Top 12 Finalists - "Vision of Fame" Week (Poll Closed)

I really enjoyed listening to every one of these entries. Thanks to all who entered and congrats finalists!

First of all i wanna congratulate the Top 12 finalists! You did a really good job you guys and Mariah would be proud of your creativity which is "unparalleled"! lol I downloaded all the songs and i loved them all! Good luck for everyone! NB : It's not fair to vote for one Finalist only! :-(

"Vote now, vote often"! okay, I got it! lol

I have some comments (complaint) on one of the songs that is on the list
This is Bye Bye, by John Carlton, who actually is a BAND called AHMIR

you can check it on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omScyt9tSds
I think this was supposed to be for singers, not for BANDS, they actually sound like Boyz II Men and I think this song is AMAZING.
but I don't think it is fare for the rest who made solo work..

This is their channel description:
Hey everyone! Thank you for stopping in... the short and sweet AHMIR story goes like this... we know we have something to offer in the world of R&B music. Major labels seem to think that there isn't a place for hot slow jams and love ballads in the world of contemporary R&B. Well we are here to show 'em (and you) that we can bring it either way. That's where YOU come in. We have been grinding it out in this industry for a few years and its time our music be heard, WITH OR WITHOUT help from a major label. This is the official YOUTUBE TAKEOVER!!! If you like what you hear, SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND FAVORITE IT!!! EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS and we can't do it without your support! If you really like a video, bulletin it and share it with your friends on here or myspace or facebook. It will all mean a lot to us and make a difference in our journey to knock the music industry's door down and force our way in!!! Thank you in advance and we look forward to bringing you more great music!!!

Do you think it is on the contest's rules??

My favourite of them all is BYE BYE.

I emailed mdj about the Ahmir cover on youtube, if the guy is not related then they should be concerned that he copied these guys. So i voted for Love Story, Sounded great for an amateur and he made it his own.

Circles sounds nice too.

Am I only allowed to vote for one?! they're all amazingly good! Cidalia really rips open 'Anytime You Need A Friend'! her along with Rocky and Abed are my three faves!

Really so many voices in it. Amber Cartwright has such a lovely voice and i like the touch my body cover from france but the best of all is bye bye. What a voice John Carlton has. wow.

My favorite would have to be Love Story. Rocky is the best out of the bunch. I absolutely love the acoustic version of Love Story...He brought orginality to the song! Rocky took the song and made it his own. The other singers didnt bring nothing new to the song that they were performing.

OMG!!!...the BEST of them all was Bye Bye!!!!, That dude has to win, I would PURCHASE that version!, He is very talented and he should be discovered and be a big star! I hate that artists like Lil Wayne are out there with no talent whatsoever and getting major success! It's voices like this that should be at the top! John Carlton has my vote and when he puts out a record, Ill be sure to support him! Oh btw, love the Bye Bye one Sweet Day mashup that was hot!

Petr's version was really good. :) I liked the male version!

Okay.....First - Congrats to everyone who made it in to the top 12! Secondly - Thanks to everyone for the positive comments on "Bye Bye"! Thirdly - and for some damage control - No...my recording of Bye Bye is me. Yes, I did immitate the arrangement of AHMIR's cover with some variation that suited my voice and style. If there is any question as to my voice....all are invited and encouraged to visit my myspace page - www.myspace.com/johncarltonmusic to verify my voice and then cross-check the voices of AHMIR at www.myspace.com/ahmirmusic. As far as the "copying" issue goes...its an arrangement whic is no different than me covering the X-Factor version of "Hero". I made my own variations from the AHMIR version (i.e., the intro, the ad libs over the "One Sweet Day" interlude, some of the runs, some of the changes to falsetto, etc.) and double-layered the background vocals to make them fuller than the AHMIR version. Lastly - As far as the "band" issue goes, anyone can have a "MYSPACE MUSIC" page. You just have to sign up. I have my own page - as do many fledgling and amateur musicians. I have been a friend of MDJ on both facebook and myspace for a year or more. I'm just a guy who likes to sing and loves Mariah...like everyone else. I hope I was able to soothe any quirks anyone had with my honest rendition of AHMIR's cover of a Mariah song. And I hope my response does not offend anyone in the process. However, since comment pages can quickly become gossip columns, I felt it was my duty to myself - and to AHMIR (who was named also) - to clear this up at the beginning. Once again - congrats to all who made it and good luck! And thanks for anyone's support for "Bye Bye".

Yeah Jason who did Bye Bye isnt as original as the jusdges are giving him credit for. That arrangement is Amhirs...the whole One Sweet Day thing. All the adlibs at the end.

But that said its still the best out of all of them. I even prefer his verion over Ahmirs a little bit. So he gets my vote. Very nice voice.

Touch my body was second.!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE:

John Carlton (USA) - "Bye Bye" - Like a PRO! THE BEST!

