American Idol Top 11 (3-18-08)

Back with The Beatles!

“I see you’re holding signmaker seminars at your house again” - Ryan to Simon, after a shot of a Simon is Sexy sign in the audience

Amanda Overmeyer

Most Memorable Moment: Playing on the big stage last week
“Back in the USSR”

Amanda gave an upbeat, original performance. She has such a distinctive voice, that it can sound the same from week to week. I enjoy her down-to-earth personality.

  • Perfect sound choice for you… a little pitchy, but you worked it out halfway through. I give you a 7 out of 10. It was good! - Randy
  • It was a little sketchy at first… a little ahead of the beat… quintessential, authentic who you are. I love you and I think you are going to continue going up - Paula
  • It was what it was. A bit predictable… do something a bit of a surprise… otherwise you are in danger of becoming a bit boring - Simon

Kristy Lee Cook
Most Memorable Moment: Being the last man standing at each results show
“You Have to Hide Your Love Away”

Kristy has a strong and warm-sounding voice, but a little pitchy… maybe nervous

  • It was an interesting arrangement… it should have been more emotional for you… the high note at the end was good - Randy
  • On some of these songs you have to be careful about the melody… this is the best you’ve looked - you look gorgeous… it was a little safe and it was good. I agree with Randy on the high notes and you should take liberties more often - Paula
  • I think you need something like hypnosis… you’re not a good performer… it’s like musical wallpaper - you notice it but you don’t remember it - Simon
  • I can blow you out of your socks and you know it - Kristy to Simon

David Archuletta
Most Memorable Moments: Being able to sing “Imagine”… not so good moment - forgetting his lyrics
“The Long and Winding Road”

David has such a smooth sounding voice and he knows how to work the crowd with his emotions. It’s easy to see why he’s such a favorite. He’s a gifted and talented singer. I thought it was a great song choice and fit for his voice.

  • David has brought the hotness back to his game… one piece of advice… you can do a couple runs… you played it safe, but you can take liberties - Randy
  • This is the most exciting and wonderful performance because the purity… came back strong… you came back from adversity - Paula
  • Last week was a complete mess.. this week I thought you were amazing… absolutely you made my point… sell a song… and remember a performance… that was a master class - Simon

[insert at&t and iphone spot here]

Michael Johns
Most Memorable Moment: Hollywood week when he sang Bohemian Rhapsody - absolutely magic!
“A Day in the Life”

Another classy performance from Michael. He picked it in tribute to his friend who passed away last year - it was his friend’s favorite song.

  • You know what I’m going to say… I don’t think you’ve chosen the right song… you’ve got that big ol voice… just sing and let your voice do your thing - Randy
  • You were pretty phenomenal [in rehearsal]… - Paula
  • It was a mess… you didn’t hit the right notes… it doesn’t work as a minute in a half… you have to hit the song like David before you. It was not good enough - Simon

Brooke White
Most Memorable Moment: singing and performing “Let it be”
“Here Comes the Sun”

This was one of my favorite songs as a child and thought Brooke did an okay job.

  • Yo, That performance was really awkward. You were never really connected to the song. It was not hot for me - Randy
  • You can’t help but smile when you sing. I love the yellow for the sun. You have really good low tones. It could have been a little more challenging. Brooke, you are a lovable girl - Paula
  • I thought the performance was terrible. From the horrible dancing, to the absolute lack of connection. There is a huge difference between Let it be and Here comes the sun - Simon

David Cook
Most Memorable Moment: Last Tuesday, having that rock concert feel with the lights and fog… what the judges said about his performance was the icing on the cake
“Daytripper” (which was also performed by Whitesnake)

David has such a big voice - perfect for his rock songs. He looks like such a natural on stage as he feeds off of the crowd.

