What's New on Idol Theory

(Updated May 7, 2008) Season 7 Top 4 Results Show recap Top 4 Results

(Updated May 6, 2008) Season 7 Top 4 Performance Show recap Top 4 Performance

(Updated April 30, 2008) Season 7 Top 5 Results Show recap Top 5 Results

(Updated April 29, 2008) Season 7 Top 5 Performance Show recap Top 5 Performance

(Updated April 21, 2008) New theory posted --Why Sac Kristy?- How Brooke Managed to Escape!

(Updated April 13, 2008) New theory posted --Season 7 -Best Talent?

I will eventually post some thoughts and highlights of the Idol Gives Back show, but it won't be my traditional type of recap.

(Updated March 30, 2008) New theory posted --Ramiele Malubay - How Did She Make Top 9?

(Updated March 23, 2008) New theory posted --David Hernandez's Early Elimination

Other updates will be forthcoming.

Recap Top 4 Results Show

It's another routine results show. This time it is to determine who will be in the top 3. However, I think we all know already. This is one results show where it would have been best to just wrap it up in ten minutes.

As per tradition, there was the opening group song. Then there were the recap highlights of the previous night. Naturally, they focused on Jason's fiasco forgetting lyrics and just being plain awful.

The empty seats were shown and Ryan announces that it will be filled with the top 3. The four contestants are then shown off stage.

Ryan calls David Archuleta first. It seems obvious that the person called first and even second must be safe, so no surprise when Ryan tells David he can take a seat.

Idols take a trip to some Beatles Cirque du Soleil thing.

David Cook called next and is of course safe.

Syesha and Jason are then asked to come onto the stage. But it's too early to get the final result, so we take a break.

The ford video follows.

Next on the agenda is the phone calls segment. some weirdo wants a date with David Cook when he performs in Pittsburgh sometime in July which coincides with her birthday. A woman asked why Simon hasn't been knighted by the queen. Clearly Simon paid the woman to call. Another one of Simon's little helpers called in to suggest he could play James Bond.


We are then "treated" to a performance by Maroon 5. To be quite frank, it was a waste of time. They brought this group on before in a previous season, so it's strange that they still brought them back.


As if we weren't tortured enough having to listen to the previous performer, Bo Bice takes the stage. Listening to him, I was like, What the hell? Pure crap! Do people actually pay to hear this sort of thing? I hope not.

Finally time for results. Ryan gives a Rundown of Jason's and Syesha's performances. Jason said he did pack his bags. Anyway, Ryan announces that Syesha is in the top 3. So long Jason. It's about time! For once the producers were forced to go along with the public vote. It should be like this every week so the producers can quit their little games.


(Before singing his departure song, Ryan commented that he looked relieved. Jason admitted that that was true as they would be singing 3 songs next week, and he probably would have freaked out, since he can't even handle two.)

Recap Top 4

This is top 4 week of American Idol, and theme appears to be Rock n' Roll.

First contestant to take the stage is David Cook. Very strange performance. This should be his niche, but he sounds barely just ok. Very poor! Perhaps it was the song choice. But it never really did get started. Randy thought it was an ok choice, solid performance, but it was just ok, not amazing. He clearly wasn't impressed. Paula said it left her with a big appetite. She also said some other stuff that I didn't really understand. Simon thought it was good, a little bit copy cat, as David didn't change it up like he's known to, but should be good enough to get through to the next round.

Syesha sang Tina Turner's Proud Mary- I'm not sure I liked it, but it came across better than Cook's piece. Certainly some outstanding parts. Randy was exuberant, saying syesha is in the zone! "Nice job". Paula commented that she looks like a star. Simon said it was just a bad shrieky version or bad impersonation of Tina Turner. Surely an off the wall comment, since Syesha wasn't trying to impersonate Tina.

Jason chose to do Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff. This peaked my interest, as it is not customary to hear a Bob Marley song on American Idol. I was eager to see what the lad would do with the selection. Turns out he massacred it. Total crap! What a dishonour to Bob Marley! Randy lamented that it was a really karaoke Bob with nothing special about it. Paula said she never seen him perform more to the audience than this so commended him for that. She wasn't crazy about the performance though. Simon started his feedback with, "Jason stand back" and then told him that it was utterly attrocious, and like a first round audition massacre. Well those were some truly brutal comments. Poor kid.

