American Idol 2008--Live Thread II

americanidol.com ^ | 3-25-08

[lightman]

After missing the Michael Johns ouster last week Dial Idol has as much value as a tick on a coon hound.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

OH - good - thanks!

[peggybac]

Tick on a coon hound. lololol

[rock_lobsta]

David Archuleta’s music will be heard in elevators and in dentists’ offices for years to come.

LOL! Please doc... drill a little more - anything to kill the pain!

[rock_lobsta]

Heh... Kristy’s a Cougar.... LOL!

Kind of young to be a Cougar, don’t ya tink?

[ChocChipCookie]

Who would buy David A’s music? Not me.

That's what I've been trying to figure out with Taylor Swift.

[Brian_Baldwin]

Again, Jason Castro did his magic. Again, he’s a genius in rendition, and I really hope to see him take the prize as the next American Idol. I really, really enjoy his vocals and versions of his musical art. What a wonderful presentation!

[CounterCounterCulture]

This week’s performances (change from last week’s rankings)
1- Syesha (+2)
2- David A. (+4)
3- Brooke (-2)
4- Jason (-2)
5- Carly (+2)
6- David C. (+2)
7- Kristy Lee (-3)

Overall rankings
1- Syesha (+1)
2- Brooke (-1)
3- David A. (+2)
4- Jason (-1)
5- Kristy Lee (-1)
6- Carly (+1)
7- David C. (+1)

Who I think will depart... Carly

[purpleraine]

I pick two, Carly or Brooke.

[CounterCounterCulture]

If Brooke gets sent home, I will be one sad Freeper. :-/

[Kellykoop]

I agree. I absolutely love his voice and he’s a refreshing change from the typical type of AI contestants.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Hey Jonny — Re Syesha “Vanishing” (I’m tempted to make a joke about “We should be so lucky!” except that she’s okay as a singer, in my book):

I don’t know this song at all, but some of the notes Syesha sang sounded really, really off-key — real clinkers. Is the song actually *written* that way, or did she in fact hit some notes that weren’t where they should have been? Anyone know?

Aside from that, I thought she was in fine voice tonight. But ouch, those clinkers!!

[FreedomForce]

Better night of performances than I expected, considering it was Mariah Carey week.

Rankings:

1. David C.(Has been very good the past several weeks except for last week)
2. Kristy(Could being sick early in the season have affected her THAT much? She’s stronger and stronger.)
3. David A.(Still the one to beat, I think, due to his fan base, but I didn’t like that performance as much as I have several of his other performances)

Begins to get difficult to rank the rest because I didn’t think any of them were very good.

4. Brooke(I think she’s reaching the limit of her stay. Don’t think she’ll get voted off this week but she’s going to have to do better)
5. Carly(Still think she’s a very talented singer but I think she’s better when she sings a faster tempo song. Thought she was at her best with Heart’s “Crazy On You”.
6. Jason(Almost a novelty act. Song choice is going to be extremely important for him from here on out.)
7. Syesha(Still like her softer voice and hate her diva voice. Had me wincing when she was pushing it.)

Who should go: Syesha
Who will go: Syesha(But I picked Michael Johns to finish in 3rd place so what do I know.)

[kevkrom]

The Good

• Jason Castro - I'm not his biggest fan, but I thought this was very well done. Randy was hypocritical for praising David Cook's version and then turning around and saying he doesn't "get" this, which was just as original and off-beat, but better performed.
• David Cook - Honestly, the "air mix" swallowed him up, so I'm mostly giving credit here for the arrangement, since I couldn't hear David very much at all. Miles better than last week in any case.
• Kristy Lee Cook - Who gave her the confidence infusion, and can they get some to Brooke (see below)? Nicely done, and I think she should be safe from the bottom 3 again, as she finally seemed to "connect" to a song.

The "Meh"

• Brooke White - On the whole, I liked what she did with the song, but there were a couple of awkward moments and her breathing seemed uncharacteristically shallow and quick, plus she was trembling at the end. Is she starting to crack under the pressure?
• Syesha Mercado - Almost a good performance, but the "runs" were all completely wrong. Not only did they seem forced (because they were), but while "runs" give you a lot of leeway with the pitch, they still need to based on the key. Syesha's weren't, and weren't even close.
• David Archuleta - Dull, dull, dull. Yet another yawner of a song choice, which he manages to pack the total life experience of a teenager (read: none) into its expression. Bringing the singers on the stage was a nice touch, as he didn't look so incredibly small against an empty stage (think: cross-breed of Paul Simon and Dobby from the Harry Potter movies).

