This is an important week, because this the first time that the girls and boys have to directly compete against each other. Plus, we're inching ever closer to that magical Top Ten... which Idol fans know is the cut-off point for the popular summer Idol concert tour. If you make it to the Top Ten, you're at least going to see the country and sing for fans, rather than drifting back into obscurity alongside Colton Berry.
We were greeted by a brand new set...but did the Top 12 deliver anything fresh and different, this week?
Wow! They sure are really excited about that new set, weren't they?
It sure seemed like they were totally stretching to fill some time here, but what are you gonna do about that? Oh and by the way, welcome back, Julie! I know you didn't appreciate the David Cook comments from last week. Let's see if more than his forehead shines this week! On with the show...
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| Collins: Lennon-McCartney night is a mixed blessing for me. As a huge fan of The Beatles and their solo work, the theme made me happy and completely prepared to cringe a lot, all at once. If they're going to step up, though, this was the arena to do it...and a few absolutely did. |
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| Heart: I can't believe it took 'til Season 7 to be able to sing Beatles songs! |
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| Funk: I know, right? I mean, two cultural forces of such magnitude should have met like this long ago, it seems. |
Syesha Mercado
performed Got to Get You into My Life
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| Funk: Yo! I thought that was hot! Way to start off the night! She mixed up the style a bit and sang it like she wanted it to sound, while still stay true to the original. And --MAN!-- she totally belted that last note like a pro! |
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| Heart: I think she took a bit of a risk singing a lesser-know Beatles song, but I think it could pay off making her sound more original. I agreed with Simon. She did better than just okay. I think she rocked it! I also liked her hair. |
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| Collins: It was a lousy, showy rendition of a great song, which, incidentally, Paul McCartney wrote as a love song to marijuana. Her voice was 8/10, but the arrangement didn't sit well with me. The girls had a distinct advantage, last night, as hearing these songs sung by women makes them instantly different and changes the lyrical meaning without some huge, crapped-up arrangement getting in the way. She made it her own, but I didn't like it much. |
Chikezie
performed She's a Woman
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| Funk: Dude! If nothing else, the energy from that performance will lift him up out of the bottom two for this week, I think. I liked how he changed the feeling halfway through and really amped it up. Yo! He even took on the Lennon Stutter (TM) and pulled it off to great effect. It was great to see him get his groove on with that song, dawg. |
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| Heart: I don' t know, Artie. I think it was a lil too much country-funk in the beginning. He reminded me of Taylor Hicks in the middle with all the craziness... but I did like his energy. He'll be memorable, but I'm not sure he'll make it past the Top 10, anyway, though. |
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| Collins: I love this song, and must've dug the arrangement, because I found myself humming along almost instantly, like I've heard this version before. A first for Mr. Eze to get me excited, I have to say...a little too much, really, but he did a decent job, and at least he FINALLY showed a little LIFE! A hit for Chikezie, nice job.
