I wonder what Brooke White is going to do with the Beatles. She has been putting out amazing performances, but I'm not seeing a song for her. Anybody else?

The wrong AI chick is gonna get naked pictures released - if you believe the tabloids

That's been the rumor out of Indianapolis for 2 weeks. I was hoping it wasn't true.

Ehh?

Rumors of Amanda posing nude for an ex-boyfriend and the ex shopping them to the highest bidder. She's from the Indy area and radio stations there have been talking about this possibility.

I doubt it, but I wonder if that is what had her so distracted last week. She is the one I would have guessed most likely to have naked pictures come out.

i wonder if her bush has the blonde highlights and stands up straight for the first 3 inches like the hair on her head did during 70's week

I could see her doing "Across the Universe".

There's your cure for priapism.

I wouldn't mind hearing Brooke sing Lady Madonna.

(actually, I thought of Eleanor Rigby too, even before Ksyrup's mashup post :) )

Eleanor Rigby is probably my favorite Beatles song. So whomever sings will have my vote (provided they don't completely butcher it - which is about a 50-50 proposition).

I'll give you $100 if you do that with your bush.

nevermind

Beat ya to the punch.. :p

Why the hell is Ramiele still here?

If naked pictures of Amanda come out, I wouldn't be shocked if she has a penis.

Wait, did I say If? I mean when.

ENOUGH WITH THE EFFING COUNTRY MUSIC

Wow. That David Archuleta song was teh suck.

dola...

I thought the first half of tonight's show was full of absolute brilliance. The second half has been absolutely horrible. I'm not sure at what point it started going downhill, but it's just crashed and burned with the last few contestants.

More candidates to leave this week than last, but less will, good news for a lot of the competitors. I am just putting Amanda last til she goes, in hopes that America does the same. Chikeze and I are having a bipolar experience.I like him when he doesn't suck, but he sucks about half the time.

Carly - channels amy winehouse effectively in beginning. she can perform. she rocked the house tonight. I've been waiting for this performance from this performer.
chikeze - definitely "made it his own"....voice is good tonight, fits the song. maybe a lil too much improv at the end
MichaelJ - Welcome to the competition mike. Great song choice. I had a feeling he might be holding back a little and he let loose this week.
Brooke - I was expecting a Brooksaster but it fairly Brooktastic. excellent song choice and her best this year for me.
David C - oasis called, they want their sound back. Late better than early.
JsonC - better than ramiele but very boring. GOod voice, good song choice but zero fun.
ramiele - good voice and good choice of song. On the down side I'm not sure she's shown anything new or unique this entire competition.
Kristy - good voice, good showmanship. Interesting genre change but the tempo didn't work for me
DavidA - I'm a davidA fan but this performance was way too mousketeery for me.
DavidH- This is not a strong night for him. I think this is pretty weak.
syesha - cruise ship comment coming...shocked simon liked this. think he is on happy pills
Amanda - horribly indescribeably bad.

I thought Chikeze and Brooke were the best and Kristy was the worst. There were some folks who were extremly mediocre tonight.

*KLC, Hernandez, and Amanda are the top 3 to go home in my opinion.

*I'm afraid that Johns playing every song the same, while sounding great, is going to grow tiresome. Someone like Chikezie, who is inferior vocally, could outlast him because of his ability to mix it up.

Well, Archuleta is human after all. Talk about deer in the headlights when he forgot the words...I'm a fan but that was bad. He's safe though.

Kristy was awful and only a Sanjaya-like voting display can save her now. Hernandez was weak as well.

Favourites on the night were Carly, Chikeze, Brooke and David Cook (chorus onward).

My guess at the bottom three: Kristy Lee Cook, David Hernandez, Ramiele

And interestingly enough, while she wasn't great, I didn't mind Amanda tonight. She's so one-dimensional but I thought she performed well tonight.

Carly and David Cook front-runners tonight by a mile. Brooke somewhere within striking distance. The rest were all fairly forgettable. A few that were memorable in their horrendousness. Kristy for instance.

Cook has really come out of nowhere for me. He's getting better with each show.

This week's recap is posted:

http://www.solecismic.com/frontierblog/?p=240

Overall: It was a week of haves and have-nots, with the top five faring quite well with a difficult and unusually tiny song book. But the bottom five were painful to the old ears, and probably made McCarthy reconsider ever doing this again.

