This Week In Tonight In American Idol [11 March 2008]

7:55 PM: It's finally here! Idol begins it finals tonite as the Top 12 take on the songs from the Lennon-McCartney songbook -- but just the pre-Sgt. Pepper stuff, alas.

We'll be live-ish-blogging tonite. So join us live or stop by after the fact and see how stupid our insta-reactions were.

Oh, and one more thing...

Last week, Maura Johnston, editor of our favorite music blog [ahem, our SECOND favorite --Ed.], Idolator, asked me to produce the site's day-after write-ups of this week's shows. I'm super-stoked about this, of course, so make sure to swing by over there tomorrow and Thursday to see my more-considered view of this week's shows.

8:02 PM: The new set, "bigger and better than ever!"...elicits yawns from me...

8:03 PM: The Beatles were apparently pretty good songwriters back in the 60's...

8:06 PM: But Simon disses "She Loves You". Ooh!

8:08 PM: Syesha Mercado opens the nite with "Got To Get You Into My Life", which I had predicted Chikezie would take on. It's quite flat at the beginning, but she picks up the steam, and the finish is okay for me.

Randy: started rough, pitchy, but you started having fun with it...it was alright for me...
Paula: started off pitched, but midway through, you found the song...and then, there was Syesha...look great, sounded fantastic...
Simon: I thought it was better than "alright"...great choice of song...you looked nervous, but you were much better than last week...

8:15 PM: Okay, I still can't get over this new JC Penney ad featuring Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' "Killing The Blues".

Raising Sand. HEAR IT!

8:18 PM: Next up is Chikezie, who takes on "She's A Woman". Ryan promises it will be "original".

Chikezie starts off with a Blue Grass-Americana vibe, with banjos and such. Then he rocks it out fiercely!

HOLY COW!!! He's got this place on fire!

That was dynamite!!!

I predicted last week that Chikezie would step it up a bit, and he's doing it.

Randy: loved the arrangement...who knew 6you had that falsetto...CHIKEZIE SMASHED IT!
Paula: when Ryan asked me what people should do, and I said those who take a risk, the greater the reward if they change it up...I knew once you hit the top 12, this was what was going to happen...the reward paid off, my dear...
Simon: I'm really surprised that I actually agree with these two...
[Chikezie starts whooping!]
Simon:...what I really liked about that, is you've actually changed over the course of the week...you controlled the stage, it didn't control you...you were terrific...

8:24 PM: Poor Ramiele Malubey, a "favorite" of mine, but not in the I-think-she's-gonna-win way, is gonna have a really tough time following that!

Ramiele takes on "In My Life". It's definitely a change-of-pace after Chikezie's Ruben-Studdard-on-Taylor-Hicks [eww -- Ed.] routine.

It's a very nice jazz-lounge-esque take on the song, but it's just a little too slow and winceful for my tastes.

But she does look great in that dress.

Randy: it was kinda pretty, but it was also kinda pretty boring for me...I was waiting for you to do something special and interesting with it, but it just kinda laid there for me...
Paula: you look very pretty tonite...
[it's always a bad sign when the first thing Paula tells you is that you look very pretty -- and she sounds like she's struggling to say something nice]
Paula:...you're an amazing singer, and your voice allows you to go lots of places, and you need to take advantage of that...i think your holding back...
Simon: I was bored to tears throughout the entire song...dreary song choice which did absolutely nothing for you...forgettable, boring, and I expect a lot better from you, because you're better than that...

Even Randy is not sure if she'll make it through. Ruh-roh.

8:35 PM: Next up is Jason Castro. He'll shine in comparison to that dreary performance. Jason tells us in the intro that when he first starting to sing, he fell in love with "Yesterday". Which obviously explains why he'll be performing "If I Fell".

Note to self: "dreadlocks-and-acoustic-guitar" is the new "frosted-tips-and-beatboxing". Check.

Eh. I didn't like that all. But he's got the girls screaming, and that's worth something, eh?

Even his strumming is sleepy.

Jason feels like he's been coasting a bit recently.

