Tale of the Thumbs

WARNING: It's another generous week. Lots of thumbs up and only one down. And one "Syesha's not a good singer" from The Boy. I guess she's not rock and roll enough for him.

Brooke White: two thumbs up (plus double bonus)
David Cook: two thumbs up (plus the predictable rock-n-roll bonus from The Boy)
Ramiele Malubay: two thumbs up (plus the generous bonus from The Boy)
Jason Castro: two thumbs up (plus the guitar bonus from The Boy)
Carly Smithson: two thumbs up (bonus from . . . are you ready . . . The Boy)
David Archuleta: two thumbs up (double bonus, as expected)
Kristy Lee Cook: one thumb up and one "present" vote (he said he was reading a book and wasn't really listening--how's that for an endorsement)
Syesha Mercado: one thumb up and one thumb down (apparently The Boy is not impressed by long, high notes, and reference his above comment)
Michael Johns: two thumbs up (and a bonus, yet again, from The Boy)

Top 9 Minus 1 - Dolly Parton Performs!

Michael Johns is up first. He's safe.

David Archuleta is next. He's safe.

Carly Smithson is next. She's safe. I'm glad Simon's influence is somewhat limited.

The live questions were entertaining.

The Clark Brothers need a better singer. The dobro guitar player had some interesting picking, but otherwise I was unimpressed.

David Cook is next. He's safe.

Ramiele Malubay is next. Predictably, she's in the bottom three.

Kristy Lee Cook is next. She correctly anticipated being in the bottom three.

Syesha Mercado is next. She's safe for another week.

Brooke White and Jason Castro are last. I'm guessing Jason. No, he's safe.

Brooke, Ramiele and Kristy are the bottom three. I'm sticking to guessing Ramiele, and will be slightly bothered if it's Brooke, though she's really gonna have to bring it if she gets to stick around another week, or her departure is inevitable. I just can't believe Syesha has more of a following than her.

The reunion of the two sisters in Africa was great.

Dolly Parton sings an odd little song, 'Jesus And Gravity', but does a good job. Her voice is a little less melodious than in her prime, but she sure knows how to connect with a crowd.

Randy guesses Ramiele. Simon says it won't be Brooke.

Brooke is safe. Yay.

Kristy is safe.

Ramiele is leaving. She's young...she'll do alright. At the least, Ellen Degeneres will have her on, as she has done with almost every other "castoff" this season. as she calls them. I guess they're back to torturing the losers by making them sing themselves off, but she fights off the copious tears and manages it quite well.

See you next week...

Country Week--Thumbs Down from Simon

I had my doubts about a week devoted to Dolly Parton. I'm not a fan, and quiet honestly couldn't name more than a few songs she recorded. I had no idea she wrote so many songs. This week may be alright.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Just the theme alone is enough to predict a stormy mood from the Brit. He never "gets" country music, and I don't believe for one second that he "loves" country music. Paula was a bit happy tonight, although not as happy as weeks past. Is Randy trying to tone down the criticism so people will like him again? Last week he was a mad dawg. This week he's a moderately sedated one. I feel badly for the second half of the contestants in the week they go from 90 minutes to one hour. They get half-hearted critique and a lightning speed Ryan running the numbers. And then Paula uses the last contestant as a chance to praise all of the contestants that night with a minimal attempt to address the final singer. Let AI run over. "Hell's Kitchen" can wait a few. Or better yet, shorten the local news. Heaven knows it's mostly fluff anyway.

BROOKE WHITE: First slot is always a challenge because it gets easy to forget them. I thought she was good, not great, but showed why she has a good following. She was actually trying to listen to Simon when the crowd started booing and Paula started cutting him off. I guess at this point they figure, "Why mess with the formula?"

DAVID COOK: Now what in the world was he going to do with Parton week. I guess pick a song I don't know and show his creativity. The Daughtry interview where they give him the chance to explain past weeks' arrangements was nice to get out of the way early. Another great performance.

RAMIELE MALUBAY: Boring. Predictable. Bleh. She's got a lot of vocal talent, but she is just not keeping up at this point. Randy's 6.5 out of 10 was a decent assessment, and at this point it's just not good enough.

