Idol Chit Chat
There are only two solid guys this season, Michael Johns (the Aussie) and David Archeluta (the 16-year old phenom). David Hernandez (the Hispanic swooner) is alright and David Cook (the less-phony-rocker-than-the-other-guy) is pretty good, but neither of them have a chance at stopping the David of Archeluta. The kid is a powerhouse with both the judges and audience in the palm of his hand. I like Michael Johns a lot, if he stays consistent he’ll be in the top 5.
As for the women, Carly Smithson (the Irishwoman) clearly dominates on vocals, though her look and performances will have to improve if she expects to be in the finals. Syesha Mercado and Ramiele Malubay (the petite black and Filipina girls who can both belt it) can both belt it. They’ve got the looks (love Syesha’s hair), the voice and the attitudes to get far, I don’t know if they’ll go to the finals, but they’ll both go far. Kady Malloy (the Britney impersonator) has one of the best voices of the entire group, but she’ll need to actually use it to move ahead because nobody seems to like her right now. Amanda Overmyer (Janis Joplin), can you say “one-trick pony”? Not right for AI. The rest are forgettable.
Am I wrong? Am I overlooking anyone? Will there be a dark horse this season? Who do you hate? Who do you love?
I think dreadlock boy will be in the top four dudes but you are right about the David Archi-whetever vs. the Aussie thing. It is clearly a two-man race on the male side.
Which one is Kady Malloy again? I thought that Carol King sounding one from Mesa doesn’t suck but I haven’t seen the girls shows as much this season.
Comment by Geoff J — February 27, 2008 @ 10:41 am
I think Alexandrea Lushington has lots of staying power too. It’s kind of fun to have two Mormons in the top 20.
Comment by Kent — February 27, 2008 @ 10:46 am
Ugh, that Aussie guy isn’t very good.
David Arhuleta has it all sewn up at this point. He was outstanding last night. I just got done rewatching his performance twice this morning. Really amazing.
Dreadlock kid is the best next to him. He’s not American Idol material at all, though. Apparently the judges have no idea who Jack Johnson is. This kid has a big career ahead of him. Just not an AI career.
Brooke White is one of my fave females and not just because she’s Mormon. (She’s the one from Mesa, currently a nanny in Van Nuys.) She’s also not American Idol material, but this could really launch her. I’m waiting for her to pull out a Carole King tune.
Ramiele the little Asian girl is amazing too. I think it’ll come down to her and David.
Comment by Susan M — February 27, 2008 @ 11:28 am
I like David too - although haven’t seen this week’s yet - we don’t get it in England until tomorrow.
Actually, I pretty much agree with Susan.
Comment by Rebecca — February 27, 2008 @ 11:40 am
Kent,
Are you saying Alexandrea Lushington is Mormon?
Susan,
The Aussie guy is good. Did you see his performance of Bohemian Rhapsody? It was incredible. He hasn’t matched that performance since, but he has it in him.
I agree with your take on Dreadlock kid. I’m still waiting on Brooke White to see what she can do. Last weeks performance was only alright so we’ll see what she can do tonight.
Comment by Rusty — February 27, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
I saw his Bohemian Rhapsody. Very few people can pull of a Queen song. It was ok, but not great. You just don’t mess with Freddie. Maybe I’ll try to find it on youtube and rewatch it.
Last night I said to my husband during his Fleetwood Mac performance, “It’s a testament to what a great song this is that I don’t think he’s ruining it.”
Comment by Susan M — February 27, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Everyone is on the David bandwagon, but I remember Simon saying the same thing (19 others are very sad right now) to Melinda Doolittle last year.
Of the others, the main issue (as always) is song selection:
Michael Johns should never have tried to do Fleetwood Mac. Hell, he got lucky doing Queen…but why try to play with fire twice? Otherwise, his Doors performance last week tells me he can do a great imitation, but can’t create on his own.
Of the two “rockers,” the blonde haired dude should have picked a song that was half rock/half pop, like Elton Johns’ Tiny Dancers (although he is trying to hard to say he has an edge). David Cook was pretty good, but he’s not a finalist.
