Season 7 Top 4 Performance – Recap

Is Simon serious? I thought Syesha’s performance was awesome.

I thought Sayesha was 6-Flags-ish. Didn’t like Cook’s song choice.

I want to marry Syesha.

That was HAWT

castro was a trainwreck

LMAO. Jason was AWFUL. And what was with that goofy dancing?

Oh god Jason sucked.

Jason had fun, looked good and the judges are full of crap.

I don’t think Jason sucked. David A. made me want to throw up. It was nauseating.

I still miss MJ.

Bring in some new judges, please!

Syesha- wow, awesome and she looked stunning
didn’t get Jason, nice smile, hair-song, not so good

3 Stooges working DOUBLE DUTY @ throwing Jason under DA bus!!!!!!!! makes me think he has lots of voters…..

Me too, Maracaibo. I thought I’d be better by now. :blink_tb:

Happy to hear Syesha was awesome tonight. She has really come on strong!

I am SO over this season. Jason looked like he was having fun, voice didn’t sound bad. Does Bob Dylan have a puurrty voice, NO! But yet , people love him because he’s emotionally invested in the song! “Don’t sing Bob Marley?” Who made that rule? Step outside the box, BUUUTTT if you do, we’ll massacre you…..He can’t effing win and it’s pissing me off! Cook for the win, cause he’s gonna, and that’s fine. I just want Jason to get the appreciation he deserves! Randy is SO transparent it makes me want to barf. I am just disgusted, can you tell?

And I think he dances goofy, cause he doesn’t know how, and isn’t comfortable doing it. BUT, if he just stood there, they’d say move around more……….GAAHHHH

i want to throw something at the tv when the randy opens his mouth please stop me cuz i can’t afford to replace it

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t sing Bob Marley?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Who made that rule?

The person who figured that a guy named Jason Castro would sing it on day on American Idol.

That was one of the worst performances ever.

If Jason does make it to the Top 3, I hope and pray Randy does not pick his song for Judges Choice.

I have to say I did not like Cookie’s first song either. He did not sound good tonight.
I also think the Duran Duran song was not a good choice for him. JMHO.

Poor kid – he seems to be trying sooo hard to please them but he just doesnt have the experience yet like the Davids. I will still love him and vote for him. Time to go home and wait to see for myself.

Wow. Jason is the gift that keeps on giving. lol

Hopefully he’ll stay another week and do even more damage to classic songs.

I liked both of Syesha’s performances….but the Pandering was annoying

2nd time I’m fully watching this season. The Jason kid seems like he wants to go home. Because if he’s not self-sabotaging, that’s pretty sad.

Jason….that was painful to watch. I love him though. I think the last few weeks, he’s been thrown under the bus so many times, but the show, and by the media. That whole story about “Jason ready to go home” was really bad journalism and I think he’s been treated really unfairly. I’ll vote for him tonight though. Poor guy.

Of course Jason won’t go home, he’ll probably be the highest getter tonight due to all the sympathy votes he’ll get for destroying two songs.

Jason is my second favorite Idol contestant. All the others are tied for first.

Could the pimping and de-pimping be any more obvious?????

SERIOUSLY!!!! Gag me, whatever, yeah that’s right. WHATEVER!!!!

Stand By Me? Seriously, David? zzzzZzzz

For the first time since this season began, I LOVED Syesha. David A second, David C third and Jason last.

BTW, David C is my fav.

I’ve don’t know if the judges can do anymore to sing Davids’ praises and crush Jason down. It’s pretty sad!!!!!!!

Did Jason forget his words on the 2nd song?

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know if the judges can do anymore to sing Davidsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ praises and crush Jason down. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pretty sad!!!!!!!

Well, Jason was an abomination and the Davids were really good.

Jason threw himself under da bus. Terrible song choices, terrible delivery,
forgotten lyrics. It doesn’t get any worse.

The other 3 gave solid performances and saved the evening!

Jason was especially pretty during his 2nd song……I think Syesha WON the night. Does wittle david have asthma???

Well I don’t blame the judges for not giving good comments to Jason… seriously…

When Jason’s good, he’s REALLY good (Hallelujah, Over the Rainbow), but when he’s not, it’s not very good at all.

David A rocked tonight! Syesha was great too. As was DC’s second performance.

I went from fully intending to vote for Syesha a few times tonight to being absolutely disgusted by her turning on the waterworks in a desperate ploy for votes after her second performance. GROSS!

DCook gets all my votes tonight.

Cook’s gone. Everything fell exactly like last season. EVERYTHING. I’m on the west coast and now I’m ready to go all out for 2 straight hours for Cook cause seriously…this is NOT looking good at all.

Wow. What happened tonight? I actually enjoyed David A. Extremely impressed with Syesha. While DC, my constant and reason for being on Tuesdays, just didn’t reach out and grab me the way he usually does….and Jason, poor Jason, the other person I was most looking forward to this week, has just convinced me he *really* doesn’t want to be in this competition any longer. I almost wonder if the missed lyrics were intentional?

*sigh*

Jason threw himself under da bus. Terrible song choices, terrible delivery, forgotten lyrics. It doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get any worse.

And you mean the judges didn’t give him a tongue bath?! What’s up with that?????

All I know is that TPTB cannot allow Jason to get to the top 3/2. We all know how AI finales are and the last two standing HAVE to bring it whether they ‘feel’ like it or not. It’s show business, not show up when you feel like it.

I really enjoyed Jason when he did SOTR (and a few others, as well) but this is unacceptable.

I’m getting lots of busy’s in Va .. but getting some votes in.

LOL Tony

oops.. votes for cook that is.

I hope Jason’s fans put him out of his misery and let him go home.
He’s in over his head and he’s trying to give us a sign.

I’m giving my votes to Archie.
I was gonna give them to Syesha, but… Ryan said that thing about not assuming your favorite is safe.

A top 3 of the Davids and Syesha might actually be an enjoyable night.

Jason should go home and his fans should put him out of his misery.

What did Jason say before Simon’s comment? Sounded like “Oh there she went”? He’d completely tuned out of the judges by then and focused on finding someone in the audience. Can’t blame him knowing what was coming.

David Cook is just awesome.. not his best nite but hes proved all along he deserves to be here

jason omg sweety what did u do lol but i still have a soft spot for him

the other 2 “blah” IMO they just don’t cut it for me

I actually kind of agree. I am giving my votes to Jason on principle because I really do love his voice. But I don’t think I’m going to go all out on the voting tonight. I really do think he would be happier leaving at this point. You know the judges are just going to beat him down again next week.

DC’s first song I didn’t like at all- LOVED the second one but I kind of feel like he may have peaked earlier in the competition

Sayesha did ok for her first song but her second was amazing. I thought it would for sure be her going home tonight but after seeing the performances she definitely deserves to stay.

poor Jason… first song really wasn’t good but with the exception of forgetting his words I really really liked Mr. Tambourine Man… maybe that’s just because I really love the style of music. he did truly seem like he wanted to stay though. I’d like to see him stay one more week so he could at least go out on a good note.

As much as I don’t like him I have to admit Archuletta did pretty well…. he’s very sweet but he still bores me to death.

Giant group hug to Jason’s fans. Some of you flat out don’t like Jason and there is nothing he could do to please you. He brings a fresh new musicality to American Idol and I am going to vote for him both hours in as many ways as I can.

Listening to the audio of his performances, the only mistake he made was flubbing the lyrics of MTM. If that is a crime, they would have to televise American Idol 7 from prison.

Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gone. Everything fell exactly like last season. EVERYTHING. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m on the west coast and now Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m ready to go all out for 2 straight hours for Cook cause seriouslyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦this is NOT looking good at all.

Yep. I am usually all sunshine and rainbows, but I totally agree with you (even though I think you mean season 5).

Just a big fat UGH. Cookie was not that great (on fucking ROCK NIGHT!!!), Syesha’s leg and boob show and teary ploy for votes (completely OFF her bandwagon now) just made me sick, and the blatant pimping and throwing under the bus of the other two – just UGH.

They want ArchuD2? THEY CAN HAVE HIM.

(hey LB2! We’ve missed you! :))

Jason has his suit case packed. Let him go people.

i refuse to give the judges what they want.

I would have voted for Jason anyway, but tonight I’m voting extra hard. If he makes Top 3, he’ll get his homecoming, so either way, he’ll get to visit the fam. I don’t believe that bullshit about not wanting to be there.

Soooo, F-U judges. Jason FTW!

THANK YOU, Terrie!

Did not like Cooks first song, liked the 2nd
Did not like Syeshas first song, Loved the 2nd
Did not like Jasons first song, liked the 2nd
Liked both of Archies song

So NOT feeling the mountain man beard and the AWKWARD “do do do do’s”……… gahh..

And Miss Tara. I’m voting my fingers to the bone – and getting busy signals for Jason for the first time this season…I hope DI is wrong….again….

Well, this Castro fan really hopes he leaves tomorrow. I really, really hate for him to keep getting up there and not really connecting with the songs and looking out of place in the competition, as well as clouding the memories of some great performances earlier in the season. IF he leaves tomorrow, he still gets to do the full interview rounds and also get a week off before finale rehearsals. There is really no way he is going to win this thing, especially with one of those 3 judges picking a song for him (can you imagine what they would come up with??!!) I think 4th place is awesome for Jason and it’s time for him to move on and forward in his pursuit of a music career.

JASON FANS ….. VOTE … don’t give up the FIGHT!!

“I really enjoyed Jason when he did SOTR (and a few others, as well) but this is unacceptable.”

Should we allow him to GO ON LIVING?????????????

Wow….Jason’s has gone from yellow to RED on Dial Idol. Didn’t they only do that with Ramielle at one point? I still don’t trust Dial Idol, but dang.

Whether Jason wants to go home or not (and by the way, my daughter who is 10 and doesn’t read all the Idol news articles surmised that Jason doesn’t really want to be there), the David Archuleta show just made my jaw drop. The extended audience applause, the slurpy tongue bath by Randy, the long post-song interview where David tried hard to breathe and talk at the same time, all NAUSEATING! Where is my barf bag? His vote count must be very low. I know he was in the bottom 3 last week. I just know because my spidey sense tells me so.

Syesha wasn’t all that bad. I liked her second song better until the gush of tears.

I thought that David’s second performance was worth more praise than “David Cook is back” or whatever that 4-word praise was that Simon barely muttered toward him.

The show was wrong in so many different ways. I appreciated Jason’s comedy when he forgot the words. That was awesome! Have I mentioned that Randy blows?

Okay, I’m voting and not getting any busy signals for Jason. I need to rewatch (and I will when done voting), but Jason’s Marley song was in the top 2 of the first half for me. His second song would have been also, except for the lyrics. Dammit Jason.

I feel like I saw a completely different show this afternoon than what they aired this evening. I’ll have to watch and compare. DC brought the house down this afternoon at dress rehearsal with BOTH songs.

I hate. HATE how the judges comments manipulate the voting. Just call it how you see it people. I’ll be voting hard for Jason and DC tonight. No, I’m not letting them get their way without a fight.

Taking a break to say Archuleta did the dayum thing. Sometimes just a pure voice and great delivery are enough. Tonight he showed the promise that I say out of Hollywood. His voice spoke for itself. Sincere, powerful, tender. My 11 year old daughter hit puberty tonight, lol. My 17 year old is dialing her fingers off. So is the 11 year old. The first night all season she asked for permission to do so. He played to his crowd, and might have a few converts tonight. Syesha, thanks for tonight. You showed your heart and soul, and I for one don’t think you were at your best, but certainly you deserve to go on. The rocker bored on rock night, who’da thunk it?

Sigh. I love LOVE Jason….but well, I know he’s licked.

I still give Jason so much credit because he just did PHENOMENAL on picking songs that are true to who he is, and I give him so much more credit for picking songs I loved…even if the delivery wasn’t perfect.

However, the judges completely want him gone. I mean they threw him under the bus and kept backing over the poor guy for shits and giggles.

I HATE HATE Archie. Let me stress that. The kid can sing yes, but GOD I thought Stand By Me was so breathy that I wanted to change it. I also thought that “Love Me Tender” was just so disingenuous that I couldn’t stand to hear that one either. I’m sorry, but I HATE when kids sing songs they don’t understand, and he may sing it well, but he doesn’t get it. He just flat out doesn’t get it.

But if the judges threw Jason under the bus, the OVER praising of David made me nauseated. Gee, you don’t think he’s the chosen one do you?

Syesha…well…syesha was Syesha and I thought her tears were so FAKE I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a few times. That alone will make her stay, but I think her tears were REALLY for herself, and nothing to do with the true meaning of the song. That being said, I thought she did do nicely on that song, it didn’t leave me breathless, but it was nice. The dress however, was not. First, in “Proud Mary” we almost got a peep show, then during her second song it was McTatas all over the place. And the dress was ill fitting.

Sex sells, right?

Now, David Cook….ah, how I enjoyed him. Not so much on the first song, but the second, much, much nicer, although I hate the sogn I always thought was called Teenage Wasteland. :)

So yes, I’m well prepared for Jason’s exit tomorrow, and I don’t even want him to stay around just to piss Simon off another week. I don’t think his poor soul could handle it.

Yes, Jason’s comedy was excellent tonight. His singing was horrible however.

Did anyone else love “I was thinkin’ Bob Marley!!” I think that sums up Jason at this point. I think he is mentally done with this competition and really just wants to go chill. Sadly, I think he is going to get his wish this week. :(

pj, I agree. I do love Jason and his voice but I also don’t wish the wrath of the press and judges on him if he outlasts a David. I’m voting but only half heartedly.

I could be completely wrong about what may happen tomorrow night.

It just occured to me that in season 5, Katherine McPhee forgot her lines in top 4. She and Daughtry were in the bottom 2 and we all know who went home! And Kat ended up in the second place position.

Probable? No. Possible? With AI, ANYTHING is possible.

Good luck Jason fans.

Cook’s still on top on Dial Idol… he’ll be FINE, yall!

And whether you like Archie or not, he really stepped it up tonight. Just when it looked like DC was running away with the competition, it looks like we’ve got a real race now!

Well if Jason ends up taking out David C. I’m sure the slaughtering he’s already getting from the judges will only get worse. Yay something to look forward to!

I could be completely wrong about what may happen tomorrow night.

It just occured to me that in season 5, Katherine McPhee forgot her lines in top 4. She and Daughtry were in the bottom 2 and we all know who went home! And Kat ended up in the second place position

Simon wasn’t crazy about Chris’s peformances, either.

Have I mentioned that Randy blows?

If not, I’m sure I have :)

Ugh – not a fan of the Archie at all. But, they sure did prop his ass up tonight. For the crappy spin he put on Stand By Me, I’d like to punch him in the face. But I wouldn’t, because he seems like a sweet kid – whose dad is probably punishment enough.

Syesha – stop straightening your hair! And, please don’t flash your boobies and cry for votes. It’s really unbecoming.

I don’t like either of DC’s songs all that much in general, but I thought he did just fine with them.

Oh Jason my sweet, what have you done? Sorry that the cameraman didn’t cover your lyric flubbing. That trick is only used for Archie. Ah, they all say we should put you out of your misery – but I aint no quitter.

Tonight, I am committing the unforgivable sin of vote splitting. DC & JC all the way. Because I really like them both, and I really don’t look forward to hearing anymore from the other two.

I’m sure I won’t be happy tomorrow, but hey, it’s just a TV show.

Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still on top on Dial Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be FINE, yall!

don’t stop voting though!

JC & DC want DA to win.

giggy, I don’t think we’ll have a S4 repeat with the shocking exit…. Kat wasn’t thrown under the bus and train and aircraft carrier the way Jason was this evening. I think even some Jason fans may hold back on voting b/c they don’t want to see him crucified next week. I really don’t see any way Jason won’t go home tomorrow. I just want Simon to acknowledge his talent and potential tomorrow at his goodbye.

Was it just me or did anyone else notice that at the end of the show when they give you that replay of what the top four did for songs that Jason’s clip was NOT as long as the other three? I picked right up on that as well, just another way to throw him under the bus. I am a huge David Cook fan, Jason is my 2nd fave. I hated how they gushed all over Archie. Sorry Archie fans but I thought I was gonna puke on all that nauseating crap.

Sayesha was good, I would have liked Proud Mary more had she NOT copied Tina’s dance moves, etc. Hated the water workds, obviously going for the sympathy vote with that and with the sex sells bit with her legs and boob show (reminding me of Kat McPhee).

Well, this Castro fan really hopes he leaves tomorrow. I really, really hate for him to keep getting up there and not really connecting with the songs and looking out of place in the competition, as well as clouding the memories of some great performances earlier in the season.

I agree with you here. I have enjoyed Jason and his style many nights this season, but his first song tonight was painful. It’s his time. He is the weakest contestant vocally at this point. The effort wasn’t there. He is tired. Let the boy go, and lets look forward to his album and seeing him on tour.

Syesha, for me, was good tonight. You can tell she really wants this, and she is putting it all out there. I thought the tears were genuine. That was alot of cleavage…but she looked good tonight. I liked her on Proud Mary.

Archie, ugh, was good tonight. I hate to say it. His vocals were much better this week. There’s no question in my mind that he is safe, safe, safe this week.

Cook wasn’t completely on point tonight, but he clearly deserves to be there. He does need that beard trimmed though. Sure, he could have done better, and maybe he did peak earlier in the competion, but he got it.

donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t stop voting though!

Oh, I’m not… but I still haven’t gotten through yet!

Oh and Mocha – I LOVED Jason’s comeback about Bob Marley, I was like “Hell Yeah, give it to ‘em”, lol.

Wowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s has gone from yellow to RED on Dial Idol. Didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t they only do that with Ramielle at one point? I still donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t trust Dial Idol, but dang.

I think when a contestant is in the red, it’s because everyone else is in the green – no one in the yellow with any chance of being eliminated.

Sex sells, right?

Sex, tears, and the pulling the civil rights card. She may make the finale.

Hi guys! First time posting here…

Just a question. Did anyone else REALLY think David Archuleta was gonna go into a chorus of “Beautiful Girls” by Sean Kingston during “Stand By Me?” If you wanna know what i’m talking about, go back and listen to the audio again…my brothers and I all thought the same thing. :D

voting and voting for Jason

Naw, Mocha – I’m sure Simon will throw him under the bus some more.

pj….I love ya

I dont know if I am watching tonight – I just dont enjoy ANYONE humiliated . A lot of people seem to take extreme pleasure out of watching things like that I guess. Its weird seeing people so downright joyful almost about someone who doesnt seem like he would hurt anyone. This is my first time on a blog – I guess i will just have to ignore it, its just not something I am really used to. Terrie, Longsong – find me on mjs ms – would you?? If that is not ok to say Mj, I am sorry. This has been the coolest thing – a lot of fun. I know it is just a TV show.

longsong, I don’t know what to expect from Simon when Jason leaves. If he even gets a chance to say anything about Jason, I know Ryan didn’t ask the judges for comments last week about Brooke. I actually think he likes Jason but has given up on him after the past few weeks.

I wanna see him get the big home coming that top 3 get

Overall comments. I appreciated David A and Syesha putting it all out like they want to win this thing. Syesha isn’t the greatest singer but I appreciate a fighter. Is Cook trying to lose this thing? I thought he phoned it in for the first song. Second song was much better but I wonder if he’s realized winning might be more a burden than a blessing.

Sumi – you’ve said a lot of what I’ve been thinking. There’s been a bit of gleeful mean-spiritedness here and there. *ahem* I am off to read MJ’s revamped guidelines….

rher, the “slurpy tongue bath” from randy made me want to vomit too. :sick_ee: just walk up and lick the kid, why don’t you?!?

Did anyone else notice in the beginning that Ryan said “3 have been the top vote getters”…So that means Syesha was #1 last week….so why was she shown as bottom 2?????

Is Cook trying to lose this thing? I thought he phoned it in for the first song. Second song was much better but I wonder if heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s realized winning might be more a burden than a blessing.

I like Cook, but he could have done SO much better.

Syesha and Archuleta came out FIGHTING.

OK. I haven’t seen the show yet, but judging from everyone’s comments here and at TWOP…I gather it went down like this: Archuleta #1, Syesha/Cook #2/3, #4 Castro.

Honestly, after that and taking into account the past few weeks for EVERYONE…Cook and Syesha deserve to stay. Cook had no chance this week. NONE. Everyone was expecting some other worldly level type of junk and honestly, to be fair, he did it to himself by setting the bar so high. Syesha, you know, I think she deserves her spot. She’s fighting hard to stay and that’s obvious. I don’t like her crying or pandering for votes, but she has earned her spot. She should be so proud of herself right now. Archuleta has stunk it up for the better part of the finals. My guess? TPTB went in to save his little butt because his vote totals were scary. DI may not be scientifically 100% accurate, but heck, DA has been in yellow for two weeks now. If there was a shock boot…it was going to be him. From what I understand, they mentioned Daughtry too during the telecast…again TPTB went in to save Cook. Make no mistake. They are still protecting their David/David finale.

In regards to Castro, OK. Looking at DI now, Castro is in RED. Yeah…he’s probably getting tons of texts, but I’ve never seen the person in red ever saved, even with texts this deep into the competition. Cook leads (even with from what I understand so/so performances) and Archuleta is in second. Mercado is in third. Well…I still intend to vote for 2 hours just so that I know if crap does happen tomorrow that I did my part.

What this show REALLY needed tonight was at least 30 seconds less of the judges per song–and 30 seconds more SONG!

It wasn’t enough to DOG Jason out once……they went on and on….and then they critiqued him a second time for the same song. We all know it wasn’t his best, but once again AI shows their transparent manipulation and sadly the masses of kool-aid inhalers(get little dave one..pleeez) FALL for it…….

All I know is that this show was about Rock and Roll. Sure, it was broadened to “songs that shaped” or something, but rock and roll. The musical movement that made history. The genre of rebels, of people who think for themselves, of the unbelievably creative. Yes, it’s a broad genre, but we all know what real rock and roll sounds like. The only person who sounded like rock and roll was david cook. I don’t care if he’s labeled the rocker. That doesn’t mean the rest of them couldn’t rock it or at least try. But nooooo, Archie has to sing two ballads. Be a man. Jason goes for the reggae and folk music. Fine, but don’t freaking forget the lyrics, then act like it’s all a joke. I don’t care if he doesn’t care about being on idol and winning, don’t mock the show that made you, that put you in the spotlight. Say what you will about American Idol, but if you’re a contestant on the show, you’re in no position to show disrespect. As for Syesha, she could have picked some less predictable songs and stepped it up.

David Cook doesn’t need to step it up anymore. He’s reached the highest peak as long as all he can do is sing other people’s songs on the show. If they had the contestants sing their own songs, he would blow them all away. No one can deny that.

I think when a contestant is in the red, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s because everyone else is in the green – no one in the yellow with any chance of being eliminated.

I am soooooooooooooooooo not happy with what they did to Jason

I have had my fingers pressing the phone buttons for #3 sine 9pm est. I got one vote through. ALL other calls were busy signals.

I say either my boy goes tomorrow in a non shocker (although judging solely by the busy signals I have gotten he wont go) OR the shocker is Cook goes and Syesha stays as well she should. She was ridiculous tonight and I wasnt a fan of hers at all prior to tonights performances.

