The Mysteries of American Idol Season 8

Once again, Michael Slezak from Entertainment Weekly has provided us with a look at this week in American Idol. Week 2 provided some good, some bad, and some really ugly performances. Click the link to read the story.

Reviews of Nashville Star

The folks over at Zap2it.com have written a review of last night's episode. Click the link to check it out!

Boo on Boo Finale: Ranking the Performances

So, another Idol Performance Finale has come and gone . . . I feel a bit like a child on Christmas Eve, looking forward to tomorrow, but also kind of dreading it at the same time . . . knowing the let down I will experience . . .

Anyway, here goes with my rankings . . .

1. Lil David - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - For me, perhaps the best performance of the entire season. I say this because Lil David's soaring vocals were FINALLY joined by a performance worthy of being noticed. For whatever reason this boy FELT this song and it's lyrics.

(Space)

2. Rocker David - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Rocker David tackled this song and just SOLD IT. I thought his vocals were on target in a way that I haven't heard in a while, and the performance was spot on. Just wonderful.

(Space)

3. Lil David - Imagine - Not quite as good as the first time he performed it . . . I liked the earlier arrangement better . . . but, I think his vocals and his selling of the performance were very much on target. Very, very good.

4. Rocker David - The World I Know - Strange choice of song for me . . . I like the song . . . and I liked Cookie's performance . . . I just think he could have made a better moment out of it than he did . . . The vocals seemed to be a bit lacking . . . interestingly, the replay at the end, showed Cookie singing a much more MOMENT worthy version of the song . . .

5. Lil David - Idol theme song - This song sounded like that winning Idol moment, balloons dropping, choir singing, fireworks going off type of song . . . schmaltzy, sugar sweet, but sung very, very well.

6. Rocker David - Idol theme song - Overall, I think once Rocker David gets in the studio, the song can be VERY marketable . . . the performance tonight was good . . . but not great. His performance on the chorus' was stellar . . . the verses were just a half step too low for him and produced a wee bit of muttering sounds . . . ish . . . esque . . .

Overall, a great night for both guys. I think it was the very best finale from start to finish since Rueben and Clay in Season 2. Simply wonderful . . . I don't know who is going to win this thing tomorrow, but I do believe that Lil Boo won the night kinda hardcore . . .

However, I must make a prediction . . . and I may lose the Friendly Little Competition on this one, but I must go with who I think should win . . . and I very much believe that David Archuleta should win this competition. He freakin blew the Nokia roof off tonight.

Top 3: What Decade Is This?

Here are my rankings of the performances of the Top 3 . . . such as they were.

1. Lil David - "So It Goes" - The acapella first half of the song goes a long way for me. Probably the best VOCAL of the night.

2. Rocker David - "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" - The first half of the song was quite nice . . . the second half not quite as good for me . . . see TtownIdol's reference to screaming. . .

(GAP - read: none of the other performances registered on my relevance meter)

3. Syesha - "If I Ain't Got You" - Her best vocal of the night . . . just kind of waiting for the first half of the song to be done so she could get to the belting part of the song . . .

4. Rocker David - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" - I prefaced a previous entry with the notion that this is one of my all time favorites . . .and I didn't love his interpretation, but . . . he did the best with it he could.

5. Lil David - "With You" - Simply because he stayed in vocal range and I got to hear him say the word "boo"

6. Syesha - "Fever" - That chair . . . ugh . . . were those sequins on her dress or little bits of feta cheese?

7. Lil David - "Longer" - Again, as per usual, he was in vocal range and sounded good, but this song is so dreadful and he just hasn't had the life experience to pull it off.

8. Syesha - Penguin Song - Couldn't remember the title . . . not good . . . not good . . . not good . . . but, for me not as bad as . . .

9. Rocker David - "Dare You to Move" - Yikes, there were some bum notes in this performance that I just couldn't deal with . . . I'm sure on the isle of unpopular opinion here, but I just thought it was a great big mess.

For me, Lil David won the night by the smallest of margins . . . However, the larger deal is that Syesha needed to have a MOMENT or two and have the boys really be subpar . . . Didn't happen.

Prediction: Syesha has wrung the last bit of luck out of her Idol washrag.

Syesha dances like a penguin?

Ms. Syesha rounds out her night by singing a random dance song from Happy Feet. When I watched this youtube clip I was quite enthused by the idea of her singing this song. Syesha is in full on performance mode again. Good performance this time, and solid vocals as usual, but not the dynamic MOMENT she needed to overtake one of the Davids.

