Season 7 Redux – Top 16

Thanks for the recap MJ. Also to take it further I believe the first five put through to the Top 12 wound up actually being the Top 5, just not in that order. After David, David and Jason they put through Brooke and Sy. Weird.

Once again, I think America really did get the guys side right. I wouldn’t have been against Danny making it a little further, but I can’t argue against the six that went through.

The girls? I too would have probably swapped out Rami. Interestingly even though I don’t love KLC, she’s been somewhat better than I remember.

Did anyone else find it interesting that David Cook was sent to the chairs of safety first, followed by David Archuleta? Weird!

Errm nope not weird. Remember my photo theory? LOL

I was a happy camper with the guys’ night, despite the fact that many a song was sung that I don’t like. I’m still not sure how Cookie made me like Hello, which I have long hated because of that horrible video. But, dammit, he did. (I checked and DC versions of Hello add up to my #1 song on itunes.) And he really did figure out how to present the song visually. It was a great performance. Hason’s Hallelujah was great (although I couldn’t help but compare it to Jeff Buckley’s version, which I prefer). I liked MJ’s performance, and generally liked him in the semis, but seeing this many songs from him in succession is making me see him as very karaoke. I think that this is where DA started to lose me. I hate that song. (Still can’t believe that, out of the 80s, 2 of 16 songs sung were by Phil Collins. Sigh.) And it’s just so earnest. I began to get tired of the earnest message songs. But I definitely thought that he deserved to go to Top 12. Don’t like that Meatloaf song (and I felt that Papa Was a Rolling Stone was a better performance), but I agree that it was a good enough performance to make Top 12. And I felt fine with Chikezie making it to Top 12 over Luke (sigh) and Danny (who annoyed me). I like Chikezie’s voice, and he won a lot of good will from me Top 20 week.

Less happy with the girls. Too much Celine, Whitney, etc. Love Is a Battlefield was as awesome as I recalled. I think that was my favorite KLC performance by a lot. Don’t know what Kady Malloy was thinking with that song choice. Although that goes for Asia’h as well.

Finally, what was up with the girls’ high-waisted, decoratively-buttoned pants? Were the stylists trying to start a trend? Thank God it didn’t catch on.

Thanks, MJ, for recapping AI7 – again! It’s so fun to look back and remember how it all began.

I don’t really have anything to add, as I agree w/pretty much everything y’all have said. I just enjoy reading everyone’s comments Keep it up, guys!

“Errm nope not weird. Remember my photo theory? LOL”

I didnt read this Lisa, would you mind reposting?

Thanks for the recap MJ! At the end of top 16 night, David C and Jason were my favorites, although I was still holding onto my loyalty to Michael Johns who was my initial fave. David Cà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance of Hello just blew me away. It was the first time on that season that I watched a performance multiple times. To be honest , I barely remembered David C from Hollywood week or top 24 night and I missed top 20 night the first time around so he really wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t on my radar till that night. I also loved Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Halleluiah, but I think I would have loved it even more if I hadnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t been so familiar with Jeff Buckleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s version. Other standouts for me were Brooke, Syesha and David H. At the time, I thought that Brooke was Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s favoriteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦In fact; I thought he had a little crush on her in the beginning. I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t follow the internet boards then so I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know anything about the rumors of Carly and Johns being TCOs. In my little world, Brooke was Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s chosen one.

Other things of note: Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s video of his most embarrassing moment as well as his interaction with Ryan was just adorable. Danny was just annoying. Asiah sang the Whitney song well but that outfit was just wrong and someone should have told herà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..the entrance down the stairs certainly didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t help her either. I was disappointed in Kadyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦I loved her voice but she had (and still has) the most dreadful taste in music. Amanda is actually very cute but she works very hard to hide it. Chikeze was a snoozefest and Luke was a cheesefest (but he seemed like such a nice guy that I was sad when he was booted). America was spot on with their choice of the top six guys but not so much with the girls: I wish that Asiah, Alexandrea and Alaina (or even Kady) had made it to the top 12 instead of Ramiele, Kristy Lee and Amanda.

Amanda is actually very cute but she works very hard to hide it.

I had the same thought when watching. She is very pretty.

I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t follow the internet boards then so I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know anything about the rumors of Carly and Johns being TCOs. In my little world, Brooke was Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s chosen one.

I could have written this. And interestingly, I remember thinking that Brooke – BROOKE! – was a little phony. What was I thinking? But I’d missed the auditions and Hollywood week so I didn’t realize she was really that sweet.

re: Asiah’s outfit – I still get the giggles thinking about Michael Slezak’s reference to it looking like a grown-up onesie. I have a lot of admiration for her but never liked her voice. She must have huge vocal cord nodules – I do not think her voice would have held up for an entire season.

During the results show, I got cracked up at the way all the girls reacted when DA walked past them on his way to the stools – they were all cooing and reaching for him like he was just the cutest thing in the world. Oh, yeah … he is.

Loved the way Luke’s wife and mom (?) were groovin’ to his Wham! sing-out; loved the bear hug Chikezie gave Danny; thought the judges could not have been ruder to Luke when Ryan announced his elimination.

There was so much to obsess over and analyze during this particular results show … lol. I so need a life.

Errm nope not weird. Remember my photo theory? LOL

No, please care to share…

Hello, indeed, Mr. Cook. I believe this is the night, referenced after he was taken to the hospital on Dolly Parton night, that DC almost didn’t make it to live TV, but at the last minute he decided to go on anyway. I’m watching these episodes on my plasma with the surround sound turned up, and its amazing the details, visually and sonically, that I’ve missed while watching on Dailymotion/my laptop.