Brook is growing on me. Nice to have a contestant just sing. Don't need to put runs in or hit bigs notes... sometimes you just have to sing it.

Jim's pretty much dead on tonight. Here's my list:

1. David Cook - As I said above, Eleanor Rigby is probably my fav Beatles tune. So, it was nice to see the best performance be for that song. He really is a cut above everyone else in this competition - and it's really not close based on the last two weeks.
2. Carly - I thought she did very well with her performance, but it did get a little old. Still, her overall quality was top 2.
3. Chikezie - Pleasantly surprised. If he keeps this up, he might last a few weeks. Still, this was probably his ceiling and he finished third. When Mike, Brooke and Jason have a good week, he may be in trouble.
4. Jason - Solid vocals, but not a lot outside of that. He needs to mix it up a bit, but he can't go too far.
5. Brooke - She struggled with some of the high notes and really didn't hit it out of the park like I thought she would when she started. A bit of a letdown.
6. Mike - Ditto to Brooke. Thought it would be a good song for him but he was fairly plain.
7. Syesha - She did OK, but her performance was the most forgetable, so I couldn't put in the top half.
8. Amanda - She also hit her ceiling like Chikezie, but hers is 8th. 2-3 weeks max of having her around. There's only so many times you can hear her combo of a bad Elvis and bad Melissa Ethridge before your ears start bleeding.
9. Ramiele - She would have been forgetable like Syesha, except that she wasn't really that good. Still, she remembered the words.
10. David H - Should have been last, but unfortunately two others were horrendous. Way too over the top - maybe it was his tribute to Danny.
11. David A - Yikes, talk about a rough night. I think I heard Greg Norman and Bill Buckner say "Man, that kid choked tonight." Still, in his defense, even a good performance would have landed him mid-table. Everything about the song choice was questionable.
12. Kristy - You know it's bad when you finish behind a guy who forgot the words. This was maybe the most sanjaya-esque painful performance of the season. Nothing redeeming - it would have been better to mime the song.

I personally hated Cook's rendition of Elanor Rigby. Maybe that is because that is one of my favorite songs, but that sucked. It is not a rock song. At all..

Carly Smithson nailed Come Together. Absolutely nailed it.

My favorite, Brooke White, started off really strong, in my opinion. She didnt really finish strong, but I felt she did a good job.

Jason Castro did a good job with If I Fell. Not brilliant, but it was definitely pleasing to the ears.

Now my drunk ass is going to bed and I will view the rest tomorrow.

I just saw Arles post.

I would be interested to hear from those that agree that Eleanor Rigby is such a great song. What made his performance stand out to you? I personally was listening and at the same time heard the Beatles song in my mind, and I felt he did it no justice at all.

Side note: I voted for the first time in American Idol history. Brooke White. Not even her best performance. Dunno.

Well at first I didn't like it either because I like the original classic that is Eleanor Rigby, but after a while you realize he is just good at putting his own spin on things and as a straight up rock-modernized version it was pretty damn sweet... beginning to think he can do it to any song.

I didn't like his verses for Rigby. I really liked the chorus. The chorus worked in that type of singing and the verses didn't.

OK, so what happened to this?

Now that the Idol finally has use of the entire songbook — which includes 180 tunes — Lythgoe knows just when to use them.
“When the Top 12 sing for the first time this season, it will be the music of Lennon and McCartney,” he told Seacrest. “We’ve given them a list because it’s all of the early songs — from ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ to ‘Got to Get You Into My Life.’ These fantastic songs. It’s one of the few areas that everybody knows.”

My theory is one of two things: (1) some people stunk at the early songs, and they needed good performances to ensure that this wouldn't be a 1-time thing; or (2) they bent over backwards for 2 of The Chosen Ones (Carly and Michael Johns), and then let Brooke do Let It Be because she wanted to play piano. I'm guessing it was more #2 than anything - they are really doing whatever they can to make sure the favorites succeed. You're telling me David Hernandez got stuck with the Beatles equivalent to Jailhouse Rock, yet Carly and Johns get Come Together and Across the Universe? I don't buy it. Oh, and Archuleta getting the pimp spot yet AGAIN when his performance was terrible? Should have gone to Chikezie, maybe David Cook, in terms of "bringing down the house to end the show"-quality performance.

