The American Idol competition lost a surprising contestant last week in Carly. I just do not understand how the tween-tards could see such bad performances as Jason and Brooke last week and still don't put either in the bottom 2 (especially when Carly, Dave, Dave, and Syesha are just better singers most weeks). Well whatever, it's a crapshoot and I've hit 3 out of 6 going home...so that's worth something. This week is Neil Diamond week, which should be very interesting. How we got Dolly, Mariah, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Neil Diamond in the same season is mind-boggling. Well, each remaining contestant gets two chances to redeem themselves or mess it all up this week.
ROUND ONE
1. Jason Castro - "Forever in Blue Jeans" - And after the most uncomfortable week in Jason's run during theater week, he's back to the guitar crutch. At least he's standing. Nothing to say about the nice shirt and blue jeans, although it fits the song. This performance was pretty solid, but nothing strong vocally to show. But this was a good song choice. Kind of boring. The death slot might come back to bite him for last week's escape though.
GRADE: C
2. David Cook - "I'm Alive" - I don't know what "AC" means, but DC is pimpin it on the guitar and the jacket (half an AC/DC logo means we should think DC is missing...no it's David Cook...whatever). I love the rocking black outfit nevertheless and his guitar doesn't seem like so much of a crutch. This song was completely unrecognizable, but it seems to fit him. Nothing as stellar as last week, but a solid safe performance.
GRADE: B
3. Brooke White - "I'm A Believer" - Oh boy two different instruments tonight! Guitar is a little different for her, so I'm happy to see her show off talent after a poor showing last week. This arrangement was a lot like the Shrek version, which is a pretty good version. Boring blue outfit tonight. an improvement from usual. She's definitely playing the safe card by doing such a popular song. Still more jamming than usual for her. I think she could've done more vocally with the song, but nothing real bad or good here.
GRADE: D
4. David Archuleta - "Sweet Caroline" - I swear the Archulator has picked two of everyone's most favorite karaoke hits tonight just because he can get away with such cheesiness (and it's probably a plus to the tween-tards...sigh). All the Idols have nothing to make fun of outfit-wise this week, so sad that they are learning. This song was nothing special. Nothing bad, but wow we need these second performances to split the idols tonight.
GRADE: C
5. Syesha Mercado - "Hello Again" - Beautiful dress out of the suddenly best-dressed idol contestant. Finally a song to show off some pipes, but I guess without Carly everything is going to be toned down to normal again. No real pitch problems by my ear, and the only problem is that the song was so soft and slow that it might have bored America. At least it's a better song choice than Sweet Caroline...BAH BAH BAH!
Grade: B
Paula is so far out in left field...and clearly the comments are scripted for her as she thought each person had sung twice after just one go round. Is it really hard to pay that much attention? What a classic Idol moment for the cracked-out middle judge. As usual, Simon is the only one with sense to say...HEY EVERYONE please step up now after those mediocre performances.
ROUND TWO
1. Jason Castro - "September Morn" - What, no double crutch tonight? Wow he hit a bad note at the end of this song, you think Neil would have fixed that. This second song was even more slow and boring than the first, with no awesome show-off vocals. It appears Paula was dead-on in her criticism before it happened. What kind of excuse is "I kind of started choking before the song." No, you started choking last week and haven't stopped this week. Uh-oh again Mr. Castro.
GRADE: D
2. David Cook - "All I Really Need Is You" - We've traded the electric guitar for the acoustic now, and this does feel a little like a DC concert. He's now one week past where Daughtery went home, the most successful rocker to date (in and out of the competition combined). The faster part of this song was OK, the rest was pretty unexciting. DC playing it safe, and who knows what comes of that. This was a good pair of songs though.
GRADE: B
3. Brooke White - "I Am I Said" - Nice, now we have to write the first lyrics on our wrist and be "caught" by Seacrest to not mess up for the third time this season. This is actually a pretty tough song when you are trying to show off your voice, which I felt like she was doing. On further review, her shirt has ruffles and the reflective pants are too much to handle. Nevertheless, she did a better job for her voice than I'm A Believer.