Abed Elamrani (France) - "Touch My Body" - Supreme falsetto.. love it!

Loved listening to these. Petya, your Looking In rendition is stellar!! Kara I'm a HUGH Melt Away fan, and you did your thing. Petr's Cant' Let Go and John's Bye Bye got my vote too.

I love the lyrics of Bye Bye but I hate the music behind, so I must say when I saw John Carlton's version I groaned before listening to it. But his was absolutely the BEST! That is the way Mariah should have recorded the song. It should have been purely instrumental and vocal driven. His was the best with Rocky Heron and Petya Dimitrova coming in right behind him.

word john c just copied ahmirs version. i do like abed's version though. and yeah i saw rocky's love story version on youtube months ago, definitely a strong contender and sublime delivery.

I really enjoyed listening to all of these! But, John Carlton (USA) - "Bye Bye" - WAS AMAZING!! GREAT JOB. LOVED IT. I hope Mariah herself gets to hear that one. Abed Elamrani (France) - "Touch My Body" was great as well. Loved the falsetto.

soooo many EXCELLENTE entries but i chose kara. i loooove the beginning of how she did melt away. hope she winz because her voice is perrrti

I loved Bye bye.. and touch my body... But everyone did a great job.. I think Love story was different but nice like david cooks always be my baby song..... Well good luck to everyone.. I know Mariah would be Proud!!!!

I jz wanna say bthay BYE BYE was completely or atleast 97% AHMIR. I have it in my ipod and i knew right when i listened that apart from the intro and some other minute parts ..it was almost the same. I love "Touch My body"... (not sue if it's suitable for a guy to sing, although the wordings were changed ), He has a reallly High chest voice for a guy, and i believe the singer Monsieour Abed Elamrani was Vocally one of the best among the finalists.. Kudos to all the contestants... for your guts and drive to display your talents to the world and your love and support for The Queen Mariah Carey... God Bless

I love most of them. But my personal favorite is Through The Rain. So cool to hear that dude sing. So soothing and i had goose bums !! His voice is big and husky oh wow. My 2nd favorite is Bye Bye and 3rd is Circles. Owh my I so gonna download all of them !! Amazing all !

I just want to say that where John C lacks in origniality in the arrangement, he makes up with his AMAZING voice! WOW! Touch My Body was second and Anytime You Need a Friend was third! What a squeal!

Why is every1 saying That Bye Bye Is Good?!?!
That Girl Who Sang Melt Away Was Fantastic!!

I think Looking In is the best... so Mariah.. amazing vocal with a simple voice and with no arrangements! It showed!!
Congrats!

Cidalia Castro Brasil é ah Melhor pois tem talento pra dar e vender , só que não é melhor Minha Diva Mariah .

The Best .

By Ricardo Kerr

I think Mariah Daily was not very clear about who can participate in this contest. It was lead to believe that it was for singers not bands. However, I think the 11 who were chosen out of the twelve were very good singers.

Cidalia and Petya are my favorites. They were both very good at keeping Mariah's song a Mariah song instead of changing the key so much that it sounded like a different song. Their vocal range was excellent. Both songs are a hard song to sing and they pulled it off well.

I wonder how Amber ever made it to the contest with the song she chose to sing. If there is any talent in her, it doesn't show up in her song at all. She has no life in her voice at all. It highly disappointed me to see that she is in the top twelve. She really has no reason to be in the contest. There was either a judge who made a mistake or Amber is close friends with someone who had authority in choosing who makes it to the contest.

Abed did an awesome job with Touch My Body. I never could imagine a guy singing this song. It was quite funny. But he sang it with the high parts that it's supposed to have. His voice sounds good. He did a great job.

I think John did good with the song Bye Bye. One thing I don't like, though, is how the note was changed DRAMATICALLY to fit his range. That action was taking an MC song and making it a new song. Even though he "remade" it, it does sound good. But for this contest, I think that wasn't the point (making it a different song).

I really enjoyed listenning to these top 12 finalists!! But i have to say that men have been far better, except one girl who did very very well (looking in)
My crush goes to john Carlton who sang Bye Bye, it was very original, he tried to do the song on his own without copying Mariah and that's was very good!! Besides, Petya, Petr , dzulfaldzy and abed you did a great job!!!!!!! Keep singing beautifully like you did!!!

I'm in love with Dzulfasly. Great falsetto, great vocal control & i love the huskiness in his voice. So refreshing for a male singer! Where is Malaysia by the way? I think he is a top 3 contender in the competition. No doubt about it. XoXo from Japan

I have to say that I still can't define my favorite one... John Carlton with Bye Bye/One Sweet Day is SO good, almost professional. The voice and the song choice of Juan Fath is amazingly good, I could never imagine a guy sending this song, and he realy did a great Job. And Petr Lansky went so well with Can't let go that make me sing along with him the entire song! I MC and I love to hear other people singing her songs because we always expects them to do a Terrible thing... But is good to know that if the person have their own personality, not try to emulate her, it could be a good work. People have to have on their mind when their singing a Mariah's song that they are not capable of emulate her... No one can do that!

