Reality Roll Call

By Deb Porter-Jones

Tonight American Idol has invited country music legend Dolly Parton to share some of her wisdom gained from more than four decades in the music business.  The singers will all be performing Dolly’s own country songs.

Dolly is such a warm, inspiring performer (just like Paula, right?) and she said she finds it difficult to critique other singers. She knows what it’s like to be a singer and have your performances judged – so most likely she’ll be taking it easy on our young performers. 

Tonight we begin with Brooke White who sings “Jolene” – and of course plays guitar.  Randy thought her performance was just “alright, a little pitchy”.  Paula gave some rather obscure and ambiguous comments that didn’t give you a clear idea of what she thought – I suspect that means she thought the performance was not very good but was just too darn nice to say so.  Simon thought the performers onstage with her “looked very odd,” but the rest of the rest of his comments were kind of drowned out by Paula and Randy’s protests.  I think she did an okay job.  I hate to say it, but I agree with something that Randy said several weeks ago.  She’s in grave danger of being considered “musical wallpaper”.  I give her a C.

David Cook was up next.  He talks about how he is able to put his own spin on the songs that he performs.  He chose “Little Sparrow” and Dolly was very impressed with his voice.  I must admit I don’t think I’ve ever heard this song before but I gotta admit; it didn’t matter.  David Cook is always able to make a believer out of me – no matter what song he chooses to sing.  He brought out the falsetto aspect of his voice that I didn’t know he had and paired it with the smoky, guttural tones of his voice that I loved anyway.  Randy appreciated that he was able to embrace the falsetto while still staying true to the rocker that he is.  Paula loved his rendition of “Little Sparrow”, which she had never heard sung by a man before.  Simon didn’t like the performance as much as last week, but conceded that David had done a good job.  I give him an A.

Ramiele Malubay was positively awe-struck by Dolly, and Dolly loved that she is also a “little person”.  Dolly thought Ramiele’s choice of the song “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?” was a “good little choice” for her.  Randy thought it was a 6 ½ out of 10.  Paula thought she really connected with the audience and she had fun.  Simon thought, “we’re not gonna remember this in 10 years time” and was “forgettable and reminiscent of something you’d see on a cruise ship.”  Sorry, I agree.  I give her a C.

Jason Castro received a bunch of postcards in the form of fan mail from the same girl (stalker material, no doubt).  Dolly loved his dreads and thought he had a “funky, cool, relaxed” way about him so the “Travelling Through” song was appropriate for him.  I think he did an okay job.  It wasn’t anything earth-shattering vocally, but Jason did a good job.  And he played guitar for the performance.  Randy thought he did a good job, Paula thought it was his best performance yet, and Simon didn’t like it at all.  I give him a B.

Next up was Carly Smithson who sang “Here You Come Again”.  Dolly thought it was a perfect song choice for Carly and that her voice is the perfect voice for this song.  I think she did a really good job with this song.  Randy thought it was one of the better performances of the night, great job”.  Paula thought it was excellent; she looked great, all good stuff.  Simon thought it was, “good, not great, and she’s gotta have a word with who’s dressing her”.   I give her a B+.

David Archuleta chose “Smoky Mountain Memories”.  Dolly was blown away and said she thought he, “has the voice to become a great, great singer”.  He did a wonderful job with this song; so much feeling.  Randy thought it was the best performance of the night.  Paula agreed and so did Simon!  I give him an A.

Syesha Mercado chose “I Will Always Love You”, which was originally performed by Dolly and then re-arranged by Whitney Houston, whose version really skyrocketed.  Dolly thought she’s a pretty girl, and a good singer and she, “did real well.”  I think she did an okay job.  She didn’t sing it like Dolly did originally, nor did she sing it like Whitney did.  Randy thought she “took on the biggest tiger of the night” and he thinks she did pretty good, “it was alright.”  Paula thought her voice was velvety and she’s “growing and connecting with the audience much more.”  Simon said he almost wished she hadn’t chosen that song because her performance was not as good as the original singers (either of them).  But she did okay.  I think we saw another side of Syesha when Simon was giving his comments.  Her face clouded over and she just looked like she could murder him. She wasn’t really happy with what he had to say.  But, Simon was right.  You can’t sing a song that is probably the most loved ballad in pop music history and think you’re not going to be compared to the original singer or singers.   And by her being an amateur, technically, it was a bit of a stretch for her to think she could pull it off.  I think she deserved a B.

Dolly loves Michael Johns’ voice, and she hopes he does become a star because she “could write some great songs for him”.  He sang “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright”, and he did a great job, too.  I think he was the best performer tonight!  The arrangement was kind of bluesy and sexy, just a piano, electric guitar, backup singers and Michael, with his effortless, sexy raspy voice.  Awesome performance.  I don’t even know this song but he rocked it!  And of course the judges loved his performance as well.  I give him a well-deserved A+!

After tonight’s episode, I feel more strongly than ever that the ones who SHOULD be in the final three are David Cook, David Archuleta and Michael Johns.  These three have been the most consistent (actually David Cook and Michael Johns more so than Archuleta) week after week. I think if the show doesn’t end with these three in the top three, somewhere, America’s got a problem.  Looking forward to the results show tomorrow night!