[kevkrom]

A lot of folks played it safe tonight, taking a breather after making the tour?

• Ramiele - Not the power ballad I would have picked for her, but it had possibility, and was arranged well, but she didn't deliver. Lots of pitch problems and she basically screamed her way through the louder sections. Sure, she might be sick, but she couldn't afford this. D+
• Jason Castro - Meh, it was just "okay" by me. Nothing special, and if the last several weeks are any preview of what a Jason Castro concert would be like, I'll have had enough about 15 minutes in. C
• Syesha - I thought it was pretty good. Some technical issues here and there, but solid, despite the poor choice to go the "diva" route. I still don't see her breaking into the top tier unless the others really start slipping. B+
• Chikezie - A Luther Vandross song is pretty appropriate, because that's who he reminds me of. Well sung, nice smooth voice, but about 20-25 years too late. B+
• Brooke - Safe choice, nothing particular memorable about it, more like a "filler" song you'd hear in a concert. B-
• Michael - Finally, the guy delivers. It fell apart a little at the end (breathing/phrasing was bothersome -- about twice as many breaths as he should have taken), but other than that, he finally showed why he was in the top 10. A-
• Carly - Bad song choice for her. I was right to suggest the song for Brooke, because all Carly showed is that she can't do Bonnie Tyler anywhere near as well as Bonnie Tyler. The eyes still creep me out too. C-
• David A - Gag me. The only thing worse than being preached to by a flaming liberal is being preached to by a flaming liberal kid. The beginning was a mess, but if you could somehow manage to separate the words from the voice (I couldn't), the rest of it was probably quite good. He also just stands up there and doesn't really use the stage at all. WARNING TO ANYONE VOTING FOR THIS PUNK: A David Archulata album or concert is going to be a never-ending litany of "social conscience" crap. C-
• Kristy Lee - When I heard what she was singing, I groaned. I take it back now, though. She was in control, and sang it well, though it didn't have the emotional impact the original did. Best I've heard from her, but she still needs to do more. B
• David C - Risky, but I liked it. He took the essential story of the song, the core melody, and some of its rhythms, and then made it a completely new and different song. From a technical standpoint, there were real enunciation problems in the first half -- I couldn't understand a lot of the words, but it was still a very good performance. A-

Rankings for the night:

1. David C.
2. Michael
3. Syesha
4. Chikeze
5. Kristy Lee
6. Brooke
7. Jason
8. David A
9. Carly
10. Ramiele

Overall rankings after week #3:

1. David C. (+2)
2. David A. (-1)
3. Brooke (-1)
4. Michael (n/c)
5. Syesha (+1)
6. Carly (-1)
7. Chikeze (n/c)
8. Kristy Lee (+2)
9. Jason (n/c)
10. Ramiele (-2)

Who should go: Ramiele
Who will go: Ramiele

[MarkMyWord]

Kev, I agree 98% with your comments. As far as rankings, I would put David C. #1 and the rest all at #10. Everyone else sucked last night. I was either bored, insulted or nervous watching the others sing. David A insulted me again for being preachy and for picking a song 98% of the world didn't know (so he picked it for the message). Michael Johns made me nervous because he's always picking a song that stretches his limits. Dude, pick one that is perfect for your range. The rest were simply boring.
I still like Carly and hope she is out of the Bottom 3 this week.
Oh, and Kristy, you had a ton of country songs you could have picked and you pick that? WTF????? Did you pick it because you knew NO ONE would ever beat you down of a patriotic song? (If so, that was pretty smart of you). However, for this competition, lame choice.