American Idol: A lesson in Song Selection

Well...I did it again. Refused to accept the truth and went with the HOPE! I gotta get back on my game! This is getting embarrassing! This is one whirlwind of a season. But that bottom 3 made perfect sense for the night we had last night. I think we all kinda knew who was going home and I just wanted to throw out a scenario that many of us would have preferred! Ladies and Gentlemen....Carlton Banks/Forrest Whitaker/Gary Coleman.....or as we've come to know him: CHICKEZIE... has left us this week!

Eliminated: Chickezie

Bottom 3: Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, Chickezie

My Bottom 3: Kristy Lee Cook, Chickezie, Ramiele Mulaby

Dialidol.com's Bottom 3: Ramiele, Castro, Chickezie

I was a walking contradiction in my blog last night. I mentioned in Kristy's section that she was probably safe from the bottom 3, then I put her in there anyway! And I mentioned that Castro would probably be in the bottom 3 and then I made him a wildcard! Just bizarre. Yeah, and I know there are Ramiele fans out there, but I didn't think she'd be safe from the bottom 3. But I did forget about one of my golden rules. If I can't think of much to say about someone, chances are not many others out there are thinking of much to say about them either. That would be SYESHA. Song selection is KEY. And all 3 of our bottom 3's songs were awful and unmemorable. Simon was right on tonight. Awful might be a strong word. But it's just songs that no one really knew nor wanted to hear again. God, even that awful Archuleta song I can't get out of my head...that crazy "OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!" from the song and then listening to him talk about it "I just love that song, it's like my favoritest song ever and the guy that wrote it Farnham??? He is just wonderful. It's just great with the words and the music and the whole combination! Of course I picked it myself. It's simply wonderful!!!!" Wow, the artichoke is getting speaking lessons from Paula herself!

So what's the fallout from this? Well Jason Castro is going to bounce back with something risky next week. It's either going to be great or be a disaster. I think next week is Dolly Parton country week too isn't it? Hmmm Guitar, Country....let me guess Jason...you going to give us some Keith Urban? Well just make it a good one! I think Jason's fans have seen the bottom 3 alarm loud and clear though and won't make the same mistake of only voting 300 times each. They'll up it back to 600. Syesha on country night??? Hmmm I'm not so sure if she'll be able to swing it. You know who might though? That crazy Kristy Lee Cook. She is one of those contestants that will overstay her welcome, I'm telling you. It happens every year! Of course, personally, I'd say Ramiele is doing a good job of that too! But it's no matter. Anyone that I have thought had a chance of winning this thing are still in the running! (speaking of which, A season 7 first, David Cook beat out Archuleta in the dialidol predictions for whatever that is worth!) If Ramile or Syesha somehow come up with a nice country performance next week, then we'll have no choice but to say goodbye to one of the bigger names on the show (man, I feel like John Madden right now with my Captain Obviousness!)

Other highlights from the results show:

• Kimberly Locke returns from season 2. Montage of success was nice. As for her performance? She should stick to her restaurant!
• Idol top 10 performance was a disaster. Has anyone noticed that in the close-up shots that some of them seem to be mouthing the words and not singing? And sometimes the words they are mouthing are not the right ones? That might be my favorite thing to watch on results show night!
• Taking Fan calls is starting to show its true colors: an excuse to make the results show an hour.
• Idol Gives Back is becoming a phenomenon once again. I'd like to make fun of it. But what can you say about something that is for a great cause? #1 show in America, and they're using the publicity to raise money. It's a good thing. Now the only question is how will this affect the COMPETITION this year? I mean they can't pull the same OBVIOUS twist they did last year with not eliminating anyone right? I've heard rumors that they're going to have 5 previous contestants from this year return to compete for an extra spot on the Idol tour. Not a bad idea, but will anyone really care? Time will tell.

