【文摘】关于麦叔，他们说……

The coolest contestant of season 10's "American Idol" has stepped out in the form of Paul McDonald. ... And his laid-back, easygoing style makes him an early standout among the semi-finalists. ... He chose to forgo popular logic and sang an original song for his final shot in front of the judges instead of a cover. The guy couldn't blend into the background if he tried.
—Adam Graham, MTV.com, Feb. 23, 2011

Fans of American Idol contestant Paul McDonald’s voice — think James Blunt meets Ray LaMontagne — don’t have to wait until the next show to hear it. His band, the Grand Magnolias, have a 10-song album that you can hear in its entirety now on his website. ... I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an Idol contestant this polished and prepared for stardom.
—Mandi Bierly, EW.com, Feb. 24, 2011

Bearded country boy Paul McDonald put all his raspy goodness on display for Rod Stewart's "Maggie May," working the stage like a seasoned veteran while doing his rag-doll dance and sliding in some vocal quirks and plenty of smiling eye contact with the crowd. "You got a real character about your voice, and I love that, the way you act up there and just shake it off," Tyler said. Randy was excited that "Idol" could embrace such a quirky singer, but Jennifer said it was his 1,000-watt smile that really hooked her.
—Gil Kaufman, MTV.com, March 1, 2011

Excellent: Paul McDonald — Why wasn't he featured more in Hollywood Week? Goofy and gospel-y, this Southern boy was an utter delight during his breakout performance Tuesday. McDonald was, at times, overwhelmed by the backing band, but his vocal tone is truly distinctive and his song choice of Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" was spot on. We remain undecided about those dance moves: wink-wink awkward or just awkward?
—Eric Ditzian, MTV.com, Mar. 2, 2011

No one seemed to be having more fun onstage last week than McDonald. Gospel-tinged Southern rock is his sweet spot, and we definitely dig it. We see McDonald reaching back into the '70s this week, and we expect another top-notch performance. Anything less would be a let-down.
— Eric Ditzian, MTV.com, March 9, 2011

Paul McDonald is a little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll, and a whole lot of quirky. McDonald went way outside of the box and picked a song by alternative country singer Ryan Adams. ... One thing that McDonald has going for him is his pure joy of performing.
—Bryce Westervelt, Examiner.com, March 10, 2011

Paul McDonald tends to get so fired up that his wild swing and shimmy across the stage seems to distract from his raspy vocals. Tie him down in the studio, and his fantastic take on Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" makes him a star in waiting. His undeniable stamp is all over this one, full of his warm, happy go lucky vocals that are as unmistakable as they are infectious.
—Chad Grischow, IGN.com, March 16, 2011

After a few seasons where singers frequently hid behind guitars and pianos, Paul McDonald busted out the first acoustic of the finals and did some picking and grinning on Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' titanic "Tracks of My Tears." Transforming the party tune into a down-home folk rocker, McDonald put on his best Rod Stewart rasp and remade the weeper as if he'd just written it before hitting the stage.
—Gil Kaufman, MTV.com, Mar. 23, 2011

The boy with the cougar pin, Paul McDonald, went with a folk-rock version of the Miracles’ “Tracks of My Tears” — another song commonly considered to be "owned on the Idol stage" by someone else (season 8's Adam Lambert). ... The point is, no one was thinking about Adam because enough new and strange Paul McDonald stuff was happening on stage. In fact, after he finished, I was dying to listen to both the original version and Adam's. ... He finally acknowledged the gravity of the song and lyrics during those final moments. Even Randy was gushing. "Dude, when you sing tender at the very end, oh my God, dude. Definitely got the husky thing going on." Randy actually says these things. Constantly! J. Lo said Paul "had like a tear in his voice," which is kind of profound. "You're the complete package," she continued. "All you need is a producer, and there you go!" She would know!
—Annie Barrett, EW.com, March 24, 2011

Paul's wisest move was to strap on that guitar, keeping him anchored in place. ... We were finally able to concentrate on those unique vocals of his, which sound like he smoked a carton of Marlboro Reds, then guzzled a bucketful of locally grown honey. In short, Paul is back!
—Eric Ditzian, MTV.com, Mar. 24, 2011

回复：11楼
粗略翻译：
PAUL最明智的举动，便是背上了他的吉他，呆在原地。
我们终于可以把注意力集中到他那独特的声音上了。
听着就像他刚抽完一包红万宝路，然后狂饮了一大桶当地蜂蜜。
简而言之，麦叔回归了！


He starts in almost a whisper, a good place for that scratchy voice.
He's got the guitar again, but the song has enough pauses between the lines to let him roam just a little bit.
Still, the mic stand gives him a much-needed anchor. Elton's melody is bigger than Paul's voice, but he finds some clever ways to sing around his limitations.
All in all, it's one of my favorite of his performances.
"When you get into that tender zone, with that quiet, soft voice, it's very infectious," Randy says.
—Brian Mansfield, USAToday, March 30, 2011

We’ve all been encouraging the judges to be harsher, but now they were harsh on  
Paul for no good reason. This was easily his best performance since “Blackbird,” and  
his “Rocket Man” was a song of quiet beauty. Did the judges just cause Paul to be in  
trouble? It’s possible, but this week he doesn’t deserve it.
—Matt Carter, Examiner.com, March 30, 2011
关于叔B3的那场演出：
我们总鼓励评委严厉一点，但是他们现在对paul的演出莫名严厉了一番。
这是paul自“blackbird”以来最好的一次表演，他的“rocket man”有一种静谧之美。
评委这样是不是给paul造成了点儿麻烦呢？
或许吧，但真这样，就太不值了。

I like quirky voices. They have character. ... [Paul] is the only singer "American Idol" has  
produced this season that occasionally moves me. And that makes me likes him better. I  
can't help that. I'm a music fan.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, March 31, 2011