AI7 recap, Finalists x 9 (04/01)

First off, thanks again to Mike Rico for filling in for the last two weeks. I have to admit, I haven’t even watched the last 2 shows yet. It’s been that crazy around here. We’ve made up some other shows, but since Mike’s recaps filled us in and our time was limited, we haven’t watched them yet!

And last week was madness at the House of the Mouse. So we knew it would be packed because it was Spring Break, but we had no idea that it would be as bad as it was. We’ve been there at busy times before (President’s Week last year) but last week was like we’ve never seen before. Ninety minute plus waits for Space Mountain and Soaring Over California. Fast passes running out by early afternoon. I think we waited an hour and a half for Monsters, Inc. Yes, Monsters Inc. The Dumbo line curled around to where the stationary Dumbo is (up by the Casey Jr train). There were so many people from Oregon there, all wearing their U of O and OSU gear. And a lot of people from Arizona too (wearing Cardinals gear, which I thought was odd). But my son (who is just tall enough for roller coasters now) had enough courage to try Space Mountain (thanks to his “date” with his Auntie Koren) and he fell in love with the ride! We were absolutely beat after the trip, but the kids had a blast, so it’s all worth it.

My wife is out of town for work tonight but I’m not as busy or flustered as in the past. My 2 year old daughter Kacey gave me a little trouble, but she’s asleep now. She was crying because she didn’t have a certain toy in her room (not even in her crib). I had to bring that in and then she was fine. And my 5 year old son Jared usually goes to sleep at 8:30-ish, but he got himself ready for bed by 8:00 tonight. Brushed his teeth and got into bed all by himself. Why, you may ask? Well, seems as though he lost his first tooth today and he has an acquaintance (I’m trying not to implicate anyone here) that gets $20 a tooth. Unfortunately he won’t be getting that much, so his zeal for the Tooth Fairy may wane as his other teeth fall out. I think $2 for the first tooth and $1 each for subsequent ones is more than reasonable. Although I told him that he should put his tooth under his acquaintance’s pillow, but he didn’t seem to go for that one.

So, on to American Idol. It’s not only Country Night, but it’s Dolly Parton night. Her credentials are amazing. Over 3000 songs written. Twenty-five #1s. Over 100 plastic surgeries. Why does everyone who has plastic surgery end up looking like The Joker? Or Joan Collins? I have to admit that I don’t know many of Dolly Parton’s songs, so I can’t tell you if they changed it up or if they sang it better/worse than the original. As I imagined, she was not a great mentor, as she really didn’t want to critique the contestants. I think one of the best mentors was Barry Manilow. Dolly was nice, but useless to the singers.

01 – Brooke White, Jolene

Of course, she was sitting and playing the guitar, but also had a violin player and some dude sitting on something (was it a bongo?) and banging away during the song. It was kind of an odd arrangement of instrumentals. Randy said the song suited her voice, but that she rushed the music at times. Paula called her consistent and praised her for putting her heart and soul into the song. And said she had an emotional connection to the song. Simon said it lacked any emotion. I thought the words to the song were pretty cool, but I really don’t know if she was good or not tonight. I think she’s better than the bottom 3, but don’t think she blew anyone away.

02 – David Cook, Little Sparrow

David had a mini-interview before his song with Ryan and I think they did it so that he could address his arrangements in previous songs. This show is so popular now that if a singer “samples” a version from another artist, it runs rampant on the internet. That happened to Chris Daughtry a few years back when he did a version of a song that Fuel did and he accepted the accolades without acknowledging Fuel. And that totally bothered me at the time. AI has a habit of retroactively addressing things that come out in the media. It’s funny because they don’t really tell you what came out, but rather address it through the back door. I guess I’m okay with that, but whatever. David copped to copying arrangements from other artists and put a positive spin on it by saying the artists were pleased that he used their version. On to the actual performance now. Randy said that he made his own arrangement and it was hot. Paula liked his haircut. Simon said it wasn’t as good as last week, but he did well. I thought it was fine. David is cruising now. It looks as though he’s made up some ground on the other David (Archuleta).