When I watched Hello on my computer, I thought DC was just being fresh, fast and easy, while trying to impregnate me through my screen. Now, thru the wonders of HDTV, I notice DC’s eyes are very watery, very red, and a little unfocused (i.e., droopy), and during his performance, when he closes his eyes the first time, it looks like he could have fallen asleep right there on the stage. And someone needs to hand that boy a tissue STAT!

Unfortunately (for me), I now hear how absolutely awful Kady sounded on performance night; then, if possible, she sounded even worse during her singout. How the hell did she make it pass the Hollywood auditions? Actually, I can’t just diss on Kady, when almost all the female hamsters sound like an episode of bad auditions.

I enjoyed mostly all the male performances, except for Eze (boring song choice), MJ (did he forget the words or did he actually arrange the song to have two lines from the first verse and then one from the third verse? the hell?) and Archie (the slow as molasses arrangement did nothing for the song and made it more boring than it already was). Most of these bad performances can be blamed directly on BAD SONG CHOICE. Come on Hamsters, we know you guys have the ability to sing or you wouldn’t be on our TVs; don’t you hamsters listen, it’s practically Simon’s mantra: your choice of song makes or breaks you. PICK EFF’IN BETTER SONGS to highlight your talent or get the hell off of my TV!

Awwww, I’m watching Luke’s singout and there’s this one shot of Cookie looking on with this proud papa smile on his face and then the camera cuts back to Luke with an even bigger smile on his (long live the 4 horsemen — i.e., bromance). And, why no Pointy Pose Dance Off on results nite? I need my daily dose of cheese, Nigel…stop being so stinjy.

MJ, thank you, again, for giving us these threads; it’s kinda neat to have this chance to watch, and then come here to comment on the AI7 episodes (did not watch AI7 when it originally aired on TV). This place is GREAT!!

———————–
Peace Out & POKE SMOT :smoke_tb:

wow, it does appear from this ‘move to the chairs’ order that they went by vote count, and Americal had already fallen for the top 5. Amazing the Hello blasted DC from mid-pack to top of the heap. Also noticable is that the blondes with a niche made it through; country Kristy and songwriter Brooke. The country picked one ‘cute little miss sunshine’ belter–Ramie over Asia’h. They picked one diva–Syesha and eliminated the other two. They really sorted the girls out by genre and we got one of each in the top 12. It pays to be unique.

Again, mine are in the order of ratings according to judge comments.

I had already fallen madly in love with Cook last week, so he had me before Hello. Speaking of All Right Now, I used to wish Cook hadn’t made his little comment top 20 week, but I have since changed my mind. I think his little tiff with Simon is what actually started off their (sort of) friendship (or whatever they had). I could tell Simon respected Cook, and I think that started when Cook sought him out that second week and apologized profusely for his comment.

Jason’s was amazing, I felt bad for him on that last note, what a way to crash back down to earth, but it was still amazing.

I didn’t like Michael’s as much as most people. Maybe because I was hoping for a performance as good as Light My Fire and it wasn’t.

Archie sounded beautiful, I was rough on him last time, so I will just say he sounded beautiful.

I really liked Danny’s performance. I was just kinda bummed that he never got to sound as good on Idol as he did on some of his Youtube videos (Specifically Chain of Fools. Maybe that was his fault, I don’t know. Glad he got a cruise out of the whole thing

(Skipping the girls)

So out of all the top 12 contestants, I think only D. Cook and Brooke have consistently got better each week (Maybe Kristy, Chikezie, and Syesha too, I can never remember their performances, so I don’t know). In my opinion, Carly, David H, and Archie both did better top 20 than they did top 16.

This is what I wrote last night before there was any place to post it:

Top 16 dudes:
Luke has a new most embarassing moment after that performance. He’s such a nice guy, but man that was way cheesy.
David A was ok. Probably not the best song choice for me. I have to agree with Simon a bit that it was a bit gloomy.
Danny cracks my shit up. I’d have loved to see him stick around longer. He does have a really good voice.
David H makes me cringe. I dunno, maybe it’s his eyebrows. He has a good voice but it’s not one I’m interested in hearing.
Michael still wasn’t good for me. It was mots karaoke…awkward (he shouldn’t dance). I’ve always found him very full of himself too, much more than I ever found David Cook to be. It’s all perception I guess.
David C. Or is someone loving you RAWR…I’m pretty sure this was the week David was sick. I never knew until Kelly said something while he was on Regis & Kelly, but seeing that sniffling and watery eyes makes me think this was the week he had bronchitis…still sang beautifully.
Jason made me laugh so hard with his dread in his hand story. I flove Hallelujah and thought he was great…even with the horrible miss at the end…it just didn’t matter.There are versions I do love better but I believe he was brilliant to sing this on the show.
Chikezie was not even 10% as good as the week before. It was just too cheesy for my taste.

Dudettes:
Aish’a wasn’t bad at all. She wasn’t all that good though I don’t think. Maybe I just don’t like the song.
Kady has no stage presence. I thought the song would never end.
Amanda had her best performance with this song. I just don’t think she can sing. Not that I can either, but I don’t go on national TV trying. I do like her though.
Carly has a beautiful voice. I loved her on this song. She does, however, need to work on the scary eyes. I just see it as intensity but I can see how others would be put off by it.
KLC was ok. I never thought she was ever better than ok. Good song choice, poor execution IMO. She really needs to work on how she stands on stage. It’s not a nice look I don’t think. Kristy is very forgettable, so much so that her label forgot to give her album any promotion.
Ramiele does indeed have an amazing voice. Her song choices suck hard though. She should have gotten experience at something more than working at a sushi bar before trying something like this.
Brooke (and I know I’m in the minority here) really doesn’t do a thing for me. She had one performance that I loved, and this wasn’t it. I just don’t think she has any range and to be honest, I lived through her style during the 70′s when it was new and fresh and so many did it so much better.
Syesha was another one who usually did nothing for me. She sings very well but typically leaves me cold.