GRADE: B
4. David Archuleta - "America" - And the karaoke battle starts again. The Archulator is clearly saving up his raspy voice for the finale when he'll be up against DC if the tween-tards don't screw us over. This is the stereotypical glory note ending patriotic BS song that somehow is popular on Idol. He did a nice job with it, but man do I hate the song choices. What a d-bag. It would be interesting to see Simon tear into him for Sweet Caroline, but I guess we'll have to live with him hating Brooke.
GRADE: B
5. Syesha Mercado - "Thank The Lord For The Nighttime" - Thank God for the end of Neil Diamond week. I think her song choice order was wise because she saved her memorable upbeat song for the money spot at the end of the show. I don't know if her bottom 2 placing was because she led the show last week or if the tween-tards are out to prove me wrong about her. Not a ton of vocal range on this one, but it was exciting and better than most other performances. Randy is spot-on in saying Syesha has found out where she shines the most just in time to perhaps compete for the finale.
GRADE: B+ (because this was the best of the night, but that's not saying much)
Well not quite a train wreck, but this season is dragging on my last bored nerve. We'll give it a shot on predictions again, but other than DC...nobody is safe. See you next week for the Final 4, because it certainly won't be the fabulous four.
Top Performer - Syesha Mercado (which means she'll be in the bottom two again)
Bottom Two - Brooke White and Jason Castro, for real this time
Going Home - Good riddance hippie. Jason goes home.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
American Idol Top 6: Let's Go To The Theatre!
Well after a week's hiatus (where I missed the bottom 3 except for picking Kristy Lee to go home again), we're back for some more Idol. We have reached the halfway point of the prime part of the season, and we'll be about one month away from crowning a new Idol after this week's eliminations.
So after doing Dolly songs and Mariah Carey songs, we come to another legendary set of songs (like the Beatles songbook) for this season's contestants to butcher. It's really too bad we're missing KKK Kristy this week or even better, imagine Amanda doing show tunes. Anyways, strike up the orchestra and let's get on with the show!
1. Syesha Mercado - "One Rock and Roll Too Many" - First let me say, absolutely the best outfit and hair of the season out of Syesha, who is probably the best dressed contestant left. This song gave her an opportunity to show off some vocal range while also being nice and upbeat (I'm betting there will not be much more of that tonight). She knocked this one out of the park, even though the song is relatively unknown. It's nice to see an Idol actually have fun on stage instead of being so tight and playing it safe. There's no way the Tween-tards can send her home after this, and she may be jumping into the fray for the top 2-3.
GRADE - A
2. Jason Castro - "Memory" - OMG, Jason wears a suit. I didn't know the hippie had it in him, but then again this week is probably his worst nightmare. When ALW is not so sure about the performance it must be bad news because the mentors ALWAYS suck up to the contestants on camera. There were a couple really rough spots and Jason slowed the song down to make it sound like "Hallelujah" from a few weeks ago instead of the powerful ballad Memory is. This song was boring and did not show anything off, the performance was pretty much a train wreck. Hurt even more by following Syesha. Uh-oh city.
GRADE - F
3. Brooke White - "You Must Love Me" - OK so maybe ALW is just the rare mentor who actually tells the Idols that they aren't quite all they think they are when they misinterpret songs. Oh my goodness, she stopped one line into the song and started over and the band actually complied. I think they should've gone on because while the judges thought that was professional last time, I call bullshit on that. If you were "professional," you wouldn't fuck up the beginning of a song (especially now that it's happened twice). At least the Archulator kept swinging with a smile when he forgot lyrics. This is just the absolute bomb that Jason needed to keep him in contention. The performance was not awesome as her voice definitely pitched wrongly through the song. At least the judges mauled her properly. Wow the elimination show is going to be a heated battle.
