Am I still watching American Idol?

Not really.

For many reasons that I wont detail here I have not been able to watch the latest episodes. Hopefully for me, my latest favorite, Jason Castro is still in the game. I'm not mad that Carly Smithson and Brook White went home. I was never a Carly fan, she may be a good singer but... I never heard one of her songs that I wanted to hear again. As for Brooke, I liked here a little, she can sing really well but the crying.... no, no, I had seen enough of that since she sang "Let it Be".

I'm afraid Jason might be the next one to leave unless Syesha Mercado chooses a really bad song or if the same thing that happened to Kristy Lee Cook happens to her- she would get eliminated even though she seems to be doing a better job week after week -. Even with a performance like "Somewhere over the rainbow" or "Draydream" he can't win over David Archuleta or David Cook unless they do something really bad. By the way I wasn't all crazy about his "Hallelujah" performance. I think he needs to do something very simple but original.

So far there are only three contestants I don't mind listening to more than once a week: Michael Johns, Jason Castro and Brooke White. I think Michael Johns should still have been in the competition but like many others, Carly, Brooke, he felt he had already achieved his dream in the competition, so I guess there was no point in still keeping him. I do believe however that he has the potential to make a great recording artist if they give him the right songs to sing. I think the same thing of Jason Castro and Brook White but those two might be appealing to fewer people. Even though I don't like David Cook I also think he has enormous star potential. He's the best stage performer I've seen this season, he looks natural and at ease. As for David Archuleta, the judges' favorite, this season's 17 year old that they absolutely want to win just like Jordin Sparks last season, I think he should be cast in High School Musical 3- or 4 since it might be too late for 3 -, he could play the new kid in town who's in love with Gabriella. Sorry for those who've never watched HSM-apparently that's what they call it -and have no idea what I'm talking about.

Copyright 2007 Adam Larkey / Disney

American Idol - Top 11 performance night - Will Amanda Overmyer go home tonight?

Tuesday, March 18th 2008

A two-hour show, you know one of the long long shows with plenty of fillers. The contestant will perform for a chance to spend one more week in the competition and come one step closer to win.

American Idol is back with yet another Beatles night! No way. The Lennon/McCartney night was far from successful, the contestants perform better with more contemporary songs. In fact, the week before was near catastrophic. A bad choice to bring the Beatles back on the show.

Amanda Overmyer, she feeds of fthe audience's energy, she's a vampire... or a singerpire!, she's singing "Back in the USS army". Her voice is awful, she's screaming and it's not melodious. And they call that singing... mercy! When will it end, stop the torture and send Amanda home. Since it's a performance competition and not a singing competition anymore the judges might just like it.

What did the judges think?
Ryan, "... pitch problem, 7 out of 10".
Paula, "... when you connect, you are authentic, I love you ...stay who you are"
Simon, "... predictable, a bit of a mess in part, the same thing week after week after week, ....in danger of becoming a bit boring..."

She's trying herself at being a diva, trying to please the crowd. Simon reminds her that her tickets are not on sale yet while she brags about showing the audience what they would see if they came to see her in concert. Yep, she's ready to leave, she just bought her ticket out of this competition.

Kristy Lee Cook came with her photo book. She's a cute nice girl with a powerful voice. I don't quite like her outfit. She chose a boring song with too many low notes especially in the chorus. I'm not sure many people know this song, I don't. She finishes with a long high note. People like her for her personality even though Simon thinks she doesn't have any.

What did the judges think?
Ryan says it's one of his favorite Beatles song but he found the performance a little boring.
Paula, "... would have been safer to stick to the melody... a little safe... good"
Simon,".. you need hypnosis, you're not a good performer... like musical wallpaper..." His basically telling her she's forgettable but he still thinks she was better this this week than last week.
Kristy tells Simon she can blow him out of his socks. And Ryan just couldn't stop laughing after that comment, me neither. She'll be back, she's still modest and being a good girl, trying her best.

David Archuleta thinks he wont forget the lyrics tonight, he sings "the long and windy road". I think Beatles' night is easier on the guys than the girls in general. He chose a better song for his voice. Yeah he's not bad, I'll grant him that.

What do the judges think?
Ryan,"... David Archuleta has brought the hotness back to the play... very nice..." he obviously loved it.
Paula,"... the most exciting and wonderful performance...you rose above adversity and came back strong ..."(she 's actually giving performance feedback this week).
Simon thinks he was amazing, "...you made my point... master class...". The girls kept on screaming after the performance, you could barely hear Ryan... I guess he is this season's Sanjaya.

