This will be the last redux post. It’s been fun taking a look back at Season 7 via the Fox Reality Channel, but tomorrow is a new day, and the start of Season 8. So, no more new posts after tonight.
Feel free to use this post for the rest of the episodes.
To be honest, I wasn’t all that crazy about Top 4 and 5. Neil Diamond week, the only performances I really enjoyed were Syesha Mercado’s funky “Thank the Lord for the Nighttime” and Brooke White’s heartfelt “I am I Said.” I didn’t get Cook’s song choices at all. The second song was better than the first, but it was a 2nd rate Neil Diamond song to begin with. I didn’t like David Archuleta’s performances at all this week. I hated the song arrangements, and his vocals were beginning to show some strain. Syesha’s first song was a screech-fest, Brooke’s “I’m a Believer” was a frantic mess. Actually, the entire first half sucked, in my opinion. Poor Jason Castro–his performances were lackluster, but what Paula did–critiquing his song before he sang it–was inexcusable. The group song on results night made my eardrums bleed. The kids all looked exhausted. No fun to be had, Top 5.
Rock Week was a bit better. This should have been David Cook’s week, but it wasn’t. With all the fabulous songs to choose from, I was floored that he would choose to sing the mediocre pop hit, “Hungry Like the Wolf”. I have to agree with Simon–it did sound karaoke. “Baba O’Riley” is another one of those songs impossible to cut down to 1:30. The entire effect was choppy and unsatisfying. Ironically, my favorite performance of the week was David Archuleta’s sweet “Stand By Me.” The song was right in his wheelhouse, and he sang it with heart and confidence. Wasn’t that crazy about his run-infested “Love Me Tender, ” however. I found Syesha Mercado’s “Proud Mary” a bit shreiky and too much like Tina’s version to avoid the inevitable comparisons. “A Change is Gonna Come” was a bit oversung, but she did a good job. Color me shocked when Randy, who hasn’t met a run he didn’t like, panned her performance. Bursting into tears and invoking the civil rights movement pretty much ensured Syesha would move to the next round. Well, that and Jason Castro’s missed lyrics in an otherwise solid “Mr. Tambourine Man” not to mention the judges OTT slam of “I Shot the Sherrif”. Really, it wasn’t that bad.
Jason and Brooke where going to go out 4th and 5th, it was just a matter of who would go first.
