American Idol

[The Wedge]

I got an ad for the new Josh Gracin album at the top of the page. More proof it's not necessary to win Idol to put out records.

And who pissed in Simon's Cheerios yesterday? He was in a mood beyond normal.

[dits]

Nice couple of weeks. Very pleasantly surprised by Country Week. The guys totally owning all the girls this week.

[Bormon]

I think the bottom 3 will be this week:

Ramiele: though I thought that she would be gone weeks ago

Jason: who actually did pretty good and seemed a little bit more comfortable this week

Kristy Lee: Who was in her element, but I just don't think she has the fan base.

Going home? My guess is Ramiele, but this is the 4th week in a row I have predicted her.

[Mya Stone]

Really quick thoughts, since my child is teething and cranky in his bouncy seat:

I loved loved loved loved loved Michael Johns. He was by FAR the best tonight. Thoroughly impressed. And I haven't been a fangirl of his, tbh.

My bottom 3 would be Ramiele, Kristy Lee (who was really really boring, I mean - no emotion on her face - it was like a dolled up zombie singing), and uhm...Syesha. Who although can sing, did the unspeakable and attempted the most famous Whitney Houston song of all time, and fell short. It wasn't bad, as others have noted, it was pretty good - but it pales in comparison, and I think that will end her up in the bottom 3. You shouldn't attempt it unless you'll outshine it - like LaToya London did a few seasons back with a Whitney song.

I think Ramiele may be going home, but I wouldn't be surprised if Syesha did.

Everyone else was middle of the pack for me - although I quite liked Carly tonight. Bad red leather pants and all. And I felt bad for her getting chastised on national television about her dress. That's something that just shouldn't happen. Take her aside, for crying out loud. Just don't embarass her.

And on that note, have to go back to the fussy child.

[RaceBannon42]

I thought all in all the performances were pretty good

Ramielle was the weakest for me.

Brooke was, good, but I agree with Simon a bit, in that I didnt feel her connection as much as I normally do.

Carly. Yeah terrible outfit, and she just looks like she is trying to hard.

Kristy Lee. Sounds ok, but was pretty bad performance wise. No emotion at all

Syesha. I really liked the first half, and I though the diva finish was ok.

Cook. Finally changed up that horrible combover look. Liked the arrangement, thought he was really struggling to hit the higher notes though.

Archeleta. At his best when just standing, swaying and singing, not looking stupid trying to dance around. Still not a fan, but if you like the style, he has a great voice.

Johns. Finally didn't suck on something other than Queen. Was my favorite performance on a night where I think there weren't any bad ones.

Castro. more of the same. I'll listen to him while I drink.

[LacyinTX]

I normally REALLY like Brooke. But I didn't get the emotion that "Jolene" requires. This song needs to sound desperate. She didn't. To me her song sounded less like "Pleeease don't take my man!" and more like "I'd rather you didn't take him, but you're gonna so OK".

I was disappointed because I wanted her to sing Jolene, but to do it well.

My bottom three:

Ramielle

Kristy Lee

Syesha

I think Ramielle should go home, but I think Syesha will.

[The Wedge]

I still love my Brooke, but what can you do but be thankful she didn't try to do "9 to 5."

Here's a fun take on her performance:

Brooke, Brooke, Brooke. Once again, songs have words, words have meaning. “Jolene†is not a song about puppies. Forget washing up liquid, forget buskering in Trafalgar Square, that was awful. So disconnected, so obviously divorced from any kind of feeling. Phrasing was off, pitch was off. That should have been a damn home run for you.

Okay, okay… so no one has ever tried to take your man. Let's see... Pretend that Gargamel and Azriel have entered your Smurf Village. And Gargamel has stabbed your Smurf puppy. And eaten its heart. That's what this song is about. Except Gargamel is a ruthless woman who is stealing your man. The man you love. The man who means everything to you. She’s eating your heart. Then again, maybe she isn’t stealing your man. And maybe you’re a little obsessed with her in your own way. And maybe she doesn’t even know you and your man exist. Maybe this is all in your head. So either you’re pathetic and crazy or pathetic and crazy, and on some level you know that. Regardless, you've gone to her to beg on your knees that she leave your man alone, and she’s laughing at you because you're crawling on your knees. crazy, begging for something, anything, and in that moment you understand that you’ve lost everything.