GRADE - F
4. David Archuleta - "Think of Me" - And here is our obligatory Phantom song, and why couldn't the frontrunner pick one of the great guy songs...I just don't know. Interesting ALW critique on the squinty or closed eyes, very distracting at times. Did we really need all those 10-13 year olds to come up and hug him...we know why he's the frontrunner and can hear the screams at home every week, but at least they are in his age group dating wise. Don't know how I feel about the outfit since everyone is dressing up for theatre week. This was nothing like what I remember from Phantom, an interesting twist. The performance was good, but I think he bent the song a little too much. Definitely safe thanks to the weaker links above.
GRADE - C
5. Carly Smithson - "All I Ask Of You...oh wait, let's audible to Jesus Christ Superstar" - This is really dressy for Carly, sleeves and all. It's nice to see that the best performances are those who decided to not change a song too much and those who did something upbeat and memorable. For once, I don't feel like she oversang the tune, but this is one of her wheelhouses where oversinging is OK. The performance was pretty spot on, one of her better ones. After being in risk of falling out the past couple weeks, Carly again looks like a prime contender.
GRADE - B
6. David Cook - "Music Of The Night" - Finally a guy picks a guy song, and DC looks good in his dressy yet rocking shirt and suit jacket. I see why ALW was saying DC needs to play up the emotion of the song better, but he's not going for Broadway. Wow did he hit the glory note in the middle of the performance. All of a sudden it appears David Cook has the best voice this season of the remaining contestants, something pretty amazing for the last rocker. I agree with Simon that this is not a good week for DC, but he made the most of it and for that, I give the elusive A.
GRADE - A-
Wow, definitely three tiers of performances this week. Syesha stole the show and it will be injustice if she or DC end up in the bottome three. This season has proven the tween-tards can be unpredictable. For the record, Carly was better than The Archulator but he's still too popular to drop into the bottom three. So...
Top 2 - Syesha Mercado, David Cook
Bottom 3 - Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, Brooke White
In a battle of VFTW's selection against everyone's favorite dredlocks...
Going Home - Brooke White
So after doing Dolly songs and Mariah Carey songs, we come to another legendary set of songs (like the Beatles songbook) for this season's contestants to butcher. It's really too bad we're missing KKK Kristy this week or even better, imagine Amanda doing show tunes. Anyways, strike up the orchestra and let's get on with the show!
1. Syesha Mercado - "One Rock and Roll Too Many" - First let me say, absolutely the best outfit and hair of the season out of Syesha, who is probably the best dressed contestant left. This song gave her an opportunity to show off some vocal range while also being nice and upbeat (I'm betting there will not be much more of that tonight). She knocked this one out of the park, even though the song is relatively unknown. It's nice to see an Idol actually have fun on stage instead of being so tight and playing it safe. There's no way the Tween-tards can send her home after this, and she may be jumping into the fray for the top 2-3.
GRADE - A
2. Jason Castro - "Memory" - OMG, Jason wears a suit. I didn't know the hippie had it in him, but then again this week is probably his worst nightmare. When ALW is not so sure about the performance it must be bad news because the mentors ALWAYS suck up to the contestants on camera. There were a couple really rough spots and Jason slowed the song down to make it sound like "Hallelujah" from a few weeks ago instead of the powerful ballad Memory is. This song was boring and did not show anything off, the performance was pretty much a train wreck. Hurt even more by following Syesha. Uh-oh city.
GRADE - F
3. Brooke White - "You Must Love Me" - OK so maybe ALW is just the rare mentor who actually tells the Idols that they aren't quite all they think they are when they misinterpret songs. Oh my goodness, she stopped one line into the song and started over and the band actually complied. I think they should've gone on because while the judges thought that was professional last time, I call bullshit on that. If you were "professional," you wouldn't fuck up the beginning of a song (especially now that it's happened twice). At least the Archulator kept swinging with a smile when he forgot lyrics. This is just the absolute bomb that Jason needed to keep him in contention. The performance was not awesome as her voice definitely pitched wrongly through the song. At least the judges mauled her properly. Wow the elimination show is going to be a heated battle.