I have to ask...was it just us (and there were 4 of us watching), or were the acoustics in the new theater beyond terrible? The vocals were distant, there was tons of reverb, and when the vocals were up front, we couldn't understand what most of them were singing. It has to be the new stage. Not looking forward to another 10 or so weeks of that crap.

The performances:

I thought Chikezie was the best of the night. In fact, when Simon commented that "the first singer blah blah blah," I looked at my wife and said, "I know it was just 10 minutes ago, but I honestly don't remember who went first." It took her a good 10 seconds to remember Syesha. Not sure if that says more about how forgettable Syesha was, or how good Eze was, or what.

I guess Carly was good, I was too pissed at the fact she got to sing an older song to even bother paying attention.

Brooke is..."above" this competition. Let's just put it that way. Aside from Amanda (and in a totally different way), Brooke is the one contestant who doesn't belong on this show. She's way too mature and complete a singer/performer to have a chance at winning this show. If she does, she'll be a trainwreck in terms of sales.

I didn't love Cook's version of ER, but I give him props for doing it in a style that worked (for most people, it seems).

Ramiele, Castro, and Hernandez - forgettable. Knew it the minute Hernandez's song choice was announced. He performed the song like he needed to, but he didn't have the correct song to do that kind of performance with. I think he got hosed in song choice - that's my tin foil hat prediction. Castro has nothing, not sure what people see in him other than his dreds.

Michael Johns - credible version of Across the Universe, but both me and my wife immediately said, "Nowhere near Rufus Wainwright's version," and I think that spoiled it to some extent for me. I'm also getting a little tired of the judges going back and forth over singing it straight vs. giving them the glory notes. A couple of people got criticized (like Johns) for doing nothing with the song, while people like Brooke were applauded for not veering from the original. I thought the criticism was fine for Ramiele because the song was boring as hell, but Johns' performance was much better.

Kristy Lee Cook...never thought I'd say this, but she needs to go. Now. Of the girls, I'd put her at #7 on the sexy list, right below Danny. Honestly. I was in love with her at first, and now I've turned on her after that horrible arrangement but even worse performance. She could have added pigtails, clogs, yodeled, and slapped her thigh a few times, and it wouldn't have been markedly worse than it was. She is the 1993 Miami Dolphins of American Idol (isn't that the consensus SB pick that had 21 former 1st round draft picks on their roster, yet failed to make the playoffs?). Done. I've never seen a more beautiful woman who can sing consistently fail to evoke any kind of emotion when performing. She looked uncomfortable, and completely unable to move in anything but a cringe-worthy way. Totally unsexy, which is crazy to think about when you see photos of her. But here we are...

Amanda was Amanda...sloppy, slurred singing when she wasn't screaming, but not horrible this week.

I'm not going to pile on Archuleta this week, but the difference in performance between him and Brooke, for instance, is night and day. He truly looks like a 15 year old up there by comparison, even when he's not missing words and making a mess out of the song.

Never thought I'd say it, but I want KLC to go.

No one sang Yesterday. :( I would probably put Carly in the #1 spot this week, and I liked Michael Johns a lot more than I have in the past because he kept it simple and didn't try to do too much with his voice like the last couple weeks.

Brooke, one of my favs, was a disappointment to me tonight and I was shocked she got such praise. I thought she was off key at times and rushing to catch up to the music as well. I felt bad for David A tonight, forgetting the words is never good. His confidence has always been so fragile, I worry he won't recover well from this performance.

Kristy probably my choice to go this week. I've liked her performances the last couple weeks, and I salute her for taking a risk here, but it was a bad choice and she'll likely suffer for it. Amanda of course is who I want to go home, but she probably did enough to keep her around for another week.

And a big boo to Simon for having to ask Randy near the end of the show who the Irish girl's name was.

From Jim G.'s blog about David H.:
"I have to wonder if the recent controversy about how he makes a living has caused him to want to get out of this competition, because he’s much better than this."


I'm telling you, they forced him to sing that song to help pave the way for his leaving. No way he chose that song - 12 people, 25 songs...you do the math. And his interview segment where he mentioned working for some pizza joint at least 5 times - he might as well have come out and said, "That's right, I worked at a pizza place, NOT a male strip joint!" - didn't help, either.