Does it really make a difference? All 4 of them have solid contracts waiting for them Im pretty sure.

Just a question. Did anyone else REALLY think David Archuleta was gonna go into a chorus of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Beautiful Girlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  by Sean Kingston during à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stand By Me?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  If you wanna know what ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m talking about, go back and listen to the audio againà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦my brothers and I all thought the same thing. :D

*raises hand* I freaked for a second when he sang the line “Beautiful Girls”. I was like, woah, weird medley much?

Did anyone else notice in the beginning that Ryan said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“3 have been the top vote gettersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦So that means Syesha was #1 last week

No, it doesn’t. I am more certain that it was the 3 guys who were #1 in votes at some point throughout the competition. Jason was probably #1 last week; Paula really gave Jason’s fanbase something to get rabid about.

I think Jason was probably no. 1 when he did “Hallelujah”.

Jason is the most BEAUTIFUL idol contestant EVAH……maybe he will get a sexy hair ad!!!!!!!!

Just a question. Did anyone else REALLY think David Archuleta was gonna go into a chorus of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Beautiful Girlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  by Sean Kingston during à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stand By Me?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  If you wanna know what ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m talking about, go back and listen to the audio againà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦my brothers and I all thought the same thing. :D

My immediate reaction: His dad made him throw that line in there.

lol

Three isn’t working so dialed 7

Well, I’ll be going through this thread and deleting the posts that don’t conform to MY guidelines. I’ll be deleting the responses too.

*raises hand* I freaked for a second when he sang the line à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Beautiful Girlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . I was like, woah, weird medley much?

It woulda fit so well, too, if he could have got by with it. I don’t love him or anything, but that would have been amazing, and he would be getting my votes instead of DC.

I hope I’m posting this right. Lol.

Is Cook trying to lose this thing?

He tried something different & it didn’t “wow”. He doesn’t have the luxury of doing the same boring ballad each week. he’s expected to reinvent the wheel each week.

Good point, holly.

Let’s see, ratings are low, right?

I mean a SHOCKER!!!!! would get everyone talking, but I’m sorry, I just can’t BUY into David Cook going home before Jason, and I love both of them.

However, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice same on me. I think 7 seasons of American Idol have taught us well enough to not be complacent anymore with thinking anyone, even the best of the night, is safe and doesn’t need our votes.

That being said I’m voting for Cook and Castro tonight, but not too much for Castro, even though I said I would, I just…I can’t do it. He wants out and I love the guy, but I want him to have American Idol scar him for the rest of his life.

But dang, they sure threw him under that bus. Poor guy.

My immediate reaction: His dad made him throw that line in there.

lmao, i had the exact same thought.

This week was so weird and topsy turvey. Completely opposite of what I expected.

Cookie- 1st song wasn’t that great. It was just like watching a cover band version of that song (as he said, he could have done so much better). 2nd song was simply amazing. I loved it!

Syesha- 1st song started out ok, but ended up screechy and it seemed way too calculated. I think she was focused too much on her dancing or something. 2nd song.. uh.. I love love love this song, and I do NOT like what she did to it. But I guess her vocals were just ok, she was off key in parts and she screeched at the end (big surprise). Mediocre night for Syesha, as usual. I actually agreed 100% with Randy.

Jason- Ok, so he gets the best performance of the night award. Did you see him having fun up there? It was awesome to see that side of him, finally! But the vocals… I hate to say it, but they were not so good…. I think maybe his nerves got the best of him? Like I said, it had the potential to be genius, but he dropped the ball. 2nd song ohh nooo Jason. Ohhhh nooo! Oh no oh no oh no. You started out so great, and you sounded so good, but then you went and forgot the lyrics. *sigh* He sounded great, and I loved the song but I don’t think he can recover from that mistake. Sad day!

Archie- 1st song was the best of the first round, but still not super great. I didn’t like the arrangement, and he was too showy with it. 2nd song boring and blah, and to borrow from Simon, indulgent. His fans will eat it up I’m sure.

Who’s going home? Probably Jason. =( But I’m still going to vote vote vote!

:down_tb:

With all the songs on that List….I tell ya I just don’t get some of those song choices—but I’m just sitting back in my Lazy-Boy…..whadda I know??

I agree, mocha – I think Simon really does like Jason, he’s so unique. Mayby the lashing out is some sort of disappointment in him not keeping the bar as high as the gorgeous SOTR and Hallelujah, but still nothing excuses running someone over like that, then backing up and running him over again for good measure. The songs weren’t very good, but they weren’t that bad either. I’m interested to hear what Simon says if Jason leaves tomorrow, too…

Oh another thing.

Please don’t lecture people on who they should be voting for, both pro and con. And please don’t treat this thread like a chat room. I actually HAVE a chat room. Please use it. For instance, “Still…voting…for…Jason…” is not a substantive post. Thank you.

He tried something different & it didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“wowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . He doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have the luxury of doing the same boring ballad each week. heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expected to reinvent the wheel each week.

Well, Mr. Inventor has been doing a pretty good job thus far. This week, it was just a wheel :)

Everyone has a good night and a so so night and tonight belongs to Archie. After weeks of struggling, he is finally back. He did what he does best, just SING! I am so happy for him. It is still going to be hard to crush the Cookie train at this point since the momentum is still on Cookie. It looks like a David vs David showdown. Poor Jason and the camera man did try to hide his flub because they showed his back when he flubbed. OH well it’s all good, I think Jason wants to go home. Syesha was so dramatic with the civil rights card, I was like WHAT? Oh well she will probably be safe. It was an interesting night and did everyone see Carly behind Paula, with her standing O for Sy…LOL..

I don’t think he wants to go home ,I think he is tired of the stooges and the bus

I’m starting to think that the judges’ comments have no basis in reality. David A was ok for me but did not “crush the competition” in any way, shape or form. This over-hype/overpraise is getting ridiculous.

I liked David Cook as usual, especially his second song.

Syesha and Jason both ok for me, too. I kept changing my mind over which of these two I’d want to keep. I’d prefer keeping both…and David Cook of course.

For me, just not the same without Brooke, Michael, and Carly. Something’s missing.

When I said that I enjoyed Jason’s comedy, I meant it! Love love love his goofy personality. Wished he could have pushed a little harder to bring it tonight. He is (was) my choice to win this whole thing, and I pick who I want to win, not who will win.

I am not giving uip without a fight. I am voting like crazy. Was Sayesha running for president?

Archuleta needed a good night. He really really did.

He tried something different & it didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“wowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . He doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have the luxury of doing the same boring ballad each week. heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s expected to reinvent the wheel each week.

True. True. But you can’t say he’s not fighting to stay.

Sorry MJ i don’t know where the chat room is .

whoops up! Jason mouthed vote!

I liked DC the best because I love Duran Duran so don’t care if he didn’t change it up and enjoyed the 2nd song. Syesha sounded good in her first song but the 2nd one bored me. Ditto David A. Jason’s first song was so bad and weird that it was hard to watch. I think he’d have had better comments from the judges on the 2nd song if he hadn’t messed up but they didn’t throw him under the bus at all. The rest did so much better than he did and if life’s fair (which it isn’t — Michael), he’ll go home tomorrow. I was quite annoyed by the tongue bath that DA got tonight as usual. It’s got me voting for DC.

I really didn’t think it waa possible for me to hate Archie any more than I did, but he wow’d me again. If he does that fake fall down thing again I’m gonna puke. Lets just put the tiara and the sash on him and say he won the pageant already.

I’m voting for Syesha as the dark horse.

Jason sounded like crap, but I really like the fact that he finally looked, and acted happy.

Top 4 Season 7 contestants did Rock and Roll no big favors.

I don’t deny Jason’s talent, but he just doesn’t use it, and for that he doesn’t deserve to win. If he makes an album, that’s great, lots of people might buy it, and there you go. But he doesn’t deserved to be labeled the best in this competition.

I just felt like Syesha’s package and song choices were perfect to end her stay on idol. Yes, she performed better than Jason and doesn’t deserve to leave before him, but she just might, and the whole “I’m having fun” thing was the last thing Carly talked about before she left.

One more thing: a lot of comparisons to the season Daughtry left and having a repeat of the same thing this season. If this happens, then Cook would leave tomorrow and Jason and Archie are top two. Do you really think the producers are dumb enough to let that happen this year? Their ratings are falling. Yes, AI is still the number 1 show, but they’re still falling. It would be an embarrassment if a talent like Cook didn’t get to the top 2 and as a result, AI would not be gaining any new viewers. And we all know that the only one who can provide any amount of competition to Archuleta’s fans is Cook, so the finale will be rather anti-climatic if anybody else is in the top2.

Sorry, I write too much. :(

The chat room is here

http://mjsbigblog.com/client/123flashchat.swf

You can also find it above…just click the chat tab…

I do think Archie whipped out the big one this week, and it was “Stand By Me.” It is so hard to sing a lead melody to just a bass line and stay on key. You really have to have perfect pitch to sing to another note that so far away.

I was truly impressed by that, and if only he would stick to the melody when he has run out of ideas for his improvisations, he would be thought of as having a much more consistent delivery.

Well, Mr. Inventor has been doing a pretty good job thus far. This week, it was just a wheel :)

and that wheel is good enough for me

Sorry, I write too much. :(

I don’t mind, annoula. It gives me something to read while I vote.

I don’t necessarily want Jason to WIN, I just want more iTunes from him. As many as I can get!

I actually thought Cook was wonderful tonight, on the second song. I wasn’t too thrilled with the first…but that was good.

What the problem was, I think, was that we are used to him flipping things around on his, and he just stuck to the original. I thought it was phenomenal.

Not having a dog in the fight anymore is kind of nice. Still, I think Brooke would’ve done fantastic this week.

I love Duran Duran and David C. was wretched. Just an awful rendition of a classic 80s tune. His second choice was better but I think he was trying too hard to be Cool Rocker Dude.

I didn’t mind Jason. I thought both songs were good for him and he looked like he was having fun on the first one. He probably should go before he gets in too much deeper. He doesn’t seem the type that would enjoy the baggage AI winner must drag along in life.

As much as I haven’t liked Syesha in the past, I think she absolutely deserves a spot in the final 3 and for that reason, I’m gonna throw a few votes her way. I think her tears were genuine and I would like to have a shake-up in the assumed final battle.

Yes, Little David sang his songs well but 2 ballads? Ugh, ugh, ugh? and the camera close-ups and squinched up eyes are just really too much. Could Randy be any more obvious in who he wants to win?!??!?! Geesh!

There’ll just be no catching Jason up to Syesha on DI. Am I voting for naught then? If someone is downright red – well, has DI ever been wrong on that? Anyone know? :glurps_tb:

One more thing, I hate to do this because it may just be shamelessly fishing for votes, but David’s brother wanted him to do Duran duran (or at least I think so) so I think that’s why he chose the song. I mean I love the song, but he didn’t top his previous performances with it.

You know, I do think Jason wants to go home. I’m not musical by any stretch of my imagination(and oh how I wish) but I always wondered as an artist who is secure in who they are musically, how frustrating it must be to sing songs by say, Andrew Lloyd Webber when that clearly isn’t your style. I’d wnat to go home too if I kept having to be fit into a box that I didn’t fit into.

I understand American Idol is the biggest stage for these kids into superstardom and I can see both sides, because Jason obviously knew what he was signing up for…(at least I hope he hasn’t ben living under a rock for seven seasons).

So while I may understand that, because Jason knows who he is musically, I also understand the format of the show and being able to show your versatility(although that seems to hold so little ground anymore).

But you know, if he had sounded anything remotely like Bob Marley tonight, he would have been too close to the original.

Oh well Jason, Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

For me, just not the same without Brooke, Michael, and Carly. Somethingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s missing.

I kinda of agree except for Brooke. I just don’t care for her.
BUt MJ surely is missed. I still miss him. After his elimination the show just seems so boring and predictable. JMHO.

Well the casual viewer who isn’t completely invested in DC would have no idea about that, annoula. I was excited when I read the spoiler that he was doing Duran Duran (and I could care less about the reason) but he did really poorly.

However, the judges completely want him gone.

The judges aren’t alone.

longsong May 6th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll just be no catching Jason up to Syesha on DI. Am I voting for naught then? If someone is downright red – well, has DI ever been wrong on that? Anyone know?

Longsong, Dial Idol always loses accuracy when each contestant has two phone lines.

More importantly, DI has no way of measuring text voting. A whole lot of fans bought “free” Go Phones this week from Best Buy (free with purchase of a $25 Go Phone card) and I am one of them.

Texas should be voting now and don’t forget about Vote for the Worst. We’ll see if they make a difference. Last week the west coast (where I live) brought Jason from last on Dial Idol to next-to-last.

How I’d rank the contestants:

#1 Cook: B-
#1 Syesha: B
#1 Jason: F
#1 Archuleta: B-

#2 Cook: B
#2 Syesha: B
#2 Jason: C
#2 Archuleta: B

OVERALL

1. Syesha
2. Archuleta
3. Cook
DEAD LAST: Jason

Synesthesia May 6th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

So NOT feeling the mountain man beard and the AWKWARD à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“do do do doà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ gahh..

Yeah, the do do’s just DO not work without the British accent. It was just weird.

Comparing S7 to S5 top 4 doesn’t work. The show wasn’t going to fall apart because Chris left before Elliott.

I wouldn’t have said this some weeks ago when Jason was strong but he has lost his wish to stay. I don’t blame him after seeing all those tyre marks on his soul and I’m glad he’s enjoying his time, not working too hard and laughing at the show and the judges.

Er….some of those Bs had “pluses”, but I can’t edit :(

cochem
May 6th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Did anyone else notice in the beginning that Ryan said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“3 have been the top vote gettersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦So that means Syesha was #1 last weekà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.so why was she shown as bottom 2?????

Because Paula hurt Jason’s feelings and they felt they should put
Sye beside Brooke, rather than Jason.

Texas should be voting now…

According to DI, Jason is dead last in Texas. Wow.

(Oops… sorry MJ, I think I might have made one of the comments that you deleted. I apologize >.

Tony May 6th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

Erà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.some of those Bs had à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“plusesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t edit :(

Tony, WordPress doesn’t like “pluses” for some reason, but you can – - – - – all day long.

DI doesn’t take cell phones into account, which is the only way I vote. I’m sure most college students vote the same way, so Texas A&M students may not be reflected on DI…allow me to grasp at straws here folks. ;)

I am not an Archie fan and I thought he did really well tonight. It was the best he’s been in weeks to me.

Jason was not as bad as his critiques but he wasn’t good either.

Cook was meh. And he’s been my favorite along with Brooke. The second song was better than the first, but still…

Syesha was trying hard, wasn’t she? I wasn’t really moved by Proud Mary, though she looked HAWT. I was with Randy on Change is Gonna Come. I kept hearing Elliot, and she ain’t Elliot. Also, why change that song up? Just no. Her tears didn’t bother me though.

I want Jason to go just because I don’t want him sleepwalking through the Top 3. Syesha wouldn’t surprise me though. Either of the Davids would shock me, since everyone knows about the “shocking boot” curse right now and I think both fanbases will be in overdrive tonight.

Syesha’s been last a LOT.

My rankings

David A
Syesha
David C

Jason

Frankly listening to Jason tonight made me miss KLC. I mean it wasn’t a bus that ran him over, or harsh judging. He was just not good tonight. Not good.

Ok, this is seriously the first time I’ve voted by calling, and I’ve only gotten a busy signal twice. Is anybody else getting through really easily? (For Cook, of course.)

Well, I wanted Jason to make top 6 & he exceeded my expectations. I feel so bad about MTM because he really SOUNDED on. I actually wondered if he threw the performance on purpose. If he just didn’t forget the words, that was a great performance. The first song, I agree that he was more engaged and interactive w/ the audience, louder than usual. I just don’t care for the song. I will also say this time is the first time I liked Archuleta’s performance – especially Stand by Me. Syesha solidified her place w/ the tears. I’ve no worries for Cook. I threw some votes Jason’s way. I think lots of people who were ready to vote for him/have been his fans/were coming to him from Brooke’s fan base – maybe changed their minds after tonight. Still, 4th place is not at all bad!

mj, i think i might have said something wrong up there…chose the wrong words. somehow, i can’t edit my posts tonight. i can’t click on them. I apologize :redface_wp:

No, I don’t think Jason wants to go home. He mouthed vote.

Voting for Jason as much as I can. Not the best tonight but at least he brings uniqueness to the performances. Sorry Syesha and Davaid are about as boring as they come David C is good I guess. No Taylor unfortunately this year. I think if Jason was older and more focused he would have been great I just hope that because of his lack of advice? focus? whatever he did not miss the chance of a lifetime.

I am so bummed! If you listen to the mp3, Jason’s vocals were good, but were overshadowed by the awkward performance (which I didn’t mind), he seemed to be having fun, and the lyrics flub. Unfortunately, the mp3 won’t get him through. I’m sad and pissed and just sick that it had to go down like this. I look forward to seeing him on tour, without all of the stress of the competition draining him!

tinawina
May 6th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I am not an Archie fan and I thought he did really well tonight. It was the best heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been in weeks to me.
…Cook was meh. là ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦…
Syesha was trying hard, wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t she? I wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really moved by Proud Mary, though she looked HAWT. I was with Randy on Change is Gonna Come… why change that song up? Just no.

I agree with all those things you said.

However, I really think Jason just said screw them all on the first performance.

However, I really think Jason just said screw them all on the first performance.

Perhaps. I like Jason, and if I knew he’d show up next week it would be easier to root for him. But I don’t feel too confident. At this point, Syesha is trying so hard, and Jason’s just kinda there. Sigh. I’m still way more likely to buy his record rather than Syesha’s. So that’s something.

Ugh with this DI stuff. Can’t we just vote for the one we want to go home?

mocha
May 6th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Did anyone else love à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I was thinkinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Bob Marley!!à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I think that sums up Jason at this point. I think he is mentally done with this competition and really just wants to go chill. Sadly, I think he is going to get his wish this week. :(

Yes, that was funny! He just stood the show on its ear!

Jason’s songs were fine. I especially liked Mr. Tamborine Man.

I was digging Sy until she started crying, and then remembered that she is an actress.

Archie and Cookie were fine. Archie’s 2nd song was very nice.

DI doesn’t take into account text votes which…of course…the boys are probably getting a lot more of than the girls. But I think it’s pretty telling that Cook had a bad night and he’s still the top of DI.

tinawina
May 6th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
… Syesha is trying so hard, and Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just kinda there. Sigh. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still way more likely to buy his record rather than Syeshaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. So thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s something.

Oh I’d be running to buy a Jason album. With Syesha, I don’t think I’d ever do that.

I’m in Texas, and er…not voting for Jason. Sorry, but he looked very resigned tonight…and I’m going to let him go.

Syesha wasn’t that good, but her crying saved her, just like Katharine was saved last year.

For the record, Dial Idol was spot on for Top 4 the last three years. Unless the west coast saves him, Jason’s pretty far from Syesha at this point.

My thoughts:

1. Archie – the bomb tonight. clearly the best of the night over all. I was blown away by Stand By Me. He deserved the tongue bath. Good for him. Def. the best he’s been in weeks!

2. DC – Baba O’Reily – awesome. Duran Duran – dull I still think he can win it all.

3. Syesha – Better than ok

4. Jason – I was really pulling for him, but maybe he really wants to go home?

Cook didn’t have a bad night. He just didn’t top himself.

For the record, Dial Idol was spot on for Top 4 the last three years. Unless the west coast saves him, Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pretty far from Syesha at this point.

Yep. It showed Daughtry going home, then Lakisha. And they were all much closer to the person above than Jason is to Syesha.

For all the Cooktards out there, I’m actually glad David C is going to get raked over the coals for this. It’s ironic because NOBODY this year did very well at all in genres that they were supposed to be awesome in, Archuleta included. I think this week was just the added push needed to get DC to that finale. The fanbase was just so so so complacent it was ridiculous.

BTW, he sold out 10,000 tickets to his hometown visit in 5 hours…this is of course…before tomorrows results show. :)>

Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t we just vote for the one we want to go home?

Then everybody would just gang up on the strong competition and pick them off in the early rounds leaving us with nothing but the non-threatening/lesser talented contestants.

People are smart. They learn that strategy quickly. The problem is that all the fan bases learn it.

Ugh, I’m still aggravated by TPTB and ESPECIALLY the judges tonight. I don’t know if it’s just that this is the first season I’ve followed Idol this closely or what, but damn. It just seemed so blatant. Has it always been this bad?

I was so impressed with Archie tonight. That boy can sing!

annoula, eactly. He’s set the bar too high, now he’s GOT to come out and do amazing every time.

They’re usually slightly more subtle, Fender. But, TCO is a common thing for this show now. It seems that they’re getting more aggressive to get the one to the top that they want.

Should Cook make it through this week and next, I’m voting like a maniac – and recruiting – to topple Archie.

He was good tonight, but how does he account for the 2.5 months since “Imagine” when he virtually sucked.

I refuse to believe that one performance should make a winner. Whatever.

Okay, Cookie. I did my part. Done.

Oh, I brought myself to watch and am glad I saw David Cook and I will always be a Jason fan. He STILL smiled though out and made me smile and laugh. I cant wait to see him when he gets it all together and I know he will. I am not giving up on him at all. I thought It was so cool when I looked out into the audience before Simon said , pack your bags and saw Carly standing up, like, to give him support and other people out in the audience were STANDING up for him. That was cool.

MJ, thanks for always posting the videos so quickly.

Fender May 6th, 2008 at 10:56 pm

Ugh, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m still aggravated by TPTB and ESPECIALLY the judges tonight. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know if ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just that this is the first season Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve followed Idol this closely or what, but damn. It just seemed so blatant. Has it always been this bad?

Fender, it’s always been bad, but I must say this animus toward one S7 contestant in particular has been taken to a whole new level of hostility — considering that this contestant never has pitch problems, has flubbed his lyrics exactly once, is unfailingly polite, and engages in comical hijinks that make an increasingly dull show worth watching.

I don’t know why everyone just assumes Jason wants to go home! I loved ISTS, it was so cool, but the beat down he took afterwards is what made him slip up on the lyrics. He did the song an hour earlier and didn’t forget the lyrics. If you listen to the MP3 his vocals are beautiful. I cannot imagine standing on that stage and getting ripped apart like that in front of millions. I love him and will be so sad to see him leave. He brought the joy for me.
I think it’s sad that his fans abandoned him at the end.

I guess if you think “long & winding road”, “smokey mountain memories”, “think of me”, “angels”, etc sucked… seems like little Davie has a pretty nice track record to me

Tonight for me:

DC:
Hungry Like The Wolf: was ok, not stellar but he has been stellar every week so it’s ok DC!
Baba O’Reilly: Great! Great vocals!

Syesha:
Proud Mary: Not digging it at all, the actress is back. She looked pretty tho!
A Change is Gonna Come: Great! Lovely vocals!

Jason:
I Shot The Sheriff: I really hate this song, like Jason but hate this song.
MTM: Shoot, Jason threw himself under the bus on this one.

DA:
Stand By Me: Great! Great vocals!
Love Me Tender: Not so great at all. Boring plus pitchy.

3 way tie for me, no clear cut winner of the night.

