Who needs writers, anyway? It's the OFFICIAL AMERICAN IDOL 7 THREAD

Time to make a move:

'American Idol' host Ryan Seacrest ready to find that special someone

UPI News Service, 12/29/2007

"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest said recently he intends to find a romantic interest to provide balance in his life.

The popular 33-year-old TV host said during a recent advertising photography shoot that his busy career has left him wanting more balance, People magazine reported Saturday.

"I think, in a way, my goal is to focus on a little bit more balance," Seacrest said. "I really haven't been out with anybody. ... This week I'll literally work seven days, and I'll get home at 10 p.m."

When asked about his upcoming "New Year's Rockin' Eve" appearance alongside TV personality Dick Clark, Seacrest said Clark did not appear to be feeling any aftereffects from his 2004 stroke.

"He and Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas) and I were doing a photo shoot, and Fergie couldn't have looked better," Seacrest said of his time with the TV icon and pop singer. "Dick gave some vintage looks to (the) camera when he saw her gorgeous legs and body in this little skirt."

I'm totally psyched. So, do we Xpost everything between here and Teenpop? Or keep music observations there and other stuff here?

Spoilers: http://mjsbigblog.com/top-50-update-rumors-and-spoilers.htm

Naw, all music talk here (as usual), right?

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/tapestore/whyshouldibesad.jpg

Just like a Tattoo...

I just looked at some insider blogging--apparently this year's final 24 is full of industry ringers--an Alicia Keys back-up singer, some chick who already has a career in Ireland (they tried to get her on the show two years ago but ran into visa issues), kid who won Star Search, etc.

Jordin Sparks was enough of a ringer already. If they stack the entire show with ringers, I might give up after the auditions.

Irish girl, right?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0xEvNlF42I

Lots of Missouri people in the Top 50...I want to hear "Asia'h E."

Anyone remember Lisa Leuschner?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoAOokBULwo&feature=related

I've read about the interesting group they've got in the semis...I think Fantasia's brother made it? But generally I've been trying to avoid the spoilers.

Anything related to American Idol is welcome here, music-related, show-related, contestant-related (former or current), etc. There's always some xpostage w/ the teenpop thread but generally the rolling ILE Idol thread is the main place of discussion.

How many former Idols are going to get dropped-excuse me, part ways with their labels, before the show premieres?

-Taylor Hicks
-Ruben Studdard
-Katherine McPhee
-...

MEH

At this rate, there will be nothing left of Randy Jackson by Season 7. He will be two-dimensional.

-- MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, January 18, 2005 8:05 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Link

Fashionable Thoughts:
Joey Catalano - EWWWWWWW. I don't give a shit if you can blow, button that goddamned shirt.
Ryan Seacrest - Nice t-shirt
Yukon - I want a girl who's nice from head to nipple, too. Don't listen to those assholes. You could totally join a gypsy punk band! Now keep your head in the sky and your gap-toothed grin hidden.
Melanie Nyema - intrsting voice. I don't actually remember you.
James Lewis - Damn! Thanks for the roffles. You remind me of that broken tape recorder in the basement. Y'know, the one we stole from blind people?
Zhengzhong Yu - Nice name. No William Hung, though.
Jose Candelaria - Speak English, Mark Anthony.
Jonathan Baines - Oh, God.
"I Love Rock N' Roll" Montage - For fucks sake

then i zoned out

Simon seemed really exasperated tonight. I would have been too...Philly's a big city and they didn't seem to find anyone amazing.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention this...a few weeks ago, who should board my bus on the way home from work but the bush baby's buddy from last season?? He was even wearing the same hawaiian shirt! Someone get me the Gawker tip line!

http://www.pagesix.com/files/gallery/Ret_SpamalotClay173.jpg

"Simon goes down on everybody"

"I'm a hardcore rocker, I'm into rockin"

taped this...not sure why

was it good?

no :( There was only one really good audition, a short-haired black woman who did a Gladys Knight song. Simon proclaimed some random blonde to be the "best so far" but it was BS.

yeah Pia (I think that was her name) was my favorite as well.. but even her audition didn't really blow me away. Besides the "you are my brother" guy, I was annoyed more than amused by the bad auditions.. and the people that got through for the most part were really bland.

oh and I think I liked the former-Meth Addict but tbh I can't really remember her audition.

oh and finger-nail collecting guy... WTF

"Simon goes down on everybody"

My favorite line of the night -- it was a pretty dull night of auditions.

I'm mildly curious from some of these descriptions, but I really have no patience for these 2 hour freakshow audition episodes. Wake me when they get to Hollywood.

Besides the "you are my brother" guy

That guy fucking ruled.

I will probably like that song a whole lot more than the first single the next American Idol puts out.

This portion of the show is always a bag of dicks.

I will probably like that song a whole lot more than the first single the next American Idol puts out.

This is undoubtedly true.

Simon groupies are gross.

"He's talented in many ways: artistic, creative, floral..."

That last girl was their "ringer"? I fear for this season.

this is my favorite audition of all time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJt67RVDCtA

lol guy w/ pregnant wife is named "Oliver Hymen"

http://www.pagesix.com/files/gallery/Ret_SpamalotClay173.jpg

^^ looks pretty confident that you'll never find his lucky charms ^^

This is getting crappy...how many more weeks of auditions?

i haven't watched this in two weeks. i guess it's for the best?

Holy shit that girl.

this girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwGQHSpZGlg

<3 <3

I felt she was screaming rather than singing, but that's what the judges like so there you go.

That girl from American Juniors was frightening, the rest of the auditions were pretty meh.

she is annoying and her singing was totally sharp and she has no control and she was basically screaming and her voice isn't that interesting.

Pia FTW.

Anyone watching this tonight?

Anyway, I think tonight's was probably the most "watchable" audition episode yet. Lots of awkwardness...the girl whose father died during the first round of auditions, and the long haired nerdy guy who reminds me of so many guys I went to school, which got painful near the end. The dancing girl falling down was one of the only LOL moments of the season so far. The first guy who went through was not very good at all, though.

Hollywood week!

Full thoughts in a little bit. First thought: young David Archuleta is a tad bit overhyped, yes? Not that impressed...too soulless for my taste, though he appeared to move some people.

Did they give the contestants lollipops? I saw lots of blue tongues, especially on Carly, the Irish girl. By the way, I'm still looking for an explanation as to how she can be on the show when she had a record contract and released a major label CD....I thought that was not permitted? And I have my eye on the Australian guy...cute, good voice, and don't underestimate the effect of an accent on American girls.

But more importantly, NO GROUPS ROUND?? Has the groups segment ever let us down??? Hollywood week has always been my favorite part of each season for the groups round.

I couldn't stand the cowboy group last year...dragged out the round. But ultimately, i wish they had kept the group component. It's fun watching people melt (remember that country singer from last year? Bailey something?)

I was also confused about the tongues, too. Lollipops seems like a good guess.

WTF was with the Josiah hate? When it comes to personality, he's fucking annoying, but vocally, his second song sounded just as good to me (it's not like "Stand By Me" has as many switches as "Grace Kelly," so it was harder for him to blow them away...for that reason, i can see why you'd criticize him for song choice, but calling it bad?) They were just penalizing him for asking the band to leave, right?

Syesha Mercado (girl who lost her voice), Michael Johns (Australian guy who performed "Bohemian Rhapsody"), Carly Smithson (no idea how they'll justify that, but they obv. thought about it in advance...it could be a genius strategy; use Idol as a jumping point, have her disqualified and then release a CD. What a wonderful and likely theory!) and David Archuleta seem like shoe-ins for the Top 24. Crossing my fingers for Amanda Overmyer (Janis Joplin girl w/ great personality).

Lots of Missouri people in the Top 50...I want to hear "Asia'h E."

-- Tape Store, Tuesday, January 8, 2008 3:52 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark Link

Hey, she was prob. my favorite tonight!

Baylie "Commercial with a capital C" Brown!

I don't think Idol will pretend they didn't know she had a contract...the show has always been on top of its stories in the news. Simon's eye-rolling at the mention of the troops, or having Chris Daughtry acknowledge that he used Live's arrangement of "Walk the Line" after the Idol forums (which I can't spend more than 3 seconds on without having a txtspk-induced migraine) went nuts about him getting credit for it. I think that it won't be acknowledged on the show until/unless she gets to the top 12 or so, and then Perez Hilton/Smoking Gun/TMZ or someone will "break" the fact that Carly had a CD and a contract before and then AI will have to deal with it.

Hoping Danny Noriega gets into 24.

I can imagine though being in the American Idol band and it's already 3 in the morning you've been rehearsing fucking Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do" over and over again with overeager young assholes and this fucking kid comes in with ARRANGEMENTS and you know fuck you kid you're gonna do it a capella.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVe this fucking kid.

Josiah.

I can't stand the nerdy kid who sang the goofball song the first night.

*SPOILER IF YOU'RE NOT WATCHING*

I'd heard that Josiah wouldn't get through, and I'm not completely surprised, but still seems like a bad decision. Guy could have been a sales hit, I think.