Okay, I think I've bored you all enough. Not much else to do except wait until next week! Farewell Chickezie, we'll miss you. You truly were the MOST LIKEABLE contestant! I'll see Y'ALL next week when we put on our LINE DANCIN' BOOTS and COWBOY Hats and GO COUNTRY!

American Idol: Top 10 Perform

Okay, well a tad better than Beatles Week Part Deux wouldn't you say? Some of the underwhelming talent thus far stepped up their game a bit. And some of people's favorites may start to see themselves in that dreadful bottom 3 a la Carly last week. After tonight's performances, I might be able to finally throw my support behind one particular contestant whom I picked pretty early on. This contestant might be the only one that can take on the mighty Artichoke covered with Inspirational Cheese. This same contestant finally was worthy of my first TEXT VOTES this season. Very impressive indeed. Who will it be? Well I'm sure it's no shocker but we'll have to read on to find out! So the theme tonight was the ever popular "Songs From the Year They Were Born." What did I learn from tonight? I am older than the oldest contestant on that show (only by 8 days though)! Mostly everyone else was uber Young! I mean BORN IN 1990???? YIKES! Okay okay...enough! Let's break down the contestants!

Ramiele Maluby
Born: 9/6/1987
Song: Heart - "Alone"
Outfit: TRAINWRECK

Maybe the only person that looked worse than Paula Abdul tonight. A very close and reliable fashion consultant informed me that Ramiele indeed dresses like she is a homeless person. Granted, I don't know many homeless people, but I could see them wearing something like this in the summer months! No offense to any homeless people who are reading this in an internet cafe' somewhere! Shouldn't you be investing your money in something else? Like Ramiele's clothes??? Anyway, I don't really feel like talking about her performance because it was probably the stupidest thing she could've done. Let's not even start with Carly performing it earlier this season in the Hollywood Rounds and knocking it out of the park. Anyone remember CARRIE UNDERWOOD'S defining performance in season 4? You know the one where Simon declared her the winner? On Idol, if you perform a song that defined a previous Idol, you're bound to be compared. This didn't even come close. Simon says she'll be safe, but I'm not so sure. I agree with Randy on this one. It wasn't good and she went first. But we'll see!

Jason Castro
Born: 3/25/1987
Song: Sting - "Fragile"
Occupation other than Music: TRANSLATOR

I did love on the video clip Jason playing around with those guitars with the buttons that played tunes. Man, Guitar Hero wasn't even on anyone's radar of possibilities yet. But I definitely had one of those guitars in one of my grade school talent shows. For me? naaaaa I was playing my keyboard, but I wanted my friends up there with me, so we figured out a button to push that would sound good with my keys! Looking back it was very very embarrassing. I mean I had another friend using drumsticks on a text book! And yeah...we had dancers too. Ahhhh good times! Well we all couldn't have MY talent! Once again, nothing really impressive to talk about with Jason's performance. Like the judges said, he was being safe. He knows what he's good at and he's not stretching his imagination. Simon mentioned that Castro could be a serious contender if he tried to take on more ambitious efforts like Hallelujah. I agree, he could. But come on, Jason isn't going to win this thing, is he? If he likes what he does, he can keep doing it until there aren't enough votes coming his way! Unfortunately, if he wants to stay on the show, he better start taking those risks. Because, I have a fear he might be in the bottom 3 this week.

Syesha Mercado
Born: 1/2/1987
Song: Stephanie Mills - "If I Were Your Woman"
Overused Gimmick: The Baby Crying!

Well, nothing too interesting for me to reflect on in Syesha's backstory. And there's not much for me to say about her singing either. Yeah, she really nailed that song I never heard before. The judges thought it was fabulous. And I guess it was, but I wasn't really interested in it. That being said, I'm sure there is enough of the voting public out there that will be still interested in Syesha to keep her alive in the competition. Building from last week's "Yesterday" she could be making quite a rally to stay in the game. But, she already lost me in the semi-finals. Too late to make me intrigued! Prove me wrong Syesha!

