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April 8, 2008
American Idol: Season 7, the final 8
April 8, 2008 - The final eight show, right before Idol Gives back, is "Inspiration week." The idea is that each singer picks a song that will be an inspiration to others.
Michael Johns - Dream On: Two-first-names is up first with the Aerosmith song Dream On. Now, Dream On is one of my favorite songs, one in a long list of songs I like that Michael Johns has sung. However, I was frankly bored by the performance. MJ essentially sang the same arrangement as Aerosmith, and well, I've already got the .mp3. Plus, Aerosmith hit's the high notes properly. Randy's critique was spot on, their were pitchy parts and it just didn't do a lot for me as a listener. Paula's chihauhaus loved it, and Simon was blase.
Syesha Mercado - I Believe: Syesha continues to gain ground on the field as far as I'm concerned. Her pick was "I Believe," apparently a Fantasia Barrino song. Like most of the songs Syesha has picked, I don't particularly care for the song, but she seems to sing it well enough.
Jason Castro - Somewhere over the Rainbow: Jason said arrangement was by some Hawaiian guy with a ukulele... but it sounded pretty similar to a recording I have of the song by Rufus Wainwright. All three judges liked it... and so did I. Oh, and by the way, dreadlocks is using the same eyelash groomer as Clay Aiken.
Kristy Lee Cook - Anyway: Er... it wasn't bad, in fact Simon & Paula seemed to like it, but I'll side with Randy... I just kept thinking, I'll bet Martina McBride sings it so much better.
David Cook - Innocent: The performance was just weird. That isn't to say it was bad, but I wouldn't really say it was good either. Of course, I'm still not a big David Cook fan, but he seems to be original and versatile. Randy wasn't sure. Paula loves him, and Simon thought it was pompous. Oh, and the white jacket... was that a strait jacket? And in the shameless pandering category, we have the message "give back" written on his palm... OMG! He's like so thoughtful!
Carly Smithson - The Show must Go On: The problem remains, she's boring. Even Paula didn't like it... and Simon falls back on the 'well, you look good.'
David Archuleta - Angels: Highschool heart-throb takes the stage behind an enormous grand piano. As normal, it's a heartfelt ballad, and I just know he's going to win the show on demographics, even though I don't think I'd ever buy an album or a single. His voice just doesn't do it for me... gasp...
Brooke White - You've got a Friend: When I first saw that Brooke would be playing the James Taylor folksong, I immediately knew she'd be on a stool, alone on stage, singing a wonderful song with her wonderful voice. And then it didn't happen. Someone else was playing the piano, there were several violins... and she just sang it too slowly for my taste. I felt like she had issues syncing up with the music, but Simon said it best. "It was a pleasant walk in the past."
My vote for the week? Jason Castro. Other permissible votes? Brooke White, David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado, and Michael Johns.
Please go home already: Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson.