Inspire Me

All week I was wondering what the theme might be and I totally forgot Idol Gives Back was inspirational songs week last year. Appropriate.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Still not loving that set. This is their 5th week on The Big Stage II and the contestants still don't know how to come out in a coordinated fashion. Randy was on one tonight, but he gets like that occasionally toward the middle of the show. Paula had nothing but good to say tonight, eh? I saw very little crowd touching tonight during the performances. I guess Chikezie and Ramiele leaving taught everyone a lesson: just sing! It's getting pretty tough to pick a bottom three now with some great contestants left. Although, one of my picks for the bottom is easy still. Guess who? If you read Boquinha's post (which I haven't yet) I understand she has similar feelings about one of the contestants. Did they put the Cooks back-to-back this week to get more publicity for Celebrity Chefs With Knives, A.K.A. Hell's Kitchen?

Michael Johns: I really liked his performance and thought he sang it fairly well, but I agree with the judges. This is not his natural element. He really needs to start listening to the judges and not just doing his own thing. They know what they are talking about when it comes to his song selections.

Syesha Mercado: Ooooooh. She picked a Fantasia song. I'm so shocked, as Fantasia may as well be the A.I. version of a true diva. I was quite worried the judges might over-praise (is that a word?) her again, but they gave her her due to an extent. She has talent but isn't nearly as good as everyone says she is. She picked a song that draws direct comparision, which apparently Syesha keeps missing each week, or she's so full of herself that she actually thinks she is as good as Whitney, Fantasia, Mariah, and any other one-name diva out there. Can you tell who I'm sick of at this point? If not, you can be in my bottom three, too.

Jason Castro: What an awesome selection. He is not the most vocally talented performer, but he has one of the keenest senses of who he is as a performer and nailed this one. I'm glad the judges gave him his due. I'm looking forward to the Castro album.

Kristy Lee Cook: Is it me or is this girl getting more and more confident as the weeks go on. It doesn't hurt that the past few weeks have lent themselves to perfect song choices for her. She does very well with country type songs and had another very nice performance. She should be around for a bit longer if fans pick the truly deserving contestants.

David Cook: This was a stinker for him and he knew it as soon as it was over. The song was a decent choice but he didn't nail it like he usually does. I was a bit let down by David this week.

Carly Smithson: I'm going to tell you right now, the judges don't have as much influence as they would like to think, but at this point their comments to help or hurt a contestant's chances. Carly deserves a bit more praise and a little less harsh criticism than she's been getting. I think the judges want more from her because they think she's one of the best, but they are going to put wannabes like Syesha through and send Carly home with their antics lately. Granted, Carly's song selection was off this week, but she still sounded pretty good and deserves more pseudopraise.

David Archuleta: When David A. found out about the theme this week here's what he probably thought:

"Inspirational songs. Calm down. Get centered. Don't get too excited, but this is your week. Finally you can pick a song you love and not have it sound out of place. You love these songs and this week that's OK."

Somehow I see him being one of those Michael W. Smith type of performers and ending up on some W.O.W. compilation somewhere. "W.O.W.: Christian Songs from the Young Ones." You know what I'm talking about. He did very well this week, although I think Randy was smoking something when he said it was his best performance of the season.

Brooke White: I'm surprised they had her go last this week with this song. Not that she did poorly or that it was a silly song choice, but it just wasn't one of those obvious showstoppers they seem to try to include at the end. I liked her performance although the James Taylor vibe suits it more in my opinion, not that it's really that different. It was solid but nothing "wow."

MY TOP THREE: Jason, and then some others
MY BOTTOM THREE: Syesha (shock!), Brooke, and Michael (based on performances this week if I'm being honest)
INSPIRING ELLEN DEGENERES ON HER SHOW THIS WEEK: Syesha, or no one if Idol is Giving Back on Thursday.