  • You keep it interesting. Another solid look for David Cook - Randy
  • You’re ready to go sell records. You chose using the voice box in a very cool way - Paula
  • I don’t think that was as good as you thought it was. You looked a bit smug throughout. …predictable - Simon

Carly Smithson
Most Memorable Moment: Being compared to Kelly Clarkson last week for the second time (first was during her very first audition)
“Blackbird”

Tough transitions in this song and a very wide range. Even though it was a slow song, it was still moving to me

  • Another great performance. Very nice, very controlled, very emotive… cooliosis right there - Randy
  • You have an amazing tone in your voice, the inflections that you do, the choices that you make, the arrangement was beautiful. You stand in there with a capital F for Fantastic - Paula
  • I don’t think that [song choice] was a very smart thing to do. I thought the song was indulgent. I didn’t like the song at all - Simon

Jason Castro
Most Memorable Moment: When he sang Hallelujah… it was a bad last note, but nobody cared
“Michelle”

Song is a great fit for his range and his French pronunciation seems spot-on. I thought it would be a corny song choice, but it turned out okay for me.

  • Good choice. A little interesting. It is very subdued from you this week - Randy
  • You have a very distinct charm about you. I feel like you get a little disconnected when you’re away from your guitar. It was a little awkward for me. It didn’t connect with the audience - Paula
  • This is a very weird show tonight. Your face sold that. What you have, and I like you a lot, you’re very charming and you’re not obnoxious. Your kind of goofiness that makes it work - Simon

Syesha Mercado
Most Memorable Moment: Losing her voice during Hollywood and being in the bottom three last week
Yesterday” [almost named Scrambled Eggs before Yesterday was picked]

Love when there’s a solo instrumentalist on stage. It started a little safe, but Syesha powered it up halfway through. I like that she did a slower tempo piece to show off her range and versatility.

  • So you took some liberties. In my estimation, very very very good performance tonight - Randy
  • It’s great to see how you change and let yourself be vulnerable. That vulnerability is where you need to be. Connect more with your eyes and audience. You got a beautiful instrument - Paula
  • I thought that was probably your best performance so far. It wasn’t incredible. But you chose the best song. You chose the song Brooke should have sung. I like the arrangement and I thought you sold the song very well - Simon

Chikezie
Most Memorable Moment: My first round of Hollywood. That was the first time he got a compliment from all three judges.
“I’ve Just Seen a Face”

Chikezie has a silky smooth voice. Then, he changed it up and picked up the tempo of the song to play to the crowd.

  • There were some good parts and some bad parts… I like it when you went to the fast part. The slow part I didn’t quite get. You need that fast stuff for all the energy you got. Harmonica was a weird strange arrangement, but could be a good country song - Randy
  • I disagree [with Randy]. You’re showing who you are. You’re showing who you are and the depth and scope of your vocals. When you sing… it is so pure, on pitch, beautiful - Paula
  • I thought it started off okay, and then you played the harmonica… atrocious… and then it turns into achy, breaky heart in the end. It was gimmicky - Simon

hmmm… without “achy, breaky heart”, we might not have America’s favorite - Hannah Montana…

Ramiele Malubay
Most Memorable Moment: Making a whole bunch of new friends. “You get closer to them, because you’re stuck with them. Brooke is like the mom of the apartment and David Cook is like the big brother. It’s like a big family.”
“I Should Have Known Better”

  • I wasn’t jumping up and down, but I liked it. You showed that confidence… it was a happy-go lucky kind of joint. You did your thing, it was alright - Randy
  • Definitely better than last week. There is something about your voice when you sing ballads, that allows you to show your range - Paula
  • It sounded like Chikezie was on the harmonica. I like you a lot. The track sounded horrible. You, along with many others, chose really mediocre songs and didn’t show the best of your ability - Simon

My favorite of the night: Syesha Mercado and David Cook

Un-favorite of the night: Kellie Pickler (oops that’s tomorrow)


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American Idol Top 4 - Barry Gibb Night

Barry Gibb Night

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Melinda
“Love You Inside and Out”
Good performance, not my favorite. It was just lacking the typical Melinda “Yo” factor.