So it wasn’t very surprising who left this week. The only sing out that I enjoyed however was Danny’s. I found it rather interesting that the first five who learned they were in the top 12 were the last 5 standing on the show.

Ah, Hello indeed David Cook. This is the performance that drew me into the show and made me a DC fan. I was close to giving up on watching the rest of the season, having been mostly bored by Top 20 and Top 24, but after this, there was no way I was going anywhere.
I think that same week I found some of David’s original songs on YouTube and that was that, I was hooked.
This is also where Michael stopped interesting me, and where I started resenting the notion that Archie’s place in the finale was already guaranteed (of course Simon was right both last week and this one – he was “the one to beat” and he did make it into the final 2. Say what you will, Simon’s comments are pretty much on the money most of the time).

Jason was never my cup of tea, but I liked both him and Brooke alot on Top 16. I hope they put an album out soon.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m pretty sure this was the week David was sick. I never knew until Kelly said something while he was on Regis & Kelly, but seeing that sniffling and watery eyes makes me think this was the week he had bronchitisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I believe the week he was sick was Top 20. There’s a picture of Kelly backstage on Idol where you see Cookie in the background, and he’s wearing the clothes he had on for ARN (sorry, can’t remember where I saw it to track it down now).

Danny Noriega actually has a beautiful voice. So it annoyed me that, though funny at times, he spent entirely too much time being…well, annoying. Heck, I still have his version of “When I Need You” (from Hollywood week) recorded. I needed to hear more of that from him on the show.

David Cook kidnapped me this week. This was my first “moment” of Season 7, followed rapidly by Jason’s “Hallelujah.” I live for goosebump instances just like this.

And then, to the only female who gets props this night…Brooke White. “Love is a Battlefield” was…amazing. It not only set her apart from the rest of the ladies, but it signified a shift in what was, for me, the old Idol game, where belters and glory-noters and “runners” ruled year after year.

MJ, I agree with everything you said about the guys except I thought David Cooks performance was the best of the night. I was completely Cookified at this point. I didn’t even bother rewatching the girls. Michael Johns still looks so awkward up on that stage, that always took away from his performance.

Hello, indeed, Mr. Cook. I believe this is the night, referenced after he was taken to the hospital on Dolly Parton night, that DC almost didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make it to live TV, but at the last minute he decided to go on anyway.

I never heard this before, what is this all about? Did something happen to him.

I wonder if they did send them to the chairs in order of votes. Would be interesting to know. Sounds likes its very possible.

I never watched AI before last season so I didn’t know who Blake Lewis was, but I just didn’t get it. I wasn’t impressed with his performance at all.

If DialIdol is to be believed (and here, I tend to) David A was way ahead of everyone on votes from the semis through Top 8, with the exception of Top 10 when DC took #1 with Billie Jean and DA was second. So, I’m going to seriously doubt that they sent people to safety in order of votes. Not saying that the order of sending people to safety isn’t intriguing, because it is.

It’s always been my understanding that the week that DC was sick with bronchitis was Top 20 week. If you watch the girls’ week from Top 20, he barely moves from his chair.

I never watched AI before last season so I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know who Blake Lewis was, but I just didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get it. I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t impressed with his performance at all.

Yeah, I’d rather have had another cheesy group performance than that. I’m just so not into beat boxing. I will say he did some interesting stuff with his versions while he was on the show, but a whole album of that would make me want to take a hammer to my head.

I wish I had fox reality channel. it’s so much better watching these perf’s on tv than on youtube!

Everyone knows that Another Day in Paradise was a last minute substitution for DA, right? He was planning on singing You’re the Voice that week. Producers told him to go ahead and then as the days passed told him that they were having trouble getting the clearance in time, so he had to find something else pronto. That said, I hated that song on him. He’s not a preachy person, but I definitely felt preached to by a kid. (I get it–homelessness is way bad, and charity begins at home.) It’s interesting that Imagine was inspirational and this song is just a lecture to me. It was my least favorite of any song he did the entire season–including We Can Work It Out.

Brooke and DC were my favorites this week. This is the week I started only voting for the person who performed the best–rather than picking a horse and staying loyal or voting for people in trouble–so I voted for Brooke and DC. I don’t know what Randy was thinking about Love is a Battlefield. Brooke did a great, great job of it. It was really gritty–and she’s not a very gritty person–so that was especially great. And acoustic was completely the way to go, especially with her voice. And I think it was great that she realized that she needed another person to play guitar on it.

I agree with Jolene about MJs –this is the week I started losing interest in him. He sang okay, and I like that song–and it was WAY better than last week–but he never really learned to sing to the camera (until he did the Dan Band video at X-mas).

I love Hallelujah and Jason did great with it. But I didn’t think it was the best performance of his Idol run (I liked Daydream, Rainbow, and I don’t want to cry all more). I sort of don’t get why a lot of people were completely wow’ed by this perf. It was very, very good–second best guy that night–and it was great to see him w/o the guitar–but he wasn’t mind-blowing.

I don’t know why people do oversung songs. This is the week I started getting less interested in Syesha. I was so excited when she sang Tobacco Road–I thought she’d be like Elliott a few seasons before–picking great, surprising songs–but she has the Diva ability so she gave into it.

I liked Carly and Amanda this week. I didn’t understand why Simon seemed unreasonably critical of Carly.

David H–too dramatic for me. And the mini-scandal about him gave me the whillies.

