American Idol Season 7

Idol Chatter - Your Winner Revealed (5/21/08)

2008-05-22T00:27:00.000-07:00

There was no Michael Buffer to open the show tonight—instead we were greeted with the two Davids standing nose to nose, on a pitch black stage, dressed head to toe in white, and Ryan building up the anticipation for what is sure to be two hours of painful duets, silly time fillers, and a general waste of everyone’s time while we await the results of last night’s record vote.

According to Ryan, over 97 million votes were cast last night for our Davids—breaking the previous record by 20 million votes, tonight was sure to be filled with lots of action—and maybe even a little music.

BTW: In the final tally, the Idol decision wasn’t very close for one David received 56% of the vote, while the other David got 44%. Pretty much a butt-kickin’ at least where I come from!

How about a Little Music to Soothe the Soul?

The first number of the night was a Top 12 sing along version of “Get Ready”—they sounded better than they looked in their all white outfits and flanked by some of the dancers from “So You Think You Can Dance” of season’s past. It was a bit awkward seeing some of the former Idol wannabes on stage again—like the skunk-haired, rock’n roll nurse Amanda and former pole dancer David Hernandez, as well as Brooke, Jason, and the rest of the cast offs from earlier in the season.

A Duet by the Finalists

When we came back from commercial, the Davids joined forces to sing a song for the masses. The song selected was “Hero” by Nickleback and not to take anything away from Archie singing talents, but Cook out sang him on this song—mostly because it fit Cook’s voice and style more than Archie’s.

Shameless Movie Plug

Ryan talked about all of the great musical mentors that helped the Idols through the weeks and then asked the guys about their spiritual mentor—who just happened to be Mike Meyers in his new movie role of “The Love Guru”. The boys were treated to a private viewing of the movie followed by a little one-on-two time with the Guru. It was all pretty much a waste of time…but they have two hours to burn, so what better way to do it than to fill the time with senseless filler.

Celebrity Duet #1

The first Idol/Celebrity duet was delivered by Syesha Mercado who teamed with Seal on “Waiting for You”. Syesha got to showcase the stage presence she waited too long to develop and exploit during the season, but looked great in a nice gold, wrap dress and certainly held her own with Heidi Klum’s other half.

Return of the Dreads

Jason Castro was invited back to the stage to deliver what turned out to be the high-point of his season, the singing of the Leonard Cohen classic, “Hallelujah”. I’m pretty sure that if Jason records an album in the near future, that song will certainly be one of the tracks—it might be the only one that is any good, but it will help him sell a few extra copies.

Medley—Girl Style

Dressed in sexy red outfits, the final 6 female singers were put together to sing a medley of Donna Summer songs starting with “She Works Hard for the Money”. Brooke White and Kristy Lee Cook got the first ‘solos’ and both did a nice job when they were in the spotlight. The same can’t be said for Amanda and Carly who took the lead next and a bit of a rough time keeping up with the other girls.

When the dust of that song settled the girls introduced Ms. Summer herself who hit the stage and sang “Stamp Your Feet” accompanied by the six Idols and select members from the SYTYCD troupe.

Then things slowed down while Donna sang the unforgettable intro to “Last Dance”—which brought back some serious memories of a fine late ‘70’s cinematic classic starring a young Bruce Jenner. Of course I am referring to “Thank God It’s Friday!” The best part of the song was the final few bars when Donna turned the vocals over to Syesha who brought it home like she should have done so many Tuesdays throughout the competition.

A Very Special Duet

Enjoying a bit of redemption from getting booted from the show a bit prematurely, the Idol producers provided an opportunity for Carly Smithson and Michael Johns to sing a duet. For some unknown reason they were forced to sing “The Letter” by Joe Cocker—a song that doesn’t really lend itself to being sung as a duet, but this is Idol and just about anything can (and will) happen. I like the song (“The Letter”), but it was not a good song for these two voices to sing together. When they sang solo, they sounded good, but when they sang together, it was almost embarrassing—and I really liked both of these contestants and felt they should have been allowed to stay awhile longer…guess I was wrong!

A Look Back

As he did during the “Idol Gives Back” show, Jimmy Kimmel was asked to come on stage and insult various members of the show both past and present. No one was safe from Jimmy’s salty attack—not Season 6’s Sanjaya and Chris Sligh, Ryan, Randy, Paula, or Simon…but it wasn’t funny, so I’ll spare you recap.

It’s the Boys Turn

Michael Johns, David Hernandez, Jason Castro, and Chikezie kicked off the boy’s version of the usual medley. They sang Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” and then they brought the Davids put to join them on a touching version of “Heaven”. Archie struggled to keep his eyes open, but sounded ten times better than any of the other boys—with the exception of Cook.

Bryan Adams joined the boys on stage—that dude die not age well! The whole gang sang “I Thought I’d Seen Everything”—a somewhat catchy tune, but it was no Donna Summer disco hit!

The final song in the medley was “Somebody”.

If it were a contest between the girls medley and the boys, the girls would be crowned the champs—the boys didn’t bring it at all which is somewhat disappointing since the boys group included the two finalists.

Looking Good with the Beards

David Cook redeemed himself by teaming with the boys from ZZ Top on “Sharp Dressed Man”—Paula and the rest of the crowd was lovin’ it! And David looked very comfortable alongside the legends of honky-tonk rock—he even showed some fancy footwork during the guitar solo.

Trivia: Can you name the only member of ZZ Top who doesn’t sport long facial hair?

Odd Pairing of the Night (so far)

Brooke White and Graham Nash from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young performed a duet of “Teach Your Children”. Both singers sat on stools strumming guitars and tried their best to sing together—but Brooke was way out of her league and Graham seemed to know it because he tempered his lovely tenor voice so as to not over power Brooke who was clearly overmatched.

Tweeners Get Ready

David Archuleta wasn’t the only teen heart throb to hit the stage tonight. He had to share the stage with the Jonas Brothers—that randy trio who have all of the teenage girls swooning…when Archie isn’t making their hearts skip a beat on Tuesday performance nights. The Johas boys sang their hit single, “S.O.S.”—a catchy little tune that had everyone in the audience jumping up and down enjoying the show.

Guest Artist

OneRepublic (sans Timbaland) performed their smash hit, “Apologize”. David Archuleta joined the group onstage for the second verse and actually sounded good singing something a little closer to his age—although he still had trouble keeping his eyes open…but I guess that’s what big time singers do when they are really digging deep into their emotions to deliver a powerful song.

Final Night to Wear the Crown

Reigning American Idol, Jordin Sparks, took one last turn across the Idol stage as THE American Idol and sang “One Step At a Time” which I liked a lot better than “No Air”—the song she sang on elimination night several weeks ago with Chris Brown. While Jordin was busy singing on the stage, the Idol cameras caught a shot of last year’s runner up, Blake Lewis, who was singing right along with Jordin just itching for another chance to beat box-it up on the stage.

Idol Royalty Returns

American Idol winner turned Country music superstar, Carrie Underwood graced the stage on yet another finale. Backed by her band, Carried brought the crowd to their feet with a rousing rendition of “I Don’t Even Know His Last Name”—another in the long line of songs that pretty much puts to rest any myths that might still linger about Carrie being an innocent country girl who done made good!

The Top 12 Perform

Ryan brought out the top 12 for one last time on the Idol stage. The ladies dressed were all in lovely black dresses with one exception: Amanda was in black pants and a leather vest. The girls sang George Michael’s “Faith” followed by the boys, who were looking rather dapper in black evening attire as they sang “Father Figure”. Then the entire group got together for a spirited version of “Freedom”—which all seemed to be leading up to a surprise visit from Mr. George Michael himself (as a little birdie told me was going to happen earlier today).

And sure enough as the Idols finished up their singing, George strolled down the stage stairs, took his place on center stage, light dimmed, and sang “Praying for Time”—not for your votes, but for your downloads! It was a pretty song, but a bit melancholy given the tenor of the show to this point.

Ryan thanked George for his appearance and then allowed George (or GM as Ryan called him) to plug his first American tour in 17 years which kicks off in San Diego, CA soon.

Your American Idol Revealed

Ryan assembled the Davids on stage and asked the judges for their final thoughts—which were less than memorable—with the exception of Simon who admitted that he was a bit unfair to David Cook last night and publicly apologized to him…which is obviously too late to change the voting results, but it showed that Simon is actually human.

And the winner is…David Cook! And then my DVR quit! Can you believe it?—first Cook wins (YES) and then I paid the ultimate price because Fox put too much fluff into tonight’s show! Oh the injustice!

So with another season in the books and an unlikely Idol winner ready to take on his new life as Season 7 American Idol, it is time to bid all of you a fond farewell—until next season, of course, which will be back on the air in just over six months.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…I just won’t be blogging about it—although if anyone cares to chat about other shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” which premiers tomorrow night, I would be happy to share my thoughts with you…

So until we meet again, have a great summer, fall, and start to winter!

Charlie

Your Trivia Answer

ZZ Top drummer, Frank Beard, doesn’t have one—quite ironic, eh!

Idol Worship - Finale Part 1 (5/20/08)

2008-05-21T00:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the first of a two-night finale and the last chance for the Idol finalists to secure your votes and the right to be named champion of Season 7 of American Idol.

The Idol producers tried to instill a bit of drama to the proceedings by painting a prize fighter motif the likes of which we haven’t seen since the last Mike Tyson – Lennox Lewis bout—they even brought out Michael “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” Buffer to introduce the final competitors.

And those competitors were the Davids—Cook vs. Archuleta…youth vs. experience …balladeer vs. innovative rocker…you get the idea.

Ryan brought of the contestants, announced that David A. won the coin toss after last week’s show giving him the option of going first or second—he chose second, and then asked the judges what the boys need to do tonight. As usual, Randy and Paula offered nothing while Simon told them they need “a desire to win and you have to hate your opponent”—and then the boys ignored Simon and gushed over each other.

Finally Some Singing!

Round 1: Industry legend Clive Davis picks the songs

For David Cook, Clive selected the U2 anthem, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. And for David Archuleta, Clive chose “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Sir Elton John. To help the boys learn their songs, Idol brought back Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Fifteen minutes into the show, David Cook took to the stage for the first performance of the night. His version of the U2 classic was similar to other Cook classics—he started off mellow and built to a nice crescendo. Without his trusty guitar around his neck, Cook ventured around the stage and finished up on the catwalk behind the judges. Randy liked Cook’s work, Paula played with the song title and told him that he “may not have found what your looking for, but we sure have”, and Simon finished off the judging by calling the performance “phenomenal”. Looks like Cook’s put a little pressure on young David A.

Sitting on the stairs at the back of the stage, Archuleta squinted his eyes and tried his darndest to provide a little originality to the great Elton John/Bernie Taupin classic. Archie did a nice job of singing the song, he even added a few runs that made it somewhat enjoyable, but his dance moves were very awkward—he can be thankful that “So You Think You Can Dance” doesn’t begin until Thursday. Randy called the performance “flawless and unbelievable molten hot”, Paula said she had chills up and down her arms and played with the lyrics again saying “the sun is never going down on you”. Simon acted as though he was going to rain on the Archuleta parade by reminding everyone how easy it would to get too wrapped up in the emotion of the night, but then surprised everyone by saying that it was David A.’s best performance of the season and then declared Round 1 for Archie—who was in tears on the stage.

New Songs

Round 2: Songwriter’s Choice

David Cook selected “Dream Big” by Emily Shackleton and David Archuleta chose “In this Moment” by Ryan Gilmore—don’t worry if you haven’t heard of either of these songs because no one has…they were part of a group of ten songs written for Idol and the winner will record their choice as they first release.

Cook grabbed his guitar and rocked out to his song. The song had a nice sound for him—he gave it a bit of an edge, modulated the rhythms, and sang very clean. Randy hated the song, but like David’s performance; Paula credited him for helping us get to know an unknown song; and Simon called it what it was: “a lightweight song”. He liked the end, but didn’t think it sounded like a winning moment—which I’m sure made Emily Shackleton feel good. He said that Cook did well for what he had—which is kind of like Paula’s “you look really great tonight”.

No big surprise with Archie’s song—it was a ballad that gave the teenage finalist the opportunity to close his eyes and sing his little heart out. Like Cook’s song, this wasn’t a great song, but Archie sang it well—although I was getting a little nauseas listening to the sugar sweet lyrics…”I want to be in this moment”…OMG! Can’t anyone write a song that actually sounds like a pop song and not something you’d hear at a funeral?! Randy wasn’t crazy for the song, but he pulled out his “you could sing the phonebook” complement and Paula essentially echoed Randy’s words. Simon thought Archie picked the better song and then gave Round 2 to him—more tears from Archie and a look of utter fear crossed his face.

Someone’s Last Song

Round 3: Contestant’s Choice

For his final song of the evening, David Cook decided on “The World I Know” by Collective Soul—a song he has never performed before while David Archuleta recycled “Imagine” by the great John Lennon.

Cook grabbed his acoustic guitar and gave his all for your votes. I wasn’t familiar with the song, but I kind of liked it—it was a bit mellow, but had an obvious emotional feel to it—as Cook finished, he was holding back the tears. Randy gave him props, Paula babbled on and gave him a standing O. Before giving his critique, Simon told everyone that he thought Cook was one of the nicest contestants and then said his song choice was bad—he should have went with “Billie Jean” or “Hello”. But Cook said he agreed to an extent with Simon, but said he opted to go new vs. retread and was happy with his decision—what was he supposed to say?

So with everything pointed toward an Idol crown, Archuleta stood at center stage, squinted, and sang to his legions of fans. The crowd loved the song and so did Randy who anointed Archie the best singer of the season and the American Idol. Paula claimed to be speechless—probably the most sensible thing she has said all season. With tears filling his eyes and a look like he was going to wet his pants on his face, Archie listened as Simon confirmed that David A. leveled David C. with a knockout punch in Round 3.

With three rounds of singing in the books and the voters at home feverishly dialing for their favorite David, Ryan led the finalists off the stage and introduced Season 2 champion, Reuben Studdard who sang “Celebrate Me Home” against a backdrop of Season 7 highlights. It was probably the best performance of the evening and one that showed that Idol winners actually have talent.

So if the American public votes the way the judges saw it, there should be little mystery when Ryan announces the winner at the end of tomorrow’s two-hour finale which will serve as a reunion of sorts for the contestants who were booted from the show during the season.

Tune in tomorrow to see more filler than a hot dog factory and maybe even a few guest stars you wouldn’t expect to see at an Idol finale. There might even be some memorable songs being sung—you just never know what is going to happen when you combine Fox, American Idol, and a fickle public.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Elimination #10 (5/14/08)

2008-05-15T00:07:00.000-07:00

With only seven days left in Season 7, we took a giant step tonight toward naming the newest American Idol, but first we had to eliminate one of the three remaining finalists. Who didn’t receive enough of your votes to sing next week?

Would it be this year’s fan favorite, David Archuleta? If so, that would be two years in a row where America has selected a teenager as their Idol.
Or perhaps America went with the only person who challenged KLC for supremacy of the bottom three, Syesha Mercado. Would America ignore the judge’s comments from last night and vote for the multi-talented actress/singer from Florida?
Did America go with the rocker in the group? Is David Cook going to have the opportunity to do what Bo Bice and Chris Daughtry couldn’t?—wear the Idol crown while staying true to his rock roots.

Wait no longer to find out whose dreams were dashed tonight and who still has the opportunity to sing at the Kodak Theatre for the title of THE American Idol.

Group Sing

The last three Idols started off the big show with a rousing rendition of the MacFadden and Whitehead disco-era classic, “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”—a clever song choice by the show’s producers. But unfortunately the Idols didn’t get the message that they were supposed to sound good because they all suffered a bit; probably from nerves or maybe it’s just that we’re looking for a solo artist and the producers insist on having them sing as a group every elimination night—note to the producers, it’s a lame way to treat your Idol finalists, so eliminate it starting next season.

Product Placement

It would also be nice if they would get rid of the always annoying Ford commercial on Elimination Night. This week’s edition involved the Idols clowning around and lip syncing to Los Lonely Boys’ “How Far is Heaven”—I’m not sure, but these commercials sure make me feel as though I am in HELL!

