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There is zero chance David A. is going home. He's first in the public polls and they're not going to be that far off. Syesha may be this weeks sacrificial lamb even though she was solidly in the middle of the pack. Ramiele was the leader, even over Carly, for a long time in the earlier rounds, but her stock seems to be falling as well. And everyone thinks Kristy should go that I've talked to. (She should have gone earlier really.. and Alaina should still be on the show).

Brian

I think you all need to watch David A's video clip. Some pretty good singing going on for a really "bad" performance (and yes he stumbled). I wish my best days were anywhere close to his worst days.

Kevin

Kevin,

Compared to the others his entire performance was the worst, but only slightly (and by way of his forgetting the lyrics twice and not covering well) worse than David Hernandez who was truly awful but at least learned the lyrics.

Brian

The issue with David missing some lines goes back to how viciously and unceremoniously Simon and other judges cut ANYONE who forgot a single lyric during the Hollywood auditions. There was no acceptable excuse at that point in the competition.

Certainly there isn't now. David simply didn't do his homework. I don't know if it was a time element because of the photo shoots, or whether he simply got over-confident, but even if he doesn't go home, that mistake MAY have cost him the "title". It sure dampened my enthusiasm for him.

I believe I watched 10 performances. Even with his flubs, David A. was better than 1/2 the performers I saw. Since I had wandered off, my wife and daughter voted for Chikeezie and Carly 3 times each. So, David A. didn't get a vote from us.

Kevin

I think Simon said to David Cook, "If this was a talent contest instead of a popularity contest, you might just take the whole thing". If that was the case then the Irish gal with the tattooed arm, Carly, would win it all. Week after week she breaks it open but not always with the right song and she is not particularly attractive. Who was that gal last season that was heads above all the rest but was too quite, too humble, too serious?

Biker girl Amanda and Chikezie were the most fun to watch last night- both big surprises.

I hated Cristy's version of 8 days a week. It is not that great a song anyway. They wrote in like 20 minutes because they had to get a title song for their movie. Like Paul said, she has a huge fan base so she will probably not go yet.

Regarding tonight's results:

But I have a new favorite...

Who's your new favorite, Kristi?

I was surprised with the results tonight.

They're doing Lennon/McCartney again next week. And they said they'd be announcing the mentors, but they didn't.
Whaddaya think? Mentor list isn't firmed up yet?

What do you think of having them sing before they know if they're done or not? And is it Ryan that's so cruel about how he announces things - or the writers??

I think it'll be a tough week for a bunch of these kids... the ones who only knew one Beatles song and sang it - them especially. At least they've done a medley, so they know a few more now. LOL.

My daughter defended David A's lyric moment saying it wasn't forgetting, it was stress, and flubbing lines happens to everybody. Sure it does - but you cover so nobody knows what happened. (I like live albums, and a few of those show up once in a while) But you can't afford it at this stage of the game. Part of the win comes in beating the STRESS.

(who knows if I could handle that sort of stress anyway... so I'm just armchair quarterbacking here... sigh)

Linda

Surprise ending for me...He wasn't even in my bottom 3.

Me too. I thought it should be Brook or Kristy. But David H probably doesn't thrill the teeny-boppers the way some of the other guys do. Maybe he should get dreads.

He was the worst of the night (David A. aside) so the only thing that was surprising is that they voted the weakest performer of the most recent show off. I wish it was like that every week.. that would be fair and make the show far more exciting to watch if there really was a lot riding on it each week for ALL the contestants and not just the bottom 3. It was also nice that Chikezie and Amanda, after back to back great performances, rose above the bottom. Perhaps this will be a fair season before it's all over. Though David A. slid past with a train wreck.

Brian

I just spent the last hour reviewing some youtube videos of seasons 1-6 and although we can complain about the medicre talent we see, the earlier seasons - especially 1-3, had some really bad performers. I do think that the bottom 3 tonight were better than the bottom 3 in the past several years.

Boy, does Ryan look YOUNG in those early seasons...well, they all do look about 6 or 7 years younger...

OK - so are we only going to lose one per week from now on? Guess that means 10 more weeks of this....

Yep, one per week. I do wish the "Results" show was brought down to 1/2 hour.

I really don't like listening to the worst performers - we JUST got through voting to tell them we DON'T want to hear them sing any more, and then they make us listen to them again...Sheesh....

