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American Idol Top 5 Performances – Neil Diamond night, April 29 2008
By PopSavant | April 29, 2008 | 
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Hi everybody, and welcome to the recap of the American Idol top 5 performance show from April 29, 2008. RIP Carley; I’m still here if you need to talk. K? Thanx.
Tonight is Neil Diamond night. Tough to comment on Neil without sounding snarky; his hitmaking ability is undeniable, but he’s dreadfully easy to make fun of. Sing it with me: “Sweeeeet Car-Oh-Line, Bah Bah Bah!” Substitute a hearty “THIS SONG SUCKS” for the “Bah bah bah,” as one piano bar I’ve been to does, and you get the idea.
But I kid Neil, I kid. The fact is, that song doesn’t suck, and neither does America, Song Sung Blue, Heartlight, or a lot of the rest of his catalog. Now, stop right there, that doesn’t mean I’m a big fan, but I respect the place the guy has in pop music. I’d take his career if I could. Regardless, his songs should prove bit more palatable for some of the remaining Idols than Andrew Lloyd Weber night last week. I’m thinking Jason Castro has given a silent prayer of thanks… something tells me that Neil’s songs will be right in his power alley.
It’s 8pm, and Ryan’s hair is looking particularly pointy tonight. He cautions us that someone may “lose their cool” because of the pressure… we can only hope. Now that’s good teevee! Simon’s wearing a shirt that makes it look like he’s about to be baptized in a river. Ryan tells us that each Idol will be performing two songs tonight.
Jason Castro is first up, with Forever In Blue Jeans; the video clip shows him forgetting the lyrics in front of Neil in reversal, which must have been pretty damn embarrassing. I was expecting something good, but I’m not hearing it. He mumbles his way through the verses, and never sells out on the chorus – and Neil Diamond is all about selling out on the chorus. Jason’s phoning this one in. Completely, utterly forgettable. No reviews from the judges until after the performer’s second song, so we’ll have to see what they think.
David Cook’s first song will be I’m Alive, which Neil points out is an ambitious choice since not many people know it. David wisely forgoes the emo thing and puts a little grit in his voice, giving the song a sort of 1980s-one-hit-wonder pop rock feel. It’s perfect for the song; it proves David understands Neil better than Jason. This was exactly right; not earth-shattering at all, but a bit of sugary hand-clapping pop.
Brook White is next up, with I’m A Believer, made famous, of course by the Monkees, and more recently brought back to the world by Smashmouth on the Shrek soundtrack. Shrewed choice on a night where most songs, I suspect, are a bit hazy for the younger Idol crowd. Brooke’s version is competent but uninspired; did she miss the lyrics yet again, or just flub the word “take?” All in all, she probably did okay for herself.
David Archuleta’s first song will be Sweet Caroline; Neil refers to him as a “prodigy” but hopes he’ll take Neil’s advice. David starts out too low – his voice has a tendency to bottom out, he should steer around it. He gives the build up (”touching hands…”) a weird, directionless quality that’s just confused, but recovers for the chorus; he wisely just rides the band through the song, ending up with a pretty good version overall.
Syesha will lead off her effort with Hello Again… Neil predicts “she’ll do great.” We’ll see. She sits alone on the edge of the stage, obscured by a bunch of people waving floppy muppet-arms in front of her; mercifully that doesn’t last long. I’m not crazy about the song choice, but it gives her a great opportunity to show off her voice. She’s all control, and runs nicely through most of her range. It’s the best performance of the night so far.
Ryan asks the judges for a quick round 1 summary… their comments:
Randy: Jason was “just okay,’ David Cook was “very strong,” Brooke was “just okay,” David Archuleta was “the bomb,” and Syesha was “strong, but not amazing.”
Paula: liked hearing Jason’s lower register, and then confusedly goes on to critique his second song… which he hasn’t sung yet. Corrected by Randy, she says “I thought you sang twice” and says she accidentally launched into her thoughts about David Cook’s song instead. She ends up by saying “this is hard.”
Simon: Jason was “forgettable,” David Cook “just above average,” Brooke “forgettable,” David Archuleta “amateurish,” and Syesha “old fashioned.”
Jason Castro is up with his second song, September Morn. He sounds like he’s consciously doing a Neil Diamond impersonation… it’s nothing special, but it’s definitely better than his first effort. His singing is much clearer, and he as a much better feel for the presentation of the chorus. He doesn’t do anything special with his voice, but it’s enough for the song… although it cracks a bit at the end. Randy says “it was just okay.” Paula called it “safe.” Jason says “I kinda started choking right before” he came on… whatever. Professional time, Jason. Simon says that we no longer know who Jason is. Ryan gives him a “good luck” … and he’s going to need it.
David Cook loses the momentum he had with the first song, and goes into an overly breathy, angst-ridden version of All I Really Need Is You. He mumbles all the way through the first verse, and then tries to save it with a big, big chorus… and it works, surprisingly. He overcomes what I would call an awful start to end up with a pretty good version. Randy thought “you rocked the house again tonight.” Paula is “so proud of you… I feel like I’m already looking at the American Idol.” Simon thought it was “brilliant.”
Oh, boy, a commercial for Speed Racer. The cartoon sucked twenty years ago and I’m betting the movie will as well. The fact that it’s a cultural meme is beside the point; popular doesn’t mean cool.
Brooke White’s second song is I Am; she again does her solo piano thing. She uses the lyric “Arizona born and raised,” which Neil suggested instead of “New York born and raised.” He was right; Brooke is very-not-New-York. It’s… nice. It seems to end too quickly to make much of an impression, though. Randy says “nice job.” Paula thinks “what you just did… it showed your vulnerability, that works.” Simon “really, really hated the first song” but “this is the Brooke we like…. it wasn’t incredible, but it was a million times better than the first song. Well done.”
David Archuleta sings America; for some reason, I think David has probably gone around humming this song to himself from time to time, so it ought to be a natural for him. He starts off sounding like his voice won’t be strong enough to pull off the bigness of the song, and it does crack at one point. Rather than sticking to the musical portion of the song, he bizarrely chooses to do the “my country tis of the” spoken part in the middle, which sucks all the energy out of the performance. He ends with a solid chorus. It was okay in the end, but… this guy is going to be the American Idol? I just don’t buy it. Randy says “you were in the zone.” Paula calls it “the absolutely perfect song for you to sing.” Simon says “that was a smart choice of song… that was clever.”
Syesha closes the show with Thank The Lord For The Night Time. She gives it a 1960’s girl group feel, which I don’t enjoy at all, but once again she’s technically right on, and looks absolutely fantastic. No complaints other than I don’t like the style. Syesha’s now had the two best performances of the night. Randy says “Yo…. you’re finally realizing who you are.” Paula’s thoughts were completely unintelligible. Simon thought “you demonstrated that you are a very good actress/singer” but thinks she’s in trouble based on how memorable her songs were.
Summary/Conclusion:
Best of the night: Technically, Syesha. Overall impact, David Cook.
Worst of the night: Jason Castro and Brooke White.
Who’s Going: Tough to call. Simon’s right in his comment about Syesha not being particularly memorable, but I’m hoping that the fact she was technically good is enough to overcome that. David Cook is clearly the best one remaining, so not him. David Archuleta is… well, he’s David Archuleta, and he has the added advantage of choosing two blockbuster hits which will stick in everyone’s mind. Brooke is constantly in danger of going, but tonight I’ll play it straight up and pick Jason Castro to be the odd one out, after two weeks of dismal performances.
We’ll find out tomorrow night. See you then!
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