The theme for the week was "who are you" and the contestants showed themselves through their song choice.

The running order was broken up by qualifying group and then by alphabetical order.

Comments are sorted alphabetically based on the first letter of the comment!

Comments are from 4 judges, some talk about the entire performance. Others talk about specific aspects. The judges are still anonymous until we get a solid final group (hoping to get 5)

*note some comments will seem a little weird because other judges want to make their own running order when submitting comments*

01gohan
https://soundcloud.com/trebleclef-445703977/next-to-me
I felt the connection there, but the excessive runs and decisions took away from that.
Now that was a strong demonstration all of all of your vocal abilities. I think you choose the right song this week which resulted in a really good vocals. Only critique is that it was a little shaky in some places, but other than that, this was a really good listen. You were able to connect to the song which provided for a really great listen, and you nailed that one high note. Really good job!
Performance was lovely, I really did enjoy it!
You had some vocal stylizations that just didn't sit well with me. I think you tried a little bit too hard with all the vocal runs.
You put a major cute twist on this and some vocals made me melt. You’ve improved alot since the last couple seasons! There was some rough notes, but you did a lovely job. Sometimes your voice gets too shaky, and shakes on every word you sing, so tone it down a bit. But you really did do a good job! Even the high notes were pretty good which I was shocked! You always sing something different and add variety, but you can sing anything, but yes just watch it with some notes! Like one near the end your voice kinda cracked so just be careful.
Your higher notes were a little hit or miss to me. It seemed like when you went into your falsetto they were good, but when you were on the upper range of your "lower register" it seemed like a struggle. Just make sure to be able to bridge that gap between your ranges!

EnglishBB
https://soundcloud.com/englishbb/run
For me, and I really hope my fellow judges agree with me, this was the best of the night. You sang that insanely, and I mean insanely well and I felt the emotion as well as the confidence. This was the perfect blend of vocal and performance. I don’t think that I can usher in enough praise. This is up there with Jackie’s rendition of “she’s got you,” (which was easily the best vocal performance last season). Keep it up English, this was a solid job. I didn’t think much of you when you auditioned, but your rendition of “like i can,” and now this has thrown you into a very good position. You have the momentum, now keep it!
I’m liking this song choice, you had some vocals in there that slayed my heart. They were so clean and well done. I love this song for you, you did a great job! You have a very similar voice to another contestant. But good on you, you nailed this performance.Just watch it with the add ons and stuff, sometimes they’re not necessary and you struggled with some towards the end. It wasn’t too fast or slow and you really worked it to your advantage. Everything was on point, I’m really proud of you for this! Very beautiful job.
It was flawless performance wise, you really did a fantastic job, you slayed. You made me feel the song, it was lovely, so thank you for that.
The chorus was definitely the part that you really shine in this song, and I think that's because it seemed like a lower part of the song. You've got a really good tone on the middle to lower range so try to play on those strengths
The hollow sound of the vocals took away from the performance for me.
Vocals solid. The indecision on the octave through it off a couple times.

kingdomheartslover
https://soundcloud.com/arepp17/part-of-your-world-tg-idol-s14-week-1
cute cute cute hahah this is adorable! perfect song choice! Vocals were actually good! You made this your own, you were a complete merman! I’m happy with this! There was some vocals that were a little flat, but all in all I liked it! Towards the end you had some really good notes which made my heart happy, very proud of you! Just make sure your notes are clear and let it flow, don’t kinda yell. You did a lovely job :)
I like that you chose a song that really shows your vocal range and it definitely showed. The only things that I really noticed were that a few pitches were off (more towards the flat side). This mainly happened on the end of a phrase, so just be conscious of it.
performance was adorable, I cannot handle the cuteness, you did a great job!
So, overall, it felt sharp but it was consistant? Like you remained in the same sharp key throughout.
The playfulness felt forced and not like a natural reaction. Made it feel a little disjointed
You’re a performer, no denying that. And that performance aspect of this was great. Vocals need some work but that's because this was a hard song to sing with (it had so much interaction. I’m intrigued about you. On one hand, your vocals (and don’t take disrespect by this), are not as strong as strong as some of the other singers, but you can perform! The one critique I will definitely give on singing is listen to that last long note, it was flat, but aside from that, very very fun performance. You might not have as strong of a singing voice as some of the others, but I think I’m going to find myself looking forward to listening you the most every week.

