Tale of the Thumbs

I know, I know. This week's action is all over, but the kids are just now getting to it. Here are their ratings before we watch the elimination action.

Ramiele Malubay: two thumbs up (bonus from The Boy)
Jason Castro: one thumb up, one thumb sideways (Wisdom from The Boy: "He likes singing words we don't know")
Syesha Mercado: one thumb up, one thumb sideways
Chikezie: two thumbs up (oops!)
Brooke White: two thumbs up (plus two more)
Michael Johns: two thumbs up (plus the rock 'n' roll bonus from The Boy)
Carly Smithson: two thumbs up ("Daddy, is this rock 'n' roll?" Then comes the extra thumb.)
David Archuleta: Double thumbs up (for once little brother isn't tormenting The Girl.)
Kristy Lee Cook: two thumbs up (bonus from The Boy--I think he's smitten)
David Cook: two thumbs up (guess who gave the bonus thumb?)

Top 10 Minus 1 - Kimberley Locke Performs!

Chikezie is first up and clearly nervous. He correctly anticipates being in the bottom three.

Brooke White sticks to her guns about adding in the orchestra. She's safe.

Carly Smithson is safe.

David A. is safe.

David C. is safe.

Syesha is in the bottom three despite the judges' praise. Apparently America agrees with Bo.

Michael is safe.

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Kimberley Locke sounds good and looks great!

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Ah. The 76 million bought more than just mosquito nets. My mistake.

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Ramiele is safe.

Jason and Kristy are last. Will Kristy follow her trend from the last elimination and be in the bottom? No. She's safe and Jason is in the bottom three.

Jason is safe, leaving Chikezie and Syesha as the bottom two.

I'm thinking Chikezie may be leaving, as Syesha did better than him last night, but who knows?

Syesha is safe, justifying Randy's and Paula's approval of her performance last night.

Chikezie is out, but he'll do well with his personality and talent.


See you next week!

Top 10

I know. I'm a little behind. Someone's already been booted, but it's on TiVo and my sweetie is across the street getting goodies at the grocery store because I love to eat at night while we watch our shows. Anyway, I'll keep it short.

Ramiele Malubay (“Alone” by Heart)
I've tired of her. I love this song, but it's so not right on her. "Alone" is the one song I liked on Carrie Underwood, however. This girl seems so fake-babyish and immature. Her pouty lip irritates me. I'm bored and annoyed with her--bad combo.

Jason Castro (“Fragile” by Sting)
I really like this kid. A lot. I'd like to see him go far because I like him and because he's unique (unlike Syesha who is so not). This wasn't that great, but I hope he sticks around.

Syesha Mercado (“If I Were Your Woman” by some diva, right?)
She sang well, but I don't like her. She's good, but not unique. I get annoyed by her high praise (which she seems to relish--that girl does not take criticism well). I'm reminded of how I've felt about LaToya London. Good, but boring and not at all unique. I won't be sad when she's booted. I'm only sad that it's taking so long, even though she's doing well.

"Cheesy" Chikezie (“If Only for One Night” by Luther Vandross)
Oh dear. Don't. Do. Ballads. He may be in trouble. I like him, but yikes.

Brooke White (“Every Breath You Take” by The Police)
Ah, the stalker song. So creepy. I haven't ever liked this song. I love Sting, but I don't love this song by the Police. And I'm glad she toned down the talking during judgment. I love what she did on that Pat Benetar number but 2 of the judges back then jumped on her for not building it up using the band. So she does this time and they don't like it. That has got to be frustrating for the contestants. I dig her and an instrument a la Carly Simon. I'd like to see her stick around because she's a billion times more interesting than our resident diva, of whom I've tired.

Michael Johns (“We Will Rock You”/“We Are the Champions” medley by Queen)
I LOVE medleys on him! Phenomenal. I loved it. Like a total rock concert professional. Fantastic! I like it and I like him and I've been wanting to see him do well!

