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