Dreadlocked guy (Jason Castro) singing Bee Gees? How about some Cat Stevens….he would have blown everyone away.
Noriega: A good version this week, and he probably gets a lot of support from a certain section of the population….he’s this year’s Sanjaya (although he can definitely sing better).
Chikeze…pretty good. Nothing special though.
David Hernandez: Great performance, but still too stiff.
Then you have the two forgettables: Luke “Perry” Menard and the guy who smiles and has a bleached strand of hair….both should be leaving on Thursday.
Comment by CW — February 27, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
You’re spot-on, Rusty.
Comment by David J — February 27, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
I went to youtube and re-watched Michael John’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I liked it even less the second time.
It sucks because I really do want to like him. He needs to choose better songs for himself.
David A has something Melinda Doolittle never did, and that’s youth and teenage cuteness.
On the whole, I’d say the girls out-performed the guys last night, but they really need to stop choosing songs that make you compare them so much to the original. I never realized what an outstanding vocalist Ann Wilson is until I heard Carly and—was it Kady? attempt to sing some Heart.
Comment by Susan M — February 28, 2008 @ 9:02 am
i’m for brooke all the way because she used to cut my hair.
Comment by mike d. — February 28, 2008 @ 9:07 am
The other thing David has over Melinda is the ability to do current material while not struggling with weird genres. Melinda was by far the best vocalist a year ago, but she always sang the same songs every week. People got bored. I don’t see that happening this kid.
Comment by Tim J. — February 28, 2008 @ 10:08 am
Susan,
My respect for your musical taste has taken a hit the last couple days (Michael John, Radiohead/Coldplay). But aside from those two issues, I have to agree with your last two points, that David A has more potential than Melinda and that Ann Wilson was amazing.
Mike,
Hey, having cut your hair is a better reason to vote for her than some of the other reasons people do so. But I’d have to say, Brooke is pretty dang good. I don’t think she’ll be in the top 3, but she’s certainly top 10.
Comment by Rusty — February 28, 2008 @ 10:12 am
I will admit to maybe, possibly, a tiny bit of exaggeration to wind people up over Radiohead. (But honestly, coming from someone who loves both Air Supply and stuff like this, what did you expect?)
I thought Brooke pulled off Carly Simon pretty well. Aiming it at Simon was a brilliant move. Funniest bit of the night was when he said “It is about me.”
Comment by Susan M — February 28, 2008 @ 10:32 am
Lalalalalala…not reading any comments yet.
I love Michael Johns. That may be because he lists his influence as Neil Finn. A little bias.
I don’t get the David A. love. He sings well, he’s a cute kid, but I see him starting to grate quickly with his (obviously sincere) aw shucks routine.
I like David Cook for someone I may actually listen to at some point when he breaks free and dreadlock boy reminds me a little of Jack Johnson, so I’m intrigued.
As for the girls - Ramiele and Carly are good. I like Brooke White. The others suck. Esp. skunk girl. Ew.
Comment by gabby — February 28, 2008 @ 11:19 am
skunk girl, I love it. Yeah, she was terrible last night. When she’s not screaming she’s horrible.
Comment by Rusty — February 28, 2008 @ 12:22 pm
I don’t really get all the Carly love. She’s technically good, I guess, but her voice just doesn’t seem very great to me. There’s nothing about it that grabs me.
David A has a wonderful tone to his voice. I think the aw shucks thing will disappear as he gets used to the praises.
Comment by Susan M — February 28, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
I don’t LOVE Carly. I have hope, though. I keep thinking her voice is going to do something it hasn’t yet. Hmmm. Maybe there was a reason her album didn’t go anywhere!
David A. is…technically good, but eh. I get that 13 year olds will love him and that he’ll go far (and he should - he’s good), but I don’t see why he’s “THE BEST EVER OH MY GOSH I CRY WHEN HE SINGS”. Ya know? He’s ok and cute, but I’ve seen better.