Ivan Souza - Sao Bernardo do Campo - SP - Brasil

The order of which i liked them

1 Petya Dimitrova (Bulgaria) "Looking In")- Abslutely the best. I like how it sounded live and she had full control over her voice. My vote goes for her

2 John Carlton (USA) - "Bye Bye"- Nice rendition. Like the mix of One sweet day too.

3 Rocky Heron (USA) - "Love Story"- Like the Guitar and original take on love Story.

4 Hero -Varun Pratap- I prefered this version of Hero a little bit more but both were good.

5 Cidalia Castro (Brazil) - "Anytime You Need A Friend"- Good preformance and voice, and was the only one to hit the standard MC whistle register

6 Carlos Baez (Mexico) - "Hero"- Good voice, nice version

7 Amber Cartwright (USA) - "Right To Dream"- Simple yet sweet song and performance. very good

8 Kara Hess (USA) - "Melt Away"- One of my fav MC songs but too many extra notes in there

9 Abed Elamrani (France) - "Touch My Body"- Interesting pick and vocals

10 Dzulfadzly Zammani (Malaysia) - "Through The Rain"- Good performance overall nothing special

11 Petr Lansky (Czech Republic) - "Can't Let Go"- Great song, simple rendition, My favorite song, so it was kind of dissapointing for me

12 Juan Fath (Indonesia) - "Circles" - Simple song, Simple Rendition, Nothing special

"Looking in" is the best one! Great voice, Petya! You got my vote.

Amber was the worst voice. Nothing good at all about her singing.

Cidalia was very good. She has good vocal range. Her voice is good but not as sweet as Petya's. The squeal was perfect. Definitely not something that just anyone can imitate.

The guys version of the songs were good. They had good voices as well. But no one sang Mariah's song better than Petya.

Overall, my favorite was Petya. She was amazing. Great vocal range. Beautiful voice. She has my vote.

Dear Mariah fans,

The R&B group AHMIR heard about John Carlton's rendition of their version of "Bye Bye" which he submitted for this "M Factor" contest. Quite a few fans of the group alerted them recently. The guys in AHMIR are quite upset about John Carlton's cover (which has earned him a finalist position). The group worked very hard in creating a unique arrangement of "Bye Bye" which is dedicated to each member's lost family member or friend. The "One Sweet Day" bridge was carefully thought up to be a signature part of this special arrangement. The group read John's comment here and acknowledges that he admitted to imitating their version of "Bye Bye" and that he felt he didn't do anything wrong. However, the reason why they feel it is wrong is because he is using AHMIR's arrangement for a contest to win a prize and advance his own career. Everyone who listens to John's version on the mariahdaily.com site believes it was his own creativity with no credit to AHMIR (except in these comments which will largely not be read). Although in some ways the group is flattered by the great comments John has been receiving, it hurts them so much more that they aren't being acknowledged and John Carlton is taking all the credit. The judges who are judging this contest surely do not know this was AHMIR's version and their resounding praise for the "One Sweet Day" mash-up is really disheartening to the group as this was THEIR way of making "Bye Bye" their own. As you all know, this music industry is very difficult to break into and to have someone take AHMIR's spotlight to shine it upon themselves (whether innocently or not) is not right. The group AHMIR asks that John Carlton officially credit them in this contest and share in any accolades. This seems like the right thing to do, right?

Below is the link to AHMIR's version of "Bye Bye" they posted on YouTube on April 30, 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omScyt9tSds

Sincerely,

Michael J. Cheung on behalf of Big Mike, Sing-Sing, Mr. Jones & KC of AHMIR

i think that john needs to resubmit another song to the judges, doesnt have to be as polished. it only seems fair. anyone who is a fan of mariah knows of ahmir's interpretation of bye bye and their other credited interpretations of when you look into my eyes, love lockdown, etc. the only way to get noticed these days in the business is to keep on churning out videos and covering songs in the hopes of igniting some interest in the field.

I just went to see an amazing Bulgarian band called AMORIC here in Dublin!
Then I heard Petya's version of LOOKING IN...
It looks like Bulgarians finally made it for the bad reputation they got after the infamous "Ken Lee"....
Cheers for Petya! Me votes for her!

Amber + Carlos + Dzulfadzly + John + Juan + Petr + Petya + Rocky = STONE GROOVE SMASH HIT WONDER!!!

Do you think John should be disqualified ? Its gonna be tougher for next round I'm sure...

John should be disqualified in my opinion. The song is good but it's not fair.

Dear Mariah Daily Journal (MDJ),

Due to the unexpected negative response to my cover of AHMIR's arrangement of "Bye Bye", please consider this my official request to remove my submission from the Mariah Daily Journal contest M-Factor.