Carly Smithson (“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by hmmm, not quite sure)
Good, but not very memorable. I almost forgot what she sang. I like her and I want her to do well. Poor girl is so slammed for song choice. I feel for her--I hope she chooses something really great soon (like she has once? so far).

Little David Archuleta (“You’re the Voice” by some Australian dude)
I actually know this song! Though I'm not sure how. He is REALLY into political activism in song, isn't he. This kid is sort of stinking it up in the top 12. I mean, he's good, but he's doing worse, not better, on the big stage.

Kristy Lee Cook (“God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood)
I like this song and she did a very good job and I'm glad for her. She strikes me as a bit naive so I think Simon is giving her way too much credit for song choice. She probably doesn't even know about what's been going on in Iraq this week.

David Cook (“Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson)
Wow! That was impressive! I thought the judges would either love it or hate it. Thankfully, they seem to love it!

Tops for me for them: Michael Johns and David Cook
Bottoms for me for them: The others, but especially Ramiele (though I think she has a big voter base, unfortunately)
Being Celebrated Home: Chikeze? Why, oh why did he blow it?

Am I really this old?

These "year of your birth" weeks usually provide enough variety to keep the show quite interesting, so I'm glad that's what went on last night. As my wife pointed out on many occasions, however: "So this kid was born just before I went into high school?"

RANDOM THOUGHTS: I don't like the new set with it's opening in the center of the backdrop. The contestants always look cramped when they come out and they also never look quite sure when to start walking. The people on the ends nearly always run into the set as it opens. Awkward. Also, I'm seeing more and more why A.I. is not quite Emmy quality. They never stop tinkering. I'm all for good tinkering, like letting contestants play instruments. Brilliant. Having Ryan walk behind the contestants while he was introducing them, not so brilliant. What was he trying to hide? Mostly I found it distracting, like Paula's gloves. Ricky Minor sure seems happy in the crow's nest. Or maybe we're just seeing him more often in his new digs. Some weeks Randy is just so annoying and devoid of insight. Guess which week this was. Mosh pit? Can we get rid of it now. They clap off the beat, sway their hands all over the place with no attempt at coordination, and set up performers like Chikezie for silly antics and the subsequent criticism from the judges. I liked the interviews this week. They were actually enjoyable.

Ramiele Malubay: I'm so bored with her. She's trying too hard to be likable and it's not working. Mostly she seems way too immature and not quite exciting enough. We've seen you before in past seasons. I think Ramiele still has a strong enough following to buy her time, though.

Jason Castro: Jason has a great style that will help him in the end. Simon was right: the guitar work was sloppy and the audience couldn't find the beat. I'm not sure the two are connected, but the performance was a little off, although it was solid enough to justify his existence in this competition. It didn't hurt that he picked a great Sting selection.

Syesha Mercado: I will agree this is probably her best week to date, but I still find her boring. We don't need another diva--we've got enough in the world. Syesha doesn't seem to have a devoted following and we'll test that theory in the next week or two.

Chikezie: He just couldn't walk by and not reach into the crowd, could he? Foiled by the evil plot of the powers that be, Chikezie slipped yet again.

Brooke White: Mistake or no, she did great. So, no band this time? I saw Brooke biting her tongue on that one. The bottom line is that Brooke is at her best when it's her and her instrument. She's that kind of singer. This wasn't her best, but it was very solid.

Michael Johns: Great selection by the Aussie. At one point I saw him look at the mosh pit and stop himself from reaching in, as if his inner voice told him, "Remember Chikezie." This was his best week and shot him back to the top.

Carly Smithson: I think this is her style. She has a very strong rock edge and should be singing songs like this. It wasn't her best week, but still better than most of the rest.

David Archuleta: Simon articulated what we were all thinking. I think it was a strange pick and now all I can see is David with all the Disney characters romping about behind him. He did well, but still seems to pick those Star Search-y songs.

