The difficult decisions coming up

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This started out as a response to a comment on the Liveblog, but I seem to be unable to keep it concise.

And, well, I think that’s setting up a teeny bit of a false dichotomy, at least at this point in the competition. I love both Candice and Angie; they’re both super. Which one I like better varies nightly, and choosing between them in the final (what? no?) is going to be really hard. I think they’re equally talented singers, just with slightly different styles.

If I had to bet on who would be more successful commercially, I might be tempted to say Candice, but then again it’ll come down to what she ultimately records: hopefully she’ll rock it out like she did last night and on Come Together. Kelly Clarkson-style rock would really work for her, but if she records something like Tamyra Gray’s utterly forgettable album (I bet you’ve already forgotten it) then, well, she’ll do equally poorly. Luckily she’s a much stronger singer than Tamyra, and I imagine there are way more people looking to write for her voice than for Tamyra’s perfectly pleasant but far less exciting voice.

Angie, on the other hand, might end up another Idol-on-Broadway. She certainly can do that sort of thing, but I think there might be a place for her in the pop pantheon; unfortunately it would most likely be making music that I don’t particularly like, e.g. emo-ish stuff like Evanescence or what Colton Dixon sings. Then again, she could be the next Sara Bareilles; when she did her original song, it was much more reminiscent of that sort of thing, which I do like (albeit somewhat ashamedly).

And then there’s Kree… I do love me some Kree, even though I don’t really love me some country. But Kree is more versatile than many country people (I’m looking at you, Janelle), and she has a Liv Tyler-esque prettiness that I really appreciate. A top 3 of Angie, Candice, and Kree seems about right, but I’m just not sure which two will come out of it and which will be sent home. It may very well be that once Kree absorbs Janelle’s votes—I’m thinking Kree will outlast the less-talented Janelle easily—she may be able to surpass either Candice or Angie. For me it will probably come down to how I liked their performances on a given night, since cumulatively I can’t choose between the trio.

We got really lucky with the girls this year, huh?

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  • I agree with you in the sense that Candice and Angie are very different; however, Angie’s performances have not really caught my attention, I just don’t see (or hear) anything different in her, I feel she’s overrated. She’s young and pretty, she’s talented too, and even if she doesn’t win, she still might have a solid career. On the other hand, Kree is fantastic as well, I am not really into country, but that girl’s got it. With the pace we’re going, I agree that the top 3 will most likely be Kree, Angie, and Candice. But I strongly feel that Candice and Kree are more original than Angie.

  • GraemeCrackers

    I agree except when you factor in Angie’s songwriting ability, she then becomes much more original. Just my opinion

    • jessica_dennis

      You know what I wonder, though? I wonder if Angie has written more than just that one song. I don’t know that she’s interesting enough that real (good) songwriters would get excited about writing for her. So I don’t know!

      • And you know what? I think she needs to mature a little bit more, as an artist and as a person.. She’s too young, give it a year or two and she would be THE bomb. There’s just something that’s not fully clicking for me now.

        • jessica_dennis

          Yeah, I can definitely see where you’re coming from. Sometimes, in between the hair and eyes you notice Angie’s not actually doing anything that interesting, and she does sing the occasional bum note (I can’t recall any instances of Candice doing so offhand). But she’s definitely got something, though you’re absolutely right that Candice is the more mature artist. In short, no, I couldn’t possibly be more wishy-washy about the two of them.

  • Dindo

    I would love for Angie to win this whole thing! I don’t find Candice very exciting. Kree, in my opinion, is more exciting. It’s probably going to be Angie-Kree in the finale. IMO