Top 8 Go Acoustic
On Canadian Idol

The theme for the week was "unplugged" on Canadian Idol. Unfortunately, several contestants reverted to their old ways, making one wish their mics were the things unplugged. Despite working with Enrique Iglesias, most of the Top 8 did not let any of his pop star charisma rub off on them. There were a few good performances to be had, however, so it wasn't a total loss.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the CI5 Top 8: Unplugged.

Martha Joy "True Colors"
Destiny: I hated her phrasing and arrangement of this song (as usual with her). Her voice did sound better than normal, as I didn't really notice any terrible notes. With her overload of melancholy schmaltz, her best bet is to find the nearest cruise ship.
Score: 6.5
Liza: You didn't hear her veering out of tune on the glory note? It made me cringe. And I think that Haley Scarnato sang this way better than Martha Joy. I heard earlier in the week that someone was doing the Lea Salonga version of this song and knew immediately who would be singing it. And Martha Joy sang it exactly like how I would imagine Lea Salonga to interpret it.
Score: 6.0

Dwight D'Eon "Every Breath You Take"
Destiny: Good onya, Dwight. Great vocals and arrangement on this song. For the first time he commanded the stage and seemed like a pro. I am surprised that the judges did not like this.
Score: 8.9
Liza: I think this may be my favorite Dwight performance so far this season, mostly because he didn't scare me. Ironically, this could have been the one song where the scary intensity would fit, considering it's a song about a stalker. And I have to ask - Why is this turning into American Idol Top 10 night? This is the second song in a row now that was sung on Gwen Stefani night.
Score: 7.5

Jaydee Bixby "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)"
Destiny: Countrification! He sounded good, but he could have used more emotion and interpretation in this performance. I agree with the judges that it all felt forced and disconnected.
Score: 6.0
Liza: Ugh. Jaydee turned this song into a Hee Haw song. I totally agree with Jake - Jaydee had no idea what this song is about. He simply massacred this. And I'm kind of pissed about it.
Score: 3.0

Tara Oram "Heaven"
Destiny: Tara looked comfortable onstage and sounded good. Definitely upper middle of the pack this week.
Score: 7.5
Liza: Are we listening to different shows tonight? That was not a good vocal at all. She totally croaked on some of her notes. And Tara has gone Single White Female on Carrie Underwood! The facial expressions, some of the movements, the hair, the dress. Yikes!
Score: 6.0

Brian Melo "She Talks To Angels"
Destiny: Canadian Enrique meets Enrique! I laughed when the real Iglesias said that Brian seemed like a superstar who has sold millions of records. Uh, yeah, Enrique, that's because you thought you were looking in a mirror. Hee! I can't believe no one on the show picked up on this. It was almost like a SNL skit. Anyways, Brian's performance was great. He sounded good, and he commanded the song and stage like a champ.
Score: 8.9
Liza: Great song choice and great, great performance. Brian was the first to break out of Idol mode tonight. His vocal wasn't perfect, but any cracks that came out of that could be attributed to grit and intensity. Unlike everyone else, this performance felt real. And sorry - you're an island on this Enrique look-alike thing. Other than the hat, I don't see it. Shrugs.
Score: 9.5

Matt Rapley "Ain't No Sunshine"
Destiny: Guess the magic Matt produced last week was a total fluke, eh? This was traditional Rapley: mediocre vocals with zero personality. I do not get Zack's proclamation that Matt is the best vocalist this show has ever seen. He's a good singer, but he's no Toya Alexis.
Score: 6.5
Liza: Matt's no Christina Christian on this song, either! Even she gave a more believable performance of this song than Matt. Enrique gave good advice, but Matt didn't quite get it. The performance seemed way too casual, and there was no sense of urgency or the grit Enrique requested. Zack and Jake were right - he needed to kill those notes.
Score: 7.0

Carly Rae Jepsen "Torn"
Destiny: Great as usual. What else can I say? Love that voice.
Score: 9.0
Liza: Perfect song choice for her voice. She should kill this song, and she did, vocally. However, I thought she took way too long for the song to build because it seemed to be over almost immediately. I wanted more!
Score: 8.5

Greg Neufeld "I'm Ready"
Destiny: Greg sounded great on this song, but he's still missing real emotion and interpretation for me. He's a bit too stiff and guarded.
Score: 8.5
Liza: Can't say I'm too familiar with this song, but hearing Greg, I can totally imagine Bryan Adams singing it. Greg almost sounded like him at times! This acoustic thing is right up his alley. As is that green shirt. He looks awesome in it; it really brings out his eyes.
Score: 9.0

Who Should Be Eliminated
Destiny: Martha
Liza: Jaydee

Who Will Be Eliminated
Destiny: Matt
Liza: Martha Joy

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We Asked You, "Who Was The Best On CI Top 9 Week?"
32% Matt, 21% Carly Rae, 11% Jaydee,
11% Khalila, 8% Greg, 7% Martha,
5% Tara, 3% Dwight, 2% Brian

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