I thought the order of making it into the Top 12 was a cool coincidence, but not actually prescient. I think they put through the people who obviously are going through first so the last few spots are a surprise. I mean, if it was down to Brooke and Asia’h or David (either) and Danny, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure out the final 12. And the people who had already started rising to the top were going to keep rising.

I was on the Cook train from auditions on. This performance was & still is one of the most memorable of the season, IMO. How did he learn in 1 week how to connect to the camera? During All Right Now he barely looked in the camera.

Like some of you, my perception was that DA, Brooke, MJ and Carly were the favored ones of the judges.

Personally, didn’t care for Love is a Battlefiled.
Luke Menard was better (not much mind you) than I remembered.
MJ (& others) were pitchy but in the judges minds they were still great? Huh?
Jason was awesome. Didn’t realize he made the goofy faces at the critiquing segment, too funny.
Kady – thanks mj. Couldn’t put my finger on what exactly was off about that song/performance other than it sounded like a funeral dirge. Way to massacre a Queen song.
Rami – the scrunchy face & baby voice thing, grrrrrrr, I’d forgotten how much they annoyed me. Vocally eh.
Carly’s facial expressions came across as sort of angry/strident. Definitely detracted from her performances.

Once again, I agree with MJ’s comments–I loved Danny’s personality and he would have made for great TV.

Brooke was again my favorite of the girls, and this was probably my favorite performance of hers the whole season. Jason was phenomenal, but DC blew me away for the boys. The most interesting thing I noticed, watching back this time, was that my favorite boy (DC) and girl (BW) had a lot of early parallels. They both did Happy Together for Top24 (how did I never notice that?) to moderate success (good song, but came off a teensy awkward/nervous as the song was not comfortably in their niches). Then they stepped it up for Top20 by picking up a guitar for the first time, and performing songs that not only fit perfectly in their genres, but helped them come off as authentic and definable above the rest of the cast. Of course, Brooke talked back and was adorable, while DC talked back and came off terrible, but at least they both made it through to the next week, when they really slayed it (tm Randy). Top 16 week, they both rose to the top and further identified themselves as true artists by doing their own arrangements on familiar tunes. The songs worked, sounded fresh and current, and furthermore, they connected to the songs emotionally in a way they hadn’t before (I think the contestants were finally getting more comfortable with the camera). They took a risk, and it paid off.

I would have loved to see a Final 2 of Brooke and DC, if only Brooke had kept that level up rather than overthinking everything and falling apart emotionally on TV. I remember Brooke’s Idolatry interview, where Slezak gave her much-deserved props for her Love is a Battlefield arrangement, and she kind of touched on why she wasn’t able to pull out those arrangements every week. She was worried about doing the same unplugged type arrangement every week (overthinking?), and also, they didn’t have enough time in the competition to pull off something completely different each week. I also remember how she mentioned that David Cook was able to do those arrangements quickly, but she needed more time. I thought it was cool that she gave him props, artist to artist, and made me respect both of them as artists. Man, I’m looking forward to Brooke’s new music. I hope she hooks up with some cool people to work on her album.

Brooke was again my favorite of the girls, and this was probably my favorite performance of hers the whole season.

ITA with this. “Let It Be” and “You’re So Vain” are often mentioned as Brooke’s best performances but I always thought “Love is a Battlefield” was her best and most distinctive performance.

And I was so happy that Simon stuck up for her regarding the “band/no band” debate because I wanted to reach into my TV and smack Paula and Randy upside their silly heads when they were going on about “not bringing anything new” or “should have brought in the band.”

I lied. More thoughts.

Kristy Lee spent more time in the bottom 3 than maybe any other contestant. She really had a knack for failing upward. Little Ramiele Malubay tries to pull off a big number, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Against All Oddsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  but ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s another one of those tunes thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been done to death on Idol. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lucky she already had some momentum going at this point.

I think you nailed it MJ, on why these two made it as far as they did. KLC was like the reverse Ramiele in her trajectory. Rami had incredible momentum leading into Top24, where she came off as this adorable thing with a big voice. The Hollywood clips showed her sounding incredible on some songs, and the judges kept alluding to her tremendous talent, which convinced the audience she had “it” in her even when she under-delivered. But this only works for a few more weeks as the audience saw for themselves it was an empty promise. Unlike Michael Johns, who actually recovered with a standout performance Dolly week, Rami was really the one who peaked Hollywood and rode off that far too long. KLC, on the other hand, had screentime and that dang horse story going into Top24, but the whole reverting back to Amazing Grace came off a tad pathetic and did not necessary endear her to audiences. She had promise, but was unproven. Then she stank Top24, but gained enough sympathy votes to hang one when everyone harped on her being sick. She was also lucky that two other girls without Hollywood week screen time came off just as badly, and without the benefit of the sick excuse. She was starting from the bottom, and even though she never did an amazing job, proved herself by improving each week up to her elimination (except 8 Days a Week). Like MJ said, “failing upward”. Had the rest of the cast not been as good as they were, she could’ve made it even further.

Ramielle actually performed better in those earlier performances than she did on tour, IMO.

Who were the 2 blonds applauding for Jason C. when he got picked for the top 12? Sister & Girlfriend? Very pretty

Who was the Blond woman seen twice with DA’s dad? Aunt? Vocal coach/songwriter?

Danny was season 7′s Sanjaya except with singing skillz. Glad he got the boot when he did.

Somebody above mentioned about Hernandez’ facial expressions. Yeah – the voice was great but watching him sing was off-putting.

This was the night DC won me over and I stayed won over from then on.

I found Danny entertaining as hell. I was so disappointed that he didn’t make the top 12 and really the top 10. I would have loved to see him on tour. I loved when he waved his fingers at Simon. Sometimes a person has to stand up for themselves. I think Danny will do something in entertainment, not necessarily singing.