Chickezie
Born: 9/11/1985
Song: Luther Vandross - "If Only For One Night"
Biggest Issue: Doesn't take the right advice

Oh Chickezie chickezie....why on earth did you listen to the crazy vocal coach and Ricky? Who wants to follow their heart? Apparently Chickezie decided not to be the guy that everyone started getting behind with his stage antics and deep southern grooves and went back to the unknown Luther Vandross ballads that no one wants to hear. And, it's probably enough to send him right down into the bottom 3 which he hasn't had a taste of since beating out Danny Noriega in the last semi-final round. He sang the song well, don't get me wrong. But people just aren't interested in that KIND of good singing. Well, maybe I don't quite have the pulse of America down. But I know that I don't like it! Hopefully he'll be spared this week, but I just don't know! We'll have to do our analysis down below.

Brooke White
Born: 6/2/1983
Song: The Police - "Every Breath You Take"
Skill: Convincing the judges that starting a song, stopping and re-starting is PROFESSIONAL

Yep, she messed up, stopped and then just started over. I was willing to look past it because she did give a pretty darn good performance. But Randy and Simon saying that this was a GOOD thing? I don't know about that. That was weird. But let's look past it. When she eventually started the song, I was starting to expect a "LET IT BE" Part II. And while with people in Chickezie's position, he's better off sticking to upbeat crazy stage performances because the people like that. With Brooke, I've been looking for her to step out and do something crazy. It's a catch-22 I guess. She tried it last week with an upbeat tune and it wasn't so good. So stick to what works right? Well, she did speed up "Every Breath You Take" in the middle of the tune. I thought this was a good idea. I agree with the judges that the performance could've been really good if she kept it piano only through the whole thing. But then we'd hear the judges complaining that she is just repeating old success! I dunno. I still really like Brooke. I don't really see her winning this thing, but I wouldn't be upset if she did! I don't think her fans will give up on her now. She's safe and out of the bottom 3.

Michael Johns
Born: 10/20/1978 (8 days after me!)
Song: Queen - "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions"
Most Likely to Be: Queen's new frontman

Okay, so let's keep track. Times that we thought Michael Johns was amazing: Hollywood Week when he sang Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Top 10 Week when he sang Queen's "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions." hmmmmm am I onto something? Well, putting that aside I must also note that Michael's rendition of We Will Rock You was MUCH MUCH MUCH better than Ace Young's re-envisioning of the song much to Brian May's disgust! I could definitely see Michael felt more in his comfort zone tonight. He really knocked that one out of the park. And I knew as he was singing it the judges would all say in unison that he finally connected with a song. Well what does this mean? Will Michael be able to sing Queen every week? Naaaa. But he has to find songs with the same energy! Good luck in Country and Broadway week!

Carly Smithson
Born: 9/12/1983
Song: Bonnie Tyler - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Annoying Habit: Sleeveless Tops

Well, aside from the gruesome tattoo that won't go away and the Boy George look-a-like contest that she'd have a shot of winning, I thought she did pretty well tonight. Yeah, she had some rough notes here and there and the last note was not pleasant but I thought she did well enough to escape the bottom 3. Maybe the judges were expecting to be able to say the same thing that they said to Michael Johns about finally connecting with a song. And she just wasn't able to do that for them. Carly does have the vocal strength to still be a contender on this show. But she does have things working against her. We'll just have to see if last week was a fluke!

David Archuleta
Born: 12/28/1990
Song: John Farnham - "You're The Voice"
America's New Task: Let's get this kid to PROM!

