Real Kato Blog: American Idol 2008 Week 8: Top 8

Ramiele went out last week. This week's theme: Inspirational songs. Everyone sticks to songs they're comfortable with, and it ends up being a pretty good night.

Syesha "Whitney" Mercado: 7.3
"I Believe". A Fantasia song. She really seems to believe that she can compare favorably to the biggest singers around. She has a little trouble holding pitch when she has to sing with volume. Wow, that was a big high note in there. A good performance from her overall; I give her an 8.

Michael "Aussie" Johns: 6.8
"Dream On". It starts okay. He's singing it pretty much as he should, and as one would expect. It's a little shrieky, especially at the end where he's uh, shrieking. It's not all that original. And for some reason, I don't really buy him as a rocker; it's like watching your waiter get up on stage to sing. I give him a 7.

Kristy Lee "Jessica Simpson" Cook: 5.8
"Anyway". Martina McBride, go figure. Right in her wheelhouse. This is actually not bad. It's not terribly memorable, but it may be her best performance all year. She's on-key, and she's into the performance. I give her an 8.

Jason "Battlefield Earth" Castro: 8.0
"Over the Rainbow". Okay, the ukelele is perfect. He's got a few words wrong there, but he recovers well; most people probably wouldn't even notice. He's dead on-key, and the singing is nice. I think most folks will love this. I give him a 9.

David "Shaggy" Cook: 6.7
"Innocent". By, uh, Our Peace Lady. What the hell? It's indulgent, and it's bordering on atonal. It looks like he's not comfortable with the key; the low part is too low, and when he goes high, he's almost shouting. I think he's built up enough of a following to make it through another round, but this was not a good performance at all. So much for being the front-runner. I give him a 4.

David "Cheeks" Archuleta: 7.3
"Angels". Ah, hmm, another easy-listening number. I'd like to see him be able to do other things. The pitch and tone are a little off in the lower range, but not horribly so. It's pretty solid overall; he'll easily make it to next week. Given his following among pre-teen girls, he's almost the front-runner by default. I give him an 8.

Carly "Potatoes" Smithson: 6.8
"The Show Must Go On". The judges don't like the song choice, but I think it suits her. It's a little bit shouty, and she's not rocking out as much as she should, maybe, but not bad. I give her a 7.

Brooke "Granola" White: 6.8
"You've Got a Friend". Pleasant and on-key, but not terribly original. And all her head and hand movements are distracting. I give her a 7.

Another difficult bottom three... maybe Carly, Brooke, and Michael. I'm surprised that we seem to be heading towards an all-guy top three: Jason and the two Davids seem to have a huge following. After the initial auditions, I didn't think the guys were all that good this year; maybe the women are just tanking.

Permalink