After the wildcard round last night, Australian Idol is one step closer to the finals. Tonight we’ll discover the four singers who’ll round out the top 12, and the games will really start. All the singers last night knew they needed to really impress to earn their place amongst the chosen ones. Some people brought their “A Game,” yet others failed to live up to expectations.
Jack Byrnes kicked off the show with his take on The Doobie Brothers’ classic “Long Train Runnin’.” I love Jack’s energy, and he has a really distinctive voice. Yet I find his performance a bit affected. It seems like he’s more interested in the big notes and how the song goes together rather than what’s behind it. He just feels false to me.
No one could say the same thing for our next performer Husny Thalib. It was a very different Husny this week. The flashy campiness of his Lenny Kravitz cover was a world away from his take on “I Believe.” It certainly wasn’t perfect. This bare bones track exposed every one of Husny’s vocal weaknesses. But, for some reason, it didn’t matter. He was just so believable, so passionate, and I found that so much more compelling. You can teach someone how to sing with the right training, but you can’t teach someone how to really interpret the way Husny does. I loved it.
Carl Riseley really surprised me with his swing interpretation of The Everly Brothers’ smash, “Bye Bye Love.” I didn’t particularly like the arrangement, but his vocals were much stronger than I’ve heard before. This kid’s really improving. He’s got to learn some stage presence and how to move, but just look how far he’s come. Last night I finally saw him though Marcia’s eyes.
Sarah Lloyde did her best to show her diversity with the sassy Christina Aguilera hit, “Candyman.” She’s vocally very strong, but the arrangement really let her down. I know it must be hard to compress a song into one and a half minutes, but there was too much dead time here. Even when she was singing, most of it was just ad-libbing and wailing. She’s a real talent, but this just didn’t show us that. I absolutely loved her outfit though.
Another talent who suffered from another underwhelming performance was Dave Andrews. He tackled “The Dolphin’s Cry,” a risky move that didn’t pay off. He certainly had the right intensity in the first verse, but somewhere in there it became karaoke to me.
Early favourite Daniel Mifsud delivered the sort of performance I’d hoped he would. I must admit, I was nervous when I heard he’d chosen “Lay Your Love On Me.” It was more of the same middle of the road soft rock that saw him miss out last time. Yet the arrangement was genius, and that saved this from being more forgettable blandness. Yes, yes, yes.
Natalie Gauci was another early favourite who used the wildcard to show why she deserved to be in the top 12 all along. Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” was the perfect song choice for her – strong, different, and feminine. I loved the way she used the stage, and she sang flawlessly. Natalie’s never really put a foot wrong in the competition, and I’m almost positive she’ll be in the top 12 after this.
Mark Da Costa closed the show with more straight-up rock, this time a cover of “Evie Part 1.” Mark’s another performer with great energy, but I still can’t see what the judges are raving about. His voice has a wonderful rock and roll rasp, but it seems like he falls off just about every note. He’s good, but I don’t think he’s that good.
So who’ll go through? My money’s on Daniel Mifsud, Mark Da Costa, and Natalie Gauci. The judges rave about these three so much that I’m sure they’ll choose whoever the viewers don’t. The fourth spot is really anyone’s guess. I’d love to think it’ll be Husny, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the safer performers like Sarah or Jack get a run.