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American Idol Season 7 – Top 12, March 11, 2008
By PopSavant | March 11, 2008 | 
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Hello all, and welcome to the 2008 American Idol top 12. Tonight is Beatles night. Word has it that the producers have been trying to make arrangements to do an all-Fab-Four evening for years, but haven’t been able to get the rights until now – coincidentally right before Paul McCartney is rumored to be about to finally give the go-ahead to sell the Beatles’ catalog on iTunes.
A Beatles night is tricky… there are enough great tunes to go around to be sure, but there are also a lot of idiosyncratic ones that worked primarily because they were performed by John, Paul, George, and Ringo – they simply wouldn’t have worked for anyone else. And you’d better believe that at least a couple of the Idols will pick some of those out. Also, a lot of cover artists just don’t get the Beatles, trudging robot-like through the songs; when you’re dealing with the world’s heritage, you had better be damn sure not to screw it up. Are you listening, Amanda?
And speaking of Amanda, for those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s a little pre-audition clip from before she was Somebody, courtesy of FarkTV. You have to let it run until there are about fifty seconds left to see her sucking down a cigarette in all her… glory.
Chikezie apparently used to be a TSA screener at the airport, and jokes about going through Paula’s bags – the mind boggles at what you’d find. And I bet she’s the sort that overpacks, trunks and trunks of stuff. He does She’s A Woman, a version that’s all over the map, from a little Leon Redbone feel up front to rocking out big time. It’s fantastic… a curveball song choice, and a dynamite arrangement. I haven’t like Chikezie up until now, but this was good. Randy says: “Dog. I was thoroughly entertained…. Chikezie smashed it!” Paula “has been waiting for this,” and “the reward paid off, my dear” (whatever that means.) Simon: I’m really surprised that I actually agree with these two.”
Ramilie Malubay tells us she works at a sushi restaurant – probably as the waitress who forgets to put the pickled ginger on your plate. She sings In My Life, which she dedicates to the people who aren’t on the show any more (aka Danny.) She looks the best I’ve ever seen her, but the song is completely unremarkable. The crowd does jerky, audio-anamatronic arm waves as she sings. She goes for a medium-big ending note that sort of cracks, and she turns it into an “oooooooooo….” Randy said it was “boring.” Paula says she’s “really pretty,” but the song is “pretty safe. You’re an amazing singer…. I feel like you’re holding back, the whole world needs to see what we hear.” Simon was “bored to tears.” Ryan asks: Did she do enough to stay on the show next week? Randy answers: “I don’t know, that was pretty boring, right there.” Paula, on the other hand, thinks her voice is good enough to stick around.
Jason Castro, looking a bit tonight like John Travolta playing Jason Castro, tells us he failed a music class at Texas A&M… so naturally he’s perfect for Idol. He’s singing If I Fell. It would be good for anyone else, but for Jason, it’s just okay. His voice is a bit weak on the highs. Randy “liked it… didn’t love it,” and thought it needed to be more heartfelt. Paula “disagrees with Randy,” to everyone’s surprise. “I feel your heart, and I think the audience feels your heart” … Simon and Randy blankly stare at each other in response. Simon describes it as very much “student in a bedroom at night…. Good enough to stay in another week, but not as good as last week.” I’m guessing Jason gets a lot of cute points from female voters tonight, he’s kind of got that whole bashful-good-looking-guy thing going.
Carly Smithson is up next… can she keep up the high standard this week? Apparently going for the sympathy vote, she tells us her roommate is Amanda. Carly is the first contestant to pull out a really big Beatles gun, with Come Together, a risky choice; even Aerosmith barely pulled off a cover version. She looks dynamite as always, electric blue top and long legs tonight, stalking around the stage. She’s all raw power and attitude, giving us much angrier version than that of the Beatles… and it works. Very well. Randy asks “That felt amazing, didn’t it? … Stellar performance. Stellar.” Paula felt like she was “already watching a star.” Simon thinks this is the first week she’s chosen the right song… her performance reminds him of Kelly Clarkson. Could she be the first Idol contestant to win with a song featuring a line like “you can feel his disease!” We’ll find out tomorrow night, but as for me, I’m ready to start the First Church of Carly. She’s phenomenal.
David Cook was a bartender in Tulsa; why does it surprise me that the turquoise fingernails he flashes in the video segment went over well in Tulsa? But points to David for making sense during his video interview, unlike most of the others. He’s going to sing Eleanor Rigby; good for him. The well-known ones are tough to sing, but you’ve got to take your shots. They’re well-known because people like them. David comes out with a sort of Pearl Jam version, and from the end of the first sentence you know he’s got it nailed. There’s not a misstep or bad note in the whole thing. Fantastic. I initially felt bad for him having to follow Carly, but no worries. Randy says “You got this.” Paula says he’s “the dark horse…. you’re a thoroughbred.” Simon “thought it was brilliant” and thinks if the show “remains a talent competition rather than a popularity competition” that he can win.
Brooke White tells us she’ll sing Let It Be, because, as she says, “you’ve just got to let it be.” Thanks Brooke. She goes with the classic arrangement, just her and a piano, working the pedals with her shoes off. It’s okay, but not particularly inspired. I like Brooke, but this was nothing special. Randy loves the fact that “you have all this conviction… I’m a fan.” Paula says “this is your niche, Brooke…. having that emotional connection that makes people fall in love with you.” Simon thinks “it was one of the best performances of the night” … “it was believable. Three weeks running, great.”
David Hernandez tells us he was a server at a pizza restaurant and also a student… oddly enough he fails to mention the gay lap dance stuff. Wonder why? His choice is I Saw Her Standing There. His performance is sadly more Andrew McCarthy than Paul McCartney. It’s not good at all. Randy thought the performance was “lost.” Paula feels like “you kinda overdid it.” Simon: “no, no, no… corny verging on desperate.”
Amanda Overmeyer is up next; we’ll see what she does. It almost has to be something with a rough edge, Sgt. Pepper’s maybe? She’s dressed up a bit like Kevin Dubrow – God rest his headbanging soul- from Quiet Riot. She’s singing You Can’t Do That, which she just heard this week. She goes with the interesting strategy of publicly threatening America, saying she’s going to “put my own Amanda spin on it.” It turns out to be a mix of blues, southern rock, and Elvis. It’s predictably awful, but not the worst we’ve heard from her by far. Randy says “you rocked it out in a Southern bar sort of way.” Paula calls her “a star up there; This is the best season of talent, I’m blown away.” Simon only “understood about 30% of what you sang,” but thinks she’s “a breath of fresh air” – proving that the coal dust from the industrial revolution is still rampant in England.
Michael Johns went from Australia to Georgia to California, working laborer jobs and coaching tennis to support his music career. He’s going to sing Across The Universe; unlike most of the video interviews, Michael makes me really believe this song means something to him. He goes simple, standing in the center of the stage, looking a bit like a commercial for American Idol itself. His performance reinforces my earlier thought, he does feel this song, and it comes across very well, we feel it with him. Extremely well done, the best I’ve heard from him so far. Randy disagrees with my opinion, saying “I don’t know if it was the best I’ve heard from you so far… a little sleepy.” Paula compliments Michael’s “inner strength and quiet confidence.” Simon calls it “solid, good” but “a little bit monotonous.” Randy advises him to “go big.”
Kristy Lee Cook is singing a country version of Eight Days a Week. She starts singing, and my first thought is “Wow. It is country.” Country as in old school, pickin’-and-grinnin’ style country. I don’t like the arrangement at all, but Kristy’s performance is good. Randy is “half and half” on the song. Paula “didn’t enjoy it… I didn’t get it” and suggests that she not take the judges advice to country-it-up too much to heart. Simon thought it was “horrendous. You sounded like Dolly Parton on helium…. it was like being at some ghastly country fair.” Ryan tries to lead Paula into saying something negative about Simon, and Simon rightly says that Ryan is being obnoxious tonight.
David Archuleta is up last , telling us his Mom likes salsa and merengue music, while his dad plays jazz. He personally doesn’t like sixties music, but apparently will make an exception for We Can Work It Out. The girls are screaming and out comes David, trying to look playful coming down the stairs but actually acting a bit confused until he gets down to the stage. His voice just isn’t up to the song tonight. He quickly gets in over his head and spends the rest of his time treading water rather than recovering. He ends with a little run that isn’t too bad, but the overall effect wasn’t very good. Randy says “this week it was not on point. This was not your vibe, it felt very forced.” Paula calls it “not his best week,” and cautions him never to let it show when you forget the lyrics. Simon thinks it was “a mess…. Your weakest performance so far.”
Summary / Comments:
Best of the night: Carly and David Cook. Also props to Chikezie for a performance I didn’t think he had in him.
Worst of the night: Syesha, Ramilie, and David Hernandez.
Who will be voted off: It’s between those three – Syesha, Ramilie, and David Hernandez, with Kristy Lee Cook as a wild card; her performance was so far out that it may backfire completely. I think Ramilie had the worst vocal performance tonight, but I’ll go with Syesha to be voted off.
Closing thought of the evening: Does Amanda pray every night for a Gretchen Wilson week? I’m just sayin’.
See you all tomorrow night!
Topics: American Idol, TV | 3 Comments »
March 12th, 2008 at 9:17 am
What’ve u got against Ramiele she’s better than alot of the other singers. Besides her David Archuletta will probably win because the young girls will dominate the vote and they love him.
March 12th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
David archuleta and David cook are the best boys and Amanda is the best girl
March 12th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I do not get Ramiele. The ONLY thing she has going for her is that she is petite and cute. David A. will get old fast. He’s like all those cute kid stars who get a little older and then nobody is interested. He could be in one of those one hit wonder boy bands.