American Idol 7 - Top 7 - Mariah Carey week - 4/15-16

[JasonR]

Well, it's Mariah Carey week. That means this week's theme is oversinging, overdoing your boob job, and dressing like an 18 year-old nympho even though you're pushing 40. Yay!

Seriously, think of all the awesomely bad auditions and performances that you can trace back to people attempting to emulate Mariah . . . all that melisma and those excessive vocal runs . . . ugh! Hell, I don't think you could even have AI without Mariah, at least not like we we know and love it, or love to hate it.

Won't it be fun seeing David Archuleta dipping into the Mariah songbook? Almost as much fun as seeing Syesha again take on a song that's too big for her because she thinks she's the best singer ever. Will Brooke don some Daisy Duke hootchie shorts in honor of Mariah and to garner some badly needed votes? Hell, Mariah started off as a good girl too, back in the "Vision of Love" days.

This could be a pretty weird week, since I don't think this theme is going to favor anyone we have left. What do you think gasmii?

[LonnaSaur]

I am not looking forward to this. I couldn't name a song by Mariah if my life depended on it. It's funny, though. Randy is always like, "Don't try to do Celine, don't try to do Whitney, don't try to do Mariah" and now they are doing Mariah? It makes no sense.

[giffordsaz]

I think the guys are going to look foolish singing this dopediva's music.

[chooch850]

The guys rocked the house with Mimi's songs.....

The two Davids were the best of the night. Simon even brought Mr. Cook to tears.... did you cry Rach?

[JasonR]

I don't listen to pop radio, so I hadn't heard any of these songs before. Other than "Vision of Love" and the song that samples "Genius of Love" from Tom Tom Club ("Fantasy"?), I couldn't name one song of hers. Based on last night I'm not missing much. Check out the below. Tom Tom Club are way better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypVLtlXy_No
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7iyjsLlsyk

Cook was by far the best. Even the haters have to admit he did something different and interesting with that song, and at least so far as I know he's not copying someone else's arrangement.

Brooke was by far the worst. I think Brooke has gone as far as she can, and frankly, as far as she wants to. I don't feel like she is enjoying being on AI anymore. I felt bad watching her tremble through her performance.

As much as I hate to admit it, Syesha was really good and I thought the judges didn't give her her due. How the hell can Simon criticize her when she does performers' signature songs which invite comparison and then slam her for picking a song that will be unfamiliar to the audience????

I found Archuleta really boring. Carly was solid but unexciting. KLC fell somewhere in this category also.

Castro was pretty good, but I thought the song was so bad I'm having trouble judging the performance objectively.

I'd rank 'em:

1. David Cook

2. Syesha

3. Castro

4. Archuleta

5. Carly

6. KLC

7. Brooke

Bottom 3 will be as above, with Brooke or Carly out.

[LonnaSaur]

Thanks for the critiques, Jason R. I always enjoy reading them. They were particularyl helpful this week because I didn't even watch!

[JasonR]

Thanks for the critiques, Jason R. I always enjoy reading them. They were particularyl helpful this week because I didn't even watch!

Thanks LS! You didn't miss much. Show was kinda dull, except for David Cook. I thought his performance was almost download worthy.

[RachWho?]

Brooke really boned it, huh?

And Chooch, let's just say that I hated DC less than usual. I think that's because he did less grandstanding and also because I hate Mariah Scary so much that if he chooses to cover one of her songs and emo/rock it up, what the hell do I care if he ruins it? When he effs with the Beatles though, that's a whole other ball of wax.

[giffordsaz]

I loved Dave Cook. He sang that song and owned it. It was his song that MC said she wanted to hear because she was a FAN of his rendition --- or that is what she said in so many words.

The rest should be gone.. just end it tonight please.

Thanks JAson, you didn't have much to work with this week and I am really glad you hung in with the show and gave us your opinion...... I am surprised how much we usually feel the same way.

On a side note. Paula has begun a close relationship with two radio guys here, John Jay and Rich. They have been on the Ellen show because of their give-aways and they have a good show. So ANYWAY. Paula called in this morning and they ask for the seats behind her like Terri Hatcher had last night.. and she is getting then seats next week! WOW...how cool is that!

And I don't know if Brooke boned it but she does seem to be singing the same song every week.. she just changes from microphone to guitar to piano........

[giffordsaz]

An American stroy from The View.

David Cook's brother has been diagnosed with brain cancer.
David knows this, it isn't new.
An Indianapolis Health care company arrainged a medical flight to deliver his brother to the show this week.
I am going to go back to the tape last night to see if I see him in the family seats.
It is such a touching story I think.

[Pekmboyd]

You can definitely see David's brother in the audience - he is undergoing chemotherapy for brain cancer and his hometown raised the money for a charter flight so he could see the show - he had to be accompanied by medical staff.

I agree with Jason for the most part - I nearly teared up at David's song, and I'm very seriously considering figuring out iTunes to download it, and most of his other week's songs while I'm at it.

Castro was good - but I'm not sure there's a big enough market for the type of music he sings. He does sing it damn well though.

Syesha was good. I can't make myself say anything else nice about her. Apparently the judges agree with me because even they have a hard time admitting when she does well.

Brooke - poor girl is just so rattled - I like her, but I think the pressure at this point is too much adn it might be nicer to send her home than continue to torture her.