Who I think will be going tomorrow? Jason

I still love Jason and if he goes definitely no more voting boring otherwise just let Taylor come back It is just beginning to get old. Everything seems so preplanned. No magic like when Taylor was there But perhaps others felt the magic in different seasons For me season 5 with Taylor Now it seems kinda jaded

Sorry looking a little disoriented in that last post

In my opinion, it breaks down like this:
1. Cook
2. Syesha
3. Jason
4. Archie
I don’t get the appeal of Archie. That kid is about as exciting as unflavored gelatin. And while there’s always room for jell-o, I’d rather have a cookie.

It is a good thing the show is no longer about vocal performance because no one really sang very well tonight.

But with all the side shows that have developed over the past months, it was really gripping television.

I think Jason deliberatley flubbed his songs. Forgetting the lines to MTM looked too obvious.
Jason didn’t really want to stay. And it is now pretty clear that Syesha desparately wants to advance.

Being the gentleman he is, Jason stepped aside so Syesha could move on. At least that’s the way I’d narrate it if I was writing a the novel that explains the mellowdrama that AI7 has become.

At this point, I’ll think I’ll avoid all the downloads from this one.

I just saw the show. I am still cringing at Cook’s take on Hungry Like a Wolf; didn’t like it. I did love how he did Baba O’Reily, but he should have done the second verse instead of just repeating “teenage wasteland” multiple times.

Count me among those in the minority who thought Sayesha’s tears were real. Not that I think she’s crying over the civil rights movement, I just think the emotion of her performance, then the critique, overwhelmed her at the moment. I think she deserves to get the number 3 spot.

Jason, he just does need to go on out. I kind of understand Simon’s anger at him, because it did seem as if he gave up.

Please don’t let some crazy shock vote make Cook lose!

Rita

Jason has never had pitch problems like some of the others. So, he forgot the lyrics. Seems they didn’t call Archie out last week or was it the week before when he forgot his. They are so blatant that it’s ridiculous. Am I’m not giving up on Jason, regardless of the tactics they use. I’ve seen way too much of their manipulations over these past 7 seasons to give in to what they want. Maybe I’m somewhat of a rebel, but, what they did to Jason was worse than a bunch of kids attacking another on a playground. And, for those who think he deserved it, what is society coming to?

Well, the show’s just started in my time zone, but after listening to the live feed, and then watching the videos (yes, huge loser here!) I just can’t even watch the actual show! There’s an official boycott going on in my house as we speak! I cannot watch the mechanisms of this show anymore. I can’t watch people compare their Idol journey to the Civil Rights movement… I can’t handle Randy Jackson.
now I’m off to Itunes to go pre-order what’s likely to be my last Jason Castro single of the season. No matter whether he’s thrown under the bus, or walks in front of it, he’s been my reason for watching.

p.s. I was thinking Marley(!), too.

Seems they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t call Archie out last week or was it the week before when he forgot his.

“They” didn’t call out Jason either. He himself mentioned the flub.

I am on the west coast and just watched Syesha. She is gorgeous. Can’t wait to hear her second song!

I liked performances by all of them tonight. I’m a huge Jason fan and re-watching and listening to him – truthfully I enjoyed both performances, forgotten words or not. He isn’t the only contestant to miss words this season. The judges savaged him tonight, very clear they want him OUT.

I wonder if David Cook’s brother is not doing well, he seemed a bit distracted tonight – but I still appreciated both of his performances. Perhaps he’s re-thinking the whole “Idol” crown and would rather see Archie get it, and all the garbage that goes with it!

Syesha is destined for Broadway, that is for sure.
And Archie is a talented kid, no doubt about it. They just don’t do anything for me, on an emotional level. I like to connect to the song and the singer – just isn’t there with those two.

Looks like my dream finale of Cook/Castro won’t be happening if Dial Idol is right.
But I will be waiting to buy Jason’s CD as soon as it’s printed. I *heart* him. LOL
And I’m a grandma. :)

Terry

Tony: Randy asked him how he felt about the performance, basically baiting him to talk about the lyrical mistake. Not that I think they wouldn’t have trashed him regardless.

I have to admit, my heart broke a little when I watched Jason mess up the lyrics. He’s never messed up lyrics before, so I think it’s safe to say that the judges’ comments and negative press are getting to him. His “Thank you, Paula” was so precious was so genuine.

Stay strong, Jason. And give us a good sing out tomorrow.

I like Jason first, then Cookie. Syesha and Archie bore me to tears.

If Jason goes, this show isn’t going to be nearly as fun to watch.

“I was thinkin’ Bob Marley! YEAH!”

Mj, really like your blog here! Thank you. I’ve watched all 7 seasons of AI and this is the only season I’ve been totally sucked in and read everything I can find (like this blog). This is the only season I’ve voted and actually bought some music too. I swore I would buy Daughtry’s album when it came out…but I just now bought it – because of DAVID COOK. I thought he was the real rock-n-roller tonight. He could’ve picked a 1st song to show off his vocal skills more, I concede that much. He did seem a bit “off.” BUT I voted based on more than just tonight’s performances. I’ve been voting all along for the person I’d like to see get a recording contract, which is the prize for winning AI, ya know. Who would I go see live? Who would record something that would I buy and listen to, an entire album’s worth of music, over & over? DAVID COOK. I sure wish they would have original song night, like Nashville Star does. SOOO I’m a huge David Cook fan! I hope he wins.

flynnsgirl May 6th, 2008 at 11:04 pm

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know why everyone just assumes Jason wants to go home! I loved ISTS, it was so cool, but the beat down he took afterwards is what made him slip up on the lyrics. He did the song an hour earlier and didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t forget the lyrics. If you listen to the MP3 his vocals are beautiful. I cannot imagine standing on that stage and getting ripped apart like that in front of millions. I love him and will be so sad to see him leave. He brought the joy for me.
I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sad that his fans abandoned him at the end.

Flynnsgirl, we will have to see if Jason’s fans abandoned him.

Why does everyone assume Jason wants to go home?

1. Vocal coach Debra Byrd mentions in an interview that she thinks Jason would be relieved to go home.

2. EW’s Mandi Bierly sensationalizes a quote from Jason’s interview with Jessica Shaw that is taken out of context suggesting that Jason wants to leave AI.

3. Jessica Shaw’s article is published with Jason’s quote in context. Shaw later tells Michael Slezak that Jason clarified his quote to emphasize that he didn’t want to leave but he was ready if he had to leave.

4. The “Jason wants to go home” meme is picked up and scattered around the internet like seeds. Watch them grow.

This is the first time I’ve ever power voted, or really voted at all, so my effort better not have gone to waste. David Cook, please win the whole damn thing.

Gwen & Terrie, thanks for the info. Makes me look back and wonder how I was being manipulated before I found this blog. Good thing I did!

I like Jason a lot – he’s not my #1 favorite, but he’s definitely up there – but I thought they were outlandishly and unnecessarily cruel to him tonight.

I’m not a Syesha fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt a little bit for her for – only for a second – too. I initially figured the tears were of the no-matter-what-I-do-they-will-never-say-anything-nice-to-me variety, and were essentially a lot of pent-up frustration. Of course, then she started blathering on about the civil rights movement, last weeks results, blah blah blah and lost the iota of sympathy I had mustered. Ultimately, though both her and Jason have been continually run over by the judges.

In the mean time, the judges lapping up Archuleta was more than I could stomach. Under normal circumstances I could simply say, “good singer, just not my cup of tea,” and move on to rooting for the others contestants, no hard feelings. But their OTT commentary pushes me waaay over toward flat-out dislike.

I wish they would lighten up on the manipulations. Oh well, I can dream, right?

I just YouTubed David’s performance, and the judges DID mention Archuleta forgetting the words: http://youtube.com/watch?v=McpFNkz6Dak

But for some reason, Jason is still the victim.

I just watched Jason Castro sing “Who Shot the Sheriff”. I think he wants to go home. A total debacle.

Those were real tears. Syesha showed her vocal ability, but she doesn’t “connect”.

I don’t think he’s a victim; last week, yes. This week his attitude was too peppy for the victim talk, he was saying a big FU to all the judges and having fun while he did it. I just hate all of the double standards. DA screws up and they (from what I remember) tell him he’ll be fine. Jason screws up and Simon just tells him to pack his bags, offering no other comments. That coming after their oddly pissed off critiques of ISTS is just too much annoyance for one night. I know you don’t like Jason, Tony, but plenty of people who don’t like him have spoken of the unfair treatment toward him over the last couple weeks. All’s I’m saying.

Here’s the real interview that Jessica Shaw DIDN’T print. And, this comes from a DC fan:

So it was taken out of context. i saw a DC fan post this. thanks!

When asked about his large fanbase:

I can’t even wrap my head around it. There are people that love me and support me and it’s so weird knowing I could put out an album and they would buy it. It is just crazy. I think I have the best fans because every day I get more letters than everybody. More postcards, more packages. I have a life-size plush panther in my room. I got fruit baskets and 150 balloons yesterday because they heard I was sick. They show me a lot of love and it’s really cool.

Cook fan here, and my fingers are sore from texting & calling for 2 hours. Worried with the possibility of the Daughtry factor (not to mention he sang first). I bribed my 12 year old to text and taught my 5 year old how to use redial. Appalling, I know.

I can’t say I enjoyed “Hungry Like a Wolf” but Teenage Wasteland was better… My theory on why he hasn’t been as good these past two weeks as in previous weeks was that the songs were so dang SHORT. Hard to do much with songs that short.

He seemed nervous tonight..suppose he’s read all the articles about the “shocking elimination?”

Terrie, you’re my hero. =)

I think Jason is tired. Really, I think they’re all tired, and Syesha’s crying probably came more from just being tired than emotion.

DA screws up and they (from what I remember) tell him heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be fine. Jason screws up and Simon just tells him to pack his bags, offering no other comments.

Simon (on Archuleta): That was a mess. Right? You stumbled over the lyrics at the beginning. Randy’s quite right. You should not have done the Stevie Wonder version; it was just all over the place, and at this point in the competiton, I expect incredible performances. It wasn’t. It was your weakest performance so far.

Nothing about being fine.

David A did nothing for me….absolutely nothing….and poor Jason, he wants to go home.

Tony…I feel your pain re: Castro.

BTW, he’s not GONE yet :). But based on DI, I think it’s probable that he will be gone. I don’t think his fanbase abandoned him at all and to be fair, they’ve been troopers to get him this far. I’ve always suspected that their numbers were far less than what we all thought them to be. That’s all.

My guess is that the casual vote went to Archie and Syesha tonight. For Cook to be so high on DI after what will be largely considered a supremely disappointing night for him says LOADS about his fanbase who’s been, I think, rather quiet up until now.

I still have no clue who is voting for Syesha.

I just YouTubed Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance, and the judges DID mention Archuleta forgetting the words: http://youtube.com/watch?v=McpFNkz6Dak

But for some reason, Jason is still the victim.

Wrong performance, dude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30GriTu-szI&feature=related

3:03 into the performance. The judges didn’t mention it.

I dont think Jason is a victim. I saw him tonight having fun, singing songs he loves and still smiling thru, no matter what the three stooges have to say. He sang for his fans and he was funny, charming and beautiful as usual. Carly, people in the audience were back behind Simon standing up for him to show support. In the years past, no matter who was my favorite, even if they left I still got into the show and got pulled back. This show is a joke this year and they dont deserve Cook. Mj got away and I think he is going to be bigger than all of them. So will Jason, I am voting for him no matter what and Cook tonight. Next week my son gets the phone to vote his heart out for David A and I will look for Cook online here on mjs. I hope next year they fix this mess and with all the surveys and things Ive seen pop up, that is their intent, if not, oh well “its just a tv show”. Next week they will be missing a whole lot of sunshine thats for sure

Terrie

. Vocal coach Debra Byrd mentions in an interview that she thinks Jason would be relieved to go home.

2. EWà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Mandi Bierly sensationalizes a quote from Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s interview with Jessica Shaw that is taken out of context suggesting that Jason wants to leave AI.

3. Jessica Shawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s article is published with Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s quote in context. Shaw later tells Michael Slezak that Jason clarified his quote to emphasize that he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to leave but he was ready if he had to leave.

4. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Jason wants to go homeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  meme is picked up and scattered around the internet like seeds. Watch them grow.

I get what you are saying, but it still doesn’t mean Jason really wants to go home. Being tired, sick and fed up with the basing, yes, but actually wanting to leave the show are two different things JMO
The comment I made about his fans abandoning him are from reading here and other places people saying they think he wants to leave so they didn’t vote. I will miss him so much, he is the only person on the show this year that was in any way different and unusual. I love his quirkiness and his comedy. K, going to go re watch the show and make my peace with this. LOL I really need to stop watching this show!

David A messed up the words twice. Once it was mentioned and once it was not. I think the second time might have been ALW week. He messed up some words and the camera actually panned up. It was amazing they panned away from his face. The more i think about it, it was ALW and he was singing a song written for a girl. I believe he got good review. They never mentioned the missed lyrics.

Steph,
I’m voting from Texas and got thru only about 10 times tonight. I got the “all circuits are busy” from about 2 minutes until the show was over all the way thru to the end of voting. I am in the Austin area and all the circuits were busy. I almost can never get any votes in each week. This week was the busiest yet which isn’t saying much cause it is ridiculous. I probably couldn’t even cll 911 if i needed to. yikes.

That was a beautiful second song by Syesha. Thats what AI is all about.

Fair enough about David not being called on forgetting the lyrics to his song. I didn’t even remember him forgetting his lyrics during ALW night.

It was amazing they panned away from his face. The more i think about it, it was ALW and he was singing a song written for a girl.

Huh? The camera was already BEHIND him when he started the flub. And when they zoomed in onto his face, he was STILL in the process of fumbling through the lyrics. They weren’t trying to spare Archuleta any embarrassment or anything like that.

LOL. I always wondered what this whole mess was about.

Weelassie – I voted from the Dallas area and did not get ONE busy signal the whole time.

vagabond I gotta agree with you here. Went back and watched DC and something was definitely off with him tonight. His eyes seemed a bit dull, no smiles either. Wonder if it is his brother or his heart? He just almost looked sad.

Cook =good 75%
DA=good 80%
Sy=good 60%
JC=good 20%

The worst final 4 performance by anyone ever =JC

So long Jason. I had a hard time watching that train wreck. Its put up or shut up time with only 4 contestants left. Jason laid an egg tonight.

Yes Cook was distracted…..My guess bad news from home.

Hi B

this is like a marathon, the strongest and the one with the longest gets to the finish line….and I feel that Jason thinks this is a joke….he’s probably tired and he’s tied up on this contract he can’t get out of….I get the feeling he’s a slacker….let the man go home….

As for Syesha, her problem is she’s an INTELLIGENT COLLEGE STUDENT who happens to be a theatre major and she takes everything too seriously. She needs to just relax and enjoy it for what it’s worth….she’s got the pipes she just needs to connect to people.

I had trouble voting tonight, for the first time all season (East coaster)! It was busy for an hour and a half of all most continuous voting. I usually do my 20 minutes worth and call it a night. I REALLY hope David Cook doesn’t go home tomorrow, even if his take on Duran Duran was so, incredibly, dreadful.

Flynnsgirl, I think we are in agreement. I’m just saying why so many people are repeating an assumption about Jason that deserves closer scrutiny.

Tonight Jason brought his Marley mojo. Aside from his lyrical lapse, his vocals on both songs were fierce and I heart that he accompanied himself on MTM without Bandzilla. If that is what wanting to go home looks like, I guess I can’t trust my own eyes and ears.

It’s too bad that the idiots in charge have to work this hard to get rid of him and alienate a substantial chunk of their audience in doing so.

BTW, I’m watching on the West Coast and Carly gave Jason a standing O after MTM. Good for her for not being used by TIIC as a reminder that the unworthy Jason Castro is taking her rightful place.

Carly not standing O. She looked sad and scared for him

Woulda loved to hear DC sing that whole damn song (The Who) – and with the original opening music. 90-120 secs is just not long enough!!

RE: Jason, because I love both songs – I’d really like to hear him sing those while NOT being judged. He’d do great I think!! Never woulda dreamt of hearing either on Idol.

My recap
Round 1
1. David C “Hungry Like the Wolf”- Safe performance. Did a good job but it was kareoke. Could have done better.

2. Syesha “Proud Mary”- First strike against her was when she said she was singing “Proud Mary by Tina Turner”. Um, hun it was originally a CCR song. Give them credit. Anyway- it was pretty good, she had fun. But Simon was accurate by coining it a bad Tina Turner impersonation.

3. Jason C “I Shot the Sherrif”- One of the worst performances in AI history. Simon said it was like the bad auditions they show. When Simon said don’t sing Bob Marley, a stoned-sounding Jason goes “Dude it’s Bob Maaarrrley!”.

4. David A “Stand By Me”- Great song, very good vocals- fell flat on the fals though. My fav. performance of the first round.

Round 2

1. David C “Baba O’Riley”- Teenage Wasteland. Great song choice, excellent performance. I loved it. Positive comments all around.

2 Syesha “Change Is Gonna Come”- she turned a Sam Cook classic into a belty Whitney song with a long glory note at the end. She sang it very well, and you’ve got to give her credit for changing it up and making it her own. Randy didn’t like that she deviated from the original. Paula gave her a standing O. Simon agreed with Paula. Then Syesha explained the song to us. I thought she was about to dedicate it to Barack Obama ‘a change is gonna come’. She deserves to be top 3 after that.

3. Jason C “Mr. Tambourine Man”- Forgot the words. I actually liked it. He was himself, sounded good, sang the melody and played guitar. Judges hated it and Simon told him he’s going home. In the words of Syesha “We’ll see about that”.

4. David A “Love Me Tender”- He’s like the Leona Lewis of AI. Belts out ballad after ballad. This is a love song that he sings well and the judges go gaga. May have caught up with David C as the person to beat.

Bottom 2 will be: Syesha and Jason Castro

Who should go home: Jason

Who will go home: Syesha. She doesn’t have the votes to stay.

First time I actually liked Archuletta!
But I still want David Cook to win–not even close.
Jason was, as Paula said, “what it was,” but the judges are jerks to blame him for being EXACTLY what he has been all along. Let him go home already
I used to think Syesha was mediocre, but she has become. . . generic. The Sam Cooke song really showed her limitations, no matter how much she professed to have “connected” with it. She is so barely average on anything but the big notes. And forgive me if I have my doubts that she thought about how much she herself has changed–until Paula fed her the line.

As for Syesha, her problem is sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an INTELLIGENT COLLEGE STUDENT who happens to be a theatre major and she takes everything too seriously.

I don’t think it’s fair imply that Jason isn’t an “intelligent college student” just because this isn’t the end all be all for him (he’s an Honors Student at Texas A&M, c’mon).

I don’t have time to sift through all your great posts ’cause after Syesha’s performance I’m suddenly hungry for a BLT. Must be the Boob/Legs/Tears thing.

Poor Jason , just wasn’t his night.
David Cook solid as usual.
Syesha not bad at all , she looked beautiful.
Archeletta ( the robot ), cannot stand him and the constant pimping from the judges is definitely sickening .He butchered Love Me Tender.
I’m sure he pleased the tweeners and the Depends
groupies.

just sayin
wonder what was up with the austin vote. surely the dallas vote should be more than austin. Jason is from the dallas area right? I have a horrible time getting any votes thru. All the circuits are busy for the solid 2 hours. I got in around 10. not a very good gain for my time :(

Is Cook trying to lose this thing?

Someone else wrote the above, but he probably wants to get out there and do his thing with MJ. Mj is rubbing elbows with the right people and wont be stuck as the Idol of S7 – the year of its downward spiral. Mj is going to work with the guy who brought Amy Winehouse to fame. If he could do that with Amy just think what he could do for Mj versus 19. Cooks probably itchin to get the heck off the trainwreck that has become AI this year and NOT because of any of the contestants or any ONE contestant anyways.

I missed the show so I just watched the videos.

I actually liked Jason’s ISTS. The vocals weren’t his best, but he took a chance and it was fun. It wasn’t THAT terrible, it was just different. Mr. Tambourine Man wasn’t bad – too bad he forgot the words. The judges sure killed him this week.

Cook’s first song wasn’t earthshattering, but it wasn’t bad. His second song was the perfect choice for him and he killed on that one.

All I could think of through Syesha’s performance was whether she fit in breast implant surgery somewhere along the way. I agree with Simon about Syesha – it was a bad, shreiky version and a bad impersonation of Tina Turner. Now she’s taking Brooke’s place with the “it’s ok, it’s ok” to the audience which drives me crazy. Her second song was alright – she just doesn’t do that much for me. I totally think the crying was fake – she is an actress, after all.

I have to say that little David took it away tonight. Vocals were spot on, his voice was strong and I didn’t feel like he was going to hyperventilate during the performances. Stand by Me was outstanding. What was with Randy after that song? He could hardly keep himself together – I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. Only little David could call Love Me Tender a “cool” song, but another good performance.

So I think it’s David for the win, especially after hearing the judges comments. Not that I’m thrilled about this.

Just want to say I thought Mr. Tambourine Man was excellent — this from a big Dylan fan. Who the #$%(#*@ cares if you forget some lines?? Like a “big star” would never forget lyrics. Give me a break.

MTM has a lot of complicated lyrics — more difficult than the average song to remember. Judges were downright cruel.
I

tony
i wasn’t the one who pointed out the panning technique-i think it was from one of the EW articles or somewhere else. They hadn’t panned behind anyone else but they did while he was screwing up. The article i read made a big deal about it but i never went back and watched it – i love that song and i hate the job he did with it. ALW has tons of songs and he picked a song written for one of the lead characters who was a girl. it was a weird song choice and he botched the lyrics and no one said anything. He sounds exactly the same every week and should be called out for never stepping out of the box. Everyone else has been but not him and his boring factor continues to rise for me.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”

Thats what this young kid from Texas did for me and obviously so many. As MJ has pointed out to me though there are times you need to just “breathe”

Jason is my second fave and it pains :cry_wp: me to say this but uh what happened to him?I feel bad for him,he probably lost his confidence after the judges have been giving him such harsh comments.I still love Jason but man that was brutal.I hope that Cookie is safe tomorrow my family power voted for him the whole two hours.I will be :mad_wp:pissed if he goes.

Syesha’s tears were not fake. She was the only African American female to crack the top 12 this year and seemed destined to leave early on in the competition. The judges bashed her for being a wanna be Whitney and not being herself…. She’s changed. She’s found herself as an artist- and rather than doing carbon copy Aretha tonight- she chose a classic Sam Cook song and made it her own. When she saw how much Paula enjoyed it and that Paula ‘got it’ and got what she was trying to say by singing the song, it moved her to tears. I believed her and I get what she was saying. It’s moments like that that AI is all about.

When Syesha did the Tina-Beyonce “PM” I rolled my eyes….oh no! I don’t care how good you sing, you. do. not. do. Tina. Turner. It was an imitation and not a good one at that. Whoever told her to do that — Ricky Minor? — did her a disservice. She should have stayed with the orig version, slow and easy like CCR.

