Tuesday, March 11

AI7 Top 12 (3/11/08)

Tonight's theme is the Beatles, or rather, 12 of the 25 Lennon/McCartney songs Idol coughed up the dough for. New intro graphics (how freakin' *weird* was that, after seeing the same thing every episode for 6 years?!), shiny new stage (with the band in the sky! woo-hoo!), and Ryan in a suit. What more could you want? Well, maybe some good performances. Be patient, they'll come eventually....

Contestants have nice long intro clips in which most (really, everyone except Kristy, who leaves it out altogether, and David H, who fudges his a bit, understandably) says what their job was before Idol and a bit more about themselves in general. And we get the screen stats listing age and home state, which, for some, is really not their home state, but I guess if you've lived in California for less than 5 years then wherever you lived before that counts as your "home" state? Evs. (I still miss Toby. Is that ok?)

Syesha (21, FL, actress/student): "Got to Get You Into my Life" Meh, a bit jazzy (Randy said it was like the EW&F version), well sung but boring. Judges agree, though Simon does say it was better than last week.

Chikieze (22, CA, used to work airport security): "She's a Woman" I don't know this one. Probably wouldn't have recognized it anyway; he started out all bluegrassy, sitting on the stage accompanied by just a fiddle, banjo, and tambourine. Then he went all rock with it and was aaaallllll over the stage and even channeling Taylor for a bit. The judges loved it. At least he finally showed some (positive, likeable) personality.

Ramiele (20, FL, sushi restaurant worker): "In My Life," which she said was for her "close friends (read, Danny & Asia'h, at least) who've left the show already." It was slow and pretty, good but not wow. Randy & Paula agreed; Randy & Simon both called it boring.

Jason (20, TX, student): "If I Fell" He sat on a stool & played guitar again, which was very appropriate. Great, great song choice, it fit him extremely well. A few of the high notes were weak but overall a very good performance. Randy didn't like how he changed the melody, but Paula did. Simon, again, was bored.

Carly (24, CA, bartender/waitress): "Come Together" Carly also gets to sing on Saturdays where she works and said they do an acoustic version of this song every week! So she'd better know the words, at least! It was quite rockin', and I was happy to see she seems to have decided to stick with the rock 'box' instead of going pop (I think she sounds soooo much better doing rock! It makes her almost interesting ;-) ). The judges loved it; Simon said she finally picked the right song.

David C
(25, MO, bartender): "Eleanor Rigby" The arrangement was definitely rock but David sang it fairly straight, which was wise. He sounded great! The song really showed his vocal range, too. The judges loved it, and Simon said that if this remains a "talent" competition (rather than popularity), that he could win!

Brooke (24, AZ, nanny): "Let It Be" When the song was announced I thought it would be cool if she played piano for it, and she did! Love, love, LOVE this!!! Definitely my favorite of the night. She was a little teary toward the end and moreso later when Ryan asked her to try to describe what this was like for her (the song! the stage! the piano, the band, the audience!). I'll admit I was close to joining her. The crowd & judges all loved it.

David H (24, AZ; said he's a student and got fired from his pizza server job, though everyone knows by now what job he really had until last Sept.): "I Saw Her Standing There" He mentioned that he'd taken a music class about the Beatles and learned a bit about this song, and that it's one of his favorites. Now, the Beatles don't exactly have music in his genre, but he tried. He started out on the platform by the judges, 'worked the crowd' a bit, but then seemed to be swallowed up by the large stage (which Simon noted with his "rabbit in headlights" comment again). It was good, but not great. Had some glory notes to show off his voice but Randy & Paula called it overdone. Simon said "No, no, no! It was corny verging on desperate." I wouldn't go that far, but it definitely wasn't his best. I voted like a good little fangirl. ;-)

Amanda (23, IN, nurse/medical sales): "You Can't Do That" Amanda says she didn't know this song previously and neither did I, but it was a great choice for her. She sounded pretty good, and it was possibly her best peformance yet! Randy & Paula loved it, but Simon was meh.

Michael (29, "GA" though he's lived in CA for 4 years; lots of odd jobs & coaches tennis "on the side"): "Across the Universe" He said the song brought him through some difficult family times. He sang it pretty straight (wise choice) and sounded very, very good! *This* is the Michael Johns who wowed the judges & viewers in Hollywood. He needs to lay off the bouncy, shouty rock stuff and just sing. Definitely his best yet, and he needed that at this point because he's been fading. The crowd loved it, as did Paula. Randy & Simon were meh (Randy said it was "sleepy"); I guess they prefer him in his rock 'box' but we already have a rocker, and it's David, not Michael.

Kristy (24, OR, just talked - again - about being a country girl and how the big city was so different & overwhelming... ok, Carrie wannabe, we get it): "Eight Days a Week" Country fried, and fried it was. I think it could've worked as a country song but the arrangement had the drum on the offbeats so the whole thing sounded rushed, & just off. Also her best vocals were covered up by the band/background singers (several had this problem tonight but it was the worst w/her). Randy liked some of it but not all of it; Paula & Simon pretty much hated the whole thing (Simon called it "horrendous" and said the song didn't work as a country song). Ryan then pointed out that it was Simon who suggested she 'go country.' Heh.

David A (17, UT, student) gets the final/pimp spot (not surprising) and sings "We Can Work It Out." He says in his video that he was nervous because (while he likes older style, 60's songs) he wasn't very familiar with Lennon & McCartney's work, but he did know Stevie Wonder's version of this song. Well, let's just say he was very undeserving of the pimp spot! He flubbed the words at least 3 separate times, and moved around the stage but just seemed out of place. The style/arrangement didn't really suit him. Randy said it felt "forced" and Simon said to be honest like he was for everyone else, it was "a mess."

My bottom 3: David A, Syesha, and Kristy.

My prediction for bottom 3: Kristy, Amanda, and David H, with Kristy leaving.

1 comment:

SusanD said...

I like your recaps, pezkat! I'll be checking back!