Max7313
https://soundcloud.com/michael-marks-3574874/because-of-you-tengaged-idol-week-1
I do think this song is a pretty safe song to choose, however it does connect well with your story and who you are. Your vocals were decent, but this really isn’t a song that allowed you to demonstrate the full extent of your vocals, but none the less, it was enjoyable. I look forward to hearing you next week, an up tempo song will be a big test for you, and will allow me to really hear your full voice.
It was shakey and it seemed you were afraid to get behind some notes. This really affected the high notes and they just seemed to be out of your reach.
Overall pretty good, but some missed entrances and cut off notes took away from the connection
The lower notes seemed like a struggle for you, but I really heard how you shine on the higher notes in that song. The beginning of the song was a little rough, but I think you recovered well. I would just say to warm up a little before recording because it sounded like you started a little cold. I really saw your energy come out after the key change, so make sure you keep that up!
*one judge couldn't access the audio for your song*

americanidolfan
https://soundcloud.com/americanidolfan123/will-you-still-love-me-tomorrow
A good performance, but really could've used some backing track to get a better connection when moving back and forth for the belted notes
Decent performance! Some notes were eek! Acapella is always risky because it’ll always show all flaws in your voice, I know from first hand. But yeah, I felt some of your high notes you weren’t too confident in yourself which affected when you tried to hit those notes. At some points you were almost straining them. The struggle was evident. But you have a good voice, it just wasn’t your best! It was a bit all over the place! You overdid it in some places. But it was still decent.
Normally I'm not a fan of acapella solos, but I think you did a really good job at it. You have a lot of great emotion while you sing so it's interesting to listen to. Just make sure to keep that emotion and energy into the other songs that you do in the competition!
There was a little emotion there, but I just felt you focused more on your vocals than anything which really did affect it.
Vocals strong as always. It's hard to figure out a good balance of phrasing without losing the melody, but I think you nailed it.
You know I hate acapella, but wow can you sing. Vocally, this was close to perfection. There really isn’t much I can critique on the vocal aspect. My only critique is that it could have been a little more exciting, and that might be due to the backing track, but still, great job! Really, really, really great job. Keep it up, and you will no doubt make the final four.

Kebin65
http://www.smule.com/recording/udawgs_angel-cannonball/447874491_188435316
Balancing the vocals with the music is something that will really make the performance better. Also, there was an awkward acho that really took away from the vocals as well.
Basically everything I said in vocals could easily be put here, just super dissapointed.
couldn't really get a good read on the vocals because of how loud the music was. Seemed like the high/falsetto got tricky for you
I’m hearing like a major echo here possibly?! Kinda effects the truth judging of the vocals when you’re trying to improve them. Some people are out here doing acapella and you’re adding echo to yours, just doesn’t seem fair. That being said, vocals were a little rough, you had some decent notes here and there, but it was kinda boring to me. It’s hard to base my judging off something that isn’t your true voice.
The first thing that I think of is that I don't really like to hear those filters that are on your voice because I just want to hear your singing rather than a computer's modification of yoru voice. I think this song was a really good choice for you, especially since you nailed those higher notes. Just take the filters off please!
You have a good voice, but I think the song was too big for you. Damien Rice is really one of those artists that people need to stray away from covering because his songs are too hard to cover. The only good cover that I have ever heard of this song was done by Little Mix, and Matt McAndrew was the only other artist I have ever heard successfully cover one of his songs. That being said, you do have a really good voice. If we can nail the song choice next week, you can do amazing things.

rollingderp
http://www.smule.com/p/300529291_185949957
I don't want to be harsh, but I honestly don’t want to know what I just listened to. It was a mixture of singing, screaming, and howling. I honestly don’t know what to call it. I’m really stunned. I really don’t want to sound rude, but this was in no way, shape, or form, better than hide and seek (your hollywood performance). Rolling, I really want to work with you next week in order to help you survive the double elimination, because I fear that you will be on the bottom this week. You have it in you, but tonight was just not good. I’m sorry.
oh my gawd stopppppppp yelling at me pls. Thank god I didn’t wear headphones this time round. I feel bad for laughing but honey that isn’t singing! Bring it back down to a one! You are all over the place. I don’t know what to judge. I’m quite frightened. You could easily be in a 90’s rock band if that helps, but just nope. I heard you unwrap a candy at the end cause you bloody strained every possible vocal chord in your body.
Since it was quite entertaining i’ll give a decent score for this, but I can’t handle myself, I’m dying, I’m really sorry.
The song just sounded a little shrill to me, and it seemed a bit all over the place. The singing just didn't seem to match the music, so just try your best to match the rhythm and mood that the music sets.
ummm.... ouch
ummm...no