WTF?!?!?!

That last guy they chose?!?!?! HE SUCKS

ringers or not, this crop of people looks decent.

agreed. especially the girls

currently rooting for Asia'h (second pick: Amanda)

I feel like i'm missing someone.

Okay, can I just officially declare my hatred of Carly?

-Overrated vocals
-Fug
-Should have qualified anyway
-This isn't IRISH IDOL!!
-Has a tattoo of Amy Winehouse on her shoulder (?)

AGREED!!!!

Has a tattoo of Amy Winehouse on her shoulder (?)

Really?

Well it really really looks like it.

http://googlx.com/rickey-blog/images/2008/02/carly-smithson-hw.jpg

Last night's episode was the first episode of the season I bothered to watch. Really excited for the real start of the show next Tuesday. Based entirely on the chair show, seems like an excessive number of rockers and kids this year, and a proportionally small set of R&B divas?

yeah, unfortunately.

I really like Ramiele Malubay, she's myfavorite going into this.

I really don't like any of them this year, they all seem as uninspiring as a John McCain speech.

I missed all of their auditions but my wife was basically like "any one of them could win if their voices hold up".

Youtube your favorites:
Asia'h Epperson - I'm Going Down

Have any top 12 contestants ever come from the MaryJ/Keyshia school of emoting?

and a proportionally small set of R&B divas?

danny noriega!

he could quite possibly become my favorite constant ever. cutest guy ever on the show too. makes me want to be gay!

i am so bummed emo car kid didnt get through :( :( :( someone needs to give him his own show where they follow him around in his car getting all emo about not knowing where his next gig/meal is coming from.

also R.I.P. Cardin (from the final 2 girls) you are so pretty and sweet and i wish you were my girlfiend. ;)

my money says janis joplin nurse is the first in a n00dz scandal

david - decent voice, boring song/performance
chikezie - there's something there, but not during this song
dane cook - didn't like it
jason - blah
robbie - better than I expected
david arch - seemed a bit nervous, but i thought it was really great
danny - acts and looks like he walked right out of "america's next top model", but he rocked it
luke - poor cannon fodder
colton - poor cannon fodder part 2, although he was fun
garrett - atrocious, he doesn't seem comfortable in his own skin
jason dreadlocks - not bad, the guitar and minimal arrangement really helped him out
michael - Such a pro, so even-keeled and confident

janis joplin nurse seemed incredibly bored watching the guys the whole time.

We keep people are saying that this year's talent is the best yet...

I put all my money on that david kid.

the kid - david - is great!

fuck. i fell for david tonight. i just watched his previous performances and i even like them, too. so i retract all previous hate statements. i guess i should be excited?

Four easy, predictable cuts:
chikezie
jason
luke
garrett (ROFFLES @ the lack of laughter/applause)

2 nilsson songs, yeah?

i taped the show and, halfway through, went up to my mom and said, 'man, i want Danny Noriega to move on.'

She was like, 'who's that?'

And i said, 'the gay kid who did the elvis song'

Now i understand why she was confused.

would like to see Michael perform this

I thought Jason Dreadlocks (can this be his official thread name?) was the best of the night. Fuck you Randy!! Michael, Danny and David were great too. David is so adorable, after his post-song interview with Ryan I turned into a big pile of goo. How cute is he? He's totally adorable without being precocious, aka he will be around for approximately forever.

Did anyone notice that Carly was missing from the dawg pound? Maybe she got deported lololol foreigners

But Castro is a great last name.

is david the leif garret one? he roolz.

No, that's Garrett.

David Archuleta performing En Vogue on Star Search: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ8uLFOwmtY

that kid reminds me of me in high school, but cuter and more talanted

the part that really made me like him as a person: when Ryan mentioned adoption and David said, "i'm 17!"

Jason Castro and Robbie Carrico, both of whom I expected to hate, were my two favorite of the night. David was good but really cheesy. Lots of boringness, a little bit underwhelming. But there is talent here.

David kind of reminded me of the OC's Oliver. He's going to snap and lock you in his dressing room.

Idolator referenced Google Trends in its AI recap, but here's every single idol-related search that made the top 100 yesterday:

1. leif garrett
6. what a day for a daydream
9. so happy together
11. suspicious minds
12. one is the loneliest number
13. breaking up is hard to do
17. robbie carrico
19. jason castro
22. everybody s talking at me
26. danny noriega gay
27. i love you more today than yesterday
36. american idol voting
37. moon river
51. jailhouse rock
65. michael hutchins
66. dial idol
84. peter frampton
96. american idol phone number

Some kids are going to be really confused when they google "michael hutchins".

I liked the part where Simon called out Robbie Carrico. If you listened to his performance without looking at him it really did stand out as a competent boy-band type performance, there really wasn't anything rock about it.

Danny Noriega is like the bastard love child of Jessica Alba and Johnny Weir. I hated his performance but I hope he stays in it because he's one of the only ones that doesn't seem totally boring.

The only thing "rock" about that douchbag is his hair. I have no idea why I watch this show, but I'm addicted. I almost popped a bottle of Moet when the dork who lives in his car got cut.

Is that Chikeze guy auditioning for Love Boat?

lol i googled leif garrett last nite

I googled 'leif garrett' and 'danny noriega gay'

I am totally lolling at Leif Garrett because I missed everything except the recap so my first comment to my wife was "Who is Leif Garrett?"

(upon seeing that kid in the recaps, I mean; my wife thinks she looks like her sister's (female) partner)

To me he looks like Jimmy Page with Robert Plant's hair (70s versions, obv). I feel bad for the kid; he got zero exposure until he made the top 24 in the last Hollywood ep. He gets my pity vote.

xposted from teenpop: There haven't been any essential, blow you away performances on Idol yet this year. The first week had the theme of 60's songs, and most people played it pretty safe, though the talent level was pretty strong overall. My personal favorite performance of the week was Ramiele Mulabay's performance of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (which should be up on youtube within the next couple of days). Judges seemed to prefer "Light My Fire" by Michael Johns and Carly Smithson's version of "Shadow of My Smile" (a song which I personally have never heard).

Once again: rickey.org

can't wait to see Amanda Overmyer on group performances! especially on American songbook week!

Best:

Alaina
AlexandrEa or wtf
Asia'h or wtf
Rameiele or wtf (hardest group to spell ever?)

Worst:

Carly (hate hate hate)
Amanda (I thought she was TERRIBLE)

My ideal top 6 (girls):
Asia'h
Ramiele
Alexandrea (Lushington; love that last name! In the future: A. Lush)
Alaina
Kady
Amanda

Dislike:
Carly
Syesha
Joanne

And for guys, i'd like:
david archuleta
danny
jason
michael
???
???

(combined with my top 6 girls, that would make an amazing top 10)

otm on both ends...for the two open spots for the guys I'd probably add the "rockers," mainly because all the others are so blah so far.

I mostly agree with Tape Store's take, but I'd like to see Robbie the boyband rocker make the top 12, and even though her performance wasn't much special I still like Brooke a lot and would like to see her make it. I'm hopeful she'll turn in better performances in future weeks. Ah well, it's still too early to tell anyways. I'm willing to give a pass to Kady too cause I really like her personality.

Also I don't hate Carly. I thought her performance was pretty good, and definitely in the top half of last night. Maybe third behind Alaina and Ramiele, or maybe she was being Asia'h too.

"it's one of the worst flu season ever." lolapalooza.

kristy - very pedestrian. also don't like her new haircut.
joanne - sadly, sub-par
alaina - surprisingly charming cannon fodder
amanda - like, whatever, man. good performance.
amy - i'm pretty sure she was awful, but there were weird timbres to her voice that kept it somewhat interesting
brooke - love love love
alex - impressive. she's a sturdy one, eh.
kady - judges are right, her offstage personality is great, her speaking/singing voice is zzzzzz.
asia'h - great!
ramiele - unsure. she sort of morphed into a diva while singing.
syesha - the token powerhouse belter. she and alex are in for a fight.
carly - makeup needs to make her look less pale, but i liked the vocals

I love how they never once showed Jason Dreadlocks perform through the entire auditions phase. What a nice surprise.

Very disappointed in Danny Noriega's song choice though. Was he trying to seem butch or something? Hopefully he bounces back next week with a like Whitney Houston song or something.

Those two blank spots on my male list? Josiah would have filled one of them; they really screwed up.

Come on, not the goddamn car guy. That guy was an utter wuss.

oh, as i think i said upthread, i can't stand his personality, but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHH4G2r4guk >>>> those other eight guys

i also dislike the concept of a fake accent, but if it sounds good, it sounds good.

i think it worked out for him. didn't he go on ellen and get a whole bunch of new recording equipment?

He's probably better off without 19 Entertainment owning him anyway.

(i'm not going to buy his albums; i'm just saying he would have made the male side much more interesting)

i think it worked out for him. didn't he go on ellen and get a whole bunch of new recording equipment?

And now he can afford a nicer car to live in.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAA. Smooth, Seacrest, smoooth....

