Idol Thoughts: Top 9...An Alright Night for Country....

With 9 performances to get to in an hour, they got right to it. Dolly Parton was the coach and she looked great....sounded pretty good too. Don't forget if you would like to purchase any of last night's performances you can click the link above.
Up first was Brooke(Jolene), song started pretty good and ended on a solid note, and unlike previous weeks it was pretty upbeat. I enjoyed her performance.
Second was David Cooke, who didn't sing like a (Sparrow), but nailed the song. He was as solid this week as he was last, and if not for another guy would have had the best performance of the night.
Third, Ramielle, (Do I Ever Cross Your Mind), after that performance...I would have to say no. There was a simplicity and a blandness about it that made it forgettable and she didn't use her range very effectively. At times she was even hard to hear.
Fourth, Jason, with a fun, upbeat and folky version of (Travelin' Thru), not sure if it will win him votes, but he looked like he was comfortable and having fun with it, which is half the battle with American Idol.
Fifth, Carly slowing things down (Here You Come Again) - I enjoyed the performance, the emotion came through and she was a lot more comfortable this week on stage compared to last week. Carly should be safe this week.
Sixth, David Archuletta (Smokey Mountain Memories), smoked the song. It was the best performance of the night for me. He is back on his game from the past two weeks and the girls love him.
Seventh, Kristi Lee (Coat of Many Colors) - I thought country week would be her strong point, but the judges didn't really see it. She did a pretty good job and not as bad as some of the other girls this week.
Eighth, Syesha (I Will Always Love You) - Syesha is going to be a superstar, but that song could have cost her everything. It's tough to do a song that is going to be compared to the artist who did it best, which is exactly what happened while she was performing it.
Ninth, Michael (All Wrong, But It's Alright) - I liked what Michael did with this song. He made it bluesy and cool. His vocals were very solid, he had a solid night.

Now, the not so easy part. Who's headed home....It's between Ramielle, Jason, and Syesha this week..at least that is my gut feeling. For more, check out the updated podcast above.
Don't forget to leave your comments below....

Idol Thoughts: Week 10: Oh How Some Fall, and The Best was Saved for Last....

It was the Top 10 performing songs from the year they were born. Some performances were downright incredible...others were just okay. No one really fell on their faces last night.
Lets get to the breakdown.

Kicking things off was Ramielle, (Alone), albeit not a bad performance, but not the same range of Carly doing a Heart song. I'll give her the fact that she was sick, but she worked through it and started the night on a nice uptempo note.

Second, Jason..back with his guitar (also known as his comfort zone) rebounding nicely this week with his song (Fragile). His melody was right on. I don't believe everything Simon says about him either.

Third was Syesha, (If I Were Your Woman). It was one of those songs that was okay. I would consider it a safe song for her. Here's hoping it doesn't put her into the bottom three.

Fourth, and a bad show order for the contestants was Chikezie. I myself am a huge Luther Vandross fan, and the song he did, (If Only For One Night). His vocals were pretty good, but the judges didn't seem to keen on them. I think Chi may be leaving tonight.

Fifth, Brooke 'restarting' (Every Breath You Take) was almost comical, but she did a great rendition of it. I, like the judges would have preferred just her on the piano to having the band come in. She is so subtly soft with her voice that the emotion really comes through.

Sixth, Michael, with TWO songs from Queen (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions), these were much better than last week. He saved himself with that performance.

Seventh, was Carly (Total Eclipse of the Heart), not a bad version, but she seemed very uncomfortable on stage. I certainly hope she gets another week. It seems like she was just having a bad day.

Eighth, David Archuletta (???) performing a song I have never heard before. I kind of agree with Simon..it was a theme park performance and he may be heading to the bottom three after that performance.

Ninth, (Proud to Be an American), Kristy Lee pulls off the biggest surprise song of the night. She did it amazingly well and saved herself for this week. Simon was even amazed to which she let out a yell of happiness, which seemed well deserved.

Tenth, David Cooke..(Billy Jean)..David Cook clearly was the guy that is in a different world after last night. It may have been the best performance on the Idol Stage..possibly ever...he's now the frontrunner for the guys.

