TMZ is reporting who-sang-what (again) at the girls dress rehearsal here:
Click the links for Video and Artist Downloads! ¦thanks lawrence for the vids!
- Asia’h Epperson – “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston iTunes
- Kady Malloy – “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen iTunes
- Amanda Overmyer – “Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jet iTunes
- Carly Smithson – “I Drove All Night” by Cyndi Lauper iTunes
- Kristy Lee Cook – “Faithfully” by Journey iTunes
- Ramiele Malubay – “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins iTunes
- Brooke White – “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benetar iTunes
- Syesha Mercado – “Saving All My Love For You” by Whitney Houston iTunes
The girls go LIVE tonight.
The guys had a great night Tuesday. Did the girls up the ante? Nope. There weren’t any truly terrible performances this week, but the girls, for the most part, performed rote renditions of uninspired song selections.
The girls’ video clips feature their most embarrassing moments. The girls moments are as boring as their song choices. I’m not going to even recount them here.
Who I hope makes it to the Top 12: Brooke White, Amanda Overmeyer, Ramiele Malubay and Carly Smithson, in that order.
Who probably will make it: Carly Smithson, Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercardo have had plenty of buzz and generous praise from the judges. I think they are a lock. Asia’h Epperson and her killer dead-daddy backstory will probably make it into the Top 12, as will Ramiele Malubay, with a little help from her Pinoy friends. That leaves Brooke White and Amanda Overmeyer–who are wild cards. They had good performances tonight and are unique enough to have their own little fanbases (including Vote For The Worst for Amanda) who could power them through. Kady Malloy is a long shot. I’m thinking she’s toast.
Tonight, Paula Abdul is truly off the hook. Keep the wackiness quotient up Paula! We love you! Randy Jackson once again reminds me why he’s my least favorite judge, and Simon is a Cranky, Cranky, Crankster!
The show begins…
Paula apologizes for the truly bad hairdos she introduced in the 80’s. Simon reminds her that the 80s were a “long time ago.” And Simon says that everyone needs to step it up, “No one’s safe, ” he reminds the girls.
Asiah Epperson – …I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston – I really like Asia’h’s throaty tone. Too bad she picks such boring songs. She brings nothing new to this extremely familiar Whitney hit, although she’s very cute and peppy, and I really like her pink top. Cut to Paula who’s up dancing! Somebody definitely spiked her coke cup tonight. Probably the producers. They know drunk Pauler is money in the bank. Randy is all “blah blah, I recorded this song with Whitney blah blah…, ” then he says, “…it was a tall order for you to take on…but that’s the reason that we got you here…you showed and proved tonight you deserved to be here…that was hot.” Pauler says, “She’s picking big songs, can she pull it off?…you nailed it, you really nailed it.” Simon says, “I’m not quite so enthusiastic. At best it was second rate Whitney Houston.” Asia’h says, “Hey, I’m not Whitney…I’ll take second rate Whitney…” Well then, why bother? Maybe figuring out your own thing and doing that would be a better idea, no? Simon continues, “You did the Whitney version of a Whitney song which you couldn’t sing as well…you couldn’t hit the big note at the end” After prompting from Ryan, Simon admits Asia’h is “good enough for the Top 12.”
Ryan interviews Kady. She says she thought she was going home for sure. We did too.
Kady Malloy – …Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen – Kady has a good voice in there, she’s just soooo boring. Her performance is dull, plodding and off key. This has got to be the week Kady goes, ’cause she doesn’t appear to be changing it up at all. Randy says, “Very interesting song choice. I think you did a pretty good job of it…you hit the big notes pretty well. Some of the smaller notes you didn’t support them well enough… it was pretty good.” I dunno, I thought her off key moments were pretty random. Paula says, “To date this was your best performance. I think the tenderness of your natural voice, that’s where the magic is for you. It really is beautiful.” Simon says, “I think you were definitely better than last week. I’m still having issues with your massive lack of personality…You’re like a robot when you sing…it’s like the Stepford Wives…I got no emotion out of this…you may be in trouble.” Ryan asks Kady if she thinks she did enough. She says yes. She also doesn’t understand what Simon means by “personality.” Ryan asks Simon what kind of personality Simon would like to see from her, and Simon loses his patience, “I’m not going to go into a whole long conversation…I made the point.” Cut to Kady and she’s got the most awesome bitch face evah. She deserves a few votes just for that.
Amanda Overmyer – …Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jet – Is Amanda losing her voice? She sounds really rough during her video package. She sounds kinda rough during her performance too. But she’s back in her blues/rock box and it’s a good thing. She’s Idol’s female Mick Jagger-like rocker–she’s got the swagger and the ‘tude to match. Let’s just say Amanda does not wear her heart on her sleeve. She’s pretty refreshing next to the Whitney wannabes in this competition, but I think she’ll struggle later on during some of the theme nights if she advances to the Top 12. The judges LOVE her tonight. Randy says, ” That’s the Amanda that we loved when we first saw her…that’s the bluesy rocker chick…that’s the kind of songs you should be singing, that’s who you really really are…well done baby.” Paula says, “There are so many things I want to say, your face is beautiful, I like your hair…when you pick the right song…you’ve found your niche…” Simon says, “If I’m being honest, I thought it was fantastic…you absolutely nailed that song…it was the perfect song for you, and actually, in a way, it was one of my favorite girl performances of the entire part of this competition.” Amanda holds her ‘tude throughout the tongue bath, until Simon says, “Amanda, you can smile, I know you can do it!” Then she breaks out into a wide grin. “Well done, ” says Simon.