David Archuleta doing Standy By Me. I must say it was very good. Best so far of the night. Randy was happy that he could see that there's at least one contestant left who when he hits the stage is trying to win the whole thing. All in all, Randy was extremely impressed with Archuleta's vocals, loved it and thought it was hot! aula likes that he takes advice and goes with it, as he apparently continued to try keeping his eyes open, based on feedback from Andrew Lloyd Webber recently. Simon is funny. He said Archuleta could have whistled the song and it would have sounded better than last one. However he thought it sounded like he was struggling a little in the end, to which the audience roared with boos. He did say though that in the grand scheme of things, this was the best performance of the night so far.

Cook did a Bob O'Reilly song for his second round. Ok, this one was pretty good. Much better.
Randy remarked that this was more like the David Cook he's grown to love. Paula just wanted more. Simon welcomed back David Cook.

Syesha gave a very good vocal for her other song. Randy said the first he loved, but this not as much. He didn't like the arrangement with the music or vocals. For him, it felt disconnected. Paula, and I give her ratings for this, gave Syesha a standing ovation, even with Randy's ridiculous comments. Paula liked how she orchestrated the vocals and added that it was magnificent. At this point Syesha broke out into tears, no doubt overwhelmed by such a splendid feedback. Simon said, he had to be fair and agreed with Paula. He thought Randy got that completely utterly wrong.

Jason did a Bob Dylan song to try to redeem himself. Not too long into the song, I was like what the hell? forgetting words?? Man, he forgot a whole slew of words. I feel real sorry for this chap. The producers are cruel to have kept him in this long. Randy said jason's not in the zone.paula said it is what it is. Though his performance didn't blow her away, he blows her away. Simon essentially told Jason, to pack his suitcase.

Archuleta did Elvis' Love Me Tender to close the show. I would say a good vocal, but I didn't like what he did with the song. Randy liked how he was tender and caressed each word. He said he got it going on. Paula said it was one of her favourite performances from him. She went on to say it was fantastic and very beautiful. Simon remarked that he didn't beat the competition tonight, he crushed it!

Well, for sure Jason was the worst, and if there is any integrity left in the show, he will surely be going home next. What is interesting here, is that this week we have someone who is by far, clearly the worst, that even the judges would not hesitate to agree on. This means the producers know that we all expect Jason to leave next. Will they compromise themselves once more just to keep the show unpredictable??? That's the big question!

Recap Top 5 Results Show

Each week a new season record in votes seems to be set. This time over 45 million were cast!

The show kicks off with the traditional group song where they do a tribute to Neil Diamond. Jason sucked.

Gina Glocksen and Constantine in audience. They're doing some show together.

Ryan proceeds to give a two and a half minute look at last night. Conspicuously absent from this recap is Paula's humongous blunder. Nevertheless, just after, Ryan does put in a word about Paula to dispel rumours. He affirmed that they love Paula and she's part of the family. I just wish Ryan would have made it clear exactly what rumours he was trying to dispel.

Time for some results. Jason is called first and is declared safe. Safe?? Why??

Archuleta is next called. After Ryan engages him in some small talk, the kid is sent to safety. David looks genuinely shocked that he is safe. What's wrong with this guy?

Then to fill some time while helping to boost Nigel's other show, a preview is shown of So You Think You Can Dance.

David Cook's turn to hear what Ryan has in store for him comes. Safe. Of course. This means that it has come down to Syesha and Brooke.

After a break, Natasha Bedingfield graces the stage and does a number. It was ok, but not an impressive song. Natasha started to leave the stage once finished with Ryan's questions, but turns back and runs over to meet david archuleta. She was polite and greeted the other contestants too.

We now come to the caller segment. The highlight of this section is no doubt the last caller. Some woman calls in and asks simon which is more memorable, his kiss with Paula, or his first ever kiss with her, when he was 9. Simon seems genuinely surprised that it really is his first crush on the phone. He remembers her name. He asks if she's still cute. Ryan asked her if simon is a good kisser, she hesitates, which causes a huge bout of laughter from Paula and audience, as that speaks for itself. Paula asks her if she's over the rabies...she said yes, and she's had a lot of counselling. A genuinely hilarious exchange.

Ford video

Neil Diamond is then invited to sing a song. The first several moments of the song sounded like talking. Actually, most of it sound so. Ryan asked Neil if the judges were fair with contestants last night. Neil hesitates a bit, and says they were a little harsh, but generally right.

Now back to Syesha and Brooke. Ryan doesn't drag it out. Contestant leaving us tonight is Brooke (said very quietly and gently), who then promptly starts to ball. But she knew it was her. Truth be told, she should have been eliminated some weeks back. I guess this paves the way for Jason to exit.

