Performance Reviews for Fantasia Barrino: Top 32 Performance Man! With performances like that Fantasia Barrino is destined to be the next American Idol! She absolutely knocked our socks off with her energetic singing with that crazy beautiful personality of hers blasting through. The range and tone of Fantasia's voice is amazing and the cadence is nothing short of unbelievable. Randy Jackson knows it when he said this is what the competition is all about and Paula Abdul backed him up by saying that this show, this season, must have Fantasia as part of it. Even Simon chimed in by saying that Fantasia didn't need this competition to make because she is already a star! Go Fantasia!!! Top 12 Performance Fantasia was born with soul! How can you not when your Mom (Diane) is a preacher and your Dad (Joe-Joe) plays bass. I knew Fantasia would wow us and she did just that with her mind-blowing rendition of Signed, Sealed, Delivered. She came out with energy written all over her face and man but her voice is just so unique and beautiful! Randy Jackson told her she brought the house down tonight and Paula Abdul said that she owns this stage, you're amazing. Simon Cowell summed it all up by simply stating that she was the real thing. Top 11 Performance Fantasia was looking oh so elegant and beautiful in that black sparkling dinner dress. Her voice singing Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson was just plain ethereal. I love the cadence in her voice and what that can do to a song. Randy Jackson said that she is proving now that she can do a controlled performance. Paula Abdul echoed my sentiments by saying she was the beautiful and elegant lady tonight. Simon Cowell said that she has proven tonight that she is not a one-trick pony. Top 10 Performance So this week, it was Motown week on American Idol. The backup band was none other than The Funk Brothers who's career high note might probably just be receiving two Grammy's for their work on the movie Standing in the Shadow of Motown. Sandwiched between the usual judges were guest judges Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson who's string of Motown hits is probably best hilighted by Ain't No Mountain High Enough, I'm Every Woman and Solid. Fantasia is so unique and so beautiful and the way she sang I Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye just sent chills up and down my spine. She could take any song and make it sound fantastic and that's what she did to this one. Randy Jackson thought it was absolutely brilliant and Paula Abdul loved the way she worked the stage. Guest judge Nick said that Fantasia should be Fantastic and Simon Cowell finished it off by saying "That performance proved my point... superb." Top 9 Performance This was Elton John night and the idols were all showed oohing and aahing over Elton before we cut to the main chase. Elton John said that the way Fantasia sang the song she chose was the best that that song had ever sounded and he would give her a record contract right then and there. Elton said that! And the song Fantasia chose to sing was Something About The Way You Look Tonight. Fantasia was looking very elegant in that black evening dress and starting out her performance from amidst the audience was a great touch. Randy Jackson said she did this song proud and that she sounded like a young Aretha Franklin. Paula Abdul remarked that there was nothing she didn't love about Fantasia. Simon Cowell thought it was the weakest performance in the competition so far. Top 8 Performance This was movie night and each of the Idols got to tell us what their favourit movie was and why, as well as the song they had chosen to sing tonight. To top it all off, their was a very kewl guest judge in the form of Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2 writer/director Quentin Tarantino (who also brought us such greats as Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and the immortal Pulp Fiction). Fantasia's favourite movie was last year's classic from Pixar Finding Nemo and she would be singing the Gershwin classic Summertime (which, for me, is tough, because nobody on this planet can touch Jenny Gear's version of Summertime... nobody, not even Fantasia, and she did a damn fine job of it). With that being said, Fantasia's performance was just plain magic. She made her version shine. Randy Jackson said that that was the single best Idol performance ever. I missed Paula Abdul but Quentin Tarantino said that that was the bomb, and Fantasia was the bomb. Simon Cowel said that there was something magical about what she just did. Top 6 Performance First off, I would like to apologize for not doing any reviews last week. I had some family stuff come up and missed the entire week. For reviews and discussions of