Haterade gets 2 out of the bottom 3 last week - and looks to continue his new streak as we go to Broadway night. Will the performances bring the house down or will it be a tragedy?
We not only have a band this week, we have an orchestra, which is what you need when you are performing the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Webber's advice to the idolists is to make them sing a story - besides don't vote me off, bro. Let's see how successful (or how much of a train wreck) it's going to be this evening.
Syesha Mercado
starts it off with...'One Rock and Roll Too Many' from Starlight Express? When she selected the song, was she enjoying one fuzzy navel too many?
The Good - For the second straight week, we get personality. Making out with the band was a definite plus, because it shows us who you are as a performer. And the red dress was nice.
The Bad - I'll reiterate what I said earlier. Out of all of the songs in Webber's collection, she had to select THAT? She performs it well, but surely there's a much more familiar song that she could have connected with than Starlight Express. She needs to connect with mainstream America to get more votes, and this is not the song to do that with.
The Verdict - Syesha's performance did enough to ensure that she does not get eliminated this week. I'm not sure if Syesha's song selection was enough to avoid being in the bottom three.
Jason Castro
is familiar with the music - but has never seen the musicals. Uh oh. He sings 'Memory' from Cats, and didn't realize that a cat sung it. Oh boy...
The Good - Very wise choice of song, from a popularity standpoint. This is a song that most people have heard of, regardless of if they have seen the musical - and this is the sort of music that people want to hear. He continues to traditionally emote to the camera, and he has a very nice finish to the song...
The Bad - ...which he needed, because the first half of the song was a disaster. The register was way too low, which made his vocals sound muddled - and the vocals that I did hear were wrong. And the outfit made him look like a cat pimp. If he sang that song to a real group of cats, they would probably treat him like a scratching post and mangle his vocal chords to make him stop.
The Verdict - He sounded like a cat in boiling water. Not only does that open the door for Brooke, but if she drills him into the floor, I'm not sure if any of his lives (out of a potential 9) are going to be good enough.
Brooke White
sings the song 'You Must Love Me'. It's a nice song, but when Webber questions if you have a clue of what you're singing about, that's trouble.
The Good - .........I have to come up with something here, dont I? Ummm...she's got a lot of butterflies on her dress and I like butterflies in the Springtime?
The Bad - The problem here is, of course, the stopping and restarting. This is the second time that she has done it, and its not professional when you do it, ever. Stopping and restarting is never a good sign. But it's even worse when the pitch is worse on the second try. She was consistently flat during the entire performance. And once again, she sings a song that has the vocal challenge of a peanut. The problem is that she sang it with the emotional conviction of one as well.
The Verdict - Bottom two. Middle of the stage. Get used to it. Get prepared to make reservations with Jason Castro - unless Carly Smithson does worse.
David Archuleta
, however, should eat this week up. This week is made for schmaltzy power ballads. His choice of schmaltz - 'Think of Me' from Phantom of the Opera. That would just about fit the bill.
The Good - David takes a risk? He does - two-fold. He not only sings a women's song, but he sings a fast tempo'd love song. He accomplishes both of those risks very, very well. And I can tell that it wasn't his dad's choice - I can't imagine that his dad would want him to sing a song that a girl usually sings.
The Bad - That being said, we all know how I feel about men singing women's songs. And he still sings with his eyes closed, which Webber told him not to do. On a side note, can you get any cornier than Ryan Seacrest ordering a bunch of 12 year olds to hug a high school teenager? I thought that sort of stuff was illegal in 40 states. That's just creepy.
The Verdict - Creepiness aside, that goes right next to Syesha in terms of good performances. You figured he was going to do well tonight, and he did. Can he continue taking vocal chances?
Carly Smithson
was going to join Archuleta and sing a song fromThe Phantom of the Opera ('All I Ask of You' ), but Webber stopped her and made her sing something more rockish, like 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Bias against Webber for helping a contestant! Jesus makes his return to the Idol stage since country night 2 weeks ago. WWJD when he hears this?
The Good - Webber is a much better song selector than Carly is. It's a much better idea to have her rock out - especially since there aren't many rock songs. And for once, she FINALLY selects an outfit that matches the song. Good choice of wardrobe ths evening. And she got to sing about Jesus, which is almost always a vote getter.
