Jake Dee – “Yesterday”

Steven: I do agree that it was a slow and sincere performance…but you were overshadowed by the background in the second part of the song. It had the emotion, but it I wanted some of the louder dynamics because this song is not only slow and emotional, but I find it to be all dramatic. But none of the less, this performance showed tons of control, originality, and I actually thought this was your best vocal performance. There’s one thing people who know Jake as that he doesn’t adapt, he creates a mold. And you consistently do that with non r&b songs. That’s one heck of an achievement in my honest opinion. Very job indeed and again to me was a nanometer because you just needed that louder dynamic and spark. Very good though.

Dean: This was a beautiful, restrained vocal and I think this might be my favorite thing you've done all competition. You didn't overdo it or riff it up, it was well enunciated and your voice was clear. The vocal was perfect for the instrumental version you used. Emotion was there, it felt very honest and naked.. which I think was a nice contrast to both your first performance and to Elisha's rendition of the song which was powerful in a completely different way. Great job!

Charly: Even though Elisha's version was technically more vocally spot on, I will remember your version over hers. Love the acoustic arrangement you sang to and it was just so heartfelt. It was like you were melancholy, but you still delivered that song with the right amount of energy. You almost had me tear up. You did the best on the Beatle's round, your personal best in this thing, and you redeemed yourself for your “When Doves Cry” performance.

Jake Dee – “When Dove Crys”

Steven: Your runs tend to get a bit sloppy and a bit over-the-top at times, but it was a decent job for me. And at times, you could have over-done it a bit and get too ahead of the true sense of the song. To me, it was a bit too showy vocally. First part was very iffy with your lower register because you had nowhere to go with it. Second part was better with the emotion. But like what I said, you have to bring that moment and you have to really express that are you the Sim Idol? And to me, this didn’t scream Sim Idol winner. There was just something missing which I can’t put my finger on. But despite that, I thought it was a good and solid performance, and you had no choice to do this song…lol. It was okay…but you can definitely do better than that.

Dean: And now we have Jake turning up the heat. I enjoyed the verse Jake, you were delivering a sexy vocal and then along came the chorus and you started oversinging it and changing up the melody. Again I'm all for making a song your own but I think maybe your instincts failed you a little bit here and you overdid it. What would have saved it for me is if you'd layed down layered vocals and had a quiet recording of you singing the chorus in the proper melody with your ad libs layers over it. Then it wouldn't have felt as excessive. Still I think you've got this great tone of voice and you more than deserve to be where you are.

Charly: To be honest with ya Jake, this is the first performance I actually didn't like from you. The arrangement....which is just so muddy....it actually detracted me from your voice. It didn't mesh well with your vocal style. I actually thought if you did the Ginuwine verson instead of the Prince version, it would have been much better for your runs. Like Erica though, not on the great level as you did at the auditions.I will say something positve about this......parts of this, you had energy in your vocals when you did the chorus. That was the highlight of the song. Bring more of that energy to your vocals.

Erica Roane – “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”

Steven: Oddly and arguably, this is your best, bluesiest, and kinkiest [lmao] performance so far in the competition. You showed that folksy, bluesy, rock-ish side to you and that’s what I wanted. I can honestly hear this as a cover. You took an obscure Beatles song and made it your own style. This is a true Erica Roane performance, and I can honestly see a movie starting in a highway in Nevada and using this song as its soundtrack. To me, you are just a simple singer. You don’t need to be hitting all those crazy notes, singing those complex songs. You are all about simplicity and that’s what you do. Something about this just came off as very simple yet professional. And I just have to disagree with Dean 100% because the Beatles always have some kind of message in their songs. Like a book, once you analyze such a song…you’d get it. It’s a song about well…yeah…but its repetitiveness gives the meaning of desperation then reassurance. Don’t forget that this song is not only bluesy but was originally meant to be comical…lol…and you laughed when you heard it! I get the song, I get you, and I get it. This is a naughty yet cutesy, tongue-in-cheek kind of song. This was meant to be this heavy bluesy feel, serious yet very funny and I dig it. Great job!