I can't tell if he does stuff like that on purpose or what...pretending to forget her name, and then asking the guy who was an exec at her former record company what her name was? I was hoping Randy said Carly Hennessy.

He's done this consistently over the years and I don't think its on purpose. He just doesn't care much about the contestants past their vocal skills.

I don't know...I refuse to believe he has accidentally called Chikezie "Jacuzzi" twice so far. I think he does it because it furthers his reputation as an uncaring asshole.

Judging by the DialIdol results:

I was hoping Randy would slip up as well.



Agreed. I think it's all part of his act.


As for my thoughts on the competitors:

1. Chikezie - Shocked me with a great, high energy performance, that was memorable and entertaining. First time that I felt like he should stay on the show.

2. Carly - While I enjoyed the VFTW rant on her, she clearly is one of the best competitors in this competition.

3. David Cook - I thought it was excellent from the middle on.

4. Brooke - Took on one of the most memorable songs and did a very credible job.

5. Ramiele - I liked her singing and thought it was a good performance. Wife didn't.

6. Michael - A decent job with that song which is one of my favorites.

7. Jason C. - A solid vocal.

8. David H - Forgettable.

9. Syesha - Also forgettable.

10. David A - I think that is the first song he hasn't performed a million times before and it showed. He forgot the words and looked lost out there. Bad performance but he'll be saved by past performances.

11. Amanda - Terrible performance as usual.

12. Kristy - Sadly, I agree with Ksyrup. I really liked her at first, particularly with her dance moves in the introductory clip. They edited that clip in future showings, and I almost think they told her to tone down the sexy factor. Last night she wasn't sexy, and that song didn't work. Maybe my wife called in a personal favor to the network execs. I think Mrs. E gets her wish tonight.

Bingo.

And this explains some of what I was trying to say a couple of weeks ago about what I don't find authentic about his performances. I can just tell that they are rehearsed, so they don't come across as natural and credible to me. And last night proved that, in a way, because he stumbled badly with a song he didn't know. It wasn't rehearsed and choreographed a thousand times before he had to perform it.

At this point, though, I don't think it's going to matter, unless he reels off 4-6 straight weeks of bad performances. He's the only contestant with a real fanbase at this point. Perhaps it could bite him if we get down to the top 4 and he's been consistently bad, but I think he's too much of a professional to slip up consistently.

Seperated at birth?

I agree with your thoughts on Cook.. I did not like his performance at all and told my wife once he was done that I bet he is voted out.. Guess that shows how little I know :)

My favorites was Chikeze and Carly, I liked both of those performances alot. I haven't been a big fan of Chikeze's past performances, but I've liked most of Carly's.

You know, I completely forgot about Carly living in San Diego. I was there last week and even visited an Irish pub in the Gaslamp District...but it wasn't hers. Is that one she works at in that area, or somewhere else?

I liked Brooke's performance the best. Not to channel Paula here, but it sounded incredibly authentic - she seemed to feel every word she was singing. Plus I'm overly emotional so when she was tearing up that kind of got to me. :)

Ramiel is so cute. I hope she gets her act together.

Please god let Kristy Lee Cook be the one that goes home. Her hotness factor has plummeted like Skylab and her performances have all sucked.

Good call by Jim:

Simon Cowell has said that he's "not enjoying" the current series of American Idol.

The reality TV star claimed the series was similar to the last X Factor in the UK, which he described as "dull".

He told The Sun: "To be honest with you I'm really not enjoying the current American Idol season. It actually reminds me of the last X Factor series we did. It's just a bit dull."

IMO, the great part of taking a new twist on a song means you don't necessarily have to compare it to the original. If someone just did a "copy" of ER from the Beatles, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much unless they were 100% spot on. I would compare this to Daughtry doing the "Walk the Line" Live remake version of Cash's song. Because it was setup differently, you can be a little more forgiving.

I would also agree that the song was much better from the first chorus on. In fact, for most of the performances it seems that the initial lower register beginnings often felt forced and lacking. Maybe it's the acoustics like mentioned above. Because, once the band was involved and the producers were able to equalize the sound, the 2nd and 3rd lower register sections always sounded better.