Former Idol Takes the Stage

Before Ryan could reveal who didn’t get enough of the more than 56 million votes cast last night for the final three Idols, he introduced former American Idol winner, Fantasia who hit the stage looking like a cross between Ronald McDonald, Carrot Top, and Bozo the Clown. As for her singing, I’m not exactly sure how she won Idol. She screamed whatever the song was that she was supposed to sing. The only good thing about it was the three backup singers/dancers that accompanied her on stage. They sounded good, had some hot moves, and looked great doing it.

As Fantasia was wrapping up her scream fest, the Idol cameras caught a shot of Simon who had a look of utter disbelief on his face and when the song mercifully ended, he looked over at Randy and Paula and said what I can only imagine was something to the effect: “What the bloody hell was THAT?!”

David Archuleta Takes a Trip Home to Utah

Ryan asked David Archuleta to join him on stage first. But before he could learn his fate (like there is any mystery!), we had the opportunity to check out a video package of David’s trip back home in Murray, UT. His first stop was a pep rally where the cheerleaders from his high school greeted him—I’m sure before Idol they didn’t even know his name. Then it was on to a TV interview with the local Fox affiliate—lame questions by the Fox anchors was followed by a visit to David’s current high school where he performed “Imagine” for his adoring public, the mayor of Murray proclaimed the day David Archuleta Day, and then he sang the National Anthem at a Utah Jazz playoff game.

With all of the fun behind him, did he make it to the finals? We weren’t told because the producers decided to roll another video of David chronicling his Idol journey.

And when the video ended, instead of telling David A. if he made the finals or not, Ryan sent him to the couches and invited Syesha out to take a look back on her week in Sarasota, FL.

Syesha Gets the Rock Star Treatment in FLA

Syesha’s trip to the Sunshine State pretty much mirrored David’s trip to Utah—she visited her old high school stomping grounds, met local dignitaries, was mobbed by crazed fans, spent some time with the family and the as an added bonus, she rode in a helicopter which looked pretty cool. And then she bawled like a baby—which might come in handy in her career on Broadway.

We were then treated to a recap of Syesha’s time on Idol which reminded us that despite her regular visits to the bottom three, she actually is a very talented singer and deserving of a place in the final three—the final two? That is up to the voters.

David Cook is Shown the Time of His Life in Missouri

Prior to heading back to the greater Kansas City, MO area, David Cook informed us that he didn’t intend on auditioning for Idol this year. He actually went to Omaha to lend moral support to his brother, Andrew, who was there to sing for the judges and a chance to go to Hollywood—instead the Idol producers told David that he would be auditioning as well and the rest is history.

When David got to KC it was pouring rain so he did what any Idol would do, he delivered the weather forecast on the KC Fox affiliate. Then he rushed off to sing for a huge crowd at "KC Live" in the new Kansas City Power and Light District (thanks, Bouk for the tip), took a limo ride to his hometown of Blue Springs, MO, surprised his former elementary music teacher (who got him started in music), marched in a huge parade with his brother, and threw out the first pitch at a KC Royals game. All in all, David was ecstatic to do all of the things he grew up dreaming about doing.

Dreams Come True for Two and Die for…

With the Final 3 holding hands on center stage, Ryan added even more stress and pressure to the situation by asking the judges for some final thoughts…which was a waste of time until we got to Simon who admitted to liking all three, but saying if the final turns out like he hopes, we’re in for a “humdinger”.

Then Ryan read the names of the two finalists: David Archuleta and David Cook.

No one was surprised by the results—neither of these guys ever visited the bottom three (until last night) and it would have been a shame to watch one of them leave after they built such strong followings over the course of Season 7.

Syesha, for her part, took the news very well—she didn’t shed a tear, thanked everyone for their support, and grabbed the mic from Ryan so she could sing “If I Ain’t Got You” for America one more time.

Humdinger Ahead!

The finals are set and it’s David vs. David; mano a mano; the young vs. the mature; the crooner vs. the rock innovator…it should be a great final. I am looking forward to seeing both of these guys sing one more time for your votes and the opportunity of becoming YOUR American Idol.

BTW: If you go back and read my Idol preview from March 11th, you’ll note that I correctly predicted that David A. would be in the finals, Syesha would be the darkhorse in the Final 12 with a good chance at making the finals, and that David Cook had a good shot at being the last man standing provided he continued working his special magic on what initially look like odd song choices.

Tune in next week to see what the Davids sing, the comments they receive from the judges, and my interpretation of the events of the night.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - The Final 3 Sing Thrice (5/13/08)

2008-05-14T00:38:00.001-07:00

Before launching into tonight’s show review, let me set the stage for you so you will know what to expect as the final three Idol wannabes vie for your votes and place in next week’s finals.

Each of the remaining contestants (David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado, and David Cook) will have the opportunity to sing three songs. The first song will be selected by one of the Idol judges (Paula, Randy, or Simon), the performers themselves will pick the second song, and the final selection will be made by the Idol producers.

Now that you know what the process is going to be, let’s check in to see how each of the Idols did on their three performances.

Round 1: Judge’s Choice

Paula selected “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel as her judge’s pick for David Archuleta—and David closed his eyes, licked his lips, and sang yet another ballad for what seems like the umpteenth time this season. I said it before that David has a fine voice (Randy says he could sing the phone book), but he’s just a bit boring always singing songs that seem more appropriate for a funeral parlor than the Idol stage—I mean this guy is 17! But it doesn’t matter what I say because the judges love this guy. Randy claimed David was “dope” and “in it to win it” during performance number one and Paula called the performance a “pure and stunning performance”. Simon was the voice of reason on the panel saying it was “a bit predictable…it was good, not outstanding.”

Randy was in charge of picking Syesha’s first song and he went with the Alicia Keys tune, “If I Ain’t Got You”. Syesha was excited to sing a song by one of her favorite artists—and I have to give Randy props for picking a song that at least had a bit of a pulse. Syesha looked beautiful in a floor length, sparkly cocktail dress and sang like she needed to (sing) in order to breath. Randy noted that Syesha sang her heart out and was “peaking at the right time”—I couldn’t agree more. Paula babbled on and complimented her look—been there done that, Paula! Simon thought it was a nice performance but wished out loud that Randy would have picked something that would have forced her to change it up a bit and not just sing it like the original. Randy defended his decision and said that she changed up a number of notes…yeah, yeah, whatever Mr. Producer Man!

David Cook’s fate was in the hands of Simon who picked the Roberta Flack classic, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” which on the surface seemed a bit odd. But it was obvious Simon wanted to challenge David to make the song his own—to try to add some originality like he has done so many times before. I was a bit surprised to see David hit the stage without his guitar or any other prop other than the microphone and his voice. But with the orchestra supporting him he made the song sound very current. It was a bit stiff in the beginning, but when he hit the bridge, you could tell it was a David Cook song. The audience loved it, but what did the judges think? Randy tried to out Simon Simon by saying he should have picked a song that wasn’t so old—like that even makes sense, Dawg! Hasn’t Randy said throughout Season 7 that it doesn’t matter when the song was written as long as it sounds current?—no need to answer because we all know Randy was just being a tool. But Paula added some reason to the mix by saying that it isn’t about Randy and Simon, it’s about David Cook and she now had a second favorite singer of that song—and for once, Paula actually made sense. Simon, predictably, liked the performance going so far as to say it was one of his best performances to date. Simon claimed that Round 1 went to the team of “Cook and Cowell”.

I couldn’t agree more with Simon. David C. was the best of the first round followed by Syesha with David A., but there are two more rounds to go so anything can happen. Next the Idols sing a song of their choosing.

Second Round: Dealer’s Choice

Young David picked “With You” by Chris Brown. He wanted to try something a little new and up tempo, but before he could start the song, there was some awkward moments getting David ready to perform. David wasn’t sure what to do once Ryan introduced David’s song and then directed him to take his place on center stage. And when he finally made his way there, he looked even more uncomfortable singing a song that was clearly not in his comfort zone—plus his dance moves looked a bit off-putting. But at least he kept his eyes open for most of the song—until the final few bars when he closed them for the big finish. Perhaps we should get him some toothpicks for the finals—provided he makes it to next week (like that won’t happen). Randy wasn’t sure it was the right song for our 17-year-old crooner. Paula thought it was a good choice and then gave him a quick pointer about how to sing up tempo songs—like you don’t hold the notes as long….DUH! Simon compared the performance to a “Chihuahua trying to be a tiger”—calling it “awkward” which was kind considering what I’m sure he was really thinking. I don’t think David did himself any favors trying something so radically new, but I’m sure he is going to make it to the finals because America loves him regardless of what and how he performs.

Syesha chose “Fever” by Peggy Lee and to help create the right atmosphere, she had a chair set up on stage for her to do her thing—and did she do it. She strutted around the chair, sat on it with her back to the audience, meandered over to Ricky Minor who joined her on stage playing the double bass, and vamped across the stage essentially auditioning for a role on Broadway—because it is unlikely that she will win Idol, but she certainly has a future on the stage putting her acting and singing skills to good use. Randy thought the song selection was “interesting” and saying she sang it “amazingly well”. Paula was equally perplexed because the song didn’t show who Syesha is—uh, Paula, if you read the sentence I wrote leading up to Randy’s comments, you’ll learn what the rest of the world already knows: winning Idol isn’t really in Syesha’s plans—especially after that PG-13 (at best) performance. Simon said that she will “probably regret your choice of song tomorrow morning” because she had a chance to do something contemporary and instead did a “lame cabaret version of the song”. Oops! I guess the producers of Chicago are going to be auditioning Syesha earlier than they expected.

So what would David Cook pick for himself? That’s the burning question after the previous contestants did such a poor job. David went with “Dare You to Move” by a group called Switchfoot. I am not familiar with the song, but the audience seemed to know it and I trust David will make me like it by putting his special touch on it. After listening to the song, I can honestly say that I wasn’t a big fan of it, but I know that it represents the type of song that David will record when he becomes a big rock star—if not the Idol winner. Randy actually is familiar with the song and the group, but didn’t think David did very well. Paula was bummed that the song didn’t really get going until the end (again, I have to agree with Paula—that was the problem with this song). Simon didn’t say much except that no one stood out in Round 2.

With no clear winner of this round, we moved on to the Idol’s third performance of the evening.

Final Round: The Producers Choose the Song

For David A.’s final song of the night, he performed Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer”—another in a long line of ballads that appear to be the only type of song that young David can perform. He did a nice enough job, but my hair wasn’t set on fire. He tried to switch up the melody a bit, but not enough to really make the song sound anymore contemporary than a trip to the dentist’s office. Randy found the song choice interesting and then said he was “in the zone”—WHAT?! There was nothing special about it, Randy, are you sure you aren’t pulling a Paula and judging David on a song he has yet to perform? Paula liked it, but Simon thought the song and lyrics were “absolutely horrible” saying they were all gooey and more appropriate for a 90-year-old…but he put young David at ease by saying he definitely did enough to make the finals—my second DUH! of the night.

Would the song chosen for Syesha be better? I’ll let you be the judge. She sang “Hit Me Up” by Gia Farrell which is an up tempo number that again allowed Syesha the opportunity to move around the stage and show a little personality—unfortunately I don’t think she is going to do enough to overcome the David’s to make the finals, not even by channeling a little Beyonce in her stage moves. Randy thought it was a decent song choice, but it was just “awright for me”. Paula noted that the song was on the “Happy Feet” soundtrack which will certainly make my little boy happy, but it didn’t really make it for Paula—who said it may not have been enough to get her into the finals. Simon said it was better than the previous song, but that she probably peaked last week with the Sam Cooke song.

David Cook had the final performance of the evening and the producers went with the Aerosmith power ballad, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. David was standing center stage surrounded by the string section from the Idol orchestra. David delivered a fine performance, but had some pitch problems in the early part of the song. But like almost every other David Cook number, once he hits the bridge, he really brings it home—he’s like a good closer in baseball, he knows how to shut the door on the competition. Randy called it a “very predictable” song selection—which is irrelevant because David had nothing to do with which song he was going to sing; Paula welcomed him to the finals; and Simon called it “one of the great songs of all time” and then declared David C. the winner of the night.

Next Steps: Where do we go from here?

With all of the performances in the books, it’s up to America to decide who sings next week—but I’ll do the honorable thing and give you my bottom three, so you know that you are voting for the right people! Just kidding, of course, because there are only three, so they are all in the bottom three…which, by the way, will be the first time for both the Davids this season whereas Syesha practically OWNS the bottom three having been there so many times over these many weeks.

Check in tomorrow to get the official word on who the two finalists for Season 7 will be. As always, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Elimination #09 (5/7/08)

2008-05-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

The Final Four Idols kicked off Elimination Wednesday night with a very “Up with People” version of the Steely Dan classic, “Reeling in the Years”. For the most part, the Idols seemed tentative when their solo opportunity came—that is until David Cook got his chance. He again showed that he is the real deal—he may not win, but he is definitely ready to hit the studio, record an album, and perform for thousands of adoring fans in an auditorium near you.

But I don’t want to show my hand as far as who my favorite is…so let’s move along and see how we spent our hour with Idol tonight.

Performance Night Recap

Last night the Idols had a very up and down night with David A. getting mad props on both performances, David Cook and Syesha getting mixed reviews from the judges, and Jason proving that his time on Idol may well be up as he picked bad songs, forgot his lyrics, and generally sang poorly.

Ryan informed us that over 51 million votes were cast last night for the remaining four Idols—and not one from me!

Elimination Process

Up first to learn his fate was young David Archuleta. David strutted to center stage (if you can call his slump-shoulder amble a strut), had a chat with Ryan that went on a little too long for my tastes, and then was ushered to the safe haven of the sofa.

While on his way to the couch, Ryan informed us that like in years past, the final three will head to their hometowns for the usual rock star treatment: getting keys to the city, performing at their high schools, spending a bit of time with their families, doing radio interviews, etc. etc.

So who will join David A. on the couch? Before we found out, we watched a video of the Final Four taking a quick trip to Las Vegas—which included a flight in a custom 737 jet, fighting their way through a throng of adoring fans at the MGM Grand, having a red-carpet make over, and then watching a performance of “Love”, the Cirque du Soleil show featuring The Beatles hits from VIP seats.

Back in Hollywood for Safe or Sorry Time

David Cook was invited to the stage to find out what the fans thought of his previous night’s performances. Ryan did the usual: recapped the judges comments from last night, asked the judges what he needs to do provided he makes it to the Top 3, and then gave him the good news—that he could take a seat next to the other David.

So with only one slot left and two Idols remaining, Ryan asked Syesha and Jason to come on out…but it wasn’t going to be that easy, we still had almost 36 minutes of show left, so we went to commercial and the Idols are left to sweat it out.

Paying the Bills

The soundtrack for tonight’s Ford commercial was courtesy of Johnny Cash. The Idols lip synced “Ring of Fire” while playing the role of bull fighters fending off a wild Mustang. I will be so glad when we don’t have to watch these lame commercials anymore.

Questions from the viewers

Likely to go down as one of the most (if not THE most) worthless segments the Idol producers came up with this season—and hopefully scrap for Season 8. All you need to know is there were a number of bad questions and even worse responses.

Entertainment for the Evening

In an effort to salvage the night, Ryan introduced Maroon 5 who sang “If I Never See Your Face Again”—which could be the exit song for the unlucky Idol leaving the show tonight. While Adam Levine (lead singer) and his band got the crowd going with their catchy little tune, the Idols stood on the side of the stage looking bored, scared, shell-shocked, and generally uninterested in the performance or anything else for that matter.

With the fortunes of Syesha and Jason still hanging in the balance, Ryan brought out Season 4 runner up, Bo Bice (or Bob Ice as he is sometimes referred—thanks, T!). With his trade mark long, rocker-style hair and playing an electric guitar, Bo sang a song that kept repeating the line “I need a witness” which is off his new album, “See the Light”. I have no idea what the name of the song was, but if you are really interested, I suppose you could go to www.bobice.com – I would, but I don’t really care (how’s that for honest!).