Please have it be noted that it was never my intention to take credit for AHMIR's arrangement as I assumed wrongly that, since MDJ had played a major part in the promotion of AHMIR's cover several months ago, it would be obvious to the patrons, judges, and voters of the M-Factor contest that my submission was not my full and total arrangement. Obviously, according to the judges and voter comments, such was not the case. In any event, it was my understanding that the M-Factor contest was a vocal contest only, not an arrangement contest, and the fact that I submitted an arrangement so far from the original would have minimal, if any, bearing on being judged on my vocal performance.

Therefore, please consider this my sincerest apology for any disruption I have caused the contest M-Factor, its participants, AHMIR, or Mariah Daily Journal (MDJ). I would ask that my self-removal be considered as part of the first week's elimination process and that the fact that I have asked to remove my submission from the M-Factor contest be published to your website, www.mariahdaily.com.

Once again, I sincerely apologize for offending anyone involved in this contest. With kind regards I remain,

Very truly yours,

John Carlton

CC: Mariah Daily Journal (contact@mariahdaily.com)
AHMIR (via MySpace message)

Amber + Carlos + Dzulfadzly + John + Juan + Petr + Petya + Rocky = STONE GROOVE SMASH HIT WONDER!!!

Go Dzulfadly!!!!!!!!!!!!! TTR is my fav and you sing it perfectly. This male version truly awesome and should be listed on iTunes

Horeeee!! Can't wait for his next song.

i salute John. That is the right thing to do now.......

THIS IS JUST SO WRONG!

I think John Carlton is right. It's a VOCAL contest, not an arrangement contest! I don't think he meant to take all the credits. by "imitating" AHMIR's version... The group should be PROUD for having somebody on the top 12 who got inspired by their arrangement, NOT FEEL BAD AND ASK CREDIT ABOUT IT.

I am upset that John asked to leave, and this should not be done.

PLUS, there are some HORRIBLE voices on this competition... what's the deal?

JOHN, you rock, you did a great job and you SHOULD WIN.

AHMIR, you guys are amazing, but I'm disappointed at how you guys BEG for credit claiming its the "right" thing to do. I think your concept of what is right is mistaken.

MARIAHDAILY.COM please say something about this mess.

In response to DAVID F:

We don't have to beg for credit, lol...the very nature of the word credit means its owed to us...but thats not the issue...though we are certain that vocal talent plays a big part in this contest, originality and creativity obviously do also, as noted by the language in the contest rules as copied below from the MDJ front page:

ROUND 1: "VISION OF FAME" WEEK
To kick off the competition, we asked The M Factor hopefuls to audition by submitting THEIR RENDITION (not someone else's rendition) of any original Mariah song from her very extensive catalog of music. Each entry was reviewed and critiqued fairly by the Mariah Daily Journal team and our panel of judges: Jason, Robin, Kevon, Felipe, and Marie.

Thats our issue...John did not submit HIS OWN RENDITION...if you disagree with us then you also disagree with the contest parameters as stated above. That being said, we think John did the right thing and we were touched by the heartfelt apology and explanation he sent to us personally...it was very sincere. We replied to him and we feel that there is no further reason for any bad feelings or negativity.

We also let John know that he didn't have to withdraw his submission as long as he was willing to share whatever benefits his entry might reap.

John did the right thing in pulling out to prevent conflict. I loved the Ahmir version the minute I heard it and wished MC would release a remix with them. It is wrong for a contestant to sing their version without attribution to them as well. The love Story guy was very sincere and unique sounding. An MC/Boys to Men remake with the ahmir arrangement would be fabulous too in honor of One Sweet Day. Sorry Ahmir.

john carlton should not withdraw from the m factor. he did not violate any of the rules or regulations. IT'S HIS VOICE!!! i mean, that's like saying if someone entered with "always be my baby" but sung the david cook version they should be disqualified. that's ridiculous! he never claimed the version was his.

You know, whatever... really, John left the competition. You guys, AHMIR, are not even on the contest. You would have my vote for sure (if you were on this contest) because the very first time I heard you guys singing I went crazy for the group. I was loving reading your very first comment here, but then I didnt like how you wrote "The group AHMIR asks that John Carlton officially credit them in this contest and share in any accolades. This seems like the right thing to do, right". Because if the the very nature of the word credit means its owed to you guys, it would come without asking. But as you said, that's not the main issue here. But anyway, I'm Glad you and John made contact, if you guys are okay with this all, why would I be speaking nonsense, right? John is amazing, AHMIR is amazing as well. Both of you should now sing together and put on youuuuutube lol

I like Petr Lansky's voice. It reminds me of the great electronic bands of the '80s (Depeche Mode, New Order, OMD, etc.).

If this is a pure vocal contest, why there are some comments about the arrangement? It's an artistic contest.

I am really a fan of the Love Story cover. It's the most original one here, by miles. I'd like to hear it recorded professionally, although the recording isn't even that bad.