Last night my DVR somehow didn't record the show and I just caught the last 10 minutes of the show live (Ramiele and David H were on stage). I'm very glad I didn't get to hear all three of the worst performances, only David Hernandez - which was just as painful as Tuesday. It was right up there with last year's (?) Copacabana.

I do find that they drag the shows out - now we have calls from the public asking silly questions as well as performances of the bottom 3, plus ridiculous chats with the judges.

Tivo cures all the time issues...We record the performances on Tues...the show Wed....and then watch the whole thing in an hour and half at the most...skipping all the crap...the two Davids were to me by FAR the worst of the night...and David H didn't have any goodwill in his tank left, unlike David A...but a major chink in his armor appeared this week...Remember when everyone thought Lakesha was gonna run away with it last year? Chikezie had the most entertaining song of the night, who woulda thunk it?

Not everyone thought Lakesha was going to run away with it! = )

They got rid of the right guy. AOL had the right bottom 3 on their poll, but not the right one at the bottom (They had Syesha followed by Kristi followed by David). I sometimes wonder if there's a producers stipulation that they can remove someone of their choice from the bottom 3. We'll never know that of course, but it wouldn't surprise me and if that was the case, its no surprise they got rid of the infamous male dancer first. After all, they want to appeal to the Horton Hears a Who crowd.

Brian

Brian

Yeah, I normally do that with my DVR and take 1.5 hrs to watch the 2 hr show and 40 minutes for the 1 hr show. I am totally spoiled in fast-forwarding through all the commercials.

I'll have to check youtube to see if they put last night's show up there. I heard Katherine McPhee performed. How was she? (she used to be a fave of mine).

McPhee was McAwful. And don't forget, David Foster is the slime that was behind Tonos.com and many of us remember all the BS that went on there.

Brian

I'm hooked on watching the performances the day after on YouTube. A quick search under the performers name and look for the two minute video that only includes the actual performance. No intro vinette, no judging pablum ....

I don't remember the specifics about it except it was a kind of collaboration site like the defunct Rocket Network, but tonos.com doesn't even have a placeholder page any more...

Linda....my new favorite? I'm in the minority, but I like Brooke...so far to me she interprets the songs, rather than just sings them.



Yes, we have TIVO too...a lifesaver...

Oh, and yeah, I didn't get much from Katharine McPhee's performance....and she was my pick to win! I'd like to see Melinda Doolittle guest sing one week...

First, Hey Larry,

About the old shows you were reviewing...am I going cuckoo (don't answer that) or earlier had you said "BRIAN" looks so young? I thought of course you were referring to the first-season-only co-host Brian Dunkleman (Dunkledorf? don't remember exactly...which is telling in its own right...). Anyhoo, I bring it up only because I saw a commercial last night for the new season of "Celebrity Fit Club"...and guess who happens to be one of the "LOSERS"? Yup, dear old Bri.

Then, Different Brian:

You mentioned David Foster and the trouble surrounding him in the past. I know nothing about that, but again, was it my imagination or did he say to the camera, after Katherine sang "Oh Katherine's wonderful, blah blah blah...and AMERICA, YOU GOT IT RIGHT!" ? And I'm thinking, does he know that TAYLOR HICKS won that season? Maybe he'd have done a better job with the song (though in truth, I thought she did a pretty rendition...I just don't like all her contrived facial mannerisms).

Anyhoo, daughter Samantha (9) is over the moon because her BEST FRIEND Kristy didn't go home last night. She loves her because she loves horses. Sounds like just as reasonable a rationale as others I've heard!!

Ciao for now,
Beth

P.S. Try not to be too jealous...in two weeks time, we'll be going to attend our THIRD Bucky Covington concert (Same daughter's country boy from Season 5...not great on show, now very very good. His video for his song "A Different World" is up for breakthrough video of the year on CMT....)...so we are in the virtual THROES of American Idol these days. My biggest concern has been what country-ish fashions go with an orthopedic boot, splint and crutches???

Aha, clever girl! You caught me in an edit! LOL!

My post DID originally say "Brian", and then I realized I meant "Ryan" so I changed it. It couldn't have been on-line for more than a couple of minutes, so you must have caught it right after I posted it.

Yes, you ARE paying attention - and not going crazy! If it had been up longer, I would probably have left the "Mark as Edited?" checkbox alone.

I caught it too - because I'm watching this topic.
When you "watch a topic" the ORIGINAL POST is emailed to your Inbox... so all you edit-happy-posters (like me...) beware.


