American Idol 2008 - Top 10 Performance (3/25/08) Recaps
Week six of American Idol 2008 live performances find the top 10 contestants in a neck and neck, week by week race to see who can go the distance. There are definitely some early favorites, but at this stage it’s still anyone’s game. That fact was proven last night when some of the early favorites stumbled while some who have been stumbling turned in some of their best performances.
The theme this week was “Songs From The Year You Were Born” which should have been infinitely better than a second week of the Beatles but ended up being only mediocre as far as song choices were concerned. I’m convinced that song choice will be the absolute deciding factor this year on who wins the competition. Song choice has always been important but I don’t think we’ve ever seen so many talented people have such a hard time choosing the correct songs for themselves.
The American Idol 2008 Top 12
- David Cook - Billie Jean - David Archuleta may still be the favorite to win this competition but after hearing this performance from David Cook is there any doubt left as to which of these ten will sell the most albums? David continues to blow it out of the park week after week and this performance was so far above and beyond anything else that the others did on this show that David should be number one for next week too just based on this song. Insane and amazing.
David Cook - Billie Jean
- Michael Johns - We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions - Finally! Finally, Michael did what we knew he could do if he’d just do it. He rocked out. I’m not a big Queen fan, but Michael has proven that he can tackle Queen songs with gusto and were it not for David Cook he would have finally proven himself as the rocker of the competition. His problem now will be overcoming David Cook’s impressive stage presence and gutsy song choices. If he keeps making great song choices like this, though, I like his chances for the next several weeks at least.
Michael Johns - We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions
- Syesha Mercado - If I Were Your Woman - If I’m being honest, this song was actually a little boring. Syesha’s vocals, however, were not. Syesha is one of the best vocalists on the show and she’s really starting to get into a groove. The song, although slightly boring, did offer her a chance to show off some impressive skills. Those skills vaulted her into our #3 position so I guess it wasn’t a horrible choice. If she starts picking better songs she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with for sure.
Syesha Mercado - If I Were Your Woman
- David Archuleta - You’re The Voice - Everyone’s favorite prepubescent cherub can really wail so it’s no surprise to find him, once again, at the top of our list. Had he made a better song choice he probably would have done better. It’s pretty bad when the judges have to discuss what song he’s singing. Still, David sung it well. I’d like to see him take some more chances. His early favorite status is really starting to slip as people like David Cook are coming out and tearing it up. I’m no longer certain David A is a shoo-in for the win.
David Archuleta - You’re The Voice
- Brooke White - Every Breath You Take - Oh no, she messed up! Who cares? It happens all the time. She recovered and went about her business. She did another great job and was much truer to herself this week than she was last week. I agree with the judges that the song probably would have been better without the band coming in, but that says a lot about the power of Brooke’s voice. I’m not convinced Brooke can win this thing, but I think she’s winning over a lot of fans right now.
Brooke White - Every Breath You Take
- Kristy Lee Cook - God Bless The USA - That right, I put her at #6. If it weren’t for other really good performances I would have put her even higher. Say whatever you want, but Kristy’s song choice was completely brilliant. If you don’t vote for Kristy you’re a Communist! Okay, maybe not, but she still made a pretty solid case for herself to the country fans out there. She did a good job with a classic song that pretty much everyone loves. Great choice that saves her again.
Kristy Lee Cook - God Bless The USA
- Jason Castro - Fragile - As a Jason Castro fan it pains me to put him this low on the list. Unfortunately, I have to agree with what Simon said on the show. I think Jason needs to take some more chances and show us more of what he’s got. He’s not going to be able to do this whole meek, folksy, safe thing week after week and expect to win while people like David Cook are really pushing the limits. I love his voice and I want him to do well, but he’s going to have to step it up.
Jason Castro - Fragile
- Carly Smithson - Total Eclipse of the Heart - I actually liked the sound of Carly’s voice in this song more than I normally do. Normally she does a lot of high notes and there’s something about her voice when she does them that I really don’t like. So I thought that part was actually better. Still, though, there was something missing from her performance last night. The judges noticed it, I noticed it, and the people voting just might notice it as well.
