So we had two weeks of Beatles songs, and now we’re doing “Songs from the year you were born”… or Eighties week, part two. Did Simon Fuller get some sort of volume discount or something?
1.David Cook – New week, new top 3 singers, with Cook getting the top spot by showing that a) he can sing without the guitar and b) he can display some personality while singing. I don’t know that going the Daughtry route will garner him the victory (especially since there’s that dastardly Hit Single contest to contend with) but for now he’s clearly the best singer out there. Frak you if you still think it’s Archuleta.
2.Brooke White – Like David Cook, Brooke has been making the right song choices and she’s been doing well in showing of her versatility. Both she and David work very hard at working their own spin on things (or more to the point, modifying what’s already out there to fit their needs) and that ability will serve Brooke well going forward.
3.Carly Smithson – Carly, rocking an 80’s power ballad? Yeah, like she was gonna screw this up. You know what will screw her up? If they have a viewer’s choice vote and she gets Evanescence. Rock Star fans will know what I’m talking about there. Anyway, the only way this was gonna be bad was if she did the Nikki French cover, which wasn’t bad in itself, but it’d be like singing the Cascada version of “What Hurts the Most” – not appropriate for American Idol.
4.David Archuleta – David tumbles all the way down to number four by butchering a fairly obscure shitty song, although it’s sad to say I recognized it. I’d rank David lower, but as Paula said, he could sing the song book and he’ll still win the competition. OK, she didn’t say the last part, but it was implied.
5.Syesha Mercado – I don’t know who sang “If I Were Your Woman” in the 80’s, but that was pretty much the Alicia Keys cover. She’s starting to come into her own, and it couldn’t come at a better time, when others are faltering and you need to develop something that voters can latch on to.
6.Michael Johns – 1978? Geez, what’s he still doing in this competition? I could’ve done without the “We Will Rock You” bit, but if you’re auditioning to be in the musical, why not? Clearly, Johns was meant to sing Queen songs, so we’ll have to see if he can keep this momentum through to next week.
7.Jason Castro – OK, I officially don’t care about Jason anymore. Sorry.
8.Kristy Lee Cook – Patriotic song? Check. Previously done by Idol alumni? Check. Free Pass to the next round? Check. Way to go, Kristy. Just remember that you can only pull off shit like this once in the competition.
9.Chikeze Eze – Ordinarily, I’d say “Enough with the Luther already”, but the thing is, Chikeze’s performances barely register to me anymore. So whether he stays or goes, I don’t care. I’m watching NCIS when he sings.
10.Ramiele Mulabay – Firstly, can I say that those were some of the ugliest skorts ever? Really pitchy performance from the resident Asian, but she’s one of Simon’s favourites, and he’s really trying to protect her here. That being said, she’s gonna need a lot of help to stay in this. And if she’s still here next week, I hope that she learns to move around the stage instead of staying fixed to one spot.
Given all the praise Kristy got this week, I think she’s going home. However, Chikeze leaving wouldn’t be a surprise either. All the same, business is not gonna pick up (tm JR) until we reach the Final Five… or Six if Johns can step it up, so it really doesn’t matter at this point – they’re on the tour anyway.
