Top 5 Perform !

Well, we were down to the final 5 for the 7th season of American Idol and what a strange night it was. The theme was Neil Diamond and here's how it went:

Jason Castro's first song was "Forever In Blue Jeans." Jason told us that when he was practicing, he kept on forgetting the lyrics. Maybe dude, you should ease up on the weed so you can remember your songs. Again, I don't get this kid. White rasta kid doing Neil Diamond was quite odd in my book. This kid has no right being in the top five as he really can't sing. The perfect example always goes back to Jack Johnson, whoever he is but is compared to. People say he's like Jack Johnson. But, if I had a choice to hear Jack Johnson or Jason Castro (and had to choose one cause I'd rather not see either), I'm sure I'd pick Jack Johnson in a heartbeat. Jason's second song was "September Morn" which had some sentimental meaning to me. Yup, growing up this was one of the 8-Tracks my dad would always put on when I was in the back seat. For those of you who are too young, the 8-Track was right before the cassette but after the LP Record. It was a ridiculous invention as you could only skip around to 4 different parts on the entire tape but they called it EIGHT track. Anyway, this was one of Jason's better performances. He sung it well for him but who cares. It surely didn't wow me. Maybe I should be smoking what America is for keeping this kid in the competition for so long. The best is that after his first song, Paula started talking about his 2nd song which he hadn't sung yet. She was either reading her wrong notes or just spaced out from the drugs she's on and remembering his 2nd song from rehearsals. I guess she's smoking the same stuff that Jason is.

David Cook's first song was "I'm Alive" and rocked it. There's not much else to say. Each week he is hands down far better than the other contestants. He makes each song his own. He sings it well. He modernizes it. And he has the stage presence where it looks like he belongs up there doing what he's doing. David's second song was "All I Really Need Is You." This was fantastic. I really wasn't as familiar with this song but it could easily be on the radio right now as a hit. This guy is a shoe in for the finals and the whole competition will come down to how big of a fan base David Archuletta really has.

Then, there was Brooke White. Oye Vey. I don't even know where to begin on this one. Her first song was "I'm A Believer"...yup, a song that the Monkees made popular and that recently Smashmouth made for Shrek 2. First of all, wrong song choice. Sing a Neil Diamond song. I don't care that he wrote it. Sing a song that he sings. Secondly, her movements around the stage was quite creepy. It was as if she had a few glasses of wine, just used her electric didlo, and was getting ready for a date that she was so excited for. It was out of tune and it was quite repulsive to listen to. I can never get that one minute and forty seconds back from that performance. Her second song was "I Am I Said" which is a good Neil Diamond song. But, her at the piano singing it was odd. It was almost as if I envisioned little first graders sitting around the piano and Brooke was singing to them. Hey Brooke....you are in the Top 5. This is season 7. That means there have been a total of 35 people who have been in this position and you came out and became the worst of those 34 other people. Heck...Anthony Federov could have done a better job with this song. Tick, tick, tick.... Time's almost up Brookie!

David Archuleta should shine doing Neil Diamond. There were two Neil Diamond songs that I didn't want anyone to sing. David comes out and sings that first song I didn't want to hear - "Sweet Caroline." I've heard this song covered by every cover band there is. Plus, it's played at every wedding and bar mitzvah. It's such a popular song that no one should have touched it. But, David decided to give it a stab. He has a nice voice but wrong song. He just came across as very corny and there was no way an audience could be wow'd with that song choice. Then, the second song he sang was the other song I didn't want anyone to sing - "America." I guess it was a smart choice singing a patriotic song as it saved Kristy Lee Cook a few weeks ago but this song is pure Neil and he really didn't pull it off. He sung it decently and actually ended the song strong with some power notes but this was not one of Archuleta's better nights.

Finally there was Syesha Mercado. Her first song was "Hello Again." First of all, I don't like what she did to her hair. I hit pause and she looked exactly like Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon whom I can't stand as she's in nothing that I can recall but she's in EVERY People and US Weekly magazine. She irritates me like Syesha. She actually has a nice voice and sang well for her but it was boring. I don't want to be bored with only five people remaining. Her second song was "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime." This was way too churchy for me. If she sang this at a church, the choir and people in the audience would be going wild. However, she sung it in front of 30 million people who she probably put to sleep.

