American Idol
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My husband sent me this email yesterday that detailed all the supposed changes that American Idol is making this year. Now that Nigel Lithgoe has moved on to greener (or at least more dancing) pastures and after last year’s eight percent decline, there have been rumors that major change was in the wind.

One of the changes was fewer train wrecks. If last night was any indication, then the rumors are greatly exaggerated. There were plenty of “iffy” contestants last night. Personally, I’m not a fan of the dreadful auditions. I know that the exploitation (um, I mean, viewing) of the American Idol equivalent of sideshow freaks has its fans– I just don’t happen to be one of them.

I’m not suggesting that the auditions should only show those who make it. But there are plenty of good people who don’t make it through. Showing more of those people would serve a couple of purposes. One, it would provide exposure and a potential break for some singers who don’t make it to Hollywood. Two, there would be more drama. With most of the auditions, you can tell within the first five seconds whether the person is going to make it through or not. With some, you can tell before they ever sing a note.

My favorites are those that could have gone either way. Will they? Won’t they? They’re good, but are they good enough? An okay singer, but really entertaining. A great voice with the presentation skills of dried moss. To me, those are the auditions that interest me and help me see all the components that really go into making a star.

So, what do you think? How is American Idol 8 so far? Do we need more train wrecks, fewer train wrecks, or is it just right?

By a margin of 56%-44% (incidentally, the same percentage as on this website’s poll)…

DAVID COOK!!

I’ll try to write more on the finale tomorrow night, assuming I don’t have a baby tonight.

Who should be the next American Idol?
David Cook: 56% (87)
David Archuleta: 44% (69)
Total Votes : 156

Tonight was the culmination of months of eliminations. The Davids finally faced off against one another. Fox did some, um, interesting things production-wise. Like the whole night had a boxing theme– complete with boxing commentary. Why? I have no idea. I found it distracting more than entertaining. Then there was the clever camera work to disguise that David Archuleta still hasn’t gotten over squinting his way through songs in spite of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s best efforts to break him of the habit. They simply hardly showed him in close-up. As a matter of fact, many of the shots of him were of his back. I do have to admit it was a lot less annoying that way.

The coin flip last week went to David Archuleta, who chose to sing second (smart call). Both singers’ first songs were chosen by Clive Davis. David Cook was given “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, and David Archuleta was given “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”. I thought both did a decent job. David Cook added in a little flair, but you really don’t want to mess with the U2 classic too much. Clive Davis really did right by David Archuleta, choosing a song that already has a lot of the runs and drawn out notes that he likes. Because they were already written into the song, David didn’t feel the need to overdo the song.

The second songs were from the song writing competition. Unlike previous years when both singers have been saddled with singing the same song, no matter whether it suits them both or not, this year the Davids were allowed to choose their own songs from the top ten vote getters. David C. chose an upbeat number that I thought was a little “pop” for him but still at least entertaining. David A. chose a sappy ballad– exactly the kind of song that the producers would usually choose for the finalists to sing. Exactly the kind of song I really don’t enjoy. Simon thought it was more in keeping with the tone of the night. Really? Given the boxing them, wouldn’t that be “Eye of the Tiger”?

The final song of the evening was contestants’ choice. David C. chose to tackle a new song– Collective Soul’s “The World I Know”. It was good, more of a sensitive low-key performance from him. Simon thought he should have returned to “Hello” or “Billie Jean”, but he said he preferred to show progression by singing a new song, rather than something he’d sung before. David A. chose to sing my favorite song of the year (not really) “Imagine”. Frankly, I was talking on the phone during the performance, so I’m not absolutely sure whether it was better or worse, but I think it was about the same. Since I thought it was hideously oversung to begin with, his comments about giving it more sent shivers down my spine.

So, that was it. As expected, the judges favored David Archuleta. Randy said he was exactly what “American Idol” is about. And he’s right. American Idol is about turning out a very mainstream pop singer. David Archuleta will be perfect for that. I had to keep reminding myself, though, that I don’t want David Cook to win because it’s in his best interest to come in second. Still, part of me can’t help but wish…

What about you? Who was your favorite tonight?

Who do you want to win the finale?
David Archuleta: 48% (69)
David Cook: 52% (74)
Total Votes : 143

It was a pretty anti-climactic evening. No big surprises. There was the obligatory group performance with the expected bad choreography. The Ford commercial, performed to “Heaven”, wasn’t shocking.

Fantasia performed, and her red hair and wild dancing were about the most exciting part of the evening. We could sure have used some of her energy and animation this season.

There were home visits. David Archuleta visited Murray City, Utah and was overwhelmed by the response. Syesha returned home to Sarasota, Florida and was overwhelmed by the response. David Cook visited Kansas City and Blue Springs Missouri and was overwhelmd by the response. We did find out that David Cook originally didn’t even plan to audition– he just went to the auditions to support his younger brother.

