[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 11:09pm]
American Idol - 12 Finalists
It was flashy and splashy, but otherwise we saw a rather typical American Idol competition, even with Beatles music. There was one first, though: Paula openly didn't like two performances.
Who'd have thought Chikezie and Amanda would steal this show? They were terrific, acts you wouldn't mind paying for.
Heading up my B list was Syesha with a surprisingly unsteady delivery of a concept. The "unrestrained" Carly Smithson did OK with "Come Together" and should be safe. I'm no David Cook fan, but I'll give him credit for leaving the guitar backstage and a great finish. Trouble was, the song controlled him the first half of the song.
I'll give Brooke White a pass this week. "Let it be" just isn't a song any Idol contestant should pick - too few notes, too few words, not much opportunity to embellish. But she looked confident on the piano, should be safe given the many dogs we have to choose from.
Ramiele was dull but she always is. Michael Johns peaked in the round of 24. David Hernandez looked silly and was off key almost the entire time. Kristy Lee Cook's full country overload of "Eight Days a Week" was absurd.
But what happened to Jason Castro? "If I Fell" is easy to sing and yet Castro seemed to struggle with every word, as if out of breath. I kept thinking he should have done "With a Little Help From My Friends" because it's upbeat mood suits him so well.
David Archuleta finally fell from grace, and hard, forgetting the words, even. He was pitchy and seemed only to be copying Stevie Wonder's version, not doing a fresh cover of his own like Chikezie did so well.
So who leaves? Country music fans can probably save Kristy for now, and we all know that Archuleta can do better. Michael Johns doesn't excite anyone anymore and could be in trouble, but since she has yet to show us any reason to even be in the top twelve, I'd say Ramiele Malubay leaves tomorrow night.
Who'd have thought Chikezie and Amanda would steal this show? They were terrific, acts you wouldn't mind paying for.
Heading up my B list was Syesha with a surprisingly unsteady delivery of a concept. The "unrestrained" Carly Smithson did OK with "Come Together" and should be safe. I'm no David Cook fan, but I'll give him credit for leaving the guitar backstage and a great finish. Trouble was, the song controlled him the first half of the song.
I'll give Brooke White a pass this week. "Let it be" just isn't a song any Idol contestant should pick - too few notes, too few words, not much opportunity to embellish. But she looked confident on the piano, should be safe given the many dogs we have to choose from.
Ramiele was dull but she always is. Michael Johns peaked in the round of 24. David Hernandez looked silly and was off key almost the entire time. Kristy Lee Cook's full country overload of "Eight Days a Week" was absurd.
But what happened to Jason Castro? "If I Fell" is easy to sing and yet Castro seemed to struggle with every word, as if out of breath. I kept thinking he should have done "With a Little Help From My Friends" because it's upbeat mood suits him so well.
David Archuleta finally fell from grace, and hard, forgetting the words, even. He was pitchy and seemed only to be copying Stevie Wonder's version, not doing a fresh cover of his own like Chikezie did so well.
So who leaves? Country music fans can probably save Kristy for now, and we all know that Archuleta can do better. Michael Johns doesn't excite anyone anymore and could be in trouble, but since she has yet to show us any reason to even be in the top twelve, I'd say Ramiele Malubay leaves tomorrow night.