So, who is the bottom 3? I'm going to have to say its Jason, Brooke, and Syesha. They should all be sent packing but it's really got to be Brooke after tonight as she really was painful.

Until next week...Birdman Out.

Carly Screwed

Carly gets screwed while Syesha, Jason, and Brooke life on !

Top 6 Perform

Okay, another week closer to crowing a champion and this wee was the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. First of all, how creepy looking is ALW? He looks like a combination of Mike Myers, Neil Diamond, and my 7th grade orthodontist - Dr. Harte. But, enough about Lloyd Webber...let's see how things played out last night on American Idol.

Syesha was up first singing "One Rock and Roll Too Many." This is the first time in a month she is not singing a power artist like Whitney Houston, Fantasia, or Mariah Carey. And ya know what? I still hated her performance. She has this smile that I just want to smack off her face. Yeah, she sung the song nicely and she didn't really understand that the judges comments weren't as nice as it seemed. Let me interpret. They were saying basically that she could be good on Broadway and was more comfortable in this genre. So, they are telling her that she'll NEVER win this competition and sell CDs but she could have a career on Broadway. She's a lock for the bottom three this week as far as I'm concerned. At this stage of the competition, she's not even close to some of her prior competition of years past...aka LaToya, Tamayra, and Vonzell. I always compare her to those three since they made it deep and she doesn't even come close to those three.

Jason Castro was up next and when they said that he was going to sing "Memory", I almost choked on a JuJubee. Why the hell would a pot smoking, dread lock wearing, poor singer, chose to sing one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most memorable and famous songs that was made famous by a female voice? I think he must have toked one to many bong hits when flipping through the ALW catalog. This was awful. I just didn't understand what he was doing. I can't stand his voice and I'm sick of hearing comparison's to Jack Johnson. How many people own a Jack Jonhson CD? Right...I thought so. So, if no one buys Jack Johnson, why the heck would anyone purchase Jason Castro, (not including Mommy and daddy) unless, maybe, your first name was Fidel. This guy's ride needs to end already. This guy is this year's Jon Stevens - poor voice, bad performances, and has gone much further than he should have gone.

Brooke White was now on stage to sing "You Must Love Me". The song was a train wreck right from the start when she cued the band to start over after she flubbed it. She is coming down to the end of her ride as well. She's a pretty girl with a nice voice but I just see it as a talent show performance at her college. It's sung nicely but there are tons of blondes out there that can sing exactly the same as her. The one blonde to win American Idol was Carrie Underwood and Brooke isn't even close to that level. Hell, even Kellie Pickler was able to sing better than Brooke. I think the flub in the beginning could write her grave. I have to give her credit that she has balls for stopping the band but balls on a chick might not sit well with the American public. She's a lock for this week's bottom three.

David Archulete was now ready to sing "Think Of Me." I didn't think it was one of David's best performances. I compare him to Clay Aiken and I know Clay could have belted some of the notes much better than David. Now, don't get me wrong, it was a solid performance but I think it was far from David's best. He'll have no trouble advancing to next week but I want something more memorable next week that will WOW me. We will be at five people next week so each performance needs to have that WF - Wow Factor.

Carly Smithson hit the stage next to sing "Superstar" and all I ask of FOX is to stop showing her husband in the audience. It's so gross that his entire face is all tatooed up. He looks ridiculous. "Superstar" was a good choice. Laura, from "Grease: You're The One That I Want" sang this song late in the competition and went on to win the role of Sandy. Anyway, this was one of Carly's best performances and I've been waiting for her to have that great performance. She's always right on the bubble of greatness, at least for my taste, and I thought she nailed it and solidified her status for the Top 3 in this competition.