Brooke does her final number, but first apologises for how awful it would sound. Awful it was, even forgetting lyrics twice, but we understand.

Recap Top 5

Welcome to top 5 week!

With just 5 contestants left, there is sufficient time for each to do 2 songs. The theme is Neil Diamond songs.


Varying from the norm, the judges won't comment at the end of each performance, at least for the first round. After the second song they'll be invited to comment on both performances.

First up for the night was Jason. Neil Diamond thought he'd bring them both off very well. I thought he was forgettable and essentially unimpressive, but it was one of his better performances.

David Cook followed shortly after. Neil said he got goose bumps listening to him. He also liked that he selected two songs that are less well known. Has no doubt that he will do good. Well I think this is one of Cook's worst acts. Not good at all.

Brooke White -Neil was pleasantly surprised with Brooke making one of the songs her own. It was ok, better than last week. No halting after starting.

Archuleta -Neil hoped that he'd take some suggestions to heart, and expected him to do great. I personally thought Archuleta was pretty good.

Syesha -Neil thought she did a wonderful job in the rehearsals. He was very pleased. I would say she did excellent! Very nice pure voice.

Ryan then brought out all the contestants and asked the judges for quick comments on each.

Randy thought Jason was just ok but better than last week. Cook he said was very good and in the zone. Brooke -better than last week, still a little karaoke. Archuleta - the bomb. Syesha -in the zone, strong but not amazing.

Paula -LOL! -She was so obviously unprepared to give feedback at this stage. Starting with Jason, she said of his first song that she loved hearing his lower register which we normally don't get to hear. Then she started commenting on his "second" song, saying that his usual charm wasn't there. She even went on to say how the two songs together gave her the impression that he wasn't fighting hard enough to get into the top 4. (Listening carefully, you could hear laughter in the background). Randy had to break it to her that Jason only did one song. What an emabarrassment! She then claimed one set of notes was meant for David Cook, who she said was fantastic. But based on her original comments, I don't see how she managed to get fantastic out of any of that.

Simon said Jason was forgettable. Cook above average. Brooke a nightmare. Archuleta amateurish, and Syesha old fashioned.

2nd round

Jason - Unfortunately it didn't really start. But this is what we've come to expect from the chap.
Randy said it was just ok, definitely not the best. Paula was disappointed. She said it was safe, and that he needs to get outside his comfort zone. Simon thought he wasn't recognisable at the moment. He went on to say there was no attempt to make the arrangement his own and both performances were forgettable.

David Cook - It was a bit boring but better than first song, much better. Amazing how he can go from one extreme to the other. Randy's response was that he's a huge david cook fan right now. For him, David rocked the house. Paula was proud of him, liked that he picked 2 less familiar songs and pulled them off. She remarked that she felt as if she was looking at the next american idol Simon said his first song was ok and the second brilliant. He commented that he actually made the song feel like it was written this year.

Brooke -Not bad. Not bad at all. Randy exclaimed "that's the brooke I like"! He liked her behind the piano, showing all the flaws etc. To sum up, he her told nice job Paula liked that she showed her vulnerability and connects with the audience. Simon really really hated the first song. For the second, he said this is the Brooke we like, and that it was a million times better than first. "Well done".

Archuleta singing America-pretty good! Randy said that for a young man, he was definitely in the zone and another good performance. Paula thought it was the perfect song for him to sing. She wants to see him have fun though. Simon remarked that it was a smart choice of song. "It ticked all the boxes", he said.

Syesha -I don't think her second song, Thank the Lord for the Nighttime, was really a good song choice. Randy said it was "in the zone". Paula said a lot of crap, but the bottomline is that she liked Syesha's two songs. Simon said she is a very good actress/singer. However, he believes she may be in trouble tonight because her second song wasn't really memorable like most of the other contestants.

Well once again our bottom 2 are Jason and Brooke. It's all up to the producers now. It's time for Jason to go. Please. Let it be.

Recap Top 6 Results Show

This week there were over 38 million votes, no doubt the highest for the season. Of course they are mostly useless, since we know the show must be rigged.

In introducing Simon, Ryan kisses Simon's head and naturally, everyone is surprised, and Simon seemed quite taken aback.

The group song, All I ask of You was then performed with Andrew Lloyd Webber himself on piano.


