102 replies to this topic

[TWoP Tennison]

Jessica Sanchez

[Dejana]

Top 13 Q&A

What sets you apart from the other contestants?
Jessica Sanchez : I think we all have our different styles. I’m the more mainstream kind of pop urban singer. I love attitude and bringing new things to the table. I think what separates me from the other contestants is that I’ve done this before and I’ve been watching American Idol since I was a very little girl and I’ve been preparing myself throughout the years for this moment. And I’m here now and I’m ready to work hard.

What do you need to improve to win the competition?
Jessica Sanchez: A lot of things. I’m not perfect. I wish the judges would give me more critiques so I can work on more things. [Laughs] I love critiques because I’m such a perfectionist.

What one thing about yourself do you most want people to know that hasn’t been covered on the show?
Jessica Sanchez: I’m very serious about my music and music always comes first to me. I’m always on top of that, 24/7, and I’m always practicing. I think that’s why my voice kind of went out because I was rehearsing too much. It’s still a bit sore. I have to be on vocal rest and taking medication, cough drops.

This is the point when contestants often get makeovers — anything you’d love or loathe to change?
Jessica Sanchez: [To the loathe part of the question:] Not at all. I am going to get a haircut, though, because my hair is not good right now. So watch out for the short hair coming up soon!

Any specific theme nights you’re dreading or looking forward to?
Jessica Sanchez: We don’t know what’s coming up next, but I think the hardest theme for me would be country because I’ve never had to sing a country song before. But I love challenges, so woo-hoo!!

Who gives the most constructive and helpful feedback: Steven, Jennifer, or Randy?
Jessica Sanchez: All of their comments are amazing. They are so sweet. I love them so much.

[angelita100]

Jessica is my favorite and hope she can take it all.

[chesslover]

My favorite too and may end up as the best singer ever on the show!

[cubbie5150]

Girl has skills, but a feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me she'll get bounced much earlier than many anticipate.

[whee whee piggy]

I'm not seeing an emotional connection with the music. Yes, she can hit a big note for such a little girl. So what, if it means nothing?

Perhaps it's living in a community with a strong Filipino presence, but I'm aware of the talent show/beauty contest culture and how hard the young women in particular are pushed. Thia last year was an example of the Disney princess contestant, while Jessica reminds me of the 'Little girl with a big voice' model. She's just reading so coached to me, with her biting at the mic with that big mouth...Anyway, I hope she improves. The glimmer is, I want her to improve, unlike at least half of these people who just need to get off my screen.

[Brandy77]

This girl is crazy talented, but she does come across as a bit too rehearsed with her mannerisms which is a quirk that can be worked on. Another thing that bugs me a bit about her voice is her slow, pronounced vibrato--it really grated during her performance of "The Prayer." I hope she makes it through to the Top 4 (along with Phillip, Hollie, & Colton) at a minimum.

[WhatHappened]

I see Jesscia as a hybrid of Jasmine Trias and Allison Iraheta. Great voice, and on paper, she seems to be hitting the marks, but there is something about her personality that is off. Maybe it's because she comes off as too rehearsed. I can also see her being a surprise elimination.

She's also been touted as the early favorite, but the early favorite usually does not win.

[waving feather]

Her vibrato is out of control. If she learns to dial that down, she would be MUCH better.

[MV007]

I'm not seeing an emotional connection with the music. Yes, she can hit a big note for such a little girl. So what, if it means nothing?

I disagree. I thought she was sublime on "The Paryer" both with her ability to hit the right notes and with her ability to convey the emotion of the song. And then last week on the JHud song I was impressed again with her ability to work the stage on an uptempo number which is something a lot of women have struggled with on Idol.

I also think that she's pretty impressive in her normalcy. Having watched X factor and the last couple seasons of Idol, I have become increasingly frustrated with the young people who can't speak and spout non-sense because they are overwhelmed by the stage or audience. Jessica came off well in my opinion both in her interview with Ryan and her package where she was a normal 16 yr old girl. I will always wonder if Allison would have done better had she not been so weird and unprepared with her Live interactions with Ryan and the judges.

I really don't see the pageant thing. Was she actually in the pageant circuit? Could it be a situation where you know someone was a pageant girl and you look for signs of it? I could spot Jasmine Murray from a mile away as a pageant singer and I don't think Jessica could be any more different.

Edited by MV007, Mar 6, 2012 @ 5:23 PM.

[Dejana]

Powerful voice but she's a bit of a mimic. She should sing a song by a male artist soon.