Randy thinks it was ok. Paula thinks it was ok, but not enough to make the finals (She has been on target tonight). Simon thinks that she was solid, but ok.

Final Round: Lil David sings Dan F. ?

Final round begins with Lil David singing Dan Fogelberg and "Longer". What a strange and sappy song choice for Lil David. Why oh why do the producers want to make these kids into middle aged Vegas side shows. Anyhoo, Lil David performs the song quite nicely. As he has done over the past two weeks, Lil Bit is vocally on top of his game. A plus for me in this performance is the lack of massive runs and he did not over sing the song. Good solid performance.

Randy did not like the song, but loved the performance. Paula thought Lil Bit did a lovely job. Simon can not criticize Lil David, and thinks he sang well. . . and thinks he has done what he needs to do to make the finals.

Rocker David Dares Us To Move

The second round of personal choices ends up with Rocker David performing Switchbot's "Dare You to Move". This song is a much better choice than his original choice of Collective Soul's "World I Know". . . Here we go . . .oh . . .oh . . .he's off key . . . way off key . . . ok, now we're moving to the bigger part of the song . . . . YIKES! He's screaming! I LOVE Rocker David, but this was not good. Off key and screaming does not a good song make.

Randy thought it was just ok. Paula thought is was not his best performance. Simon thought that Round 2 was ok all around.

Round 2 was not nearly as strong as round 1. I would like to call it a tie, but yikes, Rocker David did not do well.

1. Lil David - 8 - solid vocals and points for picking a current song
2. Syesha - 7 - good vocals but a gouda filled performance
3. Rocker David - 6.5 - Yikes, it was rough for me.

Despite the above rankings, I think that round 2 was pretty much a draw.

Round 2: Is Archie your boo?

Here comes round 2, and Lil David is up first with the only song selection from the last 12 months, Chris Brown's "With You". I love this song. L & K made a comment earlier that they would spit their margarita across the room if Lil Bit actually says the word "boo". Here we go . . . Wait, do I hear a spit take coming from Texas . . . HE SAID "BOO"! I absolutely love that he chose a contemporary song. Big risk in my book. Vocals are solid, moving is a bit awkward, but vocals are good, and overall, I think he performed well.

Randy applauds the song choice but does not necessarily think the song fits him . . . but again, thinks he could sing the phone book. Paula likes the song choice but wants him to not draw out notes on these types of songs (good critique). Simon also applauds the song choice but thinks he was a bit awkward.

Do you like this face of Cookie?

So, this is the performance about which I am most worried. I will preface this review by saying that "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is one of my top 5 all time favorite songs. . . . just romance and making out personified . . . ok, I'm back. Simon chose this song for Rocker David to take him out of his comfort zone and thinks he will have a "moment" with it. I'm worried. Here it goes . . . oh, oh, no falsetto . . . ok, ok, NO NO NO . . . he is doing this song with the same formula as every other . . . start slow . . . slow . . . slow . . . and then get a little louder and kinda end in a scream. To be fair, this song choice was gonna be tough for Cookie no matter how he did it . . . fairly solid vocal, but I did not enjoy his particular interpretation of it. Props for doing the best with the song that he could.

Randy thought it was ok, but not his favorite. Paula thought it was good. Simon thought it was one of his best performances and pronounced round 1 for Cowell and Cook. Um . . . er . . . well, I can say this, at least Simon is consistent.

For me (using Rubbertoe's ranking system) . . .

Round 1:

1. Lil David 10 (acapella goes a long way for me)
2. Syesha 9 strong vocals particularly in the second half
3. Rocker David 8 - Good attempt, but just didn't work for me . . . no screaming, please

Syesha Ain't Got No Problems

Ms. Syesha is up next with her rendition of Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You". Randy Jackson has chosen La Mercado's choice tonight. Might I just say that the girl looks fierce (see Project Runway for original fierce reference). I'm a touch worried about this song choice, but we'll see. Ok, the first half of the song was ok . . . I think she's waiting for the second half of the song where she can belt . . . and YES, belting happens and she comes alive. Her vocals are strong and onpoint. Overall, very very good, but a half step below Lil David.

Randy, of course, thinks this song choice was great and that she had a massive yo factor. Paula thought she did a great job and that girl is workin it. Simon thought the vocals were good, but wishes she had switched it up a bit.

Let the janking between Simon and Randy begin.