"Let's have a conversation..."

prediction: he'll call out a girl and tell her she's safe

SPOILER
aww, man. she was the one who reminded me of isabella rosselini in Blue Velvet. ;_;

SPOILERS cont.
surprised with that last one! I thought his Ellen jokes would have boosted him past "Chickezie Eazy"

Boo, my Frampton elf (Garrett) was booted. I didn't exactly like his performance, but I wanted him to stay around another week because he is a Frampton elf.

I liked Garrett too! Like I was saying before, I feel for the contestants who don't get a lot of screen time before the semi-finals.

I expected Colton to stay too...at least there was something memorable about him that would have stuck in people's minds, versus the one guy who sang Moon River or something.

Aww, I liked Colton much more than Moon River guy/Chikezie. And Joanne's exit seemed premature too. Oh well.

Kristy was awful again in her little singing part tonight.

I think it's been years since I've watched a results show without putting the TV on mute during the group song.

Wait until the Ford commercials start...

Jason, Luke, Danny: "America would be surprised to know that I'm a musician...in a band."

When will people learn...talking back to Simon only makes you look bad. Get over yourselves.

danny is unbelievably irritating, but xoxo david

I thought Brooke and Alexandrea were the two best tonight. I also liked Alaina a lot better than the judges apparently did. Lullaby was really bad, what happened to her since last week? Kady and Amanda were really terrible. Everybody else was basically average.

My girl Ramiele kind of disappointed me this week.

She's still fierce tho.

(also, why did Asia'h sing that song?)

Brooke was definitely the best this week.

She's still fierce tho.

-- The Brainwasher, Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:42 PM (41 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

does your method of brainwashing involve constant repetition of the word "fierce"? or are you just a time travelling ANTM viewer from 4 years ago?

Asia'h sounded like shit for the first 2/3rds of the song that I watched, I flipped away for a minute and then switched back expecting the judges to admit it was a disaster, instead it was business as usual with Randy and Paula being positive and Simon being the only critical one. WTF happened, did she actually pull it together at the end?

well, she hit the note if thats what you're asking.

(i'm just going to ignore your other reply).

Yeah, sorry, I was probably being a little too fierce there.

A lot of weird song choices tonight.

WTF, as far as I'm concerned two of the three best girls were eliminated tonight! This Alaina is heartbreaking.

Luke/Chikezie/Danny will be fighting for the final spot, the other 5 seem to be locks for the top 12.

Not surprising that Simon shops at Whole Foods.

The emo version of "Hello" seemed tailor-made to commemorate Spencer's birthday.

OK, it has to be said... Randy Jackson was all about the Aussie guy's version of "Don't You Forget About Me" because he said "The Aussie brings it home, you always reminded me of Michael Hutchence." FAIL.

Hey I'm catching up but I really liked the young David singing "Imagine" last week. A LOT. Otherwise I'm not really feeling any of these performances.

Hey, Michael Hutchence didn't sing that song!!! WTF Randy.

I can think of another moment that David Hernandez's could use as his most embarrassing!

Danny Noriega's arrangement of "Hot Stuff" was the same as the Pussycat Dolls' cover. I would have given him infinite props if he had ended the song with a little bit of "Where Did Our Love Go?" but I suppose time constraints were an issue.

Predicted going home: Luke & Chikezie

Hey, Michael Hutchence didn't sing that song!!! WTF Randy.

Randy compares Michael to Michael Hutchence every week though.

Jackson really blew that one.

Randy should basically get kicked off the show for that.

I wish the other two would stop interrupting Cowell. Jackson and Abdul would probably say I gave a good performance, and I have the worst singing voice in history. They're way easy.

oh man this chick singing queen sucks so bad

hahaha this other girl rules for refusing to smile when simon said she was fantastic

Way to throw Syesha off a bridge there at the end, judges. Not that I mind, she and Kady were probably toast anyway.

They were all obviously on Paula's pills tonight, and the affects really kicked in when they were heaping praise on Amanda's Joan Jett song (that girl is awful).

I thought it was an awesome choice for her, but she didn't deliver with the vocals. She sounded sort of tired.

Her voice gets shakey because she's stomping around the stage so hard, and then she goes off key.

I hate her and her stupid face.

hahaha this other girl rules for refusing to smile when simon said she was fantastic

Really? She also didn't smile when Randy and Paula complimented her, or when Ryan was talking to her afterwards...it made her seem really unpleasant. I wonder if something was wrong.

What I don't get is why does everyone consider Simon's opinion to the most important? If I was a singer I'd rather get feedback from someone like Randy who's actually worked with and produced songs for several big artists/famous songs. What the fuck has Simon done? Oh right, he manages Il Divo.

I loved it a couple weeks ago when Simon admitted without any shame that he'd never heard Heart's "Magic Man". Does Heart not get airplay on UK radio? Furthermore, he's been in the US for about eight years now. Has he never ever turned on a classic rock station?

I've never heard of Heart before I started watching AI. I don't think they're known at all in Europe.

I'm breaking my internet fast just to say that this show officially sucks. I only like one contestant, David Archuleta. Ramiele is decent. I'm not watching anymore. Fucking A.

Gah so close to being rid of Kristy.

Ew, Kristy over Asia'h? And I thought Danny would have definitely gone through!

Is next week Beatles week?

Even though Idol is trying to obscure the iTunes rankings of the contestants' songs in relation to each other, they still show if they're on the iTunes top songs list, and Jason Castro's version of Hallelujah is at #94.

jesus, how long until paula's taken to the looney bin? i'm seriously starting to worry about her mental health.

I actually think this is the strongest top 12 there's been since I've started watching the show (season 3), though I think they've all been pretty close to the same quality.

tonight is on some serious pep rally stuff

My mom is in love with Jason Castro. I meanwhile only merely favor him above all other of the boys - except D Archuleta.

I was surprised that Simon is a fan of the Jeff Buckley version!

Paula's rambling after Jason's performance from last week was INCREDIBLE.

Wow - Chikezie with the performance of the year so far.

damnit, i'm watching

Has Seacrest always been a major cokehead and I'm just now noticing it, or is this a new development?

and Chikezie!!!!!!!

not a cokehead

I think he was genuinely excited.

SCREW UP, DAVID COOK, SCREW UP

David Cook personally sucked, he had the benefit of an incredible arrangement and DRUMMER.

I really don't get him. at all. Does he have a good voice? Am I crazy? Oh, and I still despise Carly. Celine Dion sucked the first time around.

How do I find out who the drummer is?!

Man - Brooke White is at least the most passionate about music person on this show, and I think she's great.

Chikezie was pretty awesome. I thought Carly, David Cook, and Jason's performances were really disappointing. I continue to enjoy Lullaby and Brooke, even though it seems like I should find them really boring.

I missed Chikezie! haha Lullaby

Beatles night is always the best though isn't it.

Yeah, I mean I thought Carly and Jason sucked, but at least they sucked while singing really good songs. I'd rather hear that then somebody sucking doing terrible songs.

As far as I know this is the first Beatles night, right?

"Pizza bistro."

Yikes, David Hernandez has to be in serious trouble after that, right? I mean, they can't really eliminate Chikezie after this week right? I'm thinking about throwing him some votes, even though normally I never vote.

They do Beatles night every year!

Judges are RONG: Dolly Parton-esque "8 Days a Week" was AWESOME. I have typed it; it is LAW.

uh, no they don't do Beatles night every years seeing as they didn't have rights to it before this year

Are you sure?

btw I am drunk

Wait it was a McCartney night wasn't it?

wow, David A bombing

I agree that the "8 days a week" arrangement was awesome, but I thought the vocals were pretty subpar.

I feel like Gargamel when it comes to David Aucheletta, I want to kill him and the rest of the smurfs in his village.

Holy shit! Chikezie killing it in remind-us-what-number clip! Can't wait to see.

Worst of the night was David Hernandez. Best was Chikezie and Brooke. Predicted going home: Kristy.

Michael Lee Johns was also notably horrible

Yeah, he was, and he's one of my favorites AND that's one of my favorite songs AND I sort of predicted it's what he was going to do when they went into the commercial break.

btw wtf is MOMENT OF TRUTH!?!!!!!!

Oh and so I guess Chikezie has gone to one name!

Chikizzle

How do I find out who the drummer is?!

-- nickalicious, Wednesday, March 12, 2008 1:03 AM (57 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

presumably Teddy Campbell, the same guy who rocked out on Elliott's Trouble

OK, so Chikezie was awesome, and so was Brooke.

There are some things that people do on the show that drive me nuts tho, and completely distract me from the performance. Chikezie was guilty of one tonight: slapping his ass while singing. Another is David Archuleta licking his lips constantly. I stop paying attention to the singing and start counting the times it happens. Is it just me?

I thought that hillbilly arrangement of "8 Days a Week" was totally impotent, especially within the context of what it was trying to do. It was a bootstomper without any actually stomping.

Kristy Lee Cook was so so bad...one of the worst finals performances ever?

That lead-in should have made David A shine but wow did he blow it. So many other people "brought it" tonight (with apologies to Randy), and he looked incredibly weak in comparison. Is that the performance of the favorite to win?