The Bad

• Carly Smithson - Every week, the judges feel the need to point out that she's a better singer than her performance showed. Every week. I think part of the problem is that she appears to hold the audience in contempt -- how dare they not recognize her as a star? This song was all over the place -- the beginning was awful, she built it nicely, but she seems to end every song like she wants to be Ann Wilson from Heart, and she's not.

Bottom 3: Carly, Syesha, Brooke
Bye-bye: Carly

Overall Rankings

David Cook continues to be the clear front-runner. Brooke and David Archuleta hold on to their spots because of the large gap they had opened previously and the general failure of anyone below them to mount a charge.

1. David Cook (n/c)
2. Brooke White (n/c)
3. David Archuleta (n/c)
4. Jason Castro (+2)
5. Kristy Lee Cook (n/c)
6. Carly Smithson (-2)
7. Syesha Mercado (n/c)

[TexasNative2000]

Syesha stays - being the lone remaining black contestant -has a built in demographic that helps her vote totals. (Don't flame -just trying to be realistic) Besides, she is beautiful.

Time to say goodbye to Carly. Tattooed Irish pub singers are a dime a dozen, and she has gone as far as her talent can take her.

Brooke gets the Mother Earth, folk singer vote and Kristy Lee benefits from both the country fans and boys who just got their drivers licenses.

[Miss Didi]

I will be sad, too. :( I will then vote for Dreads.

[Netizen]

American Idol’s David Cook — “He’s My Hero”

http://www.starmagazine.com/david_cook_cancer_patient/news/14056

When David Cook rocks out on American Idol, hordes of screaming young women reach out to him from the show’s live audience in Los Angeles. But no one has a closer connection to him than a courageous young girl 2,200 miles away in Florida — and the symbol of their bond is on David’s wrist, for the show’s millions of viewers to see!

The orange plastic band David, 25, has been wearing since mid-March is a message of friendship and support for a special fan: Tampa native Lindsey Rose Belcher, a brave 7-year-old who was diagnosed with leukemia last Christmas.

“I met David when I was in L.A. covering the show the first week of March and told him he was my daughter’s favorite Idol,” Lindsey’s dad, Charley Belcher, a feature reporter for Fox WTVT Channel 13 in Tampa, tells Star. “I also told him about my daughter’s condition — and David said, ‘Let’s call her and make her day!’”

Charley called his daughter at home and told her someone wanted to speak with her. Then David took the phone — “and I could hear her squealing on the other end!” says her dad. “David was very sweet and gave her inspirational words of encouragement. Afterward, she told me, ‘Daddy, that was so cool! I can’t believe David took the time to call me!’ She sounded like a typical giddy 7-year-old, even though she doesn’t have the luxury of having a ‘normal’ 7-year-old’s lifestyle.”

But Lindsey’s biggest surprise was yet to come after Charley showed David a wristband he was wearing in tribute to his daughter.

To support his little girl, Charley had wristbands made up in orange — Lindsey’s favorite color — for their friends and family, with her name printed on one side and “Do Whatcha Gotta Do” on the other.

“Lindsey was in the hospital early on, and I was sad when I had to leave her to go back to work,” he says. “She cheerfully told me, ‘Do whatcha gotta do, Daddy’ — and that phrase just stayed with me.

“David asked me if he could have one of the wristbands. I gave him an extra I had with me, and he said, ‘Tell Lindsey Rose to look for it on American Idol!’”

Lindsey was camped in front of the TV for Idol on March 11 — and there was David, sporting her wristband! “She yelled, ‘He wore it, Daddy, he wore it!’ She was dancing around and jumping up and down!” Charley tells Star. “He’s worn it every week since, and my daughter gets just as excited each time.

“What David has done is a small gesture that means the world to a little girl who can forget she has cancer for a little while — and that’s what it’s all about.”

[silent_jonny]

Surprise! Toby Keith Likes Clinton and Obama

"I'm real happy that there are two candidates that people can get behind," he told PEOPLE at the CMT awards Monday. "I feel like there are two people now – with Hillary [Clinton] and the time she's spent," he said of the former first lady and current New York senator.

Never was a fan of Toby's. And now I never will be.

[Netizen]

Isn’t Toby Keith the one that had the big feud with the Dipsy Chits?

[silent_jonny]

Re Syesha “Vanishing” (I’m tempted to make a joke about “We should be so lucky!”

LOL!

Is the song actually *written* that way, or did she in fact hit some notes that weren’t where they should have been? Anyone know?

I'm not familiar with that song either, so I can't say. But I suspect Syesha "Mariah-ed it up" some (more than was necessary) just because she knew Mariah was watching.