Mindy Moore’s Vocal Masterclass Article For American Idol Season 11 Top 13 Singers

The MCL Community is blessed with very knowledgeable and extremely dedicated readers who love to contribute their perspective on the joy – and art – of singing.

One such person is Mindy Moore! Immediately after the show ended, she submitted this analysis of each singer and, I have to say, it closely mirrors my Top 13 Vocal Masterclass article .

Enjoy the read and don’t forget to add your views in the comments area. Great work Mindy!

Joshua – “I Wish” – This was an energetic performance from start to finish. He took the great advice from Mary J. Blige to really get into the feel of this song and deliver a lively performance. I loved the accappella part, very nice, and also that great run he included near the end. A great way to end the song. There was great movement toward the audience to connect with them. Vocals were solid. The only thing is starting first, which can be a disadvantage. Overall, good job!

Elise – I think Jimmy and Mary J. did her a favor by steering her away from “Greatest Love of All”. She doesn’t have the power to for that song. She has this bluesy, r&b soul voice that is quite distinctive. I think the choice of “I’m Your Baby Tonight” was a much better one, but Elise never seemed comfortable with it. She seemed to be fighting the melody all the way. I don’t know if it was lack of rehearsal time, not liking the song itself or what, but Elise just never seemed to find her way. I heard some off key notes, in particular struggling with her lower range. She seemed to have the most trouble with the chorus. I have yet to see what this girl can really do. I know there is a wonderful voice inside her, but she has to find the right song that works for her.

Jermaine – “Knocks Me Off My Feet” – Oh how I love, love his voice! It gives me chills. He is so technicall gifted that his only problem is that he can get caught up in the notes and forget about connecting with the song. I agree with JLo here. He needs to get into the song and feel the emotion. The voice is there. He’s got the goods. One issue was in the chorus. I am not sure what happened. Randy said it was the way he changed the melody. I wondered if he went off key a bit. He doesn’t need frills or anything fancy. Just let that voice soar and tell us a story. His performance skills could use some improvement. Just loosen it up a little and reach out and grab that audience!

Erika – “I Believe in You and Me” – Great song choice for her! I love her lower register. She articulated the words, no breathiness. She has such beautiful tone in her voice, a lovely, rich quality. I thought she managed to get into the song and feel the words and emotion to deliver a nice interpretation. I loved that there was very little accompaniment, allowing her voice to shine.

Colton – “Lately” – He was way out of his comfort zone with Stevie Wonder. I thought he had a rough beginning, breathy on the lower notes and losing them. I saw some facial tension and poor posture in the beginning, but I could sense him relax and work through it, getting better throughout the performance. He did a good job with a different genre of music and showed a tender, vulnerable side.

Shannon – “I Have Nothing” – I had high hopes for this girl. She certainly showed in rehearsal that she has the pipes for this song. Mary J. gave her valuable advice about not thinking about the notes and feeling the song. Unfortunately, Shannon came out and did exactly what Mary J. advised against. Her nerves got the better of her and you could see in her eyes that she was thinking about hitting every note. When she went for that high note, I could see that she wasn’t going to make it. You have to let go and just flow with the song and trust in your voice to get the job done. She has a beautiful voice, which we did see in parts of the song, but tension takes a toll on vocals. Her voice cracked on that high note and my heart went out to her. She is so much better than what we saw tonight.

DeAndre – “Master Blaster” – What a great opening! I loved seeing Deandre walk down those stairs. This young man is oozing charisma and stage presence. You can’t take your eyes off him. I liked seeing do this reggae version, reminiscent of Naima last season. I also appreciated him only using the falsetto sparingly when the song called for it. Well done! I think he could try to articulate the words better. He is unique and totally his own.

Skylar – “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” – Tonight this girl showed me what she’s got. I think she was initially uncomfortable with Mary J.’s suggestion of starting off softly and slowly. That’s why the beginning seemed a little shaky. Then she got off the stool and walked towards the audience and started to let the momentum build. Great job! She brought this song to a great crescendo and when she was in her power zone, she really brought the goods. Well done! Outstanding!

Heejun – “All in Love is Fair” – This was a better song choice than last week’s “Angel”. He had some problems with his lower register. There was a lot of breathiness and the words were lost. However, when he hit his sweet spot, the lovely tone of his voice was showcased. I still think he is capable of even more.

Hollie – “All the Man That I Need” – I admit that I was anticipating hearing this little girl take on a big Whitney power song. What a voice! Wow! She seems so confident and commands the stage with that amazing voice. Beautifully done. One of the real standout performances of the night. One very slight comment – at the end with the high note, she lifted her head. She has to visualize singing over that note and keeping her head level. As good as she is, she will sound even better. Bravo!

Jeremy – “Ribbon in the Sky” – One of my all time favorite Stevie Wonder songs, but incredibly hard to sing. I will have to leave this to MCL, but I wondered if he was singing in a key that was too high. Or else it was just the difficulty of the song, with, the key changes and melodic shifts. He has a wonderful voice and brings such feeling to this performance, but he missed that high note near the end and that kind of made it end on a low note. This is such a hard song to pull off.

Jessica – “I Will Always Love You” – What can I say? The biggest risk of the night and the best performance! The acappella beginning was amazing. I think what made this so extraordinary is the fact that she didn’t have the time that you would normally have to build to that big high note. She had to go for it earlier and that made it even harder. But she was so present in the song and it all flowed so beautifully, almost effortlessly. Then she went seamlessly to the very soft, sweet, lilting ending. I have no words, except to give her a standing “O”! Bravo, Bravo!

Philippe – “Superstition” – He had the misfortune of following Jessica. There was way too much backup in this performance. I could barely hear him and he seemed to force his vocals in order to be heard. He had backup singers, musicians all over the place. I think less would have been more, in this case. He is original and creative, but I don’t know that his version worked. I think he was pushing his vocals from his throat way too much. He is very talented, but I think this didn’t quite come together.