Carly Smithson - Total Eclipse of the Heart
- Chikezie - If Only For One Night - It seems like it’s either all or nothing with Chikezie. Either he’s pushing it too far and trying to do too much (like last week with the harmonica) or he’s not pushing it far enough. This week he played it safe and tried to depend on his vocal skills to pull him through. Chikezie can definitely sing. I liked his voice on the song and I thought he sung it well, but I also agreed with the judges in that it did sound kind of old fashioned. He didn’t do enough to try to make it more contemporary.
Chikezie - If Only For One Night
- Ramiele Malubay - Alone - Yes, she’s cute. Yes, I like her. No, she’s not good enough to win this competition. Vocally, this was easily the worst song of the night. I know she has a lot of fans, but at some point better singers are going to start getting voted off if Ramiele stays in the competition. This was a bad song choice that she didn’t sing well…and she went first…all of which usually spells doom.
Ramiele Malubay - Alone
The Top 10 Performances For March 25, 2008
- David Cook - Billie Jean
- Michael Johns - We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions
- Syesha Mercado - If I Were Your Woman
- David Archuleta - You’re The Voice
- Brooke White - Every Breath You Take
- Kristy Lee Cook - God Bless The USA
- Jason Castro - Fragile
- Carly Smithson - Total Eclipse of the Heart
- Chikezie - If Only For One Night
- Ramiele Malubay - Alone
Who’s Going Home?
Every week it gets harder and harder to figure out who’s going to be in the bottom three and who’s going to go home. There’s a couple of people you can almost be sure will be safe based on popularity and past performances. I’d say that David Cook, David Archuleta, and Brooke White are probably in that category. There’s a couple who should be safe based on their performance last night. Michael Johns and Syesha Mercado fit in that category.
It gets a lot harder after that. Jason Castro seems to be really popular but is he popular enough to overcome a poor showing this week? Kristy Lee Cook has been in the bottom three every week, but last night did a good job with a great song choice. Was it enough to keep her out of the bottom three this week? Ramiele had a messy performance but apparently has legions of Filipino fans. Will they keep her in the competition at all costs? Then there’s Carly who was an early judges’ favorite but who faltered last week and had a poor showing last night. Will her fans come to her rescue and save her this week? What about Chikezie who blew us away only a couple of weeks ago? Did he win over enough fans to make up for two weeks of poor performances?
See what I mean? There are a lot of tough questions to ask and answer before we know who will be at the bottom.
I think I’m going to say that Chikezie will probably end up in the bottom three this week. Two poor showings in a row along with a bad critique from the judges last night is just too much to overcome when you’re up against so many good singers. Chikezie is good but he doesn’t inspire loyal followers or rabid fans who will move mountains (or vote dozens of times) to keep him in. He’s in the bottom three.
I’m afraid Carly Smithson showed us last week that she’s vulnerable as well. If she had come out and really blown us away this week I would have said that her being in the bottom three was a fluke that would probably not happen again. Unfortunately for her, that didn’t happen. She came out and had a poor showing while others around her stepped up their game. She’s in the bottom three.
My third choice for the bottom three is Ramiele Malubay. Although I am aware that she has a lot of fans, I don’t think she has enough to overcome her recent poor performances and keep her out of the bottom three this week. I could be wrong, of course…which would actually be kind of scary. She was the worst performer this week and deserves to be in the bottom.
Still, though, I don’t think Ramiele will be going home. Her time is coming, but I’m not ready to say that this is her week (although I’d be okay with it if it were). Instead, my pick to go home this week is actually Chikezie. I don’t think he deserves to go home because I think he brings a lot of talent to the table. I’d like to see him stick around at least a few more weeks and see what he’s got left to show us, but I think he’ll be the one voted out this week.
The American Idol Top 10
- David Archuleta, 17, Murray, UT
- Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, TX
- David Cook, 25, Tulsa, OK
- Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, OR
- Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, CA
- Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles, CA
- Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, FL
- Syesha Mercado, 21, Miami, FL
- Carly Smithson, San Diego, CA
- Brooke White, 24, Van Nuys, CA
Amanda Overmyer, 23, Mulberry, IN(Top 11)David Hernandez, 24, Glendale, AZ(Top 12)
For a quick recap of each contestant from a slightly different perspective and to see who Jeff’s picks are, swing by Static ThinkBox and see what Jeff has to say about last night’s episode. As always, please remember that we make our picks independently and without knowing who the other is picking as the best and worst.
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