American Idol Review 05/13/08 Who Will Be in the Finale?

We got treated to three songs tonight from each of the remaining three performers.  The judges got to pick a song, the producers got to choose one, and they got to choose one for themselves.  I couldn't help but think of Jason and how he would have fared tonight.  Would he have picked another Marley song? What would they have chosen for him?  ..we'll never know.. this is what we do know: 

 David A  got to go first.  He opened the show with "And So it Goes", chosen by Paula.  It started out acapella, and it was sweet  That had to be pretty nerve-racking to stand up there, in front of the judges and creation, and sing acapella.  But he pulled it off very well. I'm sure he was nervous, who wouldn't be, but he sounded great.  This is an older Billy Joel song and David managed to make it sound pretty fresh. Wasn't completely spectacular, but it was good and it made the judges happy.

 He chose the song "With You" for himself.   Very strange.. he sounded good, but the judges said it wasn't really his type of song.  Which, I'd kinda have to agree with..but, had he chosen a ballad, they would have said it was predictable, and he had the opportunity to do something spectacular..blah blah blah.. and he's not a rocker, so what did they want the boy to do?  Maybe it wasn't the best choice of song, but it was good and he sounded good.. I dunno,..I thought it was pretty good, but I wasn't blown away.    He tried to do something young and hip and show a different side, and I don't think that was a bad thing.

The producers chose "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg for him.  Love, love, love this song!!  I really wish the boy would open his eyes when he sings..he's always squinting.. but I think he did fine with the song.  I don't know why they couldn't pick a more current song for him, but he got what he got and he did fine with it.  Simon said the song was "gooey'.  Okay, yes..it is a gooey song, but that's not his fault.  They weren't blown away. I thought it was very nice. 

 Syesha  -  Randy got to choose for her, and she sang Alicia Keys' song  "If I Ain't Got You'.     Great song choice for her.  As he said, she's young and hot and Alicia Keys has some great songs.. she sang beautifully, obviously she loved the song,  and she looked gorgeous, although I don't particularly like her dress, I just don't like that style of dress, but she looked good.  I really thought she sounded great.  This was a smart choice for her, and she did it fabulously.   

Syesha chose the song "Fever" by Peggy Lee.. a hot song and one very fun to sing...but, as the judges pointed out for her, it is an old song and her performance was more a cabaret act than her singing a song.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that..personally.  I really enjoyed her performance, but I can see their point. I don't know what song she should have chosen instead, but maybe this wasn't the best choice.  She danced, strutted, and had a chair set up on stage to "dance around it"  She sounded fabulous.. loved this dress much better than the first.. sexy performance, and the audience seemed to enjoy it too. Again, she showed off her ability to perform and not just sing.  Paula (gasp) had something negative to say!  She can come up with something positive to say about even the lamest performance, and she had something negative to say..What was that all about? sheesh LOL  It might have turned off some of the younger audience, which would be bad, since if she gets a record deal and is putting out CDs on her own, they'll be her target audience.. but in terms of her performance of the song, I thought it was a solid performance.

"Hit me Up"  a very upbeat and fun song .She had fun with it, she sounded great.  It wasn't a particularly spectacular performance..meaning it didn't make you want to stand up and applaud or anything, but it was good and she had fun with it and sang the song really well.  I didn't think it was an unreasonable choice of song for her, but I think they could have done better.  The judges were all down on the girl. They said it was a forgettable song and a song about penguins..but, SHE didn't pick the song, so I don't know how they faulted her for that.  .What the hell do they want?  It's a song from the  "Happy Feet" soundtrack that she didn't get to choose, so I don't know why they were telling her how it didn't define her. 

 David Cook got to go last, and his first song was chosen by Simon. "The First Time Ever I saw Your Face".   What's up with that choice?    Simon explained that he loves the song and has been told by women he inspired the song  LOL  Alrighty, then!  Still, an odd choice for David. I was really curious to see how he was going to pull this one off, and I think he sounded fabulous!  He started out soft and slow and he got to show off his higher range..I was a little worried what the judges would say, since he didn't really put a big spin on it or anything.  I was waiting for something different, but I'm glad he sang it pretty much as written..because I love the song.. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done to it to sorta "Cook it up"..but he sang it, and managed a power ending that I loved!  He truly can sing the phone book. 

 Switchfoot - "Dare You To Move"  was the song he chose for himself.   I don't know this song or anything about Switchfoot cuz..well, I'm old.. LOL  Randy said he wanted him to rock after his first song, and rock, he did!  It started off kinda slow..but once he got into it he gave a pretty powerful performance, I thought, considering, as Paula pointed out, that they have to cut a song down to fit their timeframe. It's hard with some songs to do it justice. I think I would have liked a different song. This one was okay, but I think I'd like something like Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe" or something along those lines. ..but that's just me. Since I didn't get to choose, I will say that I enjoyed it anyway.  Randy and Simon said it was "okay',  Randy had to get his "pitchy" thing in . pfffft. Paula loved it.. I had to laugh when they showed the lady in the audience holding up a sign that said "Cougars 4 Cook"   LOL 

 His last song, the final performance of the night was chosen by the producers, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith.  It's the theme song of the movie Armageddon.. love the song!  love the movie!  love David Cook!   Paula was on her feet clapping.. Randy said it was predictable and just okay for him..and Randy needs to get his ears cleaned..  Paula loved it and said she'd see David in the finals.. which we all know is true!! .   Simon siid, "I have to tell you, David Cook wins the night" and I agree.   

It really sucks that we have to send one of them home, because, to me, Syesha had three great performances.. she sounded fabulous on all three, and she was comfortable and having a great time, really putting it out there..but she could still end up going home tomorrow.  I would have laid odds just a few weeks ago that she would be the one going home for sure tomorrow. Actually, I would have laid odds that she would be long gone and Carly would be the one standing there.. but, since that didn't happen, we have to work with what we got.

The good news for Syesha is that she couldn't do much right in the judges eyes tonight..and that could work in her favor!  They were all over her 2nd and 3rd songs, and pretty much announced that she should be the one leaving.  Even Paula wasn't pulling for her, really.  But..the girl does have fans.. David A. has lots of fans too, but a lot of people don't like him.. and some would want to see a guy and girl in the finals.  On top of this, it almost seemed like the judges were trying to decide who should be gone.. they were positive and happy with David A, even though he wasn't particularly spectacular on any of his songs.  he was good, he sounded great.. but she was better, and I don't care what they say.  Maybe the 2nd and 3rd song choices could have been better for her, but she did very well with the songs she had. 

It's fairly obvious to me that the producers and TPTB of AI want to see a David/David finale..  I just thought of something.. if Kristy Lee had stayed and made it to the finals.. it would have been a .. Cook/Cook finale.. a Cook off.. BAHAHAHA. .. errrr ..well, anyway... it really could go either way, and even though I have a feeling that Syesha might end up going home..I wouldn't be shocked if it ended up being David A. going home.  Remember to vote! vote! vote! tonight.. whoever it is you're pulling for, it's important to vote, because it may be a very close one. 

---------> DAVID COOK ..THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL!!!  <-----------