Season 7 Redux – Top 11

MJ, unless you have extra time I wouldn’t even bother recapping this one. Not worth it. There were very few decent performances. I agree they should never have done 2nd Beatles night. Especially if once again they were going to make them all pick from a list of like 12 songs. Or 15 songs or whatever it was.

FWIW, I actually thought Carly had one of her better performances but I believe she still wound up B3. Power of the fanbases I suppose. That and I think many were put off by Carly’s angry singing face in the early going.

Somebody behind the scenes apparently told both Brooke and Jason they had to move around sans instruments. Big mistake as neither knew what to do with themselves.

But I was totally good with Amanda going home, as was she. She got the AI exposure and didn’t have to tour.

I hope they never again have two weeks of the same theme. With so few songs to choose from, It’s no wonder the second performances weren’t up to par with the first.
I agree Amanda was the right choice to go home, but Carly did not deserve to be in the bottom 3 this night. That honor should have gone to Ramiele.

I agree with you guys about not having two weeks with the same theme. I think it was right for Amanda to go home. I can’t really picture her having gone on tour.

The only performances that I enjoyed were the Davids and Syesha. I do also have to say that this weeks medley was one of my favorites of the entire season. I was there for that results show :O Carly was crying during commercials. I do completely agree that Ramiele should have been in the bottom 3 instead of Carly. Though I didn’t LOVE Carly’s performance, she didn’t deserve that.

Syesha was my fave this week, the dress was amazing as well.

Tonight’s show: This was the night when I admitted that DC had won me over. It is also the night that I announced that I was completely over the Namesake. Watching the show, yeah, same feelings on both. I agree that Beatles Week redux was a mistake….

AO: I actually liked this better than I remember liking it then. This may reflect that I no longer had to fear that she’d keep coming on my television after this.

KLC: Didn’t like either time. She was just off vocally. I’d forgotten that this was the episode for blowing Simon out of his socks.

DA: Officially lost me. The Imagine-Another Day in Paradise-Long & Winding Road trilogy, broken only by a disastrous uptempo number. Also, I just want to throttle Randy for continually demanding of contestants that they insert runs. Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should.

MJ: His voice seemed off to me, and the song suffered from the cuts. (Simon was, at least here, right.) I also continue to think that MJ really suffers from watching his performances in close succession. Completely different from DC—I gained appreciation for his variety, and also for some of the performances, from watching them in a row. With MJ, I just end up thinking that he’s a gifted karaoke singer. Quite interesting.

BW: Awkward and too sunshiny, but she’d already won me over long before that, so I was quite forgiving of it back in March.

DC: Voice sounded great. Loved the rock moves. This was the week that I realized that he’d won me over because I didn’t get the voice box addition, but said, loved it anyway. (Upon listening to the studio version, my guess is that he’d have liked to do a guitar solo there, but knew he’d get reamed for not using his voice during that time.) Simon was an ass, of course. I also love that Simon got on his case about this performance, but it was the guitar in the air to the band thing that Idol used in his “Top 2/Finale” advertisement. Heh.

CS: Sounded lovely. I really liked it when she restrained herself. Hated the blouse (and yes, before Simon said anything).

JC: Better than I recalled, but that may reflect that I’d forgotten it immediately. I’m beginning to forget it again now…. Huh?

SM: Not her best in terms of pitch, but by far her best in terms of restraint and emotional connection. Of course, I also love the Eva Cassidy version, so….

CE: Makes me so regret that he didn’t make Dolly Parton week. Without the harmonica.

RM: Query: Has anyone else ever ridden a Top 24 week performance as far as RM?

I didn’t have time to watch last night either, but my memory of the night is that, in general, those whom I liked the first week (Brooke, MJ, DC, Chikezie) did nothing for me during the second week, and vice versa. Except KLC and Rami – didn’t care for either of their performances.

I liked Carly’s “Blackbird” but I do remember telling my husband at the time that her eyes were wigging me out during that song. The studio recording of “Blackbird,” though, is absolutely beautiful. I have no idea why Simon had such a problem with her song choice.

This was my favorite of all of DA’s performances. I love that song anyway, but I thought he sang it beautifully and rather simply (why oh why did Randy have to say that about adding runs?). On top of that, he really proved that he was up to the challenge of the show. I really admired how, in the intro, he addressed the week before without making excuses, and talked about how it motivated him to try harder. At the time I thought, “gee, this kid is a lot tougher than I would have thought.”

I may stand alone on this, but Day Tripper is easily one of my favorite Cook performances. Smexy rocker. What can I say.

Through these performances, I’m reminded how much I enjoyed Amanda. Yeah, one trick and all that, but I like rock and there she was. I was disappointed she didn’t make the Top 10, as I thought she was a much better performer than a few of the others. But, oh well. She seems happy. I think I’m going to have to go back and check out her indie album again though.

Michael’s performance was better for me this time. It seemed less disjointed. Maybe I was just prepared for it, who knows. But, I’ve always felt Michael was missing something in all of this. He had great talent and looks, but it dulled on the show. And, I always thought he was reaching a bit with his voice. It didn’t help that I don’t believe anyone can touch Freddie Mercury, so I held that against Michael in past weeks, it’s true. (Dolly Parton week showed Michael’s strength, but he refused to play to it as he saw himself as something else. Too bad.) I did find it amazing that even he said he’d peaked Hollywood week when answering a caller’s question. Wow, pretty spot on.

