Talented singer Rachel Crow’s song choices on X Factor are abominable.
On “The X Factor,” Simon Cowell is making the huge mistake of confining Rachel Crow to a little cute girl image by having her sing songs that are NOT designed for substantial vocal talent.
The songs that Rachel Crow have been singing are akin to putting Tiger Woods on a miniature golf course. I’m not saying that the young X Factor contestant is as good a singer as Woods is a golfer, but you get the picture.
“The X Factor” is guilty of this travesty for other contestants as well, but it’s most glaring with 13-year-old Rachel Crow. Despite the insulting songs that she’s been assigned, she may still win “The X Factor” simply because of her star quality, and because viewers haven’t forgotten her first big performance early on in the show, when she belted out long, sustained notes, showing off her unique, slow-tempo vibrato.
However, Simon Cowell has now been having her sing kiddie-like songs that any marginally-talented child singer can handle. This includes a Disney-like rendition of “Satisfaction.” Any goon can deliver this simple tune.
The 13-year-old has chosen at least one of these bombs, but it is Simon Cowell’s responsibility, as her “mentor,” to guide her and help her select songs that correspond to her vocal skills.
How about “Cry Me a River”? This would blow the whole building away. How about something by Whitney Houston? In almost all of her songs, Whitney Houston belts out SUSTAINED, single-pitch notes, giving listeners a chance to really hear what she can do.
What Rachel Crowe has been doing is practically talking through much of her songs, and then she flies off the handle with high pitched shouting and yelling, not actual singing. ANY adolescent choir singer can do this. In fact, many adolescents do this on the playground!
Never mind that the maniacal live audience eats it up. They’ll eat anything up; sounds like half of them are on speed anyways.
“Drew,” another X Factor contestant, is only one year older than Rachel Crow, yet has been presented as a young woman rather than a little girl. Why is this? Is it because Drew has long blonde flowing hair, and Rachel Crow has somewhat wild hair? Is it because Drew is lean and leggy, and Rachel Crow is pleasingly cherubic?
Fans of the 13-year-old are going to vote her through each round no matter what she does. But there are many viewers on the fence, and who also are going to vote strictly on vocal delivery. THEY need to hear what Rachel Crow can actually do. Simon Cowell needs to stop keeping her in little girl mode and raise the standards of “The X Factor.”