JASON CASTRO: I really liked his performance. I think his voice is a bit weak for such a big stage, but at the same time, he is a great performer that knows his niche. The postcard was right: his voice is smooth and relaxing. He can stick around.

CARLY SMITHSON: Great performance from her this time. Too bad Simon had to go to appearances on her. I'm sure he feels they could both make a bit more money with a different look. But isn't this a singing competition, not a popularity contest?

DAVID ARCHULETA: Ballads are his thing. It seems that's where he is his best. This week was really good and should keep him going through. Let's be honest, though. He could walk on stage, eat a bunch of cheese, and then sit down and his fans would still vote him through.

KRISTY LEE COOK: Country, so you knew she'd seem at home. I'm not sure why she picks the songs she does, but oh well. She is definitely not strong enough to make it much further, but at least this week was a nice follow-up from last week.

SYESHA MERCADO: It's sad when I forget to review a contestant until I'm putting together My Bottom Three and I notice someone is missing. She was good. She has a good voice, but I was not surprised she picked a song better equated with Whitney Houston than Dolly Parton, even if she did the latter's arrangement for the most part. And I knew the judges would have some problems with diva comparisons. Syesha just needs to stay away from comparison songs because it is rare to nail them. Song selection was the problem here.

MICHAEL JOHNS: Awesome! This is his style and it was a great performance. I'm surprised the judges didn't pick up more on his vocal stylings, but then again, time for crazy chefs wielding knives. His falsetto was great, the mini-band was perfect, and he's looking more and more like a Top 3'er like I originally predicted.

MY TOP THREE: Michael Johns, David Cook, and then one of a few others
MY BOTTOM THREE: Ramiele Malubay, Syesha Mercado, Kristy Lee Cook (someone's gotta be there)
JUST TRAVELIN' THROUGH: Ramiele Malubay

Top 9 with Dolly Parton!

Dolly Parton mentors this week. Good news for Brooke, who is up first.

Brooke - 'Jolene' - decent performance, but not stellar. Randy and Paula are supportive. Simon thinks she deserves the honesty of his insults.

David C. - 'Little Sparrow' - I don't know this song, but I like how he is doing it. Very good, but not astonishing. Randy and Paula liked it, too. Simon notes that it doesn't match last week, but was good, nonetheless.

Ramiele - I don't know the song, but, as Dolly notes, it does seem to match her bouncy, spunky personality. Some pitch and timing issues, so just alright. Randy agrees, giving it 6.5 out of 10. Paula is more supportive. Simon demotes it to "cruise ship" quality.

Jason - Another unfamiliar but pleasant song. He does it competently but no fireworks. Randy and Paula, supportive. Simon didn't like it.

Carly - 'Here You Come Again' - One of Dolly's biggest, with her own twist. Chills time! A beautiful interpretation and what tonight has been missing until now. Made me applaud, alone in my living room. Randy and Paula loved it. Simon, unbelievably, manages to downplay both the performance and her manner of dressing.

David A. - 'Smoky Mountain Memories' - A John Denver style joint. A good choice for his voice, but not everyone will like the choice of a gospel-type song. I thought it was very well done, but a bit less powerful than Carly's choice, in my view. All the judges, including Simon, loved it.

Kristy - 'Coat Of Many Colors' - She looks great and sings it very well. Randy likes her doing country. Paula gives it her best ever. Simon sticks to last week being her best song choice.

Syesha - 'I Will Always Love You' - A nice, big diva song. Dolly seems to hint that she, not being shy at all, just did her own thing (and didn't take her advice). It starts out very poorly, with bad timing and more problems. She cleans it up at the end, but that didn't redeem it for me. Randy and Paula are supportive. Simon liked the first part but not the second, exactly opposite my take. All said, I don't think it helped her at all.

Michael - 'It's All Wrong But It's Alright' - A bluesy joint, which he handles very well. Randy and Paula loved it. Simon says it's his best ever.


Tops and Props: Carly, David A, Michael, David C.

Bottoms: Ramiele and, for me, Syesha. Jason and Brooke were slammed by Simon, but I think they'll make it through, and were in the middle, for me.

Leaving: My guess is Ramiele, who's been hanging on by a thread for a while now.