Performance Show

Good Evening, America! This is going to be a big week for Idol. Tonight, we have the performances from our Top 8. Tomorrow, we have Idol Gives Back (starting at 7:30), and then on Thursday, we have our results. By the time Friday rolls around, we’ll be all Idoled out. But for now, let’s see what our wannabes have in store for us. This… is American Idol!
 
Before we get started, there are two things I’d like say. First, I want to thank everyone the reads my blog every week. I truly appreciate it. Second, everyone should run out and purchase the Leona Lewis cd “Spirit”. It came out today, and it’s amazing. Leona Lewis won the British show X-Factor (which is another Simon Cowell production). She reminds of Whitney (without the crack) and Mariah (without the ego). You can download it on iTunes (which is what I did, while I drank a Coke and sent a text on my AT&T Wireless phone). Leona’s first single, “Bleeding Love”, is phenomenal.
 
Tonight’s theme is inspirational songs. (Bah. Boring. But I’m sure David Archuleta is totally excited.) First up in the Spot of Death is Michael Johns doing “Dream On”. It’s another rock song, but, for me, this Aerosmith song doesn’t really fit his “persona”. It starts a little flat (okay, a lot flat), and there were parts at the end that were a little too high-pitched screechy for my taste, but overall it was pretty okay. The whole was greater than the sum of the parts. (When Randy questions the song choice, Michael goes into a Borat-like, “I came to this wonderful country with a dream,” speech. Backstage, Kristy Lee Cook is fuming over the show’s bias towards immigrant patriotism.)
 
Syesha is our second performer of the night singing “I Believe” by our 3rd season Idol Winner, Fantasia. (This was written by one of my favorite Idols, Tamyra Gray.) She starts off soft and low, and then when the choir joins in, she really goes for it, but I’m not sure it went. I agree with the judges. It lacked that heartfelt emotion. Syesha, I know Fantasia Barino, and you miss are no Fantasia.
 
Jason Castro is singing a unique version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. I’ll say it again, he needs to impress this week. This version of the song is pure Jason. It’s subtle and understated allowing the message to come front and center. Jason is able to stretch for some notes that he hasn’t gone for in a few weeks. It was simple, and I loved it!
 
Next up is Kristy Lee Cook. She’s singing “Anyway” by Martina McBride. I’ve gotten bored with her. (Not Martina McBride, she’s great. I mean Kristy.) She should have gone home weeks ago, but since she didn’t, I guess I have to talk about her performance. Hmmm, nice things I can say… the choir blended much better with Kristy than they did with Syesha. Her vocals were strong overall, and I didn’t hate it. It was her best performance by a long shot. Ugh, that nearly took all the nice I had left.
 
David Cook is singing “Innocent”. He says that everyone has a good side. I beg to differ. I know several people that are evil to the core. (And, no, I’m not talking about me.) I’ve been waiting for weeks for David to stumble… and this is finally the week. (That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy his performances the past two weeks, because I did.) His vocals during the verses were weak, and his super-smug ego came back in full-force during his performance. (Didn’t he look like a wounded puppy after the judges had their way with him?) I know my David bashing is not popular with my readers, but I’m sorry, something about him just rubs me the wrong way.
 
Carly Smithson is next with “The Show Must Go On” by Queen. This wasn’t her best performance. It started off really well, but near the middle of the song, she became extremely pitchy and starting screaming and straining. At the end, she oversang, and the performance came off angry and not very inspirational. Uh-oh. Unless she gets a lot of votes, her show might not go on.
 
David Archuleta, the Tween Dream, is our next-to-last singer of the evening. (This week of weepy, feel-good ballads was made for him.) For his inspirational song, he has chosen “Angels”. He’s playing the piano while he sings, but, unfortunately, the band drowns out his piano playing, so I can’t comment on that. His voice, as usual, was nearly flawless. For me, this arrangement never completely got off the ground. It was fine, but it wasn’t the Robbie Williams version. However, if David continues to stick to this type of song, it’s gonna be hard for anyone to beat him in the end.
 