Randy: I like it, I didn't love it...with a melody that classic, you just gotta sing it with a more heartfelt thing...the switches in the melody didn't do it for me, I just kinda tuned that out...
Paula: I disagree with Randy...I think it was heartfelt, and I could feel your heart, and the audience could feel your heart, and I wanna perform open-heart surgery on you right now...oh wait, I mean your special and unique, and that's why we've made a special connection...to you and your heart...
Simon: last week you were incredible...this week, it was all a little bit "student in a bedroom at midnite"...the song was quite boring...Jason is very unique, very different, I'm a big, big fan...will he make the same big impact this week he did last week, no...you need to choose brilliant songs...good enough to stay another week? Deffintely, but not as good as last week...

Someone who looks like Kim Kardashian is in the audience cheering Jason on, and then Ryan and Simon get into another of their "innuendo-wink-wink" fights about getting out of the student dorm at midnite. Did I miss something on TMZ today???

8:45 PM: Next up is Carly Smithson.

Either Nigel misspoke, or something changed at the last minute. Carly will be taking on "Come Together", from the about-as-far-away-as-possible-from-"early"-Beatles Abbey Road. Did Carly and roommate Amanda Overmyer have to fight over this one?

Carly says she performs this song to an acoustic arrangement all together, but tonite she's changing it up a bit.

I'm really not sure about that. It was technically perfect, and her voice is HUGE and STRONG. But I actually think she might have oversang it a bit. I'd like to hear the acoustic version.

But the audience is eating it up, and, of course, the judges can't find enough compliments for Carly.

Randy: confident...not a note out of tune...stellar performance...
Paula: watching you up there, I thought I was already watching a star...I couldn't wait until you made it to the top 12, so you could really shine...
Simon: week after week so far, I think you've chosen the wrong song...until now...this reminds me of Kelly Clarkson 6 years ago...

8:55 PM: Wrapping up Hour One is David Cook. David takes on "Eleanor Rigby"

David nixes the strings and chamber-music sensibilities of the original for an almost-but-not-quite-over-the-top Daughtry-esque rocker. This is pretty powerful, and Daughtry's fans will eat David up this season.

By far, the best performances of the nite have been the near-the-top rockers.

The audience is going nuts!

Randy: started a little pitchy, but once you hit that chorus, it was rockin'!...let it go!...
Paula: I've been saying you're the darkhorse in this race...more than one horse in this race...
Simon: I thought it was brilliant...if this show remains a TALENT competition rather than a POPULARITY competition, you actually could WIN this entire show...

And Simon is right...

HOUR 1 QUICK PIX:

1) David C.
2) Chikezie
3) Carly
4) Jason
5) Syesha
6) Ramiele

9:05 PM: Brooke White kicks off Hour 2. Brooke will take on "Let It Be", and I'm already dreading the thought of this.

This has always been one of least favorite Beatles "classic", and Phil Spector probably shares a lot of the blame for that.

Brooke's performance is nice, and stronger than the other "slow" numbers tonite. Allowing the contestants to play instruments really does add something to the show, I think.

Randy: I love that you have all this conviction, and you take a song sung by everyone, and you make it heartfelt...
Paula: the emotional connection is what makes people fall in love you...
Simon: once again, one of the best performances of the nite...there's a difference between karaoke and making the performance believable, and that was believable...three weeks in a row...

Brooke left her shoes over by the piano, and Ryan offers to retrieve them for her. This causes Randy and Simon to throw up all kinds of red flags for Ryan, which is obviously another reference to what might be in Ryan's "closet".

9:16 PM: David Hernandez is next, and he takes on "I Saw Her Standing There". Which probably has Simon chuckling right about now.

David H. is insistent that HE, and not Chikezie, will be the one vieing for the votes of Taylor Hicks' "Soul Patrol" this season.

Yeah, too Taylor-esque for me.

Randy: for a song so simple, you tried to do too much...too overdone...
Paula: you know I love your voice, and I think you kinda overdid it a little bit...too many runs...
Simon: no, no, no...corny verging on desperate...it just wasn't very cool...not a particularly strong performance...

Ryan alludes to a "stressful week" and wonders whether David might have "overanalyzed" his song choice. Heh.

9:26 PM: Tomorrow night's filler-filled results show will be 1 hour long, at 9/8 PM. "Kat" McPhee and David Foster will perform.

Amanda Overmyer will perform "You Can't Do That", and after she tells us she's never heard the song before this week -- so who chose it??? -- I'm very worried for her.

Amanda's Janis-by-way-of-Aretha-and-Tina interpretation is, horrible? Is that the word I'm looking for here?