Finally, there was David Cook who should win this competition. However, the best doesn't always win. Just ask Chris Daughtry that. But, sometimes not winning turns out to be better so you don't have to make a CD of queer songs. Anyway, he sings "Music Of The Night" which was the best song of the night again for David. He just seems to know what he's doing on stage. He changes the song to make it his own and sings it well. Each week the performance is original and one of the few performances that I look forward to hearing. David has 4 weeks left before the finals and I'm sure he'll be standing there next to David Archuletta.

So, this week should be easy. The bottom three are Syesha, Brooke, and Jason. I hope Brooke's flub doesn't get her eliminated as I really dislike Syesha and Jason. I think it's finally Jason's time to leave. And, I'm sure he'll be psyched to go home, get high, and eat some chips.

So, until next week...Birdman Out.

Kristy Eliminated !

This cook's meal is finished ! She started out as an early frontrunner but Kristy Lee's time has expired !

Top 7 Perform

Well, it was Mariah Carey week on American Idol this week. Going into the night, I thought it could be either really good or really bad. A few years ago Idol did Gloria Estefan night which was a complete flop so I was hoping we were not going to suffer the same fate. Here's how it went down:

David Archeluta started things off singing "When You Believe." This was a great song choice for him. He has this voice that can hit the notes of a woman but sound like a man if that makes any sense. I wished he changed it up a little bit more than the original version but he did a fantastic job to start off the show. I'm just glad he didn't choose a song from "Glitter."

Following was Carly Smithson and I liked that she covered up a lot of her tatoo with this performance. Hearing a tattooed girl singing a Mariah Carey song would look funny to the voting public. I actually do like her tattoos but she made a smart move covering it up. She sang "I Can't Live (If Living Is Without You" and I liked it. Not sure why the judges were getting on her case. I thought she belted the power notes nice and ended great. Yeah, it may have been a bit off in the beginning but she ended pretty strong. Unfortunately, based on the judges comments, she could wind up in a bit of trouble this week.

Then came Syesha Mercado coming off of her Whitney impression and her Fantasia impression and now she's stuck doing Mariah. Sucks for you honey! I thought she could have picked a better song that people knew. She sang "Vanashing" which I've never heard of which I guess was smart since she picked the wrong songs the prior two weeks. This girl just bores me. I just want to smack her in the head. I even got up to get an Italian ice in the middle of her snooze fest. I think it's time for her to go. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

It was now Brooke White's turn and she chose "Hero". She did what I thought Syesha was going to do...sing one of the really popular songs where you need a very strong and powerful voice. I did enjoy her unplugged version but wanted more from it. It was also a boring performance sung well but not fantastic. At this stage in the competition, I want to be WOW'd. And instead, I was Hmmmmm'd. Basically, it was not bad but not good enough.

Kristy Lee Cook now had her turn. She's survived in recent weeks by having smart song choices and good singing. The song she chose was "Forever" which was a good choice but I found it a bit weird with the country spin on it. It was sort of like Shania doing Mariah but it wasn't working for me. Don't get me wrong...she sang the song nicely. It's too bad her legs weren't like Haley Scarnato who got really deep with her legs. She doesn't have that body part that will keep her alive much longer. I didn't hate her singing but again, I was not wow'd.

David Cook was up next and I'm always excited for his performance as he really changes it up and makes it his own. He sang "Always Be My Baby" and now I finally got that WOW from the night that I was looking for. Hell, this version could have even been better than Mariah's version. There's not much else to say but "See Ya In The Finals !"

Finally it was Jason Castro's turn to butcher a Mariah song. Marijuana smokers and Maria Carey don't mix. It's like mixing orange juice and soda. It just doesn't work. He sings "I Don't Want To Cry". I just don't know what to say and I don't get why he gets good marks mostly by the judges. At least Randy didn't get the performance this week. I don't get it either. Please send this kid home already.

So, who goes home? The bottom 3 could be Brooke, Syesha, Carly or Kristy but I'd love if Jason Castro was in that mix as well. But, that's 5 people so I guess I need to pick 3. Let's go with Syesha, Brooke, and Carly with Syesha getting the boot tonight.

