American Idol 7 - The Top 11 - 3/18/08

Last night’s episode of American Idol has gotten to be one of the worst. It was the strangest evening.

I said it last week and I will say it again, having the same theme two weeks in a row is a stupid idea and I was proven right.

In addition the contestants have apparently not been reading my blog or truly watched the show. Song selection is critical and there were some really stupid ones last night but more on that later.

I also have to get on my soapbox on this theme issue, Ryan advised us the Beatles were back by popular demand and all I can say is “What the &*^%!). I do not know one person who was happy about it and if the blogs were any indication no one in cyber land was happy. Who are these demented souls who demanded this? Come forth let yourself be known so the rest of us can shame you into submission. I am getting off my soapbox now.

Amanda Overmyer

I will be upfront, I don’t get her, I don’t like her and Amanda has to go. I guess she was right when in her video she said she was going to throw some black eye liner on and my question is there any left in any store, give me a break. Amanda just looks stupid.

Amanda has chosen to do “Back in the USSR” which I suppose is a good song choice because it has only one octave so doesn’t need much range which Amanda clearly does not have. Once again the woman was shouting versus singing, she started off really rough and was not in synch with the band at all. The only words I could understand from her were the title of the song, everything else was mumbled! She is one note Amanda and although she wants everyone to understand what they would get if they bought a ticket to her concert; I was thinking it would be a cold day in hell before I spent money to attend a concert where Amanda was the only performer. It would be utter torture.

Randy – perfect song choice for you, it started a little pitchy but it got better, I would give it 7 out of 10 (7 out of 10 my foot it deserves a negative number score)

Paula – it was pitchy and the your timing was off, you were a head of the beat but when you connect you are authentic and unique, I would love you to do a vulnerable ballad (I would love you to just be able to enunciate the words just once)

Simon – it was what it was, it was predictable, a bit of a mess in parts, you need to do something to surprise the audience like David Cook did, you are in danger of being boring.

It totally rocked when Simon told Amanda “her concert tickets weren’t on sale yet”!

Kristy Lee Cook
Kristy actually looked really good last night. I loved the outfit and she had on some killer boots but if I hear her talk about those damn horses again I will throw up and oh how touching that she looks at photographs every night and how cute her dog is named August, “oh Ryan don’t make me cry before I have to perform”. Hopefully you can tell my words are dripping with sarcasm.

Kristy chose “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” because she liked the title. Why would you choose a song you have never heard, give me a break. This was a total mess. The girl was flat for most of it although she did hit the power note. I hated the arrangement of the song and the band was totally overwhelming her. Kristy clearly did not understand the song and wasn’t able to sell it. There was absolutely no fun or emotion during the performance and don’t get me started on her weird eye movements.

Randy – I love this song, it was an interesting arrangement, I wanted more emotion, it was boring and safe.

Paula – you look gorgeous, it was a little safe, you need to make it more interesting

Simon – you need hypnosis to make yourself a better performer, you are like musical wallpaper, you remember it but there is no impact, it was better than last week.

David Archuleta

David has chosen “A Long and Winding Road”. I have to admit this song has sentimental value to me, it was my class song when I graduated from high school in 1977 (yes I know it ages me and I am not in the demographics this show is after) and I have always loved this song and the sentiments behind it.

David chose the absolute perfect song for him. This performance was truly brilliant, every note, every word was clear and pure. There was so much emotion and tenderness he was able to sell the song for one so young. David took command of the stage. This kid can really, really sing. I realize it was a safe song but after last week’s abysmal performance he had to come back. I still think David has to get out of his comfort zone but I would challenge anyone to say this was not a totally spine chilling performance.

Randy – David brought the hotness back to his game, it was safe and you should have added some runs, it was brilliant, very nice

Paula – it was the most exciting and wonderful performance, such purity, you rose above the adversity

Simon – last week it was a mess, this week you were amazing, you sold the song, it was a master class in performing

Michael Johns

Michael chooses “A Day in the Life”. This was not a good song choice when you can’t really sing the entire song which by the way I love. I wasn’t happy about the arrangement and it was strange how they condensed the song. Poor Michael could not hit the money note and he was in and out of pitch quite a bit. What is up with these stupid dance movements, just because it worked for Taylor Hicks doesn’t mean the audience will continue to buy such antics. When David connected with the song he was very good but overall it was not a good night for Michael.