David H makes me cringe too, and I was mad that he got the top 12 and Danny didn’t. :blink_tb:

This was the week I knew my three favorites were DC, Jason, and Brooke, with David at the top. And also the week we learned that Ramielle cries a lot. But it’s true that some of her closest friends left that week.

I knew Cohen’s Hallelulah but not Buckley’s, but I still would have liked Jason’s. While his performances weren’t perfect, he had passion and sincerity. His studio versions were better. I love his taste in music–I think he needs more experience. He’s inexperienced as a singer, being a drummer before the show. He’s also great to look at, he’s a beautiful person really.

MJ was disappointing after the big expectations for him in the beginning. He did seem Kareoke because he sang okay but the songs sounded just like the originals with no orginality on his part.

DA’s song was gloomy, I had to agree with Simon on that. Sometimes Archie seemed like an old man and that wasn’t working for him.

Asia’h was my favorite girl until this point. Loved Brooke’s Love Is A Battlefield. Thank you, Jason, for ending my ignorance of Hallelujah *ashamed* that night. Heh.

I fell for Brooke hook line and sinker that week. I liked her before, but it wasn’t until that moment I felt she truly delivered on her promise. She’s still my favorite from last season. Shocking, I know, I’m not just a Cookie.

DC absolutely turned to corner for me too. After that night, I picked him as the winner. All I needed to see was if he could handle the big stage the following week. I still kick myself for not actually picking him in the mj’s poll until the day after the deadline. LOL. That’s what I get for not paying attention. I’m gonna be ON IT this year.

Jason was fantastic. Hallelujiah was beautiful, and it was one of the few idol performances where I felt the singer actually understood what he/she was singing about. The last note was hella wonky, but I’m glad they didn’t call him on it.

Chikeze disappointed me. He was SO good the week before, and then he went back to doing 3rd rate Luther impersonations. Memo to Chikeze… Rueben already covered that territory, and better. Stick with the uptempo soul numbers. Thank you.

By this point Hot Aussie had lost me, and I started pegging hm as a guy who should be singing in a rock cover band. He won me back a little over the rest of the contest. I loved his Beatles covers and Dolly Parton Night. But he had been permanently moved out of my favorites by then.

I still love Amanda.

In retrospect, I’m actually okay with the top 12. I would have switched a few people out here and there but overall those who deserved to moved on. It was a solid group. It will be tough to match them in the new season.

Am sad that Danny Noriega didn’t make it to the top 12. He was highly entertaining. Grotesque, but entertaining.

I was impressed by David Hernandez. Was strippergate revealed yet?

I think that was my favorite KLC performance ever. She should have sung that song during the tour so as to leverage herself for post AI as a viable country singer who sings covered pop. Blake Shelton is skyrocketing up the charts with his cover of Home. That Journey song would kill on Country. Too bad on a missed opportunity.

David Cook was jaw droppingly good. Visuals were fine. Arrangement, vocals and delivery were just amazing. Randy was right, that song sung by DC, would be a monster hit today. But am glad he didn’t include that on his debut album.

Jason was fabulous, too. He needs a vocal coach to train his breathing, but my golly that was great. Yay for Brooke. Nice to see both Jason and Brooke do so well early on. I think the pressure in the fish bowl really did get to them both.

I enjoyed watching this again… and was laughing at myself (and my mother was laughing at me) because before Hello… I kinda thought DC looked like the, um, Joker. And it’s funny to play it back now that I’ve been such a huge fan (and thinking he’s a hottie) for so long now… he didn’t look quite so much like the Joker on a second look. Just a cute boy with bad hair

I remember my mom calling me and me telling her after Hello — what the hell was that?! When I saw he was doing “Hello” — I didn’t expect it to be pretty darn awesome. It was cool to watch that again.

I think Michael Johns was my favorite on the first go-round and like many of you have said, he just didn’t do much (other than look purty) to generate excitement after the auditions/Hollywood. Well, Dolly night was hot but… he just never really “wowed” me again.

I had forgotten, too, how much I liked Jason Castro’s performance. It wasn’t perfect, but it was so heartfelt and such a surprise… I loved it this time, too.

I also loved Brooke, I thought she looked and sounded so lovely and vulnerable with that stripped down version of “Love is a Battlefield.” Glad that Simon “got it.”

I didnt read this Lisa, would you mind reposting?

I did not post it, was in emails to MJ I still believe there is alot to learn from the photo’s of each season. Top 12, Top 11, Top 10 and so on. It may not be the *winner* (although from the photo’s you can pretty much guess who it will be), but the photo’s tend to group the top 3 or so each year (90 odd% of the time in the same place as year’s past).

For the record, MJ does not agree with me, lol.

For the interns…You know I am just teasin right? No reason to change up the photo’s, nope no sireee, please leave em be, heh.

The blond woman with David A’s dad was Jeff’s sister, David’s aunt Lauri. At other times, you might have seen David’s mom and her two sisters, all of whom were once part of a Florida singing group.

I can’t watch these *cry* but what I remember most about this night was David Cook and Hello. David sang “Hello, is it me your looking for?” and fans answered enmass, why yes, Hello Mr Cook! I knew then and there something had changed on AI.

I thought Jason did beautifully on Hallelujah (which I think was his best AI performance).

Everyone knows that Another Day in Paradise was a last minute substitution for DA, right? He was planning on singing Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re the Voice that week.

You know, I wish I had a crystal ball sometimes. I’d love to know how “You’re the Voice” would have gone over that week instead. Maybe with the extra spunk David still seemed to have during the semifinals, and without the events of the next two weeks, it wouldn’t have fallen so flat. The span of those 3 weeks seems like eons in AI time. Contestants change; they grow stronger or wearier (or both); the opinions of the judges and the audience all shift in that time. Hm.