Yep, that's right folks, if we can get him kicked off in the next couple weeks he might be able to ask that girl sitting next to his father to the prom. Otherwise, Paula Abdul might've been dressed for the occasion too! He really wants to go! I mean, couldn't you see his wonderful dance moves during his performance of yet another inspirational mess of a song in "You're The Voice?" Okay okay, I'm mean. The kid has some amazing vocal powers. But aren't you getting tired yet of this 17 year old punk trying to tell the viewing audience how the world is supposed to work and how to solve all of our problems? Sure he plays it off with that sweet innocent smile and his bashful presence but this kid just irks me! And yes, I'll say it again...it all started with him auditioning with John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change" my most loathed song in recent history (probably ever since Collective Soul's "Shine" or any Red Hot Chile Pepper's Song (when will anyone realize that they all sound the same????)). He loves the MESSAGES in these tunes. At least he thinks he does. He's just too young to understand what he's singing about! The world hasn't corrupted him yet! I mean he was born 3 days from 1991! I loved Simon's comparison to a Theme Park Performance with animated animals all coming out to join him on stage. I couldn't have said it better myself. But all the 12 year olds and Moms out there are dialing in a frenzy to prove Simon wrong. And that's why we all need to put our support out there with someone who has a fighting chance! (we're getting there!)

Kristy Lee Cook
Born: 7/18/1984
Song: Lee Greenwood "God Bless the USA"
Occupation: Evil Genius

Well, who knew Kristy could concoct the most brilliant move in Idol history according to Simon Cowell? I'll admit it, this was a great chess move to prolong an eventual checkmate against Kristy Lee Cook. I mean, AMERICAN IDOL singing lyrics like "I'm Proud to be an American" with that country twang that finally fit. She couldn't do "Amazing Grace," she may as well do the next best thing. And yes, the song can tend to drive people crazy after hearing it a little too much and people can write it off as propaganda. But there are many out there in Voting America that will be touched by this performance with the American Flag flying in the background and will pick up their phone without even thinking about it and dial dial dial. Oh yes Ray, people will CALL! (sorry, Field of Dreams Flashback) Anyway, I don't even see Kristy as a threat in the bottom 3 this week. But with her track record of being close to elimination, it is possible that she'll be there. But she won't be the one going home. So who WILL it be? Yikes I still don't know.

David Cook
Born: 12/20/1982
Song: Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" (in the style of Chris Cornell)
Mission he Accomplished: Earned my vote

That's right America (or the 50 people reading this!), I am pledging my support to the COOK who can make something in the kitchen! Yeah, I've only heard Chris Cornell's version of the tune a couple times. But that's good, it was a low enough number that I couldn't compare to the original. And they learned their lesson this year to TELL us up front that they aren't coming up with these versions by themselves (Remember Daughtry doing Live's version of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" ?). Much easier to swallow when we know what they're attempting. As Simon said, David was brave to attempt it and it would've ended up being insane or amazing. Well, it WAS amazing. Seeing a performance like this makes me proud that I was able to recognize him out of the bunch in the early auditions. There were a couple weeks in there where I was losing interest. But I think he is in the zone right now. And if he keeps it up, he has the best chance to take down the mighty child and his cartoon character following. David A. got off to a strong start, but I think he may be self-destructing. While I do think he WILL miss his prom, a finale up against Cook could be a pretty good show. Of course, with this crazy songwriter's competition bound to give us another "THIS IS MY NOW," if Cook isn't able to change it up, then Artichoke may still run away with the competition. That's how Jordin won, it's how Carrie beat Bo (even though she was destined to win season 4 anyway!), Kelly beat Justin, Fantasia beat Diana, Taylor beat Katharine (still don't know how Ruben won season 2 but I didn't really care either!). Anyway, they all sang the best on the IDOL song. Those songs are killer! Sure, we have a long time before we have to worry about that. But as I'm thinking about it, I'm already worried that the Artichoke has the best chance of knocking that tune out of the park. Of course, this year, pretty much everyone can carry a big tune. So maybe it won't be an issue! Anyway, Cook has done enough in the past few weeks to earn my vote for the rest of the competition. Although I still do like Brooke White too! I'm still staying away from predicting a winner to the show just yet. I am just holding onto hope that my prediction that "David Archuleta will NOT win" remains true!

Man I am rambling tonight! Are you still with me? We have one more task ahead of us! And that is to get our bottom 3 and castoff! Here goes nothing!