SexGoddx
https://soundcloud.com/malibu-barbiie-delish/mad-hatter-melanie-martinez-cover
Again, it felt just shy of the full energy to truly turn this stellar
I don’t know if I liked this. I don’t think it was your strongest performance. You’ve definitely done better. At some points the track was even louder than your voice. I liked the theme though, kinda halloweeney. I prefer the songs where your vocals show. But either way if vocals aren’t good, it shines through your performance, vice versa. Just wasn’t strong to me vocally. It was weak at some points, and kinda iffy.
I think you did a great job on this song this week! This really showed me that you've got a great vocal range. I also think you sang the style of this song really well, so great job there! I think it'll work best for you if you keep picking those up-tempo songs that have a good range for you. Keep up the great work!
Like I said performance was better, you know how to put on a show and really work your vocals to a performance advantage.
Very interesting performance. I like the fact that you know what kind of artist you are, I just don't know if this performance was the whole package. I think performance wise, this was solid, but the vocals weren't all there, and unlike kingdom (our other performer), you performance didn't give you a reason to have semi-flat vocals. i think if you can get your voice into a better key, you will be all there, but performance wise, great job.
Vocals decent, but lacked that punch to make it truly special

AndR31
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1QQqM1ycBFX
Compared to your hollywood performances and your audition, this was your best performance so far. You have a good singing voice and were able to demonstrate a lot of emotion. There were a few bum notes which I think is associated with some control problems, but you managed to rebound after all of those notes. Overall great song selection, good singing voice, nice listen, but I do feel the bum notes (while they were rebounded), did interfere with the overall vocal.
I felt like having rough vocals affected the performance a little, I knew your intentions were there, but you can’t always sing your favorite song the way you want to. I wanna sing like Ariana Grande and I know I can’t ya know? Our vocals aren’t meant to sound like our favorite artist or song, and I’m sad you struggled with this! I know your potential and I know you can do better than this!
I love the range on your voice, just be careful on the lower notes because you do get a little bit quiet on those. The falsetto gets a little bit hard to understand the words, so just make sure you enunciate better on those. You did an amazing job, just make sure I can hear those words!
I was very worried at the beginning, those high notes were a little iffy. But I really do love that natural vibratto in your voice. I have the same, and it makes songs sound so lovely. I felt maybe the quality really affected the vocals? It just sounded to rough to me. I’m kinda dissapointed. I felt you were yelling at some points, you really struggled with the notes in this song and it really stuck out to me. I know you’re a good singer and it’s just a bummer seeing that you struggled. Not to say, there was some good notes, but the bad outshined the good. I have a few songs in mind for you, as I listen to your voice. But, like I said, this wasn’t your best which makes my heart sad!
It was a rollercoaster. Some aspects were great, but then there were moments where it just came apart. Like going into and out of falsetto and still being on high notes were very shakey.
The vocal issues really took away from the performance. I think you were hooked in, but those up and downs in the vocals led me astray

carlisle
https://soundcloud.com/carlysles/hero
Big choice. With the vocals and runs, and I think you did a good job with them. It just felt a little harsh a moments because there wasn't a good balance between the music and the vocals. Also the breakdown, you need to attack that.
Carl you have proven yourself to be a very good singer over the past seasons, with that being said this was a small set back. First off let me say this, you have a great base voice, and with the right song choice you can have the performance of the week, but unfortunately this just seemed underwhelming. It seemed like you were struggling with the tempo throughout the song which culminated in a few rough verses. I will concede that hero is one of those songs that depends on the eye of the beholder, some people will love some versions while the same people won't love those same versions, but for me I think you could have done a little more with this song. On a positive side, I know that you know how to rebound. Shake this one off and submit an incredible performance next week. Do that and I don’t think that you will be in danger.
I felt performance was a little affected by you trying to perfect the vocals, it didn’t slow as well as it should’ve. You could really hear the effort sometimes which was disappointing, so it lacked a little.2
I like how you picked a song that really fits your vocal style, but I heard a few times where you would go a little flat. This happened mostly on the long, drawn out notes at the end of a phrase. Just make sure that you keep your pitches good!
It lacked the big moment and the lack of music just made it feel it like a shower performance.
yassss queen at the song choice, you have big balls for this. Your voice is the cutest though I love it, you’ve got attitude and sass in their but emotion as well. You started off pretty good, I’m liking this! You had some runs that made me melt and I was just smiling from ear to ear! Obviously it wasn’t flawless because this is a hella hard song to sing, but I still give you credit for doing a decent job and not wrecking it. There was some notes that were like eeeeek, but again, it’s the song itself.

