We are getting down to the wire now, with only five contestants left to sing their hearts out and try to capture the American Idol crown. I was a bit surprised by last week's elimination show when Carly was given the boot. But I wasn't totally shocked or outraged like a lot of people were. Get a grip people; it's only a TV show. Okay, maybe if Carly was a favorite of mine, I probably would've felt the same way. Not to say she wasn't growing on me as the week's progressed, but she never struck a chord with me since I've been watching this season. It'll be interesting to see how the remainder of the competition progresses; who will be let go week after week and who will be the eventual American Idol winner. Only time will tell, so let's get started with this week's review. The contestants had to tackle the songs of Neil Diamond, a favorite singer of my family's. This was a real treat to watch this (and hopefully my mom was able to catch it in San Diego this week where my parents are on vacation). So how did the contestants fair?
Jason Castro - singing "Forever in Blue Jeans": This song starts off pretty low for Jason. We haven't really seen him use his lower range in his performances and I really liked it. He handled it pretty well. However, I'm not jumping out of my seat over this. Overall, I think he did a nice job with the song but it's nothing that we're going to remember when looking back at this season. It just wasn't memorable enough. He basically sang it the way it's supposed to and did nothing original with it. Vocally, it was consistent to how he's sung in the past. Maybe this is the style that Jason wants to embrace but it may be getting old with viewers.
David Cook - singing "I'm Alive": Starts off kind of awkward for me. It reminds me of his performance during Idol Gives Back, but not as bad as that. The song gradually starts picking up and it is sounding better for me. Before I was aware, the performance was over. The song seemed very short and that may have been because of the arrangement. If that was the case, the arrangement could've been a lot better. I don't think he did enough with this particular song. Same as I said with Jason, vocally it's very consistent to what we're used to hearing from David. But overall, I did not care much for this song choice.
Brooke White - singing "I'm a Believer": Brooke trying to show off her "Rocker" side with this performance (whatever ounce of Rock she has in her). It starts off really strange for me as if she's having difficulty hitting the right notes. It almost seems too low for her at times. She appears to be happy and looks like she's having a good time on stage; much different from how she looked last week. I thought it was funny how she did a "whoo!" during the song which was one of her most embarassing moments in a previous week. But this time she didn't spin around on stage (how could she with a guitar in hand?). It's nice to see her change things up and do an up-tempo song, but I don't think it worked quite as well as she hoped. It didn't seem like the right song for her.
David Archuleta - singing "Sweet Caroline": It's nice to see David do a few up-tempo songs once in awhile. I know the fans have been clamoring for something upbeat for awhile now (and we get two in one night). I didn't expect him to choose this song so it ends up being a nice surprise. This performance also seemed very rushed and short; much like David Cook's first song. I know they only have a minute in a half to perform, but this seemed a lot quicker than that. I think there probably was too much chorus in this song and not enough of the rest. I think the arrangement could've been a lot better to incorporate more of the song other than the chorus, but vocally it was superb. David took a risk by doing something up-tempo and he did an exceptional job.
Syesha Mercado - singing "Hello Again": A very sweet and laid back song choice for Syesha. She's not trying to over-sing and be too shouty in the song which is very good strategy for her. I like how she looks on stage tonight. She definitely seems to be in her element now. Vocally it's very good but the song is a bit on the boring side. I'd have to agree with Simon's assessment in it being old fashioned. I wouldn't be surprised if Syesha made it through to the top four (despite what Simon said) because it appears her fanbase is growing stronger and stronger each week. She could be a dark horse to sneak into the top three.
Jason Castro - singing "September Morn": Jason is back on stage singing his second song and I can tell you right off the bat; I'm not crazy about it. It sounds very boring and it's about to put me to sleep. I don't think Jason is doing enough with these songs to change them up and make them his own. The pressure of this competition may be getting to Jason because he hasn't seemed the same in a couple of weeks now. As Randy said, this is just an okay performance and it's nothing really that memorable. The way he ended the song wasn't all that great either as it sounded pitchy to me. Don't be surprised to see Jason wind up in this week's bottom two.