03 – Ramiele Malubay, Do I Ever Cross Your Mind

Ramiele seemed a bit ahead of the music tonight. Almost like she just wanted to the get song over with. I’m actually very disappointed in her because she has a wonderful voice, but her performance skills are lacking. She seems very bland and boring most of the time. Not that I was ever really on her bandwagon, but I’m totally off it now. Randy was not jumping up and down, but he wasn’t mad at her either. Gave her a 6 ½ out of 10. Paula said she really connected with the audience. Simon said it was cute and she sang it well, but it was forgettable and something you’d see on a cruise ship. I think Ramiele is in the bottom 3 tomorrow and possibly off the show.

04 – Jason Castro, Travelin’ Thru

Dolly tried to make a lame joke about his dreadlocks and called him funky looking. I thought he was better tonight, but I’m really not a fan of his. Randy said it started rough, but he worked it out. Paula called it one his strongest performances. Simon, of course, didn’t like it at all. I was surprised to see Jason in the bottom 3 last week. Granted I didn’t hear him sing the night before, but I thought his popularity was greater than that. My guess is that he’s not in the bottom 3 again any time soon, as last week was a wake up call to his fans to make sure they call in to keep him on the show. I’ve never heard this song and thought it was a’ight. He’ll be safe tomorrow night.

05 – Carly Henne, er Smithson, Here You Come Again

I think it was Reginald VelJohnson (the father from “Family Matters” and the Sgt that bonds w/ Bruce Willis in “Die Hard”) playing guitar on the stage as Carly was singing. I’ve never heard this song, but it sounded like some other ‘80s song that I can’t put my finger on. I won’t doubt the fact that Carly has an awesome voice, but as the USA Today blogger calls her, she’s this year’s glory note queen. This is not new news, but I just can’t stand her. Be it she’s not American or that she had a major record deal previously. Or that she conveniently changed her name before the show because she’s known around Hollywood as Carly Hennessy. Pick any one of them and that’s why I hope she doesn’t win. Actually I hope she doesn’t get another record deal out of this (but she will). Do I need to let this go? Or do some of you feel the same way? Randy called it one of the best performances of the night. Paula called her glorious. Simon said it was good, not great and criticized her wardrobe. What’s the saying, you can dress up a pig, but she’s still a pig? Maybe she just need to sing in the background like in “Singin’ In The Rain.” Or maybe she’s got a face for radio. I think Carly’s safe tomorrow, but I can’t see her surpassing either David. She may be the highest female finisher though. It’s close between her and Brooke, who seems to have quite a following now.

06 – David Archuleta, Smoky Mountain Memories

David rocked the argyle sweater with the Member’s Only jacket tonight. I love how wardrobe and makeup tries to make someone look different by throwing some gel in the hair and messing it up. David is so straight laced that his hair just looks like someone ran his hand through it. Randy said David was back tonight and said it was the best performance of the night. Paula said he has an amazing tone and used glorious again. Simon called it absolutely right on the money. It seems as though the coronation of David Archuleta was a bit premature. I still love the kid and hope he wins. Maybe his faltering a bit early on will help him in the end, as it’s hard to keep that level following “Imagine” throughout the whole competition. And there was a report that his “stage dad” will keep him from winning, as people will be reluctant to vote for him. We’ll see. If he’s the American Idol or not, I think he’s going to be successful in this business. Obviously I think he’s safe tomorrow night.