Dean: Call me a pervert but this song makes me chuckle in an immature high school jock sort of way. It sounds way dirty and I'm sorry Erica but I think this was a dreadful song choice. There is no lyrical content to this song at all. Your vocals are all fine and good, and that high part you pulled out was way cool but what a terrible TERRIBLE song! Good job vocally but egh. Unimpressed! This left a bad taste in my mouth :P

Charly: To answer your question, because the road is TOO DAMN SAFE! Let's get real...how hard is it to sing "Why Don't We Do It On The Road?" over and over again for two minutes. It was just repative and you are MUCH better than that song. You could have chosen a more challenging Beatles song. It wasn't even fun like your other performances were, and it had the potental to do that. Honestly, I didn't think you had a great night tonight. I'd be very worried about elimination.

Erica Roane – “At Last”

Steven: Despite a few sharp notes, I thought you did a nice solid job to this performance. Although, I can’t see you covering this song as an artist, it was like a good karaoke performance in a saloon in Nevada [there I go again with the Nevada thing again]. It was a bit of a crossover between bar music and big band to me. But anyway, you were forced to sing this song, and you couldn’t go any other way…lol. So it was a good and solid performance. I just don’t see this kind of song being the one for you. But I think the world will remember Erica with “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road.” So with your first performance, I think you may eek by this week.

Dean: I've heard this song from you quite a bit since I first encountered your work online. It's evident it's a favorite of yours. Your voice has a very classic feel on this one. A lot of people choose to sing the heck out of it but yours was subtle and well performed. I think it could still be perfected but I think you'd do well on an album of ol' soul/blues/big band classics like this. Good job!

Charly: You know I always thought your audition was the best I heard you. However, hearing it with the band tonight....I just don't feel this was as good as your audition. It was good, though. You had your style and power, but there were parts where your emotion just dropped and you picked it back up. It wasn't as constant and strong as your acapella version.

Mollie Evans – “The Long and Winding Road”

Steven: You finally showed your soft side. Now there’s a term I call sometimes called “sloppy singing”…and it seemed to be the case when you are soft. It’s just your vocals seemed a bit jumbled, and I learned from Dean that you may take in too much breath in your softer register which why you tend to belt more. I think vocally, the softer the notes, the less breath you take because you don’t need to suck in tons of air. Rule of thumb is to take in breaths based on the softness or loudness of notes which in loudness you mastered because you are used to taking big breaths and exhaling them with big notes. This performance was okay for me, but I wanted a bit more emotion. I wanted you to dig in deep and spill your emotional guts in this recording. It seemed that you struggled a bit in this recording. It was okay, but take in my suggestion and I hope it helps!

Dean: There are some beautiful held out notes here and your softer tones are much better controlled on this song than on your other selection but I definitely think it's still something to improve upon. I've never been a huge beatles fan, so it's hard to judge fully, not knowing the whole song but I wonder if this particular arrangement from the song was the best to use. Perhaps the song doesn't have a "hook" - it seems a tad anti-climactic. It was probably a good choice for you when it comes to the beatles song catalog but definitely not my favorite thing I've heard from you.

Charly: Again, you sang very well tonight. However, I was just missing that emotional connection between you and the song. Your first performance showed that and that was a breakthrough performance from you. Don't get me wrong, this was very nice.....I just felt you could have pushed me back 10 feet emotionally....and you just gave me a nudge. Don't worry, I still think you are great and you are still a contender.

Mollie Evans – “I Have Nothing”

Steven: This is so much better by refraining that “sloppy singing.” Despite about 3 to 5 sharp notes because I didn’ feel that the soft part entirely was weak [you had some tough spots, but as a whole, it was good], this was a very good performance from you. You were consistently smooth throughout the performance and you knew when to tone it down. It was a balance of power and softness. To be honest, I would have loved to hear you sing this full version. Mollie, this is a nice improvement of your softer tone. And to me, you sang your way to the Final 3. If you continue to master your softer tone, you can win this competition and give Elisha a run for it. Good job!

