My take on the American Idol Top 10

Last night's American Idol was leaps and bounds better than last week. No question. Whoever decided that, just because American asked for it, a second week of Beatles songs a good idea should be fired. Yesterday.

Overhearing several of the performances last night (exercising great restraint not to fully watch since Karen and I had planned to watch it together today), I thought the theme was 80s week until my husband told me otherwise. Apparently, the contestants were performing songs from the years they were born. These kids today are SOOO young :). I mean I knew I was older than all of them but perhaps Michael Johns, but I still put them all as being born in the 70s.

Annnnyway. On to my critique.

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Ramiele Malubay - "Alone" - Heart. I didn't like this performance, and I think it was a bad idea to choose a song that Carly did a few weeks ago because we can't help but compare the two--Carly having done the better job in my opinion. I could tell right away that Ramiele was sick, but even if she were healthy I thought this was the wrong song choice for her. Perhaps she does have that "big voice" that the judges keep talking about, but it really hasn't shown up since her audition. I don't think big-voiced songs are her niche anyway, but I'm hard-pressed to figure out what would work for her. Which is why I think her days in the competition are numbered. Bottom three for sure.

Syesha Mercado - "If I Were Your Woman" - Stephanie Mills. This was a very good performance; she was on pitch and full of confidence. However, I didn't like it as much as the judges did. Maybe I'm just tired of this type of song, but it seemed really old-fashioned to me--she didn't do anything to "make it her own". I think it will be more than enough to avoid being voted off.

Carly Smithson - "Total Eclipse Of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler. I thought Carly did a great job with this song, which has always been one of my favorite songs. She played it fairly safe; the only time she varied from the Bonnie Tyler impersonation was in the last run of notes, and I thought it sounded bad. Carly is very talented vocally and has a great performer's presence on stage, but I'm still waiting for her to blow us away like she did in Hollywood week. I think America just might get tired of waiting for that Wow! moment from her. She's likely in the bottom three again this week.

Jason Castro - "Fragile" -Sting. This was a solid performance from a very likeable guy. But I don't really remember much about it, especially when compared to his Hallelujah performance several weeks ago. I think Simon was right to tell him to take this competition more seriously. He seems very take-it-or-leave-it about all this fame stuff, which makes him come across as though he's just wingin' it up there or at least holding back. Regardless, he's completely safe from being voted off this week.

Chikezie - "If Only For One Night" - Luther Vandross. I think Chikezie has a beautiful voice and is better than the judges give him credit for. He's not just a guy with lots of personality. He did really well with this song, I thought. Having said that, Chikezie is another one that I just don't know who he is as an artist, perhaps because he's not sure of that himself. Probably in the bottom three.

David Archuleta - "You're The Voice" -John Farnham. I'm not sure I've ever heard this song before, but I liked what David did with it. I disagree with Simon saying that it was a bad choice, but he probably could have done himself some favors to choose something else. I really think it would make a lot of sense for him to pick a more popular song, since he has proven his vocal talents and could definitely pull it off. His best performance remains "Imagine," and I hope that he finds the songs that will get him back to that greatness. He needs to figure out what to do with his body up on stage because he looks rather unsure of how to move. No doubt that he's safe from being voted off this week.

Brooke White - "Every Breath You Take" - The Police. I think Brooke is one of the sweetest, most genuine contestants to make it this far into the competition. I'm rooting for her to continue into the finals, based in large part on how likeable she is, and of course the girl can SANG too. This performance was good, but it was very similar to and not as good as her rendition of "Let it Be" from a couple of weeks ago. Glad she didn't do anymore dancing this time around; that was uncomfortable to watch last week. Will be safe this week.

Michael Johns - "We Will Rock You" - Queen (sung as a medley along with "We Are The Champions"). I didn't get this performance, and I'm usually a big fan. I guess you had to be there because it sounded like the plainest form of karaoke through the television. I'm glad the judges liked it because I want to see him around for a while. Safe this week.

Kristy Lee Cook - "God Bless The U.S.A." - Lee Greenwood. I straight up rolled my eyes when I learned what song Kristy would be singing. The song is tired and overplayed here in the south, but she did very, very well with it--if a bit pageant-y. I couldn't have been more surprised that Simon thought it was one of the best choices of songs in the show's history. I thought for sure he'd say, "I didn't get that at all." Kristy is one of those good-at-everything-she-does kind of girls, but I don't think she's great at singing. She will be just barely safe, due largely in part to the redneck vote (and trust me, y'all, it's okay for me to say that because I'm, like, seven-eighths redneck myself).

David Cook - "Billie Jean" -Michael Jackson. WoWW!! I boo-boop-boo-booped (rewound) my TiVo three or four times just to watch this performance again and again. So, so good. I haven't ever felt like someone had such star potential this early on, but he's ready for the radio with this one. He seems very comfortable with who he is an artist and looks like a pro up there. Completely out-performed everyone else by a mile. Safe, safe, safe!!

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Should go: Ramiele

Will go: Either Ramiele or Chikezie?

Best of the night: David Cook

If you want to see more posts about AI, stop by Boomama's site and see her Mr. Linky. And join in the fun, if you want to!

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