07 – Kristy Lee Cook, Coat of Many Colors

Kristy is a bit of a paradox because she’s this “tall drink of water” that is a total tomboy. I’ll pass along a friend’s Look-a-likes later, but he had her looking like Kelly Preston, which I totally see. I remember her in “Secret Admirer” with C. Thomas Howell and Lori Loughlin and “Space Camp” with Lea Thompson in the mid ‘80s. Then she had her ‘90s run of “Jerry Maguire” and “For Love of the Game.” I actually read “For Love of the Game” before it was a movie and, like in most cases, the book was much better. Back to Kristy. Dolly Parton, being country, was right up her alley. Randy said this was in her wheelhouse. Paula said she looked stunning. Simon said last week was better and it was pleasant, but forgettable. I actually thought Kristy would’ve been gone by now but I guess she’s been making it through by the skin of her teeth. I don’t mind her sticking around because I know she’s not going to outlast either David. I wouldn’t mind her outlasting Carly though. It seems that Kristy will be safe tomorrow, but wouldn’t it be ironic if she goes on Country Night?

08 – Syesha Mercado, I Will Always Love You

Vanna White cameo! With her hair up like it was, Syesha looked like Thelma from “Good Times.” This song is always so strange because after Whitney sang it like she did, I can’t imagine Dolly’s version. I YouTube’d it and Dolly sang it in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” to Burt Reynolds, but it just pales in comparison to Whitney’s version. Dolly actually sings it very well, but I can’t hear it any other way than the way Whitney arranged it. And is it okay to say that I liked “The Bodyguard?” It was rumoured that Princess Diana was going to star in the sequel to this movie with Kevin Costner reprising his role as Frank Farmer, but it never got past the final draft stage and she was subsequently killed in the infamous car crash before the film could progress any further (like how I put the extra “u” in rumoured because she’s British?). Anyway, per usual, no one can sing a Whitney song better than the original, nor can anyone change it up to sound any better. AI just need to put a kibosh on Whitney songs because obviously the contestants don’t know any better. But it’s been 7 seasons, they should have a clue by now. Randy said she took on the biggest tiger of the night, but it was hard for him to hear anyone else sing that song. Paula said she looked beautiful and she has a velvety tone (not glorious?). Simon called it good, but not a fantastic version. I think Syesha will be in the bottom 3 again tomorrow, as she’s struggling to find a fan base.

09 – Michael Johns, It’s All Wrong but It’s All Right

Michael came out with an ascot tonight, a la “My Fair Lady” or “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” Don’t know if I dug that or not. I thought it was a bit over the top, but Randy said he brings it up a notch every week. Paula called him a star. Then Simon got cut off by my TiVo. I think Michael may be on the bubble tomorrow night.

Bottom 3 – Ramiele, Syesha, Michael

Top 3 – David Cook, David Archuleta, Brooke

And a last note on my favorite show, Dancing With The Stars. Can I tell you how much I love this show? I wish I’d have watched it from the get go. I will be absolutely shocked if Kristi Yamaguchi doesn’t win this year. Although she does have the advantage of figure skating. Her “lines” and showmanship from skating give her a leg up on her competitors. Jason Taylor is amazingly graceful for a dude who is 1) a football player and 2) 6’6” and 240 pounds. He and his partner, Edyta could be the best looking couple on the face of the earth. Deaf actress Marlee Matlin is on the show. Yes, you read that correctly. DEAF actress Marlee Matlin. And she’s good. It’s amazing. Julianne Hough will not win this season (she’s won the last 2 seasons with Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves) because she has Adam Carolla as her partner, but she continues to be the best choreographer out there. Which is amazing in itself because she’s only 19. Her brother Derek and Shannon Elizabeth are pretty good too. Steve Guttenburg just got eliminated, but he was such a good sport and came off as the nicest guy on earth. All this and DWTS has the best hosts out there in Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris. And the judges are even awesome. Carrie Ann Inaba is Paula, but relevant and insightful. She knows when to coddle and when to constructively criticize. And the repartee between Tom and Len Goodman is 180 degrees from the forced jabs that Seacrest and Simon throw at each other. But no, a DWTS recap is not coming, but you may get more of it in these AI recaps, if you’ll indulge me…