Kristy Lee - how is this the same girl from 4 weeks ago? Eight Days a Week? She still has a ways to go to make up for that, but I don't instantly cringe when she comes on the screen, and that's saying something.

David Archuleta - I'm over it. OVER. IT. Go sing your unoriginal sappy crap on Christian radio where you belong and leave me alone!

Carly Smithson - I think the judges are way harder on her than she deserves - I thought she did really well - but she's getting really forgettable.

[chooch850]

Kristy is finally gone and now we are down to six... 3 girls and 3 guys. As I said in Nads comments section, I don't see these girls winning. They need to seriously consider their song choices because that is the only thing that's gonna save them. The guys on the other hand can survive a wrong song choice and live to see another week. I also feel the public tends to pay attention to what Simon has to say and votes accordingly more times than not and he hasn't cut these girls any slack at all.

[JasonR]

Good thing I'm not putting any money on my predictions! I thought based on performances alone Brooke deserved to be gone. I was surprised it was Syesha and not Carly in the bottom 3. I think face-tatooed hubby aside, people find Carly easier to relate to. She's modest (probably too much so) and her admissions about wearing some kind of control top which affected her performance and about losing concentration when she made eye contact w/ Simon glaring at her are kind of endearing. Syesha on the other hand, seems overly confident, overly thin and beautiful, and certainly less original than Carly.

All that said, I agree with chooch and many others in that we will certainly have an all male top 2 (the Davids) and maybe even the final three could be all male.

[LonnaSaur]

I thought the results show was on at the same time as ANTM so during a commercial towards the end of ANTM I flipped over to Fox to see who was going home and got a nasty shock when I saw Jason Castro singing on my screen. Then I realized it was just the beginning of American Idol, not the end of the show! Phew!

I never liked Kristy but darn it if now I don't feel bad for her! When will Syesha ever go? I'm so sick of her.

[RachWho?]

Syesha and her stupid hairdos and fake smile need to get OFF MY SCREEN! At least people (not me) like David Cook. Does anyone other than Syesha's family like her? It must just be her granny voting for her. And granny can speed dial!

[giffordsaz]

Paula was on the radio program, John Jay and Rich again.. you guys can go there on line too, she is on EVERY day after Idol and randomly calls in other days.
http://1047kissfm.com/main.html
They are on 6-10 Arizona time (which is pacific time now) and the last half hour is repeating the funniest segments from the day.

ANYWAY today she said the artist of the day next week is Andrew Lloyd Weber.... WTF
and the next week...........
Neil Diamond!!! WTFFFFFFF


Could we get someone current like Diddy or Cheryl Crow at least! I am so over these young kids having to sing songs that my mother listened too. For God's sake Neil Diamond is so crappy old he sings in CASINOS!!!!!!!!!

I really hate the producers today.

Starting next week I am calling for David Cook.
This is something I have never done until the final show in past years but if the producers are gonna pull crappy old artists to cover and keep making the boy girl ratio even he needs all the help he can get.......

[LonnaSaur]

Giff, I am so sad! How can you diss Neil Diamond? I adore him! He is a talented songwriter and a wonderful performer. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing him on the show.

[giffordsaz]

I am so sorry you feel that way, maybe it was being forced by my mother to sit in the back seat on long car rides with out air conditioning, in July, in Michigan..... with Neil Diamond.. or Glen Cambell wailing away. It serves up such bad memories I now live thousnads of miles away... although that put me closer to Neil.. and living in the same town as Glen...how sick is that.

And how is my boy gonna pull out another amazing week with crap like this to work with!!!!

I can just see David Cook in a phantom's mask running all over the stage.. I would hope someone would drop a chandilier on him at that point and save him.

[RachWho?]

I can just see David Cook in a phantom's mask running all over the stage.. I would hope someone would drop a chandilier on him at that point and save him.

Someone dropping a chandelier on David Cook is an AWESOME idea!!!

[JasonR]

I think there are a few reasons more contemporary artists don't do the theme weeks on Idol. First, Idol has to pay for the rights to have the songs sung on the show, and the more popular you are the more you can demand. Oldsters like Neil D are so happy to be getting airplay anywhere I'm sure they give the rights away for a song, pun completely intended.

Also, I think it's just a simple matter of not wanting to appear uncool by having a tool like David Archuleta covering your song in front of tens of millions of people.

[LonnaSaur]

I am so sorry you feel that way, maybe it was being forced by my mother to sit in the back seat on long car rides with out air conditioning, in July, in Michigan..... with Neil Diamond.. or Glen Cambell wailing away. It serves up such bad memories I now live thousnads of miles away... although that put me closer to Neil.. and living in the same town as Glen...how sick is that.

Ugh, Giff, your hatred of these artists is now perfectly understandable. That sounds like torture of the worst kind!

By the way, I would absolutely LOVE it if David A. would sing "Magical Mr. Mistoffoles" (spelling?) That would be just priceless. And he should dress up like a cat. Then the lip-licking might make more sense!

[Pekmboyd]

Ugh, Giff, your hatred of these artists is now perfectly understandable. That sounds like torture of the worst kind!

By the way, I would absolutely LOVE it if David A. would sing "Magical Mr. Mistoffoles" (spelling?) That would be just priceless. And he should dress up like a cat. Then the lip-licking might make more sense!

Oh. My. God. I thought of the SAME SONG!! But I thought about it with David Cook singing it in the original cheesy way :D