Randy – it wasn’t one of your best performances, it wasn’t the right song choice, you have a big ole voice and you should just sing and show it off

Paula – you were great in dress rehearsal, then she was mumbling about the ear piece and not being used to listening to the monitor, blah, blah, blah

Simon – it was a mess, the song is too complicated to compress into a minute and a half, you didn’t sell it, you need to nail the song, it was not good enough

Brooke White

Oh my god no, what is that totally unattractive and unflattering ugly yellow dress doing on this stage. I don’t care what the title of her song choice is, that was a hideous mess and the stylist should be fired immediately. Brooke I am here for you I could do a 100 percent better job in dressing you.

Brooke has gone with “Here Comes the Sun”, how predictable. It was not a good song choice for her even if she is Miss Mary Sunshine. I hated the entire performance including the start when she was sitting on the stairs and what was up with the little twirl as she was coming center stage. Oh my heavens was that a woo-woo. There was no wow for me but rather a thank god it is over moment. She lost me with the dress and the performance bored me to tears.

Randy – the performance was awkward, you never connected with the song, not hot

Paula – you make me smile, I love the yellow dress (clearly your Prozac has kicked in then), I really admired your lower tones, you need to pick something more challenging, a song not so safe

Simon – the performance was terrible from song choice to the horrible dancing, you lacked conviction

Brooke I believe you are a sincere person but you don’t have to keep saying the judges are right about your terrible performance, you do want the viewing audience to vote for you. Just stand there and listen. No one is that friggin’ nice.

David Cook

David is getting better and better each week. He looked great and the outfit totally worked. Note to the producer’s I hate that background and the lighting was too harsh.

David chose “Day Tripper”. This was a very good song choice and a rocking performance. David can bring it home, he was so comfortable on the stage and he works really well with the back up singers. David’s enunciation improves week by week as well and in this performance I understood every word. Amanda needs to take some lessons from David. I totally loved the talk/box thing in the middle; it worked smoothly with the performance. There was just so much joy and fun in David’s performance. Unless he totally screws up I think he may be the dark horse in this race to the finals.

Randy – it is like a David Cook concert every week.

Paula – you are ready to sell records, the voice box was cool, and then she mumbled something about a Geiko commercial which I didn’t understand

Simon – it wasn’t as good as you think it was, you looked smug and the voice box was stupid, you lost the element of surprise, it was predictable

Carly Smithson

Carly you look ridiculous, that top has got to be the worst thing I have seen in a long time. Is she pregnant and trying to hide it? The color was ghastly and that ugly ruffle rose thing around the collar was hideous as well. Once again the stylist needs to be fired and you can hire me.

Carly chose “Blackbird”. This is a song I adore but I don’t think it was the right one for her. The problem for me is every time I hear a song which was also performed in “Across the Universe” I start comparing it not to the Beatles version but to the performers in this movie. Evan Rachael Wood totally made this song work in the movie where for me Carly didn’t really sell it. Don’t get me wrong, technically it was a flawless singing performance, every note on key, the phrasing was great but there wasn’t an emotional connection or at least I didn’t see it in Carly. It was a solid performance but not as good as last week.

Carly I am okay with the tattoo’s but come on, isn’t it a bit cheesy to put a 7 on your fingers because you are in Season 7, give it a rest will you.

Jason Castro

Jason has gone with “Michelle”, please god no. He has to tell us he didn’t know “ma belle” was French, give me a break.

I thought this was a terrible choice of song and Jason just butchered the French. My French is pretty rusty after 31 years and I was always better at writing than speaking although I managed to pass all my courses with flying colors at the Sorbonne but Jason was truly uncomfortable with the French, why choose a song when you can’t pronounce the words, it’s the French which make’s that song so perfect. Jason’s voice was just a little too nasally for me as well. He was not very comfortable on stage and was disconnected from the material. I don’t think he understood what the song was about. I was not wowed and found myself drifting away while he was performing.