[jambalaya2]

I loved her yesterday and hope she goes far. Just watch her clip at 11 years old singing on America's Got Talent. Freakin amazing.

But this I loved, Etta James - I'd rather go blind.

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

[getawayjordan]

Powerful voice but she's a bit of a mimic.

Agreed. Love Jessica's voice, but she comes off sounding a little too karaoke-ish. The judges will turn on her and she will get dinged if she doesn't start showing more of her own personal style. That said, none of the other girls are in her league, but she'll get the dreaded Pia edit and lose ground to creative, good looking guys like P-2 down the road if she doesn't start taking more risks.

[xeria]

Powerful voice but she's a bit of a mimic. She should sing a song by a male artist soon.

Yeah, I kind of agree with this; I don't think she necessarily needs to do a song strictly by a male artist but I think she needs to take a good risk or two. Granted, I don't start watching Idol until the live episodes but she's now done J.Hud and Whitney (one enforced by the theme, granted) and she did them well, but the feeling I get from her is less, "This is Jessica Sanchez the singer/artist," and more, "This is a 16 year old girl singing an iconic song really well."

I think pulling away from that pop/r&b bubble for at least a week or two would do wonders for her, akin to Carrie singing "Alone". She might not ever produce anything but pop/r&b but post-show is not on-show, and for American Idol, you need to be interesting and fresh constantly to keep the public motivated to vote for you.

Edited by xeria, Mar 9, 2012 @ 1:35 PM.

[Dejana]

I thought Jessica did a great job on "Everybody Has A Dream". I listened to the original and never would have picked that for her out of all the Billy Joel songs but she really did connect with the "dream" idea. Maybe she should do songs/artists she's completely unfamiliar with every week.

[Airy Pits]

I thought Jessica was believable this week. I think that song suited her. I hope she continues to show restraint and not let it all be vocal bombast all the time.

[the macguffin]

So, per Baby Cheese (as Mr Macguffin now calls her), there were no songs from the 80's that fit her voice. *rolls eyes*

[Dejana]

Knowing this show, what Jessica probably meant was that none of the songs from the 80s on the list fit her voice. I mean, Elise was stuck between what she sang and Hallelujah! There were probably about 20 songs to choose from. It's not the first time she's implied something about the limited song selection. I would watch that if I were her. I thought Jessica sounded amazing on her duet with Joshua but then that wasn't a solo song. I wonder if they were assigned songs or picked them or what.

And BB Chez or whatever her alter ego is? Of course a girl who idolizes Beyoncé would have her very own "Sasha Fierce" but it can be a little presumptuous coming from a lowly Idol contestant.

[trojan69]

Odds are greater than 500-1 that an AI honcho did not urge JS to play up the alter ego thang. She has no personality beyond her natural teen charm. Uncle Nigel will glom on to anything to make a favorite more attractive/approachable to Ameriker.

If this really were a pure talent contest, she is the Idol. But, as Melinda Doolittle proved for all time, it is not.

[angelita100]

So I was watching an Unsung episode about David Ruffin and suddenly I noticed he was doing all these movements that coincided with the words of the song. And I burst out laughing and thought of Jessica. Sanchez and Ruffin, who would have thunk!

Love her though and rooting for her to win. I've lost interest in the process of Idol but will keep and eye on Jessica and hope she makes it to the end... 1st or 2nd. I think that might guarantee her some sort of contract. I do think she has some things she needs to stop doing but I'm sure that's easier than learning how to sing.

[cubbie5150]

I agree Jessica is pageant-bot'ish, & she won't win this thing, but regardless, I appreciate her ability & think she has a bright future. Good ol' life experience is gonna help tune her gift further & I look forward to seeing how much she grows.

[prmami]

I definitely don't think she'll be winning now but I'm a fan of Jazmine Sullivan and she (as did I) enjoyed the performance.

[Kitty Bac]

Jessica bores me. I hear a voice on key, but it has no flavor other than the person she's imitating. She needs more experience and growth, just like the judges keep telling Hollie. In fact, the judges especially J Lo, practically bite Holly's head off for it.

Jessica needed to feel the heat of being the possible eliminated one. She needed to earn the save. But no, they bestowed it upon her. I thought Jennifer was going up there to tell Hollie to go home!

[GenerationX]

I wasn't surprised she was the lowest vote-getter. Between the judges slobbering over her robotic performances and the incredibly pretentious BB Chez thing, I don't think people like her much. She's technically a very good singer, and I know she's worked all her life at this (*massive eyeroll*), but still. I doubt AI's quixotic quest for a female winner will end with a Jessica victory. At least not without vote tampering.

