For "Idol Gives Back"-week, we had the finalists choosing "inspirational" songs. That should have been interesting but it was kind of "blah". On the plus (plus, PLUS+++) side, we never have to see that "Idol Gives Back" commercial again.
Michael started off the show by singing "Dream On". Poorly. Did anyone else see that show on MTV "Icon" where a bunch of bands covered Aerosmith songs as a tribute? (They did a Metallica one, too - Snoop Dogg covered "Sad But True" and it was awesome.) Train covered "Dream On" and it was surprisingly good. This was more like what you would maybe expect in your mind if someone told you a band like Train covered "Dream On". Really NOT a good performance in the leadoff spot.
Syesha tackled Fantasia's "I Believe". *groan* In my house, it was unanimous that we liked this better than the Fantasia version, because Syesha actually SINGS instead of that weirdness that Fantasia does. Unfortunately for Syesha, the judges still, four years later, have incredible hard-ons for Fantasia and say Syesha's performance doesn't live to the original. Forget THAT. I should also point out that Paula went with some weird sleeveless/strapless tube-top thing and her tits are DESPERATELY trying to escape on live TV. Who told her that was a good idea?
Jason sang that Hawaiian version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", complete with ukulele. He was actually really good and has grown on me for the last couple of weeks, even though he still seemed determined to be the prettiest girl on the show. Nevertheless, compared to Michael's opening bit the last two were miles better.
Kristy Lee Cook thought going after Martina McBride's "Anyway" was a good idea, and while on paper it looked like the classic "Idol singer goes All-Madden when they shouldn't"-move (Syesha's done that like three weeks in a row) it was actually quite good and far and away her best performance. If that doesn't get her out of the bottom three, nothing ever will. I only didn't like that she was a little over the top with sort of being defiant to the audience and Simon during the performance - geez, get over yourself already. That, and the fact that she had a gold tank top with weird brown spots that made it look like it was see-through when it caught your eye.
David Cook sang some song called "Innocent" that was really just horrible. I mean, REALLY bad. It didn't fit his style, it didn't fit the show, it just didn't fit at all. Clearly he's in no danger of being in the bottom three, but truthfully speaking he and Michael were the two worst so far.
Carly followed David with "The Show Must Go On" - a staple of every Idol season (unfortunately). Carly sings maybe the angriest version of the song ever, as she looked legit ticked off as she glared into the camera. Simon notes the angriness but notes that Carly does look good this week. So that's something.
David Superstar rocks the piano while singing Robbie Williams' "Angels". And by "rocks" I mean "meekly plays and sings like the fairy boy he is". He's better than David Cook and Carly, for sure, but I'm SO tired of the judges fawning all over him. PLEASE let him win and let them have him make an album where he sings songs to his "lady". I know he's just a kid, but he makes Clay Aiken look like Matthew McConaghey.
I really don't know why they would choose Brooke to close the show, but she got kind of a big chance to do a strong blow-off performance and she picked Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" and it's a typical flat, boring-but-nice, Brooke performance. Certainly not a show-stopper or anything. Not one of the worst, but kind of the worst-best of the week, if that makes sense.
Let's hope the Michael Johns-era on "Idol" is over.
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
I thought Michael did an alright job with Dream On, and I'd say he'll be safe just because some very good past performances.
I'd put David, Brooke, and Carly in the bottom three with Brooke going home. Because while David and Carly didn't do a good job I find Brooke to be about as exciting as wet paint.
Michael - eh, not so good. Had high hopes after last week, but apparently that was a one time deal.
Syesha - She's about as dumb as Ramielle in terms of picking songs. Plus she admitted no one likes her. Bottom three for sure.
Jason - nothing new or exciting from him, but not bad at all.
Kristy - Still boring as ever. she can sing ok I suppose. Hasn't she worn shirts almost identical to that one several times?
David C - pretty bad actually. As fast as he climbed to the top, he's now slipping at the same rate.
Carly - Not very good. She's bottom three as well.
David A - As much as the song itself sucks, he did well with it. He's more comfortable looking playing piano than usual. Good stuff.
Brooke - It was ok.