The Bad - However, I don't think Jesus was in her corner when she mutilated the chorus and sang it wrong not once, but twice. Lots of pitch problems. Lots of missed lyrics. Jesus can turn water into wine, but he can't turn a great performance from mutilated dreck. And the 'Simon Loves Me (This Week)' T-Shirt reeks of desperation.
The Verdict - If Jesus can manage to save her from the bottom three, Carly could surely proclaim it to be a miracle. Then she could do 5,000 Hail Mary's, and make a penance pledge to sing something that won't have my eardrums running to the bathroom and puking their guts out in the sink.
David Cook
finishes the night off with 'Music of the Night' from Phantom of the Opera. Can he act like The Phantom and steal a bunch of votes?
The Good - Very nice choice of song. Now this is a manly song that should be sung full force -which he does. And he nails the money notes, complete through the finale.
The Bad - That first high note finally woke me up from my half-sleep, because he failed to emotionally connect us to the song. Note to the idolists - when you vocally emote, you need to channel it through your complete facial expressions. The eyes, the mouth, etc. David sang the song with a smile on his face the entire time - even through the song itself isn't a happy one throughout. He should have learned that in musical theater.
The Verdict - The only person who connected those dots this evening? Syesha, not David. Yes, it was good, and yes, he'll stick around with no problems, but that sort of song coming from those sort of facial expressions made it sound disjointed. More of a ground rule double than a home run.
The Final Verdict - 3 very nice performances. 3 very ugly performances. Although Syesha may need to be concerned (as should anyone this year who's first name isn't David), for once, this might...MIGHT...be an easy week to predict the bottom three:
TROUBLE - Jason Castro, Broke White, Carly Smithson
But that's where the ease ends, because despite Brooke being far and away the worst singer of the night, I don't think she will be leaving. I think both Brooke and Jason's voters were on alert last night after watching their respective performances, and I think their fan bases call in to bail them out. I think that's going to be very problematic for Smithson, who shares a fanbase with Brooke and Mr. Cook, who sung her into the floor. Quite frankly, with her not being perceived as great (unlike Cook) and not being perceived as in trouble (unlike White), she will be 'just ok', and hence there's no reason to vote for her. I think that puts her in a situation that not even Jesus is going to be able to extricate her out of.
OUT - Carly Smithson
Join us in 24 hours for the results.
Syesha Mercado
starts it off with...'One Rock and Roll Too Many' from Starlight Express? When she selected the song, was she enjoying one fuzzy navel too many?The Good - For the second straight week, we get personality. Making out with the band was a definite plus, because it shows us who you are as a performer. And the red dress was nice.
The Bad - I'll reiterate what I said earlier. Out of all of the songs in Webber's collection, she had to select THAT? She performs it well, but surely there's a much more familiar song that she could have connected with than Starlight Express. She needs to connect with mainstream America to get more votes, and this is not the song to do that with.
The Verdict - Syesha's performance did enough to ensure that she does not get eliminated this week. I'm not sure if Syesha's song selection was enough to avoid being in the bottom three.
Jason Castro
is familiar with the music - but has never seen the musicals. Uh oh. He sings 'Memory' from Cats, and didn't realize that a cat sung it. Oh boy...The Good - Very wise choice of song, from a popularity standpoint. This is a song that most people have heard of, regardless of if they have seen the musical - and this is the sort of music that people want to hear. He continues to traditionally emote to the camera, and he has a very nice finish to the song...
The Bad - ...which he needed, because the first half of the song was a disaster. The register was way too low, which made his vocals sound muddled - and the vocals that I did hear were wrong. And the outfit made him look like a cat pimp. If he sang that song to a real group of cats, they would probably treat him like a scratching post and mangle his vocal chords to make him stop.
The Verdict - He sounded like a cat in boiling water. Not only does that open the door for Brooke, but if she drills him into the floor, I'm not sure if any of his lives (out of a potential 9) are going to be good enough.
Brooke White
sings the song 'You Must Love Me'. It's a nice song, but when Webber questions if you have a clue of what you're singing about, that's trouble. The Good - .........I have to come up with something here, dont I? Ummm...she's got a lot of butterflies on her dress and I like butterflies in the Springtime?
The Bad - The problem here is, of course, the stopping and restarting. This is the second time that she has done it, and its not professional when you do it, ever. Stopping and restarting is never a good sign. But it's even worse when the pitch is worse on the second try. She was consistently flat during the entire performance. And once again, she sings a song that has the vocal challenge of a peanut. The problem is that she sang it with the emotional conviction of one as well.