A Change is gonna come was good until that last note. She just doesn’t know how to sing a song straight….she always has to add the Syesha touch to it and it’s a good song without all the long notes being held….that’s what Randy was saying….so whoever is coaching her (Debra?) is doing it wrong.

David A is trying to step out a lot more, but he does nothing for me. Sorry. Good voice, but he doesn’t connect. I hope Sony/BMG gets a really good production team behind him because he’s going to need it. (Donny Osmond 2?)

David C & Jason A look like they are tired and want to go home. Jason is a slacker folks, he doesn’t take this sh**T seriously. Good for him…go home JC.

I am not caught up in the luv a certain contestant because it is frustrating like ya have to or else or not…oh well.. I like both Folk singers that means both Jason c and Brook the same…I thought Jason C lyrics forgetting was bad but deserves another chance not being bown apart . Jason seemed to be having fun and I go by his music not personality and I like his voice..So I would luv to be at the “Coffee house” to listen to both the folk singers w/ mocha in hand..I still do not know what one is ……I wil miss the folk singer it is the music I like.

I liked Daivd C second song..

((((PJ)))

Peace out…..

MN Sue May 7th, 2008 at 12:04 am

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have time to sift through all your great posts à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢cause after Syeshaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m suddenly hungry for a BLT. Must be the Boob/Legs/Tears thing

:lol_tb: HAHA!

Okay, so here’s my say on the night. Just take it as my Grandparents say as well — and FYI, my Grandpa did everything from being a JrHigh band teacher to organizing a Big Band group, to playing pro in a Symphony to being Editor in Chief of a major Music magazine to being President of MENC to Being Director of Music to Dean of Fine Arts at BYU — in other words, he knows his stuff ;)

Top to Bottom:

David Archuleta: Spot on tonight. Not only was he the best vocally, but he was right on pitch and did what he does best. Whether or not you are a fan, you have to admit that he was incredible. He DESERVED his “tongue-bath” and showed just why he’s still here. What a beautiful way to end the show! (ps – I think that may have been close to Nora Jones’ version of the song? Not exact though . . .)

Syesha Mercado: This girl can sing! Yes, it wasn’t perfect, but she showed her star potential and has really stepped it up over the past few weeks. I still don’t know how she ended in the bottom two last week. She’ll definitely make it on Broadway and she SHOULD be in the Finale.

David Cook: First song was not on at all. He was off pitch and not emotionally connected — he knew it as well. His second song was MUCH better, but still not up to his potential. He is an awesome performer and has a great voice, but is not fit to the AI mold. No worries — he’ll do well wherever he ends up . . . it just won’t be the top.

Jason Castro: His days of SOTR and Hallelujah are way past. Whether or not he still wants to be here, there is no denying that he does not measure up to the other contestants vocally — not even close. His vocals on MTM weren’t bad, but they weren’t good enough to cover his flub . . . we won’t even talk about ISTS . . .

It was a strange night. When I think of Rock – i don’t think of Love me Tender. Nor Stand by me. I like both songs but they don’t bring rock to mind.

Cookies first song was just ok. Second song started slowly, moving nicely, i’m loving it, it’s building, i’m moving in my seat, i’m getting ready to woo, its’ done. i’m unfulfilled. he needed at least 30 more seconds. this song was too short. they could have removed the archie tongue bath and let there be time for this song. this was going to be incredible and they cut it short. His voice was incredibly beautiful. He was soft, he built, the tone was great, done. This guy can sing. It’s like almost having great sex and the baby cries.

Jason-i just like jason. i like that he doesn’t try to be something that he is not. he is understated and that said, he has given some of the most memorable performances of the show. He did not deserve the critique he received. His second song-i hope it is just me, but i feel like he dropped the words on purpose. but the tone was beautiful. He didn’t need to be called on forgetting the words because it was so obvious. Whereas when lil david messed up on the words to Think of Me, it wasn’t as obvious because he mumbled and it should have been mentioned but wasn’t. Jason wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he skipped the words. Yet, the song was sung beautifully. Hats off to someone with no prior vocal training to get this far into the competition. Kudos Jason. If you go home this week, go with your head held high. If you sound this good now, imagine what you will sound like with a vocal coach. I loved the clip where he said he got a guitar because he couldn’t play drums at college, then decided he should sing with the guitar but he was awful at first. I see good things coming your way. When he is on, he connects with the songs and the audience. That is a gift.

Syesha-i hate this song. I just got a bad vibe from her tonight. Like this is a game and i’m going to pull out the stops tonight. I’m going to give you leg, then i’m going to give some boob. and she did. she used the kat mcphee play book. I didn’t care for her first song but it wasn’t terrible. The second song was the “cleavage” song. It was ok. She is really trying and it shows. However, the crying and carrying on seemed like a ploy to me. I personally believe that simon changed his critique because of them. of course, i could be wrong but that song was a screechfest but not terrible. She is playing the game to win.

David A-ok, he needs to do something different. He is the same every single week to me. He has years and years of experience yet he doesn’t work the stage or connect with me at all. He has a pleasant voice but that is it for me.
I want him to pick his own songs and not his father. To personally connect, you have to personally choose. He is very nasal and very breathy. I don’t get the tongue bath from the judges. He was just ok. No personal connection, no ability to utilize the stage, and no spunk on what is supposed to be a rock theme. that isn’t what i consider rock. maybe senior citizen rock. his voice is nice but he doesn’t do it for me. He is like a rock that is only polished in one place for me. He doesn’t want to explore the other facets. The amount he moves me-zip.

Cook had no chance this week. NONE. Everyone was expecting some other worldly level type of junk and honestly, to be fair, he did it to himself by setting the bar so high.

Tonight was pretty much a mess to me, except for (and it pains me to say it) David A. I’ve not been enthralled by the little chipmunk, but he really showed off the Stevie Wonder soul & melisma he’s capable of, and he really seemed to MEAN both songs.

Cook is a genuine, multi-faceted talent, and I even liked “Innocent” — especially the studio version. But I too thought he was distracted tonight. Yes, he set the bar high. This is what happened to LaKisha too — she couldn’t ever exceed that “Dreamgirls” song, which she performed way, way early.
But all Cookie had to do, I think, was pick a couple of more melodic songs, make them his own, and use them to show off his beautiful pipes and musical creativity. Instead, he did a straightforward, fine, but entirely unremarkable version of Duran Duran, and a pre-punk Who tune that he finessed but which somehow had very little impact on me. And I love the guy.
He did look distracted, lord knows why and I won’t speculate. The intensity of the competition must be so tough for these kids. But I think he’s got to bring it more next week, and sing some tunes (rock or otherwise) that can tell a story in two minutes, and pull us into it with him.

Syesha, I just like her spunk and come-back fervor. She’s got the spirit. But she doesn’t have the big ol’ voice you need to do those lung-buster versions of Tina Turner and Sam Cooke. I wish she’d get much better about picking the right material & arrangement to suit the dimensions of her voice.

Finally, JC must go. He’s adorable, and reminds me of an early boyfriend of mine with hair down to here, beautiful eyes and a wispy sweetness. The kid knows how appealing he is, and he’ll wind up with some kinda career.
But it was painful to hear him massacre Dylan’s exquisite song. And the “I Shot the Sherriff” was embarrassingly amateurish.

Sorry, JC lovers, I tried to go there but my ears could not…..

Itoo thought it was pretty depressing that in this “best year ever” that the final four show is overall so blah. Just a refresher course –

The 2004 final four:

Fantasia
Diane DiGarmo
LaToya Hudson
Jasmine Trias

The 2006 final four:

Taylor Hicks
Katherine McPhee
Elliot Yamin
Chris Daughtry

The 2007 final four:

Jordin Sparks
Blake Lewis
Melinda Doolittle
Lakisha Jones

OK, some of them didn’t sing their best stuff on the Foursome show. But in hindsight, it was a lot more eddifying than tonight’s blah outing…..

It was a strange night. When I think of Rock – i donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think of Love me Tender.

Elvis was the King of Rock. When we were young, we went from gospel, blues, jazz to this kind of “rock.” It was the beginning. Rock has evolved.

” hollygo9
May 6th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
In my opinion, it breaks down like this:
1. Cook
2. Syesha
3. Jason
4. Archie
I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get the appeal of Archie. That kid is about as exciting as unflavored gelatin. And while thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s always room for jell-o, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d rather have a cookie.”

Great analysis Hollygo9!!!
A Minute and a half is not long enough to hear a song and judge it.
C’Mon AI Judges, spare the clock and give the Idols more time to sing the song!
I was moved by Syesha’s performance and reaction to Simon’s positive comment. Go Syesha!! You’re getting lots of love on DI.
David Archuleta was OK, but I have trouble watching him perform. I have to look away, cause it loses something for me when I watch him sing. Simon is over-rating Arhie by a mile.
David Cook sounded great, but I wanted more time and some of the deep soul connection you normally serve me. I’m still voting for you Cookie! You ROCK MY IPOD!!!

nola
i agree elvis was/is the king of rock but i still don’t put that song in with the rock category. it is a ballad. just saying it doesn’t make me think of rock. not every song done by a rocker is a rock song. elvis also did many spiritual ballads. but i’m a dork sometimes-it’s just an observation.

*I guess if you think à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“long & winding roadà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“smokey mountain memoriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“think of meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“angelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , etc suckedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ seems like little Davie has a pretty nice track record to me*

For me, not really, cause it’s all the same song and performance all mushed together.

And tonight….when did Love Me Tender ( which I am firmly convinced he had no understanding of) become a Christian A run fest. Don’t even get me started on the Norah Jones rip off that was never mentioned either.

But we had nothing to compare any of it to, wee, as it was the beginning of rock and roll. I doubt that many of the ‘rockers’ from the 50′s and 60′s would be called rockers by today’s standards, and yet they started the craze.

Never thought I would say this, but Randy got one thing right when he said something was off with David Cook tonight. He did fine, but something is going on. I guess I could guess but I think I’d rather not know… :(

Could they seriously not give these guys another 0.5 minutes per song?

Oh Jason. Yeah, Bob Dylan isn’t the great singers or anything, but he seriously could give me chills with his songs and yeah, his singing. Crap.

I’m not a music authority but tonight was supposed to be rock and roll, not R&B.
Some of these songs are definitely not rock. I actually got a little excited when I thought Archuleta was going to sing Jail House Rock. But noooooooooo – he had to sing a ballad! What’s with that kid?

Poor Jason, I think this may be the end of the line for him. I was appalled at how rudely he was treated. Simon certainly didn’t mince any words ripping him apart. Could he not have been a bit more diplomatic? They’re probably scared that he is a bit more popular than they thought and could cause problems for their chosen one. They are so transparent!

I hope to God above that Cook wins! He so deserves it! Actually, he’ll make more money for Idol than David A. That’s the bottom line here anyway.

General Thoughts
—————–
1. There are going to be back-up dancers on the tour? Wow. From canned music to a live band to back-up singers to back-up dancers? Maybe they will even spring for new tinfoil next year!

2. Nice to see they finally gave the back-up singers a wardrobe budget. Last year, it looked like they shanghaied a group of chicks on their way to Target for Midnight Madness. If they are going to be shown on TV, they need to dress up a little. It was a little jarring to see a lead singer in a ball gown and the back-up singers in sweats. Much better tonight.

Performance Thoughts
———————
1. David C – “Hungry Like the Wolf” – I didn’t get the impression he was all that hungry. Perhaps he ate too much from the craft table before the show. He was more “Peckish like the Pekingese”. I didn’t feel the connection with that song. It was okay. It was kind of foreign language karaoke. All the notes were fine, but there was no understanding of the lyrics. (6.5/10)

2. Syesha – “Proud Mary” – Syesha needs to stop talking about herself in the third person. She’s totally channeling the Tina version here right down to the outfit and the dance moves. This is like Hairbrush Karaoke. You know how most people go out on karaoke night and just sing for the fun of it? Then, there is the one person who comes out to sing and it’s obvious they’ve been practicing their song for a long time? They are totally performing? Well, that was Syesha. She’s done this one 400 times with her hairbrush in her bedroom already. Still, it impresses the crap out of everybody in the karaoke club. Woo! Or not. (6/10)

3. Jason – “I Shot The Sheriff” – Well, Jason had fun with that. He’s like those other people at the karaoke bar. The non-Syesha’s. The people who are just there for a few beers and “What, the heck, let’s sing a song”. This is such a hokey song and it annoys a lot of people, so it was hard to make it work under the best of conditions. These were not the best of conditions. Even the backup singers sounded weak and off. Paula is leaning over backward to be nice to Jason. Hmmm… (4/10)

4. David A – “Stand By Me” – Awwww…he sings to his dog. I can’t dislike a guy who sings to his dog. Way to keep the eyes open and banish the lip licking (maybe he stole that move from his dog). Anyway, I LOVED that arrangement. Funky and great drumming. Perhaps a bit too much melissma, but he easily won round one. Paula is right, he is listening and improving. I remember a lot of people thought he would have very little growth in this competition, but his performance skills are definitely improving. That Jason crack was a little mean of Simon. (9/10)

5. David C – “Baba O’Riley” – Lower register was a little rough and again there was a disconnect. This kind of reminded me of that old show “Name that Tune” where they had that game “I can name that song in N notes”. I felt like the song just got started and it ended. Like we got 9 notes. Some of those epic rock songs are hard to condense into 90 seconds. This one really felt truncated. There was none of the Who level intensity I expected. David C is trying too hard not to look smug. He doesn’t know how to act normal anymore. (8.5/10)

6. Syesha – “Change is Gonna Come” – This song is about how Sysesha is still in the competition? Who knew? Syesha needs to get out of the house more. It’s not my favourite arrangement for this song, but she blew this arrangement away. I guess she just has to find the REAL story behind a song to truly connect with it. Oh, and fab dress. (8/10)

7. Jason – “Mr. Tamborine Man” – I actually liked this one much better than his first song. He clearly connected with this song which is ironic since he forgot the lyrics. His vocals were the best they’ve been in a while, though. What can I say? I liked it. Missed lyrics have never been a pet peeve of mine. (8.5/10)

8. David A – “Love Me Tender” – That was an amazing vocal. I had to close my eyes though, because, I couldn’t watch some 12 year old sing that song in that way even if it was kind of a platonic. He’s just a kid y’all. Kind of ookie. But, I could listen to that on the radio. Very nice. (9.5/10)

May I just say, that David C seemed better on HLTW during the rehearsals.

Momentum:
David C – Coasting
Syesha – On a steady upswing. She’s getting better each week.
Jason – Slip-sliding away
David A – Has been coasting for the past few weeks, but came out swinging this week and hit a couple of home runs.

R&B is one of the building blocks of Rock and Roll along with gospel and country music. If you look at the inductees rock music is truly diverse and inclusive. Rock and roll is just not screaming and guitars, it’s ballads as well.

Sam Cooke is in the hall of fame therefore Syesha’s choice was appropriate. Elvis is the King so they say, and Archuleta gave a perfectly fine rendering of Love Me Tender. It’s not like there is any cheating going on. This music is vast and encompasses so much territory. Just don’t get any of this tonight. Well I do, but it’s just so incredible wacky.

The only song I liked tonight was Love Me Tender, and I wasnt crazy about the arrangement. I dont have a dog in the hunt this year, but I think Jason has been beaten down so by the judges he has lost his confidence and doesnt give a fig. Syesha sounded off pitch to me on the first song, and the second one was ok but the crying turned me off. DC had an off night, imo. I wouldnt be surprised at any of the 3 leaving.

nola
that makes sense:)

In the 50′s, the genres of music were very limited. There was county, blues, jazz, the crooners, such as Sinatra and Gospel.

Then came these strange kids with Ducktails and white bucks and a sound all their own. They created rock. All of this music was put into the “rock and roll” genre, as there was no other genre to list them under.

We didn’t have AC, alternative, etc. It was all listed under one genre, rock.
Any song these performers recorded, was therefore called rock and roll.
I realize the belt-buckle shining songs are not considered rock, as you
kids know it; but that’s how it got labeled back in the day.

Thus, Sam Cooke and Tina didn’t sing R&B back then…it was rock and roll.
Sorry, I’m not good at explaining. lol

David Cook had something on his mind……either his brother or something…
David A…..the first song was well arranged musically. Boring run filled crap though. Second song was really a mess with some pitch problems a bad false and a crack. Funny, nobody mentioned it…
Syesha….more of the same with more sex thrown in….
Jason…phoned it in….

I wonder if ‘B” will say hi
And make my voice sigh

I said a few weeks ago that I thought Cook wanted off the show and I got slammed for saying it; but I still think that way. I’m sure he has already had plenty of offers already and I sure would rather see him go with someone other than the Idol label.

Wow, Kirsten, just wow. Now I can go to sleep, but not before I listen to Love Me Tender again. It really was beautifully done. I do get the ooky part a bit, it was funny I watched it with my daughters 11 and 17. They didn’t think it was ooky at all and they voted like fiends. Well I did too, first time all season I voted with landline and cell. It was that good for me. I guess I am not the only one after all. I mean being the one Syesha fan was bad enough, lol.

Oh on Jason…..I really think the Judges weren’t really harsh. He was that bad.

Tony
May 6th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I just YouTubed Davidà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance, and the judges DID mention Archuleta forgetting the words: http://youtube.com/watch?v=McpFNkz6Dak

But for some reason, Jason is still the victim.

Little D flubbed the words on more than one song and was given passes on all but one.

Brooke flubbed the words and restarted twice and was given a pass on the first.

Carly flubbed the words – no one said a word.

DC flubbed the words. He did?

Jason isn’t a victim although I think it’s fair to say he was a scapegoat. It amazes me that Little D has forgotten lyrics because he’s sung the same song on every show. Boy needs to work on his long term memory.

Re Syesha’s ( (planned) moment — I might give her half a pass on the crying jag except for the pandering and trying to connect a scene from Days of our Lives with the Civil Rights Movement. I’m surprised she did break out a sniffly rendition of America the Beautiful with red, white and blue tears running down her face.

For someone that aspires to be an actress she hasn’t learned how to actually connect with her audience.

Randy is a has been flake who runs his mouth without engaging his brain. It’s all about the script I suppose.

I’ve been saying that both Davids have been signed weeks ago, and maybe that is why there is the peception of both of them coasting (that is until tonight with David A.). I do think that they both want to win, in the comoetitive ssnse, but it’s not as bad as Syesha. She is trying so hard. I admire that about her.

Nola your explanation was as good as any I’ve seen, rock music is not just one thing, and it’s foundation was on display in many of the songs we heard tonight. Not always executed great, but a good representation.

nola
u explained it beautifully. makes all kind of sense.

Nola
if they want him, they get first dibs. they had to sign contracts stating this. so if 19 whatever letter it is wants to sign him, they get the option. i don’t know if the contestant can turn them down. I bet Kirsten will know that answer to that.

caro
randy has become a huge joke. his vocabulary is hilarious. dawg, bomb, zone, and yo.

A lot of people are hating on David A just cuz the judges love him, which I think is kind of unfair. I admit that all of Randy’s praise is pretty over the top and annoying, but that’s not DA’s fault!!

I loved both of DA’s performances. I notice he sounds awesome when the band plays softer, because he’s not a LOUD singer. I thought last week the band totally drowned him out, but this week, he sounded awesome. I love when he does the songs where the original is really simple, and he adds his own little runs everywhere. Great great great!!! Clearly he is my fave to win :D

And I actually really enjoyed Castro’s Bob Marley. I guess I was the only one :/ It wasn’t the best vocals, but it was a fun performance, I thought. He’s way more interesting than Syesha. I mean I’m sorry but I don’t know. I thought her second performance was beautiful, but she’s just not unique enough. I’ve watched all the seasons of AI and I think at this point, it’s the 7th year, and you need to be more than just good. You need to be unique. I feel like there could be someone like her in any season. Each of the 3 guys has a very distinctive and cool voice. I was hoping for an all-guy top 3, but it looks like that’s not going to happen. I wish she hadn’t bawled.

When Syesha equated ‘Change is Gonna Come’ with her Idol journey, I originally thought, “WTF, you can’t be serious?”

But what right do I have to pass judgement on a life experience that is vastly different from my own?

The song was released in 1965 during the Civil Rights movement.
Now more than 40 years later, Syesha is standing on the Idol stage. For Syesha, the change has come.

Syesha’s tears told me she more than appreciates the opportunity she has been given. And the changes that we have seen over the 12 weeks show just how hard Syesha has worked to take advanage of that opportunity.

Randy is a bigger joke than Pauler, who gets the ‘be kind to people who don’t know who, what or where they are’ vote.

I’m surprised Randy doesn’t knock off 10 lbs per show gushing all over little d and that same song he keeps singing.

okay, that’s another beef I have with little d —

a 17 year old who appears to have the emotional maturity of a 12 to 13 year old, singing Love Me Tender.

Creepy.

Perhaps for Jason’s and David Cook’s sake,it should be a David A and Syesha finale. That way Jason and David could do their own thing.

Just weighing in on Rock and Roll roots. When I think of Rock and Roll it’s the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Both have roots in American R&B like Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.

And as far as SM, not sure she really can relate to the civil rights movement nor appreciate it.

i don’t think cookie wants to leave. i was rewatching and saw the look on his face when simon said his first song was probably good enough for another week. that look said relief to me. i think a part of him wants to go because he no longer has the other contestants that he really clicked with. He obviously enjoyed mj and i saw a lot of respect and caring for brooke. right now, he is the oldest one left and by far the most mature so i’m not thinking this is fun for him anymore. it’s the mature man, the mcphee trainee, the laid back one, and the little boy. so the show has probably lost some of the oomph for him. yet, i think there is the other part that wants to do as well as he possibly can and i don’t see him as a quitter.

JSG, did Syesha pull that act with she won that last ? Which I guess didn’t lead to anything except Idol.

Syesha is ‘okay’ but lacks connection and sincerity in her performances along with a non-distinctive voice.

I think the only reason she’s made it this far is that she hasn’t had any competition. If she was placed in a Idol group with contained Fantasia or J Hud, Melinda, Lakisha and probably 5 more past idols, she wouldn’t have made it into the top 12.

Sorry for typo’s — won’t let me edit.

You know, I think all 4 of them are just tired of this competition. I think Syesha expressed it very well in her interview. They are looking forward to the tour, and, no judges to have to face. And, I truly think having the title of AI at this point, is only important to maybe one or two of them. I think Cook is ready to get on with his career. What I witnessed tonight was beyond words. And, I can’t stand Randy Jackson. He is so transparent. I went back and listened to Jason’s songs, and, they weren’t that bad. They were laying for him. Last week they hit him with a 2×4. This week it was a tree. So, yeah, I want to see him make top 3, and, then he can go home. I have no doubt that he is going to be successful, but, it’s a shame that they are jading the public view of him, as well as any record producers who may have an interest. They have no class. Maybe a lot of money, but, they’re a bunch of low lives.

Whoever stated that DC has a higher bar to climb than the others I agree…hell DC agrees. He even stated that. But I in no way think he is coasting. Pluuuuleeeeezzzze. His first song was ok, not the typical DC song fest I’m used to, but his second song I loved it…although as weelassie pointed out, it was kinda like sex with an old boyfriend of mine. Great great start….then wham bam thank you mame its done. He was given 1:30 sec on that song yet we had to listen to and watch Syesha give her Oscar moment on stage…with tears, boobs and the Civil Rights Movement….Geesh Throw in a story about how your dog just died, and it would have been perfect. She took it way too far for me tonight. Not to mention, I really liked her Me and Mr Jones back in the Semis, but lately all its been is Whitney’esk and I gave up on Whitney before Crack was Wack.