Who’s In and Who’s Going Home?!

With Jason and Syesha standing next to him, Ryan reminded Jason what an awful night he had last night on the stage; then he turned his attention to Syesha who was praised by Simon and Paula but slayed by Randy. A little chit-chat followed and then Ryan let Syesha know that she will be joining the David’s in the Idol Final 3.

America sent Jason packing and I would be surprised if anyone with a pulse didn’t see it coming—including Jason. As we watched Jason’s journey on Idol and listened to big Reuben Studdard sing “Celebrate Me Home” we were all reminded that at one time Jason actually was one of the more interesting and talented members of the Top 12—but those fond memories faded quickly when we came back to real life and had to listen to him try to sing “I Shot the Sheriff”…thank goodness my DVR cut him off before I was forced to relive the misery of watching him butcher Bob’s classic.

Next Week

When we meet again, there will only be three Idols singing for your votes. If past years are any indication of how the show will be run, the Idols will have three chances to convince you to cast your votes for them and propel them into the Finals. The songs will likely be selected in the following fashion:

The Idol will select a song they performed at some time during the show
One of the judges will pick a song they feel will best represent the Idol’s singing abilities
Legendary record producer, Clive Davis will use his vast knowledge of young talent to identify a song that is indicative of the type of song they should record once they win Idol

Tune in next Tuesday to see how the Final 3 do under the white hot spot light of the Idol stage—or wait for me to watch and I’ll tell you what you missed.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

American Idol - The Final 4 Sing Songs from the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame (5/6/08)

2008-05-07T01:33:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Idol Final Four and a night that is sure to separate the wheat from the chaff (a process I actually did during the summer of 1983 while working a job at the University of Nebraska Agronomy Department—but I digress. Tonight the Idols have a wide range of songs from which to select for they have the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame “songbook” at their disposal. Song choice is definitely going to be a big issue with the judges, but it’s the voting public that makes the decisions, so let’s see what the Idols did for your votes.

Leading off the show, David Cook(ed) up a saucy version of “Hungry Like the Wolf”. It was an odd song choice, but one that I thought he worked hard to make his own. David has made a name for himself during the season by taking songs that seem far from his wheel-house and making them unforgettable. I am not sure he did reach that level tonight, but he’s a star and at this point in the show, he can’t really do much wrong. When the judges had their turn, Randy called the performance “just good”, Paula said he left her with a “big appetite”, and Simon called it a “copycat” because he didn’t think David did enough to the song, however he thought David did enough to get through to next week.

Dressed in a very sparkly, silver sequined mini, Syesha gammed it up with a sexy performance of the Tina Turner classic, “Proud Mary”—once again showing a side of her personality that will play well when she is ultimately kicked off the show in favor of starting her career on Broadway. Syesha was joined on stage by Ricky Minor and select members of the band and she electrified the audience. It was a split decision when judgment was levied—Randy gave her props for “being in the zone” at just the right time, but Simon called it a “bad, shrieky version of Tina Turner”. Just a so-so start for Ms. Mercardo, but she has another song to win your votes.

In what was an obvious mistake, Jason tried to channel Bob Marley while performing “I Shot the Sheriff”—unfortunately for Jason the only thing that his performance had in common with Mr. Marley was the hair. The arrangement was odd, his voice sounded very weak, and his energy was obviously lacking. It appeared as though he may have given up on his dreams of becoming the next American Idol. Randy called it a mess, Paula tried to compliment him by crediting him for performing for the audience (like duh, Paula, that’s what he’s supposed to do!), and Simon said the performace was “utterly atrocious”—he then went on to say it was like a “first round massacre…I don’t know what your were thinking” to which Jason said: “Bob Marley!” Rhetorical question, Jason—meaning you weren’t supposed to provide an answer. Perhaps Paula and Jason are sharing pharmacists.

David Archuleta selected “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King. David is definitely a capable singer, but he just doesn’t look the part of a pop star and certainly not the American Idol. While the rest of the performers (even Jason) dress like “stars in the making”, David showed up on stage in an ill fitting t-shirt and black trousers—he’s young and needs some help with his look. As far as his singing, it was good, but I didn’t think it was great. Randy was over the moon for David’s performance, Paula continued the love fest, and Simon said that he “could have whistled the song and sounded better than the last song” and then said it was “the best performance (of the night) so far”.

So based on the judges comments, you’d have to say that David A. is in first place, followed closely by David Cook, with Syesha holding down third, and Jason in last—it would be misleading to say fourth place because he doesn’t deserve to be ranked after he stunk it up!

Round two kicked off with David Cook singing “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. As he has done so many times before, David made this song which is almost 40 years-old sound like it was written this year. If this guy doesn’t win Idol, sell millions of records, and have an awesome recording career something is just not right in the world. Randy and Paula thought he was great and Simon said “welcome back, David Cook”--‘nuff said!

Syesha’s second song choice was “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. For this performance, Syesha was dressed in a floor length gold evening dress. It wasn’t a great song selection for her, she tried to do too much with it and she resorted back to her old ways of being a torch singer vs. the fun performer she has become over the past several weeks. Randy wasn’t down with the song—he thought the arrangement was wrong and Syesha sang it poorly. Then Paula brought Syesha to tears by complimenting her for singing such a powerful song, and then Simon agreed with…Paula! which really started the water works.

Jason stuck with the Bob’s and chose “Mr. Tambourine” by Bob Dylan. Jason pulled up his old trusty stool, strummed his guitar, and then did the unforgivable—he forgot the lyrics! Maybe Jason has decided on a post-Idol career as a contestant on another Fox ratings grabber, “Don’t Forget the Lyrics”! Whatever is going on inside those dreads (if, in fact, there is ANYTHING!), it hasn’t been Jason’s night. When he finished singing, Randy asked him how he thought he did to which Jason said “I forgot a couple of lines” and Simon put the nail in the proverbial coffin by instructing him to “pack your suitcases”.

David A. closed the show with an Elvis classic, “Love Me Tender”—a song he said he didn’t really know...really?! How can these guys NOT know an Elvis song? When it came time to sing, David worked off of a very odd arrangement of the song that sounded nothing like the King—and he closed his eyes throughout the performance. For some reason, Randy loved it, Paula called it one of his best performances, and Simon said “you didn’t beat the competition, you CRUSHED the competition”—I guess Simon and I are not seeing eye-to-eye tonight which can only mean one thing: nothing! David A. is safe at least until the Finals.

But you know who isn’t safe? Syesha and Jason…or at least neither of them should sleep too soundly tonight in anticipation of tomorrow’s elimination show.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Elimination #07 (4/30/08)

2008-05-01T00:30:00.001-07:00

The goal tonight was to get down to the Final 4 Idols. So who would it be? After last night’s mostly mediocre performances, they could very well have eliminated not one, but two of the Idols and no one with two working ears would complain.

Kicking off the elimination show, the remaining five Idols sang a little tribute to Neil Diamond and his wonderful songbook. If this was supposed to serve as a preview of the type of performances the Top 10 Idols will put on during the annual Idol Summer Tour, you might want to go to Disney instead. The Idols sounded off their game—with the exception of David Cook who was channeling Neil, but for the rest of the Idols and especially Brooke, it was embarrassing to think they were in the Final Five.

The medley of Neil Diamond songs included “Cracklin’ Rose”, “Song Sung Blue”, and “Hot August Nights”—and all I can say is some of the Idols must have smoking crack, I was blue watching their sorry performance, and I was looking forward to saying good-night to one of the Idols; I just hope America didn’t pull any surprises with their voting like they have in two of the last three weeks.

Returning Idols

After watching the remaining Idols struggle to entertain, Ryan found a couple of former Idol wannabes who just happen to be sitting in the audience. Constantine from Season 4 and Gina from Season 5 were there to promote their Fox Reality show, American Idol Extra. Before leaving them to enjoy the rest of the show, Ryan pleaded with Constantine to do his famous pout—creepy.

And with Ryan walking and talking toward the judges, we caught a glimpse of Ace from Season 4 who was sitting with his brother—who was a permanent fixture in the audience when Ace was busy breaking hearts.

There was also a Kristy Lee Cook sighting—don’t these guys have anything better to do? It’s essentially the equivalent of college-aged kids hanging out at their former high school—acting the part of the BMOC (Big Man on Campus).

Elimination Time

We were “treated” to a quick recap of the previous night’s performance, which was both painful and cringe worthy.

Before Ryan brought out the first Idol to learn their “safe or danger” fate, he tried to put to rest the Paula snafu from last night when she attempted to critique the two songs sung by Jason Castro…the problem: he had only performed one! That’s our Paula! You can imagine the water cooler discussions going on in every office this morning—and if you can’t, just pretend.

Safe or Sorry

Jason was invited to join Ryan on the stage. Ryan repeated the judge’s comments from last night and then sent Jason to the safety sofa.

David Archuleta strolled to the stage and Ryan did his thing with the judge’s critiques. No big surprise, David was safe.

Before throwing it to commercial, Ryan teased us with next week’s theme: Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Then he reminded us that one of the three remaining Idols—Brooke, Syesha, or David Cook will be going home tonight.

Shameless Fox Plug

We were reminded that after Idol crowns their Season 7 champion on May 21st, Fox’s other ratings juggernaut, “So You Think You Can Dance”, premiers their fourth Season. If you haven’t watched the first three seasons, you should tune in to see some really awesome talent.

More Eliminations…

Ryan asked David Cook to come out and learn that America got it right and voted him to safety.

So if you are doing the math at home, you know that there are only two Idols left—and only one safety spot. Out walked Syesha and Brooke, judges comments repeated, small talk with the bottom two, and then…they were both sent to the couch because Ryan had a little professional entertainment in store for everyone.

Guest Singing Sensation

British singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield graced the stage and performed “Pocket Full of Sunshine”. The song had Paula shaking her grove thing, but Simon looked positively bored—I think he may have been working on a hangnail. When the performance was over, Ryan made meaningless chit-chat with Natasha asking her about her start in the business—which was not all that inspiring. But Natasha was a big hit with the contestants—especially David A. who she sat next to on the couch, gave him a couple of kisses, and then dashed his hopes of being his prom date by reminding the world that she has a boyfriend.

Filler Phone Calls

As with all the previous elimination shows, Ryan opened the lines for America to ask their silly questions. The only one that was of mild interest was from British lady named Tara who now lives in Petaluma, CA. She wondered if Simon remembered his first kiss. He turned a lovely shade of red as he recalled that special moment all those many years ago when the precocious nine-year-old future Idol judge shared a special smooch at the bottom of his garden back in England with the very caller who posed the question, Tara. What are the odds?!

More Entertainment

This week’s guest mentor, Neil Diamond, took to the stage and performed his new song, “Pretty Amazing Grace”. Not exactly the next “Sweet Caroline”, the song just never got going for me. But watching Neil do his thing on stage was pretty amazing—especially when you consider this guy could just as easily be collecting a Social Security check sitting in his basement and listening to any number of his hits from his storied career.

A quick shout out to Neil’s mother who was in the audience was followed by a plug for his new album which “drops” on May 6th—that’s next Tuesday for the calendar-challenged out there.

Before leaving the stage, Neil encouraged the Idols to NOT listen to what Simon says—which got a few cheers.

The End of the Road—and our Final Four

Final judgment for one of the bottom two was swift—it was Brooke. Not real surprise—she lasted several weeks longer than she probably deserved, but that didn’t stop Brooke from crying a river. And then she had the stage to herself—and pulled a Brooke: she forgot the words…again! It looks like America got this elimination right.

The Final Four Idol wannabes in order of how they should finish are:

David Cook
David Archuleta
Syesha Mercado
Jason Castro

Tune in next Tuesday as these four take on songs from the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame—which in itself is an interesting theme. It promises to be a very exciting and entertaining night of action.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

American Idol - Would the Top 5 Make Diamonds or Coal? (4/29/08)

2008-04-30T01:20:00.000-07:00

Before we get into a review of tonight’s show, I have just one question: Has anyone noticed that Ryan’s hair is looking more and more like a faux-hawk with an obvious transition to the good ol’ Big Boy look? Just wondering

So with that query behind us it is time to check in with the Final Five Idols to see who would shine as they covered the great Neil Diamond’s songbook. And tonight we get to double our pleasure as each of the remaining Idols get to sing two songs—that’s 10 songs sung by the remaining five Idols…and you thought you were safe from math.

With a two-round event scheduled for the night, let’s check out Round 1:

· Jason predictably greeted the audience with his guitar and falsetto and gave “Forever in Blue Jeans” a whirl. During his performance, the camera came to rest on Simon who appeared to be grimacing and looking away from the stage—which could only mean one thing…he wasn’t all that impressed. But Idol did something different tonight and didn’t allow the judges to provide feedback until after each Idol sang their first song—so we wait with baited breath to get their opinions; however you don’t have to wait for mine. I thought it was quite boring.

· Let’s see what David Cook could do with his first song, “I’m Alive”. Neil said he got goose bumps watching and listening to David C. rehearse his songs, but would that translate to the stage? Like Jason, David grabbed his guitar and sang to the audience—the key difference was David ROCKED IT OUT! He even sounded a bit like Neil.

· Brooke warned us in her video clip leading up to her performance that she would be playing two instruments tonight—the first was the guitar as she sang the great Monkee’s hit, “I’m a Believer”. As I watched Brooke perform I couldn’t help but think that she should have gone home last week and we wouldn’t have to listen to her perform a song that only Little Davey Jones could really sing and have people believe. Not impressed.

· Could young David Archuleta get us back on track? If he going to do it, it’ll happen with him leaving his comfort zone with a somewhat upbeat version of “Sweet Caroline”. There is no denying that David A. has singing talent, but I normally find him a bit of a downer—primarily due to his somber song selection, but tonight his choice of song was good. I’m just not convinced he delivered his best tonight. But the young ladies in the audience (and at home with their phones) LOVE him and he is no danger of going home.

· Closing out Round 1 was Syesha who tried to recapture the magic she created last week (when she sang great, but still ended up in the bottom two). She chose to sing “Hello Again” and got off to a very rocky start—with me, that is. She sounded fine, but she was bare foot and sitting on the stage—two things I think really take away from any performance. In the end, I think Syesha gave a very mediocre performance.

As Ryan gave out the numbers for Syesha, he brought out the Idols and asked the judges for their opinions:

Randy:

Jason: Just OK, better than last week, but just OK
David Cook: Very good, in the zone, doing your thing
Brooke: Very Karaoke
David A: The bomb
Syesha: Strong, in the zone

When it came time for Paula to offer her words of wisdom, she characteristically pulled a Paula…

Jason: “I loved hearing your lower register on the first song” and then she went on to critique his SECOND song—which he hadn’t even sung yet! Randy stepped in and said “we’re only critiquing the first song right now” to which Paula said: “Oh my God, I thought you sang twice”—Earth to Paula! Are you there, Paula?! I guess I wasn’t the only one who fell asleep listening to Jason warble on…

Simon tried to get her out of trouble by delivering quicker than normal comments:

Jason: forgettable
David Cook: just above average
Brooke: a nightmare (Paula tried to object, but he was right)
David A: amateurish
Syesha: old-fashioned

He then told the Final Fab Five that they need to bring it during their second song, that he wants to “see and hear the performance of a lifetime”…which could be challenging a couple of our Idols.

And with that we dive right into Round 2

Jason tried to redeem himself with “September Morn”. And in predictable fashion, Jason pulled up his well-worn stool, crooned his way through a song that should have a lot of emotion, but sounded like something you would hear in an elevator or a dentist chair. Another very sub-par performance from Mr. Dreads. This time the judges got their licks in right away. Randy called it “just OK”…again. Paula said he played it safe. Simon noted that he had another forgettable performance that wasn’t anything like what got him to this point in the competition.

David Cook broke out his acoustic guitar and sang “All I Really Need is You”—a little known Neil Diamond song. The song started off a bit weak in my opinion, but once he hit the bridge, brought in the balance of the orchestra, and cranked up the tempo, he rocked it for me and made me want to hear the song again and again and again. Randy gave him props for rocking the house (he stole my line); Paula said that she feels like she is already looking at the American Idol (cheers from the audience); and Simon brought down the house when he called the performance “brilliant” and gave him credit for making the song sound like it was written today.

