Huixian's breathing was obviously heavier than necessary for the performance. The way she stretched out her notes were also rather weak and a tad unstable and thus her control of her voice was not good enough - there were even two off-key words. Huixian also did not engage the audience once she reached the chorus and looked as if she was singing by herself by then. The judges were right as well to point out that the way she switched her notes could have improved even more and I also personally think that she had not found her true stage image between cuteness and maturity yet. Her scores were 6.5+8.0+6.0=20.5. I would have given her a 6.25.
F2 Agnes Low 卢慷倚 - 讨厌 by 芮恩
The song was quite a difficult one to perform but Agnes made a good attempt at it anyway. I was most impressed by the reach of her voice but her breath control was still unstable for fast tracks. I could also hear some of the endnotes being swallowed by the second stanza and Agnes' stage movement was rather stiff and un-creative other than the cap-throwing opening move. Her eyes were also not focused enough and she did not fully made use of it to captivate the audience at the final part of the song. Her scores were 6.0+7.0+6.5=19.5. I would have given her a 6.25.
F3 Teri Yeo 杨丽莹 - 心动 by 林晓培, Shino
I must admit I have serious expectations of this song because it happened to be one of my favourite songs during KTV and Teri did not sang well. Her endnotes and lownotes were weak and unstable and her pronunciation of the lyrics were worse than her previous performance. Her eyes were not focused, darting from place to place and her stage posture was stiff and lifeless. The judges were also correct to point out the poor position of her microphone even though I could still hear the sincerity of her singing, but sadly, not the sincerity of her stage presence. Her scores were 6.5+7.5+6.0=20.0. I would have given her a 5.50.
F4 Joanna Teo 张芮恩 - 不痛 by 张韶涵, Angela
A very brave attempt but Joanna to attempt what I would say as one of the most difficult songs in the market right now. Her reach of her voice was good and powerful and she sang with enough conviction in her voice even though her opening line was not audible and her eyes were a little dull and lifeless at the earlier parts of the song. Joanna's stage presence, however, was really lifeless and stiff and she did not make any use of her eyes n body to express herself better through the song. Just like Agnes, Joanna chosed to look away from the camera at the final part of the song and forfeited the chance to make a lasting impression with the performance. Her scores were 6.5+7.5+6.0=20.0. I would have given her a 6.25.
M1 He Guo Hao 许国豪 - 大城小爱 by 王力宏
Guohao's performance was quite nasal and he was really mincing his lyrics without actually singing the song. There was little groove and feel attached to the performance and his stage presence was way too stiff than necessary for the song. He could have moved more and posed a little more. Guohao sang off-key for a portion of the second part of the song and his frowning facial expression was not suited for the performance. I wished I could say nice things about his performance but I must be fair if I am to be credible to those following my series of posts for CSS 2. In short, Guohao did not do justice to Lee Hom's light-hearted song. His scores were 6.0+5.5+5.0=16.5. I would have given him a 4.50.
M2 Ngeow Zi Jie 饶梓杰 - 旋律 by 林宇中, Rynn
Xuan Lu was one of my song recommendations on my blog a couple of months back so I was having quite some expectations when Zijie chosed this song for his performance. Zijie did a reasonably well performance for vocal-wise but I penalized him badly for his stage presentation of the song. Firstly, his eyes were not focused and was darting but his falsetto was amongst the best tonight even though he did not reach the first falsetto portion (and he needed to use the bent-over technique to reach some parts of the song). I rather disliked the way he pushed his notes and his facial expression and body language were inappropriate for the feel of the song - too stiff and jarring. Zijie's lines were not soft enough so his chorus was not that distinctive but I liked his final falsetto because it was a good and memorable ending to his performance. His scores were 7.0+8.0+7.0=22.0. I would have given him a 6.75.
M3 Shawn Tok 卓轩正 - 星晴 by 周杰伦, Jay
Shawn opened up the song well with good stage movements but his flaws started as early as the first stanza. He could not really grasp the lownotes and those were shaky and sounded thin (I listened with earphones so I could hear the trembling behind the background music). Shawn's falsetto control was also quite strained and it was obvious from his facial expression as well, making the song less-hearted than it was originally meant to be. His gesticulation was almost done perfectly but I felt that the song was not felt correctly because he did not really seem to understand the lvel of light-heartedness portrayed by the song persona. His scores were 7.5+7.0+7.0=21.5. I would have given him a 6.50.
M4 Marcus Lee 李俊纬 - 其实还爱你 by 阿沁
Marcus's opening was quite weak and a bit too low and his vocals remained thin and thus not fully expressive, making his chorus not distinctive. His endnotes, as pointed out by the judges, were not properly stretched out and I would also comment on his left hand gesticulation, which could be improved. Marcus sang off-key for the "bu" in the later part of the song but I found that his overall performance was sincere and enjoyable enough even though he must learn to avoid smiling whenever he managed to hit the falsetto portions. He was also the only one who made good use of his eyes to lock the audience's attention at the final part of the song. His scores were 7.0+8.0+6.5=21.5. I would have given him a 6.50.
I received some private messages on how I grade the contestants and I must say it's not easy. For example, I must learn to see the performances not as copy renditions of the original singers but as unique performances from the individual contestants.
Why do I grade them? Because I enjoy listening to good singing & performances and if they can somehow benefit from my observations, I get to benefit as well because they represent the future music and entertainment scene in Singapore. I understand there may be pressure, anger, protests from supporters whenever a not-so-pretty review of their favourite contestants is made.
Am I harsh on them? Maybe. But I remembered how competitive the whole scene is and quality is not to be compromised, no matter how young and innocent the contestants are or how much blood and tears are shed in the process...Even if I don't have understanding from their supporters, I am sure the contestants who are reading this know why I am doing all these. Good luck to all of you contestants and never forget why you loved to sing and perform.
Beyond the fun, enjoyment and fame, there is discipline, hard work and determination - this is music.
My grading scheme:
Singing techniques subtotal: 5.0 (includes lyrics, pitching, falsetto, rapping, breath control, volume)
Song delivery subtotal: 2.5 (includes feel, groove, emoting, impact, reach)
Stage Presentation subtotal: 2.5 (includes attire, dance or movement, gesticulation, eye contact)
Grand Total: 10.0
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