Had he done that, it would have left him free to sing the song that *I* wanted him to sing during “The Year You Were Born” week. lol

For the record, while I didn’t love David’s “You’re the Voice” performance, I didn’t mind it either. “Another Day in Paradise” was definitely my least favorite of his song choices.

David Archuleta was sick during Another Day in Paradise too. Keep that in mind.

But I agree, Lefty, that was my least favorite amongst all his song choices. As much as I didn’t care for You’re the Voice either, it would have definitely fared better that week over Another Day in Paradise. Guarantee it.

Yeah, I knew that he was sick, but actually I thought his voice sounded great. In fact, ADIP is one of the few DA performances that I don’t have on my iPod, and when I listened to it last night I was surprised at how good he sounded singing it. I just don’t like that song. At all.

I don’t doubt Archie changed his song late in the game, but I think most of them faced that at one time or another. Jason almost didn’t do Hallelujah and his Idol course probably would have been considerably altered if that performance never happened.

I like this setup of the semis so much better than what they are going back to this season. I’m glad we got to see them all sing three times before Top 12 because for the most part I think it truly established the stars of the season. It also reminded me why I was never all that surprised by MJ’s supposed shock boot. He underwhelmed when it counted.

Brooke’s performance this week was my favorite from her ever. It was mentioned how Brooke said she didn’t have the time to rearrange every week. I think this too was true for a lot of them. Both Brooke and Jason seemed to thrive at the beginning. Part of that was less pressure, but I just think both work slowly. Brooke because she’s Brooke and Jason partly due to the absolute inexperience. They did well in the early weeks when they had more time to focus on their own performances. But as Idol goes on it seems the Idols have far less time to actually work on the music and far more committments elsewhere. Mind you this is not an excuse for either, but the Idol competition obviously favors people who can work quickly. Like Dave Cook.

It wasn’t Archie who changed it willingly, he was told he could do YTV until that weekend before the performance night. He was forced to pick something that late in the game, after he thought he was going to sing YTV for almost the entire week leading up to the show.

I have no doubts that other contestants changed their song late in the week, but those were of their own volition and most likely they had been practicing those other songs b/c they were unsure.

In either case, like I said, he was sick that week so he most definitely didn’t have a stellar vocal outing that week.. great compared to others but he could have done better had he not been sick.

The argument about Idol favoring singers who can work quickly would have meant that David Archuleta would have fared better then. He is the one who turned out the goods the last week, with a grand slam as Simon put it, when they had the least amount of time and the most amount of work to do. Just my opinion!

I have no doubts that other contestants changed their song late in the week, but those were of their own volition and most likely they had been practicing those other songs b/c they were unsure.

Contestants are constantly getting song choices yanked from them at the last minute. It’s not that unusual.

In either case, like I said, he was sick that week so he most definitely didn’t have a stellar vocal outing that week..

My problem with the song was the arrangement, not the quality of the vocal.

MJ,
Really? As in, they are told that songs are cleared, and then they’re suddenly not cleared? I would think that would be highly unusual. I can understand if they are told that maybe you can sing it, but we’ll have to see, and then being told they can’t b/c they never got clearance at the end.

Really? As in, they are told that songs are cleared, and then they’re suddenly not cleared? I would think that would be highly unusual.

It’s not unusual at all. And contestants get songs yanked at the last minute for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes there isn’t really a reason. The contestant is told they can’t sing the song, and that’s it.

Really, isn’t that interesting.. I’d love to hear more specific examples of this occurence, from MJ or others!!! Just to fulfill my curiosity and to give myself more objectivity.

Virginia, I can’t give you specific examples but I think it happens more often than many might think. At the very least it has happened other seasons. Didn’t it happen to Elliot?

I also wasn’t implying that Archie couldn’t work fast. He obviously could as both he and DC were standing there at the end. So could Sy. I was mostly referring to the fact that Brooke and Jason couldn’t and hence, I believe in part that was their downfall. Especially when in retrospect you rewatch the semis and see how well both did at the beginning of the competition. This is also the same reason I will be bailing on the recaps once we hit ALW week. I don’t need to relive those last few weeks again. Hehe.

As for being sick, I thought Archie’s vocals were mostly fine here. I do give him some leeway for having to sing a song he never intended to sing, but the issues with the performance didn’t have much to do with his vocals. Either way he deservedly made Top 12.

I also think almost all of them performed sick at one time or another over the course of the season. Some better than others of course. My only issue was that sometimes the show made a big deal out of it so as to drum up sympathy for the Idols in question and for others it was never mentioned.

Yes, I had an issue w/how the show made a big deal out of some contestants who were sick during the show and others it was never mentioned, b/c David Archuleta was one of those whose illness was never ever mentioned. He had a bad case of Strep that lasted from ADIP into the Beatles We Can Work It Out. Was it ever mentioned he was sick? I don’t recall it.

All of the Idols had song choices denied. DC had another song for Inspirational week, and for quite a few other weeks. He never gives specifics since I think he’s just of the mind that things happen the way they should happen, but I remember at least 4-5 songs he mentioned as songs he wanted to do but didn’t get the chance to.
Just based on what little I heard this season, I’d say it’s very very common that contestants have songs denied.

That’s not really what I mean, by having song choices denied. We all know that happens. What I referred to above is a little bit different.

Watching DA (and DC, for that matter) I suspect the last thing he wanted mentioned was any illness he may have had. Doesn’t hit me as the self-absorbed, sympathy seeking (or excuse making) type. Seems to me he fared a lot better when folks consistently thought his vocals stellar and beyond reproach, as opposed to subpar due to strep or whatever.

