American Idol - Week Ten - 5/13/08

I’m sure all of you see it coming; the end of the road.

The final three. Has that much time passed already? Seems like yesterday they were having those audition rounds, but now we have our final three. Are we happy? Well, for the most part, I suppose you could have expected it, though I’m surprised to find Syesha there. I honestly think Carly deserved to be there over Syesha. Heck, Carly should have even been in Jason’s spot. But I digress, here we have our final three.

The final three performances every season pretty much follow the same formula; there is a judge’s choice of song, the contestant’s choice, and the producer’s choice (which makes no sense to me, but okay, whatever). Like almost every year, I find that the judge’s choices for the contestants are almost always a success, since most of them are actually IN the music industry. The contestants choices are usually hit or miss, and usually the producer’s choices have you scratching your head. (sometimes though, there is a spot on choice)

So before I get to the contestant performances, remember, next week will be my last review blog about Idol. For those of you who actually took the poll, it seems you do want me to continue reviewing…something. Some of you voted for me to review So You Think You Can Dance, when it begins on May 22nd. But not enough of you have taken the poll, so I don’t know if all of you are interested in watching/me reviewing that show. (I’m willing to take suggestions, so don’t feel limited to the show choices on the poll.)

One person suggested I do a weekly review of all TV/movie news items, and comment on them. Do you guys like that idea maybe? Comment below and tell me! So anyway, I’m going to ask you guys one more time. Take a minute, take the poll, or just comment below. Thanks!!

So as always, let’s move on to the performances:

1.DAVID ARCHULETA –
JUDGE’S CHOICE - Paula - sung "And So It Goes" by Billy Joel – I’ll give Paula some credit, she did pick a very good song for little Porkchop. This song showcased this kid’s vocal talents tremendously, and gave him a chance to sing a capella as well. I was a huge fan of Billy Joel, (though his lack of anything new in over a decade has slowly brought him off that list), but this was always one of my least favorite songs. David didn’t really bring anything new to it per se, but it was nice hearing a slightly different arrangement to it, as well as David’s vocals caressing every word. Very well done for the first round, so props to David, but because it’s a ballad, you can’t help but agree with Simon when he said it was somewhat predictable.
CONTESTANT CHOICE - sung "With You" by Chris Brown – Now this is a side of porkchop I haven’t seen on the show since the season started. A pop, fun, up beat contemporary song?! Just like the judges, I have nothing but praise for David to tackle this song, and for the most part, he sung it pretty well. He looked like he was having fun, but to be honest, it just didn’t fit. As Simon said, it looked awkward. I agree, seeing David sing “My boo” was hysterical, but it just did not fit at all. I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but I actually understood Simon’s metaphor about a rabbit trying to be a tiger (or something like that). Though I will give the performance this much; I FINALLY know what type of artist David could be, should he win Idol. (more on that in my wrap up of Porkchop’s performances.)
PRODUCER’S CHOICE - sung "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg – Ugh. I didn’t like this at all. BOOORING. I found it even more predictable then Paula’s choice of song. I know this kid could sing more then just ballads, but the problem is, no one is challenging him to do so. Heck, David himself gave himself a challenge taking on a Chris Brown song, but it doesn’t seem like the judges nor the producers seem to think he can do it. There was nothing wrong with the way David sung this song. It was vocally brilliant as usual, and as Randy pointed out (many times during the competition), David could sing the phone book and it would sound amazing.

Overall, however, David has pretty much clinched a seat in the finale, as I’ve predicted weeks ago. In the past few weeks, I’ve expressed my confusion as to what type of artist porkchop can be. I don’t think he has the stage presence (yet) to be a complete success on the radio. So I really was confused as to what genre he would fit into. After his performance of the Chris Brown song, it struck me; Disney. That’s right, I think David would fit in PERFECTLY into the whole Myley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers niche. Wholesome songs that would never detract from David’s style, so he would be a nice fit.
And I’ll say this again, we can’t give in to rumors too much, but this is the second time David’s dad, Jeff, has been in the news. This time, he was banned from Idol auditions. I was hoping that the rumors were just that, but doesn’t look like that’s the case. I don’t think David’s dad acting like a show dad has ANYTHING to do with his religion(he’s Morman), as some articles pointed out. A show dad is a show dad, regardless of religion. I just hope he doesn’t wind up ruining his son’s chances of winning because of his own ego.