So it's either Syesha or Carly going home this week and I dunno that it matter who the other bottom three person is. No chance it's anyone else but one of those two girls leaving.
Sadly no one sings "You're the Inspiration" on Inspiration Week.
- Michael leads off doing "Dream On" and just sort of caterwauls through most of it. I don't get the endless harping from the judges that they don't buy him as a rock guy. I agree he's not a very good rock guy, but it seems apparent to me he wants to be and is a rock and roll sort of cat. Bottom 3 I'm thinking, and might be in danger.
- Syesha continues her trend of choosing songs by people who the judges have massive hard-ons for doing "I Believe" and I admit I've never heard this song before. Syesha has reached the point where I go get a refreshing orange Crush during her performance. She's boring me, she's not impressing the judges, and I think she might be on her way out. Bottom 3, and my favorite to be gone.
- Jason decides to bust out the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and I proclaim that if he uses the ukelele I will say nothing bad about him this week. And by god there's the uke. I will say this, Jason has been smart enough to choose absolutely rock solid songs throughout this. It is almost impossible to sound bad singing things like "Hallelujah", "Traveling Thru", and now this one. Probably my favorite performance he's done throughout the show. Safe this week.
- Kristy...the Rasputin of American Idol, and the bane of my existence. She does "Anyway", and shockingly she does it well. The first thing she's done all season I've liked. Mostly because, and here I disagree with JJD, of the defiance. This girl has been on the edge of elimination forever, she's been slagged by the judges (rightfully so in most cases), and yet she's still here. I want this song to be a call to arms for herself, to say "screw you, vote me out, I don't care, I'll still sing, and I'll go on." And she did. And so I'm going to type something that my fingers feel weird about putting in here...Safe, and deservedly so.
- David C. does an Our Lady Peace song and it isn't "Somewhere Out There", nor is it the Chris Benoit song, so I'm kind of blanked out. As David does his worst performance of the season I think about how Raine Maida is married to Chantal Kreviazuk and think that "In This Life" would be a great song for Brooke White to do. The song ends, the judges chastise him, Randy likes his coat, and I love the fact that he has ceased auditioning to be just a reality show champ, and with the message on his hand and point to the sky pose he has now begun auditioning to be Bono. I look forward to him touring some drought-stricken African country with President Jeb Bush and Sen. Chelsea Clinton sometime in 2020. Safe this week.
- For about 10 seconds in this song I was blown away by Carly in a way no one outside of David C. has done this year. And it was because of that I again disagree with JJD. For a few seconds as she hit the first chorus, I felt she was in the song, she was flying the same flag Kristy flew earlier. It felt liberating, like finally she was getting it, and merging passion and talent. Then it went back to karaoke. It didn't feel angry to me. It felt like feigned anger. Disappointing, because for a second I was energized by her. Bottom 3 this week.
- David CLB does something involving being somehow breathy and nasal all at once, and proves he might be made of Robbie Williams anti-matter. Squeal, Randy pops a blood vessel he gets so excited, one more week where Daddy doesn't push him down the stairs. Safe.
- Brooke comes on while I realize the key to getting the end-show spots is to do piano songs. They can't get that thing out of there quickly, so if Brooke is smart she'd be playing piano every week. Pleasant song. The soon-to-be Mrs. SPF points out that he facial expressions seem forced. I think it is because she was just singing. When she has no instrument I think she over-sells the facial expressions and movements out of fear of being called boring. She seems much more natural behind the piano or guitar. I think safe, could sneak into the bottom 3, but not going home.
Originally posted by spfThe soon-to-be Mrs. SPF points out that he facial expressions seem forced. I think it is because she was just singing. When she has no instrument I think she over-sells the facial expressions and movements out of fear of being called boring. She seems much more natural behind the piano or guitar. I think safe, could sneak into the bottom 3, but not going home.
Brooke is incapable of standing during performance! She was shaking like she'd had too much coffee.
I would have liked Danny to have stuck around so he could sing the very inspirational "Tainted Love" again.
Of course, Chikezie would have tried to find a way to edit "The Power of Love/Love Power" down to :90.
I'm on a roll! Let's continue! Rami would have chosen "The Rose" and everyone would have scratched their heads.