Spirited, but just not good enough for me.

Randy disagrees...: took a Beatles song to a Southern bar and rocked it out...I loved it...
Paula: you're smiling, you look fantastic...you're a star up there...
Simon: I didn't think it was as good as last week...I could only understand about 30% of that...it's a good thing you're in this competition, because you're like a breath of fresh air...but week-on-week, not as good...

9:36 PM: Michael Johns is up next, and he's taking on "Across The Universe", which is a beautiful, but difficult song.

Michael starts out with the backing of only an acoustic guitar, but gradually adds instrumentation, and makes it powerful.

For me, Michael is okay, but, like Carly, he always seems to be...lacking...something.

Randy feels it too...:wasn't your best performance...I kept waiting for something to happen...a little sleepy, just "a'ight"...
Paula: I disagree...you sing beautifully...your quiet confidence, and the way you connected...brilliant...
Simon: I agree with Randy...it was solid, but monotonous...Carly did something brilliant -- now is the time when you have to do something different...I keep waiting for you to do something different...

9:42 PM: Next up is Kristy Lee Cook who, in a SHOCKING! move, will turn "Eight Days A Week" into a country song.

Wait, isn't this Lurleen Lumpkin singing "I Finally Bagged Me A Homer"???

A country-fied version of "Faithfully" was interesting last week. This is horrible. This would get no where near country radio today. Or ever, one hopes.

Randy: i actually liked the arrangement, but I think you were trying to force some runs into it...shoulda kept it like a jig...I'm torn by that...half of me likes it, half of me doesn't...
Paula: I didn't enjoy it, and I'll tell you why...
[whoa! I can't remember the last time I heard Paula say "I didn't like it"]
Paula:...you can't take what we say -- "go for the country thing -- too much to heart...you've gotta make it your own...
Simon: horrendous...sounded like Dolly Parton on helium...very brave but probably foolish thing to do...that song doesn't work in that style...

9:52 PM: We're racing against the clock now. Last up tonite is David Archuleta. David, because he's only like 12 years old, is not familiar with the songs of the 60's. He chose "We Can Work It Out" because he loves Stevie Wonder's version.

BREAKING! DAVID ARCHULETA forgets the lyrics.

David Archuleta will not win this competition.

Also, this is a pretty weak performance. even without the forgetting-the-lyrics, it would be hard for the judges to pimp this with a straight face.

Randy: you know I like you...this week was not on point for you...this is not your style...it felt forced...
Paula: not your best week...forgetting the lyrics -- never let it show on your face...
Simon: that was a mess...your weakest performance so far...

10:00-ish PM: There will be mentors! Ugh.

Wow, Hour 1 ended with such a bang, that Hour 2 was a real let down. Or maybe it's just hard for me to liveblog for 2 hours.

HOUR 2 QUICK PIX:

1) Brooke
2) Michael
3) David H.
4) Amanda
5) David A.
6) Kristy Lee

* * *

BREAKING: AMERICANS WHO STILL HAVE "MODEMS" IN THEIR "'PUTERS" SRSLY LURVS THEM SOME DAVID ARCHULETA: America's 60-year-old grandmothers, their 10-year-old granddaughters, and disillusioned Ron Paul supporters feared on Tuesday nite that poor little David Archuleta, after bravely overcoming his fight with winning Star Search, might lose his chance to be America's Next Top Idol due to forgetting the words to his song, more than once. America-Hating "judge" Simon Cowell called Little David's performance "a mess" and "your worst performance so far", but that didn't stop our nation's robo-dailers from casting their "votes" for Little David. The polls may now be closed, in both Mississippi and Texas, and on the internets, and here is what you had to say:

1) David Archuleta ("Not predicted to be voted off")
2) Brooke White
3) Chikezie
4) Carly Smithson
5) Amanda Overmyer
6) David Cook
7) Kristy Lee Cook
8) Jason Castro
9) Michael Johns
10) Ramiele Malubay
11) David Hernandez
12) Syesha Mercado

It may or may not be too bad for David A.'s "modem-loving" demographic that no one has a "modem" or even a "computer" anymore. Everyone now votes for the favorite Idols using iPhones and "i hrt crly" "SMS" thingies. Hooray!

We'll talk again on Wednesday / Thursday.