This Week In Tonight In American Idol [13 May 2008]

7:58 PM: Oh, hai!

Top 3 Week is here.

In case you might be glued to a cable news channel right about now, don't bother (depending on your leanings) -- Senator Clinton is projected as a 2-1 winner based on exit polls.

8:02 PM: Ryan says this is "the closest race this show has ever seen".

Wait, which race is he talking about???

8:03 PM: In case you'd rather read a "real" liveblog, try this...

I promise I WON'T check it out until after the show...So you can read an unadulterated, uninformed liveblog...

Because I love you all THAT MUCH!!!!!!1!1one!1

8:05 PM: Top 3 Week has the Idols going home for a victory lap in their hometowns. And also, they all sing 3 songs this week: a judge's choice, a producers' choice, and a personal choice.

First up: Lickey-Lips.

Ruh-roh!!!!!

Lickey-Lips is first singing Paula's choice -- "And So it Goes", by Billy Joel.

It starts as an acoustic performance, and here come the strings and piano.

Appropriately sappy. But I have to confess -- pretty good.

Oh, Banned Archuleta is IN THE HOUSE, DAWG!

Randy: Paula chose a dope song for you...you can sing anything...i would've liked to have seen you seen you playing the piano...but it doesn't matter...you are in the zone! you are in it to win it!!!
Paula: it was a pure and sunny performance...tonite, i thought you were a storyteller...i it was a beautiful performance...
Simon: it was very good...no surprises...a bit predictable...it was good -- i don't think it was outstanding...anyway, good...

8:11 PM: Next up is Broadway Grrrl.

Is Randy in fatigues tonite???

Randy has chosen "If I Ain't Got You", by Alicia Keys.

This is fraught with land mines for Syesha.

Okay, FULL DISCLOSURE...I have been on the Syesha bandwagon for a while now, but that was FREAKIN' AWESOME!

very nice job...

Randy: an amazing job...you are peaking at the right time in this competition...
Paula: difficult to do a song that's so identifiable with such a beautiful artist...you look absolutely stunning...
Simon: you sang that very well...i wish Randy had chosen something where you wouldn't sound so much like the original...overall...and you look gorgeous, BTW...

8:16 PM: Next up -- IN THE PIMP SPOT!!! -- is Nu-Daughtry. Simon has chosen for him "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", by Roberta Flack.

Simon chose this because he wanted to challenge Nu-Daughtry to do something original with a great song.

Oh SNAP!!!

Okay, this is competent, and maybe DIFFERENT -- but #3 of 3..."Sorry!"

Nu-Daughtry has one style.

Randy: been a fan since day-one...loved the high note at the end, but i wish Simon had picked something less predictable...i want you to rock!...i needed more rock from that...
Paula: it's actually about you!...you're my second favorite person who sings that...
Simon: ...maybe biased, but one of your best performances...this is what makes you brilliant, because you take chances...round one goes to Cook-and-Cowell...

8:25 PM: Looks like we're going to 9:30-ish tonite?

Lickey-Lips returns to perform his own choice, "With You", by Chris Brown.

Wait -- who TF is Chris Brown???

Oh yeah...

Oh golly...

Even Lickey-Lips can make me tired of an inescapable Chris Brown track...

But kudos to Lickey-Lips for singing something that is not on the victrola playlists of tonite's W.Va. primary voters...

Not bad...

Randy; ...i applaud that you are trying out something new and young...not sure it was the right song for you...
Paula: ...perfect...right tone for your voice...great job...
Simon: ...applaud you that you didn't do a shrieky ballad...like a chihuahua trying to be a tiger...it's not really you...all a little bit awkward...

[Randy agrees]

Randy: ...not really you...

8:31 PM: Next up is Broadway-Grrrl. Her personal choice is "Fever", a 50-year-old Broadway standard covered by Madonna, among others...

Oh, there's that word -- "Broadway" -- again...

Those of you who had Syesha in your "elimination pool" tonite, are you still confident in your pick???

That was solid, baby!

Randy: "a very, very, interesting song choice"...but you sang it amazingly, amazingly well...a great performance...
Paula: ...i'm surprised you picked this song...i'm surprised you picked this song, but i'm not sure it shows me who Syesha is as an artist...
Simon: ...i think you probably will regret that decision tomorrow...because you had a chance to prove that you are a contemporary recording artist...instead, you did quite a lame cabaret performance...

8:40 PM: Nu-Daughtry returns with his personal choice, "Dare You To Move", by "religious" rockers Switchfoot.

Is Nu-Daughtry becoming the new Nu-Smithson? Technically fine, but nothing to write home about???

That was just "meh" for me...

Is Scott Stapp quietly chuckling right now?

(Yes, I know Scott Stapp had nothing to do with Switchfoot...I don't need your "Dear Shit Fer Brains" letters-to-the-editor about that...)

ZOMG!!! Does that sign actually say: "Cougars 4 Cook"???

Isn't that one of the signs of the Apocalypse???

Randy: ...performance-wise, wasn't your best tonite...a little pitchy...
Paula: ...hard to get a long song in to 90-seconds...just got into it at the end of the song...
Simon: pretty much what i would've expected...all three of you had an okay middle round...one more round to go...

8:43 PM: Lickey-Lips is back with the producers' choice, "Longer", by Dan Fogelberg.

You don't know how much it just hurt me to type that...

Technically perfect, but obviously boring.

Randy: interesting song choice blah blah sing the phone book blah blah in the zone blah blah another hot one from you blah blah
Paula: lovely performance blah blah
Simon: sang the song very well blah blah but the song and the lyrics blah blah good enough to make it through to next week blah blah

[even the judges are tired of carrying Lythgoe's Archuleta-pail-of-water at this point...]

8:52 PM: Broadway Grrrl is back with her producers' choice, "Hit Me Up", by Gia Farrell, from the Happy Feet soundtrack. Never heard of it? Yeah, well, maybe they want her gone...

Sigh...

Actually, I thought that was pretty good...

Randy: Rihanna-esque...just "a'ight" for me...
Paula: liked it, but don't know if it's the type of song that defines you as Syesha-the-artist...don't know if it's enough to get you into the final...
Simon: ...better than the second song...you had your best moment with the Sam Cooke song last week...

THANK YOU!!!

I called Syesha's performance of "A Change Is Gonna Come" last week maybe the best of the season, and people laughed at me...

hmmmmph!

8:58 PM: Last up tonite is Nu-Daughtry, who is taking on one of the most hack-tacular songs of modern movie-pop music -- "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing", performed by Aerosmith and written by Diane Warren.

It's an Aerosmith-worthy performance.

Paula gives the performance one of her standing-O seal-clap responses...

Randy: ...okay for me...very predictable...
Paula: ...where the beginning and the middle and the end is...great performance...SEE YA IN THE FINALS!!!

ZOMG: Diane Warren is in DA HOUSE tonite!!!

Simon: ...one of the great songs of all times...I have to tell you, David Cook wins the nite!!!

okay, so the judges are TOTALLY in the tank AGAINST Syesha...

HRRMRMRMRMPPHPHPHP!!!!!!!!!!!1111one!!111

* * * * *

EARLY NEXT MORNING UPDATE:

The AI "polls" were open for four hours last nite, so the DialIdol numbers weren't "final" until not long before I write this.

If you've been following along, you won't be surprised by the results:

1) David Cook
2) David Archuleta
3) Syesha Mercado ("red light"; predicted to be voted off)

Sigh...

It's too bad, really, for so many reasons. This whole thing has felt "fixed" from the start. And I thought Syesha actually had the best nite last nite!

Sigh...