Should be Safe from Elimination: David Cook, Artichoke, Boy George, Syesha Mercado, Brooke White, Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook

Should be Worried about elimination: Ramiele, Castro, Chickezie

Bottom 3: Ramiele Mulaby, Chickezie, Kristy Lee Cook Wildcard: Jason Castro

Elimination Pick: Ramiele Mulaby - I'm taking a risk going against Simon. But I have to go with my Dawg Randy. It was baaaaaad tonight plus she went first, plus she tried to be Carrie Underwood! The song was waaaay too big for her. And while my heart tells me Chickezie is going home, I just don't have the heart to make the pick. Since I'm already 0-2 with my picks, I'm going to try to keep up my winless record for now! Farewell once again Ramiele! It's been boring knowing you!

Well, I think I've written you all to sleep by now so I'll keep this short. Pretty good night tonight. Hopefully, this is more of what we have in store for the coming weeks! I'll see you guys Wednesday Night for the RESULTS!

American Idol: Elvira Sent Packing!

Hello Idolists! Well, I didn't see last night's episode so excuse me if I say anything that doesn't make sense. It was on at the bar so I think I got the gist. We saw Kellie Pickler go up another "um...size," lots of drama of who was in the top 10, some Idol Gives Back tear jerking Elliott Yamin moments, and of course a surprise Bottom 3er! What probably wasn't TOO much of a surprise was our eventual cast-off (even though I didn't pick her once again!). Ladies and gentlemen, Beetlejuice has left the building!!!!

Eliminated: Amanda Overmeyer

Bottom 3: Amanda, Kristy Lee Cook, Carly Smithson

My Bottom 3: Amanda, Kristy, Ramiele

Dialidol Bottom 3: Chickezie, Amanda, Kristy

We knew the rocker pseudo singing nurse wouldn't last TOO long. But I guess with the Votefortheworst support I thought she had a little extra time. Now, I'm sure Kristy Lee Cook will be getting that WORST support and it could propel her even further. But if you recall, Simon did state that he saw Kristy getting to the top 10 and no further. So next week could be her week! I'm sure the only thing I missed by not watching Idol with Audio was the theme for next week! That would allow me to analyze everyone's chances. Oh well, nothing like the element of surprise next week!

Speaking of surprise, CARLY in the bottom 3? I mean, I wasn't too impressed with her this week but I never thought her fans would abandon her! Here's another question for your general wonderingment. Why does Carly cover up the tattoos on Results night and not for performance night? It's amazing how quickly I forget about BOY GEORGE once that art is covered! I'm sure Carly will bounce back next week and leave room for possibly Ramiele to re-enter the bottom 3 along with some other underachiever!

Of course, The Artichoke remains LOVED BY MOST and will be safe for many weeks to come. But I'm still sticking to my guns on this one! I mean, I am due to get an IDOL PICK wrong one year right? The only year I didn't get it right was season 2 (thinking Clay would overcome the velvet teddy bear). Oh well...we'll just have to wait and see!

That's all I have for you this week folks. See you next week for whatever THEME was announced last night!

(PS: Good call commenter Ian on picking Amanda!)

American Idol: Top 11 Perform

Snoooooooooore! Well, it couldn't last could it? My infatuation with American Idol seems to come in spurts. And last week was the end of the latest spurt! I had voiced my concern of revisiting the BEATLES (oh my bad...EXPANDING on the "lennon/mccartney" week last week. For what? One George Harrison song??) for a 2nd consecutive week. Don't get me wrong. I love that crazy band. The songs do seem to be timeless. But should tonight be a reminder of their timelessness? HELL NO! My concerns were around some contestants starting to fall into traps and try to reap more of the same good judges comments from their same style takes on the same artists. Not everyone fell into this trap. But there were a few. I dunno, as Simon suggested, "why mess with a good thing?" (well i'm paraphrasing). He pretty much said last week was pretty magical, it was unlikely to happen again. What we did get is the BUTCHERING of the Beatles that we had expected BEFORE last week happened. And with that, we have an open palette for who can be going home tonight. Sure, most of our FAVORITES will probably be safe. But we might have a surprise in that bottom 3 come tomorrow night when KELLIE PICKLER returns to show off her ummm...."assets." Well, no sense in blabbing on here. Let's discuss this trainwreck!