Overall though, this was one of the most enjoyable finals eps I've ever seen. The run from Chikezie to Brooke White was pretty great.

The great:

Carly Smithson (she looks better than she did earlier in the show (?), did she gain/lose weight/do something with her hair? Regardless, tonight was the first performance of hers I've enjoyed)
Chikezie Eze (the performance was verging on insane ut it was fun and entertaining and that's what it's all about)

The good:

Brooke White (she's the kind of person you'd see performing at a coffee shop...I really like her but she's not amazing)
Jason Castro
Ramiele Malubay (I actually really liked her performance)
David Cook

The bad:

Amanda Overmyer (over her)
David Hernandez
Michael Johns
Syesha Mercado

The so awful that it filled me with glee:

David Archuleta
Kristy Lee Cook

Predicted bottom three:

Syesha
Kristy
Danny
-dishonorable mention: Ramiele

I'm over Ramiele until she sings something other than a torchy ballad. Variety, girl!

Brooke's my personal favorite until someone else starts to blow me away for consecutive weeks. It's less about her personality than it is her actual singing voice, which I think is full and warm and cracks in all the right places.

Chikezie DID "bring it" tonight, and I'd like to see him keep turning songs upside down like that.

I seem to be the only person who HATED David Cook's "Eleanor Rigby" arrangement, and his totally Creed-ish performance of a song that's one of the most mannered in the whole Beatles repertoire.

Also, I'm surprised David, Kristy and Jason didn't claw all over each other to do "I've Just Seen A Face".

and lol @ Simon not knowing Carly's name

I'm not in love with David Cook either but I value him for messing with the arrangements (unlike Michael Johns) in a way that totally fits him (unlike Kristy/the Dannys/Syesha). His act might grow old fast or maybe he'll grow on me....I can't really tell yet.

um, I keep calling the "Davids" the "Dannys", wtf?

Well, here's the thing. I loved Cook's overhaul of the Lionel Richie song last week, but I thought the same treatment butchered the Beatles. Maybe he's going to hit or miss every single week.

Well, here's the thing. I loved Cook's overhaul of the Lionel Richie song last week, but I thought the same treatment butchered the Beatles.

Completely 100% agree with you Johnny. My opinion is that Brooke and Chikezie's performances were the two best performances of the season so far, and there's not any others that are really too close (I liked "Imagine" but thought it a bit overrated).

Cook is pretty close to being Daughtery redux, no? That would explain the Simon love.

Next week = more Beatles? Did I hear that correctly?

(SPOILER if you missed tonight)

Jim Carrey was in the audience—and in the top 11 at one point, after he figured he could slip into one of the remaining musical chairs unnoticed.

But instead it is the two Cooks, Mercado, White, Smithson, Archuleta, Chikezie (he's dropped the Eze, perhaps because Paula persisted in pronouncing it incorrectly), Ramiele Malubay, Jason Castro, Amanda Overmyer and Michael Johns who will be around to dip yet again into the works of John Lennon and Paul McCartney next week.

Hmmmm....

LEAVE DAVID COOK. NOW>>>>>>>>

Both Cooks suck. Chikeze on a serious rebound trip after a devastating performance. I'm totally missing the appeal of the chick who did Let It Be. Smithson should be deported on the grounds of bad taste.

1. I thought Carly was the best of the night.
2. I thought David Archuleta was much better than last week. Very pretty voice.
3. Ramiele improved from forgettable to pretty good.
3. Everybody else was less than or equal to their performance last week.

I don't know how I expected Brooke to react to eventual criticism, but rudely interrupting the judges because she's JUST THAT EAGER to admit how much she sucked was weird. It was defintely her worst performance to date. Is this the first time Simon has told somebody not to branch out and to get back in their box? He was right, anyways.

Great - Nobody
Good - Carly, David A, Chikezie, Ramiele
OK Vocal, Bad Song Choice - Michael Johns, Brooke, Jason
Forgettable - Amanda, David Cook
Actually Bad - Kristy

Why is Amanda the VFTW pick? Kristy is so much worse.

& Syesha - better than last week, but still so forgettable you actually forgot her!

Syesha was really great, I thought.

Yeah, that is pretty forgettable! I'd put her in the forgettable group, but ahead of Amanda. I like her, but she's going home some time in the next couple weeks and she probably deserves it.

Syesha's "Yesterday" was probably my favorite of the night. I missed the first four performers (which I guess turned out to be Kristy, Amanda, Michael and David Archuleta...none of which I find myself liking anyway), so my least favorite based on what I saw was Carly. WHY ARE PEOPLE SO ON HER JOCK? Four weeks ago when she did Heart, it was...okay. But everything she's done since has blown leprechauns. She oversings everything and makes her vocals and instrumentation all bloody in a fight with each other.

Oh, and David Cook ruined another Beatles song. Bravo! I think "Hello" three weeks ago must've been a fluke.

Personally, I really like the way that Carly is basically Celine Dion pretending to be a rocker chick. But I've found her performances to be extremely up and down.

It's too bad her solo career didn't work out six years ago, because it seemed to be heading in the right direction (although I'm a big Gregg Alexander/Danielle Brisebois fan and she was their pet project). But now, I dunno...it's like you said. She's Celine trying to be a rocker, and that's someone no one needs.

although I'm a big Gregg Alexander/Danielle Brisebois fan and she was their pet project

whoa! didn't know that...

either way, as i've said before, i hate her because, like Celine, she's sings with no soul.

and i really hate this group...so much that i'm actually genuinely wanting kristy lee cook to move on, because the rest bore me, because she seems super nice...ultimately, i'm kinda rooting for archuleta, though i thought he was overrated last night. and i agree with paula re: ramiele--if she picks more dusty-ish songs, she'd win me over. but mostly, i'm just rooting against david cook.

Here's Carly's old video "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind"...totally sounds like a New Radicals outtake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0xEvNlF42I

I just watched last night's ep and tonight's results show (thanks torrents) and last night sucked, but at least Amanda's gone...she was buggin me. If the whole VFTW thing can't work to save someone when there are 11 contestants and the voting is spread pretty thin, I'm not sure how effective they are at all.

-I'm already getting tired of David Archuleta...he's a little too "cute" and can't seem to sing anything but ballads.

-I'm actually digging the David Cook experience. I HATED Daughtry, but I pretty consistently have enjoyed David Cook so far.

-What was up with Simon's criticism of Carly's song choice: "Of all the Beatles songs blah blah blah, you picked the one about a black bird"? Waht?

I agree with what's been said about the group, they are a bit sterile and leave me cold. Even if they are the Most Talented Group Ever (TM)(C)

I totally preferred Melinda and a few others from last year over this bunch.

-I'm already getting tired of David Archuleta...he's a little too "cute" and can't seem to sing anything but ballads.

Really? I LOVED "Shop Around." Those last notes? the ones with the intentional stutter/echo effect? AWESOME

also, i miss season five

Archuleta and both Cooks suck really bad.

Yeah so it turns out I don't think I really like any of these people. I guess I'm still watching cause I like seeing Brooke White cry haha.

Nobody cares :( I almost died when Kristy sang "God Bless the USA"! It should only be sung on July 4th and after national tragedies.

Probable bottom 3:

Chikezie
Ramiele
Carly or Kristy

KRISTY WAS A GENIUS TONIGHT. I can't stand that song, but all those right wing country fans will eat it up...I assume that's what Simon was referring to...she nailed her niche. Also, she sounded good.

Oh, and Syesha did a r. good job with one of my all-time favorite songs, though it wasn't as good as Tamyra's...needed a bit more soul...still awesome though.

Yeah, Kristy was smart to sing that. I hate it, but I know I'm in the minority.

Ramiele will likely get the boot, but I think David Archuleta could possibly end up in the bottom 3.

CARLY IS PREGNANT (maybe)

(supposedly one of the contestants is, and all the bloggers think it's Carly, which makes sense and might even explain that odd bathroom remark)

She seems the most likely to be.

Brooke to perform http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46QAjaCg5Yc this in tribute.

Last night was probably the first full episode I've watched all year, and I was kinda surprised by how good most of them were overall, if never great. I never heard the Chris Cornell version of "Billie Jean," was that where David Cook got the arrangement from?

Thought that overall this was a pretty good week.

Performance Ranking:
Great: (Nobody)
Good: David Cook, Brooke, David A.
Pretty Good, but Getting Boring: Jason
OK Vocal, Bad Song Choice: Carly
Forgettable: Syesha, Chikezie
Bad: Kristy, Michael, Ramiele

Sometimes I hate America:

David Cook is not Chris Cornell, but that version is better than the Michael Jackson version.

Seriously, what is wrong with people?

Oh, and Syesha did a r. good job with one of my all-time favorite songs, though it wasn't as good as Tamyra's...needed a bit more soul...still awesome though.

Too bad Tamyra was on season 1...if she had been on any other season, I think AI would have had the means to build her up as a star.

David Cook is in this until the end, I think. If not legitimately, then with some tinkering and manipulation by AI's producers. They're very aware of missing out on Daughtry's post-show success and want to make sure it doesn't happen a second time.