Blake
“You Should Be Dancing”
Blake sure is having fun during this performance. I wonder if it’s that echo feature they have going. The Music just cut off Simon again. (ROFL)

LaKisha
“Staying Alive”
So good to see some personality from LaKisha.

[DH just asked me what I thought of the night so far and I stated that I was having difficulty finding things to write... (deep breath) Five more performances...]

Jordin
“To Love Somebody”
I thought the vocals from the practice session were better than Jordin’s actual performance. Even though she was a little under the melody, it was still a good performance.

Melinda
“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
How funny (cute funny) she was in her footage with Barry. I think it’s smart not to sing lyrics about missing home or leaving. [When I heard Phil sing "I'm going down- in a blaze of glory" last week, I knew he'd be going home. At least he sang it well.] Better 2nd performance from Melinda. Not as exciting as other weeks, but technically sound.

Blake
“This is Where I Came In”
Interesting funky beat in the background. This is the first song of the night that I got into, but I was distracted by the left shoulder of his sweater… Sad, I know. But did you see how the argyle ‘ended’?

LaKisha
“Run to Me”
At least no shouting so far :) She showed a lot of control in the verses. I’m guessing because she was hoarse.

Jordin
“Woman in Love”
Great song selection for Jordin. I don’t think it was “pagent-y”; I thought Jordin was going for classy. It was a good color on her and didn’t require double-stick tape like previous contestants.

Best vocals (non-pitchy) of the night: Melinda

Best performance of the night: Jordin

Can we just skip to the finale??!! Barry Gibb may be a legend in his own right, but performances of current music seem to be more appealing. Another night like tonight and I might fall into a deep sleep… … …

I think tonight’s contestants did as best as they could with their song choices tonight. I did the best with the recap, although, it might be quite unexciting.

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American Idol: Top 6 (Take 2) with Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi week

(Click the idol talk button to see more reviews!)

I enjoy the master class sessions and seeing the artist coaching the idol hopefuls. You get to see a side that you don’t see on stage or in music videos. I’ve never been a huge fan of Bon Jovi, but I grew up with their music (and their big hair) and had many memories pop into my thoughts.

Jon told the idols that they needed to “wrap their arms around the lyrics ’cause they all told stories to a lot of people”. I loved that statement. And, I guess I have enough memories around a couple of these songs for that statement to resonate true with me.

After a “bye” week in eliminations, the Idol hopefuls were singing for keeps tonight to make sure they weren’t part of this week’s double-elimination.

Phil
“Blaze of Glory”
Strong vocals for Phil. His confidence was soaring (must feel good to sing in front of an audience with a mic instead of a mirror with a comb ;) ). He’s really singing to win this week. Decent outfit. Nice guy. Pretty wife. Still don’t see him as The Idol. Kind of like Elliot Yamin - I liked his singing, but couldn’t see him as the final contestant.

Jordin
“Living on a Prayer”
Nice guitarist bookends, but they couldn’t distract me from Jordin’s rough notes. I was really pulling for her, but she and the “3 needy children” were right – this was just a tough week for her. Maybe a big-hair, power ballad would have suited her voice better.

Lakisha
“This Ain’t a Love Song”
Better control with her vocals this week. Still felt a little robotic and disconnected at first, but one of her performances I’ve liked this season. Poor Simon always gets cut off, and he was trying to say something positive. Never thought he’d tell a contestant “Nice Lips” as part of his critique…

Blake
“You Give Love a Bad Name”
It was good to see the unique Blake personality that we all love! Especially after last week’s bland performance. The boy can rock out. Ingenious performance. I’m glad he did a total remix rather than a little beat-boxing for effect. He needed the total transformation to make his version work. Extra points to Simon for appreciating a complete remake of a song.

Chris
“Wanted Dead or Alive”
Okay performance; I was getting tired of the repetitious chorus at the end. My inner-teenager actually likes Chris (not the nasally Chris, but the Geek in the Pink Chris) and I’m afraid this performance wasn’t strong enough to compete this week.

