American Idol 2008 - Top 8 Performance (4/08/08) Recaps
Week eight of America Idol 2008 live performances brings us the Top 8 contestants fighting to stay in the game. With pretty much all of the weaker competition now out of the running, the contestants have no choice but to step up their game if they want to stay alive. This week was Inspirational Song week so the Idol hopefuls had plenty of song choices to pick that perfect song for their style. As usual, however, some did better than others.
I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that last night’s show was a bit surprising to me. I was impressed by a few contestants who I didn’t think could impress me the way they did and I was let down by a few who I had really been rooting for. That’s how it sometimes goes on this show, of course, so you have to brace yourself for anything. Unfortunately, one person won’t be getting another chance to prove themselves.
This is how I felt the contestants performed last night, ranked from best to worst:
The American Idol 2008 Top 12
- Jason Castro - “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Braddah Iz - I’ve been waiting and waiting for Jason to step out of his box and knock one out of the park…who knew he could knock one out of the park while still being comfortably ensconced right in the middle of his box. He might not have stretched his style or gone out on a limb but he did pick the perfect version of a great song for him at this point in the competition. He sang it perfectly and stayed true to his style and his niche so I guess there’s something to be said for that. It might be the best we ever see out of Jason Castro. I hope it’s not because I really dig his music.
Jason Castro - “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Braddah Iz
- David Archuleta - “Angelsâ€Â? by Robbie Williams - David just comes out and does his thing week after week. Like Simon, I could nitpick and find little faults, but there’s really no point since they’re all overshadowed by David’s overall skill and talent. If I have a complaint it’s the same one I’ve had for a while now…David’s music is kind of boring. We know he’s not going to come out and just blow us away or show us something we haven’t seen before. There’s just no excitement factor involved at all…for me (I’m sure 12 year old girls think differently). Still, he’s got the talent.
David Archuleta - “Angels� by Robbie Williams
- Kristy Lee Cook - “Anywayâ€Â? by Martina McBride - This girl is a fighter! You have to hand it to Kristy, she never gives up. This girl has come out swinging every single week. Just when we all thought she was definitely the next on the chopping block and everyone was writing her off…bam…she comes out and has, arguably, her best performance of the season. I know there’s a lot of you that don’t care for Kristy, but she had a solid performance this week. She deserves another week and I think she’s going to get it.
Kristy Lee Cook - “Anyway� by Martina McBride
- Michael Johns - “Dream Onâ€Â? by Aerosmith - I don’t know if this was the best song choice Michael could have made - somehow I don’t think it was - but it was a decent choice and he performed it pretty well. Yeah, there were a few pitch problems or whatever, but Michael finally did something he hasn’t been able to do all season long…he outrocked David Cook. That has to be worth something.
Michael Johns - “Dream On� by Aerosmith
- Syesha Mercado - “I Believeâ€Â? by Fantasia - Syesha seems to be doing everything wrong in the song choice department. First she takes on Whitney and now she takes on a previous Idol winner (and Fantasia no less). I don’t consider that a smart move by any means. However, I disagree with what Randy said to her. I think Syesha did a good job with the song. I didn’t feel like she wasn’t connected to the song. It wasn’t her best performance but it was good enough to warrant another week in the competition.
Syesha Mercado - “I Believe� by Fantasia
- Brooke White - “You’ve Got a Friendâ€Â? by Carol King - Brooke needed to come out and wow us this week after a bottom three finish last week. Unfortunately, she came out and bored us. She has a great voice and I think everyone feels like she seems like a nice person, but performing songs like this isn’t going to win her the title of the next American Idol. This wasn’t the right song for her this week.
Brooke White - “You’ve Got a Friend� by Carol King
- David Cook - “Innocentâ€Â? by Our Lady Peace - The problem with taking big chances like David Cook has been doing is that sometimes it works and sometimes you have a huge misfire like this week’s performance. There wasn’t much of anything good about David’s performance this week. The song was all wrong. He sang parts of it well, but most of it was a incoherent mess and the “Give Back” written on his hand for the camera was a bit much for me. Nice try, David, but it didn’t work this time. Don’t go back to playing it safe, though. Keep taking chances because that’s your best chance for winning this thing.
David Cook - “Innocent� by Our Lady Peace
- Carly Smithson - “The Show Must Go Onâ€Â? by Queen - Why in the world she chose this song is beyond me. It was completely wrong for her, for the show. It just didn’t work…much like the outfits that she continues to wear (did she even bother to have a talk with her dresser?). It doesn’t matter how well you can sing if you continue to pick songs that will not allow you to showcase your talent. Even worse for Carly, picking this song shows that she has no sense of who her audience (or her niche) might be so she doesn’t even know whose votes she’s trying to win. She’s not going to win anyone’s with song choices like this.
Carly Smithson - “The Show Must Go On� by Queen
The Top 8 Performances For April 8, 2008
- Jason Castro - “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Braddah Iz
- David Archuleta - “Angels� by Robbie Williams
- Kristy Lee Cook - “Anyway� by Martina McBride
- Michael Johns - “Dream On� by Aerosmith
- Syesha Mercado - “I Believe� by Fantasia
- Brooke White - “You’ve Got a Friend� by Carol King
- David Cook - “Innocent� by Our Lady Peace
- Carly Smithson - “The Show Must Go On� by Queen
Who’s Going Home?
Like most people, I assumed that this would be Kristy Lee Cook’s week to go home. I figured she’d come out like a whipped puppy and give a valiant, but lackluster, effort while everyone else stepped up their game and it would be a no brainer. I should have known better. Kristy decided she didn’t want to go down with a fight. Who can blame her?
Almost as surprising, simply because we’ve grown accustomed to him being so good week after week, was the poor performance of David Cook. When everyone is really battling for that one open spot in the finale against David A., you can’t really afford to have such a lousy week. However, as I said above, if you take big chances, eventually you’re going to miss with one or two. I don’t think his poor performance this week will knock him out of the show. I don’t even think he’ll make the bottom three.
I think the bottom three will be all female this week and will consist of Syesha Mercado, Brooke White, and Carly Smithson. I think all three of them have shown themselves to be vulnerable in the past and their performances last night weren’t good enough to guarantee them a spot next week.
Out of the three I really think Brooke and Carly have the most to fear. I think Syesha probably has a fairly good sized niche that is voting for her on a regular basis and I think she performed the best out of the three of them. Between Brooke and Carly, I think Brooke probably has the greatest number of fans and performs the most consistently from week to week. Therefore, my pick to get voted out this week is Carly Smithson.
The American Idol Top 8
- David Archuleta, 17, Murray, UT
- Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, TX
- David Cook, 25, Tulsa, OK
- Kristy Lee Cook, 24, Selma, OR
- Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles, CA
- Syesha Mercado, 21, Miami, FL
- Carly Smithson, San Diego, CA
- Brooke White, 24, Van Nuys, CA
Ramiele Malubay, 20, Miramar, FL(Top 9)Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, CA(Top 10)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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