Bye, Chikezie...David Archuleta, this is your fault!

he is the voice

I was afraid Ramiele was going to round out the bottom three instead of Jason...how awkward would that have been!

I think i'm saying this for the third time or something, but if you replaced david hernandez, kristy lee cook, carly and syesha (or ramiele) with alexandrea, asia'h, alaina and danny n., this season would have been the best/most interesting ever.

Ramiele has been so boring all year. What does anyone see in her?

I do think the cuts are going to get very interesting in about 3-4 weeks.

She gets the Momus vote?

What does anyone see in her?

You didn't like "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me"?

Also, thank god for hte return of the songwriting contest...just like blake lewis last year, david cook will most likely be screwed

extended version of one of my favorite performances from last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxf2ArngDyg

Weird, I don't even remember her.

RIP Elliot Yamin's awesome mom :(

Are people not watching this anymore? Tonight's episode was decent.

Best: Michael Johns

Worst: Ramiele

Massively overrated: Carly, David A

Also, can someone please teach Brooke how to accept criticism a bit more passively? It's starting to get annoying.

I missed seeing Brooke and Cook, but out of everyone else I saw I hate to say it, but Archuleta was kind of the awesomest this week. Michael Johns a very close second.

The criticisms of Syesha were so completely wrong.

yeah, especially on Simon's part. that was just his hatred of dolly parton and his absurdly overblown love of whitney houston combined. he was super-annoying tonight.

Pleasant surprise for me was the first half of Syesha. Unpleasant non-surprise was the last half of Syesha. I thought the night was OK actually.

Performance Ranking
Great: (none, yet again)
Good: Carly, Jason Castro, David Cook
Good, then Bad: Syesha
Pretty Good, But Getting Boring: David A
OK Vocal, Bad Song Choice: (none)
Forgettable: Kristy
Bad: Brooke, Michael
Terrible: Ramiele

Ramiele was terrible, wtf. No one I heard was terrible except for the Australian dude, and he was only terrible because I hate his stupid face and want him gone.

The end of Syesha's song was great. People have absolutely no idea how difficult what she did actually was.

The fact that she did it poorly was one indication of how difficult it was!

Syesha's big finish sounded difficult and definitely took skill, but it did not sound good. The right flourish at the right moment would've made all the difference, without that it lost whatever charm and subtlety she established with the first half of the song.

The right flourish would have opened her up to even more criticisms about aping Whitney Houston, who does nothing but flourish on that.

Obviously that would then be the wrong flourish, not the imaginary right one I was referring to.

lol, pwned

Sorry, I just didn't care for the second half of her performance. I said she was Good then Bad, but it was more like Good then Less Good. I think her voice is better suited to quietness and think she tries to excessively overpower the notes.

Ramiele has been bad or forgettable every single week since "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". I've now conceded that was a massive fluke (much like Chikezie's "She's a Woman").

I agree with the person above who said this season had the potential to be the best with some replacements. Still angry about Alaina, Danny N, and Alexandrea's eliminations.

I'll give you one of those: Alexandrea.

Plz to explain how Danny N continuing to be on my tv set would be a good thing.

So long Rameiele. At least you had one good performance, which is better than most early finals cannon fodder can say. Even though I like her more than Michael Johns and Kristy and Syesha, I can't really say she didn't deserve to go.

Plz to explain how Danny N continuing to be on my tv set would be a good thing.

UHHH....not to mention this

damn, missed this

Don't like:
David Cook
Michael Johns
Carly Smithson
Syesha Mercado
Kristy Lee Cook

Bored by:
Jason Castro
Brooke White

:(

Who's the Australian douchebag? He's the only one I actively hate; Kristy is actually good but is totally not my bag and not nearly as good as everyone else who made the finals.

That's Michael Johns...

"Eight Days A Week" has become a running joke on our newspaper. Whenever someone says something stupid, I put it on, and everyone groans and tries to turn off my computer. I'm the only one who finds the joke funny.

Re: Danny N

Yeah, he's just as annoying as I'd remembered. I couldn't take that shit every week.

House is on Mondays now?? What happens when Heroes comes back on????

oh shitttt, so excited about wild card rumor (supposedly five contestants will compete on idol gives back night to join the tour, including amanda, david h. and three other top 24 people)

Okay, I'd still buy Brooke's record or whatever and I still think she's got a great voice, but goddamn...I AM SICK OF HER BEING ON THE SHOW. If she's not crying, she's talking too much. And she picks boring songs, or sings good songs boringly.

Syesha tonight, w00t!

Douchebag of America - Jason Castro

http://neighborsgoblog.dallasnews.com/castroinbluejeans.jpg

The sad thing is that he was probably in the top third of tonight's performances (meaning it was a mostly stinky round).

You know it's a crappy night when Kristy Lee Cook has one of the better performances. And both the Davids sucked pretty hard.

Also, rule #1 of Idol: never sing anything another Idol contestant has done. Has that ever gone well?

when lakisha sang "and i'm telling you" (though that was nothing compared to jennifer hudson and frenchie davis, regardless of what simon says)

I meant sing an Idol single, not just a song another contestant has done before. The latter happens so often that it's neither here nor there.

Although yeah, I will agree that if a song has been DONE (aka Summertime, Natural Woman, A Song For you) on the show it should really never be performed again. But doing Idol singles, whether they were the coronation songs or not, has never been a good choice IIRC.

It is amazing how incomparably bad this season is. I really can't say much good about any of the contestants. No season even comes close.

Of course, the show is still endlessly entertaining. David Cook's reveal of "Give Back" --written in magic marker on his palm-- may have been the most hilariously douchebaggy thing I've ever seen.

Both remaining Cooks are an embarrassment to music, tv and, quite frankly, humanity in general.

well they spoiled my broth, that's for sure.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

THANK YOU AMERICA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

FUCK THAT DOUCHEBAG WITH RABID WOLVERINES

"You're such a nice guy" AND ALSO A GIGANTIC TOOLOSAURUS

David A. creeps me way out.

Yes.

everytime I see him I think of that episode of Silver Spoons where Ricky met Menudo.

So this is real?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chXEraRnE4o

They changed the words of the song. The original starts: "my jesus, my saviour, lord there is none like you."

I missed that but my wife was lolling at it on my behalf.

Still really fucking happy btw.

wtf @ Ryan's "Last season we didn't eliminate anyone during idol gives back week. This week......................WE ARE"

(I mean, that's not terrible to do pre-elimination, but he said it right after the elimination)

Ryan hates Michael Johns as much as I do!

They didn't change the words to "Shout to the Lord" btw, they just started from the middle.

Good to see Michael Johns go though. And wtf is up with Kristy Lee Cook suddenly being pretty good? Mariah Carey night just feels like a bad idea to me, especially with this group of people. Well, it's a good draw for David A and for Syesha anyways. V. curious to see what Jason Castro pulls out.

Also, will David Cook rock out Mariah Carey? The mind boggles.

Mariah Carey rocks more than David Cook could ever hope to. The guy is a total tool.

Can you believe they are actually doing a Mariah Carey week? Craziest f*********** thing I've ever heard.

Castro's gonna do "Butterfly" I bet.

David A = I'll Be There

it's a shame "Touch My Body" is probably too new for anyone to sing, there isn't a single contestant who wouldn't be absolutely hysterical singing it.

Brooke White for "Touch My Body"!

Bill Magill, you have obviously misinterpreted my comment. I am just wondering if David Cook will try to do a rock cover of a Mariah song. I was issuing no judgment on David Cook (who I like OK) or Mariah Carey (who I like a lot).

Gotcha-sorry.

Confirm/deny: David A wearing leather pants? David C wearing a WristStrong bracelet?

No comments on the performances tonight? Here's my thoughts.

David A - I thought his vocal was good, and it was apparently a really tough song. But the song itself sucks, and he has little stage presence and he's getting kinda boring. It was OK, I guess I'm saying

Carly - I thought this was a lot better than the judges gave her credit for. It sounded like a pretty serviceable performance of the song to me. It didn't blow me away but I enjoyed it.

Syesha - This was a bad week for her, because her only option is to try to ape Mariah and she's not as good as Mariah. I assume that's why she chose such an obscure song. I like the song though, and I thought this performance was technically good but boring, like I usually do with Syesha.

Brooke White - Again, I thought this was better than the judges did. I don't mind when Brooke goes off melody or out of tune, and I love her vocal quality and I think she's a great performer. I thought this was really good.

Kristy Lee Cook - Once again, another pretty good but forgettable performance and one that should save her another week.

David Cook - Overpraised? I dunno, I liked the arrangement a lot and he got the emotion of the song but I thought the vocal was pretty mediocre. This is a singing competition, not a song arranging competition, right? That said, I did enjoy the performance and it was probably one of the top 10 or so of the season.

Jason Castro - More of the same with Jason. He's getting kinda boring, though he gave a stirring emotional performance.

