April 15, 2008

American Idol the Remaining 7

I'd like it to be noted that I'm more than a little ashamed that my last two posts are about AI. I do have a life, I promise. We've even had some pretty cool things going on around here, but it's so much easier to write out my silly thoughts on AI than it is to write something meaningful. It seems that, over the last three weeks, one or another of us has been sick constantly. In that time span, our little family of five has collectively made roughly 5 bagillion trips to the bathroom. As a rule, I don't generally like to spend that much time with our plumbing. Unfortunately, all that flushing has made me more than a little dizzy. So instead of sharing with you a beautiful story of our little girl's faith journey or a loving tribute to my husband on his birthday, I'm giving you bits of the extra fluff floating in my head. enjoy.

Mariah Carey night. I was unsure when I heard she was the mentor. I don't consider myself a fan of hers, but about halfway through the show after I had said, "Oo, I like this song" for about the third or fourth time, Ben concluded that I'm a closet Mariah Carey fan. I'll try to remember that the next time I want to tease my sis-in-law about her music tastes.

David Archuleta singing 'When You Believe' - (Oo, I like this song, aka OILTS count 1) Loved this song in the movie Prince of Egypt. Such a pretty and moving song. I think it was a great song choice for him or really any of the guys because it didn't have that pop girl feel to it. And, I really think David A did it justice. I loved that in the chorus he let the singers take the melody while he blew the roof. It was pretty, it was moving.

Carly Smithson singing 'Without You' - (OILTS count 2 and also "Mariah covered this song? huh.") First off, Bravo on her dress choice for the evening. Empire waist and A-line. Those two have always been kind to me. No need for spanx with them around. Alright, in the first part of this song it seems that she's thinking it through to much. You can see in her eyes that she's calculating how much volume she needs to let out. She only seems to really enjoy the song when she gets to the middle and really belts it out. Once she let go and began to enjoy the song, I did too.

Syesha Mercado singing 'Vanishing' - (OILTS count 3) I think she definitely gave this song some originality, and for the most part I like what she tried to do with it. At the risk of sounding like Randy, she was pitchy, which given the difficulty level of this song is not at all surprising. Those trills are crazy hard and while it wasn't perfect it was not to shabby. (OK, so I did sound like Randy because he said the same thing.)

So answer me this, as a contestant, if you had to choose between singing a simple and easy tune but totally nailing it, OR attempting something more difficult that you may not get entirely perfect, which would you choose?

Brooke White singing 'Hero' - (OILTS count 4) She starts off pretty good on this song. She seems comfortable, she's interacting with the camera. But about half way through the song I realized she wasn't going to bring anyone in on the performance with her. I think this goes back to the critique she received from the judges a few weeks ago on "Every Breath You Take". They suggested that she should have kept the entire song with just her and the piano. So I think that weighed heavy on her mind when she was making her accompaniment choices for this week. Unfortunately I don't think it was the right choice for a Mariah Carey song. Her voice and piano try to kick it up a notch at the bridge to give it some depth but it's not enough. And it's at that point that she seems over her head. The music gets a little rushed and her voice gets a little shaky. I think if she'd brought in some other vocals and instruments it would've gone a long way in helping her maintain some control on this song.

Side note from Ben (he was sleepy and not feeling well, but because he loves me, he watched with me.) About the time we noticed her curls boinging a little excessively from the sudden onslaught of nerves he said: "She's trying to remember chords and words at the same time." I feel for her, I think she's in just a bit over her head.

Another question: Am I the only one who likes to watch the families faces and see if I can tell what they really thought of their loved ones performance? I could be wrong but it looked to me like one of the guys in the BW posse might be a little concerned for her AI future.

What is this whole burger and toppings discussion?!?

Kristy Lee Cook singing 'Forever' - This was just a'ight for me dog. There's just not a whole lot that stands out for me with Kristy, and this song is no different. At this stage in the competition she should have some sort of nitch, but she doesn't. She can sing well, but so what? Good singers are a dime a dozen. She's gonna need more than just the ability to hold out her notes at the end of a song to win this thing.

David Cook singing 'Always Be My Baby' - HELLO!!! When I think of Mariah Carey, I think of songs like Always Be My Baby, which is probably why I don't consider myself a Mariah fan. yuck. But David's Arrangement? Holy Cow, can we just call this contest now? Seriously! The violins were just perfect with those little staccato notes. Sweet. And on the chorus, he was just AMAZING!!! He is completely in his element up on the stage. He owns that stage. David was the clear winner of the night. Poor Jason Castro having to follow that.

Jason Castro singing 'I Don't Wanna Cry' - This was another time it was good to have Ben watching with me. I was ready to pack it up and call it a night after David C. and I just about wrote Jason off. Ben on the other hand gave him credit for changing the song to suit his own personal style, and said it was a good performance. Not amazing but good nonetheless.

Best of the Night: David Cook (duh!) (I feel like a 14 year old saying the word 'duh!' Or maybe this girl.)
Who SHOULD vamoose - Brooke
Who WILL - Brooke or Kristy

(When I asked my poor sickly husband who he thought should leave, his short answer was "One of the blondes." And there ya have it.)

Can't get enough of AI reviews? Promptly proceed to La Casa de Boo for more armchair Rock-Starring.