AI 7 - 5/6/08 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

It is hard to believe the journey is almost over for Season 7 of …..American Idol. The top 4 are battling it out tonight for a chance for the coveted finals. Who will make it? I found it very fascinating when Ryan indicated that 3 of the final four had been the #1 vote getter at some point. I certainly hope that it wasn’t Jason, just plain scary.

The theme was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This would be a catalog of at least 500 songs. Song selection will be interesting especially at this portion of the show. I am somewhat fearful of what will come but on with my comments.

David Cook

David gets the first spot this could be dangerous. Oh no did David just say he is doing “Hungry like the Wolf”. It was released the year he was born 1982. I am not sure this would be my definition of rock and roll although I do love the song.

I thought this was too simple and safe. David really didn’t do anything with the song outside of using his rock voice; it did have a nice gruffness to it. David had a few pitch problems during the song and he should have left the “doo doo” parts to the back up singers. I will give him credit his enunciation was wonderful even better than Simon LeBon. It was just a bizarre song choice and his performance was off, it was like his movements were disconnected from everything else. Vocally it was okay but nothing special and at this point I need Wow!

Randy – okay choice, it was solid, just okay but not “mad hot vocals”.

Paula – you left me with a big appetite (Paula down girl, down)

Simon – good, it was a little bit copy cat, it was good enough to get you through to next week.

Syesha Mercado

Syesha was looked amazing and blazing hot. I loved the entire outfit, the hair, everything and let us not forget the killer shoes.

Syesha went with “Proud Mary”. Overall it was an extremely fun performance to watch. She truly has a great lower register. I do have to say she was tapping the mike way too much for my taste; it was distracting me from the vocals. I think she had some trouble in the transition from her lower to upper register so there were some moments I thought she was shouting vs. singing but it was totally entertaining.

Randy – I am laughing, you were in the zone, nice choice, showing the heat, very nice

Paula – you look like a star, you are a beautiful woman, magic happened

Simon – Sorry to put a damper on things but it was a tad shrieky, it was like a bad impersonation of Tina. I did not have fun.

Jason Castro

Oh my god, I can’t believe he chose a Bob Marley song on the other hand what else would a dread-locked stoner guy chose. “I Shot the Sheriff “was just a stupid song choice.

There is Jason just standing holding his guitar. Jason’s vocals had no depth, his voice was thin and weak, he mangled the lyrics and can we deal with his horrible breathing issues. This was just down right boring. It was horrible. Once again he performed almost the entire song with his eyes closed. This is not a way to connect with your fan base. The whole performance was just terrible karaoke.

Randy – dude for me, it was karaoke, just okay, nothing special

Paula – you did a good job performing to the audience, I was crazy about the song or the performance but you are genuine.

Simon – that was utterly atrocious, the song shouldn’t be touched, and the arrangement was terrible, it was like a bad first round audition

David Archuleta

I hated David’s shirt, it was ugly. David went with “Stand by Me”, how surprising, NOT! I do have to say David surprised me because the vocal was actually excellent. I thought it was smart of him to just stand and sing since his sense of rhythm just doesn’t exist. His enunciation was perfect and his voice was crisp and clear. I liked the arrangement of the number as well. As much as he tried David still was closing his eyes and then at one point they were partially opened and closed at the same time. I can’t say it was my favorite performance but vocally I thought it was the best of the night so far.

Randy – so happy, you are trying to win, you are in the competition, it was hot man, vocally hot

Paula – we forget you are just 17 and this is a tough challenge, I admire your effort, you delivered on the promise, you are a seasoned pro

Simon – you could have whistle this song and it would have sounded better than the last number, very good choice, you struggled a bit at the end, best performance so far

David Cook

For his second number David chose “Baba O’Reilly” by the Who. This was an interesting song choice but I don’t really think this song condenses well.

David was back playing the guitar and overall the vocal was good and definitely better than the first but it still wasn’t a wow for me. I thought the first part played better for me then the second half. The transition from slow to fast worked well especially the subtle falsetto but I thought he shouted most of the up-tempo portion but David can perform and he is entertaining to watch.

Randy – the resident rocker is back, you were great

Paula – I just want more David (yes I am sure you do) I am humbled to watch you grow

Simon – Welcome back David Cook

Syesha Mercado

Wow, Syesha looks even hotter for this number. Syesha chose “A Change is Gonna Come”.
This was an absolutely beautiful vocal; she poured so much heart, soul, passion and conviction into this number. She sold this hands down. It was the right choice to just focus on her vocals and that sustained note was perfection. This was one of the best vocals of the entire season. I loved this performance.

Randy – I did not love this as much as the first song, the arrangement was off, the vocals, this was a Sam Cooke melody, there was no need to embellish, you pushed too much, it felt disconnected, it fell flat

Paula – gave her a standing ovation, you orchestrated the vocals perfectly, it was beautiful, you are a superstar, you have changed and it is magnificent

Simon – I have to be fair I agree with Paula, you sang that really really well

Jason Castro

I don’t even know why we are bothering with Jason. His second song selection is by Bob Dylan. A performer who can’t sing or now I get why he chose this artist. Jason went with “Mr. Tambourine Man”.

Now Jason is sitting trying to play the guitar. Oh there is that breathing problem front and center. Oh my god, dropped lyrics, come on you forgot the words to this song. Well I am sure being high isn’t helping you. He sang the song with his eyes closed almost the entire time. This was just a very sad meltdown. I was uncomfortable watching this performance. Please America put me out of my misery!

Randy – asks Jason how he thought it went, there is Jason inappropriately smiling and saying he lost some of the words – you were not in the zone

Paula – it is what it is, he didn’t blow them away but she still likes him, you solidified your niche

Simon – Jason, I would just pack your suitcase

David Archuleta

David was dressed better for his second song thankfully.

David chose “Love Me Tender”. I thought this was a pretty gutsy thing to do. I liked the arrangement and the choice to just have the piano. David started by sitting in a stool and while there were a couple of missed notes just as he was trying to reach the falsetto this was still an absolute brilliant vocal. He actually brought energy to his voice and I was surprised to see he could actually sell the emotion of the number as well.

Randy – another great performance, you caressed each word, and this was the hottest vocal of the night

Paula – one of my favorite performances by you this season, it was fantastic, beautiful

Simon – You didn’t just beat the competition, you crushed the competition tonight.

Once again this was a strange evening of highs and lows with Jason providing most of the lows.
The top 4 usually has some type of shocking elimination, could it mean that David Cook is heading home. I am not sure this isn’t a possibility.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jason will be and should be in the bottom two. What is difficult is choosing the other contestant for the bottom 2. It most likely will be Syesha but I am thinking the shock will come with David Cook being in the bottom 2.

I don’t believe he will be eliminated. I am hoping and praying America listened to Jason because his performance told us all he is begging to go home and I think he will get his wish tonight.

It will truly sadden me if Syesha goes home tonight. It will be a tragedy.

Syesha got the majority of my votes but I also voted for both Davids.

Until tomorrow…