Tonight on American Idol, we're down to the top 12. At this point, they're on the new set, and it's time to shine. Tonights theme was "Beatles songs". How did they fare?
Syesha Mercado1 came on the stage and initially her rendition of "Gotta Get You Into My Life" from Revolver album. Initially she was off tune, but got better towards the middle of the song. I'd say she wasn't the worst, but she could have done better. She's a little cutie, though, isn't she?
Chikezie tore it up on the stage. He sang "She's a woman" and he really changed it up. His performance was so entertaining, and he had the whole crowd enthused. He got kudos from all three judges, and he really showed his potential tonight.
Ramiele Malubay bored me to sleep. She was singing "In my life", but really put the song to shame. I could barely keep my eyes open-and the sad part is she was singing one of my favorite songs. She sang way too slow.
Jason Castro did okay. He sang "If I fell". His harmony was off. The judges seem to have faith in him, though they weren't overwhelmed by his performance. Last week was much better for him, but he's still a favorite. I think he could have done a lot better.
Carly sang "Come together". She did a fantastic job, and really gave the song justice.
Randy - Yo Yo Yo. That felt amazing, didn't it. Strong, confident, stellar performance.
Paula - like watching a star. Amazing performer.
Simon - Week after week, chose the wrong song until now.
David Cook sucked major. Singing All The Lonely People in his rock version, I really wasn't feeling it.
Randy was enthused, but when it came to judging he said he has a big voice "but this performance was too overdone". He said that he tried to do too much with it and had too much going on.
Paula said though she loves his voice, he overdid it and needed to scale back. She was, of course, full of compliments and seemed genuinely saddened as she said he "had too many runs".
Simon stated "No, NO, NO!" He said it was corny verging on desperate and that he looked like a deer or rabbit in the headlights.
Overall, this was not a strong performance. But he did say "if this show remains a talent competition instead of a popularity competition, you could actually win".
Brooke White sang "Let it be", another one of my favorites. She's one of my favorites, and from the very start I knew she'd rock this. True enough, she had my attention. Playing piano as she sang, it was simply beautiful. Randy called it "heartfelt". Paula commented about how she gave a emotional connection that would make America fall in love with her. Simon says it was a brilliant choice, one of the best performances, and unbelievable! When he said that, tears of joy and appreciation fell from her eyes. And it truly was brilliant. And she played in her bare feet (Ryan caught that, lol).
David Hernandez sang "I saw her standing there". I didn't like his version of it. He sang great, but the rendition of the song really sucked. Major. Randy said he tried to do too much, and that lost him. I agreed totally. Paula said she felt that he over did it, and since he is a brilliant singer he could have pushed back. Simon said "no, no, no" and commented that he was like a deer in the headlights, and that it wasn't a strong performance.
Amanda Overmyer sang "You can't do that". She put her spin on it in her average 'rock out' style, and though all the judges gave her kudos, Simon wasn't feeling it as much as the others. He said that he likes her style, but he words sometimes slurred. He and Paula had a little spiff during this judging because Simon got disrespectful by telling Paula to "shut up"..but hey, isn't that how it always ends up being?
Michael Johns sang "Across the universe", from the Beatles in 1970. This was one of John Lennon's favorite songs; so did Michael do the song justice?
Randy said it was a little sleepy in his opinion, but Paula disagreed. She said he had quiet confidence and connected with the audience. Simon agreed with Randy, saying that he's frustrated because it was a little "monogamous" and safe; and he knows he can do better.
Kelly Lee Cook sang "Eight days a week" country style. She hit some great notes. She danced and had fun with the song, flirted with her eyes, and flashed a brilliant smile. Again, she hit some great notes; I can't stress it enough.
Randy said he liked the arrangement, but he was torn. Half of him liked it and half didn't. Paula said she didn't like it at all. She says that it was too country, and she didn't get it. Simon says he thought it was hideous, even though he was the one who gave her the advice to go country. Paula did comment that due to her fan base, she may make it back next week.
David Archuleta sang "We can work it out". He said that he wasn't that comfortable with it because he didn't really listen to songs of that era, but because he was familiar with Stevie Wonder's version he felt a little more confident. The crowd cheered! Randy said that he was a fan of Davids, but this was not his vibe. It felt forced, and all he felt was Stevie's version and nobody can do it better than Stevie. Paula said that he should never let it show on his face that he's not confident. Simon said that he shouldn't have done the Stevie version and it was his weakest performance.
My top two performance choices were Chikezie and Brooke White.
Copyright ©2008 Attica Lundy