Linda

...big brother...er, sister is watching?

heheehee

Linda

I heard that Simon went on Oprah today and announced his top 4:

David A.
Brooke
David C
Jason C

Interesting that Carly used to be his favorite, but isn't even on the top 4 list now.

I think I like David Cook best out of those 4, but David Archuleta will probably win - unless he messes up again this week.

Interesting that Carly is not on his short list- she is the best pure singer. I saw Simon's little British diva preform on Opry's stage. I couldn't help wondering if she is his new girlfriend. She was pretty good I guess, but I couldn't understand a word she said.

Yes, Simon was very anxious to plug her to American audiences. After Oprah, I listened to several of her youtube performances on x-factor. I thought she was absolutely amazing and will be the next Mariah Carey, Whitney and will possibly give Celine Dion a run for her money. I was very impressed: she can wail, she can be heartfelt, and she can do the Mariah Carey vocal "calisthetics" in her upper register and still reach way down.

I don't know if she's his new girlfriend or not, but Simon and Clive Davis have signed her. I think she'll be a goldmine. Her name is Leona Lewis. If you want to hear an amazing voice, do a search on youtube and listen to her rendition of "Over the Rainbow". I will probably buy her CD when it comes out in the U.S. in April.

Simon hasn't been the one pushing Carly non stop since day 1. That's been Randy and Paula and Randy was the one whose label signed her way back when. Simon has been reasonably straight up with all the contestants with a couple of exceptions. It's very interesting, when you're watching for it, to see all the subtle and not so subtle manipulation they do with contestants they like and don't like. From the body language of Ryan Seacrest to the amount of stage discussion and interaction to the placement in the performance order to the pre-written commentary written before they even perform on stage and now even comments made to the press and on Oprah.

Brian

Oh my! We have been through 5 performances and 4 of them were bordering on awful. It is all about song selection, song selection, song selection (and arrangement). Everybody, except David A, has picked a song that didn't work for them or they didn't do it well. I hope it gets better.

I wished the last one who have done Richie Havens' arrangement of "Here Comes the Sun".

Kevin

Tuesday March 18 th 2008:

Carly (Blackbird) and and David A (The long and winding road) picked the right song tonight and delivered outstanding performances. Nobody else came close. The ones who deserve to be on the bottom are Jason for his throw away version of Michelle, Amanda the rocker chick for screaming her way through "Back in the USSR", and Kaley the country gal from Oregon who sang decent but wouldn't stick with the melody and ruined a song that wasn't very challenging anyway. Jason is still too cute to cut; Amanda has a hard rock following and Kaley still has a country following so probably someone who does not deserve to go- will go.

David Cook rocked the house with Day Tripper. He has a concert career no matter what he does from here on out.

Ho-Hum. Yawn. I was bored.

"Here Comes The Sun"?? Thought George wrote that one.

My take tonight:

Amanda Overmyer - Back in the USSR - I was trying to find a couple of notes that were actually on pitch and had a hard time with that. Although she had great energy, I'm sorry, the girl couldn't hit middle "C" if you gave her 25 tries. I can't remember hearing a bar band singer ever do it worse. She has to go...

Kristy Lee Cook - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - typical Kristy performance being a bit pitchy. Until I heard Amanda's performance, I thought Kristy was the one who needed to go. At this point I think Kristy should stay and Amanda should go. Kristy made a funny comment to Simon about wanting to "blow his socks off" before she realized how that could be interpreted and became embarassed. I actually think the genuine embarassed look enamered her with some votes.

David Archuleta - Long and Winding Road; well, you either like the guy or you don't. I think he did a bang-up job and am absolutely certain he's very safe. He didn't forget any words.

Michael Johns - A Day in the Life. This was a non-memorable performance. He's kind of in the middle of the pack at this point, but I can't see him as "the" idol...not now.

Brooke White - Here Comes the Sun. Dressed in her sunshine yellow dress, I thought she came off Disneyesque and fake. Maybe she wants some of those David A votes? I was glad to see that Simon finally ripped into her tonight for such a mediocre performance. Maybe she'll work harder now....I mean, she's a sweet girl, but she's been playing it pretty safe in her song choices, and I've never been impressed with her vocal ability.

David Cook - Day Tripper. IMHO, he could have practically put that arrangement out as a single. Except for the terrible HEIL "voice box" guitar solo, one of the best 2 or 3 performances of the night.