With a second opportunity to mess up, Brooke took to the piano and sang “I Am I Said”—a totally classic Neil Diamond standard which our Miss Brooke added a little personal touch (as suggested by Neil). When the line called for Brooke to sing “Well, I’m New York born and raised”, she instead inserted “Arizona” for “New York”—clever! Compared to her first song, she did a much better job, but I don’t think it is enough to keep her safe. Simon even liked this performance—calling it “a million times better than the first song”—not really all that complimentary given the first one was so bad. All three judges made note that her comfort zone is sitting behind the piano—how lucky is she that she came along during Season 7 and not an earlier season when instruments weren’t allowed?! No need to answer; it was rhetorical.

David A’s second song selection was “America”—I guess he’s going for the fan base recently vacated by Kristy Lee Cook. I know David is going to be safe, he’s built up enough cred with all of the young voters out there with phones, but if I’m being perfectly honest, he did not bring it on this song. His voice cracked and I didn’t believe his performance at all. But the judges felt otherwise: Randy said he was “in the zone” (getting a little redundant, Dawg!), Paula and Simon both complimented him on his smart song selection. I don’t get it, but then again, I’m not his audience.

Closing the show, Syesha tried to improve upon her weak first performance with “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime”—an upbeat song with a very ‘60’s vibe that sounds current thanks in large part to singers like Amy Winehouse (when she’s not getting in huge trouble, that is). Syesha still hasn’t found shoes for her feet, but at least she stayed vertical for the entire song and added a little gospel sound to try to spice things up a bit. Randy thought she found her comfort zone with the song (again with the zone, Sir Repeat-Alot?!); Paula babbled on about Lord knows what; and then Simon called it “officially the strangest show we’ve ever done” before “complimenting” Syesha on being a very good “actress who is a singer” and then hammered her with the “you may be in trouble tonight”. When she asked “why?”, Simon said it was because she didn’t have a memorable second song—I must disagree with you, Simon, because that was the second best performance of the night behind David Cook’s “All I Really Need is You”.

Oh well, it’s now up to you—the voting public to decide who is safe and who’s going home. Here are my predictions in order of how I believe they should finish after this evening’s performances:

David Cook: He was consistent with both songs, really brought originality to the second one, and got mad props from all three judges (which could actually turn out to be a curse—see last week’s judges comments and the Idol who left on Wednesday).

Syesha: Her first song was a real snoozer, but I thought she really brought in on her second song.

David A.: He was mediocre tonight during both songs and that is just good enough to land in the middle of the pack.

Brooke: She was awful in Round 1 and tolerable in Round 2.

Jason: BORING! Every song is starting to sound the same—it’s time for him and his dreads to go back to Texas.

Tune in tomorrow to see how well I can predict the future…or wait until I provide my review of the elimination show.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Seventh Elimination (4/23/08)

2008-04-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

It’s Wednesday and time to end the dreams of another Idol contestant. But before we begin the elimination process, it’s group sing time and the song choice is “That’s All I Ask of You” from Phantom of the Opera. There is no real energy or excitement in the performance as nerves seem to be overtaking the remaining six-pack of Idols—and Jason looks particularly nervous.

Who’s Gone Before?

We’re half-way to our goal of naming Season 7’s American Idol, so it seems like the right time to look back and see whom we have said goodbye to so far:

David Hernandez, male stripper turned Idol wannabe
Amanda Overmeyer, rock ‘n roll nurse who sang every song like she was passing a kidney stone
Chikezie, will forever be known as the guy who funked up the Beatles’ “She’s a Woman”
Ramiele, the tiny Filipino dynamo with the big voice who just never hit her stride once she hit the big stage
Michael Johns, a solid performer in the mold of Jim Morrison and Michael Hutchence who was sent home too soon
Kristy Lee Cook, the horse whisperer from Oregon who skirted elimination like Freddy Kruger in the Halloween flicks

Fox Filler

Ryan sat down with Lord Andrew and asked him questions about performing during which he defended Brooke’s decision to start, stop, and start over on her song last night as well as repeated his confusion about Jason’s song selection.

Then the usual Idol-infused Ford commercial preceded the start of the actual elimination process.

Elimination

Tonight there will be no bottom three—instead we were in search of the bottom two…a genuine twist that wasn’t expected. What will those wacky producers at Fox think of next?!

Ryan started the process by inviting the Davids, David Archuleta and David Cook, out to center stage. He recapped the judges comments from last night and then delivered the news that they are both safe for another week. No big surprise there, but the guys did look a bit shocked when they learned that next week’s mentor is Neil Diamond.

Trip Down Memory Lane

Taking a break from the tedious elimination process, we were transported across the country via the mystery of videotape to New York City where we caught up with Season 1’s Tamara Gray and Clay Aiken from Season 2 who are starring on Broadway—Tamara in “Rent” and Clay in “Spamalot”. Clay also plugged his new album which is scheduled to drop on May 6th.

Elimination Night Entertainment

While the four remaining Idols awaited their fate, Ryan introduced Simon Cowell discovery and top hit maker, Leona Lewis, who performed her number one hit, “Bleeding Love” for the audience.

More Results

Ryan called out Syesha and Brooke from backstage, reviewed the judges comments, and then sent Brooke to safety and Syesha to the stools of discomfort. The only person not surprised was Syesha who, as I correctly predicted last night, hasn’t done enough to build a fan base that can protect her when the number of Idols shrinks.

Needing to find someone to take up residence next to Syesha, Ryan asked Jason and Carly to the stage. Again he reviewed the judges comments from last night, asked the contestants a few questions, and then Ryan told Jason that he is safe and Carly is the unlucky Idol. Pretty much a surprise as Simon called her performance one of his favorites of the night—so much for getting on Simon’s good side.

Before eliminating one of the Idols, Ryan handed the microphone first to Carly to perform “Jesus Christ Superstar” one more time for the audience and then it was Syesha’s turn to sing for possibly the last time on the Idol stage. Both ladies were able to recapture the magic they produced last night—it’s just a shame that either of these girls have to go as they delivered two of the better performances last night.

Who’s Going Home

Like ripping a band-aid off a nasty cut, Ryan told Carly that she is leaving the show. And when he read her name, the audience was silent—and in obvious shock not unlike that which they experienced two weeks ago when Michael Johns was sent packing.

I guess getting a compliment the likes of which Simon gave her last night isn’t a good thing—and in Simon’s words tonight is actually “the kiss of death”.

With Carly’s elimination, we are down to five remaining Idols—the Davids, Jason, Brooke, and Syesha with the last three all on borrowed time.

Tune in next Tuesday to see what the Idol 5 do with the songs of Neil Diamond. Any predictions as to which Idol will try their hand at “Sweet Caroline”? I can hardly wait.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 6 Sing Andrew Lloyd Webber (4//22/08)

2008-04-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

To help celebrate Earth Day, the Idol producers had Andrew Lloyd Webber mentor the Idols--I'm not sure how those two things tied together, but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the special day. The Idols certainly had their work cut out for them—or so the judges would have us believe. Simon predicted that it would be one of the most difficult nights of the season.

So let’s see how the Idols performed with one of the most prolific composers in the history of musical theatre as their guide.

Leading off the night was Syesha who selected “One Rock & Roll Too Many”—a song she selected to show a little personality. ALW predicted that she would “bring the house down”, but what house would it be?....the penthouse or the dawg house?! Perched atop a grand piano and stylishly dressed in a tight, red dress, Syesha charmed the crowd, danced with Ricky Minor (band leader), and flirted with the guitar player. I was pleasantly surprised at her performance and felt very entertained. Randy called it her best performance to date and said she could have a future as a star on Broadway. Simon called the performance “very sexy…very Michelle Pfeiffer”. A great start to the show indeed!

Jason Castro chose “Memories” from Cats and gave Mr. Webber a bit of a shock—in so much as ALW never thought he would see the day when a man with dreads would be singing this much loved Broadway hit. Jason was equally surprised to find that it was such a well-known song—OMG this kid is young! When it came time to perform, Jason was seated upon a stool, dressed in a white suit with matching white hush puppies, and in obvious discomfort with his song selection. Jason struggled with the song—Randy went so far as to call it “a train wreck”. Paula tried to make it all better by complimenting him on his song selection—proving once again that Paula is watching a totally different show then the rest of us here on this Planet (plug for Earth Day). Simon summed the performance up by saying to Jason that it was probably “the longest two minutes of your life”—OUCH! Looks like Mr. Castro might be headed for the bottom three come tomorrow night.

Brooke White sang “You Must Love Me” a new song written by Andrew and his long time collaborator, Tim Rice, from the new Evita movie. During her time with Andrew, Brooke struggled to understand what the song was about, but with Andrew's help, she grasped it…or did she? Brooke pulled the old start/stop routine for the second time this season—but this time the entire band had to start over when Brooke messed up the opening lyric. Whoops! Eventually she got through the song, but how would the judges and America handle the false start? Randy was mixed in his feelings about her performance; he complimented her on taking Andrew’s direction, but felt she was a bit weak in the delivery. Paula told her that she “must never start and stop”—strong words for Paula. Simon said this is “why I love live TV” and then poured salt on the wound by saying Brooke won't be happy when she watches her performance back. But in a rare moment of human compassion, he said that she was right to start and stop—and Randy agreed. Sorry, Paula, you picked the wrong time for tough love. And Brooke picked the wrong week to forget her lyrics because she is likely going to join Jason in the bottom three, but there are three more performances yet to come.

Before performing his song, David Archuleta received hugs from a gaggle of young ladies from the front row of the Idol audience. David chose “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera. Andrew's only piece of advice for David was to keep his eyes open when he sings this song--which just happens to be a girl song. When he hit the stage, young David struggled to not close his eyes—and the few times he did close them, he quickly re-opened them making for a very awkward looking performance…so I closed my eyes and found his vocal performance quite pleasing. BTW: David’s eyes are hazel. Randy broke out his “if you can sing, you can sing anything” comment and them proclaimed him “the bomb, the one too beat!”. Paula babbled on as usual. And Simon called it “pleasant” and “one of your weakest performances of the past few weeks”, but also assured him that he is going to be safe.

Carly originally wanted to do “All I Ask of You” from Phantom, but Andrew halted her two bars into rehearsal and told her she had to go to option two: “Jesus Christ Superstar”—a wise decision (and the correct one!). For the first time in weeks Carly actually looked like she was having fun—as was Ricky Minor who was caught cuttin’ a rug while directing the band in a very hip version of the song. Randy called the performance good, but not necessarily her best; Paula…who really cares what Paula said; and Simon called it “one of my favorite performances of the night”—a comment which prompted Carly to run around the stage showing off a T-Shirt which read: “Simon Loves Me (this week)”.

So how would David Cook close the show? David chose “Music of the Night” from Phantom—a song which Andrew called the sexiest song he has ever written. David practiced singing the song with passion directly to Andrew—AWKWARD! Then he headed to the Idol stage to stare longingly into the cameras to win your votes. David called upon his musical theatre background to deliver a very convincing performance. According to Randy, it was “another molten-hot performance”. Simon said he preferred the grittier version of David, but that he still did a nice job. David should be safe.

So with strong performances by Syesha, the Davids, and Carly, who will join Jason and Brooke in the bottom three? Well, if I were to predict—like I do each week, I would say it is going to be Syesha simply because tonight was the first time she actually showed some personality and it may be too late for her to build a base like the rest of the Idols.

Tune in tomorrow to see for yourself who’s dream of superstardom is dashed by lack of votes.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Sixth Elimination (4/16/08)

2008-04-22T00:24:00.001-07:00

Once referred to as hump day, Wednesday is now known as elimination day. Tonight’s elimination show kicked off with the Lucky 7 Idols singing their version of the Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men classic, “One Sweet Day”. I must admit they sounded pretty good—could it be that the producers are doing a better job of selecting group songs or are ther Idols just getting better each week?

Query aside, the rest of the elimination night unfolded with few surprises, but there were some definite highlights like a live performance by Mariah herself as well as a visit from one of my favorite Idol contestants of all the time, Elliott Yamin.

Housekeeping—aka the usual plugs to start the show

A reminder about the song writing contest for those interested in penning the first song that THE American Idol will record upon donning the crown
Recap of the previous night’s performances—the high points (the Davids) and the low ones (Brooke and Carly)

Couch or Stool?

As has been the custom this season, the Idols are brought out to center stage one by one where they learn how America voted—at least whether they are safe or in the bottom three. Well tonight’s elimination process was a bit more convoluted. Read on to see what I mean…

First out was Jason Castro who was sent to neither the couch or the stools—but rather asked by Ryan to start a group on the left.
With the crowd oohing an aahing, David Cook came out and was sent to Ryan’s right—to which the crowd seemed caught between a boo and a cheer
Before finding out which side of the stage she was being sent, Carly Smithson turned to Simon and said “you’ve been a bit hard on me”—to which Simon said he sees tremendous potential and just wants to push her a bit more…then she was asked to join Jason
Kristy Lee Cook came out next and was asked about Simon’s comments about her performance. She said most of the time she agrees with him, but then again he can be “a butt-head” sometimes…OUCH! Simon seemed to take it in stride and then Kristy joined David C.

So with Carly and Jason on the right and the Cooks (David and Kristy Lee) on the left, we were made to wonder what the producers had in store for us this week. Would it be another shocking elimination? Were the three Idols left back stage in the bottom three? Do these pants made my butt look big?

Answers to those questions and a whole lot more would have to wait because Idol has a commitment to Ford where they make a silly commercial starring the Idols each week and we had to watch it before heading back to the stage.

And when we returned, we were treated to Elliott Yamin singing “Free” from his self-titled album. Looking quite cool with his curly mop of hair and wonderful new smile, dressed in a purple crushed velvet blazer and white scarf, Elliott showed that you don’t have to win Idol to do well in the music industry. The crowd loved his funky white boy sound like they did when he was a contestant during Season 5. As he ended his song, he showed his palm on which he had written “We Miss You Mom”—a memorial to his mother who passed away a few days ago. It was quite touching especially given his humble nature.

Back to the drama of what fate awaits the final three Idols?

Syesha sauntered out and was asked to join Jason and Carly. Curious…as I predicted that the bottom three would include Syesha and Carly…we’ll just have to wait and see which group is safe and which one is in trouble
Brooke came out next and was told to join the Cook’s—so we have Brooke and the Cooks! Clever, eh?!

So that leaves David Archuleta—the early season favorite who stumbled several weeks ago, has been consistent the past few performances, and was anointed the front runner after his during last night’s show by Simon.

But before finding out to which side David A. is going to be sent, we took a few calls from Idol fans—don’t they have anything better to do than call Idol? I mean, get a life—it’s TV J

And when the silliness was finally over, Mariah Carey took to the stage to show the Idols how it’s done. Mariah sand “Bye Bye” off her new album, E=MC2. The thing I love about Mariah is that she is so demure in everything she does from the six-inch heels to the diamond-encrusted microphone/stand. Look up Mariah Carey in the dictionary and you’re likely to see a reference to wall flower.

On the other hand, it was refreshing to see her add some bling to her get up—and by bling I mean a Hello Kitty band-aid that adorned her right hand and was in full view as she directed her back up singers as well as showed the audience which way her voice was going next.

BTW: For all of you wondering how Mariah stays in such great shape, you came to right place to find out. According to OK magazine, she does it with water aerobics which, according to Mariah, provides her three times the workout…of what we’re not sure, she didn’t say in the article.

And when Mariah was finished singing her song, she tried to leave the stage, but couldn’t because Ryan was totally crushin’ on her—it was kind of disturbing because Ryan only came up to about her elbow. But Mariah was a good sport about it and played along with Ryan’s not-so-clever banter.

Back to the business of eliminating our sixth contestant

The final Idol, David Archuleta, was welcomed on stage and, before Ryan told him where to stand, he was told he was safe and then Ryan asked David to pick the side he thought was also safe—the old Lucky 7 trick, of course…who would have guessed? I mean they do it just about every year at this time.

