Following are a few comments from other websites and blogs about tonight's performance by Joplin's Asia'h Epperson on American Idol. Asia'h attended South Middle School from 2000 to 2003:
Idol Chatter on Austin 360- Asia’h delivers the first fashion head-scratcher of the night. Are those footie pajamas she’s wearing? Eek. An interesting take on a song that’s familiar to most, but it just didn’t work for us. She needed more energy — more something — to stand out from a surprisingly talented pack. Randy: “It was a tall order for you to take on but, you know, that’s the reason that we got you here. … You showed and proved tonight that you deserve to be here.” Our grade: C+
Michael Giltz, Huffington Post- She set the standard for the night with a competent, at best, version of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)." (Boy, the Eighties loved using parantheses in song titles, didn't they?) Asia'h had a cute outfit, continuing this season's very positive trend of the contestants dressing their age in a fun, sexy, but not slutty manner. The lower register is definitely easier for her and she sounded rough on the high notes early on. But this is one of the easier Whitney songs to tackle and it's right in her comfort range. Which makes it all the more notable that she was only ok at best. "I'll take second-rate Whitney" ain't exactly fighting words, Asia'h.
Entertainment Weekly- Second-rate Whitney. That's what Simon called her performance of I Wanna Dance With Somebody, which Randy couldn't help but mention he recorded with the Mistress of Crack back in the 1980s. I thought she sounded okay, but Randy and Paula were gushing over it. Still, good enough for the Top 12.
Rocky Mountain News- Asia'h Epperson, 19, kicked things off with I Wanna Dance with Somebody. She's no Whitney Houston (well, at least no pre-Bobby Brown Whitney), but she brought her own bubblegum sensibility. She had fun.
Blend Television- She was a roller skating extra in a movie (was it Goldmember?) and she slammed into something. She sings “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” She is so focused on getting down the stairs of the set that her first notes are really shaky, and not every note is hitting 100%. I think her voice is a little too smoky for this song, and by the end of it, she’s not strong enough to have a big finish. Randy admits he recorded the song with Whitney, and he thought it was hot, Paula thinks she pulled off and nailed it, and Simon is not is as enthusiastic, and that she’s a second rate impersonator. It was not even close to being her best performance, but it should be enough for her to avoid the cut.
Roanoke Times- Asia'H Epperson came out with a bang singing Whitney's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." At first I was nervous because anyone who tries to tackle Whitney, especially a fast song, usually fails. But Asia'H hit the nail on the head and it's mostly because of the emotion behind her voice.
Mom said she was one of the best she's heard sing a Whitney song. Simon compared her to a second-rate Whitney, to which Asia'H said she'd take that anyday.
Nancy Sluder, Asheville Citizen-Times- Coming down the stairs, Asia’s starts the show with the upbeat “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” It was ok, but once again, I think she picked a song that was too big for her voice, just as she did last week. Also, she added nothing new to the original, which, when you don’t change up Whitney Houston, you get compared to Whitney Houston. It wasn’t that her performance was bad, it just wasn’t anything special for me. 7 out of 10.
TMZ- The best performance was Asia'h Epperson, who sang "I Want to Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston.
Reality Check, Baltimore Sun- Asia'h Epperson says her most embarrassing moment (that's the question of the week) was being an extra on a movie about roller skating and totally falling in front of everyone. On stage, she sings Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The song really suits her voice, and she's having a good time, but she's definitely not doing anything new with it. Randy Jackson says he recorded that song with the great Whitney Houston and that even though it was a tall order for her to take on that song, "It was hot." Paula Abdul says she wondered whether she could pull it off, and, "You nailed it." Simon Cowell says he isn't quite as enthusiastic and that "at best it was second-rate Whitney Houston." But, with Ryan's prodding, Simon says he thinks it was good enough to get her through to next week.
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