tennis fan, I'd compare it to how people think Roger Federer is boring because he's so much better at tennis than anyone else, and makes it look so easy.

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She's boring and the season is boring.

Competitions are boring when it is not close.

Performers are boring when they have dull personalities polished by personal stylists and coaches and they go out and do the same act every week. She's not the only one who's boring, they all are except that goofy Indian kid.

Watch the ratings slide and tell us America is not bored.

[GoRedBirds]

For anyone who appreciates music, Melinda is not boring. For those who like drama and trainwrecks, she is. If the ratings slide, it is because people were tuning in to watch people fail. I'm all for personal taste and its inherent subjectivity, but Melinda>>>>>>every other contestant in just about every aspect of vocal performance.

[Aloysius]

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For anyone who appreciates music, Melinda is not boring. For those who like drama and trainwrecks, she is. If the ratings slide, it is because people were tuning in to watch people fail. I'm all for personal taste and its inherent subjectivity, but Melinda>>>>>>every other contestant in just about every aspect of vocal performance.

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GRB - completely agree that technically and in execution... Melinda is very good. I just don't love the tonal quality etc. of her voice. I prefer Jordin's overall sound. I really like and appreciate music also.

It seems America disagrees with me, but that's my subjective opinion on the overall "sound" of Melinda.

Factor in that I don't enjoy watching her perform that much, and that her overall package seems to lack personality (this is obviously, also entirely subjective).

And to clarify - by "personality" I don't really mean "do I want to be friends with / hang out with this person." It's a performer's personality and how it evolves / comes off on stage - Sinatra had a great one (assume we are absent any info of his personal life) as does Bennett.

Compared to Lakisha and Jordin (Lakisha has an edge here for me because she is a much more dynamic performer), I find Melinda's personality quite blah.

For Jordin - technically her breathing was way off at the beginning of her performance last night (she was gasping and not singing from her diaphragm, it was blatant)... but she doesn't get a demerit for me here. In fact, it makes her seem more human and imbues her with some personalitiy. It rounds her out - she's the young, inexperienced, bubbly but very talented girl. What is Melinda? A chick with no neck I guess.

Also obviously some people are turned off by Jordin's "personality" (e.g. Joker I know is *not* a fan), but I find it endearing.

-Al

[GoRedBirds]

Al,

Yeah, I get where you're coming from with backing the "more human" underdog. I bet a lot of people feel that way, actually. She's like Sly in Rocky IV. Any of the Rockies, I guess (except for V... which never happened). And the competition would be more successful and more fun if Blake or Jordin really knock the next few weeks out of the park.

As far as Lakisha, I know all of us in the forum are a little TOO into AI either financially or otherwise, but doesn't she come off as a little bitchy? She seems to get a few demerits in my book from that personality angle because she doesn't seem to like anyone else and has that scowl of death half of the time she's not performing. I bet that's part of the reason she's been slipping (as far as we know) in relation to the smaller voices.

[LKJ]

I don't know how bitchy she comes off, though I don't think she has very high likeability points...also, when Sligh was hugging everyone at the end of last week's results show, his brief hug of Lakisha seemed like by far the coldest one. Possible personality insight.

[thing85]

I'm not sure about what kind of person Lakisha really is, but Melinda definitely appears much nicer. I remember Simon making a comment about that a few weeks ago, something along lines of "Melinda, are you really as nice as you seem?"

My guess is that Melinda is actually a really sweet girl, and my hunch is that the viewers sense this too. She may lack "personality," whatever that may mean, but she seems to be likable. Lakisha - meh.

[Aloysius]

LKJ / GRB - yeah I think that we here may have, at the beginning, overestimated Lakisha's personality helping her. The final 24 selection day (where she kind of held in tears and walked away wiping her eyes after learning she made the cut) - I thought was endearing and played up the whole "I'm a single mom bankteller have sympathy for me" angle.

Haven't seen that since, and not sure if she's coming off arrogant / bitchy but I can see how someone thinks that.

-Al

[revots33]

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For Jordin - technically her breathing was way off at the beginning of her performance last night (she was gasping and not singing from her diaphragm, it was blatant)... but she doesn't get a demerit for me here. In fact, it makes her seem more human and imbues her with some personalitiy. It rounds her out - she's the young, inexperienced, bubbly but very talented girl.

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I dunno, isn't this giving someone points for NOT singing well? Would people like Melinda more if she sang like she was breathing through an oxygen mask?

[Aloysius]

Revots - well her poor breath control at the beginning was off-set by (imo) a great middle and ending. She sounded great last night (again, I just really like the overall sound of her voice, very bright and great tonal quality).

Also her gasping for breath, I didn't think it was so jarring that it really takes away from her performance in a meaningful way.

-Al

[GoRedBirds]

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I dunno, isn't this giving someone points for NOT singing well? Would people like Melinda more if she sang like she was breathing through an oxygen mask?

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It's like in any sport. People like the favorites because they're exceptionally good at what they do. Other people like the underdogs because they have some connection to them and want to see someone knock down Goliath. I think last year Taylor had that underdog vibe and connected with a lot of people. Sure he sounded pretty good, but he didn't win only because of his voice. I'm 100% in the Melinda camp on this one, but I can see the other side. People connect to voices for many reasons. Some of the most successful vocalists ever aren't very good singers.