Carly Smithson - Blackbird. Very unusual arrangement and therefore risky, but I think she pulled it off. I got goose bumps myself. I think she would get more votes if she covered up her tattoo.

David Castro - Michelle. Nice story from him about learning the french words. However, I think it was very predictable: an excellent karaoke version. Simon summed it up when he said that his "face" sold the song, not his voice. I guess the girls really think he's cute.

Syesha Mercado - Yesterday. I heard that this song is the most played and covered song in the history of keeping records of that kind of stuff, so it's always a risky choice. I think she did a very respectable job and had a few good "money notes" in the song that made it memorable. I hope she stays a while.

Chikezie - I've Just Seen A Face. I really like this guy and think he should stay for a while. I don't know if he's idol quality in his vocals, but he's certainly entertaining. He should leave the harmonica at home.

Ramiele Malubay - I Should Have Known Better. This was probably her best performance, but it was still only decent. It didn't blow me away. She was given the best spot and still didn't knock anyone over.

Top 3 tonight:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Carly Smithson

..with Syesha and Chikezie putting in respectable performances as well.

Who will go? Personally, I hope Amanda goes, she is by far the least talented singer at this point, but it still could be Kristy, Syesha, or even Chikezie based on some of the on-line polls I've seen.

My take -

Order of comments goes with how I'd rank the contestants this week:

Carly finally picked a song (Blackbird) that shows off her voice and with the exception of a couple notes right after the third verse key change, she delivered. I think she could have sounded even better if she'd taken the key up a step from the beginning.

Chikezie (I've Just Seen A Face) is an entertainer and his voice is solid. He's really stepped it up. He also seems to be the only one who has keyed into using arrangements that fit the 1:40 format in a way that shows more than one side of himself in a performance. Only downside was he should've skipped the harmonica.

David Cook (Day Tripper) was strong. I agree the talk box solo wasn't needed - this is a singing competition after all. He is a rocker but it was a rocking performance that still showed off vocal talent.

David Archuletta impressed me tonight after his disaster last week. It was an overly sweet and syrupy TV/lounge delivery of a classic tune (Long and Winding Road) but he was effortlessly on pitch/time throughout. Maybe after last week he put in the extra homework time to deliver a polished performance.

Syesha Mercado did a lovely version of a classic.(Yesterday) I felt like she hurt her entertainment value, and possibly the strength of her vocal, by remaining seated with some poor posture throughout the performance.

Brooke White was utterly forgettable in her performance (Here Comes the Sun) Even her choice of yellow dress in front of a yellow sunshine backdrop made her disappear. The only good thing about this performance was that there weren't any disasters that would put her on the chopping block.

Ramielle Mullaby (I Should Have Known Better) seemed like she didn't feel the right key until she was going through the bridge for the second time at the ending. If it weren't for some of the folks I'm listing below I'd be ready to send her home.

Amanda Overmyer (Back In the USSR) again showed she can rock but did nothing to show you she could sing. She needs to leave but possibly not this week.

Jason Castro (Michelle) delivered a totally uninspired teeny bopper version of this song. No energy, no range, no emotion. The 13 year old girls screaming through his performance may disagree with me but when you take a love song like this there has to be something in the delivery to make you feel it.

So that brings me to the two worst performances of the night and one of these two should go home NOW!

Michael Johns (A day In the Life) picked a song that could have been a great choice. The song itself goes through changes that let you go from slow to uptempo to soft to over the top. He croaked the high notes, screwed up some of the lyrics, then didn't kick in the energy when the song gave him the opportunity.

Kristy Lee Cook (Hide Your Love Away) also picked a song that could have been a great choice. She seemed to be singing it in a key that was too low for her voice. If she weren't so good to look at and the only one who appeals to the country audience then Michael Johns would be safe.

Hi Folks,

Well, the week 2 doldrums attack again (it's happened before.. last year week 2 was horrible as well). This was pretty weak all around.

Top 3 performers of the night (not of the competition)

David Cook: He sounded like a current artist. But keep in mind, it wasn't his arrangement and he does the same thing every week. At least he did it well which is more than can be said for the others.

Carly Smithson: It started out rough but then she kicked it up a notch. She's clearly the most powerful voice in the competition this year. I still don't think she's even come close to her best performance. She needs a home run soon to challenge at the end.

