American Idol Season 7 Top 16 - The Girls, March 5 2008

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American Idol Season 7 Top 16 – The Girls, March 5 2008

By PopSavant | March 5, 2008 | Email This Post

Join me tonight as I live-blog the performances of the top 8 girls from American Idol Season seven. Watch this space for more.

This week is 1980s week… a decade that never gets the credit it deserves, musically speaking. Is it any coincidence that last night’s show was easily the best of the year so far? It’s gotta have something to do with the material (not to mention the performers getting more and more comfortable.)

Regardless, last night was so good, the girls will have some serious singing to do tonight to keep up. What will Amanda - easily the worst remaining contestant – dredge up to torture us with? She can either stay true-to-form (or at least, the form she would have us believe) with an artist like Joan Jett, or perhaps try to convince America she has a softer side with something like True Colors. The mind boggles.

Paula asks the girls why they aren’t wearing ugly clothes and makeup in the light of tonight’s theme… don’t be a hater Paula. 1980s chicks rocked.

Asia’h “Gratuitous Suffix” Epperson babbles something nobody cares about concerning her most embarrassing moment, and then comes out to Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody. It’s good. Not great, but good. Nice energy, and the vocals aren’t far off, though her highs aren’t up to Whitney’s (at least in the studio in her prime, before the Bobby Brown crackfest.) Paula dances like someone’s drunk aunt at a wedding. Randy name-drops his work with Whitney, but ends by saying “it was hot.” Paula thinks she “nailed it.” Simon is “not quite so enthusiastic” … “at best it was second-rate Whitney Houston.” Asia’h says that “she’ll take second rate to Whitney.” (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Kady Malloy looks dynamite during her live interview with Ryan, then they cut to the prerecorded segment and she looks awful with her hair pulled back; she tells a story about being embarrassed dropping the microphone at a school performance. Her song is Queen’s Who Wants To Live Forever, a song which demands big, Freddie Mercury style desperation; unfortunately Kady just doesn’t have it. The song is too low for her, and again we get a Kathleen-Turner-having-an-asthma-attack performance. Didn’t someone do an incredible version of this song a season or two ago? THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! She basically attempts to overwhelm with volume rather than actual skill. Randy calls it “an interesting choice,” indicating that he doesn’t think much of the song. Paula calls the effort her “to date, her best performance” and praises Kady’s “tenderness and softness.” Simon calls it “better than last week,” but has issues with her “massive lack of personality.” (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Amanda Overmeyer tells a story about her burning down a pool or deck or something; sounds like a typical white trash weekend to me. (And hey, that describes my entire family, so I’m allowed to say that.) Oho! My earlier prediction was right, she is going with Joan Jett, specifically I Hate Myself for Loving You. It’s good… for Amanda. Not good, you understand, but the best we’re likely to hear from her. Ever. Randy says “that’s the kind of songs you should be singing…. well done baby.” Paula takes a departure from reality and says “your face is beautiful.” Simon says “it was fantastic.” No, it wasn’t, but it was good enough for Amanda. (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Carly Smithson tells us a story about being covered with butter and oil, thereby locking in my dreams for the night. She sings Cyndi Lauper’s I Drove All Night, a completely brilliant song choice. I’ve always loved it, and it’s always been overlooked; despite my fondness for the original, Carly simply destroys it. She’s easily got the best big note on the show this year, enough to make me stop typing this in my tracks until she finishes. Randy says “Dude. Another great performance.” Paula calls her “a dependable dog” and says “there aren’t enough adjectives” to describe her singing. Simon doesn’t believe she sang the right song (though he refers to the Celine Dion version) saying that he much more enjoyed it when she did a Chaka Khan song. Nothing at all wrong with Chaka, but Simon needs to expend his horizons. (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Kristy Lee Cook explains how she used to run around and bark like a dog; nice try Kristy, but Carly gets the spot in the dreams tonight. She sings Faithfully by Journey. She puts a country spin on it, which is the right thing to do; you don’t want to go head-to-head with Steve Perry. Her stage presence is rock solid, she plants herself in front of the microphone and just owns the place, and vocally she’s spot-on with what she’s trying to do with the song. Well done. Randy agrees with my analysis of the song, saying he liked the country spin on the song and believes it could be a hit right now. Paula, as she often does, parrots back Randy’s words. Simon thinks she’s “forgettable.” (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Ramiele Malubay gives us a story about a guy she had a crush on laughing at her picture, and follows up with Phil Collins’ Against All Odds… “Take a look at me now” is the lyric, which is apparently exactly what the guy who found her picture outside his door did. The performance is nothing special. Randy thinks it was “a pretty good vocal” but thinks she lacks confidence; she should just “come on wit it.” Paula says Ramiele has a beautiful face and an “innocent and pure” voice, and believes she deserves to be in the top 12. Simon said it was good “because you’re so little and cute” but otherwise it was predictable “and I’m not jumping out of my chair.” (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Brooke White proves that not everyone’s got a great embarrassing story. She picks Pat Benatar’s Love Is A Battlefield. The vibe is nice, Brooke sitting alone on the edge of the stage in a spotlight, accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a ridiculously large red ring. The performance is… interesting. Not great; its the kind of thing you put up with at a concert when you go to see your favorite singer who decides it’s time to change things up a bit. Still, it’s okay, and her vocals work for it for the most part. Randy says “I really liked it… but I don’t know that you brought anything new to the song.” Paula says the most clear-headed thing she’s ever said on the show, “I don’t understand what’s going on here,” and that this is one of her favorite Pat Benatar songs, but she wishes Brooke had used the entire band. Simon completely disagrees with Paula, thinking that the only reason it was interesting was that she didn’t use the entire band – Simon’s right on that point, that would have ruined it – and that it was very good. (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Syesha Mercado is last up tonight, with Whitney Houston’s Saving All My Love for You. She goes for the simple effect, choosing an outfit that shows off her legs… although after seeing them I have to say last year’s Haley Scarnato continues to be the all-time Idol champ in this category. Her performance is merely competent. We must be running out of time, because the judges are very brief: Randy says “good.” Paula says “sophisticated.” Simon says “Predictable but good.” (Buy the original song from Amazon)

Summary/Comments

Well, the girls delivered tonight. I still think the guys show was marginally better across the board, but the high points tonight were as good as anything we saw last night, with the possible exception of David Cook’s performance, which may be the best of the week.

Best of the night: Carly. Second best? Kristy.

Worst of the night: Ramiele and Kady. Although I don’t know if I’d pick them to leave; Ramiele in particular seems to have a hold on America far beyond her actual talent. Amanda is, of course, consistently bad, but this was her best performance so far. To actually leave? I’m thinking the votes break against Kady and Asia’h.

We’ll see tomorrow night. In the mean time… think I’m wrong? Leave your comments below.

Bill

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