AI:7 - The Top 4 Rock (well, at least 3 do)
Circumstances dictated that I not write up my thoughts as I watched the performances this week. It’s probably just as well, as I was tired & cranky. As I’ve had a chance to consider my initial thoughts & then tweak them a little bit, I’m actually surprised at just how much thought & consideration I’m able to put into it when I’m writing them up during a ‘normal’ week of doing it while watching the performances. I very much prefer doing it that way now. Yesterday was just a perfect storm of getting kids to practices & then getting myself to meetings at church. (I know, I know - priorities… 
)
David C. - Hungry Like the Wolf & Baba O’Riley - David is not a Duran Duroid, plus, the AI production staff did him no favors with how they mixed the audio on the first song - the band was nowhere to be found, and the song suffered because of it. The second song was much, much better, both as a song, and as a performance. Given Jason’s self-immolation, I don’t think this unfortunate dip in song choice (combined with the accursed first slot in the final four upset week) will hurt him. Thankfully…
Syesha - Proud Mary & A Change Is Gonna Come - She’s peaking at a good time - sounding good, looking fabu, & benefiting from being the only girl left. She ain’t that great, but she is the best girl left singing. And that’s enough to get her into this season’s Top 3. Although Syesha might’ve, just might’ve mind you, been better served by not equating her getting into the AI top 4 with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. I’m just sayin’…
Jason - I Shot the Sheriff & Mr. Tambourine Man - Good Lord. He just gave up, didn’t he? Never before has a contestant just flat out given up on such a big stage. I’m even more offended than Randy & Simon, especially after seeing Carly in the audience. Jason doesn’t want to be in the competition any more, & I don’t want to write about him any more.
David A. - Stand By Me & Love Me Tender - Gag. If the judges stroked him any more, it would be considered statutory child abuse. He’s not that good, folks. A glimpse into his soulless, unfeeling eyes will tell you that. If Jason wasn’t so painfully bad, I’d really push harder to see Gnome-boy gone. He’s got as much soul as a hunk of government fromage.
Should Go Home: Jason
Will Go Home: Jason
I was not happy to see David C. in the oft-cursed lead-off slot this week, the week of the final-four, when so many true upsets have happened in odd-numbered past seasons (Tamyra in AI:1, LaToya in AI:3, & Daughtry in AI:5). I was hoping that this year we might see David A. somehow sneak in as the Final Four “upset special”. I don’t think that’ll happen. Neither, though, do I think we’ll see David C. get the Ziggy. No, I think that Jason will deservedly get sent home, unless his fans are as high as he seems to want to be, or are just plain stupid. He obviously wants to go home, and I think he deserves to go home. You don’t disrespect the contest at this stage (by forgetting lyrics, for example) without paying a price. I hope.
-ghp
AI:7 - The Top 5 Diamonds
Carly’s gone. I’ll take partial credit for getting that right, as I predicted the circumstances where it was possible, but not that it would happen. Kristy’s votes, along with a boatload of sympathy votes, went to Brooke, thus keeping her safe for another week. I don’t buy the bogus argument that singing Jesus Christ Superstar generated some sort of holy/fundie backlash against Carly. Remember this contest is rigged such that it’s hard to vote against someone & get them out… No, I think this was just the end of a several week streak where Carly just didn’t perform consistently good enough to stand out & build a rabid voting bloc. She had been up & down on top of having had been a little controversial coming out of Hollywood week (along with Michael) because of her prior recording contract, and her having been “chosen” by the producers & Simon. That ended up being too much for her to overcome in the end. At least she seemed ok with it…
This week, it’s Neil Diamond. I can only imagine that bigsis is happy, as I do believe she is a big fan. Me? Eh. He’s ok. I respect the man’s talent & all (and I’m secretly hoping that David C. will sing America…).
Frankly, I’ve been in a wretched mood most of today, and I think that I’m going to try something different this week. I’m going to keep it short, sweet, and succinct.
Jason - Forever In Blue Jeans & September Morn - Forever was barely ok. Same with September. Neither was what was needed to get the job done in this competition. EPIC SUCK. BEGONE.
David C. - I’m Alive & All I Really Need Is You - Hot. Compelling. Strong. I didn’t know the songs, but he made me want to know them. EPIC WIN. IDOL.
Brooke - I’m A Believer & I Am, I Said. - Shrek did Believer better. Writing that made me sad. I Am, I Said was only marginally better. Writing that made me even sadder. EPIC SAD.
David A. - Sweet Caroline & America - Sure, this punk had to go and sing my favorite Neil Diamond song. Punk-ass punk. Both of his arrangements sounded like a commercials/adverts. Weak-ass, wussy, punk. Grow a pair, let ‘em drop, & learn some rock & roll. EPIC SUCK. STOP ANNOYING ME.
