American Idol Weekly Rundown-The Top 12

So I really wasnt excited about the Beatles. I'm not a fan and I think opening up their song book was a bit 'anti-climactic' since neither Lennon or McCartney had a great voice and therefore their songs are not that vocally challenging. The real trick here was making the songs 'new', so to speak. There is only so much you can do with 'She Loves You (yeah yeah yeah)' or 'Ticket To Ride'. But I will admit that if one were willing to try and conquer some of the less well-known songs, like 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' for example, good stuff could ensue. As it stands, most of the selections were predictable. Here's how I call it:



THE BEST:

1.CHIKEZIE- I knew this guy had something to prove! This was great. The arrangement he attached to 'She's A Woman' was nothing short of perfect for his 'comeback' performance. It reminded me of the great Robert Randolph (and the Family Band) whose music combines American Delta Folk with Funk to come up w/ a truly unique sound. Chikezie borrowed from this vibe and produced the 'moment' of the night. Plus, he was having a blast and carrying the audience along with every note. I'm surprised that no one mentioned the absurdity of the sweater vest, however.


THE GOOD:(in no particular order)

2.Carly- I hate 'Come Together'. It's one of those songs that gets all kind of credit for being a phenomenal piece of rock history when it is ludicrously obvious that the ditty was written in a drug induced haze and contains on the 'skillful' song-writing of a 3 yr old. Stupid stupid lyrics. I know...I'm mostly alone on this. I don't care. If you're going to use drugs as the impetus, at least give us some better imagery. Anyway, Carly sang a great rendition of it either way. The gal has pipes.

3.Jason- I think he and his mellow guitar may eventually bore America. But I really liked 'If I Fell' as he performed it. He changed up the melody a little to make it interesting and actually hit the majority of his falsetto notes this week. And the teeth...have I mentioned the teeth?

4.David C.-The resident 'rocker' performed Eleanor Rigby within an inch of its life. It wasnt bad, actually, albeit extremely predictable. I was telling my husband, "Now watch, he's gonna sing it straight until 'I look at all the lonely people' comes around and then he's gonna go all Linkin Park on us...' which is exactly what happend. However, some credit should be given for the arrangment (if it is indeed his own) and the 'sellability' of the cover. I'm surprised, however, that Simon didnt have anything to say about how 'indulgent' this performance was.

5.Brooke-Aside from 'Let it Be' being a very predictable song choice for her and -even with the piano- a very drowsy performance, it was still nice. I enjoyed it. I was washing dishes while she sang and I didnt look up from my pot-scrubbing or anything. But it was pleasant. I think she might be a bit of a 'one-note'. I'll have to see. I'm not sure she could stake a viable claim in the ranks of female singer/songwriters out there nowadays.

6.Michael-I was a bit surprised he didnt really blow me away w/ 'Across the Universe' since it is one of the only songs from this catalogue that I truly love. I adore Fiona Apple's version. But Michael didnt really bring much originality to the arrangement. He sang it well though, and it is a good enough song to give him an easy pass to next week, I think.

7. Amanda-Though she has a pretty face and a meek persona, Amanda's performances are really the antithesis of all that's sexy. It's almost off-putting, even for a true rock and roll lover. That said, she sang the heck out of 'You Can't Do That', rendering it almost unrecognizable. Which is just fine by me.

THE BAD:

8. Syesha Macado-Once again, song choice may prove to be the downfall for her. It was a bold pick, 'Got To Get You Into My Life', but she had problems w/ the pitch at the beginning and though it picked up a bit toward the end; it was probably too little too late. A better song choice? 'Get Back' would have given her more options.

9. Ramiele Mubalay-'In My Life' is a lovely song. And she has a lovely voice. The two together were...lovely. And really really dull. A better choice? 'Something' would have allowed for more range.

10.David H.- 'I Saw Her Standing There' was a dumb song. And Tiffany covered it in the eighties. Those two things should make any AI contestant run Forrest run. But instead, David embraced the cheesiness. In my old high school, there was a group of kids (hated by almost everyone) called Show Choir. At every school event, they were there en masse...dressed in sordid color coordinated duds and crooning medleys of insipid pop tunes that would cause the most tolerant ears to bleed. This performance could have been yanked from any one of those shows. A better choice? I can see him really giving an r & b vibe to 'Sgt Pepper' and making it work.

THE UGLY:

11. David A.- Poor kid. I read in a recent article that David Archuleta 'is Reality Tv's equivelent of a newly hatched chick' and I laughed because it's such a perfect description of his white-bread shininess. But the judges' golden boy really dropped the ball this week. First, he admits on camera that he's nervous and that he doesnt really know any Beatles songs. Sure David...I'm sure you're just being modest and going to blow everybody away as always. Wrong. He really DIDNT know any Lennon/McCartney tunes apparently. He chose 'We Can Work It Out' and forgot the lyrics...twice. He also started late and stumbled through the parts he remembered. Why oh why didnt he do 'Yesterday' like everyone was sure he would?

12. Kristy- Hilarious. The arrangment she chose for 'Eight Days a Week' was manic and beyond comprehension. Those strings will haunt me, I swear. The tempo was so fast that even she couldnt keep up, though she did try valiantly. Her vocals seemed to be recovered somewhat but the song choice and performance were not salvageable. A better choice? For her 'country' fans, an intelligently constructed cover of 'Helter Skelter' could have been really memorable. Maybe next time.

Though David A. screwed up royally, his previous performances and huge fanbase will save him. I believe Kristy and David H. will be the bottom two this week and either of them could go. Ramiele may also be in danger since she's so small. heh heh.