Tuesday, May 13

AI7 - Top 3 (5/13/08)

Top 3!! Not much to say before we jump in...

1st round is Judges' Choice.

David A (Paula, and the only one announced by the hometown mayor) - "And So It Goes" He started a cappella (or with a *very* soft band) and the whole song was very nice. I hadn't heard this in ages but it was a good fit for him. Judges liked it.

Syesha (Randy, via text message) - "If I Ain't Got You" Eh, it was good, but she's certainly not Alicia. Weird since Randy always says don't pick a diva song if you're not up to the challenge; but apparently he thought she was! He went on to say that he was glad she was peaking at the right time, and that's why she's standing up there "at number 3." Not "in the top 3;" he definitely said "number 3." Which is kind-of worse than Paula's gaffe 2 weeks ago; at least she had actually seen a performance to comment on (even if it was at dress rehearsals); it's not like this week's votes have been cast yet. Heh.

David C
(Simon, via text while he was on a local news show) - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" He pretty much sang it straight, and it was awesome! Soooo much better than the other 2, it's like it was a different competition. Randy complained to Simon that he wanted David to rock more, but all the judges loved the performance. Simon stated that "Round 1" went to "Cook and Cowell."

2nd round is Contestants' Choice.

David A
- "With You" (Chris Brown) Good for him to something contemporary and uptempo (or "young," as he said), like this or a Disney artist, to show he can do more than ballads, because you know that's how they're going to market him. I'm not that familiar w/this but I read that he messed up the words (that's what, 3 times for him in the Top 12?! Is that a new record?). At least he connected w/the audience. Randy & Paula liked it but Simon said it was like "a chihuahua trying to be a tiger."

Syesha - "Fever" Another good choice, despite the judges' comments. She used a chair as a prop and Ricky Minor was on string bass right next to her. She actually reminded me a little bit of Katharine McPhee when she was strutting around the chair. Overall it was good. Paula said she didn't think it showed who Syesha is as a performer (yes, it did, she's good w/the dramatic & Broadway-style stuff), and Simon complained that she missed her opportunity to show she can do contemporary (but the judges & producers' choices did that for her, and she wanted to do something different!). Whatever.

David C - "Dare You to Move" (Switchfoot)! Cool!! This was way too short - he did like the whole verse & then a bit of the chorus & it was over - and it wasn't much different than the original, but it was good. He played acoustic guitar & said he chose it because the lyrics fit the situation. Randy said it was pitchy & Simon said it was just ok.

3rd round: Producers' Choice.

David A
- "Longer" Ooooh, I love this song!! Other than the background vocals being too loud, this was very, very good. Little David had a great night and should sail into the Finals. The judges liked his performance but complained about the choice, especially Simon who called it "gooey" and too old for him (he does have a point, David can't have loved anyone for very long....).

Syesha - "Hit Me Up" Another one I don't know, but it was decent. Good, but nothing wow. Judges pretty much agreed (Simon called the song itself "forgettable" - but it's not like *she* chose it! sigh...)

And David C closes the show with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." I really wish I hadn't read all the spoilers, since all yesterday & most of today they were saying he was going to do "The World I Know" by Collective Soul, which would've been tres cool. Instead we get way overdone Aerosmith. Phooey! Oh well. I wonder if they knew Diane Warren was attending this week when they chose it?? Surely it wasn't a coincidence. Anyway, there was an orchestra in a half-circle behind him on stage, and he changed it up a bit and sang it well. But it was a bit anticlimactic for me. Randy said it was just ok & predictable, but Paula & Simon loved it. Simon is so erratic with his musical taste: he called this "one of the great songs of all time"! But he did say Cookie "won the night." We shall see whether the voters agree!!

I do predict an all-David finale as Syesha doesn't seem to inspire the same fanaticism as the boys, but then she's held on longer than anyone expected and Ryan keeps telling us the votes have been close. But a lot of Jason's fans will vote for David C, so I'm still going to go with the expected though and say she's the boot - let's hope!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

David Cook had the best performance of the night with his first song - great pick by Simon and great performance- one of Cook's best! His other two songs didn't measure up - truthfully they were two of his worst ever. I'm sorry but he totally ruined the Switchfoot song and his Aerosmith rendition wasn't good either.

David Archuleta did great with the first and third songs. Both really fit his style and vocal ability. He should never have tried to take on Chris Brown though. It just didn't fit - a white boy saying 'my boo'. His version was awful compared to Chris Brown's. It was smart of him to not do another ballad - but there are certainly hundreds of other songs he could have chosen that he would have done better.

Syesha had an okay night, but nothing spectacular. She doesn't measure up to Alicia and the third song was fun, but unmemorable. Compared to the Davids I thought she chose a good song for herself, even though the judges didn't like the song choice. While not vocally strong, 'Fever' gave her another chance to showcase her Broadway potential. So that was smart of her, because that's where she's most likely to find success.

Unless Syesha wins a lot of votes with her sex appeal - which she's been playing up a lot the past few weeks - she should be going home tonight. Look for her on Broadway in the future though.

Regardless of which David wins AI next week, both will receive recording contracts, with Cook ultimately selling more. I believe his style has more overall appeal to the contemporary market.

PezKat said...

Hey there! Thanks for the comments. I mostly agree. I don't know the Chris Brown song (and have no idea what a "boo" is) but I didn't think it was bad. The mosh girls seemed to enjoy it & they're his target audience so I'd call it successful.

Kim said...

Bah! Back to school means less Idol for me. Thanks for the recaps - even though I TiVo it, I don't always get to watch it.

Let's see if my memory serves me right - wasn't And So It Goes one of Carmen's disasters?