But before Ryan gave David A. the go ahead to pick a side, he asked David Cook to swap places with Syesha…and then David A. took a seat on center stage—just like Bo Bice did during Season 5. Then Ryan started motioning young David to move toward the group with Carly, Jason, and David C.

In case you didn’t follow that, let me recap: The Davids, the Irish girl, and Dr. Dreads are all safe; The blondes and Syesha made up the bottom three.

To recap even further: I predicted a bottom three of Syesha, KLC, and Carly…and I missed by one. And I also predicted that Carly would be eliminated—missed that one too.

Sent to safety…

As the three girls stood together looking like a trio of deer in the headlights, Ryan sent Syesha to the couch. And then Ryan asked for the judge’s predictions on who is going home: Randy and Paula, of course, skirted the question while Simon said KLC’s time was up—to which everyone in the auditorium objected, but he turned out to be accurate in his prediction.

It’s the end of the road for KLC and now her mission in life is to get the horse back that she sold to get to her audition in Philadelphia.

So we say goodbye to KLC and hello to ALW—as in Andrew Lloyd Webber who is scheduled to be next week’s guest mentor for the remaining six Idols.

The show ended with KLC seated upon the judge’s table and singing directly to a visibly uncomfortable Simon. She eventually made her way back to the stage where the surviving Idols engulfed her in cheers and support. And then Fox cut her off…

So goes another Idol elimination. Tune in next Tuesday to see what Andrew does with the Final 6—it’s anyone’s guess as to what Broadway songs the Idols will pick, we’ll just have to watch and see.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 7 Perform Songs by Mariah (4/15/08)

2008-04-22T00:22:00.000-07:00

Still buzzing and in shock from last week’s elimination of Michael Johns, tonight the Lucky 7 Idols took the stage and sang the songs of Mariah Carey—the newly crowned Queen of # 1 hits (surpassing Elvis, the King of Rock ‘n Roll) with her 18^th #1 hit.

So with a seemingly endless supply of quality songs from which to choose, it is now up to the Idols to do something memorable with them. But what would that “something” be?—would they do the unthinkable and try to imitate her five-octave range or would they try to make the song their own? Only time would tell…and that time has come, so read on…

Leading off the show and singing “When You Believe” was David Archuleta—another in the long line of ballads chosen by David. Upon meeting Ms. Carey, David was flustered and admitted to not being worthy of being in her presence. Her only advice to him was to not be afraid to go up into his falsetto—which he did for one note. The crowd loved it—I wasn’t so much into it. When it came to the judges, Randy called it “the bomb”, Paula said he likely “made Mariah proud”, and Simon called it “very, very good”—he also pulled a Randy and said that he had a number one hit with that particular song in the UK some years ago. And here I sit unaware of the song to this day…
Looking like she finally met with a stylist, Carly wore a lovely blue dress with sleeves and looked the part of torch singer to a T! Mariah was quite complementary of Carly upon meeting her and thought Carly’s choice of song, “Without You”, was a good one. Mariah called the song a classic—high praise for one’s own song, but when you are the Queen of the Pop Charts, you can do just about anything. Randy thought she challenged herself with a difficult song and didn’t really get into it until the middle of it. Paula told her she needs to trust herself more. And Simon said he didn’t think she pulled the song off—which brought out boos from the audience. Simon said she appeared to be thinking too much during the performance and that adversely affected the song.
Syesha selected “Vanishing”, a song Mariah wrote as a 17-year-old girl. Mariah gave her some nice tips on how to sing the song. Like Carly, Syesha chose to have a piano on stage along with the back up singers. Randy thought she picked one of the toughest songs of the night and did well; Paula pointed out that she was smart to pick a song which few people know (guilty, again!); and Simon said Syesha was good technically, but it might have been a mistake picking a song not very well known…and I couldn’t agree more. If it weren’t for my “job” of watching the entire show, I would have fast forwarded through Syesha’s performance.

With three of the seven performances in the bank, Simon said that so far the night belongs to David Archuleta—he called him “the one to beat” while Paula tried to get a plug in for Syesha…which didn’t work, of course because who listens to Paula?

Brooke was next and before seeing her mentoring session with Mariah, she sat with Ryan and whined about missing her sister’s wedding. Brooke selected “Hero” and Mariah encouraged her to be real and to sing from her heart. Seated at the piano and dressed in a sparkly black dress, Brooke poured her heart into the song, but may have come up a bit short as the vocals were no where near Mariah’s. Randy picked up on Brooke’s shortcomings, but gave her credit for doing the whole “singer/songwriter” thing—meaning she kept the orchestra out of the mix. Simon compared Brooke’s performance to “ordering a hamburger, but only getting the bun…because the bit in the middle was missing”. And while I wouldn’t make the same analogy, I agree that Brooke missed the mark especially during the second half of the song.
During her meeting with Mariah, Kristy Lee Cook gave Ms. Carey goose bumps while practicing “Forever”—a song Mariah thought was a good selection because not many people know it and she felt KLC would do a good job singing it. Standing on stage in a shiny silver knee-length number and with a piano accompanying her, KLC did her version of “belting out” the song. The crowd seemed to like it, but having never heard the song myself, I had no reference point from which to start. Randy was wishy-washy in his critique; Paula thought it could be a hit for KLC the way it was arranged…and then proceeded to stumble over her words; and Simon said he didn’t get chills like Mariah.
David Cook selected “Always Be My Baby”, a huge pop hit to which David was sure to add his unique flavor. Mariah called his version “haunting”—a compliment. David slowed the arrangement and gave it more of a rock feel which fit his style perfectly. As with previous performances, I think David could have a hit with this version—especially when the full orchestra and background singers kicked in after the bridge. But what did the judges think? Randy seconded my thoughts and went so far as to say Mr. Cook is ready to make an album, then he gave him a standing “O”…Paula thought the song could have be in a movie soundtrack…and Simon said it was like coming out of karaoke Hell (boos from the audience), but then it became clear he wasn’t talking about David’s performance because he went on to say that the performance was “original, daring, and stood out by a mile” and gave David mad props for taking risks and delivering—words that brought tears to David’s eyes and, no doubt, thrust him into the lead position for the night.
With the unenviable job of following David’s strong performance was Jason Castro who chose to do “I Don’t Want Cry” which Mariah thought was different. Flanked by two acoustic guitars and a bongo player, Jason sat on a stool during his performance. Basically the song sounded just about like every other song Jason has performed with the exception of last week’s “Over the Rainbow” and “Hallelujah” from several weeks back. Randy didn’t love it—he compared it to being at a luau on the beach with some music off in the distant. Paula said she wants to be at the luau and then Simon shocked everyone by agreeing with Paula and heaping praise upon Jason and his performance.

With all seven performances over, Simon said the boys won the night—which can only mean one thing in his mind: the bottom three could be missing a “Y” chromosome. And based on the judges comments tonight, I am inclined to agree. So to recap the bottom three:

Carly
Syesha
Brooke

Going home? Against my better judgment, I’m going to predict that America is going to send the last foreign-born Idol wannabe packing—it is the end of the road for Carly.

Tune in Wednesday night to see Mariah perform one of her hits and then watch as Ryan puts the Lucky 7 through living Hell as they learn the results of your votes.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Fifth Elimination (4/9/08)

2008-04-22T00:21:00.000-07:00

A night after raising over $60M during the special “Idol Gives Back” event, it was time to get back to business and say good-bye to one of the remaining Elite 8 Idol wannabes.

The show kicked off with the Idols singing a song of inspiration as a group with the help of two choirs bookending them.

After a few left over celebrity call outs for donations to raise more “Idol Gives Back” money, we were ready to find out which of our Idols were safe and which ones were in trouble.

Brooke White was first and found out she is not going to be able to attend her sister’s wedding this weekend because she is safe.
David Cooke came out next and Ryan sent him to the sofa of safety.
David Archuleta met Ryan center stage and then joined Brooke and David C. on the couch.

So with three Idols safe and only five more to go, the odds of those still waiting to learn their fate weren’t looking good.

But when we returned from commercial and were shown more of a video from Forrest Whitaker and his wife’s trip to Africa, I was beginning to wonder if Idol was going to give all of our Idols another week on the show—that would be the kind thing to do since it would be quite heartless to send someone home during a week of charity.

Before finding out what was to happen to the remaining five Idols, we were treated to a performance by the reigning American Idol, Jordin Sparks, and Chris Brown. The duo sang “No Air” which sounded over produced to me—which is a bit disappointing as I liked Jordin’s sound when she won the crown last year. But to show you what I know about the music industry, after the song Ryan brought out a number of awards for Jordin based on the many, many downloads of not only this song, but a couple of others. Oh well, I guess Simon’s job is safe—from me at least.

After the requisite Ford commercial featuring our Idols, we joined Ryan back on stage to learn more results of your votes.

Jason Castro ambled out to hear how the audience liked his version of “Over the Rainbow”…they did and he’s safe for another week...something’s up tonight
KLC was tricked into thinking she was in trouble only to be spun around and sent to the couches with the rest of the Idols before her—now I’m pretty sure something is in the air.
So with five Idols safe and three Idols back stage, Ryan told us that Syesha, Carly, and Michael Johns were this week’s bottom three—which was not well-received by the stunned Idols. I guess my theory about no one going home was just that—a theory, not reality.

Before we found out whose run on Idol has ran out, Bono was given the opportunity to talk with America about making the world a better place—followed by Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama who all extended their pleas for America to donate to Idol Gives Back.

With confusion reigning supreme, it was time to learn whose journey has ended.

When asked about their thoughts on the bottom three, Randy expressed surprise, Paula thought America got it right and got it wrong (WHAT?!), but Simon said America is finally listening to him and was right on the mark—not a good sign for any of the bottom three.

Ryan then sent Carly and Syesha to safety and told us that Michael Johns received the fewest votes—a shocking revelation for Michael, the audience, and just about anyone who recognizes talent. This elimination has to be ranked as one of the most surprising since Chris Daughtry was given the boot during Season 5.

But just as the news was sinking in, Ryan reminded us that last year during the “Idol Gives Back” results show, no one was sent home—which turned out to be a cruel trick as that wasn’t the case on this night. Michael was going home and no amount of wishful thinking on anyone's part was going to change the results. In my humble opinion, I think America got it wrong.

But regardless of the voting results, I predict that Michael is going to become a big recording star—he has wonderful stage presence, a big voice, and talent beyond what the votes showed this week.

Oh, just in case you are keeping track at home, I did quite well on my prediction of this week’s bottom three—correctly naming two of the three, but missing totally on the Idol going home. I don’t know if anyone would have predicted Michael’s fate, but I guess not enough people felt he deserved to wear an ascot on next week’s show…

Tune in next Tuesday to see how the post-Michael Johns Idols do with Mariah Carey as their mentor and they vie for your votes.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Gives Back (4/9/08)

2008-04-22T00:20:00.001-07:00

Idol Gives Back: A one-night event that is quickly becoming one of the biggest money raising TV shows that benefits disadvantaged children around the world.

The show opened with the “So You Think You Can Dance” top 10 from last season plus a few SYTYCD all-stars and the Elite 8 Idols as they joined forces to deliver a little song and dance routine to the cheers of the audience and the viewing public.

Once the show kicked off proper, the celebrity sightings were a virtual who’s who of the entertainment pages of your favorite magazines.

NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson asked his legion of fans to donate to this worthy cause

George Lopez appealed to the Spanish-speaking audience to reach into their pockets
Aussie native Kyle Minogue was up next and asked her fans from Down Under to donate what they could
Maria Shriver quoted Ghandi in her plea for not only money donations, but also asked people to volunteer their time
Ben Stiller went for humor in asking for donations reaching a gagillion dollars—a made up number according to Wikipedia
Blinged out and wearing an Idol Gives Back hoodie, Snoop Dogg rapped while his pee-wee football team stormed the stage—in a good way, of course. For those of you not familiar with Snoop, he ain’t no Cliff Huxtable
With a strategically placed band-aid on his check, LA Laker Kobe Bryant asked basketball fans around the country to put a full-court press on poverty
Triple H from the WWE showed a softer side in asking wrestling fans to put their wallets into a figure-four leg lock and donate
Idol judges, Randy and Paula, traded their comfortable chairs for center stage and introduced a video shot at Goshen Elementary school located not far from the Idol stage, but a world away in comfort and safety
A not very clever skit with Carrie Underwood and “Desperate Housewives” plumber James Denton and his one-time main squeeze, Teri Hatcher lead into a performace of Carrie’s “Before He Cheats” by Teri with James playing the acoustic guitar in the band. She started pretty good, but got a bit pitchy as she made her way through the song—there is no way she’s the next American Idol!
DWTS’s Mary Murphy threatened to do her signature “woo-hoo” scream until everyone watching donated. Idol Executive Producer, Nigel Lythgoe, pleaded with everyone to give in to Mary—because she is so darn annoying.
The Jonas Brothers gave out the phone number and Idol website for donations
Billy Crystal did a little Idol-related schtick and told a nice little story about a young lady who wanted sing on the show—that young lady was Miley Cyrus…aka Hannah Montana and Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter. Billy and Miley did a little lame banter with Billy acting like he didn’t know who she was—it was pretty much a total waste of time…shocking, I know. And then she turned the tables and asked him if he “is in show business”. Real yawner…and then Miley sang “Good and Broken Chains”.
Bono delivered a message from Africa and shared the story of a pretty fantastic lady who helps AIDS victims in Africa who need medicines to help fight this awful disease. It is really heart breaking to see these young children who were born HIV-positive and need these drugs just to have a chance—slight as it might be, to live another day.
Fergie accompanied by John Legend sang “Finally”, a song John wrote and the two performed at this year’s Grammy Award show. The Duchess did a nice job, thanked those who donated already, and then introduced Ann and Nancy Wilson—aka Heart!
The Wilson sisters rocked the house with a rousing rendition of “Barracuda”. Fergie joined the sisters on stage half-way through the song and she strutted her stuff in pair of tight black leather pants—which made Ann look like a small mountain, but you can not deny Ann’s voice is still as strong as ever.
The second WWE Superstar, John Cena, threatened to put anyone who didn’t donate in a headlock.
Adam Sandler and his sleeping bulldog asked everyone watching to get off the couch and donate
The first family of the NFL, Eli and Peyton Manning, hit the stage at the Kodak Theatre to update everyone on the progress that is being made in their hometown of New Orleans. We were treated to a video featuring some wonderful young men in New Orleans who are still dealing with the trauma from Hurricane Katrina.
The first family of celebrity Soccer, Posh and David Beckham, asked for footballer fans in the viewing audience to bend their wallets like the Beckhams and donate.
Bono’s second video installment from Africa highlighted the story of a young man who lost both parents to AIDS.
Annie Lennox shared the story of a family of four brothers who lost their entire family to AIDS. The eldest boy is 15 and is the head of the family—that is just not right. Annie took the boys to a hospital in South Africa where they were tested for HIV/AIDS—thankfully their tests came back negative and for at least one day, they were able to act like children.
Annie then performed “Many Rivers to Cross”, a Jimmy Cliff song, back at the Kodak Theatre. And while she played the piano and sang with her emotions on full display, a video of her time with these courageous young men played on the screens in the background.
Jimmy Kimmel introduced Simon Cowell—but not before insulting Simon’s clothing, his anatomy, and his haircut. When he finally gave Simon his time, we were rewarded with a video which showed Simon in a New York City neighborhood where he visited a family who has little, suffers much, and desperately needs help. It was quite moving hearing the mother of this family, who is quite sick, ask for everyone to please, please, please donate.
Then Simon introduced the very talented Carrie Underwood who dazzled in an iridescent gold, floor-length dress and finally got to sing a song.
Gloria Estefan and Sheila E. teamed up on “Get On Your Feet”—and pleaded with the audience to shake their money makers and donate what fell out of their pockets…quite clever!
Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel’s main squeeze and a very saucy comic, dialed it down a bit and updated us on the great work of a host of people and organizations who are helping the many Africans who suffer from Malaria. Forrest Whitaker hosted a video showing the effects of this terrible disease—yet another disease that is causing African children to become extremely sick and even death. To help these children, they need malaria nets and special pills to safe their lives—the cost: $10/net, $2/pill. A small price to pay for these children to have a chance at a happy life.
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, said that the UK would pay for 20 million nets for these African children—that is the equivalent of $200M US. And then he urged other world leaders to do the same.
Reese Witherspoon shined a spotlight on the “Children’s Defense Fund”—a charity very close to her heart. A video shot in New Orleans and highlighting a mother who is struggling to raise her children in a very dangerous area was shown. To help break the cycle of poverty, drugs, and danger, these children and a number of others in the area attend an after school program which is helping them live a better life.
The Elite 8 took time away from the phones to sing “Seasons of Love” from the hit Broadway musical, Rent. Flanked by a couple of gospel choirs and seated around a grand piano, the Idols sounded great with each lending their unique style and sound to a wonderful song of hope.
Dane Cook introduced Alisha Keys, a talented singer-songwriter who we learned is the global ambassador to “Keep a Child Alive” which is a charity that provides care to children with AIDS. Alisha took us on a tour of Africa and shared the story of a grandmother who is taking care of her grandchildren because their parents died of AIDS.
Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens from the “High School Musical” franchise pleaded with kids to dig into their piggy banks and their parents to get out their wallets and donate
Miley Cyrus was back to vamp it up, sing “I Can’t Wait to See You Again”, and to appeal once again to the ‘tween crowd—aka David Archuleta’s key demographic.
Then Miley took us back to Clay County, KY—the childhood home of Billy Ray Cyrus. She introduced us to a family living in extreme poverty—in a home that most of us only know about from reading books and watching Farrelly Brother movies. But to these people, these conditions are very real. This family’s children as well as a number of those living in this area have been provided books and the opportunity to learn to read and learn—which will lead them to the chance at creating a better life for themselves and their families.
To provide some comic relief, Ryan introduced us to the recently crowned Russian Idol, Ivan Popanov, who bore a striking resemblance to America’s very own, Robin Williams. Dressed in black leather pants and a gaudy gold lame-accented shirt that looked as if it were stolen from the closet of Sigfried and Roy, the Russian Idol kibitzed with Ryan while the AI judges sat stage left acting like they were going to do something other than become the butt of the Idol’s “jokes” and then he “sang” a song which was judged by Randy, Paula, and Simon. Randy called it “forcefully pitchy”, Paula commented on the shirt, and Simon said it was “brilliant”.
TV funny man David Spade came on next and introduced Brad Pitt who has taken an interest in helping New Orleans recover from the damage left behind by Hurricane Katrina. Brad was shown helping rebuild houses, digging with President Clinton, and playing catch with the children who suffered the effects of the Hurricane, but who exhibit the strength of a region that will not allow an act of nature to ruin their lives.
Brad then came on stage at the Kodak Theatre to the screams of the many ladies in the audience—as well as quite a few of the men. He introduced a video featuring Daughtry and the time they spent recently in Uganda. The video was set to Daughtry’s “What About Now” and held anthem status for the children to whom Chris and his band played.
Other celebrities logging time on the show included Keifer Sutherland, Celine Dion, Whoopie Goldberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Keith Urban, Rob Schneider, Tyra Banks