Reluctantly, I’ll admit that KLC isn’t nearly as bad as I’d remembered her. Hummmm, what’s that about? Brooke, OTT bubbly and really bugged me this week. Still liked her though. For me, Carly is amazing, but I just don’t get why she’s not more popular on the show. No way she was bottom 3. I think people held it against her that she was honest and vulnerable when explaining her choice of Blackbird. I wish that hadn’t happened to her, I don’t think it helped her confidence or willingness to show her soul. Jason’s Jason and I like that.

The rest? Whatever….

Amanda was fine and fun, but Simon nailed it in his critique– she was starting ot be boring if she didn’t stretch herself and surprise the audience with something different, ala David Cook (I didn’t remember Simon namechecked DC there– Simon really loved Hello a lot, didn’t he?). I appreciated her honesty and standing her ground (ballads are boring, etc.), but I think in showing that she wasn’t willing to “play the game”, ala DC, the audience lost interest.

KLC- Musical wallpaper indeed. Zzz… though I reckon she made herself a little more memorable/likeable with her back talk. Blowing Simon out of his socks made no sense, but she laughed a lot, made everyone laugh, and seemed a bit feisty which people remembered.

Archie- I forgot how good this was. I hated Randy’s comment about adding more runs– it was good because there weren’t so many! This was when he started to have the shocked, nervous look after performances and for results shows, which made it awkward for me to watch him. I was falling off the Archie train.

MJ- I love that song, and remember thinking he did a decent job considering he had 1:30, but watching back, I guess it was well-sung but a bit more of same after ATU, and a little karaoke. Appreciated he sang it in his friend’s memory, but it came off a little awkward. But oh boy, the ear monitors thing was more awkward… oh yeah, the acknowledging of peaking in Hollywood was one of his more endearing moments on the show.

Brooke- Oh dear. The exchange after was sooo Brooke in retrospect but annoying to watch at the time, even as a fan. Explaining the “wooh” was cute, but dear didn’t need to go on and voice all her internal responses to the judging (yes I was awkward, trying something different, pressure after last week, it’s okay you didn’t like it, but oh I’ll be sad later…). Good thing she had a good intro video and goodwill from the earlier weeks.

DC- Hated this. In retrospect, it wasn’t so bad, but the fact that Simon called it smug made me hate it more, I guess. Saving grace for me was that he was still coming off well IMO in his video packages, and I kinda dug the “I don’t” response he had for Simon.

Carly- I liked this, and have the studio (very pretty), but I realized this week that I hated watching her perform– the faces, her mannerisms. This was the week, IMO, that she needed to “have a word with whoever’s dressing [her]“. That top made her look like she had no neck, and drew unnecessary attention to her unfortunate habit of scrunching her neck and shoulders up when performing.

Jason- goofy goofy goofy. Good thing he had goodwill and fans built up.

Syesha- I remember thinking, how did she luck out with this song choice, wouldn’t it have been picked last week? Maybe the producers did like her. I liked it.

Chikezie- Loved Chikezie, hated this. Simon/Randy were right about the 5 performers and lack of a musical identity in that song. Holy harmonica– gimmicky just like DC’s voice box. Wonder if they compared notes that night?

Ramiele- Zzz. Walk around looking cute. Had some decent moments vocally, but didn’t really perform the song like she did that first week– looked/sounded amateurish, definitely. Her video was cute– oh, more goodwill for DC and Brooke, haha.

I too liked Carly when she restrained herself. I’m not a fan of shouty Carly, which is what she was many weeks. But in rewatching I’m also reminded of two aspects I had forgotten. Carly is a gorgeous woman but she tends to look really angry when she sings. I remember this was a common complaint at the time and I realize it’s a petty one, but on television things like this register. Secondly, is Carly started coming off a bit on the desperate side. Or maybe too eager to please.

Still don’t think she deserved B3, but as she didn’t go anyway it’s not a big deal.

Even Amanda said after the fact, or I think she did, that she didn’t really want to tour and the right people were sent. I actually would have been pissed if she had made Top 10 and scowled across country as she did during the finale. At least the others enjoyed themselves.

Wake me up when it’s Dolly Parton week. I liked Dolly Parton week.

but Carly did not deserve to be in the bottom 3 this night. That honor should have gone to Ramiele.

I agree-Carly’s version of Blackbird was beautiful and she should not have been in the bottom three. I think the voters just listened to Simon’s comments too much. And I also agree that it was a bad idea to do the Beatles theme for a second week.

I’m starting to realize that both Carly and Michael Johns suffered from the same dilemma: they each preferred to sing music that didn’t necessarily play to their strengths. What a bummer.

ETA: Oh, I FORGOT this was the week that Jason sang “Michelle”!! Oh, dear, I love Jason so much but when he did the little hand flip I had to bury my head in the couch cushions.

lefty, I saw both Carly and MJ having different problems though. MJ just seemed to want to sing songs that he loved, even if they weren’t the best songs for him. Usually big songs so more often than not he came off as kareoke. Maybe that was why I came away from Idol picturing MJ fronting a cover band. An unfair judgement perhaps since they are all doing covers, but nonetheless.

Carly seemed like she just couldn’t figure out who she was. IMO she went to the other extreme trying to please Simon that I don’t think fans could get a handle on her musically. I’m rooting for her and I’m interested to see what kind of music she’s going to put out post AI because I never got a sense of that on Idol.