Michael Johns, "A day in the life". I like Michael Johns but you already know that. He is trying to sound like a Beatle. He choose a good song. He's a good singer but, Beatles is not exactly relevant, it's really old school, that's the least I can say and he chose an old school song. I guess being older than the others gives him an edge for this week. Still looking nerdy. What I like about him on Beatles' night is that he's the only one who makes those song still sound like Beatles' songs, being a Beatles' fan I really enjoy that.

What did the judges think?
Ryan, "... not one of your best performances..."
Paula "...".
Simon, "... it was a mess, you didn't hit the right notes... not enough time for that song ...". And I think he's right, it's a full song that needs full time. But I still think Michael was great as usually, I loved his performance. He's one of the strongest singers they have.

Brooke White, still not back to the ground from her "let it be" performance. I don't think it was that great. She's singing "Here comes the sun". The melancholy in that song , yes that's just right for Brooke White. I still have issues with her voice. I think she sucks. Very very Karaoke, and not a great karaoke. Boring. She's trying to dance to an un-dancable song, unless you're...
What do the judges think?
Ryan,"... what's going down? what's going on? ...awkward for me... not hot for me..."
Paula, she couldn't help but smile, she loved the yellow dress Brooke was wearing. I don't think she liked the performance, she said it wasn't challenging enough for Brooke.
Simon,"... I thought the performance was terrible...lack of conviction... forgettable".

David Cook, singing "Day Tripper". I think it's more of a girl's song, really... It's a short song if you know it, and it does not have too many words in it. He really feels like a rock star at a rock concert and he acts like one.

What did the judges think?
Ryan, "... I love seeing you. not necessarily your best performance but ...."
Paula didn't like it.
Simon, "... a bit predictable... didn't like it..." me neither.

David Cook stopped being irritating to Simon, now he's being modest saying his taking all the opinions of the judges and building off of it for next week.

Carly Smithson, Simon has compared her to Kelly Clarkson twice. She's singing "BlackBird". The song Simon was waiting to hear from a contestant tonight. She sings very well. She kept it simple.
What do the judges think?
Ryan, "... another great performance for Carly Smithson, very nice man..."
Paula, "... an amazing tone otoyour voice... beautiful arrangement".
Simon,".. not a very smart thing to do, the song was indulgent..." He didn't like it at all.

Jason Castro, singing "Michelle" and Ryan does the impersonation of a French man, "Voici Jason Castro!" He sings nicely.
What did the judges think?
Ryan .....
Paula thought he was a little awkward in his moves
Simon, "... a very weird show. ..this is all getting a bit strange..." He thinks Jason has charm and that's what makes it work for him.

Syesha Mercado, she's singing "Yesterday", will she do a better job than Ramiele. She takes it acoustic and sits down. She tries a "soul" version if I may say. Interesting, it's all about doing something unusual with the songs and she did just that. I guess she wont be the one going home next week. She looks nice tonight.
What did the judges think?
Ryan, "... very very good performance tonight...".
Paula thinks she should work on connecting with the audience
Simon ,"...you're best performance so far... not incredible..."

Chikizie, "I've just seen a face". He's definitely not an original. He sounds so familiar. Then, he plays the harmonica. R&B meets country. I didn't like the R&B part but the country part was interesting.
What did the judges think?
Ryan, "...some good part some bad part..." He thought he was better in the fast country part.
Paula loved it."... You did it again...".
Simon thought he started off ok but the harmonica part was atrocious. "It was gimmicky".
Can you believe they didn't even give him a second to say a word while all the others had a chance to respond to the judges and save themselves after getting bad awful reviews.

Ramiele Malubay, trying herself at "I should have known better". Trying not to bore the judges. She seems to have made friends with all the other contestants, Brooke, David Cook, Syesha. I think her song is actually boring... Yep, there's something missing, she sings but she does not perform I guess that's what's missing. But I don't expect too much from a Beatles' night on American Idol. I think what the judges don't like about Ramiele is that she's not very emotional like Brook White or very sensational and bursting like Amanda or David Cook, or even fake and looking like she's always happy and jolly and carefree and in a joking mode like someone I wont name...
What did the judges think of her performance?
Ryan," ...I wasn't jumping up and down.... alright... you did your thing..." Sounds a bit like what he would have said to Sanjaya, maybe Ramiele is this year's Sanjaya?!! I'm just kidding.
Paula, ".. better than last week....." I can't tell you if she liked it or not.
Simon, "... sounded like Chikezie on the harmonica. very amateurish...."
At least they let Ramiele Say "Ok" Chikezie wasn't that lucky.