I really hope his dimply oh stop routine stops before final 12. If not, he will forever go on my Melinda list never to be spoken of again…
Comment by gabby — February 28, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
I’ve only been watching this a few seasons. Who’s been better?
Comment by Susan M — February 28, 2008 @ 1:33 pm
David A. faces the real (perhaps likely) risk of peaking too early and not even making the top three.
That’s what happened to Chris Daughtry. Of things worked out pretty well for him anyway… (Less so with Doolittle.)
Comment by Geoff J — February 28, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
I don’t know if I was talking about Idol necessarily since “better” is, of course, subjective! I’m sure I could youtube it, though, and come up with some. Clay Aiken - most of the stuff on his season - comes to mind. And I thought David Cook was MUCH better than David A. this week (subjective) but that could be because I don’t like David A & I really hate anything Beatles - ish (stike 2…).
Comment by gabby — February 28, 2008 @ 4:41 pm
After last night, here are my rankings:
1. Michael Johns (Simple Minds, Randy. Not INXS)
2. David Cook
3. Jason Castro
4. David Hernadez (stripper gate & all…)
5. David A.
6-7. Chicezie & Danny
8. Luke Menard (MAN! What WAS he thinking???)
Comment by gabby — March 5, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
I would put Cook and Castro ahead of David A and Aussie last night. I still think David A and Aussie are the ones to beat right now though.
Comment by Geoff J — March 5, 2008 @ 5:58 pm
I think my list would be:
1. Jason Castro (so impressed he chose that song)
2-3. David Cook & David A.
4. Michael Johns
5. David Hernadez (his voice is good but he’s sort of annoying)
6. Chikezie
7. Danny
8. Luke Menard
I thought “Tainted Love” was an interesting choice for Danny. I have it forever associated with AIDS now thanks to Coil’s cover of it for an AIDS fundraiser.
My respect for Simon went up a bit when he said Jeff Buckley’s version of “Hallelujah” is one of his all-time favorite songs. I have to listen to it now.
Comment by Susan M — March 5, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
Is it only me that bugged by David A’s constant lip licking? Just me? Ok…
Oh, that version of tainted love was just wrong on so many levels. So mockable, though!
Comment by gabby — March 5, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
I hadn’t noticed the lip licking. He’s probably not used to wearing lipstick.
What I get bothered by more than anything is the sound of people breathing when they sing. He doesn’t do it. A lot of girls do. I think Britney’s to blame. Or maybe Whitney?
The guys who do the sort of groany thing really bug me too. I definitely blame Eddie Vedder for it.
I actually just listened to David A’s performance about 5 times on repeat. It gets better with repeats, and a lot of the AI performances don’t (they get worse). I love what he does with a few of the notes. Like when he sings “me” in the first verse, and then the way he sings “twice” during the last verse. His voice has a real richness to it.
I wish they’d tell us which performances were getting the most downloads on iTunes. It’d be interesting to know.
Comment by Susan M — March 5, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
I agree with your ordering Susan.
The top 4 guys are good this year and certainly way more interesting than most of the girls. The Mesa girl and Skunky are the only girl singers who don’t bore me…
Comment by Geoff J — March 6, 2008 @ 12:18 am
I think David Archuleta is the real deal. He has a very pure singing voice and a special way of phrasing things that seems to make overplayed standards into new songs worth listening to again. I was absolutely amazed at his performance of John Lennon’s Imagine. It gave me chills.
Normally, to perform a song like that, would be absolutely deadly to a performer. But somehow he made it his own.
I’ve been trecking around on YouTube, watching some of the other David Archuleta videos that have popped up there. It’s interesting to read the comments. Some people are comparing Archuleta’s singing voice to that of Eva Cassidy. I wouldn’t have thought of that one on my own - but I think it’s quite a good comparison. The feeling I get when I listen to DA sing is very similar to what I feel when I hear Eva Cassidy’s “Over the Rainbow.”
Maybe DA will peak. He’s so young. We don’t know how things will unfold. But I have high hopes and expectations for him. With a voice like that, I’m less worried about whether he’ll be successful or not and more concerned about the industry corrupting him somehow.
