In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« American Idol
Episode Recap: Top 10 Girls
Well, this was definitely a letdown from last night. I mean, there were a few really good performances by the girls tonight, but the vast majority were just so-so, just there in a way that didn't make them memorable.
And I hate to be petty, but... my first impression when the girls filed by in the intro was, "Yikes, Amanda's hair, yikes!" Bride of Frankenstein's got nothin' on this gal. And why Ryan felt the need to talk about the fact that Randy wears a size 13 1/2 shoe... I cannot explain. Also, Ryan's silly thing of not thanking Simon at the end of the show is just annoying now. He needs to stop. I guess it might have been amusing (to him) the first time, but at this point, it's just foolish.
The two high points of the night came courtesy of Carly and Brooke; I kept rooting for some of my other favorites to pull out show-stoppers, but alas, it never happened.
On to the performances:
Carly Smithson, "Crazy on You": Clearly Carly likes herself some Heart, as this is the second song by them she's done thus far in the competition, and she sure can wail. There's still something sort of irritating about her, although I like the fact that she works at an Irish bar and likes to do hospital corners when making her bed (or something along those lines). Simon told her, "I don't think any of these girls can touch you vocally.... I think you're the girl they've all got to beat," and while I haven't been convinced of that thus far, I have to acknowledge that she's one of the most consistent.
Syesha Mercado, "Me and Mr. Jones": I wasn't really feeling her tonight so much on the verses, but when she let loose on the choruses, pow! And she's so pretty and charming, I hope we get to see more of her (and I hope she makes some better song choices). Plus, her commercial was kind of hilarious, and her baby cry was just eerie.
Brooke White, "You're So Vain": She just seems so natural in this genre. If she could sing a Carly Simon song every week, she'd probably sail right through the rounds. How hilarious that Simon thought this song was about him! He wishes he were Warren Beatty (or whomever Carly was singing about). "I absolutely loved it," said Simon. "It absolutely connected." I'm with him there. As for the fact that Brooke went to beauty school... somehow that's not surprising in the slightest.
Ramiele Malubay, "Don't Leave Me This Way": Remember yesterday when I remarked that no one was singing disco? Well, there ya go. With a voice as big as hers, I can't understand her choosing to sing something like this. The little hula dancer said she didn't want to sing a ballad because she doesn't want to be known as "lullaby" instead of "Malubay"? Give me a break. Simon called her one of the top three singers in the competition, but I'm with Randy on this one, that it was "just really OK."
Kristy Lee Cook, "You're No Good": The "surprise" about her was, again, not at all a surprise — I think the fact that she's a tomboy was pretty much the first thing we knew about her. The song was pretty enough, though not outstanding. Not to sound like Paula, commenting on wardrobe, but could her outfit have been any shinier?
Amanda Overmyer, "Carry on Wayward Son": Oh, dear. I've always liked Amanda, but this was just not her night. At all. Actually, it was positively painful. And I was scared of her hair. I actually was thinking something along the lines of what Simon said, namely that "everything felt contrived" — for the first time, it just looked like she didn't really want to be there. Though I still really like her, especially after her revelation that she's a bookworm.
Alaina Whitaker, "Hopelessly Devoted to You": Yet again, I'm not crazy about the song choice, but there's no denying that Alaina has the skills. And I find myself really liking this girl, I can't exactly explain why. Her clip on how she doesn't like foods to touch each other cracked me up — in a way, she's sort of like this year's Kellie Pickler, minus the ditz factor.
Alexandréa Lushington, "If You Leave Me Now": Another one of my favorites who still hasn't shined as much as I know she can. It felt a little like she was restrained by the song, by its slow tempo and subdued melody. But I actually have to take issue with Simon saying that she was coming in and out of the pitch; I thought she gave one of the more note-perfect, if not scintillating, performances of the night. Though I'm worried that his assessment that she's "struggling right now" may be true. And she's the poster child for the Atlanta Fire Department — come on, people! Let's give her another chance.
