AI 7 - 5/13/08 - The Semi-Finals

I can’t believe Season 7 is almost over, what will I do with my Tuesday and Wednesday nights until January? The interrupted television season is over, there is another potential strike on the horizon with the actors, and it will be a long summer.

We are down to the final three contestants and tonight they will be singing three songs, one choice by the judges, the contestant’s choice, and finally the producer’s choice.

It will be another fascinating evening of song choices I am sure but this is … American Idol so on with my comments.

Round 1 – Judge’s Choice

David Archuleta

Paula chose David’s first song which is “And So It Goes”. I absolutely adored the opening of the number with David just singing alone. I did notice David had trouble keeping his eyes opened during this number. I love David’s voice and this song did allow us to actually hear what great tone his voice has. I think David tries too hard and it wasn’t necessary to put in all those runs because Billy Joel can write songs and this one has a great melody which got overshadowed by David pushing too hard. Overall I really enjoyed the technically flawless vocal.

I do have to interject here that those waving hands of hell from the mosh pit is getting ever more annoying.

Randy – he’s happy that Paula chose a good song, you can sing anything and you are in the zone

Paula – it was a pure and stunning performance, you are a story teller

Simon – you sang it very well but it was a bit predictable, not outstanding which of course the mosh pit girls disagreed with and Simon reminded them they are not a judge (you tell them Simon)

Syesha Mercado

Randy chooses Syesha’s song which is “If I Ain’t Have You”. I have to say Syesha looked incredible, loved the entire ensemble. I found it an interesting song choice since they tell contestants not to be a copy cat and this performance really was. Syesha sang it very well, almost technically perfect except she broke at the end but it lacked something, it was sang well but it was joyless, it lacked emotional impact at least to me.

Randy – amazing job, you are peaking at the right time in the competition

Paula – congratulations on being the last lady standing, I applaud you, you look stunning

Simon – you sang that very well but I wish Randy would have chosen a song that didn’t make you sound like the original, you look gorgeous

David Cook

Simon picks David’s song and goes with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” which is a song I adore but I find it a bizarre song choice. David started out a bit flat I thought but he built to a fantastic ending. That final note was perfection. I think David changed it up a bit but somehow kept the original haunting melody. David looks like a star on stage. Can I just say the director’s choice of showing David’s mother constantly was just a little unusual, I don’t want to see David singing a love song to his mother, just plain creepy!

Round 2 – Contestant’s Choice

David Archuleta

David chose “With You” which is a song currently on the charts. It was an ambitious choice but probably not the best choice. David was definitely having fun so there was some joy in the performance but he did stumble on the lyrics and there were some breathing issues but overall the vocals were okay. The performance on the other hand was terrible. David does not have any natural rhythm and really doesn’t have any true performance skills but those can be learned. Is it too soon for him to be on “Dancing with the Stars”? David needs a good dance teacher and a lot more practice because he looked incredibly foolish trying to bounce around on the stage although those hounds of hell in the mosh pit were digging him.

Randy – I applaud you for trying something new and young, not sure it was the right song choice

Paula – the song was perfect for your voice, right tone, you don’t need to extend your phrasing, work on shortening, overall great job

Simon – I applaud your choice of song but it was a little bit like a Chihuahua trying to be a tiger, the performance was awkward

Syesha Mercado

Syesha chooses “Fever”. Well she looks hot; those are killer shoes and the short dress most appropriate for vamping and boy can Syesha vamp with the best of them. She was fun and flirty. I don’t think the song really showed off her voice but the girl has great performance skills. It was good but there wasn’t any wow moment.

Randy – interesting song choice, sang it amazingly well

Paula – you look lovely, I am surprised at the choice, doesn’t show me who you are as an artist

Simon – you will regret that decision tomorrow, you had a chance to prove you are a contemporary artist but instead wound up like a “lame cabaret performer”.

David Cook

David goes with “I Dare You to Move”. I found this to be an uninspired song choice. This has got to be one of the weakest vocals David has ever given. When he started in his lower register he had severe pitch issues and I didn’t find any joy in the performance. It was like he was sleep singing. I did not enjoy this performance at all.

Randy – great song choice, the performance was okay, a little pitchy

Paula – it is hard to condense a 3 minute 50 second song to 1 minute 30, we need to have a beginning middle and end, it was like you were in the middle when you ended, I wanted more

Simon – pretty much what I expected, the song was not melodic, just an okay middle round

Round 3 – Producer’s Choice

David Archuleta

The producer’s went with “Longer”. Come on what are they thinking? This was an absolutely stupid choice of songs. I hated David’s shirt, come on, it looked like he spilled something on it before he came on stage; I was totally distracted by it. I found the arrangement to be horrid but David overcame that and there were some great vocal moments like the incredible ending note and for the first time this season he was in perfect harmony with the back up singers but my real problem is David is way too young, he doesn’t have the experience to understand this song and he really couldn’t sell it. I think overall the vocals were pretty good and he did not close his eyes once during this song it just didn’t touch me emotionally because David was too disconnected from the song.

Randy – interesting song choice, you can sing the phone book, another hot one

Paula – lovely performance

Simon – you sang it well but the song/lyrics were terrible/gooey, it was like a 90 year old song but you have done enough to get you through to the finals

Syesha Mercado

The producers went with “Hit Me Up”. First of all Syesha looked incredibly sexy, loved the hair and the shoes, the entire outfit was perfect. It was nice to hear a more contemporary song from her but she had problems with the tempo and pitch. The back ground singers upstaged her many times. It was a solid vocal but again no wow moment.

Randy – sounded Rihanna-esque but was just okay

Paula – you did sing very well but it didn’t define you as an artist

Simon – better than the second song, it was young, hip but forgettable and you didn’t give me that defining moment

David Cook

The producer’s saddled David with “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” come on please! It was an interesting arrangement and all those violins come on it was just stupid and totally distracting. I did not like the beginning of this song at all but I thought he rocked out the second half. It was okay but there was no wow for me either.

Randy – for me I love the song but it was just okay, very predictable

Paula – see you in the finals

Simon – David Cook wins the night


After tonight I think David A has the purest voice, Syesha has killer performance skills but David C has the entire package, he is mature, he looks like a star, and you can see him performing in concert.

I can’t say any one of the contestant’s wowed me but David C is the most consistent and I think truly deserves the American Idol crown.

I only voted for Syesha and David C because I figured those braying hounds of hell in the mosh pit and all their like minded friends around the world would be voting for David A.

Unless there is a total upset Syesha will be going home and we will have an all male final two which hasn’t happened since Season 2 when Clay and Ruben battled it out. We have had one all female finale with Fantasia and Diana while all the rest have been male/female.

My prediction is David C will walk off with the American Idol crown.

Until tomorrow…