My DVR cut out before the show ended, but I am pretty sure everyone got the theme of the show: get entertained and donate some money—all in the name of a very good cause.

Idol Gives Back was full of emotion, acts of kindness, and generosity—it is wonderful to see a show as big as American Idol lending itself to this type of event…

But it’s time to get back to what American Idol is all about—finding the best unsigned singing talent in the country.

Until next time, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 8 Perform Songs of Inspiration (4/8/08)

2008-04-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

Three consecutive nights of Idol kicked off tonight with the Elite 8 who hit the stage and sang songs of inspiration. Tomorrow is the second annual “Idol Gives Back” show which raises money for children’s charities in Africa and the US. And Thursday is elimination night when one of our would-be Idols is shown the door and the Lucky 7 who still have a chance at Idol immortality are revealed. But enough programming notes, how did our Idols do where it mattered?—on center stage!

• Leading off was Australian native, Michael Johns who selected “Dreamweaver” by Aerosmith. For the second week in a row, Michael chose to sport an ascot while belting out his song. Not sure of the significance of the ascot look—perhaps it was an ode to Aerosmith front man, Steven Tyler, but whatever it was, Michael got the crowd into it. Randy was a bit critical saying he wasn’t sure the song was very relevant to Michael’s style. Michael explained that he was living his dream and the song fit just perfectly. Simon said Michael’s performance was an “imitation” and called it a bit of a “wannabe” performance—OUCH! But in the end, Simon said he still liked it.

• Syesha sang next and decided to cover Season 3 winner, Fantasia’s ”Believe”. I have never been a Fantasia fan—she seems to scream a bit much for me and I am beginning to NOT be much of a Syesha fan because she tends to be a bit over dramatic. Randy was all over Syesha saying she didn’t stack up to Fantasia and while Randy was delivering his critique, Paula babbled as usual saying that it was a shining moment for her—I didn’t get it. Simon said she sang it well, but didn’t meet Fantasia’s standard. Sounds like Season 7’s version of Kat McPhee may be in trouble.

• Speaking of McPhee(ver), Jason Castro decided to sing the song that launched her into Idol superstardom, “Over the Rainbow”, but Jason decided to do it in the style of Iz—as in Israel “Iz” Ka’ano’I Kamakawiwo’ole, the great Hawaiian musician. Jason sat on a stool, played his ukulele and blew the judges and the audience away with his interpretation. Randy called it the performance of the night (three singers in, mind you) and Simon said he absolutely loved it—and that should be enough to secure Jason’s safety come Thursday’s elimination show.

• Following Jason’s strong performance was Kristy Lee Cook who selected “Anyway” by Martina McBride—and if I’m being perfectly honest (like Simon), I thought she did quite well. I was a little scared for her when I heard her say she was going to do a Martina song, but in the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, she did her thing (Randy-ism). When it was the real Randy’s turn, he said it was pitchy, but good; Paula said it was her best performance to date, and Simon went several steps further saying she picked a great song, sang it well, and looks like a star! High praise indeed.

• So what would David Cook do for us tonight? The past few weeks he has taken seemingly strange song selections and created instant hits—I don’t care that he has covered other people’s covers of originals; he still did a great job. This week, David sang “Innocent” from Our Lady of Peace—never heard of them or the song, but they are David’s favorite group and with a name like that, they must give someone inspiration—tonight’s theme. I didn’t really like the song, but David’s a star and took his performance to the masses—as in he walked into the crowd and sang the final few bars directly to the judges. Randy didn’t get David’s performance (in comparison to previous weeks) and Simon plain didn’t like it calling it “pompous”—going so far as to critique his choice to wear a white jacket. David looked a bit defeated after the judge’s comments, but he’ll likely be safe.

• Carly was up next and picked a Queen classic, “The Show Must Go On”. Carly used her big voice to deliver what I thought was another strong performance. She still needs help with her wardrobe choices—a black and teal striped tank tucked into black slacks and divided by a gold belt doesn’t exactly spell pop superstar. When the judging began, Randy called the performance “disconnected”, Paula agreed with Randy saying she didn’t “feel engaged”, and Simon said she looked good (really?!), but called it a “strange choice of song”—according to Simon, she over sang the song and came off as angry. Simon said she might be in trouble—and what Simon says usually happens.

• David Archuleta struggled selecting a song this week, but decided on “Angels” by Jessica Simpson—the first time that I am aware of in the history of American Idol that one of her songs has been covered by an Idol wannabe. Seated at the grand piano on center stage and singing his heart out, David delivered a strong performance. Randy called it one of his best performance of the competition and Simon said it was the best song selection of the night—then he added that it sounded a bit nasally before assuring him that he will sail into the next round.

• Brooke White closed the show with Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend”—a fairly pedestrian song selection (and quite predictable for our Miss Brooke). Accompanied by the same grand piano that David A. played a song before, Brooke stood center stage, feet firmly planted on the ground, and sang her song—she appeared to be channeling a bit of Carly’s facial expressions (the scowl, the devil brow, not much smiling), and resisted every urge her body may have had to even sway to the music. When the song was over, Randy said it wasn’t her strongest performance, but he wasn’t “mad at you”—whatever that means. Simon called it a “pleasant walk in the park”, but not original. But the big news was that Brooke refrained from talking over Simon (or any of the judges) for the first time EVER!—which could be attributed to the somber tone of tonight’s show.

With the performances of the final eight Idols in the books, their fate rests in your hands—the voting public, that is. And as noted earlier, they will learn the results of the vote tallies on Thursday as tomorrow will be dedicated to raising money during the “Idol Gives Back” show—have I mentioned that to you yet? Well, it’s a good cause and should be a great show—so tune in tomorrow and donate what you can.

Come Thursday the Idols who will likely find themselves in the bottom three are Syesha, Kristy Lee Cook, and Carly—with KLC going home.

I have a prior commitment the next two nights, so you’ll have to wait until Friday for my reviews of nights two and three of this week’s shows—or you could watch the shows yourself, but what fun would that be?!

Until we meet again, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to...

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Fourth Elimination (4/3/08)

2008-04-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

Elimination #3 of the Idol Top 12 occurred tonight—and here’s the briefest of brief recaps:

Group Song: On the night when the remaining Idols went from 9 to 8, we were treated to a rousing rendition of “9 to 5”—if you didn’t see it, you didn’t miss anything.

Sofa or Stool: As with the previous three elimination shows, the Idols came out one-by-one to learn their “safe or bottom three” status. Those getting comfy on the couch were Michael Johns, David Archuleta, Carly Smithson, David Cook, Syesha, and Jason Castro. Finding themselves in the bottom three were Ramiele, KLC, and our Miss Brooke—for the record, I was 1 for 3 again this week, correctly predicting that Ramiele would be in the bottom three (I also thought Jason and Syesha would join her—I guess I was wrong).

Going Home: You’ll have to wait for there was much more time to waste—and Idol didn’t want to miss a single minute of fluff or foolishness.

Entertainment for the Evening: “America’s Next Great Band” winners, The Clark Brothers, performed “This Little Light of Mine”. For those of you not familiar with ANGB, it was an Idol-like contest produced by Fox and held this past winter where bands from around America competed to become America’s next great band—hence the name. The Clark Brothers are a trio of brothers (again, hence the name) who play country/folk-style music. They have a unique style and are quite entertaining, but enough about them—tonight it’s all about the Idols.

Memory Lane: We caught up with Idol wannabes from past seasons including Bucky Covington (Season 5), Phil Stacey (6), and Bo Bice (4) who all have settled in or around Nashville—which just happens to be a coincidence based on this week’s theme (Dolly Parton). Ryan promised more such visits to Idols from yesteryear—oh joy!

Hearing from the Expert: As noted, Dolly Parton was the guest coach for this week and no self-respecting superstar would pass up a chance to shamelessly plug their new album when you have 30-odd million viewers tuned in to watch one Idol’s dreams of becoming crowned the Idol champion come to an end—and Dolly’s no different. Dolly sang her new song, “Jesus & Gravity” off her new album, Backwoods Barbie. I like Dolly, but the song was BORING!—and would have landed her in the bottom three had she been held to the same standard as our Idols.

The journey ends here: With our bottom three of Ramiele, KLC, and Brooke draped all over each other at center stage, Ryan sent Brooke to safety, told KLC she would be around to sing another week, and informed Ramiele that she had punched her last ticket on the Idol gravy train. So for the second week in a row, I correctly predicted who America sent home—anyone care to join me in Vegas or split a lottery ticket?!

Next week: And now we are down to the Idol Elite Eight. Tune in next Tuesday to find out what songs will help propel our Idols to pop stardom—and which ones will send one unlucky Idol home to rue their song selection. And then check out Wednesday’s second annual “Idol Gives Back” show to see if they can top the $76M raised last year to fight poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and disaster—or as I like to call it, Elimination NightJ…just kidding, check out this great show and support a great cause.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 9 Do Dolly Parton (4/2/08)

2008-04-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

No fooling, tonight the final nine Idols were mentored by the one and only Dolly Parton and sang songs written and/or recorded by the Nashville icon—a theme that could play right into the hands of KLC…but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

The Idols started off their time with Dolly with a rousing rendition of “9 to 5” which, thank goodness, we didn’t have to hear any one of our Idols sing for your votes.

When it came time to show what they learned from Dolly, here’s what happened.

Brooke White hit the stage first and, with guitar in hand and accompanied by a fiddle, backup singer, and a man playing a shoe-shine box, Brooke lent her vocals to “Jolene”. Brooke really seems to find her comfort zone when she is playing an instrument as she sings, so tonight was another good performance for me. But the judges saw a slightly different performance: Randy gave it the “it was aw’ight” critique, Paula complimented Brooke on her consistency, and Simon brought it home by saying she “lacked emotion” while “rushing through the song”.
Before David Cook had the opportunity to impress us, he was essentially forced to cop to the fact that his “unique” song arrangements of the past few weeks were actually copies of other people’s copies…but unlike what we learned in the Michael Keaton classic, “Multiplicity”, a copy of a copy can be as good as the original—especially if the song is being delivered by Mr. Cook. This week David did his own arrangement of “Little Sparrow”. And like previous weeks, he did an awesome job and further cemented his position as one of the most talented artists of this year’s crop of Idol wannabes. Randy gave David serious props, Paula noted David’s haircut (which for a brief time erased the fact he has a comb over), and Simon said while it wasn’t as good as last week (“Billie Jean”), he thought David did a good job of “making a song about a sparrow sound good!”—you’ll recall that Simon was pretty critical of Carly when she sang “Blackbird” a couple of weeks ago, so Simon must have something against birds.
Up next was the vertically challenged Ramiele—who gave Dolly a run for the most petite person on the show. Ramiele selected “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” and looked every bit as uncomfortable as she sounded trying to sing a country song. She may have picked the absolute wrong song because after she finished, she might be asking that very question after tomorrow night’s elimination show. The judges (the one’s who count at least) didn’t like it with Simon essentially saying it was very forgettable.
Likely “dreading” tonight’s theme, Jason Castro spent a bit of time with Dolly who made a lame dreadlock joke that fell quite flat—a concept foreign to Ms. Parton. Predictably, Jason strummed his guitar on center stage and sang “Travelin Through” and did a pretty decent job. Randy liked it, Paula babbled on about it being a strong performance, but Simon was quite critical saying he “didn’t get it”. Jason may very well be in trouble again this week.
Slowing down the tempo and adding an acoustic guitar accompaniment to “Here You Come Again”, Carly gave a strong performance. She again showed why she is one of the best singers to grace the stage this year. Randy and Paula gushed about the performance, but Simon was a killjoy and said it was “good, not great” and then provided the ultimate downer by telling Carly that she needs to have a word with wardrobe because if Carly wants to be taken seriously as a pop star, she is going to have to start dressing like one. Ryan came to her defense and questioned what was wrong with Mr. Cranky Pants—to which Simon said he was simply “saying the things that the people at home were thinking”.
David Archuleta tried to get the train back on the tracks with his version of “Smoky Mountain Memories”—which during rehearsal brought tears to Dolly’s false eye lashed eyes. It was another strong singing performance by the 17-year-old, but I would like to see young David start to sing songs that are little more in the vein of a singer his age. The judges all thought it was spectacular with Simon saying the song was “on the money” which is great, but doesn’t change my opinion about wanting him you go more youthful.
KLC lent her countrified vocals to “The Coat of Many Colors” which was quite appropriate as the song could very well have been dedicated to the dress she was wearing. I must give credit where credit is due and say that KLC did pretty well. Randy and Paula agreed with me, however Simon thought the performance was “pleasant”, but nothing special. And in what amounts to things better left unsaid, Ryan complimented KLC on her French pedicure—is that really where we are going on the #1 show on TV?!
Syesha Mercado went predictable and selected “I Will Always Love You”. Dressed in an awful yellow wrap dress with a red tie around the waist and seated upon a grand piano, Syesha “phonied” her way through the song. It was yet another in a long line of self-indulgent performances—Syesha is quickly becoming the Season 7 version of Katherine McPhee…good looks, nice voice, but overly dramatic performer. Randy called it “aw-ight”, Paula…nobody cares what Paula says, and Simon said he “almost wished you (Syesha) hadn’t gotten the song”—OUCH! And then said the performance was “a good, not fantastic version of the song”. Ms. Mercado may be in trouble for the second straight week.
Michael Johns closed the show with a funky version of “It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right”. Wearing an odd looking blue and pink ascot and joined on stage by a guitar and piano, Michael rocked the song and got good reviews from Randy and Paula…but Simon capped off the critiques by saying it was the best Michael had sounded yet. And then my DVR stopped….