Finally, the final two were revealed. Again, it was no surprise. The finale next week will be between the two Davids, as has been expected for weeks. It could be an interesting show. Or it could be another fairly predictable, somewhat boring week.

What do you think of the final two?

Who do you most want to see in the finale?
David Archuleta: 33% (18)
Syesha Mercado: 9% (5)
David Cook: 57% (31)
Total Votes : 54

Tonight was one of the most uninspiring final 3 performances that I can remember. It’s not like it was horrible. It just wasn’t fabulous. Since this was supposed to be the best American Idol pool ever, I really expected more. The singers sang three songs tonight: one chosen by a judge, one they chose themselves, and one chosen by the producers.

David Archuleta started the night with “And So It Goes”, chosen by Paula. It was definitely his best song of the night. I think it was helped by the fact that I didn’t know the song, so I couldn’t be annoyed by his drawing out of the song. Randy gave the usual, predictable “dope, in it to win it” critique. Simon said it was very good but predictable. Next, he departed completely from his usual song style and chose to sing Chris Brown’s “With You”. Yeah, that was pretty horrible. Randy was right on when he said it was not believable hearing David sing to “Boo”. It was really just bizarre. Simon’s imagery was pretty good when he said it was like “a chihuahua trying to be a tiger”. It was the high school talent show performance of the song. I don’t know what he was thinking with that song choice. I guess it was a slightly more appropriate song choice than “Brick House”, but it’s a toss up. His final song was chosen by the producers. They chose “Longer”, which was certainly a more appropriate song choice. However, he reverted to the squinty eyed sincere look, but he sounded okay. He hit all the notes, and it was okay, although not remarkable.

Randy chose Syesha Mercado’s first song, “If I Ain’t Got You”. It sounded good, but I don’t really have anything super positive or horribly negative tosay about it. There was nothing wrong with it. It just wasn’t wonderful. For her second song, Syesha chose to sing “Fever”. The judges panned this choice, but I thought it was a good choice for her. It reminded me of a Broadway audition, which is pretty much how I think Syesha should view her time on American Idol. Paula, who had just defended David A’s choice of “With You” chose to say it didn’t really show who she was. Really, Paula? Whereas David A’s choice showed exactly who he is? Seriously? The producers’ song choice seemed to definitely indicate who they want to see in the finale. They chose “Hit Me Up”, which was a fun, upbeat song but didn’t do anything for Syesha. It did, however, allow the judges to engage in a 5 minute discussion about Happy Feet– odd, since the show was put out by competing studio Warner Brothers. Maybe Warner Brothers paid for it.

David Cook was the last singer of the night. Simon chose for him to sing “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. I really thought Simon would have chosen something more upbeat. I do think he was looking to see what David would do with the song. He did an interesting marriage of the original with a bit of originality towards the end. His voice sounded great. Randy wanted a rock song, so he was disappointed (maybe Randy should have chosen David C’s song). Simon thought it was one of his best performances (not that he’s biased). When it came time to choose his own song, David chose something that sounded more like what I would expect him to sing, “Dare You To Move”. I was afraid he would choose something really bizarre, but this was a good song choice. It showed his range, allowed him to sing something unknown but wasn’t so far out there that it would wig out the American Idol viewers. Finally, the producers gave David “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. It was an okay song choice, allowing him to show the rock side and ballad side simultaneously. The last note was a bit sketchy, though. It was enough to encourage Simon to declare him the winner of the night, though.

So, it looks like a Davids finale, as it has looked for weeks. Hopefully, David Archuleta will pull of the finale and allow David Cook to come in second and pursue his own contract negotiations and to make his own album. David A. is perfectly suited to reign as American Idol winner.

Which performance was worse, Brooke singing “I’m a Believer” or Jason Castro singing “I Shot the Sheriff”?
Brooke: 13% (5)
Jason: 87% (33)
Total Votes : 38

Jason Castro singing “I Shot the Sheriff” (yes, that’s right when you get to the phone numbers, you can clearly see Jason mouth “Don’t vote!”):

Brooke White singing “I’m a Believer”:

First, let me just say that the choreography in the group song at the beginning was the lamest I think I have ever seen. I’m pretty sure my 8 year old daughter could have choreographed that, and I know plenty of teens who could have done a better job.

Having said that, let’s talk results. There wasn’t much to tonight’s show. No real drama. I mean, you know who went home, right? Without even seeing the show.

Thats’ right. Jason Castro.