Comment by danithew — March 6, 2008 @ 8:38 am
I agree with you Dan.
I worry about him coming across like a goody goody in this competition. I really like that he’s choosing songs that he wants to make statements with. But a lot of people will get sick of it quick I think.
For the girls, I loved Brooke’s version of Love is a Battlefield. I was worried when they said she was going to do it because who can do Pat Benatar? But she handled it perfectly.
I actually liked the girl who sang Journey too. I couldn’t even place the song for half of it, and I’d just been listening to it the same day. Sometimes hearing something sung by a different gender throws me off I think. But I liked it. I thought it had potential as a country song. Who would’ve thought?
Comment by Susan M — March 6, 2008 @ 10:08 am
Thanks for that Eva Cassidy link Dan. I was not aware of her until now. That performance was astonishing.
Comment by Geoff J — March 6, 2008 @ 11:30 am
“I worry about him coming across like a goody goody in this competition. I really like that he’s choosing songs that he wants to make statements with. But a lot of people will get sick of it quick I think.”
I already have!
I really only like Brooke. I think she did Love Is A Battlefield so well. And I had to plug my ears & mute the tv over that horrid rendition of Journey’s Faithfully. Blech! Oh, I wish her fake country persona would go away already! But, alas, she is the “country” artist of the season, so I fear she’s hear to stay…
The rest of the girls can all go. I’m not liking any of them, really. If Carly & Brooke get through, I’ll be ok. There are the only ones I care to watch out of the girls! And I don’t even really like Carly that much…
It’ll be interesting to see if a lot of girls are voted off before the guys starting next week when they are all grouped together. I think the guys are much stronger…
Comment by gabby — March 6, 2008 @ 11:49 am
Eva Cassidy was a genius. So sad she died so young.
I think the girls could pull ahead if they chose the right material. Ramiele, at least. Carly has yet to sing a song I think showcases her voice well. I mean, they keep saying how great of a singer she is, but her voice just doesn’t do anything for me.
Comment by Susan M — March 6, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Can’t believe Jason Castro took on “Hallelujah”. That’s one of those songs that I’ve always thought if someone would try and succeed at it, they’d go really far.
I don’t think Michael Johns was very good. I thought David A. was okay but much better than what the judges gave him credit for.
Why you would ever pick a Wham! song is beyond me. One of the worst song choices in a long time.
Comment by Tim J. — March 6, 2008 @ 11:58 am
I can’t believe the people who should’ve been kicked off actually were.
Comment by Susan M — March 7, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
Agreed.
One of my wife’s first comments several weeks ago was “all the blonds have got to go” (she was not including Brooke in this statement — she meant the nondescript, vaguely pretty, no-real-emotion blonds). And almost all of them did.
——–
gabby:
I too am bothered by the lip licking.
Comment by William Morris — March 7, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Melinda Doolittle doing the Dreyer’s ice cream tour right now she did appear on Fox 10, singing her first song she did releases on I Tunes My Funny Valentine. She did talk about released her first album June of 2008. She also have blog radio talk with her backups the third one. If you want to listen at it. Go to http://www.melindafan.net the place her fans support her. COme to join us for her new career.
Comment by Louise7 — March 10, 2008 @ 8:13 am
3/11
Surprise of the Night: Chikezie
Disappointment of the Night: David Archuleta
Performances that I Paid Attention To:
Carly Smithson
Brooke White
David Cook
Michael Johns
Performances that Were Whatever:
Amanda Overmyer
Syesha Mercado
Ramiele Malubay
Performances I Actively Disliked:
David Hernandez
Kristy Lee Cook
I hope Kristy Lee Cook gets booted as I don’t see her coming up with anything that will really work. I think Syesha or Ramiele could bounce back with the right week and song choice. Both Brooke and Michael are getting very close to boring (I really wish that Brooke had done Elanor Rigby as I read one commenter suggest that she should).
Comment by Wm Morris — March 11, 2008 @ 8:30 pm