Good: Brooke, David Cook
Pretty Good, And Not Boring: Carly
Pretty Good, But Pretty Boring: David A, Jason
Forgettable: Syesha, Kristy
Bad: Nobody! I thought everybody was at least OK this week.

Predicted Bottom Three: Brooke, Carly, Syesha
Going Home: Syesha (I refuse to predict Brooke to go home)

D. Cook=horrific. i hate that kind of music, he needs to go, but he won't

I'd have to think that a David Cook/David Archuleta final 2 is the overwhelming favorite right now.

David A needs to mix it up a bit...I think after We Can Work It Out, he's been shying away from uptempo. But he's trying to capture the hearts of the "tween" (eww marketer speak) crowd and they're into the super-peppy High School Musical/Hannah Montana stuff so I see a slight issue. But then again I say this almost ever year.

Also, tonight there's the top 7, which means the infamous 'group of 3 + group of 3 + 1 safe person who has to pick a side' elimination ep...

This year it will be extremely obvious who is the top 3 and who is the bottom 3. I wonder if they will still bother to do it.

I like both Davids, and it was fun seeing David A lose his falsetto virginity on live television.

I was fooled by the David Cook switchup! They made me think Brooke was safe. Damn show.

Those crafty bastards!!

Andrew Lloyd Webber week is going to be a train wreck. I don't see how they could have thought this would be a good idea. The big ticket song for this week is "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". I wonder which contestant gets to snag that one.

The themes this year have been wack. I have seen literally 5 or so musicals in my life (unless you count animated films or Newsies) so I can't speculate re: what's the big ticket but a friend of mine who is a fan of the theatre *does snide jazz hands* says Memory from Cats will be the "get" song. If I had to guess, I would say:

-Syesha or Carly: Don't Cry For Me Argentina?
-David A: some song no one's ever heard of
-David C: something from Jesus Christ Superstar?

Dolly Parton was an awesome choice, but otherwise, yeah, not too impressed with the themes this year (then again, i'm not impressed with many of the remaining contestants either). Could they ever get Prince week? Bowie week? Madonna week? One Hit Wonder week?

One week of Beatles was a good theme, though the second week was a terrible idea. I liked Dolly Parton week. Mariah week was a bad idea. Never been a fan of "songs from the year you were born", specially if there was already a 70s and 80s week in the semifinals. Speaking of which, adding themes to the semifinals was a really bad idea. I hope they are doing away with that.

Beatles week #1 was definitely terrific. It's been pretty much downhill since that though.

Prince week would be AWESOME

No surprise Syesha and Archuleta did well tonight, this is definitely comfortable ground for them.

Carly only did well because ALW picked a better song for her! Weird that she just doesn't seem to know what songs are good for her.

"Music of the night" was perfect for David Cook, but I did want a little more grit in the vocals, especially when he got to the title lyric.

I think Jason is a goner, that was shy and timid to the point of bedwetting.

And oh Brooke, Brooke, Brooke. You knew something melodramatic was going to happen when she can't even keep it together in the interview segment. It was intensely dramatic and rather uncomfortable, but certainly not boring.

this is still on?

If the voters are right, it should be Jason, Brooke & Syesha in the bottom three. Syesha was definitely the best of the "bottom three" (and better than David A but clearly I'm in the minority in not being enamored with him) but the moment I heard she was going first I knew she was in trouble, regardless of how well she did.

I think Brooke's time is up...every week she seems more and more petrified and on edge. I think it's her and Jason leaving.

I think the definite stand-out of the night was Carly's dress...hottttt!

Also, I must add that ALW was pretty otm with his observations, and I'm glad he spared us Carly doing another little ballad.

I was a little bit dissapointed that noone chose a song from "Starlight Express".

Also, the ALW songbook has so many gazillions of songs - thank God he made Carly do JCSS - Fuck Phantom of the Opera!

Syesha's song = Starlight Express song?

OMG - was it?! I thought I knew that soundtrack by heart!

Obviously you are not the Starlight Express fan you thought you were.

I am an ALW/ Starlight Express charlatan. :(

hated the Brooke/Evita song because it was WAY too Madonna. I really only loved the last guys Phantom song because it was a surprise.
(Besides Syesha, who was the best.)
But I only started watching this season Idol tonight, so...

What was the big flub I keep hearing about?

Brooke sang one line of her song, forgot the next line, and asked the band to stop. After she started again she didn't miss any other lyrics but you could see this look of complete terror on her face throughout. Not to mention that her performance wasn't very good. But based on the fact that Jason Castro is the only contestant who didn't make the Google Trends list yesterday, I think Brooke might be safe for another week.

yeah, it was kind of a repeat of Brooke's "Every Breath You Take" re-start, except she got way further into the first line than she did last time, and it wasn't just her on piano at the beginning of the song so she had to, like, ask the band to stop and start over.

D. Cook sucked. Smithson was the best, but that might only be because the song kicks so much ass. Castro was an utter embarrassment.

I don't know why I'm addicted to this show.

xposts is it on youtube?!

That song (D. Cook's) sucks! No one can actually sing it and it's super fucking embarrassing. The entire time I was having horrifying Michael Crawford flashbacks and twitchig.

That song is so cheesy and horrible that it ends up being FANTASTIC. "Music of the Night" is like the Showgirls of Broadway.

nm i found it

wow

I will give kudos and thanks for the immense roffles of watching David Cook uncomfortably croon his sexiest voice at Andrew Lloyd Weber, though.

I used to work with a lounge singer who sang "Music Of The Night" so I have a weird attachment to that ridiculous, ridiculous song and I thought Cook did a good job with it, he finally found a song that's compatible with his range and didn't grunge up the arrangement.

I know the low notes are supposed to be all pervy-groaned and stuff but it really, really, REALLY irritated me that he didn't sing them. I blame that more on the song than him, though.

Man, I loved David Cook's performance! Never been much of a fan of his, but I thought he did a really really good job with this song. Best of the night for me.

haha this bottom two is bonkers

I am shocked and delighted that Brooke missed the Bottom 2. Pretty hilarious that probably the two best performances end up in the bottom 2. (Brooke's was one of the most interesting and enjoyable performances, but by no means one of the best).

That was crazy!! But the top is almost definitely the Davids, so the order that the other three leave is almost immaterial at this point, no?

Um - did the president appear on AI tonight - on the heels of his deal or no deal appearance?

I'm really having a hard time with George Dubya Bush all of a sudden popping up on television shows.

this was the best results show

Right, there's no order that 3-6 could leave in that would be surprising or would really mean anything. They're all just cannon fodder at this point.

So dumb. And the Davids suck.

lol Paula

It's true, then, that everybody has stopped caring about this season (including me). For the record, I thought Brooke's second performance was the best of the night, but this was yet another pretty bad week.

less than a month till "so you think you can dance" begins though :)

Basically, unless something drastic happens everyone knows it's David vs David at this point, so why bother watching?

the journey is the reward

If this is a reward, i'd hate to see the punishment.

I'm still holding hope that Brooke might have the chance to do "Hello It's Me".

Jason Castro stays again? He's becoming sort of an embarrassment.

Brooke's elimination was as sad and as dramatic as I expected it to be. Even as a big Brooke White fan, it's not too big a deal for her to go home, she was clearly becoming unraveled. Still though it was sad.

she had a great song (lyrically) to sing out on though, probably my favorite ND song.

I loved Brooke at the beginning, and I won't fault her for being as emotional as she is, but I was getting really tired of seeing it play out on tv every week. She'll make a good first record, but I'm glad I don't have to watch her anymore.

Whoa, Brooke CRIED at the end? holy shit, no one anticipated that! She's like a girlfriend on Seinfeld or something.

Gennice: Oh, yeah, she'll be here....(DROPS HOT DOG) Oh no, my frankfurter, my frankfurter fell (sob sob sob sob). It was really good. I can't believe that I dropped it. (sob sob sob sob)

Jerry: It's okay...it's just a hot dog, (still sobbing) everything is going to be okay.

Gennice: No it (sob) was really good.

seriously. I predicted a crying mess of an ending at the beginning of the hour, and my expectations were exceeded.

Glad she's gone. WHo does Castro have incriminating info on in the AM. Idol executive suite?

i've never voted for idol, but jason castro may be the hottest dude on there in awhile, so maybe all the young dudettes are voting for him.

Jason Castro: Secretly Worse Than Sanjaya

truth bomb

Syesha really got over those tears quickly. I know when I start crying my nose runns and I start hiccuping. Luckily she didn't have that problem! How fortuitous!

:)

This season is like the definition of 'WTF'

this is more rigged than the 1919 World Series. Is Archuleta's mom blowing R. Jackson or something? He's a bit over the top in his praise for Mr. Missing Chromosome.

The elimination of Brooke has caused me to lose slight interest in the show. This is the first time since season 4 in which I have intentionally skipped watching a finals performance show I otherwise could have watched. I mean, the only reason I skipped it was cause I was so busy, but if Brooke were still alive I would have found a way to swing it.

I missed an ep or 2. What was the deal with Jason "wanting" to be voted off (mouthing "don't vote" and stuff)?