Chekezie Eze: The funny this about this performance is that he was way more country than most previous year country performers. He can do R&B, Pop, Funk, Roots and Country. And if you listen, his vocals were really strong, aside from just the performance and arrangement. He never should have mentioned the Harmonica or that he'd just learned it before the performance, it set him up to look bad playing it.

The Bottom 3:

This is a toss up because everyone else was pretty weak.

Kristy Lee Cook: Her time has come to go. Oddly enough, she's got a great voice and easily could be a country singer with a great album. Her weakness is connecting with the audience and live performance. But on a country record with really strong songs, her voice is actually outstanding. But she's tanking on this show week after week. Bye Bye.

Brooke White: Her one trick pony style is wearing thin. The whole "I'm going to twirl around like an earth mother in the sun" schtick was vomitous. No range, no dynamics. But she's the most popular female contestant, so she's not going anywhere.

Ramiele Mulabay: She's the biggest underachiever in the contest. I just don't think she can handle the big stage and the bright lights. If she doesn't bring it on soon, she'll be gone.

Also Rans:

Jason Castro: He should have done the Ritchie Haven's-esque version of Here Comes The Sun. For the first time he blew the song selection and he was exposed. He has John Travolta eyes and a John Travolta stoner-dumb personality that apparently little girls find attractice just like their moms did when they were little girls with John Travolta.

Michael Johns: He's got a huge voice. Why he doesn't choose to use it I don't know. But he's gotten worse every week since Hollywood week. His luck will run out in about 5 weeks at this rate.

Amanda Overmyer: I thought she was really weak at the start of the show.. until I SAW the rest of the show and then played her back and she was clearly not in the bottom 3. She's become very comfortable on stage. I know she's on the chopping block however. I kind of hope she can hang on at least 1 more week so she'll make the AI tour this year as I think that would be a wonderful opportunity for her. She's clearly not going to win, but I still find I look forward to her performance each week and last week she was in the top 2 clearly.

Syesha Mercado: She ALMOST made the top 3. Unlike Ramiele, she crept closer to her potential. But it may be too little too late for her. If she can crank it up another notch next week, she might hang around past Ramiele and Kristy and Amanda and Chikeze and even Michael Johns. We'll see.

David Archuleta: Once again, he did EXACTLY the same thing vocally he's done every week. Limited range. Breathy. Ho Hum. His mass hysteria support makes him annoying. After having the worst performance of the week last week, he was still the leading vote getter on every poll I saw. That means, as Simon lamented, this is a popularity contest this year rather than a singing contest. We may have our first truly undeserving winner. And if it's such a forgone conclusion.. it won't be much fun watching this all season. I can't possibly imagine running out to buy an album from him. But I am sure the Disney/Miley Cyrus crowd will .

Let's hope next week isn't such drudgery. Week 2 is always a downer year after year.

Deserves to go: Kristy Lee Cook

At real risk of going: Kristy, Amanda and Chikeze with a slight risk of Ramiele being a surprise.

Brian

Checked that AOL poll for the first time today. If the ranking they have is really the way the voting is going - it's really sad. And also makes it obvious that teeny bopper girls are the ones who take the time to vote.

<<He never should have mentioned the Harmonica or that he'd just learned it before the performance, it set him up to look bad playing it.>> I didn't see the interview/vinette before the song. He just looked bad/played it poorly anyway.

Yeah, they can speed-vote using text voting and get a few hundred votes in for their "fave" during the 2-hour window.

I don't think that AOL has been as accurate this year as in the past, but I could be wrong. They weren't right about David Hernandez.

Another interesting site is www.dialidol.com They at least use a system somewhat related to the actual votes being called in. They put Kristi and Amanda at the bottom. Their rankings are totally different than AOL. USA Today also has comments as does Entertainment weekly.

USA Today thought David Cook was terrible, that Michael was the best and that Ramiele was totally entertaining. It just shows that their writer can't hear.

EW had it much closer to our assessments above: a boring Michael and Ramiele, and that Kristy needs to go home this week.

Another interesting site is http://www.dialidol.com They at least use a system somewhat related to the actual votes being called in. They put Kristi and Amanda at the bottom.
----------------------------------------------------------------
That nails it for me...with Kristi going home this week...she was truly terrible this week...she made up her own melody to the song and did a BAD job of it...Back in the USSR---the same thing, I could hardly even recognize the melody...Amanda is a one trick pony. But Kristi is uncomfortable in her own skin

I'm all for the tatoo girl! She's gotta win it:)

I am more and more convinced the thing is rigged.
Call me a conspiracy theorist...
I just wouldn't be surprised.

