Top 11 - The British Invasion!

I copied the headline straight from last year. Do they realize they've duplicated the theme? Is it a tradition now?

Randy does a pre-show yawn. Paula wants gumption. Simon wants skillz.

Amanda Overmyer - Arghh. More unintelligible screaming. Even the audience sounds better than her, with their screaming afterward, but I just don't get what they're screaming about. I am so bored with this one-trick pony. Randy and Paula give her some props, but Simon gives it to her straight, though much more gently than I would have expected. I just don't understand how she got in the top 12.

Kristy Lee Cook - First note is off and the soft beginning is shaky. She gets better as she ramps it up, and ends on a very good note, but the arrangement was pretty dull. Randy agrees. Paula notes how great she looks this week, and she does. Simon tells it true. I think she has talent, but she's blooming too slowly to win, unless she gets to stay another week and really, really brings it.

David Archuleta - The Long and Winding Road - absolutely perfect song choice for him. I get serious chills early on. This is my Idol, right here. Everybody else can leave now, and I'll just get to listen to him for the rest of the show. The judges all agree. Simon even calls it "master class."

Michael Johns - A Day in the Life - Good choice if he can shorten it properly. Tight performance, rhythmically. Well done, though there were spots where he wasn't quite true enough, such as to the sexy vocal tremolo at the end of the "I'd love to turn you on" section in the original. The judges didn't like it as much as I did. Another song dedication that didn't work for the performer, it seems.

Brooke White - Here Comes the Sun - She starts sitting, anticipating an Idol moment? A big part of the original, for me, was the exceptional harmony. Performing it solo is a bit risky, to me. She does the melody justice, but it lacks the thrill of the original for me, and I can't help but compare. Randy felt she never connected with the song. Paula noted, and I agree, that she's still a pleasure to watch. Simon didn't like anything about it. Brooke is incredibly quick to agree with all the criticism. She asserts she'll get back to what she does best next week, if she gets to stay.

David Cook - Day Tripper - Excellent song choice, right up his alley. He handles it with excellent nuance, faithful to the original, and even throws in some original voicebox effects, which worked pretty well. Randy liked it, Paula thinks he's ready to sell records, Simon didn't like it. I agree with Paula, for the most part.

Carly Smithson - Blackbird - One of my favorite songs, and a good choice for her voice. I get teary-eyed with her beginning, and then she powers it up another notch, and personalizes the ending like a pro. Wonderful! Okay, she can stay with David A. The judges like it except for Simon, inexplicably. The man has no heart.

Jason Castro - Michelle - Not a great showcasing song. He does a decent job with it, for someone who didn't know that "ma belle" was French (not the phone company), but it was just okay for me. Randy agrees. Paula nails the polka, singsong style he fell into. Simon liked it because he could see the performer, and thought his facial expressions fleshed the performance out, versus hearing it on the radio - a good point, but it seems clear that he's seeing dollar signs when the girls in the audience scream, hence the slack he gives him.

Syesha Mercado - Yesterday - Another sitting start. Ambitious, but she handles the soft and slow beginning without pitch problems - bravo! It's a decent performance, but lacked the power of the original. Still, possibly her best performance. Simon says the same. Randy and Paula both liked it. It may, as Simon notes, keep her alive for awhile yet.

Chikezie - I've Just Seen a Face - A tough song, and he's gonna pick up the harmonica for the first time? He slows the song down to a country ballad to start, which works okay. Then he does some 'monica and kicks it into a hoedown tempo, closer to the original, but still unique. It works pretty well, for me, but doesn't blow me away. Still, very entertaining. Paula liked it as a showcase for his scope. Randy and Simon were unimpressed. I don't think it will hurt him.

Ramiele Malubay - I Should Have Known Better - Not the best showcase song for a solo. Again, the group dynamics made the original. She does well by it, but it doesn't quite get there for me. Randy and Paula give her props, but didn't love it. Simon essentially agrees.





Tops and Props: David A. - Carly Smithson (a tie), David Cook, and, yes, Syesha, for tonight.

Bottoms: Amanda, Kristy, Chikezie.

Leaving: Amanda, please, though the audience response contradicts the likelihood.