As far as who is headed home...check the latest podcast.

What did you think of last night? Who's YOUR Frontrunner? Who should go home next week?
Let me know by adding a comment or Meeboing me your thoughts.....

Note: MyPodcast.com - the host of the podcast has been slow of late, please bear with us....
thank you...

JP

Idol Thoughts: Top 10 Preview.....

Now it's crunch time...The Top 10...they all get to go on Tour from this point on. Lets hope that Jason Castro's performances don't cater to the 4 year olds anymore (Michelle)....As far as who's at risk and this season's coaches, Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton are two of them...both legends and both, at times kinda sleepy to hear...For more check out the podcast!!

and don't forget you can interact now with me LIVE during the week right here..Meebo messenger is located on the site!

--JP

Idol Thoughts: Beatles Two: Train Wrecks and Boredom...Oh Wait, that was Yesterday...

Last nights show was filled with confusion. We'll find out tonight who America is going to send home...It could be David Cooke, or Michael, or Kristi Lee Cook, possibly Amanda, Jason or Chikezie. This is where having a fan base counts for everything. We pretty much know who is going to be safe.
As far as my Thoughts on who's headed home check out the podcast.
We may all be surprised tonight with the choice.

don't forget to let me know Your Thoughts on the show. Drop me a 'Comment' below.

JP

Idol Thoughts: Top 11, No Sun, More Fun, and Yesteday's Gone....

As we head toward the Top 10 of this season, I must say last night had a breakout performance for Syesha, some were decent and a few weren't worthy of continuing on to next week.
Here's the rundown.....

Kicking off the night, the WRONG way was Amanda(Back in the USSR), her performance wasn't bad, but we've seen it before. She conversed with the judges that she did a performance that she would do on her 'Tour'. Paula told her she should have slowed it down, which I said in the podcast earlier this week. She may be safe however because there were a few worse performances than hers.

2nd, Oregon girl Kristi Lee Cook...(You've Got to Hide Your Love Away), her showmanship wasn't there, but her vocals were..it was as Randy would say, "Kinda weird for me." She reminds me of a young Shania Twain with her vocal style. Her fanbase should keep her in check so she can "knock Simon's socks off" next week.

3rd, David has a nice rebound from last week, had a great performance(Long and Winding Road), his vocals were pretty impeccable.

4th, Michael tries to tackle a song that seems bigger than him(A Day in the Life), it was a mess. His vocals were everywhere and it was a hard song to cut into a minute and a half. He may be at risk for heading home this week. He gets props for taking a huge risk though.

5th, Brooke(Here Comes the Sun), it wasn't bad, but it didn't seem like a good song choice for her. The 'Whoo" after the first verse almost seemed it was in frustration, but she managed to be herself with the song, however it was a little too much 'yellow' for me.

6th, David Cooke(Day Tripper), it was a surprise for me to see him up there with two microphones, not a big fan of the vocoder, but his performance has been solid for two weeks now. His voice when he gets to his upper range screams emotion. As was said last night, he's ready to sell CD's now.

7th, Carly(Black Bird), her performance was almost Stevie Nicks-like. Her vocals were good and the arrangement was pretty solid, but the judges didn't love it and I enjoyed her performance. I liked it even more after her explanation of "the contestants feeling like birds with broken wings" and she was singing for all the contestants.

8th, Jason(Michelle), Wow was I bored. He didn't seem like he was even 'into' the song while he was trying to sell it. Jason is at risk for heading home for sheer performance 'boredom'. I like the guy but he has lost his 'guy that plays the guitar coolness'...that now goes to David Cooke.

9th, Syesha(Yesterday). the best performance of the night, her vocals were solid and she seems to be in a different league than 2/3 of the other contestants. It was simple, but she pulled it off.

10th, Chikezie, probably not the best song choice(I've Just Seen a Face), but he totally enjoyed performing the song and was having fun. I wasn't much for the 'Countryified' second half of the song, but it worked for him.

11th, Ramiele, (I Should Have Known Better), loved the look she had on stage for the performance and her vocals were good. I don't think it was the best performance of the night, but it wasn't the worst.