1 - Amanda Overmeyer

Song: "Back in the USSR"

Well, I like the tune. Seemed to be the right one for Amanda to choose. Yeah, she was as entertaining as she ever is, but like I have said before....eventually she'll tire on America. Maybe this week is not the week, but I think she might be flirting with that bottom 3 now. It just was more of the same. And less in tune. Her attitude? She has 1 minute and 30 seconds each week to show what kind of show she can put on and start selling tickets. There's the attitude! Do you kind of just get that feeling like she is too good for this show? That she doesn't really want to be there? She just wants the stage and the viewers. Oh well, she has her goals, and she's keeping them low. Maybe she has the right attitude. But she didn't convince ME to vote for her! But at least she has GUMPTION! There are 3 words in the Paula Abdul dictionary of Idol Critiques: CONNECTION, VULNERABILITY and GUMPTION And sometimes we get the bonus of Blueberries and Quiet Confidence! You'll see that the Randy/Paula theme this year is to discuss CONNECTING with the song. I think Simon may have mentioned this early on this season and ever since it's all we hear tweedle dee and dum discuss! Yo Yo Yo dawgs but at least Randy has a mediocre COMPILATION ALBUM in stores now! CHECK IT! Connect with it! (can you tell I was bored tonight?)

2 - Kristy Lee Cook

Song: "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Okay, yet another song that I do enjoy by the fab 4. But, we must keep in mind that the MUSIC BUTCHERER has selected it! Here comes the new arrangement synthesizers and all! WOO HOO!!!! Yeah, noooooo. She is just not cut out for this show. I mean, she just needs to go out there and sing amazing grace until they kick her off the show themselves. Changing the melody of a beatles song, especially one like that.....it's just inexcusable! I could barely recognize the song for a 2nd week straight! Considering she made the bottom 2 last week and was incredibly terrible and this week she was a smidge better, she may see less of the sympathy vote. This could be ol' Kristy's week! But you know me with all this crazy guessing! I never can quite get it right until the field is narrowed!

3 - David Archuleta

Song: "The Long & Winding Road"

Yeah yeah yeah, you can try to tell me you told me he'd bounce back. But if you recall, I said it myself!! "I'm sure ARCHIE will bounce back next week. But in my opinion, the damage has been done. I am now convinced he's not invincible." Sure, he sang much better and very ARTICHOKE-like tonight. And all the mothers in America will rush to their phones in the hopes that David will pop out of the other end and they can squish his little head into a little tiny ball and then the can put that ball in their pocket and......oh you get the point! This kid just has America in the palm of his hand. If he sings a tune with any amount of decency, they are putty in his hands! To me? He sounds like he should only be singing songs written by Alan Menkin or something (See Aladdin Soundtrack). Supposedly, Nigel Lythgoe (Exec Producer) said he does an amazing version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" but they don't have the rights to show the song on the air (he sang it during Hollywood week). Well, maybe that would show me a side of David that might interest me. The song was just bland and boring to me. And yes people I have finally noticed the the LIP-LICKING affair ARCHIE has begun with his bottom lip. His lizard-like tendencies won't earn him any stripes in this blog. Will just provide me more ammunition over the next 9 weeks of this crazy competition (if he makes it that far). Needless to say, being one of the 2 performances Simon actually liked tonight, I'm going to guess he's safe.

