One down, a few more to go as we hit the Top 11.
Theme: Beetles
- Michael Johns - “A Day In The Life“. His voice sounded very breathy tonight, and how the heck do you compress a 5+ minute song into 90 seconds and make it sound good? I thought the performance was cheezy, the bouncing around the stage annoyed me, and as I’ve said before he’s too cocky. Lots of pitchy problems tonight too. Even his sexy accent didn’t make up for this performance.
- Chikezie - “I’ve Just Seen A Face“. After last week, I became a fan of Chikezie. This week…first off he looked sloppy with the open shirt and wrinkles. Beginning of the song was insanely boring for me. Then he picked up the harmonica and the song became a country western song. He used an accent at one point and then tried to kick it up. Oh this did not work for me at ALL. To use a Simon word, totally indulgent. Although this week, Simon called it gimmickey.
- David Cook - “Day Tripper“. Ok…I like him SO much better than Chris Daughtry. Like, a lot better. I love his hair, the look, and his voice has much more versatility. He works the crowd well, and you know that if you went to his concert it wouldn’t be all hard rock songs. Cool use of the vocoder as well.
David Archuleta - “The Long and Winding Road“. Oh lordie it’s a ballad. Thank goodness it’s David Archuleta though. Great looking cool hair, superior vocals, the most genuine sounding voice in the competition. I’m all about him being in the finals and possibly winning the entire thing. And geez the crowd loves him. Simon called it a “master class”.- Jason Castro - “Michelle“. His pants were way too tight. I still hate his hair now even more than ever. I did like that he sang part of the song in French, that’s classy. Maybe that’s why he wore the tight pants. I didn’t feel the passion in this song though - the French parts should have been much more expressive. Still think he has a beautiful face though.
- Kristy Lee Cook - “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away“. Time to go home. Hated the outfit, horribly pitchy performance, boring song that did not inspire me at all. And what was with the walking back and forth across the stage with zero emotion on her face? Zombie? Ugh.
- Amanda Overmyer - “Back in the U.S.S.R.“. I still love her look, and I love that she’s a rocker chick, but I’m done with the rock music. Sorry Amanda. It was pitchy in just a few spots, but she certainly worked the mosh pit. I wish she had a few more emotions though because I love her. I think her sassy level has increased over the weeks, which pleases me.
- Brooke White - “Here Comes the Sun“. Ryan called her the “sweetest person alive”. I don’t know about that, but she’s certainly very…pure, which led to my comparison of her and Amy Grant a few weeks back. I did not care for the song, it was a little pitchy in spots and I’m really not sure what she was doing with the insane dancing on the stage. It was some sort of high hippie tree blowing in the wind type of dancing. And why did she keep talking while the judges were talking? She acts like she’s on drugs.
- Ramiele Malubay - “I Should Have Known Better“. Um, what the h*ll was that? Hated the song and all it’s twangyness, and what the heck was she wearing. She had a cheesy smile on her face when she attempted to work the crowd, which didn’t work at all. The only part I liked where the power high notes. Apparently it’s harmonica theme night….didn’t enjoy the performance one bit.
- Syesha Mercado - “Yesterday“. No, no, no. I did not like it at all. It even seemed like there were times when she couldn’t hit the note so she created an impromptu run to cover it up. Didn’t work. Boring, not great at all. The judges however, loved it. I don’t get it.
- Carly Smithson - “Blackbird“. Guess what, it’s a ballad. Maybe you can guess what I’m going to think about it since it’s not David Archuleta singing it. Yeah - not so much. Hated her outfit which was really bordering on a babydoll dress with rose petals all over the collar. Yuck. Boring, yawn, completely forgettable. And there was a little lyric flub near the end.
Here’s what msnbc.com had to say about the Top 11.
First we learned who this season’s mentors will be:
- Dolly Parton - I think this is awesome. Love her.
- Mariah Carey - girl can sing every octave that exists.
- Andrew Loyd Webber - I can’t wait for this one. He’s amazing.
- Neil Diamond - not a big fan, but I hear he’s incredible.
Did anyone notice that Ramiele’s mic was out during group sing? Oh, did I mentioned I hated the group sing? Yeah. Hated it. And did you notice poor Amanda standing there singing this ridiculous ballad - we know she hates ballads. And who choreographed this mess? If that’s what we can expect on the Idol Tour, no thanks.
Results: Amanda Overmyer is out. This doesn’t make me very happy, especially when Kristy Lee Cook gets away with yet another week and boring performance and Amanda rocked it out. I think America may have just fallen into the same well I was in - her sound was exactly the same on every song. I love the sound, but I could only listen to a couple songs before I’d have to switch it up. I’m sorry to see her go…