American Idol Recap: 3/25/2008
by Deb Porter-Jones
Tonight’s theme has the competitors choosing songs from the year of their birth. We begin with Ramiele Mulabay, the little bitty singer with the great big voice. I really like Ramiele; I think she’s cute as a button. After last week’s performance, which wasn’t great by any standards, I wonder if she can survive this week, too. The show begins with the singers sharing baby pictures and talking about their childhood antics. Of course, Ramiele was adorable, with a shock of dark, unruly hair and a big spirit in a sweet little package.
Ramiele starts the night off with “How Do I Get You Alone?”, a song that was previously sung by another contestant earlier in the competition. My only problem with her performance was that the back-up singer’s voice was annoyingly louder than Ramiele’s. But in her defense, Ramiele had lost her voice shortly before the night began. Randy didn’t like her performance at all; he thought the song was wrong for her, and Paula was glad America got to see what a “big voice” she has. Surprisingly, Simon thought Randy was too harsh on her and that her performance today was better than last week. I thought she gave a good performance and give her a B.
Next was Jason Castro, who is celebrating a birthday today. He talked about his childhood and how his first instrument was a toy guitar. He also mentioned how he was always complimented for having such beautiful eyes. I totally understand that; the kid’s gorgeous in a seriously androgynous way. He was back onstage with the guitar and sang a Spanish song entitled “How Fragile We Are” by Sting. He gave a good performance, but, unfortunately, nothing that hits it out of the park, vocally. Jason’s never going to be accused of having a fabulous voice; he’s just a solid talent. Randy thinks that it was a good choice of song and liked the Spanish touch, but the song “didn’t do anything for him vocally.” Paula, of course, gets that he’s “being true to who he is.” Simon thinks this is his second bad week and he reminded him of a subway performer. He thinks his “Hallelujah” performance showed the depth of his talent, but since then he’s just taking it too easy. I think Jason is so laid-back that he can’t get himself riled up to win this thing. I give him a C.
Sayesha Mercado talked about her childhood as a cheerleader (I can SO see her as a cheerleader) and about the fact that she is still a kid at heart. She sings “If I Were Your Woman” by Gladys Knight. She did a great job with this song. This is a tough song to sing by a legend in the music business and she did Gladys some justice with this song. Randy thought it was “stellar, unbelievable, better than when she auditioned, blazing hot.” Paula thought it “pitch perfect, brilliant, she’s now the Dark Horse.” Simon didn’t think the ending was as good as Randy thinks and thinks that her vocals have a limit – the ending stretched it for him. I think she put on an excellent performance and thank God, she’s back in the competition. For some reason, she seemed to have lost her confidence the last couple of weeks. I think ballads with deep meaning are the way to show off your talent and she really did that. She gets an A.
Chikezie talked about his childhood and his parents talked about the fact that he would hum and sing everything when he was a child. His parents are Nigerian so he was exposed to everything from Nigerian cultural music to religious music. Chikezie chose to sing “If Only For One Night” by Luther Vandross. Luther is tough to do. In my opinion, Chikezie started off pitchy but he soon got it together and did an okay job. Randy thought it was boring and “old school”. Paula disagreed and felt that he is a “throwback” and did a great job. Simon thought he “sang it well” but thought the performance was very “cheesy, putting his hand into the audience for the ladies.” Simon thought he didn’t see anything original and “misses his personality”. Chikezie said he was singing for the ladies but apparently Simon was not impressed. Simon “misses the old Chikezie”, whatever that means. I thought it was just okay; he’s a good singer but I can’t say Chikezie’s blown my socks off consistently week after week. I give him a B.
Next up was Brooke White, who talked about her childhood memories from when the family got a new piano and she taught herself to play by ear. She’s a sweet girl but she usually fails to deliver consistently, too. She played piano and sang “Every Breath You Take” by Sting. She started off a little rocky, but soon got herself together and did an okay job. I don’t know if she can hang on much longer. Randy clearly didn’t care for the performance at all, passing along some hurtful sarcasm about her starting the song and then stopping and starting again, “lot of good professionalism there.” Randy’s in rare form tonight; it seems like he’s trading places with Simon. Paula thinks Brooke has carved herself a “niche” and is consistent. Simon agreed with Randy that the arrangement with the band coming in and speeding up the tempo was not good, but her performance was markedly better than next week, definitely good enough to keep her in the competition. I’m not so sure, though. I give her a B.
This brings us to Michael Johns, the Australian. Michael’s mom related how competitive he was as a child. Michael had aspirations of becoming a tennis player until the singing bug bit him. He sang “We Are the Champions” by Queen, and he was great! It was different and refreshing and proved that Michael’s got such talent! I love this guy! Of course, the judges were ALL beaming when his performance was over. Randy said it “was the best performance since he’s been on the show.” Paula thought it was “fantastic” and Simon thought it was the first time he’s seen “star potential” in him and “the only memorable performance tonight.” I’ve always known that Michael was super-talented and I’m glad he’s finally proven that tonight. I give him a well-deserved A.
Next up was Carly Smithson from Dublin, Ireland. She was named after the singer Carly Simon because her mom heard a song by Carly on the radio when she was driving Carly home from the hospital. Carly sang “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Kim Carnes. I thought she did a great job. This is a really difficult song to sing – with variations in the pitch from really low to practically yelling in the span of one line. I thought she did a good job, considering it’s a really difficult song. Randy didn’t like it, thought it was pitchy in spots and he just didn’t like it. Paula thought she did a great job and “could do no wrong tonight.” Simon thought “something didn’t quite work” maybe she was “tense and uptight” and he agrees with Randy’s assessment of her performance. She gets a B.
David Archuleta shared some fond family memories of dancing as a child with his sister. And we discover that David is a very sweet and loving teenager that everyone loves (who knew?). He sang a song that I’ve never heard before entitled “You’re the Voice” and he did an okay job. I wasn’t blown away; it sounded a little pitchy to me. Randy thought it was “very nice”, Paula said he “could sing the phone book and we’d fall in love with it”. Simon didn’t like it at all, he thought it was “reminiscent of a theme park performance” and the song just wasn’t something that David would choose. I give him a B.
Kristie Lee Cook talks about her childhood and the fact that she was “born smiling” and was a really loud child who sang all the time from the age of 3. Kristie chose “I’m Proud to be an American”. She did a really god job with it and gave a nice performance. Nothing earth-shattering, mind you, but good. Randy thought it was a “great song choice” and a “very nice performance”. Paula said she’s “seen better performance, but watch the pitch problems.” Simon thought it was her “best performance by a mile” and it’s going to keep her in the competition. I’m not so sure about that. I give her a C.
David Cook is up next and talks about how funny-looking he was as a child. Parents bought him a guitar when he was two and he was hooked. David sings “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. You know David switched things up and made it his own. The band included some stringed instruments that just totally changed the flavor and texture of this classic song. Randy said he is probably “the most original, the most bold contestant they’ve ever had” and he might be the one to win this thing. Paula talked about how smart and brave and brilliant he is. Simon concurred and said it could have either been really disastrous or amazing – and he thinks it was amazing. I give him a well-deserved A+.
I’ve said it from the earliest days of the competition, David Cook is hot and no one seems to really get it. Just like they didn’t get Amanda Overmyer and now it’s too late for her. This guy is one of the best, most original performers this show has ever had. Of the remaining contestants, in my opinion, Michael Johns, David Cook and Syesha Mercado are our top three.
Stay tuned – results show tomorrow night with a special performance by Idol alumnus Kimberly Locke!
Similar Posts:
Loading ...