‘Tense’ Malaya Watson failed to impress judges in ‘Idol’

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American Malaya Watson failed to impress the judges with her latest performance in “American Idol,” with the judges advising her to “relax” on stage.

The tuba player from Michigan sang “Through the Fire” by Chaka Khan on Wednesday night in Hollywood (Thursday morning in Manila).

But the 16-year-old, whose name means free in Filipino, was told to “relax” as she was supposedly too “tense” when she performed.

Musician Keith Urban told Watson to “lay back” on her tone and just “chill out.”

“If you have a voice that is limiting, you have to worry but you have nothing to worry about. Just chill out and coast through it,” he said.

Pop star Jennifer Lopez advised Watson to “relax.”

“You just need to relax up there. We all get tense when we know those moments are coming,” Lopez said.

“With a vocal ability that you have, you don’t even have to try. So long as you have the breath behind it, it’s going to be there for you,” she added.

Meanwhile, singer actor Harry Connick Jr. noted that Watson seemed too preoccupied in hitting the high note at the end of the song.

“You’re going to hit it anyway. All you needed to do is to focus right when that note comes, but I felt like you sacrificed some of the early parts of the song to set that up,” Connick said.

Asked if Watson was too tense to focus on her song, Watson said: “I was just thinking I’ve got to focus, I don’t want to be over exaggerated.”

“I just try to keep myself calm and stay in the groove of the song,” she added.

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