I completely agree. The worst thing about this is that it sets him up to go back to his "awk, shucks, you mean you really like me?!!" Melinda Doolittle impression the next time he does a decent job. I really can't remember a singer that has had more of a 3-4 show freefall than David has since he did imagine. It's now to the point where I almost dread his performance because it's either going to be this brooding, well-rehearsed, fake-emotional performance or he is going to take a chance and probably bomb. He's like the bizzaro Brooke White (who comes off as genuine and with real emotion).

I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that David H chose this song. First, I think the process works where everyone submits their choice and the producers let the favorites get first dibs. But, David H has had some success with the faster-moving songs and I think he just got a little full of himself. He probably got the choice between "Saw her standing there" and a piano ballad and chose the former to keep his up-tempo style.

By the time this thing is over, Kristy Lee Cook will look like a man and David H will look like pre Idol Kristy Lee Cook.

I pretty much agree with everyone above. I wish MJ4H would have addressed the David A performance, though. :)

Eze really surprised me this week. His #2 spot hurts him in rankings, I think, because there were a lot of very good performances after him. After loving it when he performed it, I think it dropped to #4 or so on my list. I also loved Carly, David Cook and Brooke.

Hey, everyone's entitled to at least one screw up on a song they've haven't been performing since before puberty.

Looks like McPhee was moved up to perform live tonight, and Reuben is no longer performing the buh-bye song, but it will be premiered tonight.

And they're doing another songwriting contest. I'm working on one right now, tentatively titled The Air I Breathe (You're My Everything).

I guess I feel like Simon does. I find this season to be completely boring. I'll stick it out for a while longer, though.

As for last night, I really didn't love any of the performances except David Cook's. Then again, I'm not really into the music that they were singing last night. That probably makes me some kind of heathen or something, but I just don't really care for that stuff. Honestly, though, I don't really like any of the contestants except David Cook. For the most part, the girls are OK, but they all put me to sleep except Amanda (who could sleep while she's screeching?).

Once David Cook is done, so am I, unless David Hernandez offers me a lapdance. Rawr.

WELCOME ABOARD PUMPY!

Why? I agree with pretty much everyone else. It was bad. I mean it wasn't slit your throat bad like Kristy, but it was bad.

Nonono, it's not quite like that yet! I'm not particularly sick of the concept or anything. It's just that this year's group is so forgettable. In fact, when all 12 contestants stepped onto the stage at the beginning of the show last night, I said to myself "Who's the black chick?" even though Syesha is the only black girl left.

I'm pretty sure that in a year or so, the only thing I'm going to remember about this season is Amanda's multi-colored bush.

I mean hair.

If I may shit in everyone's cheerios for a minute, who exactly isn't forgettable over the run of this show? It's no different now.

I'll give you Kelly Clarkson. She was the initial winner and is something of a sustained hit.

Now who? Let's go through them...tell what tremendous, memorable talents we get for the trillions of votes and intricate analysis:

Ruban Studdard
Clay Aiken
Kimberly Locke
Corey Clarke - ok he's memorable because he was fucking paula
Fantasia
Diana Degarmo
Jennifer Hudson - Ok, I'll give you her too. Yet she didn't even come close to winning.
Carrie Underwood - highly debatable. she's terrible but has a good songwriter
Bo Bice
Contantine
Taylor Hicks
McPhee
Elliot Yamin
Daughtry - meh, I guess
Kellie Pickler
Ace Young
Jordan Sparks
Blake Lewis
Doolittle
Sanjaya

Insert all the rest of the floatsum and jetsum.

I guess I missed all these interesting and non forgettable people normally flooding this show.

OK, done shitting. Resume analysis.

"Forgettable" is being used in the context of each show.

I don't know how many times I have to explain that the show and the talent are two mutually exclusive things to me. I enjoy the show as entertainment; when I say that Syesha was "forgettable" last night, I'm talking about the performance she gave, not in some metaphysical/astronomical sense. I don't give a crap about the careers of any of these people... I have never purchased an Idol-related CD, and have in fact only voted once - when Bo Bice did that Badlands song, and that was more to reward him for knowing who Badlands is than the actual performance.