2.SYESHA MERCADO –
JUDGE’S CHOICE - Randy - sung "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys – I found this to be a pretty good song choice for Syesha, though it wasn’t totally perfect. Syesha sung it well, but for me it lacked the passion that Alicia brings to the song. The original song resonates Alicia’s vocals, but I found it came up short when it came to Syesha’s version. Don’t get me wrong, it was truly a great performance, and probably the best performance out of the three she had tonight. But I found it to be lacking of that passion, and so it kind of soured for me. I can see Syesha putting out an album in this style, but with songs more suited to her vocals.
CONTESTANT CHOICE - sung "Fever" by Peggy Lee – I really have to agree with Simon on what he said about Syesha’s choice; it was a very strange choice, akin to shooting yourself in the foot. This was a chance to show the audience what type of artist you would be, and you choose a song that’s been done to death on Idol?! This doesn’t take away from her performance at all, because it was quite good. Theatrical, sexy and fun, the performance definitely was entertaining. But it just wasn’t contemporary enough for me. By far, this performance has completely proven a point I made weeks ago; Syesha is destined for theater greatness. Broadway is calling her, and looks like she’s starting to listen.
PRODUCER’S CHOICE - sung "Hit Me Up" by Gia Farrell – WHY do they let the Idol producers choose songs?! They produce a TV reality contest about music, but by no means do I think any of them are actually IN music to make good choices. Here is a perfect example of their strange choices. This song was totally unsuited to Syesha’s style or vocals. And what choice did Syesha have but to make the best of it. She tried what she could with the song, had fun, but you can tell in the way she sang it, this was so not her type of song. She sung it well, as she sings all of her songs well, but this pretty much has sealed her fate, because of the whole…awkwardness….of the song.
Out of the three songs Syesha sang, the only one that really stood out for me was the first choice. Saying that, Syesha should be prepared to pack her bags. It wasn’t so much that she sang badly, but because the Davids were a lot better last night.

3.DAVID COOK –
JUDGE’S CHOICE - Simon - sung "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack –Simon was the only one who actually threw a challenging song at his contestant. And knowing the type of artist D.C. is, he was very confidant that he could make a hit of it. Did it work? Well, do you really need to ask? It worked incredibly. David took a song which actually I find extremely boring, and again, changed it up into a rock ballad that I wanted to listen to. And what a high note! I didn’t think David had that kind of power behind his voice, so when he came out and did one of those Idol power notes, not only was it unexpected, but catapulted him into the finale. Seriously, in my opinion, the performance of this song alone could qualify him. It was that good.
CONTESTANT CHOICE - sung "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot – Not as good as his other songs, and by far the weakest of the three choices. Forget the fact that most people are unfamiliar with the song and the band, that never mattered before. I found David to be very (oh dear, I’m about to agree with Randy, and use one of his famous lines…) PITCHY. It really was pitchy though. I love David, and by far, I think I am officially rooting for him in the finale next week. (sorry Porkchop, but I think David has pulled ahead of you) Not David’s best performance, but honestly I don’t this hurt him one bit.
PRODUCER’S CHOICE - sung "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith – It’s bound to happen, so I’m not that shocked that one of the producer’s song choices actually was pretty accurate. This was a perfect song choice for David, and it fit his style to a “T”. I wasn’t crazy about the musical arrangement, but David’s vocals truly shined over that. I’m actually debating whether or not to download the iTunes version, just to hear David sing the whole song. I love the original Aerosmith version, and David’s vocals fill in nicely, neither outshining nor demeaning Steven Tyler’s version.

In the end, David Cook has cemented his place in the finale next week. To be honest, I’ve been saying that for a few weeks now, so it’s no surprise to me that it’s gonna be David squared facing off for the win.

Person to leave tonight:I’m very sorry Syesha Mercado. You did your best, and as some judges pointed out, you peaked at just the right time. But I’m afraid you were outshined by the Davids. But I don’t feel bad for Syesha. You hear that music in the distance? That’s Broadway calling, and my gut tells me Syesha is gonna answer.

Who’s in the finale?: David Cook and David Archuleta.

So what do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Let’s chat it up!

LAST CHANCE! Take my survey! (or comment below!) Thanks!
Take our Online Survey