American Idol Season 7 - Top 16

It's been a while since I've written anything about American Idol. Now that there are only 16 contestants left I thought I'd comment on last night's performances and about the remaining contestants. The performances were shorter, which gave the contestants less time to try to impress the judges and the viewers but they did make the best out of it, you can feel the increasing pressure on their shoulders.

March 4th, the show is back to the reasonable 1 hour performance format. I enjoy watching American Idol but I think two hour performance shows are too long, a lot of fill-ups. Last nigh was 80's night.

• First up, Luke Menard (29).

I've found his performance to be so-so. Not much more I can say about it really.

• Then came David Archuleta (17).

I see he's trying to look sexy, yeah so many girls are going crazy for him. I think he sounds good. The judges have been trying to imposing David Archuleta as a favorite for this season, makes sens doesn't it since he's "only 17"! But I'm not sure that's a good thing at this stage in the competition, soon they're going to start telling him that he's so consistently good that he's become boring...

• Danny Noriega (18) performed after Archuleta.

What was that? He should not try to dance during his performances. If only he had great hair like Sanjaya Malakar, maybe then, there would be a really good reason to keep him for a few more rounds.

• Then there was David Hernandez (24).

I found his performance not bad actually, he's surprising me, really! I've never been a fan of his but what can I say?

• Then came Michael Johns (29).

He moves the microphone strangely when he holds it. I don't quite understand his posture, and the man just can't dance! But he's still cute! Where did he find that song? That's such a wrong choice for him, it does not showcase his vocal skills enough. He looks nerdy or maybe a bit like Aerosmith... He's still my favorite guy. I don't think I've ever seen a contestant sweat so much after such a short performance.

What did the judges think? Randy loved it and thinks it's a good song choice. Paula thinks it was the perfect song and loves the hear him in the low range.- Her chest looks bigger tonight... -
Simon liked it, loved it. He thinks Michael has huge talent but still hasn't had his moment yet, he thinks Michael's going to do very very well in the competition and really likes him. I hope Simon's right about him doing very well in the competition.

• The "rocker", David Cook (25).

Remember people David Cook is the rocker who plays the guitar and has short colored hair not to be confused with the blond long-haired rocker called Robbie Carrico who was voted off last week- he failed to convince the judges and America that he truly is a rocker -. I don't understand why they take so much pride in being called "rockers", like rocker=cool or many it's the Daughtry effect- rockers make more money(?)-. I don't really like that guy I don't find him "nice" and likable enough but he's not a bad artist though I think he overdoes the "rock thing". This season seems to be all about the rockers and instrument players. He plays the guitar and does this "rocked out" version of Hello from Lionel Ritchie. Starts a bit hesitantly then "rocks it out". What can I say, the guy has talent and I like rock so yeah, I think it was really good and quite impressive actually, no doubt about it, David Cook is a stage performer.

What did the judges think? Randy loved it, he thinks it was a brilliant and "evil" version of the song. Paula loved it too, she likes David Cook, and believes he'll be a great shining star. Simon thinks it was a brave thing to do and he loved it. He thinks David took a risk and hopes he'll see him next week.

• Next, Jason Castro, (20).

The make up makes him look like a girl or maybe he just naturally looks like one? Or maybe it's the facial expressions? Did you see how he opens up his nostrils every now and then? Quite a sight. He chose a soft song. Not bad, he does not look satisfied with himself. But he looks like a nice guy, very likable.

What did the judges think? Randy said it was one of his favorite songs," Good looking out man, Good looking out baby, nice." Poetic don't you think. Paula,... is she ...? Well let's move along with Simon. One of his favorite songs, he thought it was absolutely brilliant, "Probably one of his favorite performances of the night."

• And finally came Chikezie (22).

He sounds quite a bit unoriginal. He's still trying to prove himself.

What did the judges think? Randy thinks he did a good job, he thinks it was "really good". I hope he didn't say that because Chikezie is the only black male contestant. Paula thinks Chikezie's vocals sound really good, and Simon thinks it didn't work at all, " much more caberet than last week, not a very smart move ". What's wrong with cabaret by the way?

So who is going home this week? Luke and Danny probably, Chikezie will be close once again. At least that's what I would like to see happen.