Paula's song choice for Archuleta...erm.

There's a very good piece in EW today about what needs to happen to American Idol (and soon) if they want anyone to care after this season. Specifically, providing a way for Randy and Paula to leave the show with their dignity intact. They aren't judges, they're non-sequitur dispensers.

I nominate Sheila E., because she was awesome (and a credible judge to boot) on The Next Great American Band. And if they can't find anyone else for Randy's spot, they could maybe bring along Johnny Goo Goo Rzeznik from that same show too. At least he's more coherent than Randy.

There's a very good piece in EW today about what needs to happen to American Idol (and soon) if they want anyone to care after this season.

Not lost 95% of its good contestants before the top 12?

I think Paula serves her purpose well. Randy, on the other hand, is absolutely pointless. He's not mean enough to be funny, warm enough to be a comforting presence for the contestants, or objective enough to be at all worth listening to.

song spoilerzzzzzz

David C - Simon's choice: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"/free choice: Collective Soul - "The World I know".
Syesha - Randy's choice: Alicia Keys - "If I Ain't Got You"
David A - Paula's choice: Billy Joel - "And So It Goes" (the official Mormon song of AI)

I've decided that the judges are infinitely more tolerable if you pretend that they are in on a conspiracy to get David A out by artificially building up the audience's confidence in his inevitability.

MORE SPOILERS:

OH JESUS CHRIST, GUYS: David A. is singing Dan Fogelberg's "Longer"

And look! No need to wonder what Syesha will sound like

Why didn't Archuleta substitute 'boo' with 'girl'?

Archuleta doing that song with those lyrics (pretty little figure?) was nauseating. Glad to see the judges finally be ever so slightly critical of him. And what was up with Syesha tonight? She seemed a bit manic in her banter/etc with Ryan tonight.

Randy has definitely been a big waste of space this season...first telling DC that he should have done a rock song instead of mixing up an RnB song, then telling DC that Aerosmith was predictable? And when he was praising David A's last performance, it was as if they switched up his cue cards, "eh, innnnteresting song choice...but it was a hot one tonight!!!!1". Even the audience didn't seem to believe it enough to cheer.

And what was up with Syesha getting her text message in the comfort of her limo? No big crowds, no morning program, no Official Syesha Mercado Day?

WTF? Did everyone else see a completely different performance of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"? Because the one I saw was awful. He didn't have the range or the power to deliver or even cut through, plus was just painfully flat on the big dramatic close.

I thought his last note was flat but then I think that's just his stylistic choice (for better or for worse)...he starts out flat and moves up to hit the right pitch. I think he did the same thing during the first song, so either he's making the same mistake over and over or else he's doing it intentionally.

I didn't think his last performance was all that great either, but compared to the other two he was definitely the best of the night.

compared to the other two he was definitely the best of the night

I actually have to concede this, but the standing ovation was a bit much. Tonight, there were no winners.

I seem to be the only person around who thinks Syesha's "Fever" was really, really good.

It was so campy though. She's way too much of an actress to be tolerable in anything but theatre.

Have they announced what the winning finale song is yet? I expected them to do it tonight.

and ohmigod Simon's expression during Fantasia's performance

This had to have been the worst television episode of all time.

http://i26.tinypic.com/20jjsdt.jpg

that put it near the top of the eps this season

To the finale's credit, it's definitely going to be one of the most suspenseful ones there's ever been, and I've heard that they are going to shake things up, presumably letting David C rearrange whatever crap song he's given. And it's on my birthday!

I'm still worried that David A is going to win though.

Why the hell would you NOT want him to win?!?!?!?!?!

Because he is not a fraction as good as people think he is. He can't sing anything uptempo, and he puts a 5k run into every line he sings. He seems like a nice kid and all but give me a break.

Bullshit. First off, the uptempo Shop Around is probably his best performance of the season. Second, I don't know wtf you're talking about with the "5k run" statement...The past two weeks, he's given some fucking beautiful performances, first with Love Me Tender and second withAnd So It Goes. There's more understatement in those than there is vocal gymnastics. See also the very stunning Smoky Mountain Memories. He's really special. Also, and perhaps most importantly, he's up against a guy who covers Switchfoot.

Tape Store, are you playing the role of a David A lover just for funsies? Because it almost comes across as a piece of performance art. If so, bravo!

If he wins, who cares. David Cook will sell more records over a longer period of time regardless.

Not completely, though i cribbed that "he is special" line from this fanatic on the AI board. I'm really baffled by this David Cook love. Anyone want to explain?

I am too. I don't particularly love David Cook, but I do think he is a nice guy. I'd have liked to see Syesha in the finals instead, because she might've needed the help.

I'm thinking back on all the top 12 this year, and the only one I really still have good feelings about is Chikezie (and he only got to perform three times). I would say Brooke too, except she forced me to hate her.

His performance of "Shop Around" was good, but the only other uptempo number I can remember him doing was "We Can Work It Out" and boy was that a duff one. And you're being a bit selective...if you want a prime example of his inability to shorten up his phrasing (even Paula called him out on it ffs) his performance of "Stand By Me" would be exhibit A. Is he really going to be a success outside of the context of AI?

David C has really grown on me this season, and I genuinely look forward to seeing what he does every week. The only David A performance I remember being excited about was "With You" because I really wanted to hear him sing "I need you, boo". And if David C wins, this will officially be the first time the person I rooted for throughout the finals actually wins (Tamyra, Clay, LaToya, Nadia, Paris, Blake, etc).

I think you should listen to his studio version of We Can Work It Out...not bad at all.

^^^could have been cast as Zac Efron character in Hairspray

I just hate his voice! He's always on the verge of being out of breath, and not in a good way.

I've heard Stevie's version wayyyyyyyy to many times to even process David A's version as anything but white noise. Stevie's version was the MOLTEN HOT LAVA BOMB OF ALL TIME Y'ALL.

I'd say David A has a very pleasing timbre, but his dynamic range and vocal register feels pretty restrictive. Every song he sings feels a bit too boxed in and comfortable for me. But I don't think the producers would be too upset if he won, as he seems willing to play by the "rules" of the industry, and sing whatever hunk of innocuous cheese they write for him while not forgetting to emote in a professional way. As AMG put it in one of their roundups, he's a "hermetically sealed robot dolphin in a snow globe."

david a. kind of looks like someone's blind neighbor that ends up getting molested. the kid creeps me out when he sings.

Dear journalists, David Cook is not "emo" kthx

Finale spoilerzzzzzz (may be wrong though)

DA - Imagine again
DC - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Coronation song - will suck

okay this is the second time that all the extra spaces I've added to push the spoilers down screen disappeared, sorry if it bugs anyone.

VOTE ARCHIE ARCHULETA! :)

Looks like the judges have a clear winner in their mind

Cook should know that a coronation song needs a glory note at the end so the judges can imagine where the confetti/fireworks explosion will be.

Uh, Simon was on Cook's side before tonight. Archuleta is just out-performing him.

"just an opinion"

:)

jesus fucking christ

i mean seriously what the fuck????????????????????????????????

Archuleta will win this by a landslide, I think.

Cook will have the more successful career.

Yeah, definitely on both counts.

phew, done voting.

^^ Exhibit A

I think Archuleta sucks. But if I had my way, the final would have been Johns v. Chikeze.

Did Randy Jackson's cliche generator break earlier this season? Aren't there other things David A can sing besides the phone book?? Cereal boxes, handicapped parking signs, take out menus...

Randy has certainly become cartoonishly 2-D (Barry Bruner still OTM above) this season. He called last night "the battle of 2007" and no one seemed to notice.

And also, I think he's just bored with the show this year, and it's showing in his critiques.

roffles @ Mikalah Gordon and Matt Rogers...Did they intentionally pick the most annoying contestants ever?

omg guys george michael got old!

fuck this! i hope you guys adore the forthcoming switchfoot tribute.

haha this was awesome

What an asshole! (David C.)

I was sad that Jeff Archuleta wasn't more visibly disappointed with the results. I wanted to see him pitch a fit after his money train came in second.

omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg

Congratulations Puffy Thom Yorke! Now that you've won please stop wearing a guitar as a prop. Play it or I swear to god I will find you and make you eat it. That is all!

GREATEST THING EVER OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

I was really pissed that dadchuleta didn't look pissed though. That reaction shot was roughly 27% of the reason I voted for DC.

I was looking forward to the rumored DC/Mariah duet, but oh well. And Carly & Michael's duet was really outstanding.

omigod y'all I am really fucking happy.

And Carly & Michael's duet was really outstanding.

Best part of the entire 2-hour show.

^^ I was going to say the same exact thing - it made me wish they were the final two.

I did enjoy David's winning moment/sing-out, much more than I would have expected.

The song is a lot better than last year's. Is it getting a physical release?

Randy has certainly become cartoonishly 2-D (Barry Bruner still OTM above) this season. He called last night "the battle of 2007" and no one seemed to notice.

Maybe I should mention that I was commenting on Randy's surprisingly rapid weight loss during that season? But he's definitely "2D" in other ways too, so I still agree with you!