Great fans and great singers also. In my opinion there are 4 contestants that must be taken as finalists, some of them for their vocal skills and some of them for their creativity.

Vocally: Abed and Petya are the best, Abed did a great job recording every single part of Touch My Body with no background vocals but his, just himself with a powerful rendition though at the end it sounded a little exagerated when he goes saying "....deseeerve!".

Petya´s rendition of Lookin In is awesome, I´m sure that if she had recorded a capella version she would have still sound great. Nice and soft vocals, actually I must say that just at the beginning of the song it sounds gorgeously perfect, almost like Mariah but still being Petya´.

Now, John and Rocky must be recognized for their creativity. John´s Bye Bye version is great but still risky because he even added some words at the end of the "medley" that are not neither from "Bye Bye" nor from "One Sweet Day". Just like a 2008 Never Too Far-Hero medley, but let´s remember this is a vocal competition.

And Rocky, well to me it was like hearing a male country version of "Love Story", original, funny and...... great!

So let´s say: 1° Abed, 2° Rocky, 3° Petya, 4° John.

Thanks for reading.

Hi. :)

As you can see I'm from Bulgaria too but that's not the only reason I'm voting for Petya. (Btw my sister's name is Petya too... :)) )

I just think that Petya Dimitrova is really very tallented and has a beautiful voice that resembles Mariah's and her technique is very good too. She really deserves compliments for it.

Just one friendly advice for you, Petya: Try to bring in the lower register more and make it sound just a little louder... Go, Petya! :))

John Carlton had the best entry - end of story. I hate that he has withdrawn from the competition when he has a great voice and can actually sng (which, unfortunately, cannot be said about many entries this year). I think he should stay in the competition, granted that he gets enough votes, and then he'll have a chance to prove himself in the next round. Seriously, without John I only managed to listen to Petya and Rocky all the way through.

Aside, I couldn't agree more with David F, and I think AHMIR's manager took it that one step too far with this wtf inducing comment:

"We also let John know that he didn't have to withdraw his submission as long as he was willing to share whatever benefits his entry might reap."

Share benefits? First you said you only wanted credit for the arrangement, which he did give, and now you want to share the benefits? Wow. Just. Wow. My view of the group just changed dramatically.

Carlos ... you're my "hero"!
Dzulfadzly ... you "gonna make it through" the finale!
Juan ... you "got me running around in circles over" your performance!
Kara ... your "sensual tone envelops me and i lost my self control"!
Petr ... "something in your voice captured my soul"!
Rocky ... "this isn't another cover of the song, this is truly"!
LOVE YOU GUYS! GOOD LUCK!!

Come on PETYAAAA!!!
I know her for more than 13 years now, and I can reassure you she is the most hard-working person for singing. Singing is her life, and she is pursuing it! So please vote for her, she can do even better, but we need to show her our appreciation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO ON, PETYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bye bye will win this contest.. simple, touching, creative! the one sweet day addition was so sool!! nice! creative!

Hi JOI, the last thing I want to do is alienate any fans of AHMIR with what has happened here. AHMIR and John Carlton have already reached out to one another and made great peace with everything in a very sincere and respectful manner. AHMIR really values their supporters and doesn't want anyone to think they are being overzealous & greedy. My first comment did include that John should share in any benefits... "The group AHMIR asks that John Carlton officially credit them in this contest and share in any accolades." Therefore, I did not just come up with the sharing in benefits later. Again, the contest stated "ROUND 1: "VISION OF FAME" WEEK To kick off the competition, we asked The M Factor hopefuls to audition by submitting THEIR RENDITION." If John is submitting his vocal recording of AHMIR's rendition then AHMIR is essentially part of his submission and jointly they should take credit and whatever benefits received. So Joi, I hope you can understand where the group and I are coming from. I think if you put yourself in our shoes you might be able to see that we're not trying to take anything more than what we feel is fair. Myself and the group would like you to remain a fan and if we somehow offended you with this ordeal we are truly sorry.

Wow, I have been listening to music for God knows how long, and I have always wondered how is it like in the music industry, and some of you here showed me a little picture, people arguing over a song that is not even
theirs, who shares the benefit and who shares the credit, music is music, it's meant to be the most beautiful thing on earth, the one thing that heals our mind and soul, but sadly most of singers don't practice what they preach through their music, However, John is genuine, and a true artist who cares about others. Great talent and a great attitude, keep it up.
And I don't think you will be called a (boyz II men) clone at any given time.

The tour is off? It is true? I hope that it is a lie , i'll be so sad if i don't see her , i'm waiting her for 8 years and now when i finally moved to france , she is not coming?wtf?
btw , i love all the finalists :D but the bye bye one , it's like wow .
But i like Cidalia from brazil too :D I bet she talks portuguese like me aha :D

If anyone is gonna share the prize with anyone it she be with Mariah she is the creative genius behind this music period. Its lame to go on her and her some band trying to get attention on a song that isn't theirs. That's all I have to say on that matter. On to important news, so I'm kinda glad and of course bummed that Mariah isn't touring. Mostly because it confirms all of her weird behavior and her lack of movement on stage. I'm happy for her and I want her to take some time to actually live her life that way she can jump back into the music scene fully rested and fully fulfilled. Wonder if that means no holiday special...