GRADE - F
4. David Archuleta - "Think of Me" - And here is our obligatory Phantom song, and why couldn't the frontrunner pick one of the great guy songs...I just don't know. Interesting ALW critique on the squinty or closed eyes, very distracting at times. Did we really need all those 10-13 year olds to come up and hug him...we know why he's the frontrunner and can hear the screams at home every week, but at least they are in his age group dating wise. Don't know how I feel about the outfit since everyone is dressing up for theatre week. This was nothing like what I remember from Phantom, an interesting twist. The performance was good, but I think he bent the song a little too much. Definitely safe thanks to the weaker links above.
GRADE - C
5. Carly Smithson - "All I Ask Of You...oh wait, let's audible to Jesus Christ Superstar" - This is really dressy for Carly, sleeves and all. It's nice to see that the best performances are those who decided to not change a song too much and those who did something upbeat and memorable. For once, I don't feel like she oversang the tune, but this is one of her wheelhouses where oversinging is OK. The performance was pretty spot on, one of her better ones. After being in risk of falling out the past couple weeks, Carly again looks like a prime contender.
GRADE - B
6. David Cook - "Music Of The Night" - Finally a guy picks a guy song, and DC looks good in his dressy yet rocking shirt and suit jacket. I see why ALW was saying DC needs to play up the emotion of the song better, but he's not going for Broadway. Wow did he hit the glory note in the middle of the performance. All of a sudden it appears David Cook has the best voice this season of the remaining contestants, something pretty amazing for the last rocker. I agree with Simon that this is not a good week for DC, but he made the most of it and for that, I give the elusive A.
GRADE - A-
Wow, definitely three tiers of performances this week. Syesha stole the show and it will be injustice if she or DC end up in the bottome three. This season has proven the tween-tards can be unpredictable. For the record, Carly was better than The Archulator but he's still too popular to drop into the bottom three. So...
Top 2 - Syesha Mercado, David Cook
Bottom 3 - Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, Brooke White
In a battle of VFTW's selection against everyone's favorite dredlocks...
Going Home - Brooke White
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
American Idol Top 7: Skip a Week!
I missed this week, but I called KKK going home. Kristy Lee Cook is just out of her league, but she had some glorious moments for sure. We'll miss her.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
American Idol Top 8 - Inspirational Week = American Idol Sings Kelley's Mix CD Songs
The Top 8 brings us inspirational song week, which is broad as can be. Maybe we'll get some more stupid Whitney and Celine songs...oh joy. I took a risk calling Brooke out last week and I was right about her being in the bottom three; the support was too much still though and cute little Ramiele finally goes home. With the exception of Kristy, the worst four singers are probably at home now of the top 12 (RIP Stripper Dave, Amanda, Chikeize, and Ramiele)
1. Michael Johns - "Dream On" by Aerosmith - Michael pimped the Steven Tyler-esque scarf tonight. The song was a decent choice, but I thought he was a little bit off actually. The end of the song was very awkward. He's much more of a Queen singer than an Aerosmith singer, so this week was certainly not his best. And apparently, Paula's chihuahua's are about to pop on stage with Michael, whatever that means. Now's not the time to get complacent...
GRADE: D
2. Syesha Mercado - "I Believe" by Fantasia - Thank God, not Whitney again. After last week's terrible cop-out in country week, I'm happy to see a legitimate song out of Syesha. The glory note soprano was a little bit much, and I think Fantasia would make Syesha look silly on this song. Stupid big hoop earrings are distracting. I do not think singing a winner's song from another season of American Idol is a good choice, no matter if she is Syesha's idol. She actually sang it OK overall, but trouble is looming.