Looking forward to another week of Idol. But until then, Birdman Out.

Michael Eliminated

Poor song choice and a Steven Tyler impersonation gets you the boot !

Top 8 Perform

Well, I'm back from vacation and ready to talk about Idol. If you weren't paying attention, Ramielle was given the boot last week. But, that was then, and this is now. So, let's see what happened during "inspirational Song" week this week.

First to hit the stage was Michael Johns. I thought he did a good job singing a song I loathe. But, I agreed with Simon right after his performance. He didn't make the song his own; he just imitated Steven Tyler. Dude...do something different like you did with your Queen songs. Take a song and make it yours instead of taking a song and singing it well but just like the version that we all know. We all know Michael Johns is talented but he needs to really think about his arrangement before committing to something that will get criticized. I'm still waiting for that week to go, "WOW."

Syesha was up next. She's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I thought she would have learned her lesson from last week after singing a Whitney Houston song not nearly as good as Whitney. Now, she does something even worse. She takes a song by an Ex-Idol (Fantasia), and tries to make it her own. Okay, that song "I Believe" was sung when Fantasia won American Idol. Why the heck would you choose that song when the song is so associated with Fantasia. Yeah, she sung the song very nicely but I want to hear her sing a song that she can make her own and not someone else's. So, who is she gonna try and imitate next week? Mariah Carey or Celine Dion.

Following that was Jason Castro singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" while playing the ukulele. And again, I don't get it. All the judges loved it and I thought it sucked. It was like The Wizard Of Oz On Marajuana. I wanted to tie his braids around his neck and smash the ukulele over his head. I don't get the song choice. I don't get the singing. I don't get the ukulele. I don't get why he's in the top 7. Is he really the 7th best person that has tried out for American Idol this season? I find that really hard to believe. And based on what the judges said, this dope will probably be around next week.

Next up was Kristy Lee Cook singing "Anyway" by Martina McBride. Not sure what the heck this song was but then again, I know nothing about country music. The weird thing was that she sung the song really well and was definitely her best performance since "Amazing Grace" back in the auditions round. The problem here is that Kristy had so many bad weeks that many people already have their favorites so she still could be in trouble despite having one of her better weeks.

Then came David Cook who really should be our season's winner but he came out and sung "Innocent" by Our Lady Of Peace. Okay...I may not be a music maven but who the hell is Our Lady Of Peace? That song was terrible. It wasn't just bad. It was really terrible. There was no tune and it didn't show off David's voice at all. I did like his stage presence and the way he walked around the stage and audience but the singing was his worst of the competition which had a lot to due with that horrific song choice. There are only 6 weeks to go so song choice is so important. David will be save but let's hope he doesn't sing such garbage songs again.

Following David was Carly Smithson singing Queen's "The Show Must Go On." Why does someone have to sing Queen each week? This song was NOT fit for her voice at all. I hated it. She is so much better than what she showed from us last night. Of all the inspirational songs, this is what she chose? There have been some good performances this week so Carley could wind up in the bottom 3. I was hoping for greatness and we got mediocre.

Then it was David Archuleta's turn to take the stage. Inspirational music was perfect for David. He sung a song called "Angels" at the piano. I didn't quite love the song in the beginning but he really stepped it up towards the end to make you forget about the first part of the song. He'll have no problems advancing but I really would have loved a different song from him. How about sing a song that we know already. He always seems to chose these songs that no one has ever heard of.

Finally, Brooke White sung Carole King's "You've Got A Friend." And personally, this song bored the crap out of me. Don't get me wrong; it's a great song but the way she sang it made me want to stab myself in the eye. She sang it nice but it just didn't connect with me especially for the last song of the night which is mostly one of the better performances. Brooke could be in trouble after this snoozefest.

So, how goes home? I'd have to say the Bottom 3 could be Syesha, Brooke, or Carly. Actually, Kristy Lee could be in the bottom 3 as well. I think it's time for Syesha to go home. Rememeber...donate money tonight but we'll have to wait until Thursday night to see who goes home. Until then, Birdman Out.