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Ramiele Malubay
performed In My Life
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| Collins: Not to be racist, but listening to the first few notes of the arrangement reminded me of the music you might hear in a Chinese restaurant, where they redo popular songs with a slow, drifty, Asian feel. Right away, upon hearing her voice, I thought this would be a perfect iTunes download for high school seniors about to graduate. Feel free to make your little slideshows to this, kids! It was a nice arrangement, but she hit an odd note or two at the end, and didn't finish strong. A bit safe, but not terrible by any means. Doing a simple, even slightly predictable take on an easy song is just as good or bad as ruining a more-challenging song (cough - SYESHA - cough). |
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| Heart: As much as I was dying for her to do a crazy/fun/upbeat song, I still enjoyed the soft sweetness of her voice. And Simon was way too harsh on her. |
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| Funk: I don' know...I thought that was a pretty rendition and she did a solid, heartfelt performance. I don't think she knocked it outta the park, but that was good. I was feelin' it. |
Jason Castro
performedIn My Life
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| Collins: As soon as I heard the theme, I was DYING to know what song he would choose. He had the chance to OWN this night...and fell JUST short. It was a great song choice, and he was solid. I don't know if this was his David Archuleta Moment (TM), but I do think he NEEDS to have that guitar in his hand. It's NOT a crutch, it's just not natural for him to be singing without one. Think about it...John Mayer without a guitar is just a whiny jerk. Jason's a bit lost without one, so I'm glad it was back this week. What I like about Mr. Castro is that he is very college coffeehouse. I liked the emotion in his voice, and that he feels anti-mainstream pop, very chill and human and humble. Stick around, Jason, you're more of a breath of fresh air than Amanda Overmyer will EVER be, no matter what those idiot judges think. |
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| Funk: See... I thought he was at a bit of a disadvantage this week because of the theme. Jason didn't kill, which is disappointing, but not unexpected here. I really dig his style in general. I think he could be another really chill-accoustic guitar-Jack Johnson kind of artist. But the problem with that style and this song, is that it's hard for Jason to take this song and put it in his style, because it's already kind of in his style, being light-hearted and accousticy. I don't know if that was his best, but I hope he sticks around. |
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| Heart: I think he did an okay job. He knows people like him doing the "guitar thang" - so I think he connected with the audience but I'm still not in love with him. |
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| Funk: So Heart doesn't heart Jason? |
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| Heart: Not so much, yet. No. |
Carly Smithson
performed Come Together
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| Funk: Aside from the weird shopping list she and Seacrest decided to chat about, Carly was on point tonight, dude. Home. Run. She rocked that song so hard, my face might have melted a bit. I'm glad she did this song the rock justice it deserves. And the fact that she does that song all the time probably just made her feel way more comfortable performing it than the others in the Dirty Dozen. |
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| Heart: Carly finally showed off her tattoos and her rocker-side. I like it! You could tell she was having so much fun! She did an awesome job - Carly's back, baby!! |
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| Collins: Potatoes. She likes potatoes. GET IT?! SHE'S IRISH! HAAAAA! Ugh. Anyway, I was at first thrilled that we weren't hearing ANOTHER Celine Dion song from her...but quickly realized that the REAL problem with Carly is that her version of this song is STILL exactly what it'd sound like if Celine covered it! It was a cool take on it, and she did a nice job, don't get me wrong. But we already know what her album's going to sound like, at this point, and I'm not interesting in Celine 2000. No one under the age of 55 is interested in that. Anyway, she rocked a bit, was memorable and stood to reclaim the frontrunner spot if Brooke White screwed up later in the show. Luckily for us all, Brooke did NOT. But first, we had to sit through David Cook.
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| Heart: Easy, there, Collins. I'm back this week, remember? And I'm not gonna stand by and let you bash my Idol crush. |
David Cook
performed Eleanor Rigby
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| Funk: He did a pretty good job making it his own, and making his performance rock-like. It was a solid showing. I hate to say it, but I think that was better than Ramiele, unfortunately, because he had energy and a good song to go with. Decent job, kid. |
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| Heart: I love this song! David rocks it and is loved by all...in your FACE, Clyde! Paula definitely called it saying "there is more than one horse in the race." This season is soooooo much better than last because you don't really know who'll win yet. |
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| Collins: No guitar is a GOOD choice for him. He HAS to prove he has a little variety. The arrangement was kind of weird, for me. He's, sad to say, sub-Daughtry. Hm, maybe he DID need that guitar...he could've shredded a bit along with the band for a nice effect. Oh, well. Look, I would NEVER, not in a MILLION YEARS, buy his music. He is fine at what he does, which is bland pseudo-rock, but I'm not interested. He won't win this season, because there are several guys and multiple girls who are flat-out BETTER. His success at this point is nothing more than Daughtry Guilt (TM)...Daughtry's fans fooling themselves into thinking they owe it to Lord Chris to keep this balding idiot around another week. Like they dropped the ball before, or something. Maybe David should have dedicated "Yesterday" to his hairline? Oooh, oooh...or he could've done the same song as Syesha. "Got to Get You into My LIfe," sung about hair, would make for a great Rogaine commercial!