But before you get all hot and bothered thinking I missed anything, never fear for I had a backup plan and that plan was called recording the next show on Fox, “Hell’s Kitchen”!—gotta love Chef Gordon Ramsay.

Anyway, the show was all but over except for another run through the numbers—which I don’t pay attention to because I don’t vote…I know, big shocker, but I want to maintain my unbiased opinion about our Idols.

So, who is going to take up residence in tomorrow’s bottom three? If I were a member of the voting public, here are the three Idols who would NOT receive my vote:

Ramiele
Jason Castro
Syesha Mercado

And the Idol going home (of my bottom three) SHOULD be Ramiele.

But don’t take my word for it, watch tomorrow night or wait for my recap…either way, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Third Elimination (3/27/08)

2008-04-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

Like all good things, someone’s run on Idol had to come to an end. And the end for one of our Idols came in the form of the typical Wednesday night elimination show.

As with every other elimination show, this one was packed with so much fluff, it gave the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from “Ghostbusters” a run for his money. And as usual, I am guilty of digressing—you are reading this recap to find out whose ride on the Idol gravy train ended and who escaped elimination.

But before giving you tonight’s bottom three, I feel the need to plug one of the great causes on network TV—Idol Gives Back. Last year the special two-hour event raised over $76M in the fight against poverty, hunger, literacy, etc. in Africa and the US. This year Idol Gives Back will air on Wednesday, April 9^th and, if you only watch one episode of Idol this year, make it this one—there will be plenty of star power, but the real pay off is seeing the great work your money help accomplish.

Thank you for indulging me…but it is time to get back to who is safe and who’s in jeopardy of going home. As they did last week, the producers made the Idols walk from backstage to center stage to learn their fate from Ryan.

First up was Chikezie. As you might recall, Chikezie was one of my three picks for the bottom three—and I even went so far as to say he was going home after a very boring performance last night. Well, I was right, he was sent to the uncomfortable stools and asked to wait it out while the rest of the Idols had their time with Ryan—plus a lot of non-show related activities like Season 2 contestant and former Celebrity Fit Clubber, Kimberley Locke performing “Fall” off her new album which was OK, but I’m not running out to buy it—or even download it from iTunes.

Anyway after Chikezie, Brooke, Carly, and the Davids (Archuleta and Cook) were sent to the safety couch—but not before Carly refuted media rumors that she is pregnant and that was the reason she seemed so stressed during last night’s performance.

Joining Chikezie on the bottom three stools was Syesha—a mild shock to Randy and Paula and even though I didn’t predict this position for her, I wasn’t all that impressed with her performance.

Michael Johns was next and told Ryan what an honor it was to sing Queen the night before—and then Ryan delivered the news: Michael was safe to sing again. As was Ramiele which I found more than a bit shocking. Simon predicted she would live to sing another day, however I think her time on the show is quickly coming to an end—just not this week.

With two Idols on the hot seat and six safe, that leaves just two more to learn their fate. And right on cue out walked Jason Castro and Miss Bottom Three herself, Kristi Lee Cook. Ryan made them sweat a little before delivering the news…that KLC was…SAFE! Then Jason was joined on center stage by the other members of the bottom three, Chikezie and Syesha.

While Ryan was building suspense, Jason started babbling on about having a feeling he was going to be in this position and pretty much freaking out all day. To put US out of our misery, Ryan sent Jason to the couch of safety setting up the showdown to see who had sung their last song on this stage.

A minor debate broke out between the judges regarding the past evening’s performances—was Chikezie as cheesy as Simon said; was Syesha as brilliant as Randy and Paula claimed while Simon stuck by his original critique that it was old-fashioned like that of Chikezie.

One more thing before getting to the elimination: this is my worst week for predicting the bottom three…I said that Chikezie would be joined by Ramiele (she should have been there) and Carly (I thought she would fall prey to Simon’s bad review), but I was dead on with who was going home: and that Idol was Chikezie.

With Reuben Studdard’s “Celebrate Me Home” playing over video of Chikezie’s journey on Idol, we were reminded that Chikezie’s journey with Idol is only just beginning because he was good enough to make the Idol Top 10 and that means he is going on tour with the rest of the Idols this summer—he’ll just have a some extra time to select some songs that aren’t so darn lame!

So we’re down to nine Idols and next week they will be coached by Dolly Parton—who just happens to have a new album on the charts…coincidence? I think not!

Tune in next week to see how the Idols do with Miss Dolly—or don’t and wait to read what I saw…either way I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to.

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 10 Perform Songs from their Birth Year (3/26/08)

2008-04-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

We are down to the Top 10 Idols and tonight they performed songs from the year of their birth—and I’m not going to lie to you, the ‘80’s weren’t exactly a treasure trove of good music…at least the songs that our Idols selected.

Kicking off the show was Ramiele. Born in 1987, the Saudi born Floridian sang the Heart power ballad, “Alone”. I thought the song was just too big for her and the judges agreed with me (with the exception of Paula who is unable to give an honest critique to any contestant). Simon provided one of the most back handed compliments when he reminded Ramiele got through last week with an appalling performance, so she will probably get through this week as well. I think her luck may change and she should find herself in the bottom three.
Also born in 1987, Jason Castro was next and sang “Fragile” by Sting. I have never heard the song before, so it was difficult for me to really critique his performance. However, Simon summed it up best when he compared it to “someone outside the subway” playing for change. He went on to say that Jason was a bit too laid back and even went so far as to accuse the dreadlocked Texan of not taking the competition seriously and “playing sloppy guitar”.
Taking a page from the Gladys Knight songbook was Syesha who like the first two contestants was born in the year 1987. The song the self-described cry-baby chose was “If I Were Your Woman”—recorded in 1987 by Stephanie Mills. I was bored throughout the song, however the judges all agreed that it was Syesha’s best performance to date and launches her into the race for the crown. We’ll see with whom America stands during tomorrow’s elimination show.
Dressed in a jacket stolen from the Porter Wagoner collection, Chikezie went old school by selecting “If Only for One Night” by Luther Vandross from 1985. The throng of cheering girls at the foot of the stage went crazy for Chikezie who bent down, held the hand of one of the girls, and sang directly to her. The judges weren’t so kind calling the performance “boring” (courtesy of Randy) and “cheesy” (thanks Simon).
Seated at the piano and looking a lot more comfortable than last week, Brooke White sang “Every Breath You Take” recorded by the Police in 1983. Despite a stumble at the beginning of the song which required a restart, I thought Brooke sang the song pretty good—at least for half the song. The judges agreed and pin pointed her downfall—when Ricky Minor and the rest of the Idol band joined in on the song and things went downhill from there.
Michael Johns delivered a rare two-for-one when he tackled the Queen classics from 1978 “We Will Rock You” leading directly into “We Are the Champions”. Michael has taken quite a bit of heat from the judges about song selection and giving the audience a performance that is going to move him to the top of the Idol pile—and he finally did just that. Both during and after his performance the crowd was going nuts, the judges heaped high praise on him, and I’m sure America is going to keep the Aussie around for at least one more week.
Born in 1983 and named after Carly Simon, Carly Smithson followed Michael with “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. When I hear the opening bars of the song, I wasn’t sure if she was going to give us the classic version of the song or the Old School version—as in the version that was performed by the Dan Band during the wedding reception scenes in the Will Ferrell smash hit, “Old School”! But alas, Carly took the easy way out and chose the Bonnie Tyler version and I thought rocked it nonetheless. The judges were a bit harsh with Simon recommending that Carly “lighten up a bit”. As you will recall from my preview to the Top 12 show, I was concerned about Carly doing too many power ballads. So Carly may find her way back into the bottom three.
Winning the prize for the most obscure song choice was David Archuleta (born in 1990) who chose to sing a song called “You’re the Voice” by some Australian artist. Simon compared the performance to that which you would “find at a theme park surrounded by animated characters” and Paula insulted the fact that the song wasn’t by an American—somebody is getting saucy! To add to the beat down, Simon surmised that David likely wasn’t responsible for choosing the song and hinted at an outside influence—perhaps David’s ball-capped father who has been in the news regarding his stage dad behavior. David is likely safe which means he is that much closer to missing going to Prom with his unnamed date (who was sitting next to Dad—again in a ball cap!).
So now we are up to Kristy Lee Cook who was born in 1984. KLC reached deep and selected Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”—which in my opinion is more appropriate for a sporting event when you can leave your seat and head to the concession stand than the Idol stage. But as Simon noted, it was the “most clever song choice in years” and will likely allow KLC to pick up enough votes to stay out of the bottom three for the first time in forever.
Our last performance of the night was turned in by David Cook. David was born in 1984 and had a “massive skull” (his words)—and by the time his song ended and he received serious praise from the judges, his head was quite large. David left his guitar in its case and hit the stage solo to sing Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean”. First of all, is there a person alive who hasn’t at one time owned a copy of the “Thriller” album? If so, you can pick up a special 25^th anniversary edition at a music store near you. Back to David’s performance—it was BRILLIANT! By far the best performance of the night and one that puts him right there as a favorite to win the whole thing. Randy called it “original and bold” and Simon called it “brave and amazing”.

So in a night where few stars shined, who will be the unlucky three to grace center stage tomorrow? My money is on: Ramiele, Carly, and Chikezie and as much as it pains me to write it, Chikezie will be going home.

Tune in Wednesday night and find out what happens—or wait for my recap…either way, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - Second Elimination (3/20/08)

2008-04-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

It’s Wednesday night and that can only mean one thing: we are going to say good-bye to the second would-be Idol and get down to the American Idol Top 10!

And as usual, it’s never that cut and dried with Idol. Instead of ripping the band-aid off in one fell swoop and telling us whose dreams of Idol stardom are doomed, we were dealt a steady dose of water torture by Ryan and the gang.

Highlights of the evening’s events included a mini Beatles medley, a behind the scenes look at how the Idols make those wacky Ford commercials, a segment on Idol Gives Back, and finally a performance by Season 5’s Kellie Pickler who teased Simon and Randy as she strutted on and off the stage while singing her hit “Red High Heels”.

When the dust finally settled and we were ready to get down to business, Ryan had the Idols come out from backstage one-by-one to learn their fate as determined by the voting public. Tonight’s elimination was of particular interest to the contestants because the results would determine who would be touring this summer as part of the Idol Top 10 and which Idol would be buying tickets at an arena near them.

Instead of putting you through the same excruciating process that I endured, I’ll tell you that the bottom three included one pretty big surprise (at least in my humble opinion).

You might recall that last night I predicted Amanda, Ramiele, and Kristy Lee Cook would make up the bottom three—well, for the second week in a row, I missed the bottom three by a single member. Instead of Ramiele sweating it out, it was Carly Smithson! I guess the luck of the Irish ran out on our lass from the Emerald Isle.

So to recap, making the Top 10 so far are:

Brooke White
David Archuleta
Michael Johns
David Cook
Jason Castro
Ramiele Maluby
Syesha Mercado
Chikezie

To relieve a bit of the tension for at least one of the contestants—and to restore some order to a huge mistake by the voters, Ryan sent Carly over to the couches and by doing so assured her that she would be touring with the eight other Idols already seated and breathing easy.

That left Kristy Lee Cook and Amanda—and wouldn’t you know, I was wrong again! For the second week in a row, I predicted that American had seen enough of KLC and her KFC-styled singing. But that wasn’t the case tonight—and I can’t really say I was too disappointed with the decision.

I think America got it right because Amanda can’t sing—at least not in the style expected of our American Idols. Case in point:

During the mini Beatles medley that featured all of remaining Idols, Amanda was noticeably silent during the ladies portion of the show. While the girls sang “Here, There, and Everywhere”, Amanda was nowhere to be found—as a matter of fact when she finally was spotted off in the distance, she was seen holding the microphone up to her mouth, but her lips weren’t moving. It appears to me that the producers of the show were finally aware of what many of us already knew—the chick with the skunk ‘do stinks as a pop singer! When they finally let her sing it was like nails on a chalkboard, but thank goodness it only lasted long enough for her to grunt the line “and in the end”…

And in the end, she is heading back to Indiana to ride her Harley, provide care to her nursing patients, and play smoky bars on weekends where no one can hear a thing anyway.

With our Top 10 revealed, the Idols turn their attention to new songs, better performances, and a 10% chance of becoming the next American Idol—it’s getting quite exciting!

Tune in next Tuesday to see from what genre they have to choose their songs. Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 11 Perform Lennon/McCartney Part Deux (3/19/08)

2008-04-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Idols—YOUR Idols selected from the songs of a little quartet from Liverpool, England called The Beatles. You may have heard of these guys, but if you have been living under a rock for the past 40+ years, they were a pretty popular musical group in the 1960’s, broke up at the start of the 1970’s, and have songs that will pretty much be around forever even if there are only two of the four walking the Earth—and one of them just found out he has to write a pretty big check to a “Dancing with the Stars” reject.

But I digress—tonight it’s all about the eleven kids ranging in age from 17-29 who sang for your entertainment and ultimately your votes.

First up was Amanda who grunted her way through “Back in the U.S.S.R.”. I am not a fan of Amanda’s, but to be fair she has fairly decent sense of stage presence—but her singing (or lack thereof) leaves me as cold as the Cold War. Simon went so far to call the performance “predictable” and “boring”.
Kristy Lee Cook—or KLC as I like to call her, added a little KFC to “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”. I’m a fan of Kristy’s, but her performance was pretty unmemorable—Simon called it “musical wallpaper”. Are you starting to get the idea that Simon wasn’t in a very good mood? Well, he’s only getting started, there are still nine more singers trying to avoid his wrath.
After last week’s debacle, things weren’t looking good for David Archuleta—the early season favorite who stumbled last week and forgot the lyrics to his song. But this week young David redeemed himself and delivered a strong performance of “The Long and Winding Road”—reminding everyone that the road to the crowning of the Idol champ is a marathon not a sprint.
Michael Johns kangaroo hopped his way through “A Day in the Life”—one of my favorite Beatles hits. The judges didn’t groove on the complicated and fractured arrangement of the song. Simon warned Michael that he needs to “start sorting yourself out” and work on selecting the song that is going to put him back in the good graces of the judges—because I think the voters still love him.
Dressed in bright yellow and dancing very awkwardly on the stage singing “Here Comes the Sun” was our Miss Brooke (White). As you no doubt recall from last week’s review, it is never a good idea to start your song on the spiral staircase—see Ramiele and David A. recaps…unfortunately, Brooke didn’t get my email because she not only starting on the staircase, but she was also sitting down; big mistake! And the judges agreed with me—Randy said it “wasn’t hot for me” and Simon called the performance “wet and forgettable”…interesting. I’m not sure what a “wet” performance is, but it’s probably a British term that hasn’t made its way across the pond yet.
When searching for a Beatle song this week, David Cook stumbled upon a version “Day Tripper” from ‘80’s Super Group, White Snake. An admittedly odd place to look for good Beatles songs, but I thought David’s version was solid—that is until he added a little Peter Frampton to the performance. Here’s the scene: David was killing the song, playing his guitar Paul McCartney style (left handed, that is) and then he got to the middle of the song and stepped to his right, played the voice box, and lost me for a few seconds. Thank goodness he moved back to the normal microphone and finished the song strong. Paula liked his performance so much that she declared him “ready to go sell records”—and I must admit Paula might be on to something.
Up seventh, 24 hours after celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, and counting on the luck of the Irish for a big performance was Carly Smithson. Carly chose to sing “Blackbird”—a choice that split the judges. Randy and Paula thought Carly brought her A-game, but Simon had a problem with a singer who selected a song about a blackbird. I have no idea what that means—and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t either, but Carly explained that it had to do with all of the singers feeling like birds with broken wings now able to fly…or something like that. Bantering aside, it was a strong performance; Simon was just being negative because he’s sick of hearing Beatles songs.
To add to Simon’s irritation, Jason Castro sang “Michelle” which forced him to learn some French including the line “Michelle, my belle” which Jason thought was English—and that may have been what sent Simon over the edge. I must admit I was dreading the song when I heard Jason say he selected it.
Syesha tried to secure her safety tomorrow with a nice performance of “Yesterday”. I wasn’t over the moon for it like Simon was, but I liked his comment about Syesha singing the song that “Brooke should have sung”.
Mixing R&B with a little C&W, Chikezie countrified “I’ve Just Seen a Face” with the addition of a harmonica (welded by Chikezie himself) and a steel guitar (played by the band). It was a strange arrangement of the song with Chikezie singing the first half of the song in his old school Freddy Jackson style and then breaking character with harmonica and going Alan Jackson. Simon absolutely hated it calling it “literally atrocious” and “gimmicky”.
Wrapping up the show was Ramiele who chose “I Should Have Known Better”—which could very well have been called “I Should Have SUNG Better” because she wasn’t good. If Miss Mullaby (rhymes with lullaby) put the judges to sleep last week (and she did), her performance tonight could very well have put the voting public in a coma.