Syesha - Hello Again & Thank The Lord For The Night Time - Damn, she looked good again tonight. Sounded good too. She can stay another week. EPIC PIMP SLOT.
The Top: David C.
The Safe: Syesha & David A.
The Bottom 2: Jason & Brooke
Should Go Home: Jason
Will Go Home: Jason
-ghp
AI:7 Phantom of the Idol 6
Before getting to the Top 6 & Andrew Lloyd Webber, first a brief comment on last week’s elimination, seeing as how I didn’t actually see fit to write anything about it in a, you know, timely fashion. I’m not shocked that Kristy got sent home. A little disappointed, perhaps, but not shocked or surprised. In a voting bloc dynamics sense, it makes sense, even if it doesn’t make much sense in light of the fact that she was actually improving over the past few weeks. We’re now in the phase of the competition where what happens on the stage isn’t of paramount importance from one week to the next. In the aggregate, over several weeks, it can take its toll, but from one week to the next? Not so much. Keeping that in mind, let’s move along to what could be the oddest of our theme weeks, shall we?
First, a question: If Simon says someone is “too Broadway,” is that a good or a bad thing this week?
Second, David Duchovny’s in the house? But where’s Téa Leone?
Third, all those arm waving ditzes in the mosh pit? They’re sorority girls they bus in just for that purpose.
Wow, Ryan pinned Paula down. Paula didn’t like that one little bit, did she? She stammered & stuttered her way through that non-answer more than usual. Heh.
ALW says it’s all about words, words, words.
Ok, then. Let’s sing, sing, sing.
Syesha - One Rock and Roll Too Many - I’d like to see her fall prey to the ‘curse of the opening slot’ (it seems that more eliminations have come from the first performer slot than would be statistically warranted). That said, I think that Syesha is the ‘bad penny’ for this season - the one who inexplicably stays around too long (ala Nikki McKibbin, Josh Gracin, Jasmine Trias, etc…). Her acting ability seems to have served her well this week (and she does have a fundamentally good/solid voice), they did her hair up nice this week, and she surely wore that little red dress up nice! Randy, Paula & Simon were right - this is her element & her sexy, happy place.
Jason - Memory - He hadn’t seen any of the musicals? The hellz you say! I’ve never seen Cats, so I can’t compare Jason’s version to the original - that said, Jason’s was nicely understated, and I can’t imagine it not appealing to his core constituency. He looked sharp, his eyes were clear, his smile was bright, and the voice was pure. I liked it. Paula, as a member of the core demo, ‘gets’ him. Randy & Simon don’t. Pretty simple. I’m not sure how it’ll translate & play out in the voting bloc arena, but my gut inclination is that he’ll be safe this week.
Brooke - You Must Love Me - The connection that ALW had with Brooke was palpable. It was the kind of moment that you hope for when they announce who the celeb coaches will be, and it makes it worth enduring all the drek that we endured from people like Mimi Carey last week. ALW is a monster talent and a consummate professional, and Brooke is a truly talented cypher - genuine, caring, & vulnerable. She won’t win this contest, but if she can deliver moments like this one, she’s well worth having on this program.
Wow. She forgot the words. So she had the band start over. That took guts. Screw what Paula said. In the end, though, that was not a great performance. Heartfelt & vulnerable, but not great. Paula wanted to verbally bitch slap her, and came about as close to doing so as we will ever see from Ms. Abdul. Unless this generates a boatload of sympathy votes for her, and/or she picks up a lots of support from VoteForTheWorst.com as their new choice, I think Brooke’s time could be running out.
David A. - Think of Me - Much like Syesha, I think that David is in his element this week. Sweeping, emotional, powerful ballads. That’s Broadway. That’s showtunes. That’s David. He kept his eyes open, so he followed the advice he was given. He’s golden again this week. I still don’t want him to win, but he’s safe as a baby again this week. Just don’t make me listen to him talk, ok?
Carly - Jesus Christ Superstar - ALW once again proved his worth as a coach, getting her to switch to the proper song. and she knocked it out of the park. The Carly who the producers preordained as a pre-Hollywood pick to tout graced us with a visit tonight. And it was really nice to see her again - it’s been a while since we saw her sing Come Together. Plus, good or bad, right or wrong, she’s better served when she covers up the tatts…
David C. - Music of the Night - Good news: He gets the pimp slot. Not so good news: He gets the pimp slot during ALW week. He grew up doing musical theater, eh? Ok, sure. I shouldn’t have doubted him. Dude. Nailed. It. He proved that he can flat out sing. He is the best this competition has to offer this year. You can keep Archuleta. Cook is better. BETTER. It’s just that simple. That was an Idol Moment, people. Goose bumps & everything. Even if he, by some odd chance, doesn’t win the vote count, David Cook will be the real winner of AI:7 - he’ll be the one that will be remembered 5, 10, 15 years down the line.
