I don’t know what happened this week on American Idol, but the girls were much worse than the guys. The theme was “hits from the ’70s”, and only a few really shined, though no one was exceptionally special other than David Archuleta. Let’s start with the girls, because I really want to spend as little time as possible explaining how disappointed I am in them:
– Carly Smithson, a.k.a. the Hot Irish Lady, sang a great rendition of Heart’s “Crazy On You”. She must have said three or four times how much she really loves Heart. Can we say opening-act worthy? I like Carly, a lot, and I think she’s the best of the women right now.
– Syesha Mercado, singing “Me and Mr(s). Jones”, was okay but a strange song choice. I admire what she’s doing, as she has a great blues/jazz voice, but when you have to follow Carly you need to sing something that people know. And this is a perfect example of how forgettable these performances are, as any of the Idol contestants so far in the competition have yet to find their “moment”.
– Brooke White, a.k.a. Happiness, sang Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”, accompanying the performance with some guitar. Very risky, and not in that sexual wa,y because Brooke doesn’t seem like she’s going to bring a Vixen vibe to this competition. No McPheever with this girl. Don’t get me wrong, I like Brooke, but I worry, knowing how pure she acts, just how much fun this girl actually has. Despite that, I liked her performance and at this point in the competition, it’s a major step up for her and she’s a smiling threat.
– Ramiele Malubay, a.k.a. Little Dynamite 2008, took on “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and handled it very well. She’s extremely good, there’s no question, but I think she needs to do something completely shocking and out of her comfort zone… now. She’s a great power ballad singer, yes, but I want more. On a side note, since I’m familiar with Filipino programming since it’s a part of my family heritage, you’ve not lived until you’ve seen what would be American Idol on crack with no judges but dancers, meets The Price Is Right until you’ve seen the Philippines’ highly rated Wowowee! I think Malubay would be worshipped on this show.
– Kristy Lee Cook sang “You’re No Good”, and it was fine, but nothing special.
– Amanda Overmyer, very glammed up, sang “Carry On, My Wayward Son” and much to my disappointment did not do well… at all. I had such high hopes, and so did everyone else, and if she doesn’t step it up—rocker or no rocker—she’s done. I also found her hair to be extremely distracting.
– Alaina Whittaker sang “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, and the moment I realized she was going to be covering Olivia Newton-John, I knew she was done. I sincerely felt bad for the youngster, who cried that she couldn’t sing the song when she was voted out, reminding me how humiliating it really is to be told you’re going home, but still have to perform. On a side note, though, out of all the blonde girls, she seemed the nicest.
– Alexandrea Lushington singing Chicago, I thought, would be a not-so-bad move, but I was wrong. It was obvious that she knew she was done by the end of the song. She’s a good singer, but needs a few more years of performing before she’s ready.
– Kady Malloy singing Heart’s “Magic Man”, on the surface, made me happy because I love Heart. However, I’m learning my little sister LOATHES Kady Malloy. If Kady could just be having fun on stage, I think people would like her more. Or she can just do Britney all day.
– Asia’h Epperson sang Celine Dion’s “All By Myself,” and again, I’m thinking Celine should invest in American Idol as a portfolio investment. Asia’h found her stride toward the end and she’s extremely talented, but enough with the Celine songs already. I want a Celine Dion ban next year.
As far as the guys, there were some minor standouts, but again, nothing to really sing any praises about except in regards to David.
– Michael Johns is hot and that really does help him. His performance of “Go Your Own Way” was fine, but Fleetwood Mac is sacred. He didn’t add anything extra to it and that’s what contestants are forgetting. This isn’t meant to be karaoke; this is meant to prove you can be a superstar.
– Jason Castro sang “I Just Want to Be Your Everything”, and I don’t care.
– Luke Menard, whom I like because he didn’t butcher Queen, is pretty utterly forgettable, too, as a performer. However, generally speaking, he has a fighting chance because remarkably he looks like a cross between Justin Timberlake and Orlando Bloom. It’s uncanny at times.
– Robbie Carrico’s “Hot Blooded” was less than inspiring. I love that song and he brought nothing extra to it or even close to Foreigner’s classic rendition. America didn’t get that he’s a true rocker after he admitted opening for Britney Spears at some point in his life, so the fact he was voted off was fine by me. His wife was hot, though.
– Danny Noriega, toned things down with a ballad, and was subdued and clearly over-thinking his performance, though he was charming at the end for how he interacted and played with the judges. He’ll be continuing forth. He’s his own person and not so much an Idol clone, and that’s what I love about him.
– David Hernandez covered “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”, and did pretty good with it, but he needs a new name. There’s only one David that matters in this competition and it’s not this one.
– Jason Yeager… he’s still in this? Actually, not anymore, because he’s just not that good so it was a fine choice.
– Chikezie was better this week (I guess he’s now on a first-name basis with America), and so was his outfit, but he still is in dire need of a stylist. I’m glad he’s still in it because I like his energy.
– David Cook had me in his pocket as the Other Cool David with being a fellow word junkie, and he did okay with “All Right Now”. However, he then lost his cool points after he acted like a diva and scoffed at Simon for pointing out what needed to be said. He’s fortunate he didn’t go home for that. Humbleness and grace go a long, long way.
– The only David that really counts, sweet David Archuleta nailed “Imagine”, and also impressed Kelly Clarkson in a airport when he was 11; what is there left to do? Just let him take it home now; he’s already made Paula cry, and we can stop the show here.
YouTube Video of the Week
Meet my favorite artist I’ve heard in 2008, Shannon Curtis. She’s beautiful (crushing-on-a-straight-girl-worthy, I might add), talented and better than most of the girls on American Idol this year without any question. Major labels check her out and check out indy release, Boomerangs & Seesaws and more on Shannon, on her MySpace.
Thank you for reading; make your moment your breakthrough.