I enjoy the show. Period. I hate most of the music they perform and have no interest in their careers, even the ones who are ostensibly rock. Daughtry is the next Creed, Bo Bice was a poor man's Lynyrd Skynyrd rip-off (if you ever heard the "original" music he wrote before he was on the show), Constantine was a joke, etc. They mean nothing to me. I haven't heard Chris Sligh's new album, but I suppose I might like it if I cared enough to check it out (at least going by his pre-Idol stuff). But I don't.

Does that clarify it for you? You seem to want to attach more cultural importance to this show than many of us are willing to give it. I think you should take your posts over to a REAL, live-and-die-by-Idol board, and then post over here some of the responses you get. That, my friend, would be highly entertaining.

Eh, I just mean "forgettable" in the sense that I probably won't even remember these people's names or faces in a year or two. I would recognize Elliot Yamin. Hell, I'd even recognize Ace Young. Young wasn't all that talented, but at least I see the name and can remember him. Next year, if someone mentioned Brooke White to me, I'd respond with "What?"

Regardless of what these people do (or don't do) with their careers, I tend to have a pretty good memory for people I see on television several weeks in a row. These people aren't going to stick with me at all.

this is fascinating to me

McPhee certainly isn't forgettable, at least not for me.

Edit: Actually, I think there are 1 or 2 memorable singers every year and I think that will be the case again this year before it is all over.

If you think of it as a TV show and these people as actors...I may watch Lost, for instance, but I don't give a shit what Matthew Fox does after the show ends. What they are doing on the show has no relevance to me when the show ends. And I'll admit, the music makes it hard for me to watch several weeks a year. I don't want to hear any more disco or Barry Manilow songs. The net result is...I won't enjoy that week as much as others. Same as if my favorite show focuses on a storyline I don't really care about.

In the end, it's just a TV show like all the rest, except that when the ride ends, they've got one of those booths selling you momentos as you leave. I choose to walk past, rather than grab up all the Diana DeGarmo and Kellie Pickler CDs I can find.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time but I found it interesting. It's like watching Lost when you hate all the characters.

Or like the Price is Right when you can't stand any of the games.

Although I watch Idol a fair amount so, um....ok bite me.

The individual performances are memorable to me. Bo Bice doing Whipping post. Fantasia doing Summertime. LaToya doing All by Myself.

I'll follow what happens to these guys after they leave the show, but I have never been all that invested in it.

Ha! Funny thing is, I do watch Lost, sort of...my wife watches it, and I end up watching just because she does. I don't really like it at all, and make a point to not ask questions about stuff I don't understand. Which is OK, because the point of the show seems to be that nothing makes sense anyway, so I think my wife and I have the same level of understanding when it comes to that show.

But anyway...

I only care what Gina Glocksen is doing right now. Well, let me clarify that. I only care what she's doing if she's naked in my bed. She isn't. So I really don't care.

I don't remember a single one of these. From last year, I remember Blake beat boxing on a Bon Jovi song and Sanjaya doing You Really Got Me. Couldn't tell you anything else about any other performances. I can't even place the songs Summertime and All by Myself, let alone as performed by these people.

Did you see my posts from last year from the guy at another board who knew her? I should put you touch with him.

Oh, yes. I do remember. Yes.

Uhhh, if I were to contact this guy, he wouldn't end up naked in my bed, would he?

If you contacted me, I would. Well, if you contacted me in the right place, that is.

It's always about sex with you two...

I don't recall anyone mentioning sex.

It's always about sex with us three.

That said, there were probably five performances on the last season of RockStar that I thought were better than almost anything I have seen on the five seasons of Idol I've watched...

I can't say I remember anything about Rock Star, either, except 2 things:

The chick Hurst2112 knew singing that Bowie song, and the horribly garbled delivery of the guy who won the Tommy Lee season.

That said, I remember the performers as a whole being much better, but a lot of that I attribute to me wanting to listen to rock and being way more interested in singer/songwriter/musicians than just vocalists. So I think that's more a vote for what the show was about than about the talent itself. Truthfully, most of the RockStar talent was probably the functional equivalent of the AI talent in their respective genres. It was just a more interesting show to me.

I couldn't stand Rock Star. I actually thought it was one of the worst things I'd ever seen.

As nuch as I think that Ksyrup is very weird for not liking the music or anything but just watches for the entertainment... I realize I'm in his same boat. I have no AI-person CDs, most of the music I wouldn't be seen listening to, but yea, I'm there every Tues/Wed. :-X

Did David Cook rip off his version of Eleanor Rigby?