last week's performances, I would refer you to our forums where I'm sure you can find some good discussions on them. With that being said, this week the Top 6 (I can't believe we're down to six!) took on the extreme challenge of Latin Pop and the music of Gloria Estafan. Poor John! He's definately the disadvantaged one this week. Gloria Maria Fajardo was born September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba. She came to Miami less than two years later when her parents were forced to flee from the government of Fidel Castro. The day after her 21st birthday she married Emilio Estefan (born March 4, 1953), the leader of the Miami Sound Machine. Gloria has a son, Nayib (born September 2, 1980) and a daughter, Emily Marie (born December 5, 1994). (Taken from here.) Some of Gloria and the Miami Sound Machine's more famous compilations include Eyes of Innocence (1984), Primitive Love (1985), Cuts Both Ways (1989) and Greatest Hits (1992). Fantasia was first up on the night and she had chosen to sing Get On Your Feet. She was wearing a very pretty and colorful spring dress and the look brought some energy to the performance but I honestly felt like it was lacking a bit and it takes a lot for me to say that of Fantasia. All in all, I think this was a pretty tough genre of music for her. I missed what Randy Jackson said but it was something negative. Paula Abdul told her she gave it her all and that she looks great. Gloria Estefan told Fantasia that she hadn't sang a bad note the whole competition. Simon Cowell thought she sounded like a cartoon character. Top 5 Performance This week was probably like a knife in the back to last week's evicted Idol, John Stevens, as the teen crooner surely would have shone with this week's theme of Big Band Week. Some of the big names that go hand-in-hand with the sounds of Big Band are ones like Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsie, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennet. Fantasia did something really different from the rest by singing This Thing Called Love by Queen in a Big Band style. I thought this was an absolutely brilliant move to take a recognizable pop song and twist it to sound like big band. Fantasia is FANTASTIC! Her voice is magic and the most unique and inspirational of those left. In her little speach between songs she said that that song reminded her of her little brother and that the next song by Barbara Streisand was one she chose so that she could sing it for her little girl. Now Fantasia pulled off her second brilliant move of the night. Everyone else started with a soft first song and went faster with the second song. Fantasia did the opposite and it worked to brilliant effect. It got the audience excited with the first tune and then brought the focus and and attention directly to her with the second song. Brilliant! Randy Jackson totally echoed my thoughts by saying that song was brilliant and Fantasia was brilliant. Paula Abdul, with makeup running down her cheeks, said that Fantasia had brought her to tears and she didn't know what to say. Simon Cowell said that her and LaToya were just in a different league than everyone else. Top 4 Performance This week's theme proved to be Disco Night! Alright, time for the remaining divas to shine and strut their stuff! It was great to see Donna Summers as a guest judge, and man, this lady is one cool cat. When asked what she was looking for in the contestants she said she was aiming to see uniqueness, self possession and star quality. Lots of that here! They gave a brief overview of Donna's discography which included 1975's Love to Love You Baby and 1977's Last Dance (which was nominated for an Oscar). It was also pointed out that she is the only artist ever to have three consecutive #1 platinum albums. Fantasia's first performance of the evening was Knock On Wood and she showed such great energy after the first two performances. She is giving it her all, her crowd interaction, her enthusiasm, everything about Fantasia is just infectious. Simon noted again that she is different and that performance was great. Donna Summers simply called her fabulous and Paula Abdul said that she has always known how to pick the right song. Randy Jackson said that you could feel the spirit of the song in her voice. For her second song of the night she sang Holding Out For a Hero. Fantasia is unreal! I guarantee you we are looking at the next American Idol. Simon Cowell said that he actually didn't like that and Donna Summers echoed my thoughts by saying she could sing the newspaper to her and she would still love it. Paula Abdule remarked that she didn't know why she picked that song and Randy Jackson said that it doesn't matter what song Fantasia chooses, she can still sing. Congratulations