Carlos ... you're my "hero"! Dzulfadzly ... you "gonna make it through" the finale! Juan ... you "got me running around in circles over" your performance! Kara ... your "sensual tone envelops me and i lost my self control"! Petr ... "something in your voice captured my soul"! Rocky ... "this isn't just another cover of the song, this is truly"!

Love you guys!

CAN I ASK A QUESTION??????????????????

ARENT ALL THE OTHER SONGS IN TEH COMPETITION MARIAH SONGS? WHY DO WE WANT TO DISQUALIFY JOHNS VERSION OF BYE BYE?

ITS A MARIAH SONG ISNT IT?

ITS JUST AN ARRANGEMENT SOME ONE ELSE DID RIGHT?

SO WHY SHOULD IT BE DISQUALIFIED?

WERE TEH RULES SPECIFIC IN SAYING THAT IT HAD TO BE A MARIAH ARRANGEMENT?

SUPPOSE BEYONCE HAD REMADE DREAMLOVER AS A BALLAD AND SOMEONE ENTERED THAT VERSION INTO THE COMPETITION, WOULD THEY BE DISQUALIFIED?

MOVE ON PEOPLE. BYE BYE IS IN TEH FINALS BECAUSE WE ARENT JUDGING ON THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE SONG ALTHOUGH SOMEONE MIGHT GET EXTRA POINTS IF THEY DID SOMETHING CREATIVE. bUT AS IT STANDS EVERYONE IN TEH COMPETITION EITHER TRIED TO SOUND JUST LIKE MARIAH OR DID SOMEONE ELSES TAKE ON A MARIAH SONG!!!!!!!

WHAT THE PROBLEM IS?

Well this is the order I voted for the 9 Finalists:1st place John Carlton- Bye Bye,2nd place Kara Hess- Melt Away, 3rd place Petya Dimitrova- Looking In, 4th place Abed Elamrani -Touch My Body, 5th place Cadalia Castro- Anytime You Need A Friend, 6th place Petr Lansky -Can't Let Go, 7th place Juan Fath- Circles, 8th place Carlos Baez- Hero, and 9th place Rocky Heron- Love story. I can truly say they all did a great job with their vocals. The men blew me away with some of vocal ranges and did an Excellent Job in changing the songs to make it their own. The Women did a Wonderful Job also. Beautiful voice Petya Castro wow at first I thought you were Mariah there. Kara Hess good job work more on your high notes come out more strong.Cadalia Castro you can blow girl, work on consistancy, choose songs that bring you out more in the other round because you have a strong voice. Amber Cartwright- Right To Dream, you have a beautiful voice but you didnot have any background music which would have brought you out more on this song. Dzulfadzly Zammani - Through The Rain, this is my favorite song but I felt you stayed to safe with his vocals in this competition. You have a nice voice. Varun Pratap- Hero , nice voice but the others were better. Love you all can't wait to here some of you in the next round of competition.

Are you kidding me? Dzulfadly kept it simple and smooth & I vote for him as well. I also vote for Petya & John. I just don't like Amber. She is just another Mariah's clone. Vocally.

Well I'm very excited to hear new songs from the contestant. I'm sure they are working hard for this. Lets reset this game maybe ? :p

The sadest thing is that its clear, plain to see, that John was gonna win this contest! :(

AHMIR's manager, you have not offended me in any way, I am simply appalled by your behaviour. And since you are speaking on behalf of a group that I would never even have heard of was it not for Mariah Carey, I think it is distasteful to seat yourselves upon those high horses – just as you are not claiming praise for writing these songs, I did not see John claiming praise for anything other than his voice. If the band and John have reached an agreement, good for them, but that doesn’t erase the character your have displayed on this forum. The very nature of my dismay is that I would never behave or speak the way you have… But you know what, at the end of the day, none of this even matters. I have lost any interest I had in AHMIR – granted they are talented, but I cannot and will not support people whose behaviour leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. If John is reading this, know that there are people here who would like to see and hear more of you, and please reconsider your resignation. Best of luck to you!

John #1 Dzulfadzly #2

All the BEST !! DZULL from MALAYSIA ;p

Joi is my hero

;)

Joi, was my and group's behavior really that obnoxious? It was our every intention to be as respectful as possible here in this forum. We still respect John a great deal too and would like to hear more from him as well. I don't believe we stepped over any boundaries or tried to hold ourselves on a high pedestal. We were simply expressing an emotion. The only way we found out about this situation is because we had several fans tell us about this. If it were only one or two, we might have dismissed it, but after more than 5 people we felt we had to address it. If you were in AHMIR's position what do you think would have been the honorable reply to John? I'm always looking to improve how I deal with things and this is the first such situation. So next time something like this comes up maybe I can be more sensitive. I'd love to hear your thoughts Joi. Perhaps, maybe we just have to agree to disagree. Nevertheless, we respect your opinion Joi.