Yes, lefty. I had to cringe at both Brooke’s “Woo” and subsequent twirl and Jason’s little hand flourish. Oy.

I wasn’t a big Carly fan, but I thought her version of blackbird was really beautiful.

It was fun to listen to Ryan first talking about the song contest and him saying that someone would sing it in the finale. I was thinking to myself, “aww, that was the beginning of the little rainbow!”

I LOVED Carly’s Blackbird. Loved it. Don’t know why it went so underappreciated. Sorta dittto Syesha. That girl needed to reel it in, and she did. It was pretty, but he problem with her is that I always felt like she was acting, so she left me cold. But she sang it well. I liked MJ too. And yes, he has karaokee tendencies. But he can overcome them with the right songs.

I was not into DC this week. It was just aiight. Still thought he’d win though. Jason again sang nice but coasted. Brooke was an awkward mess, but she was coming off some great weeks so she was safe. Amanda, in retrospect, deserved to go home that week. But I think it was more for the “I won’t sing ballads” thing than for her actual singing. Kristy started to show spunk, Chikeze tried to catch lightening in a bottle twice, Archie sang pretty, as usual, but I was starting not to care. Ramielle – she sang, right?

Good points, brie. Maybe I said that about Carly was because *I* preferred her when she sang things like “Blackbird” and “Here You Come Again” rather than “Come Together” and “Crazy On You.” I do agree that she struggled to find a style that would impress, but I think part of the reason she did that was because the style that she brought to the show wasn’t so well received by the judges. You are exactly right about many fans not being able to figure her out. I really like Carly so I hope she can work it out for herself.

I always took MJ’s comment about peaking in Hollywood as sarcastic (because let’s face it the judging on this show is all over the place according to who they want to support and when). This is one reason why I am against adding another judge, as it adds one more opportunity for TPTB to persuade the public to vote their way.

I pretty much loved everything Michael did and thought he stood out in the crowd as mega-talented and unafraid to take on a big song. Really wish he would have accepted the opportunity to go on Rock Star INXS instead of having to sing within a box on this show.

For me, Carly is amazing, but I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get why sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not more popular on the show. No way she was bottom 3. I

In my opinion, she was not more popular because people were too busy worrying about her “scary faces” and what she was wearing to really listen to her beautiful voice and appreciate her talent. I think that’s unfortunate cuz it hurt her confidence and she didn’t get to show her true personality. She should have made it to the top 3.

I agree with Simon that Brooke should’ve sung Yesterday – a studio version of that would be so, so, so beautiful.
But I get what she said that she wanted to try something new, I think she was afraid the judges would say that she’s staying in a box if she didn’t try something upbeat. The judges obviously wanted her to stick to her niche, but notice how they kept trying to get Jason out of his box. Oh, the judges-they can be confusing most, or all, of the time.
But I did love the studio version of Here Comes The Sun though. One of my favorites studio versions from Brooke. And the studio version for The Long And Winding Road is amazing too.

I may stand alone on this, but Day Tripper is easily one of my favorite Cook performances. Smexy rocker. What can I say.

You’re so not alone! That little finger-twirly-thing he does during a couple of lines and when his voice goes real low on “I found out” just kills me! I can see what some people (Simon) mean when they say he came off smug in this performance, but whenever DC came out with a little rockstar swagger I just found it incredibly sexy!

In my opinion, she was not more popular because people were too busy worrying about her à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“scary facesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and what she was wearing to really listen to her beautiful voice and appreciate her talent.

Even minus the scary faces, not everyone would think her voice is “beautiful” though. That’s so subjective. She has objectively mad skills as a vocalist, but to find a voice beautiful I think it has to make you feel something. And in that perspective, it won’t be the same for everybody.

I definitely agree the judges are all over the place. On the one hand the Idols have to be versatile and try different things. Sometimes they were applauded for it. But other times they got the smack down for doing something outside of their wheelhouse because they should have known better and stayed within their box.

I have a hard time saying anymore who should have left when and who should have made what because all this replay has done so far is show me that the majority had a stellar performance or two over the course of their Idol run and they pretty much all had sucky performances as well–even both of the Davids. I can’t name any of the top 10 that didn’t have an off week here or there or any that captured a moment every time they hit the stage.

It’s no secret I adore Jason, but I’d be lying if I said I loved everything he did on the Idol stage. Didn’t stop me from voting for him though. Except maybe that last week when I stopped to preserve my own sanity.

I had forgotten how… forgettable this one was. I will admit to primarily rewatching for a David Cook fix … and while that wasn’t his best performance, he was pretty sexy. There were some nice performances, and a whole lot of them that just didn’t work. Hehe, Brooke’s “woo” made me cringe all over again. She looked lovely, though! I liked Carly’s performance, but how desperate she was getting as far as her interaction with the judges, etc. made me sad for her.

And in that perspective, it wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be the same for everybody.

I totally understand- I’m just expressing my opinion. I love her voice and I did feel something when she sang. I know everyone doesn’t agree with me-that’s fine with me.

FolkFan, I ditto your comment about wanting to throttle Randy regarding DA’s performance this week. This performance needed less runs … not more. Whatever was he thinking?

For me, Carly is amazing, but I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get why sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not more popular on the show. No way she was bottom 3.

Her performance was good. “Blackbird” was one of her best, in my opinion. But, when it comes to Idol, making a connection with your audience is equally as important as singing well.