Carly Smithson – …I Drove All Night by Cyndi Lauper – Carly is rockin the black tank top again this week. The better to show off her tats. I kinda like that she’s not hiding them. Eff Middle America! There’s no denying it. Carly is a good singer. I like her song choice, a lesser-known tune from Cyndi Lauper. Carly is pretty consistent, but she has yet to break out with a truly phenomenal performance. She’s a lock for the Top 12, and she’ll go deep if she can break out from the pack. Randy says, “You Carly, you keep smashing it every week…another great performance.” Then Randy compares her performance to gun play, a rather odd analogy, “You just keep picking off the targets…boom! boom! boom! Dude, another great performance.” Paula mocks Randy, “So dude dude…you are like a dependable dawg.” Yeah, right. “I think you are totally totally into your niche….there aren’t enough adjectives.” Simon poops on the party, “Once again, I don’t think you chose the right song” Carly is a tad exasperated, “Simon, what do you like.” He says, “I just didn’t like it…I loved it when you sang that Chaka Khan song that time…something like that.” Poor Carly can’t live up to that initial impression she made back in 2005. Simon explains, “…It’s just not a great song…it doesn’t give you what you deserve.” Carly pouts, She’s clearly confused by Simon’s fuzzy criticism. And really, Simon isn’t being clear, at all. Constructive criticism, my ass.
Kristy Lee Cook – …Faithfully by Journey – At one point in her young life, Kristy thought she was a dog. Like, really. Kristy attempts to countrify a Journey song. If she were a better singer, this could have been an interesting twist. But, she’s flat and boring throughout the song. She doesn’t have the vocal chops to really pull it off. She might have been better off sticking to some standard country fare at this point. She’s been advancing so far based on pimping and on her looks. For my money, Alaina Whitiker was a far more engaging singer, but she just didn’t get the same screen time as Kristy. Randy predictably, starts waxing all sentimental about Journey, who he toured with back in the 8o’s. Then he says, “…you put like a country lilt to it…it could actually work…it could be a single.” Paula says, “That could be a hit for you in country music…you look great tonight.” And, “I have nothing but positivity to say.” No, that’s not a typo. Simon says, “I think it was good that we heard a country influence…I still think your problem is that you’re forgettable…you’re going to be battling with the bigger voices and bigger personalities” Simon the prognosticator is back, “At best I can see you coming in 10th.” Kristy, not too ambitious says, “Hey, that’s OK with me!” Tenth is the new first, y’all.
Ramiele Malubay – …Against All Odds by Phil Collins – So many Idols have covered this drecky song, I really think it’s time to retire it from the Idol cannon. Pretty please? Putting aside the fact that Ramiele chose a lame song, I have to say that I really like her phrasing, and I like that she’s doesn’t go all melismatic on our asses. Of course, Randy hates her restraint. And can’t pronounce her name, “Ram-a-lee, Ram-a-lee, what’s going down…” Ramiele corrects him in her squeaky little voice. Randy blows by that, “We loved you when we first saw you…I thought you did a pretty good vocal…but find that confidence again, you got mad vocals dude…come on wid it.” Randy is such a tool. Paula says, “You have such a beautiful face….there is such an innocent pure voice that comes out of you, and I love when you go from that…you have a lot of col…” She stops her self. No Paula! Say it! Say colors! “…I’m not going to say colors…you have a lot of texture…” Paula completely loses her train of thought at this point, and it’s all downhill, but it’s awesome. It’s Pauler at her rambling, nonsensical, incoherent best. Before she finally tells Ramiele that she deserves to be in the Top 12, she calls the audience, “mutts” but she loves mutts, and hey, what the hell am I talking about anyway? Hilarious. Simon says, “…I actually thought it was very old fashioned, I didn’t hear the big money note like I would have liked…I thought it was a bit predictable…I’m not jumping out of my chair on that.” Randy wants to know the inspiration for her performance that week and she says, “Stuuufff…” Ramiele is cute as a button. Danny Noriega, also very cute, is wearing her glasses. Cute overkill!!!
Brooke White – …Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benetar – She gets the acoustic guitar treatment, just like Jason Castro Tuesday night. And she’s good. Really good. Sitting in a single spotlight on the side of the stage, without bandzilla on board to trample all over her vocals, Brooke gets the chance to shine this week. When TPTB have had enough of Brooke, and Jason for that matter, it’s going to be simple. Turn bandzilla up full blast, so their subtle delivery has no chance to compete with the power belters. I’m going to enjoy them both as long as I can. Randy says, “I liked that it was just the guitar…I don’t know if you brought anything new to the song, but it was definitely very interesting.” To Randy, originality = caterwauling. Paula mumbles about working with somebody…or something, “I don’t know what’s going on here, ” She says. No kidding. “I thought it was a very wise choice…and I do love the fact that it was…very very pure…but I would have loved if you would have incorporated the band.” Uh, no Paula. Simon gets it, “Brooke, I could not disagree with Paula more…I think it worked purely for the reason that you didn’t have the band with you…therefore you did an original take on the song…the song would normally never ever had suited you, you made it into a completely different type of song…and once again, two weeks running, you’ve done a great performance.”
Syesha Mercado – …Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston – Syesha does a total Whitney rip-off clone-job here. She manages to sorta hit the notes, but not quite. She doesn’t vary from Whitney’s arrangement at all. It’s pointless. It’s Whitney, except not. Lucky for Syesha she’s last, and the judges have no time for substantive comments. Randy says, “Good…good.” Paula says, “Sophisticated, lovely.” And Simon, “A bit predictable, but good.” Boring gets the pimp spot.
