Mixed Bag
The last three performances received some mixed reviews from the judges. Kristy Lee Cook chose 'Coat of Many Colors.' Randy stated that country music was definitely Kristy Lee's 'wheelhouse.' What's a wheelhouse? Paula called the performance 'beautiful' and threw in that Kristy Lee looked beautiful as well. Simon thought her performance last week was better and this week was 'pleasant but forgettable.' As Ryan relayed Kristy Lee's voting information, she saucily said to Simon, 'Thank you Simon.I love you,' and then blew him a kiss. The sweet little country girl certainly has some moxie doesn't she?
Syesha Mercado chose 'I Will Always Love You.' Yes, that's a Dolly Parton song made famous by Whitney Houston. We were wondering which version Syesha would go with - Dolly's version which Dolly declared as 'simplicity' or Whitney's powerhouse performance with all the runs so that it sounds more like, 'I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I will aaallllllllllwwwwaaaaayyyyys looooooooooooooove youuuuuuuuuuuu.' It started off like Dolly's version but then it turned into a pale imitation of Whitney's. It's really, really hard to sing like Whitney, much less 'signature Whitney Houston.' Randy pretty much stated as such saying Syesha tried to take on the 'biggest tiger' of the night, and she wasn’t particularly successful. Paula threw out the 'connect with the audience' compliment and said Syesha looked beautiful in her canary yellow dress. Simon echoed Randy's sentiment that Syesha's version paled in comparison to Whitney's.
Finally, Michael Johns closed out the show with a performance of 'It's All Wrong, but it's All Right.' Dolly stated that she hoped Michael becomes a star because she'd like to write some songs for him. Now that's high praise! Randy called the performance 'blazing hot.' Paula declared that Michael was a 'star, a rock star, a blues star.' Simon thought it was the best he's heard Michael sing.