Melinda
“Have a Nice Day”
Reminded me of Tina Turner with her rocking vocals, her confidence, her attitude and her strut across the stage. (I typed that before Randy mentioned Tina.) She certainly knows how to sell her performance.

Hey look, it’s even GW and Laura getting in on the American Idol action.

In last week’s poll, Lakisha (6 votes) and Chris R. (5 votes) were in the “bottom 2″. What are your thoughts this week?


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American Idol Top 6 Performances

Inspirational Evening Recap -

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To kick off Idol’s “Idol Gives Back” charity event, tonight’s theme focused on songs of inspiration. The clips they showed of Ryan and Simon in Africa were very heartfelt. At the risk of being ‘gimmicky’, I truly believe that this show is using its influence for something good.

“It’s different than whatever you’re used to” - tour guide to Ryan Seacrest

“It’s just unbelievable. It’s just wrong.” - Simon, in response to the living conditions of an AIDS or malaria patient. Malaria is the #1 killer in all of Africa and AIDS has orphaned thousands of children.

At first, I thought inspirational evening would be cheesy… but it turned out some powerful performances.

Chris R.
“Change the World”
Chris started a little rough vocally, like his voice wasn’t completely warmed up. But, I thought he did extremely well taking a very recognizable and well-liked song, and turned it into his own without completely going overboard. I enjoyed his improv and nuances.

Melinda
“There Will Come a Day”
I thought it was an okay song, until the second-half and then Melinda broke out into some amazing vocals. I got goosebumps!! I almost got teary-eyed! Her beautiful, full voice coupled the lyrics completely moved me. Melinda is such a talented and sincere performer.

Blake
“Imagine”
Blakey has a voice that is easy on the ears. It kind of has a melting quality. There wasn’t a lot of originality or power within his song choice; it was a mellow John Lennon song. One that isn’t my favorite…

LaKisha
“Believe”
What a perfect song choice for LaKisha! For me, I thought she connected better with the audience this week. I heard a few pitchy spots, but overall much better over last week’s performance. I was surprised the judges were critical of her…

Phil
“The Change”
Vocally, Phil sounded perfect. His tone reminds me of someone, another artist… I can’t think of who… this was the thought that was running through my head the entire time. His wife looks so sweet. What a cute couple.

Jordin
“You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Jordin sounded a little pitchy at the beginning and the vibrato was a little forced. Maybe she was a little emotional? The notes in her upper range were spot-on, I’ll give her that… but it felt ‘cabaret’ to me. (For once I understood what Simon means by that HA!) But, the judges love her… I was surprised to hear Randy say that was the best of the night, of the season (whatever he said). Mr. TV Junkie and I were sayin, “Whaaaat?” when we heard that.

Since I’m on the West Coast, the recap will come later, but…

The vote is open! Don’t forget to call in for charity! I’ll be back tomorrow for the Results Show wrap-up!


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American Idol Top 7 Performances

Country Music Night with mentor Martina McBride

(Click the idol talk button to see more reviews!)


Phil Stacey
Where the Blacktop Ends
Country has been the best genre for Phil this far. I thought he had a good performance (no goose pimples though) and I definitely prefer the all-black shirt and pants look for him. If this were Country Idol, Phil would be a contender. He looked so comfortable on the stage tonight.

Jordin Sparks
Broken Wing
I did get goose pimples with Jordin though! Wow, what a great performance. She looked beautiful and has such a great presence (Oh wait, did I say that last week?!?) Really, she does. She has a great singing style and personality.

Sanjaya Malakar
Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
Bandana Boy did his usual voodoo. And that’s all the written space I’m devoting to Sanjaya.

Lakisha Jones
Jesus Take the Wheel
Such a big, powerful voice. My comment to DH during the chorus was that her big, awesome voice was actually too big for the song. I like that she had an emotional connection to the song because her performance felt more connected. It just lacked some vocal control.

