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« American Idol
Episode Recap: Narrowing It Down to 11
No big surprises tonight in terms of the bottom three. Syesha and David H. both gave pretty lackluster performances, and Kristy was downright awful.
At least the Horton Hears a Who promo to kick off the night was a lot cuter than the Jumper one last month, and Jim Carrey was a much better sport about it all (including making fun of the blatant cross-promotion) than Hayden Christensen. The other "celebrity" in the audience tonight was Sanjaya Malakar, who was there with his sister, though they never identified him and the camera only lingered on him for a moment. Oh, and Danny Noriega, I suppose returning the favor of Ramiele's song dedication to him last night, was sitting with her family and wearing a T-shirt with her face on it. It's all so... teenage-BFFs, isn't it?
The medley of "All My Loving," "I Feel Fine," "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Help," had some tough spots; Amanda, for one, continues to stick out like a sore thumb during the group songs. Oh, and her hair was especially odd tonight, I thought — it was like they took all the dark parts and piled them into a mini-beehive on the top of her head, and left the light parts dangling down. Don't know what that's about, but I hope the stylists convince her to try something else with it soon.
The night's filler consisted of highlights from last night (including a disturbing number of Ryan-Simon nonsense moments); the first Ford commercial, an odd election-themed skit to "The Distance"; calls from viewers (which led to a comment about Ryan wanting to fight Simon in mud); and Katharine McPhee singing George Harrison's "Something," which was at best boring and at worst icky. Oh, and one other thing: The 29 million votes cast last night was a much lower number than in weeks (and seasons) past; could it be that people are already tired of this season's batch of songbirds? Or was it just this week's performances that inspired a less-than-enthused response?
Among the bottom three, I was so glad that Syesha got to sit down first. Boy did she ever show why she deserves to still be in the competition when she sang "Got to Get You Into My Life" again — she lost some of the reservations that were holding her back yesterday, and as a result we got to hear that powerful voice we know she has. Even Kristy was much better than last night; she was a lot more relaxed, and though I still hate the arrangement and the concept behind the thing, at least she herself sounded a bit better. In the end, David H. — who failed to ever make a connection with the audience, despite (or maybe because of) his stripper mini-scandal — was sent home. The only surprise was that the first finalist eliminated was a guy, when it's clear that there are more girls who are obvious choices to go in the weeks to come.
One note about my predictions: Some of you guys pointed out that Kristy should have made my list for those who were at risk last night. I thought Kristy's performance was far and away the worst of the bunch, but I also thought that her fan base would keep her around, whether she deserved it or not. In other words, just because I'm predicting that someone is in jeopardy doesn't mean I think they deserve to go (and just because I think they're safe doesn't mean I want them to stay). I'm commenting more on how I predict America will vote than how I would call it.
TVGuide.com Power Rankings poll: The Top 11 — Who's Your Idol Now?
What do you think?: Did America get the vote right? Who needs to step it up next week to stay in the game? And any predictions on which Lennon-McCartney songs we'll be hearing next week?
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Mar 12, 2008 11:07 PM
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I do think America got it right, how could David "creep me out" Hernandez ever have been voted America's Idol? I don't think in my lifetime we will ever have a gay stripper to be the winner of that type of show. He might have been able to redeem himself a smidgen if he could sing well consistently, but he can't, so why keep him around. Good riddance!
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Mar 12, 2008 11:23 PM
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It'll be interesting to see if David A can bounce back next week. I hope he does.
But I agree fully with you that tonight's group song solidified that Amanda does not fit in with the rest. She was awful! but Vote for the Worst has picked her, so like Sanjaya last year, she'll stick around for a while.
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Mar 12, 2008 11:23 PM
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America got it right this week. Hopefully they get Amanda & Kristy out next, because I cringe when they are on stage.
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Mar 12, 2008 11:31 PM
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I think America got it "almost" right, but you won't hear me complaining about who went home. While I thought Kristy Lee was the absolute WORST, David didn't fare any better. I got 2 of the bottom 3 right, but I was surprised about Syesha. I thought Ramiele would be in the bottom 3, EASY!!
Could Kristy be this season's Haley Scarnato?? I hope not. I don't want to hate her (not real hate, mind you).
I'm sorry, but I STILL love Amanda. I think she's great and while not the best singer (I have no delusions here), I want her to stay in this competition for a while.
Next week is round 2 of the Lennon-McCartney songbook....does it mean it'll be another week of torture?? God, not another 'countryfied' Beatles song...PLEASE!!!!!!
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Mar 12, 2008 11:44 PM
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I'm glad David Hernandez is gone, too. I never quite got his appeal. Obviously, neither did most of America who voted, so maybe I'm not too different in my thinking after all.
My one concern is what Simon foreshadowed with his comment tonite. To paraphrase, as long as this is a talent competition, not a popularity contest, good singers will prevail. I'm afraid small town girl Kristy probably had her whole town rooting for her. IDK how big the town is, but it could create a big voting block for her and make her this year's Sanjaya. Maybe she's got more chops than I think. Time will tell.