Little D your Long and Winding Road was….what???….oh I’m sorry….your I Believe….Crap are you serious??….ok….your America…..Well Shit!!….Whatever the hell you sang was full of unnecessary runs and sounded just like everything else you have sung this season.

MrRJ- Been missing me haven’t you??? :bye_tb:

Watched the show.

1. Cook: Was OK. That was it. Wasn’t terrible and wasn’t the worst of the night, but it’s damning for him because he was supposed to clunk everyone over the head. Personally, I think he was just built up so much for tonight he just whiffed it.

2. Syesha: LOVED CIGC. One of the best songs of all time in my opinion, not only because it was sung by one of the greatest singers of all time, but because of what it stands for. Good for her.

3. Castro: What a mess. OK. First performance was an absolute DISASTER. There are no words to describe it. Second one wasn’t bad except for the flub. But again…HE KEPT GOING. I’ll give him credit. He didn’t stop nobody and say, “can we start again?”. Guess I’ll never forgive Brooke for that mess.

2. Archuleta: Was better than the last few weeks definitely. Best of the night. He has a lovely voice and the singer in me really appreciates that.

Going home: Castro (based on DI…it will be Castro)

Bottom Line: David vs. David just got interesting again.

Cook’s lines are clogged. I can’t get through at all and that’s a first in hawaii.

weelassie
May 7th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Nola
if they want him, they get first dibs. they had to sign contracts stating this. so if 19 whatever letter it is wants to sign him, they get the option. i donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know if the contestant can turn them down. I bet Kirsten will know that answer to that.

I realize this; but God forbid he comes in 2nd and I think there is a very
good chance of this. I truly believe, 19 whatever letter, creates these sucky songs for the runners-up debut albums, so their winner can sail in sales.
Just look at the CD’s of Justin, Diana, Bo, and Katharine. The suckiest of the sucky.

Jason didn’t shoot the sheriff, he shot himself in the foot. I so wanted him to step up and hit it out of the park tonight but he didn’t. He looked comfortable singing both songs but the Bob Marley version didn’t translate as well as it needed to. MTM was much much better but the missed lyrics messed up the flow of the song. As much as I like his singing it’s time for him to go. He was the weakest out of the 4 tonight.

But there was no excuse for the blatant way Randy and Simon ripped him to shreds. I was bummed enough that he didn’t do well, but the pile-on that followed was too much for me to take. I ended up fastforwarding through much of the show after that.

I really think there needs to be a major shakeup in the judging for next season. Simon’s not going anywhere but the next best thing would be to replace Randy. The ridiculously over the top praise he’s given to Archie and some of the others this season–declaring Carly’s “Shadow of Your Smile” as the best! song! ever! in the history of Idol!!!!–along with throwing Jason under the bus…I can see why people are starting to tune out in droves.

Unfortunately, for being very highly anticipated, the show tonight left me a bit cold. Nobody, save for Cook on song two, really stepped it up. There were some really really poor song choices. I am wondering if the list was quite a bit shorter than we were lead to believe. Just a question, but am I the only person who heard Archies voice crack and all the pitch problem in LMT?

Well bax…..the answer is maybe a little….
And I think maybe it is vice versa

the first 3 letters of murmur
and the numbers up to five
at what Columbus discovered

The question I have is this, Does Number two contractually have to sign with 19? Clearly Number 3 doesn’t as Elliot went to Hickory.

NOLA With the exception of Bo… the others ARE sucky.

I found last evening’s performances, except for Jason, very entertaining. I enjoyed Cook’s 1st and loved his 2nd. I don’t care for Syesha; but thought she gave 2 great performances. Archuleta also gave 2 solid performances. I don’t mind that there voices crack, it shows they are normal. The studio can remove imperfections…look at Brit’s music. LOL

It was a great evening. I still miss Michael. He should be in the final 3 with the the Davids.

Sheesh, I’ll be glad when we can edit again. hahahaha

MrRJ May 6th, 2008 at 11:59 pm

Carly not standing O. She looked sad and scared for him

Mr. RJ, please check the redlasso video of Mr. Tambourine Man that MJ kindly posted up top at the 1:35 mark. Carly is standing and applauding at the same time, which I believe is still the definition of a standing ovation.

We are all entitled to our differing opinions of Jason, but you are not entitled to your own set of “facts.”

dulce, that is what worried me tonight also. Cook’s lines were constant busy for a good hour here no matter which line you tried. I have been hearing that all over. They betta not Daughtry him.

I still say something was bugging him tonight. I read where folks are saying they did not see Lindsey Rose’s orange bracelet on him tonight? I looked on one vid (couldn’t tell), going to check the other. Randy told DC after Baba O’Reilly “shake whatever off and just be you”.

The Archie voice crack and pitch problems and bad falsetto on LMT where ignored by everyone…kind of galling when others faults are pointed out big time.

MrRJ, I heard it too. I just did not want to deal with whatever if I mentioned it on my recap.

As much as I can understand reasons why DC might want to leave the competition at this point, I honestly don’t think he does. More than anything else, I would imagine after having to be away from Adam for this long, and getting this far, that he’s more determined than ever to win. That was definite concern on his face when he waited for the critiques tonight, and obvious relief when it was a positive.

Not to sound sentimental, but I really think he wants to win this not only for himself, but for his brother, for a multitude of reasons.

I think the lack of a “wow” moment in his second song, for me, was the short length, as others have said. As for HLTW…it definitely looked like he was performing to the crowd with more passion & heat in rehearsal.

And just to add my 2 pennies on Syesha…I felt the tears were real. Unless she’s simply an exceptional actress, she looked to me like she was truly overwhelmed and really trying to hold them back, until finally all the emotion & frustration of the past few weeks broke through.

Hey Terrie, I stick by my comment. An ovation is given joyfully. “2 : an expression or demonstration of popular acclaim especially by enthusiastic applause ” Look at her face. Her face says it all. Where is the enthusiasm? You are seeing her be polite because she probably really likes the guy as a person.

Jason’s not going anywhere oh no.. Even if he leaves that low-down show, he’ll be on my ipod at least with a record deal in the wings. I love Jason’s class. The judges were spewing bile like I’ve never seen before. In all the seasons of AI, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a long-winded beating.

I thought Jason looked so much healthier & happier than he has in a long time. His vocals were great. I love the way he sings. Wish he hadn’t dropped the jingle jangle, because that could have redeemed him somewhat. I wish he’d told Randy that he sang it flawless in dress rehearsal and that’s what counts right? I also enjoyed ISTS.. He is true to himself and I like that.

Oh well, miracles may happen..but do we even want sweet, kind, cool and classy Jason working with those hateful people? NO way. But a visit to his hometown, sure would be nice…

if they want him, they get first dibs. they had to sign contracts stating this. so if 19 whatever letter it is wants to sign him, they get the option. i donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know if the contestant can turn them down. I bet Kirsten will know that answer to that.

Well, I’m no lawyer, but I watch a lot of Law and Order, so I guess I can be an expert on the internet. Why not? LOL.

As I understand it, 19R has the right to negotiate first. This isn’t a fait accompli or they wouldn’t be announcing the contracts sometimes months later. Probably, there is some legal wording about them having N months to reach an agreement (N months widely reported to be 3 months after the finale). Then, if no agreement is reached, Contestant So-and-so has the right to shop around for a contract with others. I would quite imagine that there might be some text that if Contestant So-and-so signs an agreement in the M months after that, 19R has the right to match that deal and sign the contestant. And there is probably a bunch of words about negotiating in good faith which probably is tough to prove, but scares people.

Now, Bucky said that Elliott actually turned down a deal offered by Clive. I don’t recall Elliott ever saying that, but I do remember him saying that he did get some sort of nod of approval from Simon Fuller and promised not to release before the 19R signed Idols, but maybe he was just making all that up.

Perhaps a real lawyer could explain all this because I’m sure they are thinking rude things about me right now. Sorry, real lawyers.

Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lines were constant busy for a good hour here no matter which line you tried. I have been hearing that all over. They betta not Daughtry him.

Nobody is getting Daughtried. I got the feeling that Ryan was told to stick that “remember Tamyra and Daughtry” line in there to save him. If they wanted him gone, they would have kept quiet. His lines are busy because fans are voting. There is no way TPTB are going to let Castro survive over Cook, especially with all the drama they’ve had. It has to come down to David vs. David at the end for the show to maintain that it is about talent. People have been bashing Archuleta, but I’ve always felt that talent wise, he deserves to be at the top with Cook…no questions asked. I’m glad he finally got better tonight and proved that.

I think he’s just got a very quiet, but large fanbase…much like Carrie Underwood in season 4, and to an extent, Jordin Sparks in season 6. If DI is any indication, and I tend to think it is, the fans came through for Cook in a very very big way. The Castro/Cook split is no more. It comes down to…would you rather salvage Castro or Cook? I think most went to save Cook and numbers surely reflect that. They are voting on the season, as they should.

I’m interested to know where Castro’s votes go. I think after the way TPTB treated him, none of his hardcore fans are even going to watch.

Being a real lawyer, you did a real good job of describing the probable situation!!!

See, no rude things said here.

Jason fans who need a pick-me-up should check out his Billboard Q&A, conducted by Fred Bronson on the same day as the infamous Jessica Shaw interview. Compare and contrast.

Lisa…phone lines still busy out here. 40 minutes in.

MrRJ
they didn’t want Elliot. They signed Daughtry, Taylor, and Kat. But they passed on E.

Elliot was better off. I’m sure his cut on his over half million cds and huge downloads was higher than 19 would have given

MrRJ
well, kirsten heard differently that E might have been offered a deal. I heard that he hadn’t but only he knows for sure -or maybe his hairdresser.
I just did a rewatch and the clip at the end of Cookies HLAW showed things we didn’t get to see. The eye contact and the wolf look were there. Wish he would have done that version.

I still find it odd that Syesha will potentially make the top 3. She just never seemed to stand out and was usually toward the bottom. She’s had some very good performances over the last few weeks, but I would much prefer to see Michael or Jason there. There must be a ton of r&B fans who watch AI.

dulce can you let me know if it starts to ease up between 45-hour in? Just interested. Thanks for letting me know they are still busy!

Lisa
i just rewatched again and i didn’t see the bracelet. he had a jacket on but when he wore one before, i still saw it. i’m not seeing it now. sigh.

Kirsten,
good job explaining. thanks. and thanks for all the info you impart here everyday. appreciate it.

I’m not either weelassie. :cry_wp: I am in hopes that maybe he just forgot it or something like that.

seraphina
i agree with you on your cookie analysis. i think he would like to do as good as he can for his brother. Adam said being out there was a really highlight for him and seeing his brother there every week probably gives him a boost.

Lisa ~ about 1 hour 10 minutes in…now getting more votes in. This is big. Hawaii votes on it’s own time basically and for Cook to be busy this entire time says a whole lot.

In NO WAY does Cook want to go home. I think he has yet to completely let go like Syesha has, but I think going home to Blue Springs will help him out a whole lot. I hear 10,000 Cook tickets sold out in 6 hours. People had to physically go and pick up tickets for the event. It’s going to be an amazing day for Cook on Friday.

I believe strongly that DC wants to win. Here is an article of Q & A by him to Billboard that also supports that.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003799420

Guys don’t read too much into DC’s emotions tonight. Maybe he just had a bad day?? Caught salmanela ( sp??) from the damn dolphin?? How about the music sounded off in the first song and he knew it?? His favorite socks were dirty??? Who knows, but if he makes to safety this week, I think the trip home will do him a world of good. Remember he had an off night ( and I dont think this was bad at all tonight) when he sang Innocent and look what he did the next week??? Always Be My Baby. He looked happy with the judges reviews after BR tonight, so I think he was just disappointed in himself.

*mur1234america….WTF???? *

Thanks dulce. I just find it odd that for the first time his lines have been busy for an hour. I asked because on AI boards some folks said the same thing happened to CD in S5. I do not want that to happen to DC. :mad_wp:

MrRJ May 7th, 2008 at 2:30 am

Hey Terrie, I stick by my comment. An ovation is given joyfully. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“2 : an expression or demonstration of popular acclaim especially by enthusiastic applause à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Look at her face. Her face says it all. Where is the enthusiasm? You are seeing her be polite because she probably really likes the guy as a person.

Are you sure that’s Carly’s polite expression and not her joyful one? I’m stumped because I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen Carly without her brows knitted together.

I like Carly’s voice and think she has some Kelly Clarkson potential, but she needs some of Jason’s airiness to lighten her stage presence.

Yeah I saw a diff Cook on the recap…seemed more into it. I wonder if he got bad news or was “dumped” in between?

Baxter your right I am just uneasy after reading those CD comparisons.

Carly seems to be limited by Carly. Somebody told her she had to belt everything. If she’d show nuance and restraint, she could go a long way in the biz

now i’m worried about the bracelet. he has never forgotten to wear it and at times it is on his hand instead of his wrist.

Cook looks safe on DI and all the busy signals reported here.

Bax, my smart lady….you are so close ..at america caught like a fish…there, does that help?

Lisa- I will give a wonder piece of advice….BREATHE!!! It’s going to be ok. I know you want him to win just as badly as I would love to see him win, but you are going to age yourself 20 years in the next 18hours. If he makes it thru to next week and pulls off the same type of performances then….well then ship his ass home. You can’t not be giving performances to rock the house and expect to stay around.

Have faith my friend…it will work out tomorrow!!

the numbers up to 5 include 5

baxter
glad to see you caught my climactic reference there:)

Thank you Bax! Am breathing and darn too old to age another 20 yrs, lol. What I need to do is stop reading those blasted boards, that is what got me worried! Thank you too MrRJ!

Jason is toast…DC is fine. CD saved him actually. That was a lesson all voters learned.

ahhh wee…how could I miss it…heheheh :)

my MBA= marketing, finance, stats, etc….not the Bass Pro SHop…reeled in, hooked, netted, dynamite blast????

baxter
lol

“Carly seems to be limited by Carly. Somebody told her she had to belt everything. If sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d show nuance and restraint, she could go a long way in the biz”

I say bring on the belting!!! I think if your young and can do it belt like crazy and grow into nuance and restraint. I do think there are things she can work on but belting when there are power belters like Mariah, Leona, Celine at the top of the charts is not going to hurt her.

Jason is toastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦DC is fine. CD saved him actually. That was a lesson all voters learned.

Exactly. The giants still remain. I think it is interesting that he’s ahead of Archuleta after Archie got a tonguebath on DI.

DC is going to be a pop-rocker folks. That’s as hard as his edge is going to get. And he’s going to be a huge star. I cannot imagine what it’s like to be him with all of the inner turmoil stuff going on. I give him credit for stepping out there every week. American Idol is a long hard trail and nobody has traveled it perfectly, not even Kelly Clarkson (who started sounding like nails at the end) or Melinda Doolittle. I think the fact that people are disappointed in Cook speaks volumes to how well he’s done during the season. He’s got nothing to be ashamed of.

I thought David Cook was pretty good tonight. Don’t really understand picking “Hungry Like the Wolf”, but he did okay with it. “Baba O’Riley” was good.

Though I’m not a fan of Syesha, she did great.

Jason was not good.

Archie? Well, “Stand By Me” was OK. But I absolutely HATED “Love Me Tender”.
Why is it that it was OK for him to totally rearrange and Elvis song? Doesn’t Randy pretty much slam anyone for changing a “classic” song around that much? I mean the kid sang about a third of the original melody. Why is it acceptable to thrash an Elvis song?*

*I might be a bit biased. That was my wedding song and I LOVE Elvis.

Dial Idol isn’t gospel. It only measures the votes from people who use the system. It can’t measure land lines, texts, or cell phone calls, which more and more people use. I can’t remember during season 5, if Daughtry was in the danger zone on DI or not. I don’t think he was, and, that’s probably why it was such a shock to everyone.

Personally, I don’t care who wins. This is my last season watching this show. It has jumped the shark when 3 adults beat up on a 21 year old college kid. Like him or not, as John Rich said, they all deserve respect. They’re under tremendous pressure, and, I know they’ll all be glad when it’s over.

I’m also glad that the American public is so easily spoon fed by the judges. It seems they don’t have ears for themselves, because if they did, they’d go back and listen to some of the contestants and hear that they weren’t as bad as the judges said, or as good as they said. And, let’s face it, that is what they do best – not judge, but, manipulate the show the way the producers want it to go. They are just more blatant with it this year than ever before.

I’ve lost all respect for the judges, and, the producers. If they want to act like a bunch of playground bullies, then, I won’t waste my time watching their show any more. I know there are a lot of people who are done with it after this year.

I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t remember during season 5, if Daughtry was in the danger zone on DI or not. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think he was, and, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably why it was such a shock to everyone.

No. DI was relatively new then so not many knew about it. Taylor Hicks and Elliot Yamin were FAARRR ahead in green with Katharine in third in yellow and Daughtry in fourth in yellow as well. It was the only site that said Daughtry was gone. The reason it was a shock was because every single other pundit had him winning. TPTB did nothing to salvage him and I don’t think even they saw it coming until it hit. You can actually go to site and access the old season 5 data if you want.

Cook isn’t gone. Neither is Archuleta. I suspect both are even farther ahead than that given that both fanbases went pedal to the metal in terms of texting this time around. If any shock boot occurs, it will be Syesha cause according to logic, Castro should be gone.

I really don’t think Jason purposely flubbed his lyrics and wants to go home. He repeatedly mouthed the word “vote” when Ryan was giving out his numbers, and I don’t think he’d be asking the fans to pick up the phones and power dial if he wanted to get kicked off. I think the song is wordy and challenging to begin with, and I would assume he may have been thrown by the 15 minute ass-kicking of vitriol they gave him after ISTS. A lot of contestants have forgotten lyrics this year, and I can understand why he did. He’s only human.

I also definitely think DC wants to win. I thought he seemed subdued because he was disappointed in himself. Baba O’Reilly was fantastic though, so he definitely came back and his first song was more mediocre than bad. He really has a great voice.

I just don’t get Syesha. I know she’s very talented, but to me, her voice is generic at its best, and unpleasant at its worst, and the only time I’ve really enjoyed her is ALW week. I guess I just don’t see how she’s any more unique or different than Kat McPhee or Vonzell or any of the other pretty belters that the show has had.

I think I just might be done with the show now though. What they did to Jason was just mean-spirited and unnecessary. I enjoyed both his performances, save the forgetting of lyrics, and I really appreciated him trying new things with his performance and I actually thought he looked surprisingly comfortable considering his hilariously bad dancing in the groupsongs. I also thought he sounded gorgeous on both of them. There was no reason for them to be freaking YELLING at him, and they just went on and on and on. Jason wasn’t going to win anyway, because what he does doesn’t appeal to as wide an audience as some of the others. They could have just let it go naturally and he would’ve been out by third. It’s just so incredibly arrogant. “Not the judges’ and Nigel’s cup of tea” does not automatically equate to “trainwreck.” I feel like my musical tastes are being insulted now.

DI is not perfect. But in Season Five, Chris was at the very bottom of DI the week that he went home.

David Cook is nowhere near that bottom.

I can’t wait to hear what he is going to sing each and every week.

He is going to be a HUGE star!

Oh. I thought Jason said DON’T vote.

I had too much compassion and mercy in me to vote for Jason last night. I spent my 2 hours voting for Syesha, trying to make sure Jason gets to go home tonight. Jason was obviously self-sabotaging, whether it was conscious or sub-conscious. He was in way over his head.

When he was doing that Bob Marley thing, he looked like he was channeling Brooke. He was frenetic in a very uncomfortable way. He looked like he was out of his mind.

they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want Elliot. They signed Daughtry, Taylor, and Kat. But they passed on E.

They had to sign Taylor and Kat because they always sign #1 and #2. They probably didn’t know what to do with Elliot, and honestly, Elliot is a hard worker and is a good performer, but he’s not at the top like Daughtry is. Nice guy, but he’s still got some climbing to do.

Terrie – Thanks for posting that Billboard Q&A with Jason. I hadn’t seen it and I really enjoyed reading it. I’ve prepared myself to say goodbye to Jason tonight. I will miss his voice but I do think that he’s had enough.

My only comment from last night is AI lost any potential for Rock Cred…evah. Was there even one song that rocked (as in rock and roll) last night. The closest we got was Bob Marley. And sorry, DC fans, Baba O’Reiley fizzled into a lukewarm ending.

This has got to be the worst 3-4 weeks of performances I can remember. And, although Syesha is very smart to sit in her “box” that the judges have given her, she is just adding to the “dull” that has become Season 7.

Well just read the Q&A that was posted about Jason .I don’t get why you want to drive the bus over a very popular guy .
I am done with the show if Jason leaves .Its just to scripted now .
Do not understand the Archie love ,don’t think Syesha is very good (oh she is an actress what with the legs and tears and all )
Cookie is not my cup of tea but I think he will stay .

Thanks dulce. I just find it odd that for the first time his lines have been busy for an hour. I asked because on AI boards some folks said the same thing happened to CD in S5. I do not want that to happen to DC.

What ziggy said above. :)

Chris was at tbe bottom of DI. Very, very close to Kat, but still at the bottom.

Cookie is solidly in first place on DI. I guess the boy has voting fans after all. ;)

No, DI is not without error. It’s an indicator, that’s all. So, take it with a grain of salt. But I know my mom said she got busy signals longer than ever before when voting for DC. And even though I text, I tried calling in the last 15 minutes just to see if the lines were open, and they were. Three votes, in succession, each line. When I tried to vote for Chris in top 4 season 5, I could not get one vote in at all. I think there have been more lines opened up the past couple seasons.

Oh, and one more thing though I’m sure this has been touched on – David Cook can be forever known in the annals of AI as the “song arrangement borrower”, but David Archuleta doesn’t have to give credit for the Norah Jones arrangement of “Love Me Tender” or the Eva Cassidy arrangement of “Imagine”? BULLSHIT, Nigel. BULLSHIT.

What a disappointing top four performance! With the list of songs they had to choose from, I was underwhelmed with the choices they made. None of the performances were outstanding and some were truly painful.

Syesha comparing her Idol journey to the civil rights movement? Come on! Her first song was okay but I didn’t like what she did with “Change Is Gonna Come”. Her tears may have been real but the comparison she made really turned me off.

Jason chose a lousy song in ISTS, imo and then he blew it. My husband really loves Marley’s version of that song and he couldn’t believe how badly Jason performed it. The judge’s comments were unnecessarily harsh but Jason didn’t do himself any favors. MTM was better but wasn’t the night for Jason to flub the lyrics.

David A has a nice voice but I hate what he did with both songs. “Love Me Tender” is a beautiful song and quite powerful when sung by somebody that knows what they’re singing about.

David C didn’t do much for me tonight. The second song was much better than the first, but still not great. I do think part of the problem was the allotted time. How do you build a song in that short a period of time?

All in all, not a great night, imo.

Watch what jason says after his 2nd performance. He says ”don’t vote”.