GRADE: C
3. Jason Castro - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by some Hawaiian dude named Israel - This was definitely a typical dreds song, as he's the exact kind of person I envision when Kelley's mix CD plays this version of the song. Props on changing the guitar for the ukelele on this song, but nothing outside the box (which is what inspirational week seems to bring). I thought he could have used a more melodic singing part of the song, but what he did do was excellent. Unlike the first two, this one was right in the wheelhouse in a good way.
GRADE: A
4. Kristy Lee Cook - "Anyway" by Martina McBride - No shocker here, it's country week every week when KKK Kristy gets her way. It's funny how KKK can mix slutty glitter shirt with cowboy boots, a style certainly all her own as far as American Idol goes. The country power ballad was a great choice to show off her voice (which surprisingly, she seems to have one), but just like Michael she suffered from some note problems. A nice comment from Simon might yet again keep her around, as well as the VFTW support. Still nothing special...
GRADE: C
5. David Cook - "Innocent" by Our Lady Peace - OMG, what is he wearing? The white jacket screams Michael Jackson circa 1986...but we'll let him pass as he's usually OK on the outfits. I'm a little bothered by the last two singers using the ridiculous 7 member backup group tonight. The song choice was OK and the performance was good...but the song is really not that hard. This is too ho-hum, and the judges ripped him for it. This is a complete miss based on what DC has picked in the past.
GRADE: D
6. Carly Smithson - "The Show Must Go On" by Queen - so Michael picks the Aerosmith oversing ballad and Carly picks Queen...the world is so upside-down sometimes. Another let's show off the tattoo top, but a very nice metallic belt and bracelet combo. This is a pretty good song in the chorus, and Carly does not disappoint with the usual oversinging. The backup singers kind of drowned her out in the second chorus. Song choice brings her down yet again.
GRADE: D
7. David Archuleta - "Angels" by Robbie Williams - the piano gets use from someone other than Brooke for once. This is another home run song choice, which is no surprise given the Archulator's success with broad song choices. The performance on the piano and with his voice was not overdone and quite perfect. Not his best, but compared to the lack of competition...he sails through.
GRADE: A
8. Brooke White - "You've Got A Friend" by Carol King - the only real surprise at the start was that Brooke let the band play piano. Guess the Archulator said step off Ms. White. For once, nothing distracting about the outfit (except for the big-ass ring according to Kelley). Another absolute punting of the final note of the night, but the rest of the song was OK. Just a little safe number after her tumble into the bottom three last week. It's enough to keep on.
GRADE: C
Well lots of crap this week thanks to Idol inviting the contestants to pick their wank-wank songs, which always leads to them thinking they sing a song better than they actually do. Zero Whitney and Celine though, so that appeases me a little. Still highly disappointing for many good singers and this will be a tough week to predict...how will the Tween-tards go?
Top 2: Jason Castro, David Archuleta
Bottom 3: Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, David Cook
Going Home: Kristy Lee Cook
1. Michael Johns - "Dream On" by Aerosmith - Michael pimped the Steven Tyler-esque scarf tonight. The song was a decent choice, but I thought he was a little bit off actually. The end of the song was very awkward. He's much more of a Queen singer than an Aerosmith singer, so this week was certainly not his best. And apparently, Paula's chihuahua's are about to pop on stage with Michael, whatever that means. Now's not the time to get complacent...
GRADE: D
2. Syesha Mercado - "I Believe" by Fantasia - Thank God, not Whitney again. After last week's terrible cop-out in country week, I'm happy to see a legitimate song out of Syesha. The glory note soprano was a little bit much, and I think Fantasia would make Syesha look silly on this song. Stupid big hoop earrings are distracting. I do not think singing a winner's song from another season of American Idol is a good choice, no matter if she is Syesha's idol. She actually sang it OK overall, but trouble is looming.