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Mar 13, 2008 12:02 AM
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First off, I am a huge David Archuleta fan. I think he's adorable and his voice is so pure it gives me chills. As for his obviously shaken composure on Tuesday night, etonline.com has a story concerning David's dad. That very well could be the reason for the jitters and not-so-great performance. But I don't think he'll have any trouble sailing through the rounds.
And I thought the bottom 3 were spot-on. Kristy Lee Cook should have left, though. And I would have been happy with Ramiele being in the bottom, too.
Happy commenting everybody!
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Mar 13, 2008 12:14 AM
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P.S. I thought Kat McPhee's number was cringe-worthy. But that could be because I just can't stand the sight of her period. 
And thanks ERSVULuvr, I couldn't think of Haley Scarnato's name to save my life!
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Mar 13, 2008 12:17 AM
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I agree ERSVUluvr that Kristy Lee is this year's Haley Scarnato. But then again I actually grew to like Haley once she was safe week after week, so maybe Kristy Lee will grow on me as well.
And I love the Beatles, don't get me wrong, but another week of the same theme? I'm not sure if I'm up for that.
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Mar 13, 2008 12:21 AM
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Katharine McPhee's performance was amazing...honestly the best performance this season so far.
David H. left too soon: I suppose they had to start narrowing down their Davids, though. He had a great voice but never settled into the right song or performance.
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Mar 13, 2008 2:05 AM
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It was nice to see Danny back. Hate on haters. I love that kid.
That Kristy survived over David was surprising. But the bottom three was dead-on. So long as she goes home next week, I suppose it's OK. I don't think it's David's past or any associated "creepy" factor, either tha did him in. He just has no charisma. He's a dead fish with a decent, if unspectacurly voice. Basically, he's Kristy but not a girl.
Was it just me or was Chikezie the best singer in the requisite hideous medley tonight?
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Mar 13, 2008 2:27 AM
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another week of Beatles songs? GarryB is going to have a coronary!
JaySix, I think you're right about Chikezie tonight (though not so much about Danny, mmmkay  ). that medley was awful, really putrid. and was it just me, or could we barely hear the contestants singing over the backing vocal track? perhaps that was for the best, half of them looked like they didn't remember the words anyways.
I don't know, I'm underwhelmed. this season just isn't must-see for me.
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Mar 13, 2008 2:58 AM
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I so agree about the group medley. I think the lamest part of it was when Jason ran across the stage to the stairs to sing into the camera. WTH?
The phone calls were also lame. However I wouldn't mind a fight between Ryan and Simon. I think Simon can take Ryan.
I love that the song "Something", but it was weird on her arrangement.
Could Kristy be this season's Haley Scarnato?? I hope not. I don't want to hate her (not real hate, mind you). Only if she wears hotpants all the time.
As for David H. going home....frankly I could careless. He impressed me 2 weeks ago and that was that.
Since next week is part of 2 of Lennon/McCarthy will Sir Paul be a mentor or what?
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Mar 13, 2008 3:36 AM
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Nina, Don't you get it the AI stylists are doing Amanda's hair and picking her clothes. She didn't look like that when she got there.
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Mar 13, 2008 4:22 AM
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The only thing that surprised me about tonight's results was that a guy was the first to go. I thought Kristy was a goner for sure. But, like everyone else, I wasn't sad at seeing David H. depart. He seemed like a very nice guy (I don't care one wit about his stripper past), but he didn't have enough presence on the big stage to keep my attention. I just feel bad that he and the next person to go won't be going on the Idol tour because I know that's REALLY the big goal for a lot of them. I was reading a column by last year's finalist Chris Sligh on another entertainment website and he said the tour affords the contestants a very nice pay check/"send off" fro 19 Entertainment. So I'm sure they're all jockeying to at least hit the Top 10.
The results show was typical. The medley was bad, but they always are at this point with this many finalists to bring into the mix in such a short amount of time. The BEST AI medley I ever saw was the Top 5 from Season 2: Rueben, Clay, Trynece, Kim Locke, and Josh Gracin. They did a 60's medley that blew me away because they sounded like professionals who'd been singing together for years! Hopefully as this field of contestants narrows, the quality of the medleys will go up.
And I LOVED Catharine McPhee with David Foster. Those of you who think she sounded bad need to clean out your ears. Maybe the problem really is that she's not a pop or rock singer. She has a rich voice that is more suited to jazz and standards. And I think David Foster is the perfect person for her to be working with. Look what he did for Josh Groban!
My final comment is about a second Lennon-McCartney themed night. I kind of heard it differently. To me it sounded like Ryan said they had NIXED a second week of these songs because they decided to bring them to the audience with the medley TONIGHT. I felt like he was saying that next week was instead NOT going to be Lennon-McCartney. Based on the fact that vocal coach Debra Bird said in an interview this week that they only had about 25(!) songs to choose from, I don't know that they have enough left that have been cleared for airing to fill a second week of the same theme. Did anyone else take Ryan's comments as I did?
Ok, I'm done. Looking forward to everyone's comments!
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Mar 13, 2008 4:41 AM
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