Randy – it was a good choice, interesting arrangement, the performance was subdued, you weren’t connected to the song, just alright

Paula – you are charming and the girls love you (the women too according to a friend of mine and the bloggers), you were disconnected, you are not quite as comfortable if you don’t have your guitar, the song wasn’t as intimate as it should be

Simon – It was strange, if this wasn’t on TV but just the radio I would have turned it off, your face sold the song, you are charming but not obnoxious

Syesha Mercado

Syesha was looking hot. I loved the new “do” and the outfit looked great on her.

Syesha went with “Yesterday”. This is a scary song choice but overall I thought she did a spectacular job. I did enjoy the arrangement and the use of just the guitar and a few strings. I think she nailed the number and was able to sell the emotions. There were a couple of times she over sold it but she has a great tone to her voice and she was singing in key. Since she didn’t have to compete with the full band we were able to really hear her sing and her voice most definitely soared.

Randy – very, very good performance

Paula – your vulnerability sets you apart, you need to work on connecting more with the eyes

Simon – your best performance so far, not incredible but you chose the best song and you sold it, it should keep you in the competition

Chikeze

Finally Chikeze found an outfit I can live with, it wasn’t bad just okay.

Chikeze chose “I’ve just seen a Face” and once again I immediately thought of Jim Sturgess’s version from “Across the Universe” and this one fell flat for me. It was not a good song choice for Chikeze. This was just a stupid mess of a performance. The harmonica was not needed and distracted from the vocals and exactly what type of song was he trying to pull off, he was all over the place. I hated the whole thing from beginning to end. It was a waste of my time. I might also add Chikeze’s enunciation gets worse week by week.

Randy – there were good parts and bad parts, I liked the past part better than the slow, the harmonica was strange

Paula – you are showing who you are, your voice is pure, you were on pitch, I love it, you did it again

Simon – it started okay, the harmonica was atrocious and then it turned into Acky, Breaky Heart, it was like a lot of different artists and not as good as last week, it was gimmicky.

Ramiele Malubay

Ramiele your outfit sucked the big one but at least the hat kept your hair out of your eyes. Don’t get me started on the stupid hat.

Ramiele went with “I Should Have Known Better”, come on this is not a song to choose to try and stay in the competition. It is begging for bad comments and a trip home! I totally hated this performance as well. Ramiele’s voice was very weak at the beginning and the band was not helping her at all. I thought her phrasing was horrible and she had some severe pitch problems as well. The one surprising thing is that she appeared more at ease on the stage and seemed to be having a fun but the vocals just weren’t there. She hit some power notes but it came so late in the performance it didn’t create a wow moment for me. This was totally karaoke.

Randy – I liked it, you had confidence

Paula – better than last week

Simon – it sounded like Chikeze on harmonica, I like you but it sounded amateurish, it didn’t show off her abilities.

As previously indicated last night’s show was a disaster and I hope the producers have learned never to repeat a theme night twice in a row. Last week was bad enough but this week the contestants were sucking related to song selection. I hate to do this but I have to go for the cheap joke and say “I Should Have Known Better” summed up the whole entire episode.

I got a late start on voting because I had a class last night so I only had an hour and 15 minutes to vote after watching the show on tape. I only managed 270 votes. The David’s Carly, and Syesha each got 50, Michael and Brooke each got 25 while Jason got 10 and Chikeze and Ramiele each got 5.

As far as I am concerned based on performances every one but the two David’s’, Carly and Syesha should be in the bottom.

At this point I am not convinced we are at the talent part of the competition for voting so choosing the bottom 3 is more challenging so I am just hazarding a guess.

The bottom 3 will be Kristy, Ramiele, and Syesha.

Amanda should be there but I don’t think I can be that lucky.

I will once again predict that Kristy will be heading home to Oregon after tonight. There could be a surprise elimination but I hope not.