Or maybe the song is about puppies.

[DemiNymph]

This week's performance was pretty good. Quite enjoyable!

I didn't think Carly's outfit is as bad as Simon says. I like her top, at any rate. Not the pants.

Syesha to go. She has done the unthinkable! It was good, but not better. Ramiele should go too!

[Blaine]

I think all that I learned last night is that the "songs of Dolly Parton" aren't all that exciting to me.

Brooke - Picked/fought for the best song of the lot. But didn't do much with it. And she seriously needs to learn to shut up while hearing the judges' comments.

Castro - Now I know what Jesus and Jack Johnson jam session would sound like. And it's just as boring and lame as you might think.

Cook - I guess there aren't any cool covers of Dolly tunes, eh? Nothing special. Not much of a surprise that he's not all that great at picking a decent song and coming up with arrangements on his own.

Archuleta - Great voice. Shitty song. Nothing new here, folks, just move along.

Kristy Lee - Perfectly at home in blandy bland country music town.

Ramiele - Please remind me why she's on this show again?

Syesha - She just couldn't resist the most obvious trap, could she? I think Whitney songs are like catnip to Syesha. Dumb move. Not only has it already been sung as good as it probably can be... everyone on earth still pretty much hates this song.

Carly - Surprisingly, she was actually my second-favorite of the night. Good song (because Dolly didn't write it) and for once she didn't oversing it to death and gyrate in fits of Star Search-ness. Then she gets blasted by the judges for lack of style. I think they've given up on her. I should've known when they started showing her scary husband in the audience that her time was nigh.

Johns - Watching this guy is still a bit like watching Jack Wagner from General Hosptial sing All I Need on Solid Gold... but this was easily the best of the night. Y'know, since Michael Bolton fell off the planet, there's been a dearth of studly, safe white dudes to romance ladies with VH1 soul. This could be his thing. Because David Cook's already doing the rock thing better, apparently.

On top of that, it was easily the best song pick, best performance, etc. Again, he should steer clear of the "rock epics" and stick to whatever possessed him tonight.

Bottom 3/Elimination - Pick any of the girls. Ramiele is probably the worst of the lot, though.

[Guest Domaine Raidneé]

Thank the gods for David Cook's new haircut.

That, IMO, is pretty much about the only thing about last night's episode worth mentioning.

I really Ramiele finally goes home so I can stop picking up the remote to fast-forward through her performances. If not her, than Syesha for her stupid, stupid, stupid song choice.

ETA: Also, I thought Carly did much, much better than the judges gave her credit for, and was much better than Michael Johns.

[Bormon]

Ramiele is gone and we are down to 8 left.

At this point in the competition you have to look at the leaving contestant and ask where the fan will go. In that past I have found that it can be broken up into categories and assigned percentages (I like mathamatics way too much)

1. A simular contestant (main choice). In this case I see a lot of Ramiele's fans going to Syesha. They had simular styles.

2. A simular contestant (second choice). Not sure for this one, this week. Carley maybe?

3. The F-You vote. People now want to the worst contestant from each week. This value fades as people get over the "stun" of their favorite contestant being voted off

4. Apathy: They stop voting all together

5. Vote for the Front Runner: In this case either David Cook or Archuletta

So I think Ramiele fans may break down like this (she wasn't too popular even with her fans anyway)

55% Syesha

10% Carley

5% F-You Vote

10% Apethy

15% One of the Davids

5% this week jump to someone else.

[Bormon]

did anyone catch the theme for next week?

[Winterfella]

Seeing Ramiele on stage next to the other girls last night, I was surprised she didn't get more of the elven and dwarfish vote. God, what is she, like 3 feet tall?

I didn't hear what the theme is, but isn't next week Idol Gives Back? Not sure what theme will fit with that. Didn't they do inspirational songs last year on that week?