Kady Malloy, "Magic Man": Oh, dear. Again. This one was probably the worst of the evening. As soon as she said in her clip that Simon would tell her, "You sing opera better than you sing up here," I had this sinking feeling that she was going to be right. And she was — the little snippet of opera was far, far better than what she sang live. But can I just say — Simon's never heard that song before?! Where was he during the '70s, exactly?
Asia'h Epperson, "All by Myself": I hate to sound like a broken record, but yet again, not such a good choice of song. "It is one of the diva songs of all time," said Simon, "and you have got to be one heck of a singer to pull that off, and unfortunately you're not.... The truth is, you're not that good a singer." I don't know if I'd go that far, but the breathiness issue that we'd heard in her earlier auditions came into play big time tonight as she literally lost the word "by" on her first chorus.
My prediction: Kady should go for sure; I'm worried that Amanda and Alexandréa are in trouble as well.
What do you think? Were Carly and Brooke at the top of your lists, as well? And who will be saying goodbye tomorrow?
Check out all of Simon's best lines of the season in our Simon Says... the Most Quotable Things! blog.
For American Idol clips, visit our Online Video Guide.
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Feb 27, 2008 11:05 PM
|
Definitely a sub-par outing by the Season Seven gals. I disagreed with quite a few of the judges final opinions tonight, which always makes me wonder if my ears work differently from theirs.
Carly: I'm a huge Heart fan, and I think she did a good job. She's a fine singer, I just don't see anything special about her. Maybe because she didn't change the song up in any way.
Syesha: Wow. She looked cool and confident,and like she was having fun. She has a very nice tone, and hits the big notes when it's appropriate. Loved it.
Brooke: I like her voice, but really, only Carly Simon can get away with singing a Carly Simon song. Plus, it's
meant to be sarcastic, so the constant smile didn't work for me. The younger audience members probably had huge
question marks over their heads.
Ramiele: Boring. She has a great voice, and I loved her last week, but this was just a total copy of an old
disco standard.
Kristy: I really liked her voice, but thought the tempo was too slow, so I was a bit bored.
Amanda: Sorry. She's pushing the "rocker" persona way too hard. Pat Benetar is one of the best female rocker
powerhouses ever, and she didn't need to morph into Elvira on stage. The vocals were very karaoke to me, and it was a weird song choice. Hated the whole thing.
Alaina: She punched it out sometimes, but it's a snoozefest.
Alexandrea: This song would have put me to sleep in an elevator. Plus, the safari shorts/down vest combination
was just too distracting for me. The whole 90 seconds was odd.
Kady: LOVED her intro clip! Very tentative coming down the stairs -- was it the heels? Her singing was so soft in places that I couldn't understand her. I'm a Kady fan, but this was not good.
The fact that Simon never heard Magic Man is freaking me out. He was also unfamiliar with an earlier Dusty Springfield tune (she's BRITISH, by the way, and was FABULOUS). His very
narrow focus is really showing this season, and we're only at the beginning. Hmmm.
Asia'H: Another song I never liked. Even giving her a break because I hate it: meh.
Looking back, this was a disappointing showing from the gals, compared to the boyos last night. I have to give the number one spot to Carly. Who might go? It's sad, but I wouldn't be really surprised at any of the others leaving.
|
|
Feb 27, 2008 11:40 PM
|
I have to agree about Simon's never hearing Heart's :Magic Man"--seriously!? Not even on a classic rock station? Does he listen solely to Il Divo or something? I also agree about Kady; that was horrible.
I heard Amanda's prologue to "Carry On My Wayward Son" and thought that it wasn't as bad as people said. Then I heard the verse. Ouch. But I like the fact that she's a biker-chick bookworm.