David Cook - singing "All I Ever Really Needed is You": For me, this sounds much better than David's first song of the night. Even though David has a great vocal range, I think this one is more comfortable for him. He's making this sound very contemporary and current as if it could be on the radio today. I think the arrangement is far and away better than his first selection and his displaying his exceptional vocal range in this one, as well (using his falsetto towards the end). He definitely did a lot more with this song than the first and he showed great risk in picking Neil Diamond's lesser popular songs in "I'm Alive" and "All I Ever Really Needed is You." It's no surprise he's one of the favorites to win.
Brooke White - singing "I Am ... I Said": Now this is the Brooke White we've grown to love. As the judges commented, she looks very vulnerable during this performance and that is where she does her best. She's back at the piano and is doing an exceptional job with this difficult Neil Diamond song. This is a whole lot better than "I'm a Believer" and she's definitely in her element with this one. I do believe she also does a better job with the ballads as opposed to the lighter-faired songs. This performance has that singer/song-writer vibe that the judges have commented about Brooke in the past. It seemed very believable for Brooke and definitely more memorable than her first song.
David Archuleta - singing "America": Despite one point in the song where David's voice cracked (he is 17 after all and his voice is still deepening), it was another stellar performance from David. It was a very wise choice of song for him (even though I didn't particularly care what Simon was insinuating with his comments) and he showed off his range with this song. He does a great job week in and week out incorporating runs that tend to make the song his own. "America" is also a song with a good message which David enjoys choosing, so it's a good fit overall for him. Arrangement was a lot better this time around than the first song. Tonight was a very nice change of pace for David and hope we see more of it during the remainder of the competition.
Syesha Mercado - singing "Thank the Lord for the Night Time": I had my doubts that Syesha was going to be able to pull off this song, but she did a really good job with it. I was pleasantly surprised and it ended up being rather enjoyable. I admired her song selections tonight where her first song was a slow ballad while this song is much more upbeat and very fun. She is dressed really stylish tonight and is looking more and more like a star. I think she's is really coming into her own this late in the game. She may have finally embraced who she is and has finally found that confidence and it's probably winning over new fans, as well. Definitely a fun performance to wrap up the show tonight.
Even though I enjoyed most of the performances tonight, I did not enjoy the format of this episode at all. It was way too rushed and not having the judges critique after the singers first performance just seemed out of place. If the producers are wondering why they are losing viewers, it's changes like these that may be part of it. Overall, I'd rate tonight a five out of ten. As I mentioned, the performances themselves were decent, but the show just seemed so out of wack from the beginning to the end. It just wasn't all that enjoyable for me. And what the heck is Paula doing making comments on a singer's second song when he hasn't even sang it yet! Obviously she's basing her comments on dress rehearsal - otherwise how could she have known? Just another one of those moments on this show that makes me wonder if it would be better off without Paula. But then I'm left to contemplate whether the chemistry would be the same between Simon and a new center judge. So I still have mixed thoughts whether a change on the judge's panel would be a good thing or not. And with those thoughts out of the way, here's how I ranked the contestant's after Neil Diamond night:
#1: David Cook - best of the night
#2: David Archuleta
#3: Syesha Mercado (actual bottom two - 4/30/08)
#4: Brooke White - eliminated (eliminated - 4/30/08)
#5: Jason Castro - bottom two
I think Simon is wrong in his assessment that Syesha will be in trouble after her two performances. As I commented earlier, she really seems to be coming into her own and is attracting new fans. I do think both Brooke and Jason will be in trouble this week (should've been last week's bottom two, in fact) but I think in the end, it'll be Brooke going home. Jason still has a strong-enough fan base that'll keep him in this for one more week. I think the voting public is tiring with Brooke and despite one decent performance from her this week, this will likely be the last time we get to see her sing on the show (except for the finale, of course). Updates to this blog will follow after the results, so be sure to check back in later Wednesday night!
Update (5/1/08) - Brooke White gets the boot Wednesday night. She was very emotional - not even able to finish her song! Good luck to her - as I've liked her ever since I saw her first audition. She definitely has music in her blood and will do well in the future.
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