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| Heart: ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?!? He was probably the best--no scratch that-- WAS THE BEST of the whole night! Chris Daughtry is a great singer, but Cook is making his OWN fans that are supporting him. And you know why? Because he too is a great singer. And I don't know why you have this ridiculous obsession about his hair that keeps you from appreciating someone with actual talent standing right in front of you! SHEESH. |
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| Funk: Yo! I'm gonna have to move my seat out from between you two! I don't want to get any blood on me! DANG! Let's move off of this sensitive topic and on to our girl Brooke... |
Brooke White
performed Let It Be
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| Funk: I love this song and I love Brooke, so this was big. And she didn't fall very short of my expectations. I kind of wanted her to go a little bit bigger and stronger near the end, but I think it was a good call not to. She did pretty well and will definitely be safe. OH! And awesome that she was barefoot at the end. Wicked-cute. |
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| Collins: Performance of the night. Nice move to just sing while playing piano, very simple and understated. Good song choice, and she made the slow, simple thing WORK. She delivered another quality vocal, and I'd ABSOLUTELY buy her music. She's tremendous, and I'll say it again -- Still. The. Best. Girl. And those teary eyes after the performance will win votes. She dominated.
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| Heart: She sounded good but looked a little nervous or uncomfortable on the big stage. It was heartfelt, though. Sometimes I think the judges go easy on her because they like her soooo much. I wish they would have said something about calming her nerves. Don't get me wrong, she did a great job, but I think some criticism would have been helpful. |
David Hernandez
performed I Saw Her Standing There
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| Heart: Okay... I will never like this guy!! It was WAY too over the top, He ruined a perfectly good Beatles song. You know, he reminds me a little bit too much of Phil Stacey from last season, and I hated him, too. I hope David doesn't stick around as long as that creepy guy did...
And P.S.... So, David, are you trying to pull a fast one by not mentioning that "other" after-school job you had? (Cough.) |
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| Funk: Well I think he certainly "stripped" away the quality inherent in a Beatles tune with his performance here. And by the way...Phil Stacey is a vampire. But what'd you think, Clyde? |
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| Collins: I agree that Phil Stacey is or was some sort of Nosfaratu. As for David Hernandez, he's obviously very showy, but he didn't make it feel modern in any way, which probably hurt him. He took it back to the Beatles playing in those German bars in the early 1960s, playing to and WITH the crowd, but it was a THRASHING rock song, at the time. He made it into "Copacabeatle" or whatever, and I wasn't feeling it. It was too theatrical and too flashy. Probably just a terrible song choice, because his voice is very good, typically. |
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| Funk: So, here it is, David... that was pretty bad, and I think you lost a lot of momentum after that train wreck. Youch, dawg. Youch. |
Amanda Overmyer
performed You Can't Do That
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| Heart: Speaking of train wrecks...Amanda's performance was full of mumbling! She's back to mumbling again! I can't understand you when you mumble! Yeah, yeah, she rocked out. But she's always the same thing and I'm done with her. |
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| Funk: I thought this was her best performance in a while, actually. But don't get me wrong, guys... I don't much care for her either. And Clyde, I think I actually heard some melody here and there, but it was hidden in between all her grunting and honking somewhere. So I'll say that was not as horrible as usual. I don't think I'll download that one from iTunes any time soon. |
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| Collins: I'm never going to LOVE what she does. That said, this was, at best, at least interesting. The beginning was Amy Winehouse-style awful, but she was passable at times after that. Here's my problem -- what did that PROVE? She can scream lyrics over guitars with reckless disregard for melody? Yeah, been there, hated that. She could've won my undying love if she'd chosen "Oh, Darling." That would have been the CORRECT song choice for Amanda, and she'd have torn it up. Bluesy, full of McCartney-style screaming...yeah, missed opportunity, there. |
