I wish they’d be more honest about her. That was really mediocre.
Okay, on recap I hate Michael Johns. I’ve never liked him and I’m not afraid to say it.
Same here. I just can’t imagine him being 25 and being a favorite on this show.
I wasn’t excited about ANY of the songs tonight. Ironic, I suppose, considering the theme.
I felt David Cook stumbled more than anyone else this week. Kristy gave her best performance yet, IMHO.
Aussie dude may be going home Thurs.
People who still interest me: David Cook, Syesha, Brooke, Jason Castro
I’d willingly pack for David A, Kristy or Michael Johns.
"I wonder how many of the kids in that audience have any idea who Carole King is, probably just a few. "
Then Brooke gets extra points for introducing them to her. Seriously, Carole King made great advances for women as songwriters and players as opposed to just dolled up singers, and she’s a much better role model for girls than the slutty kewpie dolls they’re used to seeing.
I think Syesha’s going home.
Pimped? What do you mean?
I think Michael Johns is in trouble.
Wow, what a collection of bad performances.
And I’ve said this before, but the American Idol band SUCKS. At least, they do when they’re trying to play anything other than pop diva songs. So does the sound man. What the hell was the piano player doing injecting those high-register jazz noodlings in ‘You’ve Got a Friend’? That song is supposed to be sparse. The band was slightly off the beat with David Cook’s song, and they made Aerosmith sound like elevator music.
And the sound mix was awful once again. Does anyone else listen in HD surround? I’m wondering if they just don’t know how to mix for 5.1 or something. You could barely hear David Cook because the background singers were cranked up way higher than he was. The volume on Jason Castro’s ukelele seemed to go up and down. The Queen song also seemed to have a strange sound mix. The poor technical stuff is really starting to bug me on this show.
Brooke should have played piano - I’m sure it would have been much better. She’s not comfortable standing behind a mike, and it shows. And I suspect she would have had better taste with the arrangement than her piano player did. She did a Carole King song during Hollywood week, and it absolutely kicked ass.
Anyway, here’s how I’d rate them:
- Jason Castro, for injecting some honest emotion into his song
- (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Kristy Lee Cook
- Brooke White
- Michael Johns (at least he sang with a bit of life)
- David Cook
- Carly Smithson
- Syesha (technically better than some, but boring as hell)
- David Archuleta (the judges were smoking something)
Overall, a really weak night. There wasn’t a memorable performance in the whole bunch. I think Syesha and Carly will be in the bottom 3 this week, along with possibly Michael Johns. The others either did well enough to survive or have a big enough fan base to keep them afloat for another week regardless of how poorly they did. But honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of them in the bottom three.
Mainly because he went first so those who got home late missed him. Seems like an odd choice of song though.
What’s the name of the OLP song that David Cook did? Never mind I got it.
ETA: I missed his performance so I only caught the bit on the recap, and I thought he was singing “We are all Hanson!” 
Mmmbop!? :eek:
MICHAEL JOHNS C
I’ve been promising to dock him for impersonations, and by God this time I’m gonna do it. I swear, on Elvis week, if he’s still around, he’ll be trying to do a rolling baritone while he swings his knees and hips. I’ve had it with him.
SYESHA MERCADO B-
Still in the same situation as ever. A good singing voice, but not a star. In the Supremes, she would be Not-Diana. The Mariah note was almost cringe-worthy.
JASON CASTRO C+
Tiny Tim doing Liza Minelli while channeling Paul Simon under a mosquito net in Africa. A weird song. A weird performance. A weak falsetto. Nothing here but a troubadour.
KRISTY LEE COOK A-
Her eyes actually sparkled a bit tonight for the first time ever. I think she’s gotten into that groove where you figure what the fuck, I may as well just give it a try. She’s still behind, but she may be gaining ground.
DAVID COOK C+
Just bizarre, really. Even Pearl Jammier than usual. This was clearly not his element, and the scribble on the hand almost cheesy in its conception. He sounded like he was moaning all through the song.
CARLY SMITHSON C-
I just can’t figure out what it is she’s trying to do. Or frankly even why she’s on this show. But after tonight, I suspect the question will be moot.
DAVID ARCHULETA A
The golden tones resurfaced as he reached almost for a baritone. He seemed comfortable at the piano, and emoted nicely in pace with the song. This was his most mature performance in quite some time. And memorable.
BROOKE WHITE C+
No update of the song or individual take whatsoever. We already had a Carole King, and one was enough. Frankly, I thought she sounded more like James Taylor. I’m sorry, but I’m just sick of people phoning it in. It’s time to lay it all out on stage.
Well I for one thought the show was moving… my bowels!*
Jason was the only real standout for me. I thought he was excellent. Everyone else ranged from decent (David Archu-D2) to aite dawg (Brooke) to WTF was that (David Cook).
Michael Johns is toast on Thursday.
*Watch 30 Rock Thursdays at 8:30/7:30 Central!
I think Carly is toast. Probably just wishful thinking.
I’ll bet Brooke forwards glurge e-mails.
I didn’t like anyone’s songs tonight but David C. looked real nice.
I had a hard time even paying attention to Syesha and David A., their song choices were so boring. Everyone else gets a hearty “meh” from me for tonight. Not my favorite week, to say the least. Michael or Syesha is history this week, I think.
Mostly forgettable tonight. I don’t know if it’s the singers or the songs, but I suspect it’s mostly the latter.
I liked Cook’s jacket, though.
Incidentally, the Iz version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” that I have just randomly segues into “What A Wonderful World” and then back. I don’t think he was holding the lyrics sacred.
Which reminds me… on the same CD there is a “version” of “Take Me Home Country Roads” that is about Hawaii instead of West Virginia. That one is weird.