Hey all….I was too upset to post last night!

Here’s my take!

DC – Something was definitely off about him. But even on an “off” night, he was still the best. Nothing to worry about there, folks!

Sy – I thought her first song was pretty good, and her 2nd song was horrible. The pandering for votes probably helped her, though.

DA – Wow, over the top much, judges? I thought he was the HEIGHT of boringness last night (can it really get much worse?). He sang very, very well, but the boringness factor far outweighs the good vocals for me. Next week, I think Randy is going to get up on stage and lick his face. He just won’t be able to help himself!

Jason – My Jason. I still voted for ya buddy, although I know it was a huge waste of my time. ISTS was my favorite performance of the night. It was weak vocally, but I thought it was the most entertaining. And other than the lyric flub, the 2nd song was very nice. Of course, you, Jason, don’t get passes for lyric flubs like other unnamed contestants do. I guess what really bugged me was that the judges went way over the top on their critiques of the first song and didn’t bother to really give a reason why. They were all saying he was horrible, you shouldn’t do Marley, it was unacceptable, etc. BUT WHY? I think Jason had a good time. He knew as well as anyone else that they weren’t going to have anything good to say to him, so he picked songs he liked. Good for Jason. Much better to go out like that than under the circumstances last week.

Next week, I will vote for Cookie. If he doesn’t make the finale, I refuse to watch. If DA wins, I’ll likely never watch the show again. And I’ll be interested to see what they do with him, because out of the 4 left (heck, out of the final 6), I honestly think he is the least marketable.

Oh, and one more thing though Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure this has been touched on – David Cook can be forever known in the annals of AI as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“song arrangement borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , but David Archuleta doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have to give credit for the Norah Jones arrangement of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Love Me Tenderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  or the Eva Cassidy arrangement of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Imagineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? BULLSHIT, Nigel. BULLSHIT.

Agreed….DA has been given so many passes this season, it’s getting to be ridiculous.

Just to set the record straight, I live in DC’s hometown and the tickets for Friday went in 3 hours. Fortunately I got mine right at 9 when they went on sale. And they were getting donations for the American Cancer Society at the same time, so I think a good chunk of money was raised yesterday.

I can’t wait to see David Friday. I hope the results gods are with me tonight. :)

Randy should be replaced. He’ gotten worse than Paula.

I thought Jason was atrocious on ISTS last night, but upon rewatching, it actually did not seem as bad. It was pretty animated and he sounded good. Maybe I became anesthesized?

I’m really wondering how he will conduct himself on the post TV round-up.

I voted for a couple of hours for Jason. Yea I know it’s probably a waste of time but I just hate the thought of the next 3 weeks without him. But it was odd. I would get busy signals for 10 minutes and then get through for ten minutes. That pattern continued for most of the time I voted.

Agreedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.DA has been given so many passes this season, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s getting to be ridiculous.

I’m just curious to know when they’re actually going to tell that boy to get out of his box. Dang, he’s been in there a long time. So long in fact, his ass is fused to the cardboard.

:lol_tb: Spenser! So true!

I voted for Cookie from 9 – 10, and half the time I got through, which really worries me. I love Jason, but he is obviously in a different league. I’m afraid his supporters were out in full force. I think a DC/DA/JC semifinal would be fun, but Syesha’s waterworks are going to prevent that. And I’m so worried that Cookie is going home.

This is my first post on here – been lurking all season and enjoying my daily AI fix. Just wondered if anyone else thought that the sound level was off during the first half? I think one poster above mentioned it. It seemed to me that as soon as David C started singing, his microphone was up too high and the band was too low. I also thought I saw him glance over at the band as if he couldn’t hear the music (though I’d have to watch again to see). I’m a huge DC fan and thought Hungry Like The Wolf was one of his weaker performances but just wonder if the sound level also did him no favors? I did like how he freely acknowledged that he could have done better – saw nothing but humility there.

I voted for the first time last night (got through every time from VA) because as much as I know this competition is a lot about popularity as much (if not more so) than talent, IMHO DC is one of the most talented of the season and overall deserves to move forward.

psnax – I didn’t really notice it until my husband mentioned it. He kept saying that he couldn’t hear the backup singers or the band. It was so different than the usually overbearing band that I guess I was just enjoying it!

oh, my…. last night was “bizarro world” AI for me. Everything was backwards!! I think David A was very good. I thought Syesha’s emotion was authentic (and touching). David C was good but didn’t blow me away. And Jason… oh, my.

I think a DC/DA/JC semifinal would be fun, but Syeshaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s waterworks are going to prevent that.

I do like Jason and have rooted for him for most ofr the season, but I personally think his performances are going to prevent him from advancing. But, he is not a joke (as some press implies today). He will be a successful artist, away from 19E.

Just wondered if anyone else thought that the sound level was off during the first half? I think one poster above mentioned it. It seemed to me that as soon as David C started singing, his microphone was up too high and the band was too low.

Yes – I also thought the sound levels were off through most of the first half, not just for Cookie.

Also, I voted for Cook last night as often as I could – his lines were busy a lot.

Peace, all!

I noticed it immediately, and thought it might be sabotage. After Bandzilla that normally overtakes the singers, I couldn’t even hear them on HLTW. Cookie sounded okay anyway, but I think he could tell the balance was off. But then it was magically corrected for the Tina Turner Revue.

And Randy’s post-Archie diatribes on both songs could’ve been scripted from this blog. A number of us could have called that almost verbatim. LMT was the most boring song of the night and it gets the pimp spot? And Syesha shouldn’t have changed up ACIGC since it’s a classic, but messing up LMT is allowed? And with no credit on the stolen arrangement.

I may be done with this show. I woke up several times in the night worried about Cookie in a shocking boot.

Cookie – the Duran Duran song did nothing for me. I’m not a fan of the song, but Cook can often give me chills singing a song I don’t care for. That one just didn’t work for him. The Who song was much better, except for that low part near the start of the song where it sounded like it went too low for Cook’s voice.
Archie – I can’t stand him, but I have to say “Stand By Me” was the first time I enjoyed one of his performances. That was really good. The Elvis song was just more of the same Archie.
Syesha – Never guessed her to stay this long but she’s really turned it up the last few weeks. Seems Broadway week made her realize she can play it up and put some moves on that she was too scared to do earlier. Doesn’t hurt her to be labelled “Broadway” as I think that’s where she wants to be. I didn’t care for the dance moves on the Tina Turner thing – it’s not Dancing w/ the Stars. Change is Gonna Come was nice – I thought she looked lovely (no Mcwardrobe malfunction). I still like Taylor’s take on that song better.
Jason – my Jason. All I wanted for him and Brooke was to make top 6 & they both surpassed my hopes. The Marley tune – I don’t care for the song, and I don’t care for Bob Marley, so there was no way it was going to win me over. But, I do agree with Paula that Jason was playing more to the audience for once. It seemed he was singing louder/stronger and I thought his voice was in good form. I got the impression he thought he did really well and maybe expected praise for going outside the box. But, alas, there was the bus. The Dylan tune should have been a natural for him. He looked great – he sounded fantastic. When he first started I thought “Yes!” His voice was stronger again, fuller. And then he caught the McPheever and forgot a bunch of words. I also wondered if he was taking a dive to just get out now. I thought he would stay w/ getting lots of Brooke’s votes, but I think many fans who would have voted just couldn’t bring themselves to do it last night….

I thought DC was off last night too. I think it was his energy level. He was singing “Hungry Like a Wolf” in a great growly-rock fashion, but he wasn’t actng the part at all. There was a real disconnect between his singing and his expression and body language. I loved “Baba O’Reilly”, and I have a few thoughts on this– DC may have been strategizing and thinking ahead to the full-length download for this song (if this is the dowload, fingers crossed!)because it was very, very truncated and he only gave a hint of where he could take this. One thing though, if you watch it back, BOR only ran 62 seconds. Can’t they go for 30 more seconds? I wonder if that was DC’s arrangement or someone made him cut it??? The others sing for the full 1:30.

I was dailing for DC and got through all night from the DC (Washington that is LOL!) area.

DA leached all the power and sexuality out of LMT, and turned it into a treacly, insincere, disnified ballad. Technically he is very good. He should revive the Archies and do “Sugar-Sugar” then follow it up with Bow-Wow-Wow’s “I Want Candy”.

Jason’s yawn at the top of the show was hilarious and said it all… I was hoping he would redeem himself with “Tamborine Man”, but forgetting the lyrics at this stage and when Bob Dylan’s songs are all about the lyrics.. well..

Syesaha? I liked the “Change is Gonna Come” song choice, but she didn’t bring the force, power and dignity that song deserves. I could have seen Lakisha knocking that one out of the park. And Syesh, the civil rights movement cannot begin to be compared to your Idol “journey.”

Song choice is so critical at this stage of the game, almost as important as how well you sing.

I did question DC’s song choices somewhat. You figure with so many choices, what drove him to select those two songs. One interesting thing – I thought his voice sounded great last night – less fatigued than it has been over the past 2 weeks. I lurved Baba O’Reilly – hope that is the one on iTunes cause I will buy it. I voted my fingers off last night just to be safe.

Why he picked HLAW I have no clue – it seemed he didn’t know either!! I think everyone expects him to rock it out on rock week, so he did. Probably would have been better if he’d picked BOR and maybe a ballady type song.

I think he deserves to win after all of these weeks of really good performances. If he gets to the F3 he’ll get to sing a song of his choice and I pray he picks Hello (full version please) or BJ – I think it will remind people of how truly great he has been and it will bring on the votes.

To me charisma is also a huge part of these performances and I just don’t feel DA’s at all. I think Jason has more charisma with a less strong voice than DA or SM, and I just wish he had done better over the past few weeks. He sounded good on his 2nd song, but sadly lost the lyrics. His voice actually sounded strong on both songs but he is the weakest singer compared to DA and SM and I guess what people want (like?) is a singer who has a big voice. I thought Syesha should have sung her 2nd song straight and I agree with Randy that it ruined the essence of one of the greatest songs ever written when she started up with the big voice parts. Not necessary. I think we know by now she can sing loud, we don’t need yet another reminder.

Whatever happens – DCFTGDMFW

Here in NC where I am, just shortly after 9 pm, the lines got busy like that here for about an hour or so but I managed to get votes in during the first hour and more so the 2nd hour. I manged to get in a total of 617 votes for Cookie for the 2 hours.

If he were to go home tonight, which I highly doubt, I’m done with this show.

I voted as hard as I could for Jason .
Last night well actually a lot of these past weeks have not been the best ever .
I hated the theme weeks and hate the scripted lines of the judges.
I wanted Jason to get to top 3 to get the big home coming but alas that bus came and rode right into him .

When did Katharine forget lyrics? I don’t remember that.

NOLA
May 7th, 2008 at 1:32 am
I said a few weeks ago that I thought Cook wanted off the show and I got slammed for saying it; but I still think that way. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure he has already had plenty of offers already and I sure would rather see him go with someone other than the Idol label.

Seems that David was well-aware of the whole “Daughtry stigma” that loomed over this week. A family member (confirmed) at AI forums said this: “I actually talked to David today and he is a little concerned and HOPING to make it through to next week!” He really needs to stop worrying. For real.

Here’s more from that same poster:

“However, today was a long day as I was at the rehearsal and at the Live show and was lucky enough to talk to David afterwards! You should have seen him at the end… he was hanging his head and was really bummed! We yelled to him that we thought he was amazing and that HE was the one who ‘crushed’ tonight! He was VERY appreciative of that!”

When Jason forgot his lyrics and I immediately commented on it my husband said “how do you know, it’s a Dylan song, he mumbles or hums his own tunes most of the time anyway”. I did laugh at that because it is kind of true.

I’m glad that others also thought the sound level was weird – my local radio show also mentioned it this morning (I’m in the WDC area – VA end).

Overall, I think this week and last week have been bizarre. Admittedly this is the first full season I’ve watched so I have nothing to compare it to. The past two weeks just haven’t blown me away like other weeks. I thought Archie did well although not sure I’d agree that he crushed the competition. I liked DC on his second song (and made my husband laugh by admitting I have a total school-girl crush). I didn’t get the praise of Syesha. I thought she started the first song well and lost it when the tempo picked up and while she may have sung the second song well it didn’t capture my attention so I don’t remember it. Jason, well, he’s just had a bad run recently.

I think Kat forgot the lyrics to “All Shook Up” on Elvis night.

My dad commented on the forgotten lyrics and I was like “Well at least he kept going for God’s sake”

It really wasn’t that bad and it was a world better than anything I have ever heard Bob Dylan ever try to sing. LOL

Sony productions was interested in Elliot may have been at first producing his first cd under them but he and his manager decided going indie was for the best . Elliott and the company compromised on a deal. How do I know back then looking up the indie label…They usual sign the top two preformers I have a feeling if Eliott had one he would of been dropped…

Well I just listened to ISTS again, a couple of times, and I honestly don’t see what was so horrible about it. It was “different” but had merit. Ok, that’s all I wanted to say, thanks.

Weird as this sounds…I thought Jason did fantastic! First performance of his I actually liked. I have found him to be so BORING! This was so different–really out there. The judges are worthless..pimping completely out of control and transparent.

I agree — Jason wasn’t horrible or atrocious, he’s just different than anyone who has been on before. I think that if he somehow were to win, he would probably end up selling more than anyone other than Carrie.

I’m not wild about either of Cookie’s picks. But he looked AMAZING – better than ever.

First off Elliott Yamin sony productions was very intersted in him and he may have been producing his first cd under them but the manager and him decided indie was for the best…Hickory has a sony/atv imprint some major labels are affilitaed somehow w/ indie becaouse some artists are more confortable w/ them..Elliott and sony productions made a deal and both got what they wanted..How do I know this web research from a lot of articles.. Elliott I know some luv his voice I like it not luv sorry guys but why bring it up 2 but then Elliott was never slammed like Jason.

Double post darn I thought the first did not print….can not delete

Just re listened to ISTS thought it was really not as bad as the stooges thought .

Regardless of last night’s performances, my opinion of who should be the top 3 are the 3 guys, period. If you look at the entire season 7, Jason has brought something fresh to the table. He is an original. He has shown American Idol a different yet COOL vibe on the show that has been lacking in a sea of good singers. David Cook and David Archuleta have shown why they deserve to be in the finale – but I still think that Jason deserves a spot in the top 3.

Watch what jason says after his 2nd performance. He says à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t voteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

I thought he was saying “vote” last night but on closer look it does look like it might be “don’t vote.” If so, then yikes! (It’s actually after the first song.)

Jason’s comments in the Billboard Q&A make me think he really is ready to get out of the spotlight.

And autographs are awkward. Don’t ask for autographs, people.

Jason had the worst final 4 performance in 7 seasons. Period.

Karen
May 7th, 2008 at 8:54 am
When did Katharine forget lyrics? I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t remember that.

Right here, on Elvis night, “Hound Dog (All Shook Up)”. She turned away from the camera, but you could hear it. Right at :58.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JmZPHw5GsAM

idolbeat is right. Jason deserves a ticket to the semifinals based on Hallelujah, SOTR, Fragile, and If I Fell. I think Memory could have been a moment if he hadn’t been sick, and yet he didn’t use that as an excuse.

Thanks Gwen, I do remember that now.

Personally, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care who wins. This is my last season watching this show. It has jumped the shark when 3 adults beat up on a 21 year old college kid.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve lost all respect for the judges, and, the producers. If they want to act like a bunch of playground bullies, then, I wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t waste my time watching their show any more.

I think I just might be done with the show now though. What they did to Jason was just mean-spirited and unnecessary. I enjoyed both his performances, save the forgetting of lyrics, … I also thought he sounded gorgeous on both of them. There was no reason for them to be freaking YELLING at him, and they just went on and on and on. Jason wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t going to win anyway, because what he does doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t appeal to as wide an audience as some of the others. They could have just let it go naturally and he wouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been out by third. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just so incredibly arrogant. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Not the judgesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and Nigelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cup of teaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  does not automatically equate to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“trainwreck.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I feel like my musical tastes are being insulted now.

I agree completely. I’ve watched the show off and on for years, and this is the first time they’ve had a contestant who was “my style”. His music fits right in on my Ipod (well except for the AI band part). I don’t just like him because of his look or persona. I like his sound. If TPTB don’t want Castro, then I guess they don’t want me either.

I don’t care for the other three contestants musically. Their CD’s could be made of fairy dust and unicorn bones and there would still be no way I would ever buy them. I just hope Castro will still get the opportunity to get signed. I don’t understand why the judges felt they had to savage him the way they did. I was pretty bummed last night about all this, but I’m hoping that the kind of people that would consider signing him wouldn’t hold it against him if AI treated him like shit. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, and the “Bob Marley” shout out? Highlight of the night.

oops. my first paragraph above is a quote from ilikebunnies post. Apparently I suck at block quotes. Sorry ilikebunnies.

I wished he could get to top 3 ,but I doubt it can happen . I hope he gets signed I love his voice.Jason was the best .

Does amubody else think Gaspy should worry about Randy stalking him? haha ”caressed every word” that was quite disturbing.

Randy has been very weird this year .Its icky …

Randy must be WELL-PAID by someone for the tongue-baths he’s given Archie all year. The depimping of Cookie last night was hideous.

Okay, yet another memory popped in. During Season 4 didn’t Simon tell Scott Savol to “pack his suitcase” and Scott ended up staying and Constantine went home that week? I do know that it wasn’t Scott going home after Simon made that comment. Well Simon made that comment to Jason last night and I hope Jason stays!

Jason’s performances from last night are being laughed at and mocked in every post show article I’ve read, even Michael Slezak couldn’t muster up any sympathy for him. If he ends up surviving tonight it will only cement the kind of joke this season is turning into.

I have such a bad taste in my mouth from last night. Don’t get why Jason’s performaces should be “laughed at” — certainly not MTM which was quite good, frankly.

It’s clear from Dial Idol that Jason is going home. They’ve never been THAT won’t. No one needs to worry about DC.

Don’t think I’ll be watching the show anymore. I’m actually not just saying that. The other 3 contestants do nothing for me musically — Jason was the only interesting one.

DC is pro — he should win it. Syesha should have been out long ago. DA is the epitome of a star search contestant — bland and cheesey.

I didn’t think the show was all that good last night but it’s much easier to watch when you don’t really care what happens or who goes home. It would have been much better if Michael and even Carly were there imo. Even Simon says that it would be good if MJ was still there.

David Cook:
1. I thought it was fine. I’d have hated it if he’d messed with it.
2. Better. I agree that he’s coasting at this point. I still like him the best but final 4 isn’t the time to coast.

Syesha:
1. I liked this performance and thought she sounded and looked good.
2. She sang it well but a snoozer for me.

Jason:
1. Hated the singing and the performance. It was difficult to watch and ranks down there with Kristy Lee’s “8 Days a Week” for me which is saying a lot.
2. I actually thought it wasn’t bad except for the forgotten lyrics. I was kind of surprised the judges didn’t at least give him some comments about the song/singing instead of just dissing him.

David A:
1. 1st song was really good. I’m not a fan but even I have to admit that.
2. A boring performance and somewhat disturbing for such a young 17 yr old to sing. I’m getting extremely tired of the repeated tongue bath the judges give him almost every week. I especially didn’t like Simon’s comments regarding the others/Jason. He always seems to go one step too far.

Jason should go home this week. I can only hope that he doesn’t have a strong enough fanbase to hold him even farther beyond his time.

Diana
Taylor is supposed to be on next week I think. You might want to watch him and then turn it off. If you like Taylor that is.

MrRJ
May 7th, 2008 at 2:18 am
NOLA With the exception of Boà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ the others ARE sucky.

Bo is my heart. I am still sickened at how he was treated.
He’s a survivor, though. He’ll have the last laugh one day.

Nola, I agree they did something to his debut cd….was just bland..

Former_AI_Junkie
May 7th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Does amubody else think Gaspy should worry about Randy stalking him? haha à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ caressed every wordà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  that was quite disturbing.

That creeped me out, and just for a second, Randy looked like that frog from “Wind in the Willows”. Shudder.

Jason should have gone home last week, on a somewhat up-note.
Fans can be cruel sometimes, keeping a contestant in just to please
themselves. Now he will have this hanging around his neck like an
anchor…for what? 2 more songs? It wasn’t worth it.

Jason going home now is the best thing that can happen to him. I don’t want him stamped with that “Sanjaya” stigma – a joke. Jason’s better than that, and he’s better off without the show. It’s like standing there and watching a car drive back and forth over a child’s leg. It’s that painful. Yes, I’ve heard he’s a “roll with the punches” type of guy, but he has feelings. And, I don’t care how much he’s smiling, having someone spit in your face is disgusting, and it hurts.

Look at the difference here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8esIOje4X8
Melissa forgot her words and listen to what the judges say .

The “pack your suitcase” comment was rude. I think Jason should have said “Actually Simon even if I get voted I am only leaving for a brief time so really only a small amount of packing is neccessary. See, I made it to the final four. I have to come back to rehearse for the large part I’m going to have the finale.”

This is why it really doesn’t matter if Jason gets voted off this week, you guys. I think for him he would rather stay this week because that means if he gets voted off next week he will have to do less interviews. I honestly didn’t think he was THAT bad last night. I think the back up singers need to be shot. I’m pretty sure they were one reason it was so bad. As for Tambourine Man, yes, he forgot the lyrics but he also improvised and covered. He didn’t stare blankly at the camera, like a certain dark-haired gasper who shall remain nameless, or stop the band entirely he added some scatting. Some people do this to songs and its called “Blues” Jason does it and it’s called “blashpemous.” Oh well, Jason you made it a lot longer than I thought you would and the best part is you are going to have a huge part in the finale in two weeks. Yay!!!

As for the others, I think Syesha needs her head examined if she thinks that pulling out the hair straightener equates “change.” because that’s the only change I’ve seen in her this competition. One of the David’s will win (hopefully Cook–who I do love). I did actually enjoy “Baba O’Reiley” last night, the boy can just plain sing…I would argue that he has the best voice of the competition. I can’t handle David A’s fish gasping.

Okay, yet another memory popped in. During Season 4 didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Simon tell Scott Savol to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“pack his suitcaseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and Scott ended up staying and Constantine went home that week? I do know that it wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Scott going home after Simon made that comment. Well Simon made that comment to Jason last night and I hope Jason stays!

Well, I don’t want Jason to be the next Scott Savol.

Although I wish Jason could leave on a better note, it’s time. I’m glad he’s made it this far and he has every reason to be proud of what he accomplished on the show.

I just have to say this too – if Cookie goes home tonight, I’m done with AI, probably for good. I have to think that he still wants to WIN and if he wants it, I want it too. I see him as the only truly genuine performer on the show right now. Yes Archie has a lovely voice – but he seems so scared most of the time. And I could not would not listen to an entire album of sappy ballads with runs all over the place and changed up melodies (of cover songs). What’s with putting new words in LMT? WHAT? And nobody ever mentions that his voice has been cracking for the last 3 weeks or so. He’s just trying SO hard. Too hard. Nobody else on AI this year could have done ANY of the songs/performances Cook has done. His studio versions are just incredible. I’m trying not to say negative things about everyone else really – I just want to say how much I appreciate discovering David Cook and his music. I’ve been a country listener for too long, a change is gonna come…..hah.