I hate to even venture a guess about who's going home, because so many were so underwhelming. But I'd guess Kady and maybe Amanda, unless her fans rally to save her and Kristy Lee goes, instead.
|
|
Feb 27, 2008 11:44 PM
|
While I agree that there weren't many showstoppers tonight, I can't say there was anyone I didn't like. I'm not sure why Simon said none of the other girls "can touch you vocally" to Carly, but I do enjoy her. I'll be sad to see who goes home tomorrow night.
I actually disagreed with the judges a lot tonight. My 7-year-old piped up and said, "Well, they are the experts, Mom."  He insisted I vote for Brooke at least three times.
|
|
Feb 27, 2008 11:48 PM
|
I did not care for Syesha's song choice at all. I have thought that song was creepy to begin with. Then to hear a woman sing it looking into a camera totally distracted me from her voice.
Hearing Amanda was painful. It was not totally awful vocal but she did appear very uncomfortable so to me it made it come off a lot worse then it was probably was.
My favorite was Brooke. To me her whole performance was superior to all other women tonight.
Overall I was also disappointed in the womens voice talent especially hearing some pretty strong male talent.
|
|
Feb 27, 2008 11:53 PM
|
|
Maybe it's just me, but I was really annoyed when Simon told Kristy Lee that country is probably her genre. Does every blonde white girl have to be a country clone?
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 12:48 AM
|
|
Very surprised that one of the girls picked a Chicago tune "If you leave me now". I would have expected something more dynamic even thought I wish I would have composed it. I have to DVR Thursday doomsday for 4 young performers. It will be said to see them go except for the weird Danny Noriega. He's just too "outthere" for my masculine tastes.
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 1:20 AM
|
|
I always look forward to the women singing. I have never been more disappointed. This will most likely be the worst Idol installment ever.
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 1:33 AM
|
|
ugh. hated it. at least there's Project Runway later tonight!
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 1:41 AM
|
That sucked. Sooper sucked.
at least there's Project Runway later tonight!
Amen. Go Ferocia! I'm already having withdrawals. I'm so desperate, I'm watching the Canadian version.
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 2:12 AM
|
The guys were 100 times better on their night. Just not a great night for the ladies.
Carly-She did a good job. Still not a fan of what she does with the microphone. Distracting. Out of breath after one song? And you want to be a musical performer? Wow.
Syesha-Not a good song choice. Probably is still safe though.
Brooke-Really liked her performance. She was very comfortable and at ease.
Ramiele-Another strange song choice. Disco is not the way to go in this competition. Might be in trouble.
Kristy-Nice rebound from last week. I don't see how she goes this week. Reminds me a lot of the actress who played Felicity on TV.
Amanda-One of my favorites. That was truly awful though. I couldn't wait until it ended. Just wrong in every way. I hope she gets spared, but if it is based on just this week, she is a goner.
Alaina-Not bad. Safe choice.
Alexandrea-Horrible horrible song choice. I like the song, but not for her. It suits Peter Cetera fine and it is good in its time, but not for her. I don't think she believed in her performance for one second.
Kady-She just hasn't caught fire yet. Wrong choice in coming down the stairs. It threw her off. She's hot, so I hope she stays.
Asia'h-Simon was very correct in his assesment. She doesn't have the chops to pull off the song. She was brutal in the beginning of the song. Rebounded some in the end. Yes, her singing style just bugs me. I frankly didn't think she should have gone to Hollywood in the first place.
I think the only people who are sure things not to go home are Carly, Brooke, Kristy Lee and maybe Alaina. I am pretty sure that Syesha and Ramiele are safe as well.
My guess would be Alexandrea and sadly Kady going home (unless the horny guy vote is a strong bloc).
On the guy side, the only sure person to go is the dude who sang the Doobie Brothers. I thought Luke was going to go last week. Might be his turn this week.
Girls-Alexandra, Kady
Guys-Jason, Luke
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 2:13 AM
|
As a huge Idol fan who has seen literally EVERY episode save one preliminary audition ep in Season 4, I'd have to rate this show as THE MOST DISAPPOINTING episode in the history of the show. Oh my God, it was bad!!!