GRADE: C
3. Jason Castro - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by some Hawaiian dude named Israel - This was definitely a typical dreds song, as he's the exact kind of person I envision when Kelley's mix CD plays this version of the song. Props on changing the guitar for the ukelele on this song, but nothing outside the box (which is what inspirational week seems to bring). I thought he could have used a more melodic singing part of the song, but what he did do was excellent. Unlike the first two, this one was right in the wheelhouse in a good way.
GRADE: A
4. Kristy Lee Cook - "Anyway" by Martina McBride - No shocker here, it's country week every week when KKK Kristy gets her way. It's funny how KKK can mix slutty glitter shirt with cowboy boots, a style certainly all her own as far as American Idol goes. The country power ballad was a great choice to show off her voice (which surprisingly, she seems to have one), but just like Michael she suffered from some note problems. A nice comment from Simon might yet again keep her around, as well as the VFTW support. Still nothing special...
GRADE: C
5. David Cook - "Innocent" by Our Lady Peace - OMG, what is he wearing? The white jacket screams Michael Jackson circa 1986...but we'll let him pass as he's usually OK on the outfits. I'm a little bothered by the last two singers using the ridiculous 7 member backup group tonight. The song choice was OK and the performance was good...but the song is really not that hard. This is too ho-hum, and the judges ripped him for it. This is a complete miss based on what DC has picked in the past.
GRADE: D
6. Carly Smithson - "The Show Must Go On" by Queen - so Michael picks the Aerosmith oversing ballad and Carly picks Queen...the world is so upside-down sometimes. Another let's show off the tattoo top, but a very nice metallic belt and bracelet combo. This is a pretty good song in the chorus, and Carly does not disappoint with the usual oversinging. The backup singers kind of drowned her out in the second chorus. Song choice brings her down yet again.
GRADE: D
7. David Archuleta - "Angels" by Robbie Williams - the piano gets use from someone other than Brooke for once. This is another home run song choice, which is no surprise given the Archulator's success with broad song choices. The performance on the piano and with his voice was not overdone and quite perfect. Not his best, but compared to the lack of competition...he sails through.
GRADE: A
8. Brooke White - "You've Got A Friend" by Carol King - the only real surprise at the start was that Brooke let the band play piano. Guess the Archulator said step off Ms. White. For once, nothing distracting about the outfit (except for the big-ass ring according to Kelley). Another absolute punting of the final note of the night, but the rest of the song was OK. Just a little safe number after her tumble into the bottom three last week. It's enough to keep on.
GRADE: C
Well lots of crap this week thanks to Idol inviting the contestants to pick their wank-wank songs, which always leads to them thinking they sing a song better than they actually do. Zero Whitney and Celine though, so that appeases me a little. Still highly disappointing for many good singers and this will be a tough week to predict...how will the Tween-tards go?
Top 2: Jason Castro, David Archuleta
Bottom 3: Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson, David Cook
Going Home: Kristy Lee Cook
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
American Idol Top 9: Welcome to Dollywood (or KKK-Lee Cook has her theme week)
Well there's nothing like having the Idols "squeeze" 9 songs into one hour, and then stretch out a results show for just as long. This week's mentor (finally) is Dolly Parton, one of the most iconic country singers of all times. Should be amazing seeing these kids try to force these songs to their own needs. For those joining us late, the grade scale is self-explanatory.
1. Brooke White (Jolene) - we see another instrument out of Brooke this week, as the piano is left behind for country week. Interesting song choice, seemed a little safe and not enough to show off her voice. I think the performance was pretty solid nevertheless. Still, not going to win this competition with boring performances in the long run.
GRADE: C-
2. David Cook (Little Sparrow) - No rock versions of Dolly songs out there I'm guessing, so DC rock has to go with his own version this week. Another acoustic guitar (how many of those are we seeing tonight?), and the song was mediocre for DC. I think this showed he has a soft side to his voice and good vocal range. If the song choice were better, this could compete with his other performances...but it was not. He definitely survives Country Night.