ETA: This would also apply to song choice and changes, last minute, self-made, or otherwise. Or, so it would seem to me….

“The most interesting thing I noticed, watching back this time, was that my favorite boy (DC) and girl (BW) had a lot of early parallels.”

I’m glad someone else noticed that. You can take it even further actually. They both continued to do amazingly the next week, getting rave reviews. Then they took things too far the following week and got kind of “gimmicky” according to Simon (Brooke with the yellow, Cook with the “vocoder”.) That is part of the reason I think they make such a cute fake Idol couple.

“Yes, I had an issue w/how the show made a big deal out of some contestants who were sick during the show and others it was never mentioned, b/c David Archuleta was one of those whose illness was never ever mentioned. He had a bad case of Strep that lasted from ADIP into the Beatles We Can Work It Out. Was it ever mentioned he was sick? I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t recall it.”

The fact that Archie didn’t mention that he was actually bed ridden (IIRC) that week made me gain a lot of respect for him. I was impressed that he just took the criticism and pretty much said, yeah, I screwed up, now I just have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

They forced David Cook to talk about his sick bout. I’d bet the farm he wouldn’t have brought it up if Ryan hadn’t done so.

Yes, I had an issue w/how the show made a big deal out of some contestants who were sick during the show and others it was never mentioned, b/c David Archuleta was one of those whose illness was never ever mentioned.

I think part of it was that some of the girls had bad performances and Paula would mention their sickness to be nice and as an excuse. For the Davids, even when they were sick, they never had bad vocals as a result, so there was no need for excuse-making. I also think they were just class acts in that department. I would’ve never known DC had bronchitis one week if not for Kelly Ripa mentioning it, and I wouldn’t have known about Adam if not for seeking out internet info on DC.

ETA: Oh, so Archie was sick for We Can Work it Out? Wow, then he did have something to excuse and didn’t. More props to Archie.

Scifisam, you mean the blood pressure thing? Yeah, I think he had to say something because the media was reporting crazy things, like he died or something. He played it down as blood pressure, but the media said heart palpitations, which sounded more serious. I’ve always wondered if it was really just blood pressure if they sent him to the hospital.

This is all really interesting. I love the behind-the-scenes stuff. I do agree with you, weareallinnocent, that both Davids (and Jason, and many other contestants I’m sure) kept their illnesses and other challenges out of the spotlight for a reason. It’s all par for the course I’m sure.

For the record, I only started the discussion as a hypothetical – you know, how would it have changed the course of things if a song had been sung at a different point in the competition? What if DA had done YTV during 80′s week, or what if he hadn’t sung “Imagine” until Inspiration Week? If Jason hadn’t sung “Hallelujah,” would he have been voted off earlier? etc. etc. (Can you tell I loved Sliding Doors?)

I definitely wasn’t trying to imply unfair treatment or anything. I was just speculating for fun.

My opinion is there is nothing wrong with other people trying to set the story straight where innocent people are concerned. And I highly doubt that David or anybody else in similar shoes would really mind a whole lot as long as the things that were said were not mistruths.

^^ Virginia, what are you referring to?

My commentary only referred to a previous comment that came off to me as if I shouldn’t be making excuses for David’s performances b/c David himself did not, and does not seem the type of person to do so. And I don’t see a problem with explaining why he might have had a bad week if others don’t know about it.

My opinion is there is nothing wrong with other people trying to set the story straight where innocent people are concerned. And I highly doubt that David or anybody else in similar shoes would really mind a whole lot as long as the things that were said were not mistruths.

My opinion is there is nothing wrong with any of this. LOL Realize though that, whether intending to or not (and I suspect not), “trying to set the story straight” implies that there’s been some wrong that needs to be righted, some victim who needs defending, or something bad that need be excused or mitigated. And, all I’m saying is that it never ever occurred to me that DA needed that at all, ever.

Lefty, totally got where you were coming from, and it is interesting to wonder about. I do that too, and I loved “Sliding Doors!” LOL

I love behind the scenes information/stories too!! It makes the show that much more fun and interesting, right?!

Weareallinnocent,
No worries, I am not really really trying to set the story STRAIGHT regarding this episode.. I’m just trying to add to the information that is out there already… okay?! Okay!

LOL, yeah OK.

For the internsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦You know I am just teasin right? No reason to change up the photoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, nope no sireee, please leave em be, heh.

lol….

FWIW, I wasn’t saying the Idols should say they were sick. I understand them not wanting to get by on sympathy. I respect those more that didn’t. But at the same time sometimes it was mentioned by the show as opposed to the Idol. Maybe it was because those Idols in question sucked that week, but by that card Jason was sick ALW week and he certainly got no sympathy from the judges. Mind you not saying he should have, but the judges seem to offer selective sympathy.

I know what you mean, brie200 – but we’ll take it to mean that Jason sang well enough that he didn’t need the excuse. :happy_tb: Because I do think the judges generally mention it when someone tanks. The only times I remember the judges bringing it up were with KLC and Ramiele. Enough said.

I think the judges, probably mainly Paula, will mention someone being sick when they sound bad on a song. I never knew that DA or DC were ever sick. I didnt think either sounded bad when they were supposedly sick so why mention it. There is a lot the normal viewer doesnt know. I really didnt know any of the behind the scenes things until after Idol was over and starting searching David Cook. I never knew about his ill brother or Lindsey Rose during the AI7 season. I do remember somewhere that DC said he didnt want those things mentioned on AI because he didnt want the sympathy vote. I think DA probably thinks the same way. (By the way, neither of them needed the sympathy vote, I just think they would rather win on their talent alone.) It wouldn’t have changed anything in the long run anyway.