Joi, was my and group's behavior really that obnoxious? It was our every intention to be as respectful as possible here in this forum. We still respect John a great deal too and would like to hear more from him as well. I don't believe we stepped over any boundaries or tried to hold ourselves on a high pedestal. We were simply expressing an emotion. The only way we found out about this situation is because we had several fans tell us about this. If it were only one or two, we might have dismissed it, but after more than 5 people we felt we had to address it. If you were in AHMIR's position what do you think would have been the honorable reply to John? I'm always looking to improve how I deal with things and this is the first such situation. So next time something like this comes up maybe I can be more sensitive. I'd love to hear your thoughts Joi. Perhaps, maybe we just have to agree to disagree. Nevertheless, we respect your opinion Joi.

Well, hey you guys... No doubt:' Who'll win this competition is Cidalia Castro. She sung really really amazing *anytime you need a friend*, if you didn't hear, go on and take faith in her range *But her range stays behind Mariah's*... Did you hear the high note that she made, and her voice seems like Mariah's voice :'

Of course... Cidalia Castro... Boa sorte Cidalia..............

I don't think it was fair that the singers were allowed to change the way the original song is to fit their voice. To a point it's understandable but the guys (besides Abed) changed it WAY TOO MUCH.

It also isn't fair that bands were included when mariahdaily said it was for singers. They didn't mention anything about bands.

John sounded great in the Bye Bye song. But for this contest, I was under the impression that it should be as close to the orginal as possible and by no means was it. As far as the arrangement, I think John was smart to resign. If someone takes a part of what someone else has, they should do it with permission. What he did to the other group wasn't right.

THANK YOU TINA for recognizing how bad Amber was in the song Right To Dream. I didn't read every single comment posted here but I didn't notice too many people saying that. Maybe it's because they only want to talk good. But another thing is I did read at least one comment where someone said that Amber was good. Obviously that person is so wrong.

Cidalia's squeal was incredible. Petya has a beautiful voice. The guys don't sound bad but I think they changed the song way too much. Abed is the only one who didn't change it too much and sounded really good. What an excellent job.

Cidalia Castro from Brazil has a biiiiiiiig BEEG talent! she is a great singer and performer with technical approach and experience...
she singing Anytime just proove her perfection in singing songs like this...

There are some incredible entries and an amazing pool of talent. I have to admit this was challenging. I loved Cidalia Castro's rendition of "Anytime you need a friend." That is an incredibly difficult song, and the girl sang her butt off. Abed Elamtani was great. I enjoyed his vocals and it was very radio friendly that was awesome. Dzulfadzly - incredible right on and one of my favorites. There are so many to mention. I voted for Varun Pratap. I feel his version was original and personal. It felt like he was truly sharing something personal and his version brought tears to my eyes. There was pain, vulnerability and hopefulness that he shows in his rendition of "Hero." I truly find him to have an individualized approach to the song. He is a great artist. As one of Mariah's many fans I love her body of work, and her depth as an artist she has impacted countless singers, songwriters and musicians. She pulls from all genres of music to give the world a diverse and incomparable sound and body of work. Varun is that type of artist.

Carlos ... you're my "hero"! Dzulfadzly ... you "gonna make it through" the finale! Juan ... you "got me running around in circles over" your performance! Kara ... your "sensual tone envelops me and i lost my self control"! Petr ... "something in your voice captured my soul"! Rocky ... "this isn't another cover of the song, this is truly"! LOVE YOU GUYS! GOOD LUCK!!

Mariahdaily failed to give a clarification of what was expected in the recordings from singers. If they had given clear instructions from the start there would be no problems, including John's recording of Bye Bye.

The contest was about how well people sing. Therefore, John shouldn't be excluded from the contest.

This has nothing to do with the M Factor: I can't believe the tour is off! I was saving up money. I'm pissed, I'v never been to a Mariah concert or never seen her perform live. I knew she was going to go to Miami, FL because she always does for her tour. I think she is pregnant, & if she is...WHY?! At this time? Well, I can't do nothing about it, it is what it is, probaly we will have to wait a LLLOOOONNNGGG time for Mariah's next tour. After having a child & recording a new album, & possible a new film. I was really hoping for Mariah to go on tour next year. :(

Cidalia is the singer with the more powerfull voice... but everyone are good!

From all the negative comments about my acapella rendition of "Right to Dream," I would like to be removed from the contest. I DO NOT wish to be in any way associated with this contest any longer. It takes a lot to just throw yourself out there like that and for people to make such comments is not very nice. Good luck to the rest of the finalists.

