American Idol Blog

American Idol in the eyes of the tone-deaf Fitzy...

This week is Top 12 week, so now we are down to the cream of the crap...or crop. The Lennon McCartney week Idol has been wanting to do for years is finally here, and maybe they will not suck it up. My grading scale will be as follows: Awesome, Super, Average, Bogus, and Zzzzz.

1. Syesha - (Got to get you into my life) This was a strong start to the Top 12 show, which is good since the first few singers can be forgotten if the latter half of the show is strong. The new stage looks sharp for the performances, but getting back to Syesha...she's definitely done the song justice tonight. Grade: Super.

2. Chikeze - (She's A Woman) Overall I was not thrilled with this performance, which apparently makes me in contrast with Kelley and all the judges. I thought the arrangement was brilliant, but perhaps a little above what Chikeze can do vocally. I love that he took a slow fiddle-picking start and finished up rocking. This will keep him safe in all likelihood. Grade: Average.

3. Ramiele - (In My Life) Oh my goodness, slow down a slow emotional song and make it worse. This was bad news all around because the performance bored everyone in the house to tears. There's nothing else to say about this one. No good comments from the judges either, so she may be joining her B.F.F. Danny by going home this week. GRADE: Zzzzz.

4. Jason - (If I Fell) Wow dreds needs to lose the damn guitar. It bothers me that he will not just show us he can sing. He could win acoustic idol in Columbus for sure, but that's not the competition. Again, the judges were pretty much right on...they must have sobered up this week. This performance only looks good thanks to what it directly followed. GRADE: Bogus.

5. Carly - (Come Together) If this girl oversang these songs anymore, we wouldn't be able to hear the band. I think Carly is one of the better contestants overall, but I'd really like to see her back off and do something like a normal singer. I think this was a poor song choice, but the judges are correct that she doesn't miss a note. GRADE: Average.

6. David Cook - (Eleanor Rigby) So the lesser David of Season 7 thinks playing his own guitar wouldn't add to Eleanor Rigby...no shit. The rolled up jacket collar is distracting. As for the performance, it was too plain jane for the song. It's OK to rock out and get points from me, but that will not sell America's mass of Teen-tards who will vote endlessly on Mommy and Daddy's phones. Surprised at the judge's love on this one. GRADE: Average.

7. Brooke - (Let It Be) The piano thing 2 weeks in a row is a bit much, but she could be parlaying her Alicia Keys skills for the future. Definitely uncomfortable playing the piano and trying to look into the camera and at the audience. OK verse, but the chorus was weak when she could have shown off her vocal range. Please stop crying when the judges give positive feedback. Still, the solid piano play and song choice is enough to save her. GRADE: Average.

8. David Hernandez - (I Saw Her Standing There) If the singing thing doesn't work out, don't believe for a second stripper David would interview people for a living, unless by "interviewing" you mean "shaking his junk and working the stage" at the strip club. But onto the singing, the vocal was OK. In the words of Simon, that's a cruise ship vocal (something you could see in any Cruise Ship show). The judges say he was overdoing it, which is a nice way to say the performance sucked. They obviously weren't listening to Carly carefully enough. Still, highlight of the night is him saying "I'm just going to work the stage" and me snickering because I know how he works the stage back home. GRADE: Bogus.

9. Amanda - (You Can't Do That) Amanda's my girl, but she's got to avoid falling into a trap whenever she has to pick a non-Southern Rock song. She did some neat tricks with the vocals on this song, but it really shows how poor her harmony voice is when the backup singers jump in. The arrangement was good because she has to move things into Southern Rock. I really don't know other than the scratchy voice why she is the pick for VFTW (Vote For The Worst) or why she was in the bottom 3 girls two weeks ago, but whatever. Solid this week. GRADE: Super

10. Michael - (Across the Universe) This guy picked a good song for showing off your voice, which is indeed important in this competition. The performance was pretty forgettable, and Randy is right on with his "sleepy" comment. On a side note, I'm pretty sure Simon is sleeping with Carly and David Archuleta. Michael could be in trouble this week, as this was nothing special. GRADE: Bogus

11. Kristy Lee Cook - (Eight Days A Week) General Lee or KKKristy, depending on your favorite nickname, really put her Southern country all over this song. She definitely could pull a Carrie Underwood and stick around, but countrify-ing this song was a big mistake. The judges are wrong in some respect because doing runs is what country singers do. They are correct though in saying it was not a good performance. GRADE: Bogus

12. David Archuleta - (We Can Work It Out) Here comes the lovefest...I DESPISE how everybody cheers when he goes all diva every single week. Don't get me wrong, the kid has serious talent, but he's not the best thing since sliced bread. The clip of him singing for Kelly Clarkson six years ago when he was 11 just solidifed his D-Bag status in my book....on to the song, HE WHIFFED ON TWO LYRICS IN THE VERSE! Oh my God, he's mortal. This performance is the worst he's done on Idol, which is still better than many of the remaining contestants. Yay to the judges actually speaking truth. GRADE: Bogus [but to be fair, his fan base bumps up any grade I give him by one]

Well they did better on the Beatles songs than expected. I hope this isn't the "rock" show of the season, as the Beatles transcend all genres. The vote could go a number of ways next week and I don't have a great read on it. I think Ramiele is bottom 3 for sure, and David Hernandez is probably in big trouble. KKKristy Lee Cook may go also. If there were any justice, Archuleta would be Bottom 3 for committing the cardinal sin of forgetting lyrics...twice. But that won't happen.

TOP 3 - Syesha, Amanda, Brooke
BOTTOM 3 - Ramiele, Stripper David Hernandez, KKKristy Lee Cook
GOING HOME - Stripper Dave