It’s interesting that both the Davids were sick during the semis and neither they nor the judges said anything. That may, in part, reflect the fact that they sang well those weeks and no one felt the need to make excuses. I also suspect that they personally would not want to rely on that.

I also don’t think that DC being sick Top 9 would have come out if TMZ hadn’t gotten a hold of the story, which may have in part been the fact that journalists noticed that DC had not shown up in the audience for the taping of the No Air performance. Or maybe the producers wanted it out there. Who knows? In all events, it definitely seemed like DC wanted to downplay it, and it did not come out that he was sick until after the voting was done for that week.

I think it’s too bad that those kids have to perform when they are that sick. I wonder what would happen if they had one free pass to use if they are sick enough. They don’t perform and they don’t get booted, but they can only use it once. Sort of a Survivor type thing.

But I do admire the whole lot for performing when they are not well.

Watching these early shows reminds me of how much I really loved Brooke at the beginning. I always stayed a fan no matter how much she broke down, even though I voted exclusively for DC. But still, heading into the top 12, Brooke was definitely my 2nd fave. I love her style, and I can’t wait to buy her album. I’m still completely baffled that TPTB didn’t sign her – though if they’re gunning for a singer/songwriter to win this year, I can possibly understand it. Oh well. Their loss.

DC plus “Hello” equals love, imo. Nuff said. I totally freaked about that song choice, but from the first guitar strum, I realized I had nothing to freak out about. I was completely over the moon for him by the end of that song. So, based on the strength of that performance plus the performance the following week of “Eleanor Rigby” and also this article I read around the time that the top 12 started, I made him my overall pick in the pool. Especially after reading this quote, which had me intrigued at the time:

For Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s friends and fellow musicians, they say the young crooner is just warming up.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a great guy with a tremendous voice,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Martinson said. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“And one of the things heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got on all these people in this competition is that heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got several more gears to go into.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Boy, was that dude right.

Actually, MJ, while Syesha’s performance was a bit underwhelming in the song choice department, I think it’s unfair to call it a karaoke version. Not a whole lot of people could get up there and sing a song like that, with her vocal skills, and the notes she hit.

And how about that the entire Top 5 were the first 5 called into the top 12. Not just David, David, Jason!

FWIW, regarding the “was DC sick top 16 week” discussion: I distinctly remember reading a bulletin from the Luke Menard fans on myspace before the top 16 performances about DC’s brother not doing well. At that point, I don’t think the extent of his brother’s illness was known to very many people (though once his name was added to the spoiler list, some Worsters had screencapped some xanga entries he made a few years ago, talking about it), but I definitely remember getting that myspace bulletin. I posted it right here.

Sorry for the OT but,

Did anyone else find it interesting that David Cook was sent to the chairs of safety first, followed by David Archuleta? Weird! Third was Jason Castroà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ *cue the Twilight Zone theme*

I think Jason Castro would have made it to top three if he hadn’t completely blown it on top four with missed lyrics on, “Mr Tambourine Man” and there wasn’t the mistaken “Don’t Vote” vs “Vote, Vote” thingy going on.

Sorry, I haven’t read other comments so don’t know if this was mentioned earlier.

“My opinion is there is nothing wrong with other people trying to set the story straight where innocent people are concerned. And I highly doubt that David or anybody else in similar shoes would really mind a whole lot as long as the things that were said were not mistruths.”

If you were referring to me, I understand what you mean. I wasn’t trying to tell you you were out of line or anything, so I apologize if I came off that way. I just took from your comment that you thought he should have said something, but I seem to have been wrong. I simply meant that I don’t believe it would have benefited him at all if he had said something.

Part of my problem is just that I had been hearing about how sick he was a LOT on other boards, so I apologize for taking that out on you. Although this is the first time I had heard that he was sick during ADIP, so the fact that he did so well that week is that much more impressive.

Scifisam,
I don’t know if it was your previous comment I was referring to… however, absolutely no, I never meant to imply David Archuleta should have said something about being ill.. no no no!! I admire him a ton for saying hardly a thing during the commentary after his songs… even when he didn’t agree or had a rebuttal, he kept his mouth shut and he won major points in my book for that.

I think Jason Castro would have made it to top three if he hadnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t completely blown it on top four with missed lyrics on, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Mr Tambourine Manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and there wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the mistaken à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Voteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  vs à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Vote, Voteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  thingy going on.

By this time, I was so hooked on Jason and did see him going into the Top 3. I knew the two David’s were talented enough to be in the Finale. I also voted for Brooke, and she remained my favorite to the end.

I would have loved to see a Final 2 of Brooke and DC, if only Brooke had kept that level up rather than overthinking everything and falling apart emotionally on TV. I remember Brookeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Idolatry interview, where Slezak gave her much-deserved props for her Love is a Battlefield arrangement, and she kind of touched on why she wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t able to pull out those arrangements every week. She was worried about doing the same unplugged type arrangement every week (overthinking?), and also, they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have enough time in the competition to pull off something completely different each week. I also remember how she mentioned that David Cook was able to do those arrangements quickly, but she needed more time. I thought it was cool that she gave him props, artist to artist, and made me respect both of them as artists. Man, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m looking forward to Brookeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new music. I hope she hooks up with some cool people to work on her album.

I know, Brooke overthinks everything. To which she admits to. When i watched her Idolatry interview and she said if there was one thing she could’ve changed, she would’ve tried to enjoy herself more in the experience, hence, not thinking too much about it. If only. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk.
I think she is a real artist though, and her voice is so distinct… I could listen to her sing anything… and I am looking forward to her record as well.