Dean: Mollie, finally we got some softer stuff from you and I'm glad because I had a feeling softer stuff was a weakness for you. The opening notes were shaky, off pitch and overall kind of weak. As a singer I think it's important to recognize a weakness and work at developing it. It's obvious that you've REALLY developed that belty part of your voice but rather than shy away from singing softly I think it would be useful for you to work on the soft stuff. There was a time when I couldn't sing falsetto and I sang with a drawl (cause my dad was a country singer and it was all I knew growing up) but I just kept tryin and through exploting my weaknesses I overcame them. That's my prescription for you! Work on the soft stuff! You have potential to be overall really great but you're denying us and yourself a whole other world of possibilities for your vocals. The powerful moments were shining and as usual you did a good job.

Charly: Mollie, I have to say the same thing I said earlier. This was NOT at the level of your audition......YOU SUPRASSED IT! That is what I am talking about. Every week, you grow and you show something different. And I hope Dean realizes the even without the powerful belts she usually does, she still packs a powerful punch with her softness. I just love the tone of your voice on this one. Bar raised again.

Elisha – “Yesterday”

Steven: Compared to Jake’s interpretation of the song, yours was way better in terms of the arrangement and the interpretation. Out of all the versions except the original, this is the best interpretation and originality of this song because you definitely had emotion and you showed that drama needed in the song. This is your best performance of the competition so far in my opinion. Great job!

Dean: I've heard your full length recording of this song and it was beyond incredible. Possibly my favorite version of this song in existence. Your vocals may be considered too showy on this track for hardcore beatles fans but I think they perfectly suit the instrumental version you used - which I'm guessing was not that of the beatles. You definitely chose some of the best moments vocally from your performance in this edit and that finale is breathtaking. Any doubt I had about your other performance was put to rest with this one. You're still tops in my book. It'll be a shame if you don't take the sim idol crown!

Charly: This was good. Not as great as your “Reflection” song. Mainly because I am not to fond with this arrangement and I felt that I heard these types of songs from you before. You showed something different in your first song, and I really want you to start showing more variety. If you don't do it, its gonna make you sound entirely boring, which you are not. That said, you've been consistent though and keep raising your bar.

Elisha – “Reflection”

Steven: There’s no doubt that you deserve to go to The Final Three. But the emotional connection wasn’t as strong as the first. This song is a tear-jerker…and I feel you didn’t tap into of making this song a tear-jerker moment. This is a passable version, but I want a version that will just melt some hearts or make someone cry. To me, the emotion was just lacking 100% and this was more of just vocals to me. Although great vocals, this was a letdown b/c it’s an emotionally strong song. And there’s something I want to bring up, you are too much of great singer. And at certain times, you are too polished. And sometimes, you want to show something rough on the edges. Being an artist is like “a shoe with some scruffs and scratches on its surface.” To me, you perfected to be a great vocalist, but you need to show edges and depth as an artist.

Dean: A powerful song choice and I think it was a great choice for your voice - however for once I do have a little bit of criticism for you. I hate to get on someone's case for trying to make a really overdone song their own, but I think the melody variations you chose on the bridge - taking it lower and less showy - was a mistake. That's a really powerful part of the song and I felt that until you returned to the proper melody it lost its fuel for a moment. However you brought it home in the end. Your vocals were on point and beautiful as always, just that stylistic choice took the emotional power out of those few lines. You still rock.

Charly: Everything in this performance sums up why you are in the top 8, and why you should be at least in the top 2. It was the most passionate I have heard you. It was heartfelt, and you just raised the bar for this competition. I felt this your best and the best of the night. You are just so consistent and this was just damn near flawless. Phenomenal!