I really like Jason. I wish him all the best in the future, but I don’t think or anyone else was surprised that his time had run out. I think he may have been ready to go a couple of weeks ago. If there’s one thing he needs to do, in my opinion, it’s to expand his musical knowledge. I was dismayed at how few songs he actually knew. But with a bit more experience and a lot of hard work, I think he could really be a fine performer.

Next week the top 3 do their home visits and sing songs custom picked for them.

Who was your favorite singer tonight?
David Cook: 28% (7)
Syesha Mercado: 16% (4)
Jason Castro: 12% (3)
David Archuleta: 44% (11)
Total Votes : 25

Tonight the top 4 singers tackled songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of 500 Most Influential Songs. It was interesting to see what songs were picked.

David Cook chose to sing “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Baba ORiley”. Duran Duran was one of my favorite groups in the 80s, but even I thought this was a bit of a strange choice. It’s really a pop song more than a rock song. David Cook sang it without any major changes, and he sounded good, but it wasn’t particularly unique. He also seemed a bit low key this week. I don’t know if he just wasn’t feeling well, or what, but it certainly wasn’t his strongest performance. Randy said it was just okay, and Simon said it was good, if a bit copycat. “Baba OReilly”, however, is exactly the kind of song he excels at singing. It’s a vocally demanding song, but as he’s shown many times in recent weeks, he can certainly sing vocally demanding songs. My only complaint was that it wasn’t long enough. Randy said it was great. Simon simply said, “welcome back David Cook”.

Up next was Syesha Mercado, who sang “Proud Mary” and “Change is Gonna Come”. She did a fine job with “Proud Mary”, even though it was a bit like watching “Tina Turner’s Life Story”. Apparently, Tina Turner was her character this week. Randy said she was in the zone. Simon thought it sounded like a bad, shrieking impersonation of Tina Turner. “Change is Gonna Come” sounded good vocally, but it was back to being a bit more “soulless”. I guess there was no character she could think of for this song. Randy didn’t love this performance or the arrangement. Paula and Simon both liked it.

Oh, poor, poor Jason Castro… I don’t know if he’s just ready to go home, or what. After several weeks of sliding downhill, this week I think he reached the bottom. He sang “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Hey, Mr. Tamourine Man”, which SEEMED like good choices. Bob Marley and Bob Dylan? Those seem to be right up Jason’s alley. It just goes to show that the music you listen to shouldn’t necessarily be the music you sing. “I Shot the Sheriff” was HORRIBLE! I really can’t overstate how bad it was. Worse than Brooke’s performance of “I’m a Believer”. No, really. Barring the birth of the baby in the next day or two, I’ll put both performances up and let you vote for which was worse. “Tambourine Man” was definitely better, but the judges weren’t any more enthusiastic. They tore apart both songs, and Simon said Jason should pack his bags. I have to agree.

It was a pretty predictable pair of performances by David Archuleta tonight. I’m sure there are those out there who loved his versions of “Stand by Me” and “Love Me Tender”. I had the same complaints I’ve made for weeks. Too many runs, too oversung. Good vocals but just too much. There’s really no need to critique the songs separately, as they were pretty much the same. I guess this year’s American Idol will be the next great adult contemporary singer. Randy, as usual, thought David was unbelievably, remarkably fabulous, the best singer ever, hot, etc. Simon was less enthusiastic, but I’d say David’s a shoo-in for the finale, if the producers have anything to say about it.

My favorites:

1. David Cook
2. Syesha Mercado
3. David Archuleta
4. Jason Castro

You may think that I want David Cook to win. The truth is… I don’t. I’d love to see him come in second, though. I do want to see him sing in the finale, but I don’t want to see him saddled with the American Idol contract and title. So, David Archuleta can have it, as far as I’m concerned. It won’t hurt him, but it could hurt David Cook. As a matter of fact, I’d rather David Cook came in third, rather than win the competition. Who is your favorite to win?

Should the winner of American Idol be the best “vocalist”?
Yes, singing is the most important: 53% (10)
No, singing is only part of the contest: 47% (9)
Total Votes : 19

In case I haven’t mentioned it thus far, I’m currently 38 weeks pregnant, so tonight I’m taking a bit of a break. I’m posting the “just the facts, ma’am” version of the results show recap.

Jason Castro– safe
David Archuleta– safe
David Cook– safe
Syesha Mercado– safe
Brooke White– going home

By the way, Dial Idol was wrong about the results tonight, or the results are rigged, or it wasn’t really a bottom 2 tonight. Dial Idol showed David Cook and Syesha in the 1-2 position, with the other three in jeapordy. Of course, I don’t recall that they actually said it was a “bottom 2″ tonight, so perhaps she really was in the 1-2 slot.

I liked Brooke a lot, but I think she’d taken American Idol about as far as she could. I wish her the best of luck in the future and hope she really has quite a successful career.