lucasmaximo15
https://soundcloud.com/lucas-silva-437297273/quiero-volver
flawless, emotion was definitely there, and it was just fantastic,
I definitely think you do your best when you're singing in in spanish and you did an amazing job in this one! Some of the way lower notes were a little quiet so just make sure we can hear all of it!
I think there was something about this that felt very vocal and not very emotional. Idk, it seemed to lack something really solid to really bring the performance over the edge
Lucas I’m going to be honest I almost wrote you off before, but this was a very strong vocal. I really think you choose the right song that illustrated your voice. It really excelled. Performance could have been a little more exciting, but I felt the emotion. Very good job on this. Keep it up, you are the dark horse of the season.
singing a song in a different language is definitely risky but baby you worked it. I’m so happy with this, it was almost vocally flawless. I felt like you were in front of me singing to me. I absolutely love your description as well. I’m speechless! near to perfect kid, ya impressed me! I recognize the song aswell! I think I’ve heard it before!
Vocally this was lovely. I think you really got this down well.

tdilindsayfan100
https://soundcloud.com/nickhazistan/kodaline-all-i-want-cover
A little rough around the edges, but it wasn’t all that bad! It didn’t seem too hard for you to manage vocally. It was nice and simple. You didn’t over do it. Vocals weren’t perfect obviously, but it didn’t outshine the emotion throughout it. Definitely stick with these types of songs, you don’t want to over do it. Always stay where your vocals are comfortable. The notes toward the end were a little risky, they weren’t as strong as they maybe could’ve been, I felt like you held back and slowed it down a bit. I know you had it in you to let it out a little, the song was really giving it so you should’ve given it out just the same.
At the beginning, some of the pitches were off so just make sure that you aren't starting completely cold before a recording. It also sounds like you're holding back when you're singing, so try your hardest to break out of that shell! You've got a great voice, and I'd love to hear it at its fullest!
It lacked the energy needed to fully pull me into the ballad
It was nice performance wise, I feel you succeeded within the performance more than the vocals. It was a good balance though. I found it very cute!
Kicking off the live shows with Kodaline was a smart choice. It’s a likeable song and while it isn’t the hardest to sing, it is by no means easy. I think your vocals on this were what I expected to be honest. There is still a little of work to go on the pitch for the extended notes, but a little work with the mentors could greatly improve that, and I have seen that you are willing to do that which is a great thing. My biggest critique with this performance is that I would have liked a little more emotional connection with that song. Aside from the extended notes, your vocals were good, but I felt as though you were holding back just a little bit. None the less good way to open up the show. We are off to a good start.
Solid vocals, just felt a little monotonous

So after tallying up the scores, averaging them, eliminating bias overall, averaging that, eliminating bias per category, averaging that, and averaging all those averages, here is the final scores for Week 1. (Late entries got a negative one-sixth penalty to their final score)

01        ::        8.528        ::        lucasmaximo15
02        ::        8.021        ::        EnglishBB
03        ::        7.889        ::        americanidolfan
04        ::        7.792        ::        01gohan
05        ::        7.340        ::        SexGoddx
06        ::        7.326        ::        kingdomheartslover
07        ::        6.938        ::        tdilindsayfan100
08        ::        6.819        ::        Max7313
09        ::        6.653        ::        carlisle
10        ::        6.625        ::        AndR31
11        ::        5.965        ::        Kebin65
12        ::        3.431        ::        rollingderp

overall strong week. glad all of the acts that placed in my top 4 were in the top 4 (shows that me and the judges are seeing eye to eye). even thought the judges are technically anon, both me and jaquie have come out and said that we would be delighted to help you guys, next week is a big one.

kind of wish that we can go back to the live show format from two seasons ago where the judges and singers can interact during it (instead of everything being posted in 5 min), but i understand your busy tolis and its your group.

Anyways to the twelve of you, i know that some of you spent hours on your work this week and I'm proud of you all. this was a very successful first week. Next week will be even better.