After highlights of the previous night, Ryan has a little interview with Webber on stage. Webber said he felt it for Brooke because in the dress rehearsal she was flawless. Asked about whether the contestants took his advice, he made a remark to the effect that Jason didn't. He went on to express his bewilderment on Jason's song choice, calling it "most curious". He also said he didnt want to have to agree with Simon. Ryan asked Andrew what name he would choose for a love song for Simon and Paula. Andrew suggested Time to Say Goodbye or How Can I say I miss you if you won't go away.

After the break, we come back to the Ford video where they were singing that song Danny Noriega sang before getting eliminated Tainted Love.

We then have a little clip from Bush and his wife relating to Idol Gives Back, to fill the time.

Finally we get to what we're about. Only bottom 2 to be shown tonight.

We start with the Davids. Ryan asks Cook about how come he sang the song straight. He said the unpredictable thing to do was to not change it up. Both are declared safe. Was there really any doubt about this outcome?

We are then given a rundown of contestants from past seasons who are into broadway now. The list includes Tamyra, Digarmo, Fantasia, Lakisha and Clay Aiken.

A guest performer, Leona Lewis, is then invited to sing on stage. Apparently Simon was the one who discovered her and she is now on top of the charts. She sings a song called Bleeding Love. Well she can sing, but I wasn't impressed with the song.


Now we come to Syesha and Brooke. We know one must be in the bottom 2, since Ryan never makes it known who the bottom are until he does all recaps of each contestant. When Brooke is announced as safe, she apologies to Syesha, but Syesha tells her not to. Of course we know Brooke should rightfully take a bottom 2 seat. Either the producers decided to save her again, or she managed to capture a ton of sympathy votes. Either option is possible. So the first bottom dweller for the night is Syesha.

The final two are Jason and Carly. Ryan recalls how pleased Simon was with the Carly's performance, and if you listened carefully you'd have heard Simon say in response to that, "probably the kiss of death". Jason is safe. Pure crap!

Ryan asks the judges what they think of these results. Simon suggests Brooke is safe because she made herself human and implied that people understand that we all make mistakes. For Jason, he said he wasn't good, but was charming.

Carly sings, followed by Syesha.

After the break, Ryan reveals that Carly is the one to go home. While Carly might have deserved to go in earlier weeks, this was not the week for her. She did much better than Brooke and Jason. But it could be that the song she sang wouldn't really go down so well with many Christians. Or it could really have been Simon's kiss of death. I personally think too many people felt sorry for Brooke, and wasted their votes to save her instead of giving Carly her due.

Recap Top 6

Theme for the top 6 week is music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. No doubt, this is the week you've all been waiting for. Everyone is familiar with the great music composed by this man, like Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita and so much more. The contestants surely have a plethora of great songs to choose from. Quite unlike the Beatles weeks.

Asked by Ryan how difficult he thinks this week is, Randy said he and Simon think this will be the toughest.

Up first is Syesha. Apparently she was eager to reach this stage as she loves the broadway genre. Webber thinks she could possibly "bring thehouse down". This wasn't a song I'm familiar with, and not a song I would have wanted to hear out of all the options. But it certainly was a great performance. Randy felt this was her best performance. Paula believes she did bring the house down. Simon exclaimed it was very sexy! He agrees with Randy that it was one of her strongest performances and said she showed a lot more personality which we haven't see before.

Jason Castro -Memory. Webber didn't seem too impressed with the kid, and I guess for good reason. Jason did probably worse than he's ever done. The problem is that this is such a great song that we all know how it should be sung, so to hear this lifeless version was a total fiasco. This guy has overstayed his welcome on the show. Randy said it was a little bit of a train wreck, musically and vocally speaking. Paula said a lot of people so used to hearing this song by a female power balladeer, but still thinks this was a good choice since it allows him to distinguish himself. Bottomline is Paula struggled with a lot of words to try to compliment the poor kid. Simon said it felt like the longest 2 minutes of his life. Also that it sounded like a kid who was forced by his parents to sing a particular song.

Brooke White -Singing You Must Love Me. Webber thought she finally got it after coaching her a little. At first he said she didn't have a clue what she was singing about. He said she was a great actress, hoped she could keep it up, and if she did, she might have something that's not been seen before. Well Brooke certainly showed us something we've not seen before, certainly not on American Idol at this stage of the game. She forgot the lyrics shortly after starting, stopped dead in her tracks with a sad look on her face, and then asked the band to start over. WOW! Incidentally she did have a false start in an earlier round, but that wasn't as bad as this. The problem now is that we the audience are so tense now, that we can't enjoy her performance. No doubt it affected her too, as she seemed to be struggling to overcome the initial blunder. Well she had even more reason to plead with America to love her, as the title of the song says.