Amanda would have chosen "We Belong" and found a way to scream the chorus. Incidentally, did Amanda leave her weight set behind, because Kristy and Carly were trying to out-GUN each other with sleeveless numbers this week.
Uhhh I don't remember anybody else, sorry. There was a gay stripper, right?
I should have posted all of this to Kim's blog! This is all spf's fault!
I only caught a couple pieces of performances last night (The end of Michael's, the beginning of Kristy's, and the end of Brooke's). Apparently, as I thought, my interest in this season diminished greatly with the departure of Ramiele.
I did see the rundown, and based on that, I though Castro might be going home. My thinking was that America wouldn't "get" the Iz version.
But...DialIdol has him in solid second place. Their predictions are pointing toward the end of the road for Carly. Should be interesting tomorrow night.
I had to watch this on TiVo tonight, so I'm going to pretend I posted this yesterday!
No guest mentor tonight because they're all giving back right now. But trust me, as soon as they're done they're going to come in and beat the shit out of Cook for stealing their arangments. Hey! Bill Ford, the CEO of Ford Motor Company gets his own chyron! Maybe he's the guest mentor tonight. His advice? Buy a car! A Ford even! The theme? Songs that inspire you. You're no Gwen Stefani, though.
Dude, Paula's breasts are about to knock the crap out of Simon, right now.
Michael Johns Singing: "Dream On" by Aerosmith. What Inspires Him?: Being from Australia. Also: Ascots. Performance: Seriously, though. Is this some big fad in L.A.'s Australian district that I don't know about? I thought I was up on my stupid fashion trends. His performance? Very even, and boardering on pretty good in parts. I'm with Randy that this isn't where his career is going, but it wasn't bad. Judges Say: Didn't you get the memo? You're supposed to be our "Blues Singer." I Say: Good except for the screechy parts. Change: +1 Score: +2
Sayesha Mercado Singing: "I Believe" by Fantaaaaaasia What Inspires Her?: Using her iPod as a mirror. And GIVING BACK! Performance: Predictably boring in all the predictably boring ways. I don't think she could kill me like Fantasia could, so I don't have to pretend to like this song. The girl's hair is out of control too. I'm begining to think she doesn't read this blog. Judges Say: Not as good as Fantasia, dawg. I Say: And you're not mean enough to pull it off! Change: +/- 0 Score: -3
Jason Castro Singing: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole' What Inspires Him?: Hope, dreams, and tons of weed. Performance: HOLY SHIT! UKULELE ALERT~! He's totally singing it in his whispy, dead-eyed Jason Castro way, but all is forgiven because it takes a MAN to go nuts up there with the ukulele. Why didn't Chikezie think of this?! Judges Say: Paula's breasts want to steal his ukulele, if you know what I mean. Wait...what? I Say: I hated it, but come one...Fuckin' Ukulele, man! Change: +1 Score: -3
Kristy Lee Cook Singing: "Anyway" by Martina McBride What Inspires Her?: I love how Ryan's all, "And next in the bottom three..." and then Kristy's video package response is all, "Fuck you America! I'll do what I want!" Wardrobe went a little nuts with the Bedazzler budget this week. In terms of singing and performance, this is her best week of the whole competition, actually. Good song choice, decent vocals. Check out the Lee Press on Nails too! It's like we're at the prom, y'all! Judges Say: When the song choice is this big, you finally got a good song. I Say: She looks awful, but she sounded just fine. Change: +1 Score: +/- 0
David Cook Singing: "Innocent" by Our Lady Peace What Inspires Him?: Canadians. Performance: Oh, awesome. A cancer song. Way to put me in a tough spot here, jerk. Seriously though, towards the end of the song it starts being ok, but the beginning is kind of a mess. It's a lot like a Daughtry song in that way, which is fine because everything he does, he does it at Chris' altar. OMG GIVE BACK ON HIS HAND! WTF?! Judges Say: Not sure about the Michael Jackson jacket, but not your best performance. I Say: Cheesy and not nearly as good as he's been. Change: -1 Score: +3
Carly Smithson Singing: "The Show Must Go On" by Queen What Inspires Her?: Being unfairly forced off her record label! She'll show them! Performance: Apparently "looking more like a star" to Carly means dressing like a blackjack dealer on her break. I'm lovin' the 10,000 Violins arrangment, but this song never really hit it's mark for me. I though maybe it was because it didn't fit her voice, but listening to it again, it totally did, but I still didn't like it. She gets a good line about how seeing Simon freaked her out. Judges Say: It didn't hit it's mark, and you're not connecting with the audience. I Say: I feel like giving back...THIS SONG! OH! BURN! ...Sorry. Change: -2 Score: +/- 0