Randy has always been the judge with the biggest identity crisis ... Simon is the mean (but perceptive) judge, Paula is the nice judge, and Randy falls somewhere in the middle but even he can't figure out exactly where. There were plenty of times this season that it felt as though he was being contrarian just for the sake of saying the opposite of what people might expect him to say.

Randy's supposed to be the judge who speaks to the musical component of the performance. Lately he's been the judge who's a bigger waste of space than Paula.

well, it appears that all that time my wife, mother-in-law, and i spent dialing 40 votes for DC paid off...

I've really been pondering the psychology that went behind Tuesday's ep. Did the judges really want DA to win? Was it some sort of reverse psych to mobilize DC's fans? Tuesday's ep seemed like the David Archuleta show..."winning" every round and so on. But on Wednesday, it was David Cook's night from the beginning; a Nickelback song as the duet that was obviously in his wheelhouse, and he got the best lines IMO on Heaven (and his one opening line was DIVINE) and Father Figure. And before I get too fangirly I must say DC is the king of stealing the show with one line...remember the "Don't Stop the Music" performance on Idol Gives Back?

237 days until AI8! See ya then!

So disappointing!

to thoses who don,t think david archuleta is talented, you have a hearing problem. that boy is only 17 years old and singing like that... hats off to you david... as for david cook... as far as i,m concerned i think he did decerve to win but in my opionon they both deserve to have won... there is no dought in my mind that david archuleta will end up with a contract of his own.... BUT DAVID,S DAVID NEED,S TO BUT OUT... and let his son sing his heart out.... great season as always....looking forward to season 8 in january... barb young lloydminster,alberta, canada

it is amazing how the DC fans have nothing but hate for DA, but DA fan respect and like DC. what is it that make you DC fans feel the only way someone can win is by make the other a losser, DA is clearly the better signer, DC is a nice guy and a good entertainer. just like Clay Akins, was a much better signer the Rubin, but Rubin had an appeal with the audiance. Hopefully DC will have a better post idol run then Rubin, but he is not going to do on vocals, it will be on entertaining.

Are you getting those from the Zaba predictions site? I had to stop reading it at work because I was starting to choke with laughter.

Any dude that duets with ZZ Top, and doesn't look like a fool in the presence of their sheer awesomeness, is ok in my book.

Archuleta just signed to Jive!

Okay, so final thoughts on the season? Keeping in mind that my memories are slightly rose-tinted due to the first time in history my favorite actually won (and I love scrolling through this thread and seeing how my opinion of DC went from prick->amazing), I think this really was one of the best groups the show has had. I'm even considering going to one of the tour stops, which had never even crossed my mind in the past 7 years. I think the finale sealed it for me...there was Archie doing Apologize, and for the first time EVER I saw him doing something contemporary. Brooke and Jason were lovely and completely in their element, and Carly and MJ were totally fierce (sorry, but I have to use that word). In retrospect, rather than in earlier seasons where I gave contestants too much credit, I feel that I underestimated people this time around, like Chikezie and Carly (and Cook in the beginning). Even Kristy Lee was improving week by week.

Fav 5 performances (no particular order):

-Chikezie: She's A Woman
-David Cook: Hello
-Michael Johns: It's All Wrong But It's All Right
-Carly Smithson: Superstar
-Jason Castro: Daydream

:( What is on TV this summer? Should I start watching SYTYCD?

I'd say it was a decent season, definitely better than last year. I ended up liking Cook more than I did in the beginning of the year. I would've liked to have seen Michael/Carly go farther than Jason/Syesha, but you can't have everything.

SYTYCD was great fun the past two years.

Ok, so over a month later, I still think Archuleta deserved to win, but OMG re: interviews. He's wayyyyyy too pure. So ridiculous. I might cover the Kansas City concerts, but I don't even know if I would want to talk to him.

Also, that David Cook song should be in a Budweiser commercial.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9827594?source=most_emailed

lol

that setlist is terrible, btw

I think i'm saying this for the third time or something, but if you replaced david hernandez, kristy lee cook, carly and syesha (or ramiele) with alexandrea, asia'h, alaina and danny n., this season would have been the best/most interesting ever.

-- Tape Store, Friday, March 28, 2008 12:42 AM (3 months ago) Bookmark Link

Michael/Carly doing "Pride" is probably great.

I went to the Tacoma concert last night...my seats were ridic, 3rd row, in the aisle right next to the catwalk. I could see their pimples, sweat, razorburn, and in Syesha's case, up her dress. Good times. Brooke's parents were sitting right by us, and were as lovely as you can imagine. When Brooke was performing her mother was smiling so hard I thought her face was going to split open.

-worst solo set: Syesha; everyone else sounded a lot better live, but she just cannot stay in tune
-best solo set: Carly
-the "i surprisingly didn't hate it" award goes to Kristy, whose set I enjoyed and whose new single is pretty good too (weird, huh)
-Chikezie was sweating something fierce
-every single one of the females was about 50%+ covered in glitter and sparkles, and even the guys were getting in on it somewhat
-Brooke cannot rock heels, she kept looking at her feet during the group performance
-only one group performance? (the Pride performance only included the Chikezie through Brooke)
-and David Cook didn't do Always Be My Baby??
-no encores???
-and way too many commercials and promotion things, I mean, come on, I am not going to cheer on a dancing poptart
-number of 10 year olds I elbowed so I could stand against the railing for David Cook: many

Kristy already has a single?! I'm off to Youtube!

Oh, and what was the best current cover? Last year, Gina surprised me with a pretty fantastic version of "Who Knew."

Ramiele's version of "If I Never See Your Face Again" was actually very good. And David A did "Apologize" again, which I absolutely loved during the finale.

Also, I forgot to mention that people kept throwing these orange wristbands that say "DAVID IS MY IDOL" at the Davids. There was a cute David A moment where he picked up a bunch of them and was asked "what am I supposed to do with these?".

*picked up a bunch of them and was asked "what am I supposed to do with these?"

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/AFoDA/davidarchuleta_tease.jpg

Things are going quickly! Didn't it used to take a year so or for Idol finalists to release their singles?

Guys, this is going to be a hit!

Like I LOVE this

even soft rock stations can jam it

...Elvis Duran?

Wow. I tell you. How many of us have ever felt the song you just sang. There are so many girls saying, 'Wow. He wrote that because he knows how I feel.' I hate it when they call you little because you're the biggest man in town.

I am, like, in tears. You are absolutely amazing. You have no idea. You're so talented. You're going to have an amazing career.

It reminds me a lot of Tattoo. It's not a Stargate prod, is it?

Also, like Tattoo, if Jason Nevins gets his hands on it I will jam that remix like it's going out of style.

I was about to compare it to Tattoo!

http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap/20080825/ap_en_mu/tv_american_idol

Guys, just a warning: don't criticize Archuleta/Cook in a publication, like even a one-sentence review. You'll get emails.

Carly Smithson is joining the original guys of Evanescence, who are re-launching as a hard-rock band called The Fallen. They’ll make a formal announcement Monday in Hollywood, with a press conference and first live performance. The band’s debut song, Bury Me Alive, will be available at that time for free download at wearethefallen.com.

The lineup consists of Smithson and three of the four original members of Evanescence — guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray — as well as bassist Marty O’Brien, whose recording and touring credits include Disturbed and Kelly Clarkson.

“This band is going to be theatrical and in-your-face and huge,” Smithson says. “Everything that we do is just going to be big.”

Smithson had been working on a solo project of her own until connecting with Moody a few months ago. Now, she says, “I couldn’t be happier. Creatively we’re all on the same page. Visually, we’re all on the same page. We want a massive stage production. We watch the same TV shows, everything. It’s almost weird, that we’re like an awesome family all of a sudden.”

Good for her...she sang an Evanescence song on tour so this collaboration seems fitting.

Wooo!

Okay, so this really was top-to-bottom the best season of the show, right?

Absolutely it was. It's the only time I ever went to the concert and there's absolutely no way I would have sat through the top 10 of any other season. There were some people I really loved last season but weighing that against having to sit through Michael Sarver/Megan Joy/others who I thankfully have forgotten it didn't outweigh the bad. Even the "bad" ones of season 7 (IMO Kristy Lee and Syesha) were rarely trainwrecks and capable of very good performances. I have noticed the conspicuous lack of "this is our best group ever" from Ryan this season.

I have noticed the conspicuous lack of "this is our best group ever" from Ryan this season.

Ryan, nor any judge, nor anyone else associated with the show in any way has said that, on camera or off. They know they fucked up S9 in a huge way.

5 > 7 imo

Just for anyone who needs the flashback but Danny Noriega is over here now...

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/02/25/rupauls-drag-race-season-6-premiere-react/

http://www.logotv.com/video/misc/984832/meet-the-queens-adore-delano.jhtml

Danny Archuleta has had a hell of an arc. Really enjoyed this interview.

https://www.musictimes.com/articles/101950/20240401/david-archuleta-controversial-coming-out-song-hell-together-saves-someones-life.htm

Ha, Danny. DAVID, sorry about that.