I’m sure by now the producers and Ryan know who is going home tonight. I’d love to be a fly on the wall and see what is going on. If someone else besides Jason is going home they are probably frantic that their schemes to get Jason eliminated didn’t work. The judges were unusally harsh with him and should be ashamed of themselves. I’m a David Cook fan, but I also like Jason. Jason had several excellent songs over the last few weeks. (I can’t get Somewhere Over the Rainbow) out of my head. A lot of the singers haven’t had as many good weeks as Jason has. And, no one has been bashed worse than Jason. I hope AI gets stuck with having to deal with daddy dearest Archuleta for a year or two. It would serve them right.

Um, fans fault? That’s an interesting take. It’s my fault for supporting an artist whose music I truly enjoy. Hmmmm. On second thought maybe you’re right. I should accept the blame for getting sucked in and forgetting how this show works. It won’t happen again. I get it. AI isn’t interested in a fan with my musical tastes.

Gwen, I think it’s too late. If only he had gone home a week or two ago, he wouldn’t have this hanging over him. Hell, if only he had worked harder on his songs, and chosen better songs, he wouldn’t have gotten the lashing that was given to him last night. The kid has some talent; but he appears lazy to me and that’s a shame. I doubt they will be knocking on his door to sign him, now.

I would not be suprised to hear once he’s gone that Jason was spending little to no time practicing and preparing for his performances. Forgetting the words in front of Neil Diamond, forgetting the words to his second song last night, the comment from Debra Bird, mooking for the camera and acting immature, etc. Goofy personality or not this is a window of opportunity for all of the idols and not preparing would be an insult to everyone involved. Talent is obviously not enough, otherwise many of these idols would be semi successful in the biz already. What record company would want to sign someone who lacks the motivation and hard work that’s required for musical stardom?

Wow, Menzel. It seems we’re on the same page.

Jason should have gone home last week, on a somewhat up-note.
Fans can be cruel sometimes, keeping a contestant in just to please
themselves. Now he will have this hanging around his neck like an
anchorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦for what? 2 more songs? It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t worth it.

Huh? I think this is a rather harsh critique of Jason’s fans. Just because you’ve decided when you think Jason should have gone home, doesn’t make it an absolute. Jason’s fans were merely supporting him, in the spirit of the competition. They were playing by the rules laid out for this here game show.

There is no absolute scale here that measures how long someone deserves to stay in, or when someone deserves to go home. People vote for all kinds of reasons, and those reasons may be different from someone’s else – but it doesn’t necessarily make them cruel or selfish.

KrazeeK120, I agree with everything you said, especially about Jason. My favorite moment was when Jason said, “I was thinking Bob Marley” to Simon. I think I know what Jason would really like to say to Simon, but I’d better not say it here. I’d like to tell Simon, Randy, and Paula a thing or two myself. I really hope he is safe tonight. He had several great songs and I like his personality. Syesha has had a couple of good weeks and they’re falling all over her. David Cook is my favorite, but I didn’t like his song choices last night.

It’s no surprise Simon had nothing nice to say about the Dylan song.

Here’s what Simon thinks of Bob Dylan:
“January 10, 2007 — IN a snub that will have Bob Dylan fans blowin’ in the wind with rage, Simon Cowell has come out bashing the beloved folk legend as a dull singer who’s not as talented as perky pop princess Kelly Clarkson. “Do I prefer Kelly Clarkson’s music to Bob Dylan’s? Yes. I’ve never bought a Dylan record. A singing poet? It just bores me to tears,” Cowell tells February’s Playboy. The acerbic “American Idol” judge adds: “I’ve got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of ‘American Idol,’ we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don’t believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make ‘American Idol’ a better show.”

NY Post

Sure, Jason messed up the lyrics, but even if he hadn’t, I don’t think Simon would have like the performance anyways. Instead of “pack you suitcase,” it would have been “never sing a Dylan song on Idol.” Jason was fighting a losing battle.

You know what? I hope this is his sing-out song tonight. Yeah, rub it in Dylan-hating Simon’s face!

Thanks for putting up the videos!

DCook is my AI love. I thought he was decent to good on the first song (I kind of hate that song but I loved the growly vocals) and fabulous on the second song. My favorite of the night…it was just way too short. Overall, wasn’t his best night but it probably didn’t help matters that he was oddly disconnected during his performances. And Simon? Between wanting DC to stay in his rock box, and wanting him to avoid being a “copycat”, the standards are set ridiculously high…good luck to him if he makes it to top 3 and has to come up with 3 new arrangements that rock. Oh, and he had better make sure they are original because he probably doesn’t need another “covergate” on his hands. Oy.

Syesha completely lost me. I had started to enjoy her the past couple of weeks…but between her predictable poor-man’s Tina Turner impression, the tears, and throwing in the civil rights movement I am back to disliking her greatly.

I absolutely love Jason’s attitude. My favorite thing was when he responded to Simon “I was thinking Bob Marley!” Fantastic. I am kind of bummed that he didn’t pull it out last night because I really wanted him to outlast Syesha. I really hated ISTS but MTM sounded really good. Kind of lost its appeal after he botched the lyrics though. The judges were unnecessarily harsh and I really felt bad for him. But he kept smiling. I would have been bawling (not unlike Syesha)

I have always disliked Archuleta, but now the dislike has morphed into hatred. That probably has something to do with OTT praise he continues to get for giving the same performance over and over. He is boring, dated, and lacks an ounce of stage presence. I wish someone would tell him that it is possible to make a song your own without eliminating the entire melody and replacing it with unnecessary vocal runs. Way to completely ruin SBM and then completely creep me out during LMT.

The judges have officially made this show difficult for me to watch.

I have many thoughts…which is bad, because I should be working, but oh freaking well.

1. At the end of the show, Ryan made that warning about past shocker eliminations…setting the audience up to watch. Once they watch, it doesn’t matter if it’s a shocker or not really. So that’s the logic I’m using to convince myself that Cook won’t go.

2. The finale will get very little ratings if it’s not David vs. David, because everyone will know who’ll win. The producers would be stupid if they didn’t attempt another Clay/Ruben finale.

3. All the comments about the judges being too harsh on Jason…Ok. Fine. Jason has an interesting voice. He’ll make a cool album. Great. But please, have some respect for the music you’re performing. Just an ounce. It’s Marley and Dylan. While Marley’s music may sound “fun” and lighthearted, he has some pretty important messages and from Jason’s performance, I didn’t see that message conveyed. The judges have every right to be mean to him at this point. It’s been week after week that he hasn’t used his talent and has not gotten the meaning after his song. He doesn’t take things seriously, and that’s nice, but this is the show that has put him in the public spotlight, so he SHOULD care. Jason-fans, I’m not attacking his talent, I’m attacking his lack of effort.

4. I have more thoughts, but no time. :)

Long-time reader making my first.ever.post!!!!

Cookie fan here, (Jason is a close second) just wanting to chime in on last night’s performances. I agree that I was quite underwhelmed by Cook’s song selections last night. I was really hoping he’d pull out “Pretty Woman” and get the crowd all riled up. I guess maybe my expectations are too high for him.

He did look nervous as heck, too. Did you notice the way he was making these “phew-y” exhales while standing with Ryan at the close of the second song? As someone upthread posted the comment from a close friend of David’s, it seems the Daughtry curse rattled him.

Is it OK to say I am totally coveting that beautiful jacket he wore for HLAW? Was it suede, leather?? The color was awesome. Beautiful embroidery on the sleeves, too. Everybody was mentioning how fabulous Syesha looked, well, Cookie never looked so good. I’m with you on that one, Karen.

Let me just say that I was embarassed for Jason during “Sheriff”. He did not win any new fans last night. I really wanted him to make final 3, too. I’m sorry he couldn’t exit on a high note, like Brooke did last week.

David Archuleta did really well last night. I think jason is gone. He acted like he didnt even care. The judges made a comment about him and he just shrugged. I couldnt stand listening to him. David Cook did very well too. Him and David A are my guess for the finale. Syesha was ok. I wasnt going crazy over it and i agree with Simon it was a bit shrieky.

Does anyone know if Simon lifts weights or does push ups? He does seem to have that upper body thing happening. Cuz, if I were Jason I’d be a little scared rright now.
The fire in Simon’s eyes after ISTS was not just about the dreadlock reggae kariokee performance. There was weeks of built up anger there. Honestly thought Simon was going to storm thye stage and pull out Jason’s dreadlocks one by one.
Would have made for great TV but, I’m not sure that is within the rules. Even for American Idol.

J.S.G.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Does anyone know if Simon lifts weights or does push ups? He does seem to have that upper body thing happening. Cuz, if I were Jason Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d be a little scared rright now.
The fire in Simonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s eyes after ISTS was not just about the dreadlock reggae kariokee performance. There was weeks of built up anger there. Honestly thought Simon was going to storm thye stage and pull out Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dreadlocks one by one.
Would have made for great TV but, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure that is within the rules. Even for American Idol.

ROFL. Simon did look like someone’s mad daddy last night, no? Poor Jason.

It became clear Jason lost the fire in his belly. As I have mentioned before, his fans wanted it more than he did.

AI has been pushing jason under busses left right and centre… maybe jason was just making a stmt…. and quite frankly
i dont think he was as bad as the judges made out… i loveeeeee tambourine man and felt so bad for him dropping the lyric but PFFT he kept going :)

never thought he’d win idol but i’ve enjoyed him immensely

Last night, the judges pushed im under every bus imaginable. Maybe even a train. But i really did not like his performances. I think that he is gone tonight. Sorry Jason fans but i think it is time you people faced the truth. Ive been having the feeling that Simon has been frustrated with him for weeks now.

Sorry Jason fans but i think it is time you people faced the truth.

Truth is subjective. Please respect your fellow poster’s opinions. You are new here. I suggest you read this:

http://mjsbigblog.com/?page_id=1172

Taylor is going to be on AI next week????? Taylor who? What AI???

Sorry about that mj.

I wish Michael Johns was still here. He was my other favorite. I hope David Archuleta isnt voted off. I wouldnt watch anymore…

Taylor is going to be on AI next week????? Taylor who? What AI???

Supposedly- That is the rumor Hopefully performing. I believe it came from someone on the Boogie Board and confirmed with his grandmother. Someone correct me if they have heard different. We think it may be taped because he has other obligations next Thursday.

Well, if nothing else, you have to hand it to Jason…he recovered his mess-up like a total champ. He dum dum da da dat daad, right through it and didn’t skip a beat! No stopping and starting and finished the song very well. Even the mess up didn’t SOUND bad.

I haven’t read all of the posts yet so maybe I’m not the only one who felt manipulated by AI’s treatment of Syesha last night. They had two sit down interviews with her before she sang and talked with her both times after she sang.

The mean Randy comment followed by the compassionate Simon saying “you made her cry” as she was crying just felt staged to me. She is an actress and I just felt that she was acting. “shrug”

IMO, the crying was to appeal for sympathy votes and the last girl standing votes. The twice mention on the civil rights movement was to appeal to the black voters. Talking about how excited she was to go on tour to see her “fans” was to get them to get off their butts and vote. I could not believe how much time they took with her for both songs. They really wanted her to stay.

Did you guys already talk about the fact that he mouthed the words, “Don’t vote.” when Ryan was giving the phone numbers after Shot/Sheriff (one R two F’s;-))?

It seems like he has gotten more than he bargained for, and he’s in over his head.

I felt like her tears were genuine. As we know, Randy just starts talking and it steamrolls. He was OTT in his criticism, and I think Syesha just couldn’t take it anymore. All these weeks of being in the bottom group when she was probably safe, being the only one without a group of rabid fans, then for Randy to do that was just too much. And I don’t like Syesha particularly, in fact I can’t believe she’s the last girl standing. But I don’t think her tears were staged.

Did you guys already talk about the fact that he mouthed the words, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t vote.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  when Ryan was giving the phone numbers after Shot/Sheriff (one R two Fà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s;-))?

It seems like he has gotten more than he bargained for, and heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in over his head.

I’m positive he said VOTE VOTE, sciencefan. I’ve watched the clip over and over again. He should have just said it once to avoid being misunderstood. Silly boy.

This, added to all the buzz about him wanting to leave, caused some of his voters to turn away, I’m guessing. It’s really a bummer he was deserted on a night he could have used some support.

I don’t like “Mr. Tambourine Man”, but I thought Jason sang it well. I’m glad Jason was on the show. He seems like a sweet, young man. I wish I could throw caution to the wind like he seems to and not worry about anything. I think he’ll be fine with his career. When he’s on his game, he’s got a good voice and he has a personality that a lot of people on AI didn’t have. Simon could learn from him….

gabam
May 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The twice mention on the civil rights movement was to appeal to the black voters.

Well, it didn’t work with me. I’m probably the only black who didn’t vote for her. Then again, there’s that inexplicable DC magnetism that I write every week.

I don’t care how much I read about the civil rights movement, it doesn’t have the same impact as it does for those who actually experienced it.

She’s come a long way on the show. I’ll admit that. Seriously, looking back, I can’t say that I saw her outlasting Asia’h Epperson, much less Carly. But, she’s still her.

I’m all about rooting for my own and evolving and everything else. But, if she wants to talk about the her evolution on Idol, then she should seriously consult the manual written by Tamyra, Kimberley, Trenyce, Fantasia, LaToya, Jennifer, or Melinda. All of them left themselves stamped on the face of the history of this show in one way or the other.

At this point, I’m seriously thinking of what I will remember about Syesha once the show is over.

About Jason – Three people who read lips say he said “Vote, vote.”

GwendolynD, that was very eloquent, and I completely agree with you.

Interesting blog on Jason. Check it out.
http://www.erinmetz.blogspot.com/

I have been a rabid fan of Jason’s for weeks. I wear a Jason t-shirt I ordered weeks ago before everyone else got on the bandwagon, even though it embarrasses my kids. I’ve been in fights with my husband for staying up late to vote for Jason.

But last night, I saw a young man who looked like he was way out of his league, and it was an act of mercy to not vote for him, so he could be put out of his misery.

This late in the game, the contestants have always been held to a higher standard. And that’s why I think it was ultimately a bad idea to have instruments this year. Jason and Brooke both got a lot further than they would have without instruments. It wasn’t fair to them, in the end, to expect them to also be great singers, as if the “whole package” had no value after all. When it came down to it, they couldn’t “belt” and that’s what everybody was saying about them, and complaining that they didn’t deserve the position they had gotten to. You can’t change the standard in the middle of the game. It’s not right. What a horrible mess this year has been.

I rewatched the show and I liked David’s HLTW better the second time around. I loved the sound of his voice making it a bit more edgy. I think the problem was the fact that he just kind of walked around. If he would have put some body movement in it,.. rrrrarrr!

Whoever said they thought that David A was about to sing Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston was right! I heard it too! I wonder if that was by accident or design? I’m intrigued!

I liked Syesha last night but I didn’t enjoy rewatching. Hmmm

Jason.. I will so miss your facial expressions. Gawd he has to be the funniest/coolest contestant ever!

Have the idols had more emotional issues this season than others?

I just don’t remember so much emotional turmoil with the idols from other seasons. Maybe emotional turmoil for we the fans, but the idols not so much.

What gives??

I don’t comment very often as I generally feel as though someone has expressed my feelings as well or better than I could. Why I feel so compelled to make my own statement this morning I have no ideal….but here goes.

I have to say that I thought Jason (except for the forgetting the lyrics part) sounded great last night. I like his version of ISTS although it perhaps suffered from it’s brevity. I liked the arrangement, I thought his vocals were good and he even looked comfortable to me. The dancing didn’t look goofy to me. He actually looked relaxed which is nothing shy of a miracle given the treatment he’s been getting.

When he began MTM I thought they’re going to have to give him his props on this one! His vocals sounded so strong to me………..then he had the brain f*rt and gave them an opening for criticism (not that they appear to need one). What a shame!

We usually send all our votes to David Cook but last night our household votes went to Jason. His treatment seems so unfair.

And for the judges? Randy Jackson has lost what little credibility he still had with me. Paula I expect to be an idiot. Simon doesn’t get a lot of America’s musical heritage……I mean his statement that he prefers Kelly Clarkson to Bob Dylan?????wtf???

Is it any wonder that if you turn on top 40 radio these days the majority of it all sounds alike? If you don’t fit in that small little box then American Idol doesn’t want you.

Gah!! Sorry to have run on so long. I keep telling myself that it’s silly to get so worked up over a stupid t.v. show………maybe I won’t watch next year.

GwendolynD May 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

gabam
May 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The twice mention on the civil rights movement was to appeal to the black voters.

Well, it didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t work with me. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m probably the only black who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t vote for her.

You were not the only one. LOL. I was voting for Jason. I felt the attempt to manipulate and it kinda pissed me off.

Okay…Simon’s comments on Bob Dylan are beyond the pale. Kelly Clarkson superior to Dylan?? Kelly’s good and all, but Simon doesn’t get it. There is more to a singer than being able to belt out a broadway note.

Maybe Simon has changed his opinion as he’s grown older. He should see “No Direction Home”.

Bob is pitch perfect on every note. He is unmatched as a songwriter and lyricist. He has amazing vocal range — many of his tunes are not easy to sing. And his ability to convey emotion with his singing is superior to anyone I’ve heard (see for exp: I’ll Remember You, Visions of Johanna, Make You Feel My Love, Most of the Time, You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome, and on and on….)

MJ where is your recap? Your job/life can wait. I want it now.

“Have the idols had more emotional issues this season than others?

I just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t remember so much emotional turmoil with the idols from other seasons. Maybe emotional turmoil for we the fans, but the idols not so much”

I totally agree. I think it’s like the horses that are overbred. They picked too many plants and people who can only do one genre. Then they matched them with themes they are struggling with. Plus, when they had more true amateurs they were just happy to be there. But this groups is very fragile. Nobody seems to have the inner strength of Pickler, Elliott and even Jordin and Lakisha from S6.

I’ve been trying to be positive today. If Jason leaves tonight, he will get to go on Regis & Kelly, Ellen, Mike & Juliette, local morning shows; Idol tonight, Idol Wrap, Fox reality, Extra, Access Hollywood, etc. If he leaves next week, the media will be concentrating on the Top 2 and he would have to wait until after the finale for most of his talk show and media appearances. That’s the curse of Top 3.

I voted like crazy for two hours. I really wanted Jason to be Top 3 so that he could have the hometown visit. I wanted him to have a parade, darn it. I was happy to see his family in the audience last night. They probably cheered him up after the show.

The song choices were not great, IMO, but I enjoyed the performances. I wish that he had stuck with his style since the stakes were so high. Oh well.

Jason has a strong sense of self and strong faith so he will be OK.

If Jason leaves tonight, I will have a lot more free time. I won’t need to watch the show live anymore and I won’t be voting anymore.

Cocky fans: The Billboard Q & A to DC, posted by Lisa on Page 7 is really worth reading.

Thanks Lisa (if you’re here today).

I’ve been reading back over last night’s comments about how so and so wants to go now, and let’s not vote because it’s better for so and so to go out as #4, or # whatever.

I think the Billboard interview really puts that into proper perspective, at least how it relates to DC’s desires to be there.

I’m not sure I’m buying that any of these guys WANT to leave, I think they just WANT to try to please. Unfortunately, the judges are harsher on some than others, for sure. I think we all know who those “others” are, don’t we?

I just re-watched DavidAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s clip of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Stand by Me.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I think he sang those strange lines . . . and then . . . à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“beautiful girlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  because he forgot the lyrics.

This late in the game, the contestants have always been held to a higher standard. And thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why I think it was ultimately a bad idea to have instruments this year. Jason and Brooke both got a lot further than they would have without instruments. It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t fair to them, in the end, to expect them to also be great singers, as if the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“whole packageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  had no value after all. When it came down to it, they couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“beltà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what everybody was saying about them, and complaining that they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t deserve the position they had gotten to. You canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t change the standard in the middle of the game. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not right. What a horrible mess this year has been.

I think the addition of instruments was a good idea– one of the few this season. In the semifinals, it allowed Cook to propel himself from a mid-packer to a contender on “All Right Now” and “Hello.” Jason may not have even made it out of the semifinals if he hadn’t started off with a bang.

However, I do agree that the judges have recently focused more on vocals than the “whole package” deal. This contributed to the rise of Syesha, and explains (if it can ever be explained) why Arhuleta gets heaps of praise after bland performances.

MJ where is your recap? Your job/life can wait. I want it now.

LOL! I just put it up. :)

My curiosity got me digging so I found this:

Fox Utah

I think David A stuck the beautiful girls in there on purpose. lol
Also, for the grassy knollers, it is mentioned that two of David’s first choices were shot down by the producers. So I don’t think he has gotten preferential treatment.

MJ your Syesha crying critique cracked me up! I felt sorry for her last night but that passed.

gabam May 7th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

GwendolynD May 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

gabam
May 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The twice mention on the civil rights movement was to appeal to the black voters.

Well, it didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t work with me. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m probably the only black who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t vote for her.

You were not the only one. LOL. I was voting for Jason. I felt the attempt to manipulate and it kinda pissed me off.

Yeah, me three. I’m a Brooke/DC fan all the way. Maybe we should hand in our member cards? lol.

Seriously, I don’t what it is with Syesha, It’s not like I didn’t love the R&B/soul singers in past years. I damn near had a fit when Melinda git voted off. Syesha does nothing for me. Oh well.

mj,

I agree 100% on your critiques of both of Syesha’s songs. They are both right on the money! I was wondering how many people were going to complain about her civil rights speech. That should have been cut out of the package but instead Cookie’s credit to Doxology for Eleanor Rigby gets cut out instead with his, go figure!

I thought the crying bit was nothing but an act IMO and your critique proved that. I do think she can sing, last night was too screechy for my tastes.

As far as Cookie, goes, I know that the first song wasn’t a good choice. I almost cringed when I saw it on the TMZ spoiler list yesterday. I loved Baba Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Riley and wish we could have gotten the entire song with that performance last night instead of a condensed version.

WOW, MJ, you and I normally agree. On Jason we’ll have to agree to disagree. While he was more animated, I didn’t get carrying around the guitar for a few strums here and there. His vocals were kinda fake rasta and the band arrangement was pure horrid. (thiis is the same band that did an absolutely perfect job for DA’s SBM) Tambourine Man was just ok, but the lyrics flub was not well handled with the scatting and he got out of sync thereafter. As for the judging, I agreed with them on song one, but not song two.

I really agree with you on DA’s LMT. The kid never learned to breathe during singing. The end of the song had a botched falsetto and a big crack ( funny Randy never hears this stuff from DA)

Here’s my take on the performance:
David C: HLTW was good, but nothing spectacular about it. The song wasn’t the problem. It was the lack of oomph that DC usually gives in his performances. BoR was a lot better but the shortness of the song ruined what could have been another “moment” for him. I think the bar was set so high for him especially with the theme in mind that anything less than great will be considered a disappointment. He might have felt the pressure and was trying to stand out like he usually does, but tonight it was above average. I feel that if he makes it to the top 3, God-willing, he will come back to the David we know and love

Syesha: I did like her PM performance somewhat, but I agree with Simon, it was a bad Tina impersonation. However I give her props on trying to step out her Whitney-esque style. ACGC was good, but her oversinging made it a waterdown version. It lacked soul and heart. I can’t judge on her crying, but it helped either way on the sympathy vote. I think she grabbed that elusive third spot away from Jason.