[denimsky]

These are my two favorite Jessica Sanchez performances that I find so very beautiful, especially exquisite, and breathtaking beyond words-

"I Will Always Love You"
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=kPX-H3KGjJI (It's got nearly 3 million views!)

"Sweet Dreams"
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=cm0_XHkeous

I love Jessica's voice. If I had to describe her personality in three words, they would be- sweet, serious, shy. She is very beautiful too- sort of looks like a beautiful exotic flower to me. It would be nice to have a different look for the winner of American Idol this year instead of the same that it's been for the past few years. I also love how she just keeps working toward her dream since she was younger. I've only had time to watch one of her performances from that "America's Got Talent" show when she was younger. She seems very determined and focused at getting a viable recording career; and I admire how she keeps forging ahead when she didn't win that show. But most of all- I just love her voice!

[MV007]

and I know she's worked all her life at this (*massive eyeroll*),

What exactly should she say? "Hey I'm a sixteen yr old, don't vote for me because I've got all the time in the world to get a record deal". Or should she go with "I've had a pretty cushy life, so don't worry about voting for me, I just show up when they tell me and sing for the fun of it". I think being on a previous talent show works against her but at the same time, you have to see that she is determined. She's put out a ton of youtube videos that are of pretty good quality for someone not signed to a label. She's doing everything possible to "make it". I get that she's only 16 and thus hasn't worked as long as others but the girl seemingly has done nothing but pursue this dream for the last 5 years. I have no problem with her simply stating "I've been working real hard for this."

Her problem comes from the fact that she straight copies the original artists. She needs to sing songs from male artists I think because at this stage I don't see her having the ability to rearrange songs. Of course if Jimmy did his job, he would help her with this.

Edited by MV007, Apr 14, 2012 @ 12:47 PM.

[deedee2]

I thought Jennifer was going up there to tell Hollie to go home!

Hahaha! Surprised JLo didn't do it -- a la Kanye West telling Taylor Swift that the MTV video award really belonged to Beyonce. Hilarious.

[Yogurt Baron]

I have no problem with her simply stating "I've been working real hard for this."

There's a difference between "I am working hard" and "I have been working hard for my whole life", though. Both are true, I'm sure, but the latter sounds silly coming out of a 16-year-old. (Though as I get older, I'm starting to think it's a little funny when twenty-somethings like Erika van Pelt complain about not being popular with the voting audience because they're "too old", too.) This obviously wasn't her fault, but I did reflexively eyeroll during the Billy Joel group song, when the producers gave Jessica the "I forgot how nice romance is" line. Yes, Jessica - because it's certainly believable that you had extensive experience with romance, and then a lengthy period away from it, and now are getting back to it. Again---totally not her choice, and she did her best to sell the line, but it was pretty jarring.

Also - I'm sorry if this has been discussed on the episode thread or elsewhere - but the song she sang for her SFYL, had she performed that on the show before? IIRC, it was "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" by Deborah Cox, and I don't remember her doing that before. I thought it was great. If she can't get away from her karaoke issues, she could at least choose lesser-known songs. People are going to be harder on someone who sounds like a Whitney impersonator than on someone who sounds like a Deborah Cox impersonator.

I'd also like to hear her bring back some of the Exorcist growls from her audition and Hollywood. Her audition was fun - like Allison Iraheta to the millionth power - and it's been just straight singing since then.

All of that said, I'm still Team Jessica.

[the macguffin]

Pretty good analysis from a business/hiring viewpoint(!):My link
I agree with someone who earlier posted that Jessica needs to choose more familiar songs, but from male singers. Her problem is sounding too imitative, and she wouldn't have that issue if the song were primarily known as an Usher song, or whatever.

Edited by the macguffin, Apr 15, 2012 @ 11:58 AM.

[dietcokeisgood]

Her problem is sounding too imitative, and she wouldn't have that issue if the song were primarily known as an Usher song, or whatever.

She really has only sounded like Beyonce and that's cause she actually *sounds* like Beyonce. tonally at least. She actually switched up the phrasing in stuttering a bit.

Imo, Jess is the best singer left. She's actually the only performer who does anything for me at all at this point. I guess more people prefer the crooning over done WGWG or something to the effect but I like R&B and Jessica would do well in both general pop and R&B. As far as being a bot I think she's just trying not to come off as a snot. There's nothing worse than a young contestant who acts sassy to show their personality. Jessica shows her personality through her voice, phrasing, and general swag in her performances. I really think most of the backlash that comes her way are those threatened by her inability to fuck up! But there's really only one response to that