Fantasia for making it to the Final 3! Featured Article: Willam Hung: Singing The Boos (CBS) For William Hung, it was a homecoming with his own back-up dancers. It was the engineering student's first performance on his University of California at Berkeley campus since he burst to fame on the TV show “American Idol” singing “She Bangs.” National Correspondent Hattie Kauffman reports. Despite judge Simon Cowell's predictable disdain, Hung won America's hearts with his simple enthusiasm. On the show Hung admitted to Simon, “You know, I have no professional training of singing.” To which Simon ironically remarked, “No.” Asked then what is the reason Hung is so popular, he says, “Because I believe it’s my personality and attitude toward life.” Some people say that they love him because he is so honest. Hung agrees, “I'm genuine, yes,” he says. The new-found fame has been quite hard to believe, Hung says, “I'm surprised, definitely, but I just got to do my best and go with it.” You know you're famous when you're parodied on “Saturday Night Live.“ After watching a skit about himself, Hung says with a laugh, “I have to say it’s funny.” On a fan Web site more than 70,000 people have written to say they want him back on “American Idol.” And Wednesday night, he got some more good news. Marc Juris, president of Fuse Music Television announced, “We're here tonight, Fuse and Kotch Entertainment. to offer William a real-life, no-kidding-around record contract.” Hung is still thinking about the offer and is undecided. He says, “Until I review the details, not yet.” To further his career, he's taking singing lessons and says he is not afraid of losing his fans once his performance gets polished. On the contrary, he says, “I think I'll fare better because the fans already like me; then I should deal with the critics.” Who knows whether people will actually buy his album? But he can definitely draw a crowd. Wednesday night's volleyball game has a bigger turnout than normal. It's all because of Hung. He sang “She Bangs" for the crowd and received huge applause. Kauffman asks the crowd about what they think of Hung and one man says, “He's the next American icon, bigger than Jimi Hendrix was in his day.” A woman notes, “I love the way he came back at Simon. It’s about dignity.” No matter whether he can sing or not, “That doesn't matter, it’s about dignity,” she says. And the back-up dancers say they would be happy to sing on his album. “We'll be your back-up dancers anytime. We'll go on tour with him,” they say. Girls even brought banners with “We love you William!" written on them. Hung, who also sang an unprecedented four songs on “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” sang a few bars of “She Bangs” for The Early Show. There's a chance that William Hung might still have a shot at being the next "American Idol," if fans are offered the opportunity to choose him as a "wild card" pick. Well, we can't wait to hear what Simon says. Read more articles Official Idol Website Initial Interview: Q. When did you first start to sing? A. When I was about 5 years old. Q. Do you have any formal singing training? A. No. It all came from the man, God. Q. What other talents do you have? A. None. Q. If you don’t make it on AMERICAN IDOL, what will you do? A. I’m gonna keep on fighting for my dreams. Q. What are your personal goals in life? A. To be a star before I die. Q. What album would your friends be surprised you own? A. Aerosmith. Q. What is the first CD you ever bought? A. Monica/Brandy. Q. What is in your CD player right now? A. Fantasia Barrino. Ha! Q. Who is your AMERICAN IDOL? A. Nobody. Q. What is your favorite type of music? A. I like it all. Q. What is your favorite song to sing? A. "Change Gonna Come." Q. Favorite male pop artist? A. Nobody. Q. Favorite female pop artist? A. Pink. Q. Favorite album of all time? A. Aretha Franklin. Q. Who in the music world do you think your style is most like? A. No one. I try to be Fantasia. Q. Most embarrassing moment? A. When I was going up to sing, I fell down and people started laughing. Q. If you couldn’t sing, which talent would you most like to have? A. I would like to act some. Q. What has been your proudest moment in life so far? A. Having my child. Q. What is your definition of an AMERICAN IDOL? A. First of all, an Idol is someone that you can look up to, someone who carries themself in a way that people will look up to them. Q. Why do you want to be an AMERICAN IDOL? A. I feel like it’s my time and I’m ready for America. Q. Who is your favorite judge and why? A. Simon. He is real. Q. Who is your least favorite judge and why? A. I like them all. Q. What advice do you have for other hopefuls? A. Be yourself. Q. What would people be surprised to learn about you? A. I am crazy.