Chris Richardson
Mayberry
Poor Chris was off his game tonight and visibly disconnected - but understandably so as a Virgina resident after yesterday’s rampage.

Melinda Doolittle
Trouble is a Woman
I loved this performance. Melinda always exudes confidence, but this week her performance really popped! As Martina said, her mannerisms and delivery draw you into the “story” and her vocals are always perfect. Simon telling her to quit looking surprised made us laugh.

Blake Lewis
When the Stars Go Blue
A little rough in some places, but an okay performance overall. It did not have the wow factor that last week’s performance had though. His voice reminds me of the lead singer of an old group… The Smiths, I think? I can’t quite place it…

I never thought I’d say it, but I missed Haley this week. Despite her showgirl appearance, at least she was more interesting than the other showgirl Sanjaya. Darn Fanjayas!

Best of the Night: Jordin and Melinda

Bottom two: Chris and Phil (Maybe if I don’t say Sanjaya, I’ll be delightfully surprised.)


Who is the next American Idol to go home? (Top 7)
Blake
Chris R.
Jordin
LaKisha
Melinda
Phil
Sanjaya


See Results


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American Idol Top 8 Performances

Latin Night
Master Class with J-Lo

Melinda Doolittle
“Sway”
Didn’t her hair look cute? When swept up and “poofed out”, it adds more height and lengthens her look (if you know what I mean). Every week I say the same thing - technically sound performance :) I somewhat agree with Simon that it was lacking a little bit of “wow”, but it was still a good performance for me.

LaKisha Jones
“Conga”
My favorite performance from LaKisha this far (I’m not a big LaKisha fan). I think she engaged the audience and had fun. Her annunciation of the fast, moving parts of the chorus sounded clear and on beat. Even though she was moving around the stage, she didn’t lose her breath or fall behind the rhythm. For me, it was a better performance from her this week.

Chris Richardson
“Smooth”
Chris sounded “smooth” tonight. I like that his tone wasn’t so nasal sounding. Each week, he manages to take a song from the genre and turn it uniquely into his own while still keeping the best of the original version. To me, that takes talent and I think Chris pulls it off well.

Haley Scarnato
“Turn the Beat Around”
Randy called her a “dude”? Must have been a pretty bad performance for him or he wasn’t falling for the short shorts and stilettos routine. Simon voiced what everyone else is thinking.

Sweet Haley, dressed like that while prancing and jiggling around the stage, you look like you are in the wrong competition. I have a difficult time taking you seriously. However, I realize that being taken seriously isn’t what sells CDs…

Phil Stacey
“Maria, Maria”
I still don’t think he is THE American Idol, but I do think that he has improved since the beginning. This week’s vocal sounded warm from start to finish unlike previous weeks when he started kind of rough. I like the tone of Phil’s voice when he is at his best, but he lacks the “Yo” factor needed to win this competition.

Jordin Sparks
“Rhythm is gonna get you”
Fun and sassy song choice for Jordin. I like that she stays true to her youth and enjoys each performance to the fullest. Jordin is a true performer and a true idol contender. I imagine we’ll continue to see a lot of Jordin in the next few weeks and beyond.

Blake Lewis
“Need to Know”
I thought this was his best vocal performance this week - really showing off fullness and richness in his singing tones. I’ve liked Blake from the beginning, but began to get bored when we were down to the top 10-12. The last few weeks have been redeeming to hear Blake move into different genres and show off his style and talent.

Sanjaya Malakar
“???”
Please, don’t fall for his sexy-eyes attempt. Probably his best vocals thus far. (Not saying much over past performances, but still scary!) Simon’s comments cracked me up, especially the one that he couldn’t understand him.

Best of the night: Blake, Jordin, Chris

Bottom Three: Haley, Phil, Sanjaya (wishful thinking - hope it works!)

So, what did you think of tonight’s performances? Did you agree with the judges? Who were your favorites?

Thanks to BooMama and Beth, the Laundress for the graphics!

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