#123 - weekly wrap-up

so since we're getting down to the good stuff of this show, i think it's time to take a closer look at each of those american idol guys...

1. brooke white - i like her style, tonight's song was pretty straight, but i think that's probably what she does best, little instrumentation, simple melody, i like it great, the only thing i wonder about is how that's gonna hold up when she's forced to sing something outside that

2. david cook - i like this guy's voice, okay maybe his style is all copied from other rockers, but he does it well, kinda cocky sure but oh well, again, i don't know how he'd do when he can't rely on those killer arrangements

3. ramiele malubay - too bad, i thought she'd be more of a contender, but i think she's just about out of her depth, can't make arrangements, just does simple karaoke versions, good voice in parts but not all the way through

4. jason castro - seriously? this guy? i wanted this guy out from the very first week! really, i can burp louder than this guy can sing

5. carly smithson - i thought she did really good tonight, i like her a lot, and i think that she would do well with whatever crap song they'd give to the final contestants, so i hope she continues on

6. david archuleta - still way the best i think, go little bro

7. kristy lee cook - poor girl, she does have a nice country voice, but why do all her songs have the corniest jug and banjo background beats? like tonight's song, it could actually have been a very nice slow song, but it was all fast-beaty and crappy

8. syesha mercado - i feel sorry for her too, she just picks songs that do absolutely nothing for her, i actually liked the first part of her song tonight, but the rest of it was just "not as good as the original," which is like what she's been doing all season

9. michael johns - surprised me tonight, i really liked the bluesy kinda vibe, i thought he sang real nice, that's why he gets my youtube shout-out tonight:


so now i think i've got all of my top five youtubed on this blog so far, and not intentionally either, which i guess just goes to show how diverse and really good this season is. but, i think that depth and diversity is also its downfall, because you know that when they get to the final two contestants, they're both gonna have to sing some horrid song from their "compose your own song" contest and they're not gonna be able to tweak it and arrange it how they want. that's why i think only david archuleta and carly (maybe michael johns) has a shot at winning the whole thing. remember last year? both jordin and blake were pretty cool, but with at horrendous "this is my now" song (i mean seriously, "this is my now, and i am really in the moment?" what can you do with that?), only jordin even had a chance, and it still sounded crappy. remember katharine mcphee and taylor hicks? that godawful song was disaster for katharine and then crappy-ass taylor hicks won. so really, even though i think american idol is getting better at being less "pop" and more "music," they've still got a long way to go.

now of course all that discussion brings up the question, "do i watch too much american idol?" probably, but y'know i see this as that one thing that i do that completely surrenders myself to mass hysteria and popular culture and i embrace that. i allow myself to become influenced by the media in just this area because it's fun, and i acknowledge that, so it's kind of like my one guilty pleasure. also, i seem to have an embarrassingly good memory for stuff like this so i remember all the seasons and compare and make judgments a lot, which is kinda fun too.

anyway, i think ramiele, kristy, and syesha are gonna be in the bottom 3 with kristy finally getting the boot (even though i kinda like her for surviving so long, haha). but really, jason castro needs to leave like now... who is still voting for him? weird. and creepy.