God Bless.
~Amber

I liked your acapella rendition of "Right to Dream" and I voted for you! Don't pay attention to anyone's opinion Amber! You did a great job. Everyone did actually! Good Luck!!!

Amber -- I also enjoyed listening to your rendition. If you are truly inspired by Mariah -- remember what happened through "Glitter", and her entire career. She is constanly criticized -- whether negative or positive. Yet her contributions of herself and her music are testimonials that she can survive it all and still be on top. As an artist you have to brace yourself for everything and always remain true to yourself. And the competition will not matter it will fade because you are doing it from your heart -- not for other peoples approval of who you are. Mariah is Mariah because she is an Artist from the heart and nothing wil ever stop her success. In order to achieve success you gotta get through it all. Good Luck to you...

for me the best is LOVE STORY! its unique and not like another Mariah "replicate" just himself and made it his own. alot of others were really good, but i found myself pressing stop earlier than love story =] (thats how you know i like a song) lol

Hey guys! Thanks for your nice comments I appreciate it so much! I think everyone did great and I wanna thank you guys at MD for letting us do this! I know in my cover of Melt Away in the first verse I switched it up and did a bit of my own thing to fit my voice more because I was just more comfortable that way. I did give it a shot in the second verse though lol. And it does take a lot to throw yourself out there cuz' no one's voice is perfect, trying to keep up with all Mariah's riff's I sometimes get pitchy..Mariah's songs are challenging for anyone if you wanna do it exact so I give props to all my fellow contenders!

Vamos Carloz!!
Eres el mejor sin duda alguna!!

All guys work so hard for the record , all songs are amazing ....Cidalia Castro you're amazing with Anytime you need a friend ......

Carlos ... you're my "hero"! Dzulfadzly ... you "gonna make it through" the finale! Juan ... you "got me running around in circles over" your performance! Kara ... your "sensual tone envelops me and i lost my self control"! Petr ... "something in your voice captured my soul"! Rocky ... "this isn't another cover of the song, this is truly"!
LOVE YOU GUYS! WISH I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Mariah is the best in the world and ppl critisize her all the time. Luckily she doesn't let any of it bother her to the point to where she would resign or us fans would be missing out on so much, not to mention missing her so much.
One thing that no one with any sense at all can deny is Mariah has talent. She makes mistakes but that's not because she's not talented. That is because she is human.

i don't think it's necessary for anyone to resign because of negative criticism but there are some people out there who have no musical potetntial and Amber is one of them. This isn't a matter of being "not nice." That is a matter of "fact." Mariahdaily.com judges were the ones that chose who was going to be on the list before we ever got the chance to vote. They are at fault for allowing Amber to be on the list in the first place and not the current voters.

Off Subject but I really really want For the Record to Mariah's next single. It's very 'My All' meets 'Music box' meets 'The Roof' meets 'Fourth of July'. Its one of the only songs that can go to many platforms since its doesn't follow a particular format. It conveys more emotions without over singing. The tone is awesome its very catchy and very different which lets be honest the only reason that bad singers like Rihanna and Katey Perry have jobs right now cause they are bringing some different material constantly. Plus its easy to create remixes for it since it has a great tempo. And it was good enough to represent Mariah's perfume ad's. It would be like a little wink to her fans :D I really hope she or someone responsible for her music is reading this. That's just me being sensible and real.

Alex...you seriously need to think twice before saying anything at all. Okay...so I may not be the best singer in the damn world, but at least I tried. sometimes the truth is better left unsaid! At least Mariah has a heart and wouldn't criticize me like you just did. Amen!

RAPHAEL***
Thanks so much for those encouraging words
i sang that song during the mumbai terror attacks in my country India...and bcoz of my amateur sound card and sound system..i record through speaker music and headphones mic and do everything in 1 take...i tried my best, thanks for noticing.
:)

Love this competition.
My favorite is Abed,Cidalia,John Fath and guys form Malaysia and Mexico (forgot their name)
I wait someone will cover "We Belong Together" and "Emotions" hehe

Mike, maybe you're one of those people who really don't have an ear for music and think you're amazing when you don't realize you aren't. There's lots of people out there like that....Just watch American Idol tryouts. The judges obviously aren't clowns because they made great decisions and there is such a thing as constructive criticism though I don't believe criticism does anyone any good, just encouragement to improve. I don't think Amber was the best singer in the contest but I do think the girl has a decent voice and depending on her age (cuz' it sounds like she's young) maybe she doesn't have the maturity in it just yet, also poor equiptment (which I think *Varun* they ALL had poor equiptment not just you excluding a few) can contribute, she worked with what she had, she stayed in key and her voice had a pretty quality to it. Amber, don't listen to any of them and Mariah faced lots of criticism, she still does to this day, for her everything from to her personal life, clothes, appearance and yes, even still, her voice, but people are going to you can't let it get to you. I think you did great!! No, you did do great.