RANDY
This week, Randy was clearly aware of the artists who first performed the contestants' songs. He was so won over by Chris Richardson's rendition of Jason Mraz's ''Geek in the Pink,'' for example, that he declared Richardson's take ''hotter than the original!''
Ace: Yeah, I'm sure [Randy] got a call from Jason. [Chris Richardson's performance] was definitely one that got everybody up and moving around, so I was really impressed. With a song like that, I don't think you can ever compare to the original artist. Jason's the one who sang it to begin with, so he's the inspiration for Chris to even do it. So if you try to compare it, then what do you compare it to? The recorded track? Some footage of [Mraz] performing it live? It's too complicated to even try.
Amy: Oh, I'm a huge Jason Mraz fan, so when Randy was like, ''Yeah, that's better than Jason Mraz'': No, no no, and no. Honestly, Chris Richardson is good, but vocally I don't think he can really touch Jason Mraz.
Anthony: I think it was just as good [as Jason]. I just don't want to say that somebody did a better job [singing a song] than somebody else. I couldn't sing that, to be honest with you. The phrasing there was sick, absolutely sick.
The next night, when Stephanie Edwards tore into Beyoncé's ''Dangerously in Love,'' Randy said he liked Edwards' voice but her take on the song was too ''Beyoncé-like.''
Ace: When has that ever been a bad thing? You're talking about a multiplatinum artist. Anything that you do that would sound more and more like her as you're finding your own voice is a good move.
Amy: Yes, I almost thought Stephanie was trying to copy even Beyoncé's runs. There were parts in the song where she was falling behind [the music]; Beyoncé never falls behind. It's Beyoncé's song. She was trying too hard to be Beyoncé and not trying hard enough to be herself.
Anthony I would have to disagree with [Randy]. Although she does sound like Beyoncé, I think she brought her own style to it. My whole life, I've always been compared [vocally] to Marc Anthony. At a point, I did [sound like him], but I've really gotten away from him at this point, and I know how it feels to be compared to [a famous singer] all the time. I think she did a phenomenal job with the song. I actually liked that she was Beyoncé-ish-ish, but not Beyoncé-ish.
And Randy said Celine Dion's ''Because You Loved Me'' was ''too big'' for Antonella Barba.
Anthony: I agreed with him. There are certain singers you don't touch unless you're truly capable of performing that kind of music. No knock on Antonella — I think she has a really sweet voice — but you can't choose songs like that if you know you're not going to do as good of a job or better. And you can't sing better than Celine Dion, bottom line.
Ace: Antonella's still around, so she's got the American public behind her. As long as she feels good about it, that's all that matters.
Amy: She needs to just go home and keep singing in her shower. It's really bad. I'm sorry.
NEXT PAGE: Our panelists on Paula
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