Wednesday, May 14, 2008

American Idol Season 7 - Top 3

Tonight, the contestants sang 3 songs each - one picked by one of the judge, one picked by the producers and one that the contestants chose for themselves. Typically, Top 3 night is a good night, where the contestants really give it their all to get to the finale. Opinions may vary, of course, but I did think we had a good night, and some really great performances.


David Archuleta - “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel (chosen by Paula Abdul)

I think this was an excellent choice from Paula. Nothing to stretch David's limits, however. But David really did perform this one well. Very pretty.


Syesha Mercado - “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys (chosen by Randy Jackson)

I rally didn't think Syesha could pull this one off. But she did. I thought she sounded the best on that one tonight. Did Randy slip up with "you are where you belong, in 3rd place"?


David Cook - “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack (chosen by Simon Cowell)

When I heard about this song choice, I just knew David was going to kill it. And I was not wrong. Boyfriend sounded GORGEOUS, heartfelt, just really beautiful. Love the arrangement. While I don't think it was his best of the season, I still think it was amongst the very best.


ROUND 1 - I agree with Simon, round one goes to Cook, without a shadow of a doubt.


David Archuleta - “With You” by Chris Brown

The pre-performance chat with Ryan was so awkward.... He's cute, but sooooooooooooooo awkward.... This was an horrible choice for David. I agree with the judges that it was nice he didn't got for a syrupy ballad, but this song really didn't suited him. The lyrics didn't fit David's personality at all, which didn't make for a believable performance. Archiewahwah was really pitchy throughout the song, and his interaction with the crowd, while nice, felt so contrived... It felt like he was trying so hard and concentrating on it so much....


Syesha Mercado -“Fever” by Peggy Lee

Once again, Syesha uses all she can to get by. Short dress, suggestive dancing, provocative lyrics *for american idol at least). While I thought she performed well, it felt very desperate to me. And I agree with the judges - it was a weird choice, especially after she had just sung a contemporary song, and quite well at that. Not into this much.


David Cook - “Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot

The barrrrrrrrrrrtender performed another great song. I was left wanting more tho - I love how he builds momentum slowly, but with the time restrain of the show, it leaves me wanting to hear more once he kicks in to higher gear. David was a bit pitchy on this one, which is unusual for him. But still, I loved it. Great, great, great.


ROUND 2 - David Cook again.


David Archuleta - “Longer” by Dan Fogelberg (producer's choice)

I'm not going to harp on the song choice, because it was not under Archie's control. Still, VERY predictable performance. Nice, but nothing wow about it.


Syesha Mercado - “Hit Me Up” by Gia Farrell (producer's choice)

Not a totally horrible choice for Syesha but also not great. She was pitchy as hell on this tho.


David Cook - “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith (producer's choice)

Absolutely perfect choice for him. I was worried but he pulled it off unbelievably well! Randy SHUT UP!!!!!! You are so far up Archie's ass that you can't hear anything else. I LOVED the "yeah, yeah YEAH!" in the middle. GORGEOUS.


ROUND 3 - David Cook all the way baby!


My ranking of the night:

Cook - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Cook - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Archie - And So It Goes
Cook - Dare You To Move
Archie - Longer
Syesha - If I Ain’t Got You
Syesha - Fever
Archie - With You
Syesha - Hit Me Up


This night is always really interesting for me. It really unveil who the judges want to see in the finale, and who the producers are trying to push there, too. Randy clearly loves him some Archie, and he made it clear with his comments to him, but also in how negative he was with the others, even with Cook, who he proclaims to be a fan of. Paula, who always finds something positive to say about everyone, had a hard time saying anything positive about Syesha other than she looked great. And Simon clearly loves him some Cookie, although he seems to remain objective enough to also praise Archie accordingly. The producers, on the other hand, couldn't make it clearer that they want a David-David final 2. Syesha got the short hand of the stick on her choice from them.

Aside from David Cook, I really can care less who gets in the finale of the remaining two, although I'll admit that there's a small part of me that would rather see Archie there, because I think he deserves it more.

We'll see tonight....


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