Happy Girls Round of 7: Review

This week's performance had the theme of "Grade School Memories" and definitely had some surprises while displaying one of the most unfair moments of the competition. The performances were above average for the most part with quite a few exceptional performances. The format for this week was a lot less complicated than last week.

Part 1: Each contestant picks another for a sing-off via the usual buzzer press system. The 19 media members choose a winner from each pairing. Because of the odd number of contestants, the last person to sing gets to challenge one of the three winners to a sing-off to see if they switch places or not.

Part 2: The top 3 contestants sing to see who will be the ELLE cover model for this week. The winner automatically moves onto the next round. The remaining 6 then sing in succession with full scores given by audience/media/judges. The contestant with the lowest score is automatically up for elimination with the judges picking her opponent. 6 move onto the next round.

1. 李霄云 Li Xiaoyun - She really is my favorite now on the show ever since they eliminated 曾轶可. She has a really deep voice and fits very well into your "love song croner" category. I can see how she is kinda one sided in her singing ability in that if she selects a non-love song then she usually scores poorly. However, in her element, she's pretty much untouchable as she won her part 1 showdown with a pretty good rendition of 白桦林. She came out of nowhere to win the ELLE cover model position with a spectacular rendition of 从开始到现在 that got the judges crying.First, Second songs.

2. 刘惜君 Liu Xijun - Ole Dead-Eyes Liu definitely surprised me this week. Usually her singing doesn't really impress me since she sings so genericly. This week though, she tried singing in a new style. Her style up to this point has been kinda quietly singing and never just letting go of her restraint and letting her voice fly. This week though, she let it all fly and although she didn't quite reach the high notes, it was very refreshing to hear her new-found voice. Her song for ELLE cover model was totally awesome and got a standing ovation from the judges. She scored over 90 points and looked on the verge of taking the crown until 李霄云 blew the audience away. She actually had to sing 3 times because she sang twice in Part 2: once for both ELLE cover model and again for elimination rankings. First, Second, Third songs.

3. 郁可唯 Yu Kewei - I agreed with the judges in that she almost seemed disinterested in the competition. The contest was like an afterthought to her; just a stepping stone in her ascend to superstar-dom. The judges saw this and harshly criticized her song selection and performances this week. She is still the reining favorite to win the competition and to be fair, her singing ability and range is far superior to just about every other contestant. She was oddly both in the top 3 and also chosen as an elimination candidate. Like 刘惜君, she sang 3 songs. First, Second, Third songs.

4. 江映蓉 Jiang Yingrong - She messed her foot up while jogging and did the entire competition with her foot swollen like a wet sponge. It didn't really seem to impact her dancing that much although it could play a significant role in her future performances. The judges warned her to be vary careful with her song selection so that she doesn't aggravate the injury. Her First, Second songs.

5. 黄英 Huang Ying - I thought she actually sang very well this week. She showed some better voice control and a much expanded library of songs that she could sing. She's kinda the dark horse of the competition. First, Second songs.

6. 谈莉娜 Tan Lina - See last week minus the Bollywood and add some oddly placed camera shots of her showing her extreme annoyance. First, Second songs.

7. Eliminated-潘辰 Pan Chen - She's probably the last contestant on the show with any sort of individuality. PP made the point that she had the problem of always selecting songs that she liked to sing instead of songs that everyone *wanted* her to sing. She is rocker with a voice that others want her to use for love sonnets. Case in point: When she sang 一遗失的美好 and You're Beautiful, the audience absolutely went nuts and loved them because those are the kinds of songs they want her to sing. However, she keeps selecting rock songs and those that she wants to sing. She was definitely a free spirit in the competition and a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale mix of pop songs. She was up for elimination and the judges selected for her to face off against 郁可唯 in an audience vote. WTF is up with that? It's like putting a Beetle up against a Ferrari and having the male masses decide which they want. Sure the Beetle is unique, massively efficient on fuel, and makes parking easier, but most people will be blinded by the coolness that is the Ferrari. First, Second songs. Here is the elimination round video.