Carly had the pipes, but she didn’t connect with enough people. When your emotional pull while singing is strong enough, you’ll gain enough diehard fans who will vote for you no matter what.

I personally think there was a desperate air about her that turned viewers off. I think it’s better to show how badly you want this by pulling out all the stops and leaving the viewers wanting more than singing harder and harder in an effort to please the judges. Who cares what Simon says? I know what I hear. I know what I see. I trust my own eyes and ears. Does this person deserve to escape the bottom three? I’d love to think that the average viewers know what they want.

As a Michael, Carly, DCook fan last night was a hard one to watch…if only they had all of the songs to choose from! So, I think some people chose the right songs and some people chose wrong, so instead of critiquing I am going to say what I think people should have done:

No need to change:
David A: Long and Winding Road
Syesha: Yesterday
Chickezie: I’ve just seen a face – in the style of the first half
Amanda: Back in the USSR–didn’t love but it was probably the best option

If only they sang:
Michael Johns: Oh Darling(Abbey Road)–the perfect song for his amazing soulful voice
Carly Smithson: Revolution (the rock version)–Personally I thought she needed to keep running with the rock singer with strong vocals this week
David Cook: Helter Skelter (the White Album)–if he wants to make a Beatles song a rock song he might as well take their hardest rocking song instead of changing up a classic pop song again (Whitesnake…yuck)
Brooke White: Mother Nature’s Son (the White Album) with Brooke on guitar
Jason Castro:Norwegian Wood (Rubber Soul) with Jason on guitar
Ramielle: Something (Abbey Road)–not really sure, I can see why she struggled
KLC: Revolution#9(the backwards song on the White Album) sorry, that’s mean. I
just don’t want her to turn a Beatles song country

Sorta dittto Syesha. That girl needed to reel it in, and she did. It was pretty, but he problem with her is that I always felt like she was acting, so she left me cold. But she sang it well.

I agree with this. I overall liked this performance, still didn’t like her because her video packages never came off well for me. The whole part about Bottom 3 being a kick in the butt just came off a little presumptious– this show can be a crapshoot, so never overestimate your popularity with the public. What if you killed it and still got B3? That would’ve been embarrassing. And who the hell refers to themselves in the third person like that? I remember LOL’ing when I discovered the TWOP forums and saw her tag, “Tonight, the role of Syesha Mercado will be played by Syesha Mercado.” So right on.

I loved Syesha (huh?) this week. I also loved DC, DA and Carly. This was probably the only week I loved Syesha and DA.

Either Simon is a lot stupider than I thought or he was playing games. I just can’t believe he thinks Blackbird is about a bird.

I loved DA’s restraint in singing a beautiful song simply. Adding all those runs, to me, gets to be a case of musical diarrhea.

Syesha finally sang with emotion that to me wasn’t so contrived. I loved it.

DC is a rawkstar. That.is.all. Well, maybe not all. I was trying to explain my love for DC and his voice to a 50 year old man I met on the internets (the tubular place to be exact). I met this man because he shoots the most amazing videos of the most amazing people that I’ve never heard of. So I sent him links to Billie Jean, All Right Now and Music of the Night. I thought those were very diverse performances that would show his presence and his skills. This man came back to me with, something like “He certainly has some pipes, but my favorite performance was Day Tripper.” This, from a man who has never watched one episode of Idol (but who doesn’t fault me for doing so).

I’ve Just Seen a Face is the most covered Beatles song in the bluegrass genre. I know like 8 bluegrass bands who have covered it. I think Chikezie made a huge mess of it. I also think magic like what he did the week before is a once in a season thing…it’s just not going to happen again.

Amanda did Amanda and Jason did Jason. I was already tired of Amanda but I immediately forgave Jason.

Brooke was horribly cheesy…why am I not surprised?

KLC for me was awful. The arrangement wasn’t good and she didn’t sing well at all.

MJ did MJ…nice voice (for the most part on this song but not as nice as in the past). He really doesn’t have a musical mind I don’t think. I think that’s evidenced by having only one song his entire run that wasn’t horribly karaoke. The one that wasn’t horribly karaoke, however, was amazing. I just think people were way over him by then. I know I was.

Rami was awful. I don’t know that the stage swallowed her up this night, but I’m thinking it should have.

Sy still refers to herself in the third person. In her myspace blogs.

Sy was an interesting one. Her personality rubbed many the wrong way, though she never bothered me in that regard until after the show. But she never really had a trainwreck performance as most of the others did, but at the same time I’m not sure she ever really had a standout performance either. I’d say her best was ALW week and that’s in part because I think Broadway is one of her strengths.

But without getting into grassy knoll territory, I do think Syesha was appreciated more at the end of the season if only because she remained fairly consistent when others who were bigger fan favorites faltered. That and she had to contend with being an afterthought in the battle of David vs. David.

The top 11 performances that I don’t need to be reminded about are David A’s LAWR and Carly’s “Blackbird.”

Honestly, David’s performance isn’t in my top four of his — but I liked this week for him mostly because I was and am a fan. I admired that he pulled it together and sang brilliantly again and I loved his intro package. He needed a strong performance, because it seems that voters will sympathy vote on a bad week and then let you go the next. And I liked Carly’s “Blackbird” because I liked her performance and intro, I love the song anyway, and thus I vehemently disagreed with Simon.

One problem for Carly may very well have been that a lot of guys don’t pick up the phone and vote, and I’m not sure that she’s the kind of female that women relate to. I did vote a few times for Carly that night on my husband’s behalf (Carly was his favorite) but voted more for DA.