The Verdict - Bottom two. Middle of the stage. Get used to it. Get prepared to make reservations with Jason Castro - unless Carly Smithson does worse.
David Archuleta
, however, should eat this week up. This week is made for schmaltzy power ballads. His choice of schmaltz - 'Think of Me' from Phantom of the Opera. That would just about fit the bill.The Good - David takes a risk? He does - two-fold. He not only sings a women's song, but he sings a fast tempo'd love song. He accomplishes both of those risks very, very well. And I can tell that it wasn't his dad's choice - I can't imagine that his dad would want him to sing a song that a girl usually sings.
The Bad - That being said, we all know how I feel about men singing women's songs. And he still sings with his eyes closed, which Webber told him not to do. On a side note, can you get any cornier than Ryan Seacrest ordering a bunch of 12 year olds to hug a high school teenager? I thought that sort of stuff was illegal in 40 states. That's just creepy.
The Verdict - Creepiness aside, that goes right next to Syesha in terms of good performances. You figured he was going to do well tonight, and he did. Can he continue taking vocal chances?
Carly Smithson
was going to join Archuleta and sing a song fromThe Phantom of the Opera ('All I Ask of You' ), but Webber stopped her and made her sing something more rockish, like 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Bias against Webber for helping a contestant! Jesus makes his return to the Idol stage since country night 2 weeks ago. WWJD when he hears this?The Good - Webber is a much better song selector than Carly is. It's a much better idea to have her rock out - especially since there aren't many rock songs. And for once, she FINALLY selects an outfit that matches the song. Good choice of wardrobe ths evening. And she got to sing about Jesus, which is almost always a vote getter.
The Bad - However, I don't think Jesus was in her corner when she mutilated the chorus and sang it wrong not once, but twice. Lots of pitch problems. Lots of missed lyrics. Jesus can turn water into wine, but he can't turn a great performance from mutilated dreck. And the 'Simon Loves Me (This Week)' T-Shirt reeks of desperation.
The Verdict - If Jesus can manage to save her from the bottom three, Carly could surely proclaim it to be a miracle. Then she could do 5,000 Hail Mary's, and make a penance pledge to sing something that won't have my eardrums running to the bathroom and puking their guts out in the sink.
David Cook
finishes the night off with 'Music of the Night' from Phantom of the Opera. Can he act like The Phantom and steal a bunch of votes? The Good - Very nice choice of song. Now this is a manly song that should be sung full force -which he does. And he nails the money notes, complete through the finale.
The Bad - That first high note finally woke me up from my half-sleep, because he failed to emotionally connect us to the song. Note to the idolists - when you vocally emote, you need to channel it through your complete facial expressions. The eyes, the mouth, etc. David sang the song with a smile on his face the entire time - even through the song itself isn't a happy one throughout. He should have learned that in musical theater.
The Verdict - The only person who connected those dots this evening? Syesha, not David. Yes, it was good, and yes, he'll stick around with no problems, but that sort of song coming from those sort of facial expressions made it sound disjointed. More of a ground rule double than a home run.
The Final Verdict - 3 very nice performances. 3 very ugly performances. Although Syesha may need to be concerned (as should anyone this year who's first name isn't David), for once, this might...MIGHT...be an easy week to predict the bottom three:
TROUBLE - Jason Castro, Broke White, Carly Smithson
But that's where the ease ends, because despite Brooke being far and away the worst singer of the night, I don't think she will be leaving. I think both Brooke and Jason's voters were on alert last night after watching their respective performances, and I think their fan bases call in to bail them out. I think that's going to be very problematic for Smithson, who shares a fanbase with Brooke and Mr. Cook, who sung her into the floor. Quite frankly, with her not being perceived as great (unlike Cook) and not being perceived as in trouble (unlike White), she will be 'just ok', and hence there's no reason to vote for her. I think that puts her in a situation that not even Jesus is going to be able to extricate her out of.
OUT - Carly Smithson
Join us in 24 hours for the results.
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David Cook will still win the whole thing.
Hateraide, not that it matters considering I will probably ever speak it, but is your name supposed to be pronounced like Gatorade or Hatred (hard t there) - aide.