AI7 recap, Finalists x 12 (03/11)

So, it’s the finals now and there’s a new set and the band is up in the “penthouse” (actually it looks like they’re up in the rafters) and there is a “mosh pit” in front of the judges. I know I say this every week, but Ryan Seacrest really is annoying. I really, really can’t stand him. I wish that they could replace him and Paula. How great would the show be if half the “talent” was credible, funny, witty and not annoying? Simon is by far the best and most honest (sometimes brutally so) judge. Randy at least knows his music and can relate that to the viewers.

So it’s Lennon/McCarthy soundbook week. They have more #1s than any other songwriter in history. Unfortunately, I don’t know a whole lot of Beatles songs, which will disappoint my Auntie Lois (who is the biggest Beatles fan ever; only to be rivaled by her mark as the #1 Eric Byrnes fan out there). I only know some of the more popular hits that EVERYONE knows, so I apologize in advance if I’m missing the point on some of these songs.

01 – Syesha Mercado, Got To Get You Into My Life

Found out she attends Florida International University (FIU), which was the school that got into that embarrassing brawl with Miami in football a few years back. Syesha looks good and sings well, but I really don’t see her standing out in the crowd. She’s no different than any other singer. She doesn’t separate herself from the pack. Randy said she was pitchy to start, but it was a nice arrangement, albeit the Earth, Wind and Fire arrangement. EWF is my wife’s favorite band and we saw them at the United Center while we were in Chicago. That was a good time. Paula said she found her zone midway through the song. Simon thought it was better than alright (as Randy called it), but she looked very nervous and needs to get over that. My wife

Kristin thinks that Syesha wasn’t nervous, she just can’t dance (much like Whitney Houston who can sing, but not dance). I think she’s safe tomorrow night, but won’t go much farther in the competition.

02 – Chikezie, She’s A Woman

Found out he used to work security at LAX. Chikezie rocked the green and grey argyle vest (complete with a green wristband watch) tonight and he reminds me of both Ice Cube and Chi McBride (the principal from “Boston Public”). Chikezie started the song sitting on the steps with guys playing the banjo, violin and tambourine. Was this in “Deliverance?” The crowd LOVED it. He really had them going. I thought it was pretty good, at the very least very inspired. Randy said he was thoroughly entertained, he loved the arrangement and he smashed it (who knew he had that falsetto?). Paula said the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Then she said the reward paid off. What? You mean the RISK paid off, Paula. Oh my goodness I wish they had someone intelligent in between Randy and Simon. It was cute and funny for the first few seasons, but it’s just painful to listen to now. Simon was surprised to agree with the other two. He called it terrific, then Ryan proceeded to make a fool of himself by running and jumping around the stage with Chikezie. I thought Chikezie really left it all on the stage tonight and is absolutely safe for tomorrow and is climbing up the contender list. My wife Kristin (who came home late after playing Bunko tonight) said he nailed it.

03 – Ramiele Malubay, In My Life

She chose this song for all of her close friends who have left the show already. I like Ramiele, but she’s not helping herself out in this competition. She’s got a great big voice and is more talented than Jasmine Trias, yet I don’t think she’s going to last as long (Jasmine finished 3^rd in season three). Plus, Jasmine had the whole state of Hawaii (plus pinays and pinoys on the mainland) voting for her. I heard they set up ad hoc phone in centers in Hawaii where volunteers would show up and continuously vote for her. I loved Ramiele’s ‘80s prom dress though. So I call on a bunch of Vietnamese doctors and Ramiele’s outfit and performance reminded me of a Vietnamese variety show singer. Don’t know how to explain it, but there you go. Randy said it was kinda pretty, but kinda pretty boring. Paula started by saying she looked lovely tonight, which is the kiss of death (KOD) from Paula. She then said she played it safe and was holding back. Simon was bored to tears and called it a dreary song choice. He went on to say it was forgettable and he expects better from her. My wife Kristin agrees. She’s holding back. If she holds back anymore, she’ll be off the show soon. I think she’ll be in the bottom 3 tomorrow. And regardless of if she goes or not, she’ll be in tears. That much is for sure.

