Showing posts with label jen hirsh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jen hirsh. Show all posts

Thursday, February 16, 2012

American Idol Season 11: From Hollywood to Vegas

This week on American Idol, the remaining hopefuls were put through the test of putting on not one, but two, group performances. Traditionally, the group rounds prove to be a challenge for many contestants, as it is not an easy task to successfully blend multiple different voices together while highlighting your own vocal strengths in a matter of two minutes. While several performers fell (some quite literally), many saw their stock in the competition rise. These were two of my favourite group performances from Hollywood and Vegas (on the Viva Elvis stage).


Groovesauce (consisting of Reed Grimm, Creighton Fraker, Aaron Marcellus, Nick Boddington, and Jen Hirsh) singing Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming". With their high energy, strong vocal solos, and great background harmonization, it was like this group wandered off of The Sing-Off set and onto the Idol stage! Groovesauce (minus Reed) teamed up again in Vegas as 'The Lady and the Spectacles' for "Sealed With a Kiss".


There were so many solid and diverse performances during Vegas Week. The most memorable one for me was this funkified rendition of Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" by Jessica Sanchez, Deandre Brackensick, and Candice Glover. These three young powerhouses were finally able to show off their vocal prowess with big notes, high notes, and several incredible runs. I appreciated their fearlessness and fine usage of hairography.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Rising Stars: Jen Hirsh



I finally found a favourite on American Idol! Meet Jen Hirsh from Agoura, California. Idol fans may remember her as the girl who auditioned with a jazzy rendition of "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead" (complete with scatting!) during Season 9. Jen is back to compete in Season 11, and she has proven herself to be a serious contender! Her Hollywood Week performance of Patty Griffin's Up To The Mountain blew me away. She has such a clear, soulful voice and a wonderful sense of melody - signs of someone with true artistry in their bones! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on Jen.

See Jen perform "The Better Half", a song from her pre-Idol album, Myself in Two, in the video above.

Fun fact: Jen is a member of the Beantown Swing Orchestra. See her serenade Idol Season 3 alum, John Stevens, in this music video for "The Trolley Song"!