Idol Trio

My apologies for the lack of updates - going through some writers block issues and finding it very hard to write. But leave it to good old American Idol to fill my head with useless drivel.

Last week, Jason Castro finally got his wish and took the train out of town after aging Simon Cowell 20 years with his rendition of "I Shot The Sheriff" last week. Dude, maybe you should have killed the deputy.

Three songs for the performers tonight, one chosen by the judges, one by the producers, and one the contenders get to choose. I shall go into tonight with an open mind, and hopefully the contenders will choose good enough songs the quell any sour taste left in my mouth from the choices of the judges and the producers. Syesha needs a flawless night tonight to even be considered a finalist while the two Davids are positioning themselves for a finale test run

THE CONTENDERS
1 - David Cook
Pre-Show Rank: 1
David Cook's performances was like an ice cold glass of orange juice right after brushing your teeth. It tastes pretty good going down, but after you swallow, you get this yucky aftertaste. I disagreed with Simon in that I did not feel he won the first round with his rendition of "The First Time Ever I Say Your Face" by Roberta Flack. It was great, but it ended just as I was getting into the song and seemed less than a minute in length. He second song choice of "I Dare You To Move" by Switchfoot was poor, as the song was repetitive and there was no opportunity to show what has made him so popular. Lastly, his singing of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith was very well done, but again, there wasn't anything new there - and the guitarist who looks a lot like Carl Winslow from Family Matters out-volumed David's vocals. It's not Cook's fault, but still it takes away from his performance.

2 - David Archuleta
Pre-Show Rank: 2
I haven't been able to say anything negitive about the kid from high school for most of the competition and I can't again tonight. His vocals were spectacular and perhaps the only thing hindering him is his stage presence and song choices. Paula wanted him to sing Billy Joel's "And So It Goes" and I think vocally he stole the first round from Cook. David's comfort zone is the ballads, where he can seemingly control things, unlike his choice of the Chris Brown song "With You", where he looked very uncomfortable bopping to the up-tempo song. Simon hit it on the head when he stated it was like a Chihuahua acting like a tiger. He looked like the one white guy in every dance club (me) who dances by standing in place and putting his weight on one foot then the other - repeat. I thought the producers choice of "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg was good and David's performance of the song was great, but it just feel flat to me. I kept hearing myself say - "It's the same stuff I've already heard". Maybe I a spoiled by his great vocals...I don't know.

3 - Syesha Mercado
Pre-Show Rank: 3
Syesha had a make or break week and while her performances were good enough to show the world she belonged in the top three, they were the breakout songs that was needed to reach the finale. Randy Jackson wanted her to sing an Alicia Keys song, "If I Ain't Got You" - a song to show what she could do. Unfortunately, she showed us she is nowhere close vocally to Keys and the song showed many of her weaknesses. Her second song, "Fever" by Peggy Lee gave her a chance to show some attitude - and again she failed. That song is all about the attitude and she performed it like it was a musical number in a stage show. The producers choice, "Hit Me Up" by Gia Farrell was an unfamiliar tune, but Syesha did an admirable job with what she had to work with. I will say this, I haven't seen someone come so far from the cellar before Syesha came along - but it is her time.