GRADE: B
3. Ramiele Malubay (Do I Ever Cross Your Mind) - So Dolly thinks Ramiele has spunk and bounciness in her small frame...just as long as she doesn't get Dolly-sized implants she'll be fine. I'm apparently in disagreement with the tween-tards on this singer, as I see nothing great. Just a cute little "bouncy" person with a decent voice. The song choice was her usual, the performance was kind of boring in all honesty. Outfit was terrible as usual, and Simon dropped the Cruise Ship comment again (rightfully so).
GRADE: D
4. Jason Castro (Travelin' Through) - Surprise, surprise...acoustic guitar. Jason actually makes this sound more like him than country, so I'll give him credit for that. The song choice was a nice fun number, and the performance was best so far tonight...but no vocal range showoff possibilities. Another ho-hum performance (where did all the awesome performances disappear to this season?)
GRADE: C
5. Carly Smithson (Here You Come Again) - Carly cannot play guitar, so she has the band transplant one in front of her on stage to make her fit in. This song was a stretch for Dolly, but it fits right in Carly's wheelhouse. Actually did a nice job and did not oversing as much as usual. I cannot imagine why the tween-tards put her in the bottom three a couple weeks ago, but they will not be making that mistake again. As far as outfit, her outfits are definitely getting worse with time and Simon is dead-on...it's dropping her from the top line of competition.
GRADE: B
6. David Archuleta (Smoky Mountain Memories) - Classic Archulator gear tonight, nothing special to talk about there. This song was a good choice for him after last week's 1990's disaster. It seems like the Archulator swings back and forth from terrible mistakes (missed lyrics, atrocious song choice) to best singer in the competition. This was a good week, nearly perfect performance from the Wonder Boy.
GRADE: A
7. KKK Kristy Lee Cook (Coat of Many Colors) - Now if this is not a week designed for Kristy to move on, I don't know what is. I really wish we could've seen Amanda try to relate to Dolly, but alas we're stuck with terribleness. Kristy did a little makeover this week, looking far more professional. Worked for Syesha, maybe it will work here. Kristy picks a typical country twang song, and actually puts a decent performance out there. Randy pretty much said the obvious by saying it is Kristy Lee Cook week. And she went barefoot...thanks for that nugget of knowledge Secrest (it doesn't get more hick-ish than that).
GRADE: C
8. Syesha Mercado (I Will Always Love You) - Lovely, now we're mixing Dolly with the most awful of overdone Idol singers, Whitney. The contrast of the black piano and bright yellow dress was an interesting choice, but whatever. Man I HATE this version of the song, and the extended glory note at the end makes it worse. Syesha gave a great vocal, but this song was way too much for her. I'll actually agree with the tween-tards recent movements of her into the bottom 3, this was bad Whitney.
GRADE: D
9. Michael Johns (It's All Wrong but It's All Right) - Hallelujah, an electric guitar instead of acoustic on country night. I love the black suit look with the piano, looks much better than a yellow dress. The song choice was a little iffy, but his vocal was spot on. Michael Johns may be displacing Carly in the contenders list. There's not a ton to say here, it was just a good performance.
GRADE: A
I'll give a little more credit to the Idols...no failing grades and a couple A's mean country night was better than expected. This is actually a very tough call on who goes home, unlike the clear Stripper Dave and Chikeize picks. But we'll try our best to keep the good luck going, c'mon tween-tards hook me up.
Top Three: David Archuleta, Michael Johns, David Cook
Bottom Three: Syesha Mercado, Ramiele Malubay, Brooke White
Going Home: Brooke White (in a real shocker!)
1. Brooke White (Jolene) - we see another instrument out of Brooke this week, as the piano is left behind for country week. Interesting song choice, seemed a little safe and not enough to show off her voice. I think the performance was pretty solid nevertheless. Still, not going to win this competition with boring performances in the long run.
