Tuesday, March 11, 2008

American Idol Recap: Top 12 Edition

Theme: The Lennon and McCartney Songbook (tough!)

Syesha Mercado "Got to Get You into My Life":
I loved that Syesha picked a song that wasn't immediately recognizable to the most passive Beatles fan (i.e. me) and she did quite a nice job with it. She was having a ton of fun and it was quite refreshing to see that. I'm sad that she didn't get to show off her big voice, but we can't always get what we want.

Chikezie "She's a Woman": What the fuck is going on? This is quite possibly the strangest Idol performance I have ever seen. I can't even describe what I just saw because I don't think there are words for it. It was definitely interesting but, at the same time, the most fucked up thing I've seen in a long time (and I've just seen "2 Girls 1 Cup").

Ramiele Malubay "In My Life": "Thewe awe places in my life..." and with these words lisped so heinously I've officially tuned out. Nowhere near as good as the Bette Midler version. And just because you pout your lips and give a puppy dog face doesn't mean I'm going to vote for you.

Jason Castro "If I Fell": After getting the best comments of his entire run last week for not playing guitar, what does he do? Of course, he picks up his guitar again and plays it safely. That intro video didn't do him any justice either (as my fellow diva Jill pointed out "Did Mr. Dreadlocks seriously just say 'Howdy, y'all'?").

Carly Smithson "Come Together": Wow, that was risky but it definitely payed off. Carly had me hooked from the opening line and my attention never wavered. She sounded like a young Janis Joplin, but not in the copycat way that Amanda Overmyer does.

David Cook "Eleanor Rigby": David Cook has a nice little streak going for him. This was also another risky move, but I think he did an amazing job with this. It's hard to pull off the rock thing and have credibility too on Idol, but he's definitely doing just that.

Brooke White "Let It Be": This is one of my favorite Beatles songs and Brooke did an AMAZING job with it. Her voice was so pure and full of emotion that I was immediately moved. I don't know how she did it, since I don't think she changed a note of it, but it was simply beautiful.

David Hernandez "I Saw Her Standing There": This would have been good on your average night of Idol, but after those three amazing performances in a row, this is simply mediocre.

Amanda Overmyer "Helter Skelter You Can't Do That": Okay, so I was totally wrong on her going with "Helter Skelter" but I'm kind of glad she went with this relatively unknown Beatles song. She still imitates Janis Joplin a little too much, but this was a great performance. I still don't see any teenage girls voting for her after the much safer, but still rocking, Carly and David Cook.

Michael Johns "Across the Universe": That was a pretty nice rendition of the song although it seemed rather safe. At least it was better than that version from the God-awful movie Across the Universe. One week, he should just stand there and speak with that accent...he'll get a ton of votes that way.

Kristy Lee Cook "8 Days a Week": What a surprise- she's gone country! Who would have guessed? I must say that this is one risk that didn't pay off this week. It seems like she was struggling to keep up with the beat for half the song and that obnoxious fiddle sticks out like a sore thumb and nearly covers her voice up. You know it's a bad sign when Paula harshly criticizes you and Simon calls it "horrendous."

David Archuleta "We Can Work It Out": Can this kid get any more adorable? He's going to have to rely on it after flubbing the words twice. David was his usual consistent self, but it wasn't as good as many of the others tonight. I agree with Simon that it was his weakest performance, but it was by no means the worst of the night.

Overall, I must say I was super impressed with the performances tonight. I seriously thought that everyone would basically fuck up all of these legendary songs and John Lennon would turn over in his grave, but there were really only two incredibly awful performances tonight (Kristy Lee and Ramiele). Carly, David Cook and Brooke took it to the next level tonight and made those song their own. This is the first week that I think that the show's constant insistence that this is the "best season ever" is finally ringing true.

The Best: Carly, David Cook, Brooke

The Worst: Kristy Lee, Ramiele, and it pains me to say it, but David A.

Who's Going Home: Kristy Lee (but I've been saying this for three weeks now I think)

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