Last night was so boring we didn't vote for anybody.
My 17-yr-old didn't even vote for Castro!

Linda

Idol had the right bottom 3 last week, but not the correct bottom (they had Syesha on the bottom). I think it's more accurate simply in who is near the top and near the bottom. When David A. sticks at the top no matter how lousy he is, you know it's less about talent or that weeks performance. One thing that effect AOL is they aren't clear on whether they reset the totals after the vote results or not. That could make a big difference.

As for Chikezie, sure, a musician would easily notice, but the average viewer only did because he (and later Simon) called attention to it. Why call attention to your biggest weakness? That's just stupid. It's the same as acknowledging you blow a line, like Dave A. did twice during his first week performance. That's a rank amateur move. It's the same thing when someone starts making excuses about the bad recording or performance on their demo before you hear it.. it's already over at that point.

Brian

Something else that was interesting was how little knowledge these kids had of the Beatles music. I think it's a telling indicator of how they've lost a generation of fans by not being available for sale on the digital services. A couple of them clearly had reverance still for the Beatles, but many didn't know them from Tony Bennett. (In fact, some may actually know Tony Bennett better since he's still active). I'm sure it's all about power and control and waiting for the ultimate huge payday in the marketplace, but do these guys need the money still? Heather Mills aside, you'd think they'd want their music out there like all other artists and frankly I don't hear it on the radio as much anymore and few kids are listening to it on their ipods.

They say the graveyards are filled with irreplaceable men (that's paraphrased), and I wonder if 100 years from now the Beatles will be quite as known still as we assume they will be. This generation gap goes a long way to shooting that down. By the time they ARE available, they may be as unhip as Elvis has also become to many.

Brian

TOP 11- 18MAR - BEATLES SONG BOOK

I looked at my watch at the end of no. 7's song and realized it was 9:15. Ridiculous. A two hour show for 11 singers, who each sing 1:30 minutes. Calculate that out. That means about 17 minutes of singing, and 103 minutes of judging, inane chit chat and a million endless commercials. It's funny, in past years I've always enjoyed watching the show, but this year, after an hour, I feel so impatient. I feel this way with a lot of television, after the 3rd commercial break, I'm thinking -- I could be spending this time writing music. If I spend 2 hours every Tuesday night watching AI and another hour on Wednesday night watching the results -- that's a piece of music for film/TV. It's just not worth it. I'm interested in hearing the singers and seeing their progress. But the show itself is dragged out so long, it is, in Simon's words, incredibly boring. And yes, I can tape the show and zip through everything, but I really would rather watch a jam packed one-hour show and go on other things having enjoyed myself.

In addition, I don't understand the logic of doing two weeks of Beatles songs. Surely there must be a whole host of songs that people could sing. I was not that impressed with the songs this week.

Here are my results:

DAVID ARCHULETA (Long & Winding Road) - I don't care what other people say, this young man has a lovely voice with nice tone, and he does interesting things with it. I think he's a pop singer, not a rock singer, but if Josh Groban and Michael Buble can find their niche, I don't see why David can't. He was the tops this week in my book.

SYESHA (Yesterday) - Clear tone, good power & range, sings with her heart but also with skill. Very good.

CARLY SMITHSON (Blackbird) - Well, we knew someone was going to do this one. You have to agree, she has the chops.

DAVID COOK (Day Tripper) - Lots of talent, has some range too. Good job.

AMANDA OVERMEYER (Back in the USSR) - She sang well, rocked it up, was okay but didn't thrill me. I thought the timing was off a little and I wasn't sure if she was always on pitch.

REMIELLE (I Should Have known Better) - This girl definitely has a voice but I don't think the songs she chooses show it off. I think she needs to 'go for it' more.

CHIKEZIE (I've Just Seen a Face) - He has a very nice tone, but I think he was trying too hard to rock it up or sing a bluesy style. It was a bit messy.

MICHAEL JOHNS (A Day in the Life) - He sings his high notes by lifting his head and stretching his neck, and he keeps his mouth closed. This is not good for the voice, you lose energy & support when you stretch up, and when you have your mouth closed the energy of the voice hits a wall. It's like the voice gets 'choked'. He has a good voice - that's why he's made it this far - but he needs some training to bring it out. If he could do that he would be a real contender. But I think he's not going to make the top 3 with this approach to singing. I think he knows it too, he doesn't understand why it isn't working for him the way he wants it to.