Kristy Lee Cook: Best week so far. I don't know if it will keep her around, but I'm glad she had a good week and got some honest to goodness positive critique from the judges. She's earned it.

David Cook: I wasn't sure I heard him right. Billie Jean? Really? But I loved it. This guy has enough creativity for the whole lot. He is already an incredible talent and will definitely be a successful artist.

MY TOP THREE: David Cook, Michael Johns, Brooke White
MY BOTTOM THREE: Chikezie, Ramiele Malubay, Kristy Lee Cook
PACKING IT IN EARLY: Chikezie (not my personal choice, however)

Top 10 Perform!

Ramiele - Big song. She does okay by it, but it's maybe a bit bigger than her tonight. Oh, she's somewhat sick. Randy calls her on it. Paula is understanding. Simon is actually encouraging, and argues with Randy.

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My favorite song through most of the competition is the one by Yael Naim in the MAC notebook advertisement:

"I'm a new soul; I came to this strange world hopin' I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take.
I'm a young soul in this very strange world hopin' I could learn a bit 'bout what is true and fake."

Gotta love it. La la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la la la la.

Especially good for those prone to forgetting lyrics... ; )

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Jason - I love this song, 'How Fragile We Are'. He does okay by it - good but not great - a bit too tentative. Randy agrees. Paula is supportive. Simon is much less forgiving than he was with Ramiele.

Syesha - I don't know this song, but she seems to be on top of it with some powerful vocals. She seems to be building from last week's success. Randy calls it her best ever. Paula agrees it flipped her into dark horse contender. Simon notes she was pushing her limits to her detriment at times.

Chikezie - Picks a ballad despite judges' past feedback. Another enjoyable performance, but no showstopper. Randy calls it "old school". Paula liked it. Simon calls it cheesy (Cheesy Chikezie?) and unoriginal, lacking his unique personality.

Brooke - A by ear piano player, like me - yeah! She sings Phil Collins' 'I'll Be Watchin' You' - a normally powerful song made unique via piano solo - ambitious. A false start is handled well. She does well by it, making it her own. Randy and Simon didn't like when the band kicked in, spoiling the piano solo and making it more traditional than unique.

Michael - 'We Are The Champions' - Ambitious take on a huge song, but he owns it very nicely. Randy and Paula call it his best to date. Even Simon acknowledges seeing star potential in him for the first time.

Carly - 'Turn Around' - Another huge song. She's true to the original, but can't top it, realistically. She tries to do so on the last note, but it just looks desperate, and is pitchy, to boot. Randy agrees. Paula is supportive. It didn't quite work for Simon, either.

David A. - An unfamiliar song to me, but he is certainly competent and infectious, and the end is very good. The judges note the odd song choice, but Randy and Paula give it props. Simon didn't like it at all, calling it a "theme park" performance. I don't think he'll lose any fans over it, but, for me, it was only at the top of the middle performances tonight.

Kristy - Another odd song, patriotic this time. She's competent with one tiny pitch problem and one timing fault, but overall, well done. Randy and Paula agree, noting the pitch. Simon thought it was an excellent song choice.

David C. - 'Billie Jean' - He throws an amazing, unique twist on it and OWNs this song. Randy loved it. Paula can't sit from a standing ovation. Simon praises the excellent results of a huge risk.


Tops and Props: David C., Michael, Syesha. Add in David A, and everybody else did about the same.

Bottoms: Everybody else.

Leaving: I have't a clue. As for past trends, Kristy redeemed herself, so that may leave Chikezie.

The Top 10 are announced

So, Amanda leaves. I haven't really liked her much at all, though I feel badly since our son likes her. I'm surprised Kristie didn't leave, but glad with the Top 10! And I guess Amanda will be selling tickets to her concerts in, what was it, Butte? LaFayette? Somethin'?

YES, John, ELLIOTT!! I LOVE ELLIOTT!! Now THAT was a nice part of the show! What a great guy--my 2 favorite idols (Elliott and Fantasia) . . . very cool!