David Archuleta Singing: "Angels" by Robbie Williams What Inspires Him?: Squinting at the Light at the End of the Tunnel. Performance: Oh, back to the piano! No more hot dance moves for you, David! He should do the Jessica Simpson cover of this song. He does that thing where he sings fine but has no emotion on his face at all. Also the gasping. But he sang fine. Gotta be positive, right? Judges Say: We love you and are afraid of your dad. I Say: You should teach Jordin Sparks to sing, and in return she will teach you how to fake cry on stage. Change: +2 Score: +1
Brooke White Singing: "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King What Inspires Her?: The light of the world, which is currently blinding Archuletta. Performance: Brooke needs to pull out the glasses for a performance. That's hot. She's eschewed her piano skillz for a player, which makes this feel kind of like a lounge act right off the bat. The actual performance is one of her weaker ones. I hate when she sings without some kind of instrument, because she's so awkward. I still love her voice, but the whole performance was kind of goofy. Judges Say: Nothing special, but very pleasant. I Say: Get this girl a Ukulele! Change: +/- 0 Score: +2
Pretty standard boring stuff this week. Nobody hit any home runs, so the voting is going to be interesting. Watching it on playback, not a single song stuck out to me as anything really memorable. Even the pretty good performances were were goofy and weird at best.
Bottom Three:
Brooke White Sayesha Mercado Kristy Lee Cook
Eliminated:
Sayesha Mercado. You can only coast for so long in this competition. She hasn't had a single memorable performance, and it's that time in the competition when the coasters start going down.
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What I enjoyed most were the stars who make bajilions of dollars sincerely urging me (who has bajilions of dollars in credit card debt and house payments) to save those kids. Annie Lennox could pay to adopt that entire village of children...or give them new houses...or find them parents...or something. I could...well...maybe give $5. I used to love Bono but now he kinda makes me sick.
I should have posted all of this to Kim's blog! This is all spf's fault!
What's the etiquette with this one? I think AI is Kim's area, so you should be posting your thoughts there. I post there more than you do. Geeze.
Oh yeah, I think Syesha is going home this week. She's not bad, but there's not much memorable here either.
Although, didn't they pull a "nevermind" last year and not kick anybody off the show during Idol Gives Back Week? I am going with that outcome, methinks. (I hadn't used methinks in a couple months and needed to get one out there.)
I should have posted all of this to Kim's blog! This is all spf's fault!
What's the etiquette with this one? I think AI is Kim's area, so you should be posting your thoughts there. I post there more than you do. Geeze.
Oh yeah, I think Syesha is going home this week. She's not bad, but there's not much memorable here either.
Although, didn't they pull a "nevermind" last year and not kick anybody off the show during Idol Gives Back Week? I am going with that outcome, methinks. (I hadn't used methinks in a couple months and needed to get one out there.)
From Wiki: During the week of April 25, there was no eliminated contestant. That week's votes were added to the votes for the week of May 1, and the bottom two were then eliminated on the May 2 show. It was never noted who received the lowest number of votes, although Stacey was announced as the first to leave, and Richardson second.
A little surprising, but he was decidedly average at best most weeks. And cheesy as all hell with his "I'm in America living the dream" schtick this week.
Like spf I thought thought the elimination was cruel. I kinda hope they'd been told beforehand though that someone was going and that was just for the audience.
Actually, what am I thinking? I thought he was guff. Kick him Ryan! Kick 'im good!
I think last week was the only week I've even remotely enjoyed him, so it's not that big a deal to me. It was pretty suprising though, as Carly just can't figure anything out and Syesha is horrible.