GRADE: C-
2. David Cook (Little Sparrow) - No rock versions of Dolly songs out there I'm guessing, so DC rock has to go with his own version this week. Another acoustic guitar (how many of those are we seeing tonight?), and the song was mediocre for DC. I think this showed he has a soft side to his voice and good vocal range. If the song choice were better, this could compete with his other performances...but it was not. He definitely survives Country Night.
GRADE: B
3. Ramiele Malubay (Do I Ever Cross Your Mind) - So Dolly thinks Ramiele has spunk and bounciness in her small frame...just as long as she doesn't get Dolly-sized implants she'll be fine. I'm apparently in disagreement with the tween-tards on this singer, as I see nothing great. Just a cute little "bouncy" person with a decent voice. The song choice was her usual, the performance was kind of boring in all honesty. Outfit was terrible as usual, and Simon dropped the Cruise Ship comment again (rightfully so).
GRADE: D
4. Jason Castro (Travelin' Through) - Surprise, surprise...acoustic guitar. Jason actually makes this sound more like him than country, so I'll give him credit for that. The song choice was a nice fun number, and the performance was best so far tonight...but no vocal range showoff possibilities. Another ho-hum performance (where did all the awesome performances disappear to this season?)
GRADE: C
5. Carly Smithson (Here You Come Again) - Carly cannot play guitar, so she has the band transplant one in front of her on stage to make her fit in. This song was a stretch for Dolly, but it fits right in Carly's wheelhouse. Actually did a nice job and did not oversing as much as usual. I cannot imagine why the tween-tards put her in the bottom three a couple weeks ago, but they will not be making that mistake again. As far as outfit, her outfits are definitely getting worse with time and Simon is dead-on...it's dropping her from the top line of competition.
GRADE: B
6. David Archuleta (Smoky Mountain Memories) - Classic Archulator gear tonight, nothing special to talk about there. This song was a good choice for him after last week's 1990's disaster. It seems like the Archulator swings back and forth from terrible mistakes (missed lyrics, atrocious song choice) to best singer in the competition. This was a good week, nearly perfect performance from the Wonder Boy.
GRADE: A
7. KKK Kristy Lee Cook (Coat of Many Colors) - Now if this is not a week designed for Kristy to move on, I don't know what is. I really wish we could've seen Amanda try to relate to Dolly, but alas we're stuck with terribleness. Kristy did a little makeover this week, looking far more professional. Worked for Syesha, maybe it will work here. Kristy picks a typical country twang song, and actually puts a decent performance out there. Randy pretty much said the obvious by saying it is Kristy Lee Cook week. And she went barefoot...thanks for that nugget of knowledge Secrest (it doesn't get more hick-ish than that).
GRADE: C
8. Syesha Mercado (I Will Always Love You) - Lovely, now we're mixing Dolly with the most awful of overdone Idol singers, Whitney. The contrast of the black piano and bright yellow dress was an interesting choice, but whatever. Man I HATE this version of the song, and the extended glory note at the end makes it worse. Syesha gave a great vocal, but this song was way too much for her. I'll actually agree with the tween-tards recent movements of her into the bottom 3, this was bad Whitney.
GRADE: D
9. Michael Johns (It's All Wrong but It's All Right) - Hallelujah, an electric guitar instead of acoustic on country night. I love the black suit look with the piano, looks much better than a yellow dress. The song choice was a little iffy, but his vocal was spot on. Michael Johns may be displacing Carly in the contenders list. There's not a ton to say here, it was just a good performance.
GRADE: A
I'll give a little more credit to the Idols...no failing grades and a couple A's mean country night was better than expected. This is actually a very tough call on who goes home, unlike the clear Stripper Dave and Chikeize picks. But we'll try our best to keep the good luck going, c'mon tween-tards hook me up.
Top Three: David Archuleta, Michael Johns, David Cook
Bottom Three: Syesha Mercado, Ramiele Malubay, Brooke White
Going Home: Brooke White (in a real shocker!)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
