Idol Chat 2008 (Part 9)
I'll admit the competition I was more interested in tonight was the primary races in Indiana and North Carolina. But I did manage to flip back and forth from CNN to Fox to catch the final four on American Idol. The contestants had to choose songs from inductees in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame which pretty much gave them carte blanche to pick any song they liked. This point of the competition is usually one of the most exciting weeks, but sadly this season it seemed to fall short. Here are my picks from best to worst tonight:
Syesha: Seems to be in it to win it this week. She is the only one really going the extra mile to show her versatility and amp up her performance level. "Proud Mary" was a bold choice, once again, comparisons to a diva were inevitable, in this case Tina Turner. Still Syesha held her own all though she is no Tina. For her second song she chose the classic "A Change is Gonna Come" which she sang like a star, showing the beautiful soulfull side of her voice. She continues to grow and grow in the competition.
David Archuletta: "Stand By Me" was an excellent song choice for David and he delivered it with his usual vocal virtuosity, but I couldn't help wishing he would kick up his physical performance a notch, too. When he chose "Love Me Tender" for his second song I thought "oh, no, another ballad" but his simple, pure, honest performance was unmatched tonight. He understands when less is more and is not afraid to be completely vulnerable on stage which makes him one of the bravest performers left in the competition. This was beautiful.
David Cook: David gave us more of the same this week, which is not necessarily a bad thing. He is an adept performer and has the rocker image nailed down. However, he seemed to perform with an over-confidence in both songs this week that seemed to indicate that he doesn't think he really has to work so hard against his competitors. But I would advise him to beware of Syesha. As I said, she's in it to win it and it's starting to show.
Jason Castro: Poor Jason is so out of his element at this point. It's just sad. (Haven't I said that for the past 3 weeks though?) In his first song, "I Shot the Sheriff" he seemed to be trying for some kind of reggae feel as if to carve a niche for himself this late in the competition. But it was too little too late and just came off desperate. You'd think he would be able to pull of "Mr. Tambourine Man", the hippie-dippy style more suited to his demeanor, but he forgot the words and phoned in the performance. It's clear he doesn't want to be here anymore.
Who Should Go: JASON! He's becoming this year's Sanjaya.
UPDATE: Jason finally leaves the show. Thank you merciful heaven!
Labels: Idol
posted by Michael @ 10:37 PM
6 Comments:
i thought jason had smoked a joint before his bob marley performance. His eyes were so weird and the way he was jumping around was just bizarre.
Syesha has definitely grown on me the past few weeks. i think the judges didn't give her enough credit last week during Neil Diamond.
David A. is really starting to bore me. He seems like a future christian rock star.
Finally, it took the competition to get down to four for us to agree across the board! Go Syesha!
I don't agree! I would have put David A first -- I thought both performances were really strong. Syesha is definitely stepping up nicely, but I don't find her as original a performer as David A. Proud Mary was fun, but a little too close to Tina T. I would have left out the choreography (or replaced with something that ws more original). I think she meant this as some kind of homage, but it came across as lack of imagination. I thought her second song was amazing though. As for David C, I think he does realize the competition is getting sticky. He even admitted he wasn't thrilled with Hungry Like the Wolf (BAD song choice). That said, I thought The Who song was one of the best of the night. My only conmplaint was that it was too short! I won't bother commenting on Jason. Pathetic.
Diane, It was a close call between David A and Syesha for first, but I gave it to Syesha more for effort than anything else.
I was also torn between David A and Syesha. I loved both of David A's songs and was so impressed at his ability to make even the most familiar songs his own. He just has such good instincts. Great job! Kudos, also, to Syesha particularly for that amazing version of "A Change is Gonna Come" (of course, I was also switching back and forth to the primary results and that made this song even more poignant). Sorry, but David C. just "doesn't do it for me" to quote Randy. He's obviously talented and attractive, but I don't feel that he's really invested. In fact, sometimes I feel as though he's walking through the motions. Anyway, there's no doubt that it's way beyond time that poor Jason take his reggae locks and trip on down the road.
I just realized that i posted my comment (the 1st one here) under my other google id. that was me!
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