Jason: His ISTS performance was very dull in my opinion. It felt like he didn’t put any effort into the song. His vocals were on point, but everything else felt flat to me. MTM was a lot better than the judges gave credit, despite the lyric fumble. But I feel his time is definitely up and it’s best that way for him and his career that he left tonight.

David A: His SBM performance was vocally the best of night. However, that’s the only good thing about the performance. It still, like many others, was boring and bland. Nothing to sneeze about. The same thing with his LMT. The judges tongue-bathing really grated my nerves though. Can Randy be more obvious about his man-crush over DA. Ugh!

Excellent recap, as always, MJ!

I agree with the Syesha assessment. I do believe the pressure got to her, and that the breakdown was genuine. But bringing up the Civil Rights Movement….at least twice?? And then not even ‘getting it’ but equating it to YOUR OWN journey on American Idol?? I could see if she was gonna make a connection with the current election — that I could have bought into wholeheartedly (but would also have been pandering in a way).

tinawina
May 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
gabam May 7th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

GwendolynD May 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

gabam
May 7th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The twice mention on the civil rights movement was to appeal to the black voters.

Well, it didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t work with me. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m probably the only black who didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t vote for her.

You were not the only one. LOL. I was voting for Jason. I felt the attempt to manipulate and it kinda pissed me off.

Yeah, me three. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a Brooke/DC fan all the way. Maybe we should hand in our member cards? lol.

:laugh_tb:

Completely agree with everything you said, mj. It was a weird, disappointing night. And I hated the way they treat Jason. :(

I meant to type “treated” Jason. I can’t edit for some reason.

They’ve been treating Jason badly for weeks now, so I think saying “I hated the way they treat Jason” is completely appropriate usage.

From Dial Idol:
First of all lets make one thing clear – Jason Castro is definitively predicted to be voted off tonight. No ifs ands or buts about it.

After last nights performance show it is a wonder to me how Jason Castro got any busy signals.

For starters Jason opened the show by yawning on national TV. It was quick but I definitely saw it.

His performances were the worst I have ever seen at this stage of the game

Spectacular recap, MJ!!!! Glad to see that you took note of the JASON HATE TRAIN that was a rollin’ through, last night! It’s sad really! Thanks for the great pictures, too!

I love the photo of Jason, he looks like he’s bathed in golden light. Bless his heart.

Can’t you just see TPTB along with Ryan right now in the conference room, trying to figure out the meanest way to give Jason the boot? Gah, I hate them. It’s ruined my whole day today, and made me realize that I didn’t know how much I like Jason.

You were not the only one. LOL. I was voting for Jason. I felt the attempt to manipulate and it kinda pissed me off.

Um, Seriously! I think it was acting and stress tears. Ya know how when you are super stressed and the flood gates get opened just a little, and then before you know it….WHAO it’s a full-on bawl fest. I kinda feel like that’s what happened with Syesha, I think she milked it for all it was worth, though! I am sufficiently annoyed by her and her playing the civil rights card….maybe it was sincere, maybe…..but I dunno, I just don’t feel it was.

Karen May 7th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you just see TPTB along with Ryan right now in the conference room, trying to figure out the meanest way to give Jason the boot? Gah, I hate them. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ruined my whole day today, and made me realize that I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know how much I like Jason.

My whole day has been pissy too! I already knew how much I liked Jason, though:) The sucky part is, that even after he likely gets the boot tonight, i’m still gonna be mad about for the next…..hell, who knows. I’m still upset over Elliot’s premature exit. I hate that he’s going to have to do the interviews and talk-show circuit with this whole debacle hanging over his head. Even though it really wasn’t a monumental disaster, it will be played as one! Asshat judges!!!! I want everyone to remember him for the true joy that he was, not for a one-time lyrics flub.

Sy played all her cards, hips, legs, chest, tears, and civil rights. I was waiting for puppies and kittens and an offer to jello wrestle Ryan in a thong.

Ok MrRJ – that is funny

Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you just see TPTB along with Ryan right now in the conference room, trying to figure out the meanest way to give Jason the boot? Gah, I hate them. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ruined my whole day today, and made me realize that I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know how much I like Jason.

Seriously, I think they’ve been trying to get rid of him for a couple of weeks and finally had to pull out all the stops. I don’t think his critique would have been any different no matter what he sang or how he sang it. :dunce_tb:

I agree, especially if he was great in dress rehearsal. The judges were going to complain no matter what he did. But they were OTT in hatred.

On the bright side, his boot video should be a classic. Just the compilation of all his yawns will be hilarious!

Regarding ISTS again, the only thing I saw wrong was that the band and backup singers failed him. Jason’s facial expressions, attitude, and gestures added to the interpretation of the lyrics. Therefore, I do think he approached it seriously. This song is sometimes just missunderstood perhaps.

Yawning is a human condition, something we all do. I would think any of them could be caught yawning by a camera if they were going for that “snapshot.”

MTM sounds quite strong no the Mp3.

All that being said, of course I’m willing to let Jason go, as the show must go on. It just seems to me he gets too much bad-mouthing. Even though I have/had an obvious favorite, I can still see good points to each contestant who made it to the top 12. None of these kids are/were all bad or all good. I have respect for them, ALL of them. It can’t be easy.

Jason has had some pretty funny moments, hasn’t he? I’ll miss his presence. And if by some freak chance David Cook doesn’t make top 2, I’m skipping the finale.

BTW, excellent recap as always, MJ!

Regarding ISTS again, the only thing I saw wrong was that the band and backup singers failed him.

At times, the back up singers picked up the lead, but that was how the song was arranged.

Seriously, I keep watching this performance over and over again trying to find the trainwreck. It wasn’t a perfect vocal, but I thought he captured the spirit of the song.

Actually, there were NO perfect vocals tonight–I could point out where all the other contestants were off.

Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you just see TPTB along with Ryan right now in the conference room, trying to figure out the meanest way to give Jason the boot? Gah, I hate them

In season 5, they pulled out all the stops to get rid of Elliott on performance night, but were incredibly gracious to him on boot night. He had fantastic shots of his home visit, lots of nice comments from the judges and possibly the best boot video possible.

I don’t think TPTB hate Jason (it seems like Ryan and Simon actually kind of like the dude), they just want him gone. Once he’s finally voted off, they don’t have to pour vitrol on him anymore (they will if they don’t like the contestant).

Besides, harsh boots are usually reserved for shock boots. They seem to feel the need to be as harsg as possible to up the shock quotient. I’m sorry to say, but Jason being booted tonight will not be shocking. DialIdol predicts it. Every news agency who pays attention to Idol predicts it. Even the citizens of MJ predict it (I don’t think I’ve seen the pool being so decisive before). My dog predicts it. The only shock tonight would be if somebody else got the boot.

So, I predict a Jason love fest tonight. It will be a way they will attempt to woo back all his fans for the next two shows.

Whenever Jason was on stage last night, the tension in the studio was awful. I could practically feel it through my television. I also did not appreciate the comment made by Simon that David A could have whistled and it would have sounded better than Jason’s song.

I think Jason will go home tonight. And I hope a small record label sees his potential a la Elliot and become a success. If Sony even tries to scoop him up, it’s a total recipe for disaster.

not only did i read Jason’s lips by saying “Vote Vote”, i heard it. when you use some high quality headphones listening to it, you will hear him say “Vote Vote”. :) actually, you hear other side comments when using headphones which is cool ’cause you hear things you can’t hear by the “naked” ear. hehehe

Jason’s first song was just weird for me, but he was having fun. BOB MARLEY! The 2nd song he was singing it so beautifully and then he lost it, recovered, but at that point it did not matter.

No shock tonight. Maybe they can be a bit kind to Jason as they ship him out, eh?

So, I predict a Jason love fest tonight. It will be a way they will attempt to woo back all his fans for the next two shows.

I would love it if that were the case. My fear though is that the vultures will continue. Ryan will say, “Well, judges, what do you think of our bottom two?” and Randy will say, “Sorry, dawg, it just wasn’t good”, there’ll be “You didn’t step it up”, “You deserve to go home”.

I will FUME. :furious_tb:

I think Jason will go home tonight. And I hope a small record label sees his potential a la Elliot and become a success. If Sony even tries to scoop him up, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a total recipe for disaster.

I’m with you on that one. I didn’t want him to win, but I was hoping for 3rd (actually, I originally hoped for top 6). Oh well! Not gonna happen.

The problem is that I doubt Jason has the connections that Elliott had. I also don’t remember Elliott receiving so much bad press. I hope it dies down and people take him seriously. I love his recordings and think he has great potential as a songwriter, too.

I hope that Jason sings, “Hallelujah”, “SOTR” or “Daydreaming Boy” on the talk shows.

What would be funny/cruel is if they’d call out Jason first, like last week, and declare him safe, leaving everybody, and I do mean everybody, in HUGE suspense for an hour, lol. (Sorry, just a little daydream that crossed my mind), lol :innocent2_tb:

There is, of course, the possibility that I’m completely delusional, but I NEVER think Jason is as bad as the judges say he is. Top 6 and top 5 nights, I don’t even think he was the worst. Last night, I only liked DC. The other 3 were all not great to me.

What I really hate is when the judges say that a performance was horrible, atrocious, etc. etc. and then fail to back up that statement. WHAT, exactly, made the performance atrocious? Jason’s ISTS was a little cheesy, yes, and the vocals were a little week (although on key), but I did not AT ALL feel it was a disaster. I would have put it in the “OK” category. Mostly because, as I said, he sang on key. Nothing drives me more nuts than singing off key. But I digress. The judges laid into him harder than I’ve ever seen before. He really took it well. I think he probably knew he wouldn’t get good comments no matter what, so he decided to do songs that were fun for him. And the 2nd song, aside from the flubbed lyrics, was sung really, really well. But, no credit for that. I’m sure they would have found something bad to say even if he hadn’t messed up the words.

The best thing Jason’s got going for him is that he’s not boring when he’s singing stuff he likes, which is more than I can say about other contestants who shall remain nameless.

I voted for Jason, but part of me wishes I hadn’t. Time for the bus to be parked. I just hope they’re nice to him tonight. It’s the least they could do.

Hmmmm….can’t edit…..

MJ, loved your re-cap. I like how you take an objective stance.

MrRJ May 7th, 2008 at 4:59 pm

For starters Jason opened the show by yawning on national TV. It was quick but I definitely saw it.

His performances were the worst I have ever seen at this stage of the game

Please see Nikki McKibbin (season 1) and Jasmine Trias (season 3).

MrRJ, at least you are consistent. By any chance, do you have a British accent, a million dollar sports car, and a closet full of black t-shirts?

MrRJ May 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

Sy played all her cards, hips, legs, chest, tears, and civil rights. I was waiting for puppies and kittens and an offer to jello wrestle Ryan in a thong.

I take it back. You are way to funny to be Simon Cowell.

mj May 7th, 2008 at 5:39 pm

Seriously, I keep watching this performance over and over again trying to find the trainwreck. It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a perfect vocal, but I thought he captured the spirit of the song.

Actually, there were NO perfect vocals tonightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’I could point out where all the other contestants were off.

I agree. Actually, the more I watch it, the more I like it. Jason really, finally, showed us his personality and it was amazing! He had fun and connected with the crowd. I loved it and if this is a taste of how he’ll be on a tour of his own, then I hope I get to see him live.

And the more I think about Syesha, the more it pisses me off.

Karen
May 7th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been treating Jason badly for weeks now, so I think saying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I hated the way they treat Jasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is completely appropriate usage.

That’s true.

I hope they are nice to him tonight. And I totally agree with the poster that said it was awful how Simon brought it back up with R2D2′s song, and made that comment about whistling. Talk about unneccessarily piling on. ARGH!

I don’t think I’ll ever understand why TPTB decided to turn on Castro the way they did. I still think he could have been the most current and marketable of the bunch. He’s by far the favorite of the teenagers in my house. He had two big selling successes in SOTR and Halleluia. His buzz was all positive until ALW week, and then the slamming started and hasn’t let up. Don’t tell me his performances were so atrocious they couldn’t have propped him up if they wanted to. And about the same time, they started portraying him like a moron in their interviews. Why would they just throw away the chance for another successful contestant, even if his genre would most likely have limited him to a 3rd or 4th place finish anyway?

I still think Jason’s first song was a trainwreck. He reminded me of Brooke trying to move across the floor when she spun and yelled woo. It just seemed strange. I really think the only thing that’s kept him here this long is his personality because he is likeable although I had to convince someone today that he wasn’t dumb. Everyone at the table thought he was terrible and should go home. I like the guy but he needs to go tonight.

Yawning is a natural response when nervous. My son used to do it. You know that Jason HAD to be nervous last night.

MJ…your recap is the best one I’ve read all day. Jason has become the Idol whipping boy and if he goes home tonight…that’s okay with me. He’ll put out a really funky, sweet CD that I’d buy over Syesha’s anyday.
Crafty little minx that one!!! She pulled out ALLLLLLL the stops last night.

TPTB genuinely liked Elliott. Unlike Jason, Elliott was frequently in the bottom 3 and I still bear the scars. I remember the top 3 stories of Clive trying to “save Elliott from himself” and persuade him to ditch “I Believe to My Soul” in favor of something catchier and more familiar. Based on Elliott’s “I Believe” rehearsals, Simon went on late night TV on the eve of the top 3 show and predicted Elliott would be eliminated. So PaulaGate 2008 was hardly an isolated incident.

You may recall that Nigel preferred Kat McPhee and made Simon apologize for comparing her negatively to Whitney. So TIIC are capable of apologies. Anyone expecting an apology to Jason for the negative comparison to Marley? For PaulaGate 2008?

I suspect Jason’s fan base is consistently strong and largely immune to manipulation — and that is the real threat Jason poses. The animus does seem personal, though. Jason is known for his irreverent hijinks, but I think TIIC would put a stop to them if they really wanted to.

justshootme…agreed.

Really, I think he’s more marketable than DA or Syesha. Syesha is just too hard to relate to because she’s all about Syesha, and I have no idea where DA will fit. It doesn’t help him that he has little personality. He seems like a really really nice person with a really good voice, but I just don’t see him being a big seller.

As the music world proves on a daily basis, having the best voice does NOT always translate into record sales. People with average voices sell millions of albums all the time. Now, I think that Jason has an above average voice, although he could use a bit of coaching.

Another thing to keep in perspective is Jason’s level of performance experience relative to the other 3. It would be like…me trying to take tennis lessons for a year and then going out and trying to beat Roger Federer or something. Not going to happen!

I still stand by my thought that Jason has never had a trainwreck performance. There’s a good chance I’ll get slapped around for this, but I think he was better last night than DA was last week. And I thought he was better last week than DA was last week. Paula pretty much pulled the curtain back on the fact that they did and do not like Jason Castro though. I didn’t figure he’d get good comments last night, but I didn’t think they’d be THAT over the top harsh though, either. Guess I should have expected it.

I’ve been pondering all day how the producers are going to handle Jason’s elimination tonight. I’m a Castro fan, but I fully realize he is going home after his subpar performances last night, and I am fine with it. Either they are going to ridicule his time on the show, or they will have a Jason love fest. After reading some of the other posts, I am feeling more like they may go the love fest route: it is obvious he is leaving (not SHOCKING BOOT), and he has a major, major fanbase, one that would buy a lot of tour tickets. They don’t want to tick this group off and also make them quit watching. So, I am crossing my fingers and predicting kind words and flattering clips, along with a few of the funny, lovable sound bites.

My comments on last night: DCook was disappointing on rock nite, David A was stunning on Stand by Me, Syesha gave it everything she had. I don’t think she compares to some divas in the past vocally (Tamyra, Vonzelle, Melinda), but her consistency and effort earns her a top 3 spot.

Hey Terrie–I was showing what dial idol said. (Dial Idol words, not mine)

I see you admire Elliot as much as I…..:)

I didnt think Jason was that bad either. Not fantastic but not bad. And didn’t think Syesha’s vocals were great..cute performance but vocally had quite a few ouches. DA one song very good but not fantastic and still to me boring although like him. DC one song very good but not his usual fantastic. Still love DC & Jason. Lookin’ at all their performances, and not just one night.

Lovely recap, MJ. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but on a rewatch, Archie’s first performance was much better than Cookie’s first. Ugh.

I wouldn’t have minded if Jason went home tonight since I honestly think he was the weakest last night (and I’m just glad he advanced to at least the Top 6, at this point) — if it wasn’t for him being run over so many times. Couldn’t have Simon just said and left it at, “That was bad”? It’s bad enough that Jason is fodder, but TPTB are now just going to go at any lengths to advertise their mcuh-wanted David/David finale. 20 bucks says Syesha will replace Jason’s previous post under the bus next week.

I’m nervous, lol.

I think DCook’s major problem last night (other than a disconnect w/ the material – something very rare for him) was that he has a more “alt” edge to his pop-rockiness. Is alt-pop-rock a genre? Doing straight-up rock is not really his forte, though he’s done it well in the past (All Right Now), but that was when his voice was fresher. I did not like HLTW, though I really enjoyed BO’R. Obviously, Jeff Arch threatened to kill his family if he didn’t throw the competition (not really, but I couldn’t help saying it, lol).

Archie was in great voice (best he’s been since Imagine), but I cannot stand the arrangements. They make me die inside. The worst part is, he’s got someone rearranging his songs FOR him (You know, making them “sound more like U2″), and that seriously bugs me. Of course, I wouldn’t listen to that music ever on purpose, but I honestly just hope the boy is happy after this is all over. He needs to grow up and get some life experience under his belt so that he can understand real feeling and inject that into his songs. He’s going to be amazing when he’s 25. I wish he would’ve waited to join the competition.

Jason. Sorry, man. Love you, but I didn’t enjoy your performances. I think it’s time for you to go home, but I really wanted you to go out third so that you didn’t have to do the media blitz. :(

Syesha was growing on me, but that brief flirtation with tolerance is over. She is just too generic, definitely not a diva. Archie is the only diva left in the competition. Do they have man-divas?

I must support Archie. No one realizes he is a 17 year old kid and if I had a 17 kid I would hope that he would be as respectful and a down right nice kid. He has a beautiful voice and he will give David Cook a run for his money. I think a David vs. David will end this competition with a bang.

Archie is the only diva left in the competition. Do they have man-divas?

Well, Archie can be the first ever man-diva to grace the Idol stage, then.

It bugs me to no end that the show did not mention that Archie did Norah Jones’ arrangement of Love Me Tender. Cookie got media-mauled three weeks in a row for it (or four, kind of), but I haven’t seen any mention for Archie’s “stolen” arrangement yet. Bah.

:thumbup_tb: :thumbup_tb: :thumbup_tb: to tha’ recap, mj.

I think the show broke a cardinal rule for ANY program, much less AmericaneffingIdol.

It. Was. Boring.

I really like these contestants this season, but last night brought out the big yawn from me. I found myself leaving the room a few times to do, well, more interesting things.

Oh, I am looking forward to the Castro media blitz that starts tomorrow, post-elimination. I am sure there will be funny sound-bites from the interviews, but I do hope that he talks about being unpimped before the top 24, his lack of singing experience, his family, and how he was treated the last 3 weeks by the judges. I am thinking he will do SOTR w/ukelele, but hopefully he will also do Hallelujah or Daydream on one of the shows. There is always a silver lining when one of your faves gets eliminated.

I am going to go out on a limb today and state that I don’t think Jason is going home tonite despite all the negativity. I really think Syesha will go home. She just doesn’t have the fan base that Jason has and his fans, which are legion, voted their hearts out for him last night. It never hurts to have a huge fan base. I don’t think that Dial Idol gets it right have the time and Jason has the 2nd best raw vote their. Anyway, regardless I am going on record that he won’t be eliminated tonite. You can all make fun of me tonite if I am wrong. I pray I am right because Jason is refreshing and I would like to see that AI machine flop. It stinks.

You may be right, chiquita55.
Jason may be staying after all.
Dial Idol doesn’t count text votes.
Simon’s outrage made me vote against him.
I was thinking maybe the exhaustion got to him and he was beside himself.
I started to believe what everyone was saying, that he wanted to go home, and that he sabotaged himself on purpose.

I don’t know what to think any more.

Someone posted on the forums that they saw Jason at the rehersals and he was flawless and that his songs were both wonderful. I think the pressures and the critiques just get to him on the live stage. I pray he remains. The show would be excruciatingly boring without him and I won’t be watching it if he leaves.

Are there any other fans other than Jason fans writing right now? Their are 3 other contestants.

Go for it, Archi1.

Archie1 – I’m here and I’m a HUGE David Cook fan. Archie’s my #2.

Doing straight-up rock is not really his forte

Sadly, this appears to be the truth with DC. Though extremely talented, he just doesn’t rock hard enough for my tastes. He had a chance last night to pull in a lot more of the hard rock vote, in fact the perfect opportunity. I am scratching my head too at the Duran Duran pick. It really is a good song, but doesn’t translate well into the rock genre, even with added guitar riffs.

Castro gave it a lot of heart and soul and if he leaves tonite, he will be going out on a good note for me. His exuberance over singing a Bob Marley tune is forever etched in my memory, and I think he did a damn fine job with ISTS.

Jason sing SOTR on Ellen, Daydream on Good Morning America and Hallelujah at my house and then we will all be happy

MTM is up on iTunes, It is fantastic!

Sumidol

Can I come over to your house?
I can’t wait to see him on these shows with all his perfect goofy charm!

Of course, no problem – ahhhh – leaving work right now to go home and get ready for a good cry. maybe not? yes no? This is crazy for me this year

When do the long versions come out?

ok so i want cook to go home but obviously hes already safe so im gonna have to say jason even though i dnt want him to go b/c in case u havnt noticed in almost every season the black girl got number 3!!

As an African-American female I resent the remark that Syesha doesn’t have to try hard to get our votes. If anything she has to try harder. If she is trying to appeal to a niche market as a real RnB diva, in the traditional sense , she has big shoes to fill and potential voters won’t be fooled. Personally the first time I voted for her was after Broadway week. I think she found her voice that week and has grown as a performer. In regards to the speech about the lyrics to “A Change is Gonna Come” I think Syesha who is probably typical of most young folks, had never really analyzed the lyrics of a song before and actually came to a moment of realization about “the moment in place and time” that these lyrics reflect..in other words I think it was genuine and not a vote pandering put on, as you suggested. Vote pandering would be choosing a song like “God Bless the USA”, complete with a video of the flag behind you while performing. By the way, if I were going to be moved to vote for anyone based on the lyrics of that song, it wouldn’t be for Syesha Mercardo…but for Barak Obama. I’m not trying to incite anything here but I am tired of hearing that Black people just vote based on color..we are very discerning music lovers just like everyone else..and the majority of my votes on Idol this year have been for David C.

Tonight is why David Cook should not win. Rock and Roll night- and he is outshined by a 17 year old Pop-Boy. Shame Cook. Not even your cliche scream at the end of your second song could help you on rock night.