He sang it far better than the linked clip, but still... I hate the kid, but damn if I didn't respect his understanding of music and his shaping of songs.

http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_audio/031208_doxology2.mp3

Very few of these contestants write their own arrangements. I mean, maybe Blake last season, and that is only a maybe.

Hold off right there. Just like with Daughtry and the "Live" version of Walk the Line, any "making their own sounding take" on older songs almost certainly has been done by another group at some point. I've heard atleast 2-3 rock-like versions of Eleanor Rigby over the past 30 years.

It isn't about how original your arrangements are, it's about how good you perform/sing that arrangement.

Hello, Cat McPhee! I really missed your legs.

CHRIST ANYONE THAT THINKS TAYLOR HICKS SHOULD'VE WON OVER THAT IS NUTS IM TALKING TO YOU MY WIFE AND HER BEST FRIEND

She was a very good AI contestant, but it is amazing what a year of professional polish will do for an artist.

hahaha did you see Brooke tell David A to "Go sit down."

haha I don't even know why that was so funny, but it was.

Really sorry I decided to skip the season McPhee was on.

Holy effing crap she is hot. Now I see why kurtism slobbers over her so much.

Quoted for hell yeah.

Rigged

you will learn not to question my wisdom

First time I've ever seen McPhee and wow is she ugly in NUMEROUS ways. I was looking for one hot thing about her but kept missing.

Welcome to my ignore list

Brothers til the end of time!

Dude that was David Foster.

McPhee was the one singing.

i guess i am the only one in america that finds brooke white boring and unimpressive...she has NO range....not saying that she needs to go all Whitney Houston every week like Syesha tries to, but every song she sings has no more than 2 registers, and she still has at least 3 or 4 spots that she has to drop a note down an octave to keep it in her reach. considering how many times we have heard the judges say "that was a safe choice", or "i was bored to tears" about other people, who i think demonstrate a lot more vocal ability, but every time casper the bugeyed railroad tie gets up there, they gush over her monotone dirge.

dola, and i cant believe that no talent hack, the bride of frankenstein, doesnt even go to the bottom 3!!!, you gotta be kidding me... i love when the do the medleys at the beginning of the results show and she always has to sing by herself for 2 lines because she sucks so badly she cant be with anyone else.

also, i agree with whomever it was that thought David H. kind of dumped on purpose...he was a lot better during 70s week than he was tuesday..he has a ton more ability than we saw.

I repeat my claim that David H. was essentially shown the door.

Saldana, your criticism of Brooke would be spot on if she was one of the other girls. But she's not - this is what she does and why I said she doesn't belong on the show. I completely disagree that her kind of performance is boring, since I quite enjoy it and absolutely detest the warbling/melisma of most AI contestants and pretty much anyone on the radio these days. But you're right that in the context of this competition, her vocal range and singing style are at odds with the others and what the judges are usually looking for.

If I had to choose 1 contestant whose music I would check out after ths year's show, though, it would be her. I just don't know if her original stuff is worthwhile, which is all that really matters to me. I have no interest in listening to covers.

I thought McPhee was much sexier back on AI when she wasn't trying to look much older than she is. Must be the fact that she married a 40-something guy a couple of months ago. She didn't fair as badly as Pickles did when she came back with that 1950's country beehive hairdo, but she seems to have lost a lot of her youthful beauty. The makeup and 20-year reunion dress detracted from her natural beauty.

She's still hot, of course, but I had to look past an awful lot of crap to see it.

Yes, she is. It was good to see her back.

Anyone else see David H mouth "wow" like he couldn't believe it wasn't Kristy going? He had good reason to think so, but I still thought that reaction was funny.

Also, I thought Kristy was deliberately being a bit more sexy last night, baring a bit of midriff, and I'm sure she thought she was gone. It will be interesting to see what she does next week.

Any lesbians left in the competition should be nervous.

Agree on the David H. thing, and with Kristy - not just the midriff, but I thought she purposely "shook it" a bit more during her performance. At least she was a good sport - the "where's my mic?" comment was pretty funny, considering AI trying to wring every last ounce of drama out of that bloated mess of a show that should last no longer than a state lottery drawing, and she effectively short-circuited it.