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The final four are ready to sing for us. Like I said last week, I can hardly bring myself to care now that Brooke and Carly are gone. I like Jason Castro’s style when he’s doing his thing, but I don’t think he should win. I don’t like Syesha at all, she’s got pitch problems all over the place. Archuleta is too young and awkward. That leaves David Cook who really shouldn’t win, just because the Idol producers will make his album suck.
*sigh*
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the theme for this week’s show. That means a HUGE library of music to choose from. No song choice should suck tonight.
David Cook is first with “Hungry Like the Wolf” from Duran Duran. The song itself sounds pretty cool as a rock number rather than the synthesized new wave recording. What I’m bugged about is his performance. He didn’t have a guitar and sort of just wandered around the stage aimlessly. Randy called it “just ok.” Paula liked it. Simon thought it was a little “copycat,” but good enough to go through to next week.
Syesha Mercado is second with “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner. *Yawn* Predictable choice that leaves her open for unfavorable comparisons to the original. She is actually trying to show off some personality, but her Tina impression leaves a LOT to be desired. I really wish she had been a bit less impression oriented. Randy thought she was on fire. Paula thought she looks and acts like a star. Simon thought it was a “bad shrieky impersonation of Tina Turner.”
Jason Castro is third, and he has picked “I Shot The Sheriff” by Bob Marley. This is a total trainwreck for me. He really should have gone with the Clapton version of the song. Randy said there was “nothing special about it.” Paula liked how he performed for the audience, but wasn’t crazy about the song. Simon called it “utterly atrocious.” He compared it to a first round audition massacre.
David Archuleta picked “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. He’s just so fucking awkward and interviews terribly. Fortunately he sings well. I can’t say I loved his arrangement, but his voice was great. Round 1 definitely goes to David Archuleta. Randy said he brought “the hot man vocals.” Paula thought he really delivered tonight. Simon thought it was a great choice of song, but he struggled a bit at the end. He said David could have whistled that song and it would have been better than Jason Castro’s performance. Simon called it the best performance so far.
David Cook is up for his second performance. He picked “Baba O’Reilly” from The Who. This is an interesting choice. It’s never been performed on Idol before. He’s slowed it down a bit. The arrangement was totally weird and almost unrecognizable. If not for CSI using the song as the theme, I don’t think anyone would have known what he was singing. Randy thought it was better than the first. Paula “wanted more!” Simon said simply, “Welcome back David Cook.”
Syesha is up with “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke. The original is one of the best vocals ever put on recording as far as I’m concerned. Where the hell has THIS Syesha been all this time? This Syesha who has attitude and personality and isn’t pitchy… I would be a bigger fan if she had sounded like this all along. Randy didn’t love this song as much as the first one. Paula gave her a standing ovation and made her cry. Simon agreed with Paula. He thought Randy’s critique was completely wrong. Syesha is a mess.
Jason Castro picked “Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan for what I’m guessing will be his last Idol performance. He started out really strong, then blew the lyrics. He’s accompanying himself with the guitar, without the band. With the exception of his blown lyrics, the performance wasn’t terrible. Randy said “Jason, you’re just not in the zone.” Paula said “that didn’t blow me away, but you do.” Simon said, “Jason, I’d pack your suitcase.”
David Archuleta closes the show with “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley. I don’t understand why all these contestants think they HAVE to change the melody so much that a song is almost unrecognizable. His vocals were good, but the arrangement was crap. Randy loved it. Paula said it was “fantastic.” Simon said he “crushed the competition tonight.”
So here’s the recap:
Safe:
David Archuleta
David Cook
Danger Danger:
Syesha Mercado
Bye Bye:
Jason Castro
What do you think? Did this show do the Hall of Fame justice?