I think thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s evidenced by having only one song his entire run that wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t horribly karaoke. The one that wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t horribly karaoke, however, was amazing. I just think people were way over him by then.

I agree with this. I think MJ had the misfortune of peaking very early (Hollywood week) but then not living up to the hype once the season started. That hurt his ability to establish a strong solid fanbase, and by the time Dolly Parton week came and he had a stellar night, most of his original supporters were already on other bandwagons. It’s fascinating to me how different contestants peak and when’s the best time to do so, but I guess this isn’t the place to start such a discussion.

That and she had to contend with being an afterthought in the battle of David vs. David.

I never really felt bad for Syesha because I don’t feel she was truly the strongest female this season and in my eyes, Top 3 was further than she deserved to get, but it probably wasn’t easy for her to be left on the sidelines. I haven’t heard anything about her career after the tour, I’m assuming that means there’s nothing to hear?

Both Brooke and Carly had much bigger potential than their placement would indicate, but each of them had different problems that kept them from moving further. It’s a shame and I still hope they can have the career they want in the future.

Jolene, I think Michael peaked during his audition. He sang a great karaoke Freddie Mercury during Hollywood Week but nobody can out Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury. I just don’t believe it can be done (somebody prove me wrong). My two favorites after auditions were huge disappointments. Both Michael and Ramiele fairly sucked I think after their auditions. Each may have had one good week, but neither did one thing to truly keep me on their bandwagon. I actually don’t remember DC until Happy Together. I don’t know if I didn’t see that week, or if I saw it but being as old as I am, didn’t care about a Bon Jovi cover…can’t tell you at this point. I just know that he reined me in and I became a huge fan of the man…Happy Together made me sit up and take notice. All Right Now made me fall in love…with his voice. It was the oh so deep Yeah followed by the falsetto that did me in.

To bring it all back to the original statement, I think MJ peaked with his audition. By the time it got back to that, it was way too late.

I never really felt bad for Syesha because I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel she was truly the strongest female this season and in my eyes, Top 3 was further than she deserved to get.

Singers just like (and even better than) Syesha really are a dime a dozen in these parts. She really should thank her lucky stars for Top 3.

From one of the best nights of the year in top twelve night, AI followed it up with one of the worst. I didn’t enjoy anybody except for Carly on “Blackbird”. Cook’s vocals were rock solid as usual, but that performance was just way over the top in terms of arrogance.

It’s very regrettable, however, that some watchers during the season judged DC by his manner and bearing on stage during certain performances and then projected those qualities on to him as an individual, inside their own minds. Clearly these people don’t grasp the difference between “person” and “persona”.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s very regrettable, however, that some watchers during the season judged DC by his manner and bearing on stage during certain performances and then projected those qualities on to him as an individual, inside their own minds. Clearly these people donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t grasp the difference between à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“personaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

ITA, Noctem. David played the part of the narrator of the song every week. He did it so well that people didn’t realize he was acting, and thought it was really him. Thus, the smug, smarmy voices of All Right Now and Day Tripper got him the smug label. Interesting that the vulnerable performances like Hello and ABMB had bigger impacts overall, but weren’t enough to get rid of the smug label.

I probably stand alone in this, but this week was when I became a Michael Johns fan. He had caught my attention in Hollywood, but then faded out for me until this performance. I thought it was an interesting, risky choice, and didn’t deserve the harsh pan it got. And, the studio version of this song was amazing. I have to agree with people, however, that he waited too long for lift off. He just disappeared during the semis and it definately cost him.

I liked Carly’s Blackbird. The rest were meh for me this week.

Ok, just a little response in defense of my fav idol (MJ)who isn’t getting much love here. I don’t fault Michael or Carly for being pimped by TPTB in the early stages of the competition, it’s not as though they could control that, and it clearly didn’t work in their favor inevitably. TPTB left Michael high and dry with the hype machine pretty quickly after Hollywood week so I don’t see a reason to harp on it…but in Simon’s words “It’s just my opinion.”

Personally I think Michael could have made better song choices and despite Michael being my fav, I think DCook definitely deserved to win because he was much smarter with the competition and had a strong strategy (with much talent to back it up).

When I listen to Michael’s pre-idol music: solo, with The Rising, and the Shaun White Documentary soundtrack, I really have to disagree with the “karaoke” label. He has shown that he can sing and write a wide variety of music, and I really love that about him. I don’t claim he should have taken the title, but I will say I am really excited to see what album he is going to put out there in March. I think Michael is going to suprise a lot of people because he definitely didn’t show all of his potential on the show.
I just had to say something to support my fav idol

KBR-I totally agree with you. Michael is one of my three favorites (along with Carly and David Cook) and I don’t think he’s karaoke at all. I love his soulful voice and I’m excited for his (and Carly’s) album too. I’m also hoping they still do the Marly duet that was mentioned before-that would be awesome!!!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m also hoping they still do the Marly duet that was mentioned before-that would be awesome!!!

Glad there’s some more Michael love out there! I really hope they do that duet after they get their individual albums out there. The Letter is honestly one of my fav performances of all season 7…Marly fans can not be denied!

Folkfan, I agree with everything you said in your recap so I am not going to repeat it. The only thing I would change is that I knew David Cook had me at “Hello”, LOL.

The Letter is honestly one of my fav performances of all season 7à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Marly fans can not be denied!

