StoneRose Valley

Well, another performance night has passed for those singing on American Idol. Here’s my recap.

I have to say the first two performances passed over my head a little, as in, I didn’t give them my full attention due to other things that were requiring my it; so in all fairness, I can’t really say much about them.

Amanda Overmeyer; I think she sang “USSR”. Not one I’d ever heard before, so forgive me if I got the title wrong.  I thought it was pitchy. But she was bringing who she is to the stage; I guess you gotta hand that to her. I can’t remember what any of the judges said about her.

Kristy Lee Cook sang “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”; it was so much better than last week. Not very strong, but still enjoyable. I don’t think she has a powerful voice, so if you’re trying to measure her by that, it won’t add up. But I’m starting to enjoy her voice. Don’t remember what the judges said, but I really liked her this week.

David Archuleta: kid, you gave it to them! Singing “The Long & Winding Road”, David recovered quite well from last week. Randy said “the hotness was back; but remember to take those liberties” his voice is good for it. Paula said he “Came back strong” and that that ”revealed his character”. Simon said it was “Amazing. But sell your song, remember the performance.” Great job, David!

Micheal Johns sang “A Day In The Life”. A very hard song; Randy said it ‘wasn’t your best’. Simon said it was a mess; and even Paula had some tough comments; saying there were “no excuses; Phenomenal voice, you gotta raise the bar”. I agree. Micheal is one of the best vocalists in this competition; but he’s gotta’ keep doing better and better each week, or he’ll be out-shined.

Brooke White. She just grows on you each week. “Here Comes The Sun” wasn’t her best, but still nice; I thought it was well-suited to her voice. Randy said it seemed ”akward” to him, that he ”never connected” with it. Paula said it showed her ”good low-tone. But it could have been more challenging.” Simon said it was ”a terrible performance. It comes down to song choice”. But Brooke had a beautiful attitude through the critic.

David Cook sang “Day Tripper”; very cool, and good vocals; I like the use of the voice box, or whatever the term was. :) Randy said he was ”keeping it interesting. Another sold!” Paula said there was ”not much else to say”; and Simon….well, Simon said it was “not as good. Lost the element of surprise.” and he ”didn’t like the voicing”.

Carly Smithson blew me away with her “Blackbird”. I thought her vocals were both good and strong, it was steady and purposeful, and she really pulled you into the song. Randy called it ”very emotive”; Paula said the ”arrangement was Fantastic”; and Simon thought it was….”indulgent”? For once I disagree with Simon. Carly did an outstanding job.

Jason Castro sang ”Michelle” and it suited him extremely well. It was fun, entertaining, good vocals, and I thought his French was pretty good. Randy said it was ”a good choice” but that he ”didn’t know” he was ”not really connected”. Paula said Jason has ”a distinct charm” but ”wierd”. Simon said it’s ”getting a bit strange. You’re very charming, not obnoxious” and ”your goofiness makes it work.” Simon also mentioned how he thought it was a mistake to do Beatles…way too close to Lennon/McCartney.

Syesha Mercado sang “Yesterday”, and I have to say hers was the top performance of the night. It was gripping, very sweet and compelling, and her vocals were great! Randy said it was a ”Very, very, very good performance”; Paula said she loved that Syesha seemed ”vulnerable”; and Simon said it was ”probably her best performance. Not incredible, but you chose the best song for you. That song and performance will keep you in”. Great job, Syesha! Thumbs up to you!

Chikezie; “I just Seen A Face” was OK. Randy said it had it’s “Good and bad parts”; Paula didn’t agree with him, saying Chikezie had done ”it again!” Simon said the ”harmonica was atrocious. It turns into achy-breaky heart. Not as good as last week”, he also called it “gimmicky”.

Ramiele Malubay was the last to perform, with “I Should Have Known Better” she did much better than last week. I still think she needs to start moving about the stage more to capture the audience’s attention. Randy said she’d shown ”confidence” again, it was ”alright, you did your thing”; Paula said it was ”definitely better than last week”; and Simon said she ”chose a mediocre song” and that she was fully capable of more.

All things considered, I think it’ll be Amanda, Chikezie, and Kristy Lee in the bottom three tonight. As far as which one will go….I really couldn’t say. But we’ll see in about twenty minutes! Enjoy the show tonight!

Well, I’m not going to go over everything, just the highlights, low-lights, and my personal favorites. (Does that about cover it all?)
 Even though I don’t care for his voice, I have to say that Chikezie was great last night. He showed what he was capable of, and really nailed it, singing “She’s The Woman”. It was fun, entertaining, and most of all, good vocals!

Ramiele Malubay. I love this girl; she has a great voice. And while I think she was good, vocally, it was pretty boring. “In My Life” is a great song, but I personally wanted to see her change it up a bit.

Jason Castro. Who doesn’t like this kid? He sang “If I Fell”; I loved seeing him with the guitar again, and I thought his vocals were nice. But I guess I have to say that it was just OK.

Carly Smithson! Wow! “Come Together” was a hit for her; Girl, you chose the right song this week! The judges had nothing but praise for her; and let’s not forget what Simon said, it reminded him ‘of Kelly Clarkson, this same week, first season’!

OK, my favorite; David Cook, singing “Eleanor Rigby”. I’d never heard this one before. He started off kinda’ rough, but by the end it was ‘brilliant’, as Simon called it. I really love this guys’ voice!

Brooke White sang “Let it Be”, and it was really nice. Slightly boring, I wanted to see her leave the piano midway or towards the end; but she did very well. I think she’s going to be in this a lot longer than people first thought.

In my personal opinion, David Hernandez might be the one leaving tonight. But what do I know? He sang “I Saw Her Standing There”; the judges said it was ‘overdone’, ‘a little lost’, and Simon, as he often is, was pretty rude with his comments, saying it was ‘corny, verging on desperate’. That made me feel sorry for David, as it wasn’t that bad.

Micheal Johns: There’s something to the guy with the Australian accent. “Across the Universe” wasn’t his best performance, but it was solid. I just want to see him do better and better, ’cause I know we haven’t seen everything he’s capable of.

Kristy Lee Cook, with “Eight Days A Week”, is my other choice for the bottom 12 this week. I thought her voice sounded too restrained. Randy said he was ‘torn’; Paula ‘didn’t get it’; and Simon….well, he didn’t like it at all. He did say Kristy Lee was brave, though.

And David Archuleta. “We Can Work It Out” didn’t turn out very well for him. The poor kid forgot his lyrics, and I was horrified. I really think this kid is talented; he has an amazing voice. But I think he’ll be around for another week; he’s already proved he can out-sing most any other performer on the show this season…and I think he’ll get the chance to prove it again.

I didn’t mention Syesha or Amanda….they both did OK, but nothing remarkable to me. I don’t think either of them will be leaving us tonight.

Any comments are welcome…but I do reserve the right to delete if inappropriate.