Brooke White, in the Pimp Slot tonight, is singing “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King. This song is perfectly suited to her voice and her style. Brooke connects with the song and the audience. When she sings, you can believe what she’s singing. It wasn’t show-stopping, but it was wonderful and a perfect way to end the night.
 
Hmmm, not the best week overall. Pretty rough, actually. I’m not saying these people will get the most votes, but the three that I thought did the best were David Archuleta, Jason Castro, and Brooke White. For the Bottom 3, I’d have to go with Syesha and Carly, and it wouldn’t be the Kristy Lee Cook Trio without Kristy Lee Cook. (Even if she did a pretty okay job tonight and doesn’t actually deserve to go home this week.)
 
That’s our show for tonight. Tomorrow is Idol Strikes Back, so I will not be blogging. (Even I think it would be mean and wrong to criticize a charity event.) I’ll be back on Thursday for our results. Who will stay? Who will go? Only time and an hours worth of filler will tell. Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.

Results Show

Good Evening, America! So, we survived over 2.5 hours of Idol Strikes Back last night. There were some amazing performances (Heart and Fergie!), some funny bits (Miley Cyrus and Billy Crystal), and a lot of great charities that were highlighted. But now, the good feelings are over, and it’s time to send another wannabe packing. Who will stay? Who will go? Let’s find out. This… is American Idol!
 
Because the show ran over last night, and good number of people never saw the performance, our Top 8 are here to perform “Shout to the Lord” one more time. Definitely some great harmonies, and I love any song where the Idols sing with a big choir. Last year, one of my favorite parts of Idol Gives Back was when they had celebrities singing and dancing to “I Will Survive”. This year, we have a new crop of celebrities including Dr. Phil, Ricki Lake, Selma Blair, and Cat Deeley (from So You Think You Can Dance) lip synching to “I’m a Believer”.
 
Now, to our results. Safety Couches or part of the Kristy Lee Cook Trio? First up, Brooke White, America’s Sweetheart, who rushes Ryan through to her results, is SAFE! (Yay! Great night already!) David Cook, who stumbled a bit on Tuesday, is safe. (Not a huge shock.) David Archuleta, our presumptive American Idol Winner, is, of course, safe.
 
As a break from results, we have our current American Idol, Jordin Sparks, with Chris Brown singing “No Air”. This is an amazing song. Actually, Jordin’s whole cd is pretty impressive. (In case you didn’t know, you can download it on iTunes.) It seems like people do know how to download, because her first two singles have had over 1 million downloads each. Definitely deserved.
 
Time for the Ford Music Video to the tune “I Just Want to Celebrate”. Our Idols have decided to ruin their good-guy images by dumping paint all over the Los Angeles River. Don’t they know that that’s illegal and harmful to the environment? I think Al Gore needs to have a very long talk with each and every one of them.
 
Next up for results is our Muppet Idol, Jason Castro. He’s safe too. (Not surprised.) That means we have four Idols left and 3 stools open. Kristy Lee Cook is… safe? What? (Oh Ryan, you are a tricky little devil.) This leaves Syesha, Carly Smithson, and Michael Johns as the Bottom 3. (Hmmm, interesting.) After some more filler and a special appearance by Barack Obama, Ryan jumps right to it and sends Michael Johns back to Australia. He adds to the pain by reminding everyone how last year they didn’t eliminate anyone during Idol Gives Back week, obviously giving Michael a bit of hope (you could see it in his eyes), but then Ryan crushes that hope by telling him that he is indeed going home. (If that weren’t so mean, I probably would have laughed.)
 
Well, that’s our show for this evening. I did not expect it to go down that way. Syesha or Kristy should have gone first, but they’ll go at some point, so I have no worries. Tune in next week when our Top 7 will take on a whole new genre of songs. (And David Archuleta will sing a ballad, and David Cook will do a rock cover.) Same Steve Time. Same Steve Channel.