The Letter is one of my absolute faves too and I’m a huge Marly fan (sorry for getting off topic).

kbr, I think there is a difference between people saying they think MJ is kareoke in real life and was kareoke on the show. I think for me, the jury is still out on MJ in terms of whether I will like his original stuff. My saying I find him kareoke is more that I did on the show based on song choice. Which brings me back to I find he just made bad song choices more often than not. When I hear his original music that opinion will probably change.

Obviously MJ couldn’t help his pimping Hollywood week. He probably would have been better off if people weren’t expecting such great things from him out of the gate.

One of the Best of the night was MJ ….Well, I have to say the only one who didn’t sound karaoke to me was Michael.
This is a very talented young man with an awesome voice. I love DC and Carly..but was not impressed with thier song selection for the night..but still put these three as the …..top three overall.

My saying I find him kareoke is more that I did on the show based on song choice. Which brings me back to I find he just made bad song choices more often than not.

I agree, and I would say nearly every contestant sounds a bit karaoke at some point or another, and it tends to be when the song doesn’t fit them well. I think in this particular case, ADITL just couldn’t withstand being squeezed into 90 seconds. As soon as he said what he was singing, I thought, “how in the world is he going to do THAT?” (I do appreciate his reason for choosing the song, however.)

There’s no denying Michael Johns can sing. I am very interested to hear some of his new stuff. I am a big fan of James Morrison, and I have thought more than once that MJ would be amazing if he pursued a similar sound.

ETA: I just realized that a LOT of contestants had some of their poorest performances when they sang a song that they chose because they loved it or because it had a special significance for them personally (vs. it being a good fit for them musically or vocally). Interesting.

Oh this was the week Chikezie went to David A and asked if he could trade songs with him. Interesting how that turned out.

Oh this was the week Chikezie went to David A and asked if he could trade songs with him. Interesting how that turned out.

Really? Did they actually switch, or stick with the original choices? Because I cannot hear DA singing “I’ve Just Seen a Face” (although lyrically it might have been a great fit), and I think Chikezie singing “The Long and Winding Road” would not have gone well for him (of course he could handle it vocally, but he never impressed much with ballads).

Interesting …

Really? Did they actually switch, or stick with the original choices? Because I cannot hear DA singing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve Just Seen a Faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

No, they actually switched. From what I understand, David was interested in three songs from the list but he couldn’t get any of them because other contestants picked them first or however that works. So he got stuck with “I’ve Just Seen A Face” and Chikezie got “The Long And Winding Road.” Chikezie decided that it didn’t suit him or something like that so he asked David for a trade. David agreed to the trade. I think they were roommates at the time.

“I never really felt bad for Syesha because I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel she was truly the strongest female this season and in my eyes, Top 3 was further than she deserved to get.

Singers just like (and even better than) Syesha really are a dime a dozen in these parts. She really should thank her lucky stars for Top 3.”

Most of you have no idea what you are talking about. Syesha is NOT a dime a dozen, and she was the most talented girl in all of season 7, and deserved to be in the finale. She never once acted, her attitude was always great, she was always nice, cool, and wonderful, and it is a shame that none of you know music.

There were only five good singers this year: Carly, Michael, Davids, and Syesha, and out of them, syesha had the best package: looks, talent and performing ability. She never had a truly bad performance, and her performances of Yesterday, Tobacco Road, If I were your Woman, Vanishing, One Rock and Roll too Many, Hello Again, Thank the Lord for the Night Time, A Change is Gonna Come, and If I ain’t got you were all brilliant, as most music critics would agree.

To say that she is worse than Jason and Brooke is unbelievable, because Jason and Brooke could barely carry a tune, and Jason was cringe worthy. Each only had three good performances, and the rest were awful. They had no where near the talent that Syesha had, and she can sing rings around them. She was a brilliant singer, performer, and she was kind, grateful, and gorgeous, and the only way anyone could dislike her is if they were jealous of her talent and grace.

SO DON’T DISRESPECT HER!!!!

So tell us how you really feel, idolrox. LOL

I hear what you’re saying and might even agree with some of it, but when you started your comments with “Most of you have no idea what you are talking about” and then ended with an admonition about respecting others, I got lost in the disconnect. Sorry.

No, they actually switched.

Wow! I think that one definitely worked to David’s benefit. I’m biased though.

eta: now I’m going to obsess about what kind of arrangement DA would have used for IJSAF … lol.

lefty said:

ETA: I just realized that a LOT of contestants had some of their poorest performances when they sang a song that they chose because they loved it or because it had a special significance for them personally (vs. it being a good fit for them musically or vocally). Interesting.

Yep, one disastrous example comes up in a few weeks by the American Idol himself – Innocent on IGB.

I had no idea that David A. and Chikezie switched. I agree that I think it worked in Archie’s favor.

I won’t say much on Syesha other than none of these Idols were brilliant every week. Even Syesha. Frankly if she was she wouldn’t have seen the B3 so many times. I have already agreed I don’t think she ever had a trainwreck performance, but as Idol has shown us it’s sometimes better to be a trainwreck then forgettable (see Rami for forgettable).

Also most of the Idols that had trainwrecks at one time or another also had unforgettable performances other weeks. Performances that will probably go down in AI history to some extent, so it balances out a bit.