BROOK WHITE (Here Comes the Sun) - Well, sorry to say the performance didn't do much for me. The song sat low in whatever key was chosen, so her voice didn't have the bright tone / aliveness. When we play it too safe vocally we take the edge away from what we do.

JASON CASTRO (Michelle) - I did think he sang with more tone this week. I still find his phrasing mechanical and a bit pitchy. I really don't know why he got into the top 12, I don't think he belongs there. I think he will be going home soon.

KRISTY LEE COOK (You've Got to Hide Your Love Away) - I like Kristy, she's a great person, but unfortunately I felt she should have been voted off last week, her performance last week and this week were the weakest of the lot. She tries too hard, therefore that means she sings with too much pressure against the vocal chords. What she thinks singing is, is not singing. In addition, I feel that her performance is 'lifeless'. I think she needs some good coaching. Because what she focuses on when performing is the wrong thing, so it comes across as though she isn't all there. I think she has potential, but it would be best if she was voted off, and went away and worked on her voice & performance skills for another year.

"AMANDA OVERMEYER (Back in the USSR) - She sang well, rocked it up, was okay but didn't thrill me. I thought the timing was off a little and I wasn't sure if she was always on pitch."

I reviewed her video performance on youtube just to be sure. I think she hit about 50% of the notes...mostly the ONE note and didn't venture far from that one. Really, really bad.

As bad as Kristy was, I thought Amanda was worse.

Hey Brian,

I've had more than one teen say, "Paul McCartney? Wasn't he in a band called Wings?"

Well, we don't keep track of the trials and tribulations of the Tommy Dorsey Band or sing the songs of Cole Porter much anymore either, do we?

Ya Brian

Kristy said the way she picked the song was she liked the name of it, and then heard it for the first time when they filmed her intro (I guess a few days before the show)
You have a good point about the Beatles...although my 20 something nephews know every word to every song

David C - I didn't like him at first, but he's since done a few things to impress. This week was a tad overkill to me, but still not a bad performance.

David A - Was spot on this week. This young man has an amazing ability to give chills when he’s “on.” I love the fact that he has a firm hold of the Hannah Montana/Jonas Brothers crowd, but unlike many other young stare he has the talent to impress a more mature music buying audience. The breathy inhalation he was left with (post partial vocal paralysis) is a wee bit annoying, but still I adore this kid. He’s got great control and I knew him to have amazing range before his illness, so I’d love for him to stretch his wings a bit one week, if he still has the ability tear it up. I definitely feel he emotes really well (hence my goose bumps). I definitely believe he is a superstar.

Syesha - Better, but I'm not a huge fan. Either or Ramie will be next to go I'd imagine.

Kristy Lee Hook - Very so so. Hope she gets her act together.

Brooke - This is twice now that she seemed quite lost without an instrument. I still love her vocals. She's got the kind of voice that will easily keep her there into the top 3 of this season. I really feel like she'd have staying power in the industry based on her unique tone and classic singer/songwriter vibe.

Chikezie - He's got a great voice, but he suffers from LaKisha-itus...great vocals, but little star quality.

Jason Castro - I think Jason could be very good. Last night wasn't my favorite performance, but I really think doing his own thing he could make a career out of this. He's in my top 4.

Amanda - She was a little off key again last night. I'm not a musician, but seems to me she's always sharp. I do get a feeling that she's rock right to her soul, but I don't think she has an ability to do anything else or even just change shades within the rock.

Michael - For some reason he bores me stiff. His sound is so generic. Seems like a lovely guy, but I'm just not feelin' it. Although it was for a great reason, he still picked the wrong song last night. It was just everywhere.

Ramiele - Adorable, but she doesn’t have it. Last night was better, but still so "so what" to me. I loved her at first so I've been a bit disappointed.

Carly – Excellent instrument, but I just don’t get superstar from her. Her tone is so generic she’d fade into the wallpaper. To me it’s like she would need earth-shaking, great songs to have a career. A mediocre song as a lead single and it’d be the end for her.

Predicted top three this season: David A, Brooke White, and David C. Archuleta wins over Brooke to become the 7th Idol.

Tonight I believe Syesha will go home. Although she had one of her best performances, she just doesn’t have anything that makes her stand out and gives her a strong following. I was thinking Ramiele might go, but I think people will give her another chance as they probably will with Kristy.