04 – Jason Castro, If I Fell

With his long dreads, Jason looks androgynous. We find out that he’s a student at Texas A&M and declared a music minor last year, which happened to be the only class he failed. Also found out that he’s from Columbia. My wife Kristin said Renel Lewis (morning DJ on KISS-FM and stadium announcer for the Giants) thinks he looks like a young John Travolta. Look at the eyes, I can see that one. He plays the guitar for this one again. I liken him to this year’s Blake Lewis. Blake used to grab the song, put it on his computer, strip it down and build it back up. Jason grabs songs and totally folks it out. I’m really not a fan of his and can’t recognize brilliance when he delivers it. I think he’ll go far though because he’s very likable and the chicks dig him. Randy liked it, but didn’t love it. He didn’t like the switches in the melody. Paula disagreed, which I think she does sometimes (alright all the time) to get the crowd behind her, which is totally self-serving and she should be ashamed. She did say that he’s better off because he doesn’t have to do the riffs and runs that others depend on. Simon said last week was incredible, but tonight reminded him of a student in his bedroom at midnight. I can see that. Like the guitar guy in “Animal House” when John Belushi takes his guitar and smashes it. I Wikipedia-ed that song and it’s called “I Gave My Love A Cherry,” and it was sung in the movie by ‘70s singer/songwriter Stephen Bishop (who did, among other things, “It Might Be You” from the “Tootsie” soundtrack). I’m sure Jason is safe tomorrow night, but I don’t think he’s going to win it all.

05 – Carly Smithson, Come Together

Gee, Carly tells us she’s from Ireland. And did you know that when the Steelers won the Super Bowl that Jerome Bettis was from Detroit? We get it Carly. You’re Irish. You work at an Irish pub. I think Carly’s a phenomenal singer, but she just bugs the hell out of me. Maybe it’s because she’s Irish and not American. Maybe it’s her evil tattoo. Maybe it’s because she’s really a pro (she had a pretty good size contract until the studio that signed her went belly up). Maybe it’s because she sings with a “gotta go pee” posture. Although I think she is head and shoulders the #1 female talent left. Randy said she was strong and confident and had a stellar performance. Paula said it was like already watching a star (is that because Carly was a star before?). Simon said week after week she’s been choosing the wrong song … until now. He also compared her to Kelly Clarkson’s first week in the finals. That’s pretty good company. She’s safe tomorrow night and may be coasting to the final 4 or better.

06 – David Cook, Eleanor Rigby

We find out David was a bartender at a bar in Tulsa, OK where he sometimes performed with his band. I don’t know this song, but he rocked it. He looked a bit naked up there without his guitar though. Randy said (contrary to popular opinion) you can definitely rock out on Idol. Paula called him the darkhorse and added that he’s a thoroughbred. Simon called it brilliant and if it remains a contest of talent instead of popularity, David can win. I think he’s definitely safe this week and could be gaining on frontrunner David Archuleta. I don’t think David Cook will win, but he’s making a wonderful showing so far.

07 – Brooke White, Let It Be

Brooke is musically talented as she’s previously played the guitar on stage and now she plays the piano. I think it’s good that she plays instruments because she really can’t move while she’s singing. I’d say that she can’t walk and chew gum, but that doesn’t really make any sense because she’s singing while she’s playing an instrument. So I’ll just say I’m glad she’s playing an instrument. She played it straight tonight. No runs or riffs, which isn’t her strong point anyway. She’s got a real nice tone to her voice. She’s got a musical purity that is refreshing. She was totally overwhelmed in the moment tonight. I thought it was weird that she kept looking into the camera while she was singing, but my wife Kristin thought it was because she was trying to not lose it while she was singing. She was so emotional tonight like she was so taken aback that she was singing this song on that stage with that piano. Randy said it wasn’t her strongest, but it was a heartfelt performance. Paula said she found her niche. Simon called it one of the best of the night and it was a brilliant choice of song. He called it believable. I think Brooke’s bought herself some more time on this show. I may have to take back the comment that she’s just not the worst girl. She was definitely in the top 3 girls tonight.

08 – David Hernandez, I Saw Her Standing There

So he mentions that he’s a student at Arizona State and that he recently got fired from his job at a pizza bistro. So that’s what they’re calling gay strip bars now … pizza bistros? Remind me not to go to any of the pizza bistros in Tempe. David had an ‘80s look going on with the skinny tie and vest. I was trying to figure out the look and thought maybe The Stray Cats, but then I googled them and saw that Brian Setzer actually wore tank tops and neckerchiefs. So swing and a miss on that one. Maybe it was a Farmer Ted look from Sixteen Candles? Or Duckie from Pretty In Pink? Or maybe a Square Pegs look? Anyway, I hated this performance. I think David should go soon. If not this week, then soon. Randy said he has a big voice, but it was too overdone. Paula said she loves his voice but he overdid it with too many runs. Simon said no, no, no. It was corny and verging on desperate. Is this really last year’s Rudy Cardenas in disguise? I think David’s in the bottom 3 tomorrow.