“There were only five good singers this year: Carly, Michael, Davids, and Syesha”

I agree with those ones but I think Chikezie has a good voice as well. and even though she may not have shown it very well, I still say Ramiele has the best voice of the bunch.

anyway, here’s my recap, in order by judges comments

Archie: Great Archie performance, perfect way to bounce back from WCWIO. I wasn’t a big fan of it, but it was great for people who like Archie and the Beatles.

Syesha: She sounded and looked beautiful. I remember watching it the first time through with my dad and he was annoyed she went with a guitar instead of a piano, but she admitted she sang it very well.

Carly: It was a good vocal, she did very well.

Cook: Not one of his great ones, but not one of his bad ones either. I liked it, but that’s not exactly shocking. Plus it was the only time he played his Les Paul in the first 7 weeks of finals, so it could never be bad in my eyes. Although, now looking back on the whole season, I hope Bo gave him a little tutoring on the vocoder (or whatever it’s called) when he was there top 4 week.

My saying I find him kareoke is more that I did on the show based on song choice. Which brings me back to I find he just made bad song choices more often than not. When I hear his original music that opinion will probably change.

I get you brie, and despite my slightly unhealthy obsession with Michael I will agree that in many cases he should have chosen better songs (Beatles night take 2 is a great example). I was responding more to an earlier comment about Michael’s lack of musical skills which I think is really countered by his strong and diverse material pre-idol. He said his new album is going to stick with a soul vibe, too bad he didn’t get to that point when he was on idol…then again the judges would have praised him for 2 weeks then criticized him for sounding the same by the third week!

There were only five good singers this year: Carly, Michael, Davids, and Syesha, and out of them, syesha had the best package: looks, talent and performing ability. SO DONà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢T DISRESPECT HER!!!!

Sorry but I don’t believe she’s earned one iota of respect. She was the most full of herself contestant this year…maybe all years. I wanted to puke after Idol Gives Back when all she could talk about was Shesha and how somebody wanted to give money if Syesha would talk to them on the phone. My jury was still out until that moment. But come on, Syesha, at least pretend you care about others more than yourself.

ETA to say that I think Michael chose some great songs (other than Queen covers). I just don’t think he did a damn thing to make them his or to showcase himself. I always got the feeling from him, my first favorite for the season, that our seeing him was enough…that he felt he was so good that he didn’t have to work at it. Maybe TPTB put this notion in his mind, maybe he didn’t think this at all…just the feeling I got from him.

Syesha has uber-fans? Who knew, good for her!

I’m excited about tonight’s episode. Bring on Top 10… Wish I had Fox Reality to watch Billie Jean on the big screen again. Daily Motion will have to do.

SO DON’T DISRESPECT HER!!!!

Guess what newbie! You’re banned.

I always got the feeling from him, my first favorite for the season, that our seeing him was enoughà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦that he felt he was so good that he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have to work at it. Maybe TPTB put this notion in his mind, maybe he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think this at allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦just the feeling I got from him.

Yeah, I just never got that vibe from him. Michael is certainly confident, but he’s not a young kid starting out, just like DCook. He’s 30 and has been working at this for a while so he is more sure of himself than many of the other contestants. I just don’t think Michael’s strategy was to change the songs, instead he sang songs that would represent the music he planned to sing (not a great strategy clearly but it seems like that was his plan).

I won’t try to convert anyone that doesn’t want to be converted, but post idol he has been so generous and kind with his fans that I just have a hard time seeing him as any less than a fantastic singer who’s also really nice and funny

Tonight has some good moments. Billie Jean for sure. I also secretly love it for Jason’s B3 spaz out. It’s when Simon first jumps from the Jason train, though he was back a few weeks later.

I think it was after this week too where the Idols told the crew to stop the swaybots and audience from clapping during their songs because they were throwing the Idols off in their performances. Apparently the audience can’t clap in rhythm.

What I am not looking forward to is KLC’s God Bless the USA. A smart choice for her, but ridiculously manipulative.

idolrox said:

Most of you have no idea what you are talking about. Syesha is NOT a dime a dozen, and she was the most talented girl in all of season 7, and deserved to be in the finale. . . . and it is a shame that none of you know music.

Or . . . music and appreciation of music is for the most part a subjective thing and people will have different opinions. We’re all sharing our opinions here and, unless you tell me that you have a Ph.D. in music AND have a stack of Grammys in your closet, I think your opinion should count just as much (and as little) as everyone else’s.

I’ve not participated in rewatching S7 but do recall that during the first run of S8, Syesha hit some sour notes in a few of her performances during the early part of the competition and I got so turned off by that (as well as her going for notes that were a real reach for her — and not quite making them) that I actually got conditioned to dreading hearing her because she was always a disappointment to me. Disappointment in terms of her having potential but always blowing it (for me) by being off in some parts and picking the wrong key to sing her songs in. IMO she got better towards the end of the season but in the early part of the season, I certainly wasn’t surprised with her hitting B3.

As for her perceived snootiness or fakeness of what have you, I was actually a little stunned by this because I never really got any kind of fake or snotty vibe from her. However, once I started hitting the interwebs, I did notice that a lot of fans seemed to be turned off by her perceived vanity/self-centeredness. But then again, I’m also one of those folks that never got any kind of smug, cocky, pompous, etc. vibe from Cook and was surprised when Simon pointed it out and when other folks (when I began trolling the interwebs) seemed to agree. Needless to say, I pretty much ignored both memos on Syesha and Cook — though I did cringe for Cook when he did that shit on his hand during IGB week. That pinged by “douche alert” button big time, though at that point I had irretrievably become a fan of his glaringly superior talent and couldn’t give a shit less if he was actually douche. (I, of course, realized later after much careful watching and judging every single nuance and action that he was indeed one of the good guys.)