4 - Michael Johns

Song: "A Day in the Life"

Well, you can't blame the guy for trying. I mean it's his favorite Beatles song. It's MY favorite Beatles song (possibly one of my 5 favorite songs of all time - that's another blog). But I would've had the same problem he had. And I was trying to figure out during his whole performance how to make that 6 minute song into a 1 minute and 30 second song. There are so many different elements of that song to get into the show. I don't know why the judges give him such a hard time. Yet again they are waiting for some kind of CONNECTION with him and a certain song. Well, when on earth will he find this song? He's sang some classics over the past few weeks. And I've enjoyed them. Sure, I haven't branded any of them IDOL WINNER or anything. But, maybe I'm missing something? Will he be a bottom 3'er tonight? I guess anything is possible. Still love that song and I was actually impressed by what he DID fit in there.

5 - Brooke White

Song: "Here Comes the Sun"

Doo Do Doo Dooooooooo. Well Brooke said it herself. She couldn't do "Let it Be" again so she had nowhere to go but down for Beatles week #2. I liked that she tried to change things up again this week by going instrumentless and trying to work the stage a bit. But yeah...the yellow dress and the Sunny background was blinding me on my HDTV as much as it was Simon. And that crazy Dancing....well she can get away with it because it's part of her charm. But the off-key singing didn't work as much with this song as it has in past performances where her emotional renditions were good enough to look past some off-notes (As they added even MORE charm to the performance). Yeah, she's still a favorite of mine in this competition, regardless of if she'll win or not. And I think she has a bit of a following. She'll probably slide right on through to the next round.

6 - David Cook

Song: "Daytripper"

Okay, so my direct quote from last Wednesday's blog: "I mean, as impressed as I was with David Cook this week, do we really want to hear him take another peculiar Beatles song and make it an alternative hit?" The answer is NO folks! Right from the pre-performance clip where he said he heard a WHITESNAKE version of Daytripper and worked from that, I knew it would just be more of the same. Sure, he added the Mic Box which added a little joke for the judges and Ryan to mess with. But all it did was remind me of Peter Frampton and Richie Sambora. Score! All of this changing songs and modernizing them and rocking your guitar...it's interesting and unique in week 1, maybe passable in week 2. But 3 weeks in a row? OLD NEWS dude, time to switch things up on us! Yeah, he'll be fine. But he needs to work on checking his EGO a bit. As Simon suggested, he didn't think the performance was as David Cook himself thought it was. He was just bragging about learning the Mic Box for this performance. Then he made the "wa wa waaaaaaaa" sound into it for an attempted LAUGH response (don't think it worked). And the intentionally falling down to the reaction of Simon's critique? WAY OVERDONE dude! Let's forget this week ever happened and see what theme we get next week. And if next week IS Mariah Carey week, and David Cook can take "SOMEDAY" and turn it into an alternative masterpiece....well then fine. I'll stand corrected! (Disclaimer: I don't know next week's theme, but I just had to fit in the bizarre comment from Ryan to Randy that he saw Mariah this week. You're soooooooo much cooler than us Ryan!)

7 - Carly Smithson

Song: "Blackbird" (Sparrow???)

Yep, just wasn't as impressed as the judges on this one either. Sure, she sang it fine but it was slow and dull and apparently INDULGENT. Love when Simon brings that one up every season. And of course this results in Carly defending her song choice about how she is the most scared person in the world and we should all cry for her because she auditioned for American Idol. And Simon feels like a buffoon and all is right with the world. But you know what? No! Not ALL is right with the world. Because we need to get something out in the open folks! A dedicated IDOL BLOG reader since PRE-BLOG days has suggested to me that Carly has the appearance of someone that has forever changed the way I look at this woman. Oh you're going to love this!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Meet BOY GEORGE 2.0!!!

Okay, not an exact match but definitely the same FAMILY! And that Tattoo really butches Carly up a bit more than Boy George ever could be! Anyway, Carly is still a fantastic singer and her husband still scares the hell out of us! She's safe!