So after eleven Beatles songs, it’s time for my predictions for who should find their way into the bottom three.

Amanda – she needs to go back to Indiana and sing in smoky bars where no one cares what the lyrics are.
Ramiele – she has lost the magic she had earlier in the competition…I guess all of that crying she did in previous eliminations is taking its toll on our pint-sized Idol
Kristy Lee Cook – KLC has made a habit of making it to the bottom 3, so who am I to tempt fate.

And the Idol leaving us Wednesday night? I’m going to go out on a limb and say…KLC has sung her final KFC-infused song.

Tune in Wednesday or wait for me to tell you what happened…either way, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Chatter - First Elimination (3/13/08)

2008-04-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

When you look up the term “elimination night” in the dictionary, the first entry is “a general waste of time and an hour of your life that you will never, EVER get back—so watch at your own peril…or read Charlie’s American Idol recap…your choice”. Honestly, it really says that!

Well speaking of elimination night (and we were), tonight was the first of 11 eliminations we are going to be forced to watch in the process of crowning the next American Idol—YOUR American Idol! Now that I have your attention, let me give you the highlights of tonight’s show.

First, there are a few things that never change regardless of the season or the talent they assemble to entertain us:

We’re always going to be forced to watch the Idols sing a medley of songs from that week’s theme--a sort of "Up With People" without the matching clothes (this week at least);
Celebrities (some real, some not so real) are always spotted throughout the studio audience—this week we saw Kim Kardashian and her family, Sanjaya and his sister, and Jim Carrey who was on hand to shamelessly plug his new movie, “Horton Hears a Who”;
They always show a lame Ford commercial starring the remaining Idols doing their best Monkees/Beatles impressions;
There is always some performer with ties to Idol--be it a former contestant, a former mentor, someone who is releasing an album from which Fox can benefit, or all three--this week it was Katherine McPhee (from Season 5 and sporting a huge diamond wedding ring), accompanied by David Foster (who played the role of mentor previously), and they were there to plug an album they are recording that no doubt has ties to Fox and Idol.

And this year they added probably the most annoying filler ever: they have fans of the show email questions to the contestants, the judges, or Ryan and if their question is selected, the fan can call and ask the same question that is shown on the big screen behind the stage. It is truly one of the dumbest things I have ever seen.

But I digress, it is time to find out who left us and isn’t coming back.

To recap my prediction after Tuesday’s show, I thought the bottom three would consist of Ramiele, David Hernandez, and Kristy Lee Cook—and I wasn’t too far off when the votes were counted and the results revealed. The only member of the bottom three that I missed was Syesha who took Ramiele’s place on the hot seat.

Oh, before I tell you who went home, remember my fear that Kristy Lee Cook was going to be eliminated and we would be forced to listen to her Hillbilly version of “Eight Days a Week”? Well, we had to listen to it alright, but not because she got eliminated—no, in yet another new twist this season, the entire bottom three are allowed to sing their song one more time. So not only did the bottom three get the fewest votes, but now we are subjected to hearing the song that landed them in the bottom three…AGAIN!

And when all the silliness and drama was finally over, it was David Hernandez who had to say goodbye—and to send him off in the right frame of mind, the producers played him out to the sounds of Season 2 winner Reuben Studdard singing the Kenny Loggins hit “Celebrate Me Home” (which just happens to be one of my favorite songs).

There are now eleven Idol wannabes left to battle for the title and when we see them next week, they will be performing another selection from the Lennon and McCartney songbook. I can hardly wait to hear Amanda mumble through another classic song or see if David Archuleta can bounce back and remember the lyrics to a 90-second song. It should be tons of fun—and if you don’t believe me, read my recap after the show.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 12 Perform Lennon/McCartney (3/12/08)

2008-04-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Top 12 American Idol finalists took to the big stage first the first time last night and the results were mixed—ranging from unbelievable to embarrassing and everything in between.

The Idols selected from the seemingly endless supply of songs from the Lennon and McCartney songbook, so there was no excuse for poor song selection.

Up first was Syesha and her interpretation of “Got to Get You Into My Life”. In my preview leading up to this round, I noted that Syesha was a dark horse in the competition—and I still believe she can be. But last night she disappointed a bit by trying to “glam up” the song a bit—adding uneven phasing and pregnant pauses in very awkward places throughout the song. The judges were all over the board in their reviews (Randy and Paula were critical while Simon thought she did quite well) and she is probably safe, primarily because there were a few stinkers that will boost her performance.

Sporting a pre-St. Patrick’s Day Kelly green sweatband watch and an awful cardigan sweater mismatched with a lime green tie, Chikezie was up next with “She’s a Woman”—a song I don’t think I have ever heard before. He started off the song sitting with a bluegrass trio (a banjo, tambourine, and fiddle) and then danced his way to center stage and proceeded to ROCK IT OUT! Admittedly the dancing left something to be desired, but he tore the song up and showed a side of his personality that we haven’t seen to date. Looks like the R&B Chikezie gave way to the rocker inside and the audience loved it as did the judges who were blown away and I’m sure the voting public is going to launch him into round 2 next week.

Ramiele sang “In My Life” which was pretty much a disaster. I like the song plenty—it was used as the theme song for the show “Providence” back in the late ‘90’s early ‘00’s, but her execution (no pun intended) was off the mark. In addition to starting the song on the spiral staircase and making a less than smooth transition to the middle of the stage, she did nothing with the song and her vote count will show it. She also dedicated the song to the contestants who have already been shown the door—and she might join them and then they can sing the song together. Very disappointing performance, Ramiele!

Jason Castro dragged his dreads and his guitar to the stage to perform “If I Fell”. Like Ramiele, he sang the song well enough, but we’ve seen him do this act before and if he wants to go deeper in the competition, he’s going to have to change it up a bit and get out of the “guy playing a guitar and singing in a college dorm room” as Simon described his performance. I like this Jason, but he needs to develop an edge and I’m not sure he has one—after all, he is an Aggie from Texas A&M J (that was for my dad!)

Singing “Come Together” and showing us a totally different performer to what we have grown accustomed was Carly Smithson. The Irish import was a dynamo up on the stage and served notice to the rest of the competitors that she is more than just a power balladeer. All three judges gave her serious props with Simon going so far as to compare the performance to that of Kelly Clarkson from Season 1—very high praise indeed.

The first of our three David’s, David Cook, followed Carly’s strong performance with an awesome take on the Beatles classic “Eleanor Rigby”. David “rocked up” the song and really made it his own. And for the second week in a row, I think he hit gold with a song from yesteryear that could be recorded today and be a hit (he did a great job covering Lionel Richie’s “Hello” last week). The only advice I would give Mr. Cook is to do something with that hair!—it looks like an awful comb over and the dude it too young for a comb over, plus he doesn’t have Trump’s money, so he really shouldn’t rock that hairstyle ‘til he does.

Brooke White continued the run of great performances as she accompanied herself on the piano and sang “Let it Be”. Brooke had tears in her eyes after the song and as she listened to the judges praise her heart-felt performance. Brooke seems to be one of the few contestants who actually understands what it means to choose the correct song as she has done it a number of times leading up to and including this performance.

But all good things eventually do come to an end and that end was David Hernandez’ performing “I Saw Her Standing There”. David tried to work the stage, but I think he would have been better working the stage with a brass rail instead. The song is a classic, no doubt, but David made it sound like a night of bad karaoke in a college town bar. David definitely is going to suffer when the votes are tabulated.

The female rocker of the group, Amanda Overmyer, lent her vocals to “You Can’t Do That” which, as Simon noted, was only intelligible about 30% of the time. Amanda looked comfortable on stage in her black and white striped pants that matched her skunk-do, but her singing is just not that good. I’m beginning to wonder if she is this year’s Sanjaya—the beneficiary of voters who cast their ballots for the worst singer in the competition just to irritate those of us who really want to see the best singers perform.

One of my favorites in the Top 12 is Michael Johns who slowed the pace with his take on “Across the Universe”. I thought the native Aussie did a pretty good job, if not a bit safe. But the judges were a bit harsher on him because they wanted him to take a few chances with the song. But he’s likely safe and will have another chance to find that one song that makes him stand out more—and in Randy’s words to “Go Big!”.

Taking things to the opposite extreme was Kristy Lee Cook who intended to add a country twang to “Eight Days a Week”, but what she ended up with was turning it into a hillbilly version of a song that requires no changes. The unfortunate thing about Kristy’s performance isn’t that she has a good chance to go home tonight, but that we are going to have to hear it again!

Closing the show was the season’s early favorite, David Archuleta, who showed some cracks in his previously impenetrable armor with a very sub-par performance of “We Can Work It Out”—which he didn’t do (work it out, that is). The mistakes he made were many and often starting with him positioned on the spiral staircase (did he learn nothing from Ramiele’s performance), next he forgot his lyrics 3 or 4 times, and then to complete the disaster, he admitted to not being committed to the song—and it showed. He has built up a good enough fan base to stick around another week (actually several), but he was not in top form.

And so went last night’s show. The top performers were Chikezie, Carly, David Cook, and Brooke White.

The bottom three should be Ramiele, David Hernandez, and Kristy Lee Cook—and I predict that KLC will go home and we’ll be forced to endure the Beverly Hillbillies again!

I’ll be back with an elimination update and until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to.

Charlie

Idol Worship - Top 12 Preview (3/11/08)

2008-04-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

You’ve waited a long time, so I won’t make you wait any longer. It’s time to unveil the 12 American Idol finalists just in time to enjoy watching them perform on the big Hollywood stage Tuesday evening. So without any further delay, here is your chance to meet the twelve kids who are going to entertain us for the next several months:

David Archuleta has been considered the odds-on favorite to be crowned the next American Idol since his first audition earlier this year. The 17-year-old Utah native has wowed the judges, the studio audience, and the voting public each and every week singing such classic hits as John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Phil Collin’s “Another Day in Paradise”. The only thing keeping us from handing this young talent the title is the fact that in past years the early favorite hasn’t won—can anyone say Chris Daughtry? Or Melinda Doolittle? David’s going far in the competition and he will be a star one day regardless of how the votes go this season.

Originally from Australia and now calling Buckhead, GA home, Michael Johns (29) brings a seasoned professional style to the contest. Michael has made a name for himself with his covers of the Doors’ “Light My Fire” and Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from “The Breakfast Club”. If not for David A., Michael would be the clear favorite.

The top lady is another foreign-born contestant named Carly Smithson (24). Carly hails from Ireland, but makes her home in San Diego where she owns a tattoo parlor with her inked husband. Carly has got serious pipes and should go far in the competition—provided she doesn’t make every song a power ballad. She has performed songs by Celine Dion and Heart quite well, but she’ll need to lighten it up a bit to build up a fan base especially against some of the more personable singers.

I think Syesha Mercado (21) could be a real sleeper this year. She has a big voice, model looks, and tons of charisma to win votes. Song selection is going to be her biggest challenge as she has thus far selected songs that don’t exactly fit her style the best—example: “Me and Mr. Jones”. She should sail through the early rounds of the competition and could very well be around at the end if things break her way.

Another talented sleeper is Jason Castro. The painfully shy, dreadlocked 20-year-old from Rockwall, TX has a wonderful voice and will pick up a lot of female votes with his sheepish smile and piercing blue eyes, but his personality is going to have to change (as in he is going to have to develop one) in order to get enough votes to last deep into the show. Jason impressed the judges as well as the viewing and voting public last week with his interpretation of “Hallelujah”, the Leonard Cohen classic that has been covered by a number of hit makers including Jeff Buckley.

Brooke White from Mesa, AZ is another talented singer who is developing into quite a good performer. Early in the audition process, it was almost painful watching Brooke (24) perform because she just seemed so unsure of herself despite a lovely singing voice. But as the weeks has come and gone, she has shown a spicier side to her personality—even sparring a bit with Simon Cowell (aka Judge Crabby Pants!). Brooke’s shining moment thus far in the competition was her take on the Carly Simon classic, “You’re So Vain”—a not so veiled homage to the aforementioned Simon.

Twenty-year-old Ramiele Malubay from Miramar, FL is trying to become the first Pilipino-American to win the coveted Idol crown. Ramiele stands about five foot high (with heels!), but has a huge voice. Like most of the contestants, Ramiele is going to have to be very careful with song selection. The other thing you need to know about Ramiele is that she cries during EVERY elimination—regardless of who’s getting the boot from the show.

You may have heard about our next contestant, David Hernandez. David is from Glendale, AZ where he shook his money-maker for tips at an adult dance club prior to auditioning for Idol last September. So far this revelation hasn’t hurt the 24-year-old who has a powerful voice and has impressed with “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” a couple of weeks back. If he can maintain that level of performance, he could make quite a run during the show.

As with just about every past season, there is a single-named contestant that makes it to the Final 12—and this year’s version is a young R&B singer named Chikezie. Simon can’t seem to remember how to pronounce his name, so the 22-year-old, Inglewood, CA native sang the Donny Hathaway classic “I Believe to My Soul” which has the famous line: “Last night you were dreaming and I hear you say ‘Oh, Johnny’ when you know my name is Chikezie!” It was a nice touch, but he lost a bit of that luster last week when he opted for a Whitney Houston number (“All the Man That I Need”—of course he changed the lyrics to “Woman”, but that didn’t really help much). Chikezie can sing, but he likely won’t last long in the competition.

The resident Rocker in the Final 12 is David Cook from Blue Springs, MO. David has both irritated and wowed Simon and in the process may have won a few extra votes along the way. He is a capable singer, but he does lack the elusive “X”-factor. But if he is able to maintain the magic he created with his edgy version of Lionel Richie’s “Hello”, he might surprise a few people.

To balance out the male rocker, I offer you Amanda Overmeyer. Dubbed the “Rock’n’Roll Nurse” by the judges, Amanda is a less talented version of Janis Joplin. In addition to her interesting combination of “nurse by day/Harley rider by night”, she also mixes a bit of Pepe LePew in her hairstyle. I don’t anticipate Amanda lasting very long once the Idols move to the big stage.

Rounding out the Final 12 is Selma, Oregon’s own Kristy Lee Cook. Kristy represents the Country side of the musical spectrum and, as long as she can put a country lilt to her song choices, she is OK—at least she was up to this point. As much as I would like to seem KLC last a few weeks on the show, I wouldn’t recommend she completely unpack her bags the first couple of shows.

So that is how the Idol Final 12 stack up. As we are reminded every show, before every commercial break, and as the show closes, this is the most talented group of singers ever to grace the Idol stage. Do yourself a favor and tune in to hear these young kids sing songs that were hits when their parents were kids!

Until we meet again (is tomorrow too soon?), I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to.

Charlie