I just have a hard time seeing him as any less than a fantastic singer whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s also really nice and funny

I think most of us would agree with this. He just didn’t play the game as well as some of the others, really, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a great singer and terrific guy … and very very easy on the eyes. :smile1_ee:

I think Michael chose some great songs

I think they were great songs too, but just not great for him.

Yep, one disastrous example comes up in a few weeks by the American Idol himself – Innocent on IGB.

That was the example that I had in mind for Cook. Tonight’s (You’re the Voice) is Archie’s; Brooke’s was You’ve Got a Friend; Michael’s was A Day in the Life or Dream On; Carly’s was The Show Must Go On; etc etc.

Obviously that’s just my opinion, but none of those were generally well-received IIRC.

and very very easy on the eyes.

Yup…I challenge anyone to deny that :grin1_ee:

I honestly can’t wait to watch tonight’s episode. It was a great night for a lot of the performers which is always more entertaining.

What I am not looking forward to is KLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s God Bless the USA. A smart choice for her, but ridiculously manipulative.

That’s why I tivo brie…no need to torture myself!

As usual, I only caught 4 performances last night, the 4 last ones, Jason, Syesha, Chikezie and Ramiele.

Jason- um…….

Syesha- This was her turning point, thank god. After this she at least stood out.. and got herself all the way to the top 3! She even looked beautiful, and people who diss her for no apparent reason, get a life.

Chikezie- I said back then that this performance was very un-american idol ish. Last night, what I heard was EVEN WEAKER!! than I remembered… it was a weak performance for him definitely.

Ramiele- She was better than I remember. Boring song choice, but she actually sang it pretty well.

Results- The Q&A- all about the judges! Boring! And when they are for the contestants… still boring: What’s on your Ipod- who cares! Lame. Hope they get rid of that this season.

I find it really weird that the weeks Syesha was safe, they waited til like the end to announce it… like it’s supposed to be surprising. She DID have one of the best performances (IMO The best of the Top 11 night) so it’s not that surprising she’s safe…[they did this Top 9 as well]

Amanda- eliminated, was she forgetting her words or not with the band in parts? because I heard that and didn’t remember that happening. so that was pretty weird, the end this time aroung was alright though.

My sister- who never watches the show anymore, noted that “that girl’s not even singing!”- who was it? Amanda, during the group song.. lmao!

My sister- who never watches the show anymore, noted that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“that girlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not even singing!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ - who was it? Amanda, during the group song.. lmao!

I had time to rewatch the group number today and I did notice that Amanda wasn’t singing much. That was really one of the cheesiest numbers in terms of choreography. BUT my favorite part of the entire medley was when Amanda finally did come in with “And in the end …” It was like *snap* and the silliness was gone.

Also, did anyone else notice that Rami’s mic was off during her part?

To say that she is worse than Jason and Brooke is unbelievable,

Well believe it, baby.

Well, we’re now well past Top 11, but I’m back simply to say…

Michael Johns is fine. He just can’t sing Queen and get a pass from me. I said it earlier, I think, as did someone else. No one can touch Freddie Mercury, so for anyone to even try causes problems for me. And, rightly or wrongly, that leaves the performance in the karaoke or wannabe realm. I guess Freddie is my Whitney or Celine or whomever the judges always pan contestants for taking on. Not to sound like Paula, but there are textures, or colors, or nuances in Freddie’s voice that simply cannot be duplicated, much less surpassed. (May he RIP…) Perhaps if Michael didn’t try to sing the songs straight, he’d have fared better with me.

That said, he’s a talented guy….just wait ’til Dolly week. He’ll prove it beyond your wildest imagination! LOL

Some quick comments: I think if Carley would have worn much less eyeliner her eyes would have not been so scarey. Beautiful song.

MJ’s ” A Day In the Life” makes me want to download the Beetles version. What a great song!

DC. Sorry, nothing could have turned me away from him at this point, and loved the performance! Just a really tough follow up to the previous two weeks, but he carried it off just fine. Yeah, he’s a rock star! I loved his response when Ryan asked him how he would respond to what to Simon’s comments.

Syesha. Her performance was beautiful this night! Paula suggested she show this vulnerability more and she didn’t seem to grab a hold of that advice.

I think it was Amanda’s time to go, but I actually teared up watching her send off performance. This was such a big week and the top 10 looked so sad for her. awww.

Brooke and Jason were able to build up their fan base so they were set.

DA. A wonderfully pure performance. Didn’t need the runs Randy was encouraging.

I guess that’s it.

DANG IT! Late Again…I’ll keep it short and simple.

D.C. was great, again…no missed notes, no forgotten words, no awkward movements (i.e., dancing), nice outfit (especially those pants), great but-shot from the cameraperson (yeah, I’m going there).

Also very good: Syesha (I thought her tone was great and she didn’t rush the vocal); this also applies to Rami (I’m not familiar with the song she sang, but her vocal sounded heartfelt and sweet to me). I also really, really liked Carly this week with Blackbird(someone should have told Carly that this kind of song will always showcase her vocals, because lower register is just awesome). Archie’s vocal was very nice, but also very boring.

Everyone else blew chunks and/or made me want to blow chunks.
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Peace Out & POKE SMOT :smoke_tb: