Real Kato Blog: American Idol 2008 Week 11: Top 5

Carly was the surprise loser last week. This week: Neil Diamond. Way to be modern and relevant, guys. This is turning into "Senior Citizen Idol".

Also, NOTE TO ANNOYING FRONT ROWS OF AUDIENCE: STOP WITH THE RHYTHMIC HAND-WAVING, YOU LOOK LIKE IDIOTS.

Jason "Battlefield Earth" Castro: 6.2
"Forever in Blue Jeans". Kind of a low-key version of an already low-key song. A little bit lacking in energy, or maybe lacking in personality. It fits him all right, but you'd expect any Neil Diamond song to be comfortable for him. I dunno... not terribly memorable. I'm looking for more.

"September Morn". Kind of the same as the first song... he just doesn't have the power to fill the big parts. And there was a weird note at the end. It's almost like he's just mailing it in.

I give him a 6.

David "Shaggy" Cook: 7.7
"I'm Alive". An interesting, and rather obscure, choice. Not really a singer's song. It's okay, not great. I think he missed an opportunity to put an edge on this song; I wanted to see a Chris Daughtry treatment on this song, and we didn't get it.

"All I Really Need is You". Also obscure. I disagree with the acoustic guitar choice; he should have picked up an electric. Fortunately, the band chimes in with, and the song picks up a hard rock anthem feel. It actually manages to sound somewhat modern. Better than the first song for sure; it should be enough to send him to the next round.

I give him an 8.

Brooke "Granola" White: 6.2
"I'm a Believer". Hmm, a little low for her range, and it's really affecting her pitch. She's trying, I'll give her that, but this is bordering on hideous... like something a kindergarden teacher sings with her kids.

"I Am I Said". Wow, a vast improvement over the first song. It's in her range, and she's got some emotion behind it, and she's hitting the notes. I have to count against her for the first song, but this one was good. Enough to save her? I don't know.

I give her a 6.

David "Cheeks" Archuleta: 7.3
"Sweet Caroline". A little pitchy at the start... and kind of campy. Very old fashioned. Sometimes Paula will throw out a comment like "you could have a hit record with this today"... but I assure you, she won't say it this time.

"America". Not really his style of song. This is supposed to be a growly, proud song, not a show tune. Oh, his voice cracked... twice. I didn't think it was believable. It wasn't awful, but I think I'm just getting tired of the pretty-boy-ness.

I give him a 7.

Syesha "Whitney" Mercado: 6.8
"Hello Again". This might be the best song choice so far. It's, well, nice. Pretty. Not spectacular, but nice. She never seems to hit the big moment of the song, though.

"Thank the Lord for the Nighttime". She's trying to jazz it up, or at least gospel it up. She seems to be having fun, but her pitch is all over the place. She's just not as good a singer as she thinks she is.

I give her a 7.

A mediocre night overall. Except for David Cook's second song, I didn't really like anything. My bottom two: Brooke and Jason. Syesha's not safe either.

Permalink