[Guest Domaine Raidneé]

So, I read the suggestion that instead of calling in and voting, AI should tally how many copies of the song are sold on iTunes and use that instead.

Personally, I'd be all for it.

[Blaine]

Ramiele is gone and we are down to 8 left.

At this point in the competition you have to look at the leaving contestant and ask where the fan will go. In that past I have found that it can be broken up into categories and assigned percentages (I like mathamatics way too much)

1. A simular contestant (main choice). In this case I see a lot of Ramiele's fans going to Syesha. They had simular styles.

55% Syesha

I'm not sure that I would place such a high percentage on people who like Ramiele's "style" of music. First of all, I've been watching this crap for months and I have no clue what her style was. Also, having worked in music retail for years, I've seen that people tend to buy (and I'm assuming vote for) personalities more than musical genre. I've rung up about a million people buying Snoop Dogg and Brooks and Dunn in the same purchase without batting an eye.

I'd guess at her demographic instead. Most likely tween girls who thought she was cool or fun. There's also probably a decent percentage of dudes who watch too much anime and were hoping for a "cosplay night". The tween fans would most likely pick up Archuleta based on the remaining contestants. And the cosplay dudes... will just slink back to their corner of the internet and download creepy movies.

If Syesha can get her act together (by that, I mean pick better material, perform it well and continuing being ridiculously attractive), then I'm guessing she can pick up more votes as time goes on. She could easily end up in the Top 4 if she can get it together. Out of what's left, she's easily the most traditional idol candidate. As such, if she can get some momentum, she can pick up a lot of votes each week. That's almost exactly what happened with Jordin Sparks last year. Nobody would've thought she had a chance at this point in the show.

Last night, I was just happy to see Brooke in the bottom 3. Sorry, Wedge.

[The Wedge]

So, I read the suggestion that instead of calling in and voting, AI should tally how many copies of the song are sold on iTunes and use that instead.

Personally, I'd be all for it.

Interesting notion, but it will never happen as long as AT&T is sponsoring the show.

The text messaging money alone probably dwarfs any money made on iTunes.

Last night, I was just happy to see Brooke in the bottom 3. Sorry, Wedge.

She's one step closer to Bucky Covington success! Go Brooke!

[Bormon]

I'm not sure that I would place such a high percentage on people who like Ramiele's "style" of music. First of all, I've been watching this crap for months and I have no clue what her style was.

Yea, Ramiele was kind of generic. I would put her style as diva-esque with a lot of runs and bluesy undertones. IMO Syesha is the closest contestant with that kind of description.

Carly is diva-esque but has more of a rock / edge feel to her

Brooke has more of a Mary Poppins feel

Kristy Lee is too country

Last night, I was just happy to see Brooke in the bottom 3. Sorry, Wedge.

I like Brooke, I just wish she wouldn't be so chatty

So the trend has been Boy-Girl-Boy-Girl

Looking at the guys, it may be Jason Castro's turn. (Though the good money is on Kristy Lee)

[Guest Domaine Raidneé]

Interesting notion, but it will never happen as long as AT&T is sponsoring the show.

The text messaging money alone probably dwarfs any money made on iTunes.

Most people who text have it included in their plan because they text all the time anyway.

[Rhom]

If next week is Idols give back... don't they give an "amnesty" to the entire crew and then total all the votes for both weeks to boot two the next week? I'm trying to remember what happened last year.

I was shocked to see Brooke in the bottom three. I remember even commenting to my wife when it was down to 6 people left back there with David Cook and Brooke among them, "Well, those other four are really nervous now."

[Blaine]

She's one step closer to Bucky Covington success! Go Brooke!

Heh... my favorite moment of the night was the one-two Bucky and Bo Bice interviews. IMO, they should have brought them to the studio, roasted a hog onstage and distilled moonshine or something while performing 38 Special covers.

Note - I say this not because they're southern, but because they're both gigantic rednecks.

However, I'm not sure while Nosferatu-esque Phil Stacey was also covered. But his new "Papa Bear" beard makes him a tiny bit less creepy, I suppose.