8 - Jason Castro

Song: "Michelle"

Okay, well if it wasn't Castro singing it, this would DEFINITELY be a bottom 3 performance. I mean it was just goofy and I laughed through the whole thing. Jason was laughing at himself IN FRENCH if you can believe it! He even admitted to American that it was a short week and really didn't want to sing the song. But this dude DOES have an appeal about him. And ever since he said he hates doing interviews, it's been the most exciting part of his performances! He's just a funny guy and America likes him. THE GIRLS LOOOOOVE HIM. Every time he sang "I want you" that whole "MOSH PIT" screamed. There may have been a few men in there screaming like little girls who knows??? But I think he'll be safe for this week as well.

9 - Syesha Mercado

Song: "Yesterday"

Well who would've thought SYESHA would be the one to do this song? Well, she said she needed the bottom 3 scare and for at least 1 week it seemed to have worked. She was really good this week. But let's focus on the REAL STAR! That guitar guy that looks like Carl Winslow from Family Matters! Yeah, even Paula gave him a shout out as PAUL. But whatever! He's CARL! And he really rocks that guitar every week and never gets the props that RICKY MINOR does! Come on, I want more CARL WINSLOW!!! Syesha bounced back and she's safe!

10 - Chickeze

Song: "I've Just Seen a Face"

Okay, well the Harmonica just DIDN'T work. He blew in, he blew out and he was done. I mean, I had a Harmonica when I was 5 and taught myself that little number! And here was another example of trying to do something similar to what worked last week. And that was fusing different styles of music into one song. And well, the ballad part was nice. I DID like the Country-esque CHICKEZIFICATION he did in last week's tune and this week's song. It seems like that's the style of music he should be doing. Who knows? Maybe he'll be the next COWBOY TROY! Simon called it all Gimmicky and maybe Chickeze will find himself in the bottom 3. But I think there are others that are ready to go!

Ramiele Maluby
Song: "I Should Have Known Better"

Okay kids, something is really wrong and disturbing about this girl. It seems that in place of her ability to be a good performer, she has improved in her ability to become ATTACHED to the closest living person at all times. At first Danny Noriega, and now it's David Cook and Brooke White....BIG BRO AND BIG SISTER! WE ARE ALL ONE CLOSE AND HAPPY FAMILY! It's all this girl ever talks about. If she spent as much time working on her songs she might be getting somewhere in this competition. Sure her upbeat sing-a-long "I should have known better" was far less boring than weeks' past, but it was still a disaster! Her stage presence really leaves much to be desired. She still hit all the notes, but I dunno, I just wasn't too impressed. But I never really have been. I don't think she'll go home this week (of course this could be my reverse psychology prayer!) but I'm still struggling on whether she's a bottom 3 victim!


So that's it, we're out of contestants. What a lackluster week! How on earth do we come up with a bottom 3? Well, we have to look at the PAST as always!

Who is SAFE based on reputation? Artichoke, D. Cook, Boy George, Happy Brooke, Dreads Castro

Biggest Improvement? Syesha Mercado

Should be able to slide for one more week before the Judges' comments take their toll? Michael Johns

Still Awful and Kicking? Kristy Lee Cook

Bottom 3 Candidates for Top 11 Week: Amanda Overmeyer, Ramiele Maluby, Chickezie

Bottom 3 Picks: Kristy Lee Cook, Ramiele Maluby, Amanda Overmeyer Wildcard: Chickezie Bonus Wildcard: Michael Johns

Elimination Pick: Kristy Lee Cook - Sympathy can only get you so far. Your time has run out Kristy! Sorry about your horse, maybe next time you should buy a plane ticket to Philly when there are auditions in California. I'm not a Geographic genius, but I think that's closer to OREGON!

I think I have decided that between Kristy and Amanda, the one that will overstay their welcome in this competition is Amanda. You know that one that just seems to linger around a bit longer than you really want them to? Kristy Lee Cook is just THAT bad! And I think America won't tolerate it anymore.

I think I've said all I can say about the Top 11 performances. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and see you at some point to discuss the results! (I'm going out tomorrow night, so the blog will be a bit delayed!) Please continue to post your own thoughts in the comments!