Completely lackluster from start to finish. Nobody had "it," nobody truly shined. Yes, there were a couple of nice vocals, but nothing that screamed "I'm the next American Idol."
Women have dominated AI over the years, but this is definitely a guy's year to take it. And not only that. I can see an all-male top 3. If the girls don't want that, they had better get their acts together!!!
That said, I did vote based on the people I THINK will make for interesting televion over the next couple months. Those lucky ladies are: Carly, Brooke, Amanda, Ayesha, Alexandrea, and Remiele.
I just feel the other four (Alaina, Kady, Asia'h, and Christy) are the most generic of the bunch, if not entirely bad singers. We've "seen" girls just like them before: good but not great.
I think the six I voted for each bring something unique to the stage and are capable of giving GREAT performances that will make me want to tune in week after week. IF, like the judges said ad nauseum, they PICK THE RIGHT SONGS.
And speaking of songs . . . here's my one specific comment/piece of advice for the night. Asia'h chose to sing a song (All By Myself) that Latoya London not only sang first, in Season 3, but absolutely hit out of the ballpark. If you are going to be a contestant on this show, you HAVE TO do your research! You HAVE to be aware of all the fantastic past performances and know that if you chose to revisit a song, you had BETTER IMPROVE ON IT! Simon was absolutely right about her not having the voice for it. Worst choice of the evening (even more than Amanda's or Kady's) because she did something that could be directly compared to another (past) contestant, and she paled badly. Know and accept your TRUE vocal range and work with it. Period.
It's anyone's guess who will go home with such a plethora of bland performances. The easier question might be to ask who will stay. I think Carly, Brooke, and Remiele are safe. After that, it's anyone's game to lose.
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 2:26 AM
|
|
Poor Amanda! Do you think some stylist did that to her? I noticed all the girls looked like they had some sort of makeover but nothing extreme. I haven't seen that much hairspray on anyone since the eighties-Good Lord. If it was a stylist I'd fire her
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 2:58 AM
|
|
I was in college in the 70s and a big rock and roll fan, and I never heard "Magic Man" either. Most of the song choices tonight were horrible. I realize the contestants are stuck with a pre-approved list of songs, but surely the powers-that-be could have come up with better songs from the 70s. The Clash. The Stones. Led Zeppelin. The Ramones. Talking Heads. Cat Stevens. The Doors. Blondie. David Bowie. Patti Smith. Lou Reed. Santana. Van Morrison. Crosby, Still, Nash & Young. And on and on.
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 4:33 AM
|
|
I just wanna be your everything is a disco song. As for tonight, I almost want to think that Amanda tried to sabotage herself. Terrible look, wrong song, bad take on it, and she looked like she was lost or clueless...deer in headlights. I still don't like Carly but she again was one of the better singers, but again that's not saying much. KLC did a pretty good job. Did anyone else notice her glowing red tongue? Some of the people had blue tongues during Hollywood week, so I'm thinking that they are using those sore throat popsicles just before going on to loosen up their throats...or something. Ramiele was disappointing, but not terrible. Brooke was clearly the best of the night. I think if she sticks to singer/songwriter songs she'll go very far. Carole King, Dido, Nora Jones, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, all of them would work for her. Alaina was ok. Alexandrea wasn't as bad as the judges made her out to be. Simon is wrong, that song is a classic and if remade it would be sell. It's not dated, how can a song about a breakup be dated? It doesn't even need a modern arrangement, but whatever. I still think Kady looks like Anna Nicole Smith when she was her thinnest. Syesha was meh. Asia'h was terrible. Not only was there no "by" but near the end there was a word that barely came out. She needs to go. I think it will be Asia'h and either Syesha or Kady.
|
|
Feb 28, 2008 6:25 AM
|
|
|
