So with that query behind us it is time to check in with the Final Five Idols to see who would shine as they covered the great Neil Diamond’s songbook. And tonight we get to double our pleasure as each of the remaining Idols get to sing two songs—that’s 10 songs sung by the remaining five Idols…and you thought you were safe from math.
With a two-round event scheduled for the night, let’s check out Round 1:
· Jason predictably greeted the audience with his guitar and falsetto and gave “Forever in Blue Jeans” a whirl. During his performance, the camera came to rest on Simon who appeared to be grimacing and looking away from the stage—which could only mean one thing…he wasn’t all that impressed. But Idol did something different tonight and didn’t allow the judges to provide feedback until after each Idol sang their first song—so we wait with baited breath to get their opinions; however you don’t have to wait for mine. I thought it was quite boring.
· Let’s see what David Cook could do with his first song, “I’m Alive”. Neil said he got goose bumps watching and listening to David C. rehearse his songs, but would that translate to the stage? Like Jason, David grabbed his guitar and sang to the audience—the key difference was David ROCKED IT OUT! He even sounded a bit like Neil.
· Brooke warned us in her video clip leading up to her performance that she would be playing two instruments tonight—the first was the guitar as she sang the great Monkee’s hit, “I’m a Believer”. As I watched Brooke perform I couldn’t help but think that she should have gone home last week and we wouldn’t have to listen to her perform a song that only Little Davey Jones could really sing and have people believe. Not impressed.
· Could young David Archuleta get us back on track? If he going to do it, it’ll happen with him leaving his comfort zone with a somewhat upbeat version of “Sweet Caroline”. There is no denying that David A. has singing talent, but I normally find him a bit of a downer—primarily due to his somber song selection, but tonight his choice of song was good. I’m just not convinced he delivered his best tonight. But the young ladies in the audience (and at home with their phones) LOVE him and he is no danger of going home.
· Closing out Round 1 was Syesha who tried to recapture the magic she created last week (when she sang great, but still ended up in the bottom two). She chose to sing “Hello Again” and got off to a very rocky start—with me, that is. She sounded fine, but she was bare foot and sitting on the stage—two things I think really take away from any performance. In the end, I think Syesha gave a very mediocre performance.
As Ryan gave out the numbers for Syesha, he brought out the Idols and asked the judges for their opinions:
Randy:
Jason: Just OK, better than last week, but just OK
David Cook: Very good, in the zone, doing your thing
Brooke: Very Karaoke
David A: The bomb
Syesha: Strong, in the zone
When it came time for Paula to offer her words of wisdom, she characteristically pulled a Paula…
Jason: “I loved hearing your lower register on the first song” and then she went on to critique his SECOND song—which he hadn’t even sung yet! Randy stepped in and said “we’re only critiquing the first song right now” to which Paula said: “Oh my God, I thought you sang twice”—Earth to Paula! Are you there, Paula?! I guess I wasn’t the only one who fell asleep listening to Jason warble on…
Simon tried to get her out of trouble by delivering quicker than normal comments:
Jason: forgettable
David Cook: just above average
Brooke: a nightmare (Paula tried to object, but he was right)
David A: amateurish
Syesha: old-fashioned
He then told the Final Fab Five that they need to bring it during their second song, that he wants to “see and hear the performance of a lifetime”…which could be challenging a couple of our Idols.
And with that we dive right into Round 2
Jason tried to redeem himself with “September Morn”. And in predictable fashion, Jason pulled up his well-worn stool, crooned his way through a song that should have a lot of emotion, but sounded like something you would hear in an elevator or a dentist chair. Another very sub-par performance from Mr. Dreads. This time the judges got their licks in right away. Randy called it “just OK”…again. Paula said he played it safe. Simon noted that he had another forgettable performance that wasn’t anything like what got him to this point in the competition.
David Cook broke out his acoustic guitar and sang “All I Really Need is You”—a little known Neil Diamond song. The song started off a bit weak in my opinion, but once he hit the bridge, brought in the balance of the orchestra, and cranked up the tempo, he rocked it for me and made me want to hear the song again and again and again. Randy gave him props for rocking the house (he stole my line); Paula said that she feels like she is already looking at the American Idol (cheers from the audience); and Simon brought down the house when he called the performance “brilliant” and gave him credit for making the song sound like it was written today.
With a second opportunity to mess up, Brooke took to the piano and sang “I Am I Said”—a totally classic Neil Diamond standard which our Miss Brooke added a little personal touch (as suggested by Neil). When the line called for Brooke to sing “Well, I’m New York born and raised”, she instead inserted “Arizona” for “New York”—clever! Compared to her first song, she did a much better job, but I don’t think it is enough to keep her safe. Simon even liked this performance—calling it “a million times better than the first song”—not really all that complimentary given the first one was so bad. All three judges made note that her comfort zone is sitting behind the piano—how lucky is she that she came along during Season 7 and not an earlier season when instruments weren’t allowed?! No need to answer; it was rhetorical.
David A’s second song selection was “America”—I guess he’s going for the fan base recently vacated by Kristy Lee Cook. I know David is going to be safe, he’s built up enough cred with all of the young voters out there with phones, but if I’m being perfectly honest, he did not bring it on this song. His voice cracked and I didn’t believe his performance at all. But the judges felt otherwise: Randy said he was “in the zone” (getting a little redundant, Dawg!), Paula and Simon both complimented him on his smart song selection. I don’t get it, but then again, I’m not his audience.
Closing the show, Syesha tried to improve upon her weak first performance with “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime”—an upbeat song with a very ‘60’s vibe that sounds current thanks in large part to singers like Amy Winehouse (when she’s not getting in huge trouble, that is). Syesha still hasn’t found shoes for her feet, but at least she stayed vertical for the entire song and added a little gospel sound to try to spice things up a bit. Randy thought she found her comfort zone with the song (again with the zone, Sir Repeat-Alot?!); Paula babbled on about Lord knows what; and then Simon called it “officially the strangest show we’ve ever done” before “complimenting” Syesha on being a very good “actress who is a singer” and then hammered her with the “you may be in trouble tonight”. When she asked “why?”, Simon said it was because she didn’t have a memorable second song—I must disagree with you, Simon, because that was the second best performance of the night behind David Cook’s “All I Really Need is You”.
Oh well, it’s now up to you—the voting public to decide who is safe and who’s going home. Here are my predictions in order of how I believe they should finish after this evening’s performances:
David Cook: He was consistent with both songs, really brought originality to the second one, and got mad props from all three judges (which could actually turn out to be a curse—see last week’s judges comments and the Idol who left on Wednesday).
Syesha: Her first song was a real snoozer, but I thought she really brought in on her second song.
David A.: He was mediocre tonight during both songs and that is just good enough to land in the middle of the pack.
Brooke: She was awful in Round 1 and tolerable in Round 2.
Jason: BORING! Every song is starting to sound the same—it’s time for him and his dreads to go back to Texas.
Tune in tomorrow to see how well I can predict the future…or wait until I provide my review of the elimination show.
Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don’t have to…
Charlie
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