09 – Amanda Overmyer, You Can’t Do That

Amanda reminds me of a glam rocker. Like David Lee Roth, especially with those black and white striped pants and scarves. The thing I like about Amanda is that she’s the anti-Idol, although she seemed to enjoy herself more tonight than in previous nights. She did pretty good with this song considering she’s never heard it before last week. I say last week because Asia’h Epperson was on Renel Lewis this morning (according to my wife Kristin) and Asia’h said that the contestants work on 3 songs a week (one for the current week, a group song and one for the following week). Asia’h said that the song she was working on for tonight was barely recognizable until she hit the chorus, so it may have been better she was voted off last week. Asia’h also thought she was at a disadvantage going first (which I totally agree with; when there are this many people still left, you can be forgotten very easily going first). And lastly, the contestants don’t know the singing order until they get to the studio for the show. Randy said something about a true mark of great songs and think it meant that even though Amanda rocked it out, she did well with it. Paula said something that I didn’t listen to. Simon said it wasn’t as good as last week, but that she’s a breath of fresh air to have in the competition. I think Amanda’s safe tomorrow.

10 – Michael Johns, Across The Universe

He’s a struggling musician so he’s done a number of jobs, like manual labor and coaching tennis. I wonder if there are tennis coaches for the Wii? My wife Kristin got me a Wii for my birthday/Christmas and we love it. We’ve been trying for awhile and just become “pros” in the Wii Sports tennis game. And we’re embarrassed to say that we have tennis elbow from it. And I just found out that people have been creating celebrity Miis (characters that you can create; most people make it look like themselves) and posting the instructions online. I found a site that has some and since my son is totally into Star Wars right now, we made Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Chewbacca, The Emporer and we plan on making Darth Maul and either Queen Amidala or Princess Leia too! But they have President Bush, Michael Jackson and others too. People have too much time on their hands. Back to Michael Johns (the Aussie, which annoys me about him too, but less than Carly). He sang with the mike stand tonight which was less dancing which equals better for me since he’s not doing the hopping around. I think he’s got a pretty good voice, but then he did the “thank you” at the end of his performance again. As you know, that bugs me. Randy said it wasn’t his best performance. He could’ve taken some liberties with it and he called it sleepy. Paula disagreed again and said he has a quiet confidence. Simon said he should’ve done what Carly did. But what was funny was that he didn’t know her name. He asked (out loud) what the Irish girl’s name was! Way to serve up some humble pie Simon! I think Michael’s still safe tomorrow. He was in the middle tonight.

11 – Kristy Lee Cook, Eight Days A Week

Kristy tries to do a country version of this song. She looked good out there in her ripped jeans and sparkly top, but this song was a complete mess. It was too fast and reminded me of a bad county fair version. Like she was on tour with the One-ders in “That Thing You Do.” She still could’ve done a country version of this that wasn’t arranged the way it was tonight. Unless people were listening with their eyes instead of ears, she’s definitely in the bottom 2 tomorrow and probably gone. Randy said there were parts he liked but she tried to force the runs too much. Paula just came out and said she didn’t enjoy it (what happened to the, “you look great tonight”?!). She said that she took the advise too much to heart (I think Simon said country was her thing) and she just didn’t get it tonight. Simon called it horrendous, like Dolly Parton on helium. He said it was very brave, but a foolish thing to do. And I never put it together that her and rocker David have the same last name. Maybe because it’s the first night they’ve performed together. But I’m guessing they’re not related.

12 – David Archuleta, We Can Work It Out

Boy did David flop tonight. I think he got more nervous after listening to his pre-song video because he was talking about how he didn’t like older jazz music growing up (his mother is from Honduras and likes salsa dancing and his father is a Jazz musician, maybe Morman, as they live in Utah and there are like 4 or 5 kids in the family) and wasn’t too sure about picking a Beatles song. As it was, he did the Stevie Wonder version of it. I felt bad for David tonight because he did an upbeat song to Simon’s request (he faulted him for always singing ballads) and he forgot some of the words. Missing the words aside (and he did sort of let is show that he missed some of the words), he still did a decent job on the upbeat song. This bodes well for the next time he ventures into a faster song, as long as he’s comfortable with it and remembers the words! He knew it wasn’t his best and stood up there like he was in front of a firing squad. Randy said it wasn’t on point and it wasn’t his vibe. Paula said it wasn’t his best week (really?), but he’s still a frontrunner. But she also told him not to let it show on his face when he forgets the words. Simon called it a mess and that he expects greatness every week from here on out. I’m still a HUGE Archuleta fan. My wife Kristin voted for him tonight (multiple times) so that he won’t be voted off. He still is the frontrunner though. Hopefully his odds go down on sportsbook.com because he was 2-3 to win it all today, which means you have to bet $30 to win $20.

Bottom 3 – David Hernandez, Kristy Lee Cook, Syesha/Ramiele

Top 3 – Chikezie, David Cook, Brooke

And on a final note (sorry this is so long by the way), I’ll be out the next two weeks (my national sales meeting in Vegas next week, followed by a trip to Disneyland for Jared’s spring break). But, as you know, you’ll be in good hands, Mike Rico has agreed to recap for the next two weeks. Thanks Mike.