Top 3: Get Ready, Get Set, Holla at an Idol & Lil David Goes Acapella!

THIS is AMERican Idol! Cue the music!

Here we go, y'all! We're about to hit our Top 3 performers. Lil David, Syesha, and Rocker David. The song choices that we spoiled via IdolBlogLive are good, bad, and WTF! Without further adu, here come the judges picks!

First up, Lil David. Paula Abdul has picked Billy Joel's "So It Goes" for young David. I posted a youtube clip earlier as a preview for those of you who might not be familiar with this ditty. Sounds like a good vehicle for Lil David's talents. I'm crossing my fingers that Lil Bit won't be affected by this week's Daddygate chaos. Here we go . . . he looks cute . . . OMG! The first acapella of the season. FINALLY, I have been wanting him to go acapella all season long, and he pulls it off quite nicely. Overall, Lil David was pitch perfect on this song. Excellent start for the show, and proof that Lil David is continuing the good voice he's been in the last 2 weeks.

Randy thinks that it was dope, yo! Paula thinks it was the perfect song for his voice. Simon thinks it was predictable, but sung well . . . A side note here: For as long as the judges have been allowed to pick songs individually for the contestants, Simon ALWAYS plays down the other two and ALWAYS pimps out his choice . . . we'll see if the pattern continues.

Top 6 Results: The Elimination of Blasphemy

So, it's time for another version of extend the results . . .

A group sing, a new celeb sing, possible ugh inducing questions, a ford commercial, and much endless banter will no doubt ensue . . . therefore, I will skip over that shizz . . .

To the results . . . once again, we have our Idols back stage . . . I really don't get this manner of presenting the results . . . much prefer the couch and the separating into groups of three . . .

Anyhoo, we're gonna bring em out two at a time . . . Noah's ark style . . .

The presumed finale . . . er, um, the two Davids are up first. We review the fantabulous comments that these two frontrunners received during the ALW performance night. Could there possibly be a surprise? Hell to the no . . . the wonder twins are very safe . . . wonder twin powers activate, form of an emo death march . . . form of an inspirational, message inducing ballad!

Next up, Brooke and Syesha. I gotta tell ya, the Idol Machine is really making me think that Ms. White is safe because they are REALLY playing up in an oh so over the top kind of way how controversial the start & stop from the previous evening was. Yes, it was bad. Yes, she is cracking under the pressure. We get it. Idol is only this obvious when it's trying to create a "shock" moment. I've been watching this show too long... Brooke and Syesha are shocked when Brooke is declared safe.

Finally, The Cuteness (who the camera caught yawning back stage - was that a bag of cheetoes I saw in his hand . . . chronic anyone?) and Carly SUPERSTAR! So, banter ensues and The Cuteness doesn't wanna sing tonight . . . and HE WON'T HAVE TO . . . The Cuteness is safe . . . er, um . . . am I the only one who finds this result more shocking than the last?

PLEASE STOP MAKING NERVOUS CONTESTANTS SING BEFORE THEY FIND OUT IF THEY'VE BEEN AXED!

The results: ENDLESS BANTER! And, Carly you are . . . going home . . . what the feck? Um . . . Ugh . . . Yikes . . . Ickypoo! Bitter, party of one, my table is ready. Strangely, I am more bitter than Carly.

I'm 3/4 shocked and outraged . . . from my predictions blog, I had a sinking feeling that Carly might go to the bottom 2 . . . It NEVER occurred to me that she would go home.

Neil Diamond, up next . . . seriously, y'all Neil Diamond . . .

P.S. I could not believe the Massive Bitch Slap that ALW put on The Cuteness. It was well-deserved, but, yo, what up with that . . . almost like The Cuteness is his ho and did not cough up all of the nightly profits to Pimp Daddy Webber . . .

Gettin My Recap On . . .

Ok, so, I will hold off on the rankings for a little bit. I need to mull over what I think was THE BEST overall night of the competition - HANDS DOWN! I am so happy with how amazingly good ALMOST everyone performed. It is not difficult to pick who I think was the worst of the bunch, BUT I think it will be difficult to pick who America will actually send home. In addition, I am SO torn about America's bottom three . . .Ugh!

Will be back later.

P.S. I hope the results in the top 9 are the same as they have been the past few years. Where they put the idols into three groups of three (Top vote getters, Middle, and Bottom). That might give us an idea of how everyone is actually placing. LOVE IT!