The Top: David C.
The Safe: David A. & Syesha
The Bottom 3: Brooke, Carly, & Jason
Should Go Home: Brooke
Will Go Home: Brooke
Please note that on the bottom 3, I would prefer to have Syesha there instead of Carly, but I really think that the voting bloc breakdown will happen in such a way that Syesha will be safe. The one wildcard scenario is if Kristy’s fans continue to vote, but shift their votes en masse to Brooke (which would be my most logical guess, unless they somehow view either Jason or David C. as more appealing - that’s the thing about trying to predict…). If that happens, then that could drop Syesha into the bottom 3 and spell doom for, quite possibly, Jason. I don’t think it’ll break that way, though, and we’ll be seeing the last of fair Brooke tomorrow night.
-ghp
AI:7 - The Top 7 Sing Mariah
Yeah, yeah, Ryan. Shocking elimination. Every vote counts. Blah, blah, blah. Pimp the vote out, Ry-ry.
Paula’s looking especially glammed up tonight. Gee, I wonder why?
Tonight, we get the Top 7 singing, and being ‘coached’ by quite possibly the ‘diva-iest’ of all the divas, Mariah Carey. She has 5 octave range. She’s a legend. She’s sold millions upon millions of records. She’s gorgeous. She’s just your friend. Wearing spray-on black jeans. Just normal old Mimi from the block. Oh yeah, and she’s a certifiable whack-job. I can only imagine what fun this will be tonight…
David A. - When You Believe - Meeting Mariah was scary? Why? Because she’s a girl? Because she’s got those boobie thingies? Who let him wear leather pants? Why is his posture so bad? Can I write every sentence as a question? Did I like the falsetto? Did I like the lower register? Will David be safe? No, no, no, and yes.
Carly - Without You - She was emotional last week because she thought she was the one who was gone, that’s why. Nice dress. The first girl to perform, and, thus, the first to be suffer in comparison. And rest assured, all the girls will suffer in comparison to Mariah this week - that’s just a given, because none of them are as talented. That aside, Carly did a very nice job of delivering this performance, rebounding from a few sub-par performances. I wouldn’t eliminate her this week, by any stretch, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds herself in the bottom 3 again this week.
Syesha - Vanishing - The actress/mimic was able to learn directly from the source this week. I would hope that the voting blocs will shift & move in the aftermath of Michael’s elimination such that Carly is kept safe & Syesha is kept at risk. The judges, predictably, loved her this week. Hopefully, that will lull her fans into a sense of complacency, and they won’t feel the sense of urgency to get out the vote. She’s the one I want gone & banished from my TV.
Brooke - Heroes - She’s all sparkly & back in her comfort zone at the piano. Her genuineness hasn’t warn out its welcome with me like David A.’s has (the wife disagrees with me slightly on this…). Not a great performance, but a very, very good one. If things were based solely on performances, Brooke would be safe without question, I think. Factoring in voting bloc dynamics, I think she’s more than a little at risk of being in the bottom 3, but not really in much danger of getting sent home.
Kristy - Forever - Her confidence has been growing over the past few weeks. I’m not sure it’ll continue. She looks awfully good, in a Carrie Underwood-esqe way. Ok, I was wrong - she’s continued the got streak. They countryfied the arrangement, making it just twangy enough to let Kristy shine. And she did, perhaps even enough to stay out of the bottom 3 again this week. Nicely done.
David C. - Always Be My Baby - Another step outside the box? Uh-oh. Pretty & haunting? Ruh-roh, Raggy! Well, David Alt/Emo-Rocked the crap out of that pop hit didn’t he? I’m not a fan of the song, but I liked the performance a whole bunch. He’s back with a vengeance & ready for radio. Taking risks & making them pay off. Boo-yah!
Jason - I Wanna Cry - Rasta in the pimp slot, party people! Very understated. Very focused on his pure vocal tone. I don’t think it was an ‘Idol Moment’ performance, but it was a great follow-up to last week’s performance. I think his fans will like it a lot, and he’ll still be able to expand his voting bloc with it. Solid.
The Top: David C.
The Safe Middle: David A. & Jason
The At-Risk Middle: Kristy
The Bottom 3: Brooke, Carly, & Syesha
Should Go Home: Syesha
Will Go Home: Syesha
This is when is starts to get tougher to pick a bottom 3 and, oftentimes, to predict the contestant sent home. This week, I agree with Simon - the guys carried the night. The bottom 3 will be populated by 3 of the 4 girls. Who’ll get a pass? I don’t know, but I’d guess Kristy, who has a rather motivated voting bloc. I will not discount that I’m engaging in wishful thinking, because I really do want her gone, but I’ll stick with my predictions.
-ghp
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