Michael Johns
performed Across the Universe
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| Funk: Yeah. Not bad. Better than average, I'd say. Didn't bring much originality, but solid. I gotta go with Randy and say it was a little "sleepy" but decent nonetheless. |
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| Heart: This is such a great song. He did an alright job, I think he kept the song honest. Not amazing but still good. |
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| Collins: Good song, but all this does is cement him as Bono 2000. He's safe, but...meh. He's just another Josh Groban kind of singer, not my style. "Nothing's going to change my world?" Well, sadly, "Nothing's going to change my" OPINION of this guy. Old ladies eat this slop up. It was a good vocal, I simply don't like him. As Randy Jackson would say, it was just okay for me. |
Kristy Lee Cook
performed "Eight Days a Week"
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| Funk: Bad and campy. Good intentions don't always lead to good performances. She went the wrong country way with it. Sped-up honkytonk instead of classy Faith Hill style. |
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| Heart: Oh god Kristy no! Why?! Please don't ever make the Beatles country... ever, please?! I hated it, a lot! Pack your bags. You're going home. |
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| Collins: A Country-fried version of this song would've been fine...but what a godawful HOOTENANNY arrangement that was! I didn't get the pacing at all, and she could very well go home for that, if her looks don't save her again. I don't know if she'll go, we'll see. But it was a total mess, regardless of genre. The ending was terrible...I mean, it was a JIG! A JIG!!! Come on, it was simply unforgivable.
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David Archuleta
performed "We Can Work It Out"
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| Funk: Our little man had to grow up sometime. It's good that he got his first flub out of the way, because he's going to stick around. That was bad. |
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| Heart: OMG. Did he just forget the words? I don't think I've ever seen him so nervous. He didn't do so good... but he's a strong enough contestant to be fine. Simon was harsh but true. |
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| Collins: In his intro video, he noted he was "nervous" when he heard it was Lennon-McCartney Week. This, from the guy who absolutely made a name for himself with "Imagine" a few weeks ago? Please. Once again, I was not a fan of the arrangement. He wasn't great, and many would say it's his competition to lose, at this point. He flubbed a lyric or two, which is terrible. It was all too early-90s. Not his best...not the worst, ever. Oh, well. |
OVERALL STANDINGS - Bottom Three
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| Funk: My bottom three are Kristy Lee Cook, David Hernandez, Ramiele Malubay. Kristy, you're going to have to buy a new horse once you go home this week. Sir Paul McCartney is personally sending your old one to the glue factory. |
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| Heart: Amanda Overmyer, Kristy Lee Cook, David Archuleta. No question, Kristy Lee Cook's the one on her way out the door. |
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| Collins: Ramiele Malubay, David Hernandez, Kristy Lee Cook. I predict David Hernandez is going home, call it a hunch... but any of those three are vulnerable. |
OVERALL STANDINGS - Top Three of the Week
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| Funk: Brooke "I'd hit that" White, Carly "That too" Smithson, Chikezie 'Why Not?" Eze. On tonight's performances, I give Brooke the golden ticket. |
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| Heart: David Cook, Carly Smithson, Brooke White. Although those were the best shows of the night, I don't think any of them will win the whole thing... cute little Archuleta better not screw up again. |
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| Collins: Chikezie definitely is on the rise, but Brooke White was the best of the bunch. Even though David A. had big trouble in little vocal chords, he's still the guy to beat.
Overall, a fun night. It was a great song catalog, and I can't help but be disappointed by whatever they pick next week, ha ha. Nothing can be as good, by comparison!
See you all tomorrow for the SHOCKING RESULTS. |
***** DISCLAIMER *****
The opinions expressed by the three "FOX43 Idol Experts" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FOX43, Tribune Broadcasting or FOX.
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