(Is this who we think it is?)

Randy said it wasn't great, but some parts were good after she finally got started. Paula took a long pause before making her comments. She advised her not to ever start and stop. She liked the fact though that she didn't over act. Simon said this is why he loves live TV. He thought that her boo-boo worked against her as it made her very tense throughout, and her voice was straining. He said this is a tricky one and believes she'll be very disappointed when she looks back at it. By the way, the other judges disagreed with Paula about not ever starting over.

David Archuleta -Andrew's only advice to David was to keep his eyes open. David apparently has the habit of closing his eyes while singing. While David sang well, I was disappointed. I expected better of him, and I thought that tonight of all nights, with such a theme, he would have been most outstanding. Randy "knew" this would be a big night for him and thought it was the bomb! He also said David is the one to beat. Paula thought it was perfect. Simon said it was pleasant, but one of his weakest performances. Just not memorable.

Carly Smithson started singing All I Ask of You in her rehearsals with Andrew. But he counselled her to change the song because he didn't think that one was suited for her big voice personality. So she chose Jesus Christ Superstar instead. The background music to the real performance was a little too loud. I'm not familiar with this song, so it didn't appeal to me much. However, I thought she did quite well for the most part. She did some shouting but not enough to make it bad. Randy said it was definitely good, but wasn't quite sure if it was her best performance. He liked her outfit though. Paula loved it, and thought it was so unexpected. She also "loved" what she did with the chorus. Simon remarked that other than the fact that it got a little shouty in the middle, it was one of his favourite performances for the night. Carly then went and fetched a t-shirt with the print "Simon Loves Me (this week)".

David Cook -singing Music of the Night. Webber felt David had the potential to make this work, but David must let himself go. This is a good song that David selected. There wasn't much originality to his rendition, but this is ok, as the original is just fine. He didn't do a bad job. Some might even say quite good. Randy again made the point that if you can really sing, you can sing anything, and David proved it. He thought it was an amazing vocal performance and unbelievable. Paula said this proves he's just well rounded as a performer and that it was fantastic. Simon commented that he made most of the song, but this wasn't the side of him he likes. He prefers the edgy gritty aspect of his voice and performances.

Without question, Jason and Brooke were the worst of the night. This must be hard on Brooke to do so crappy two weeks in a row now. Also, no doubt hard on the producers too, who ensured Brooke was saved last week (See Why Sac Kristy? How Brooke Managed to Escape!). They're probably having second thoughts about doing that now. Anyway, let's hope Jason goes. It certainly is about time! Well the producers will do what they will to do. You must do what must be done: Don't vote!

Why Sac Kristy? -How Brooke Managed to Escape!

After the last results show (ie. Top 7 results), it should be clear to all now, and not just those of us with perceptive skills, that American Idol results are rigged! Oh yes, there can be no doubt about it. Kristy was not the lowest in the vote tally; Brooke most definitely was. So why did the producers sacrifice Kristy to keep Brooke? My theory follows. You are welcomed to post your own, but I think mine is right.

You regular readers of this site will know that I have been exposing the American Idol scam for what it is, for over a year now. This season alone they dumped David Hernandez and Chickeze prematurely. The most blatant underhanded act thus far though, is no doubt the elimination of Kristy instead of Brooke.

How could they think we would not notice? After all, everyone knew Brooke did the worst. The various polls out there had Brooke going home. DialIdol predicted Kristy as safe, and had Brooke as the most likely to go! Could DialIdol be that wrong? I don't think so! On top of all that, my insider source revealed that Brooke indeed was the least popular, and Kristy was not even in the bottom 3!

So why are the producers screwing around so wildly? Two reasons. One, they need to desperately avoid being predictable. If everyone can easily predict who is going home, then the show will quickly lose ratings as people become bored with it. Since everyone knew Brooke was to go, they just could not bring themselves to letting her go. That's the producers' way of spitting in your face. The other reason they seem to be behaving so unscrupulously, is so they can kill votefortheworst. If they're going to mess with the results, why not get rid of the votefortheworst pick? That's exactly what they did. So for the less discerning mind, votefortheworst looks really ineffective.

Well folks, keep alert. Don't be duped. Best thing to do to teach the producers a lesson, is just stop voting.

Recap Top 7 Results Show

First we learn that we had a season high record of almost 36 million votes cast.

Group song of Mariah's One Sweet Day performed. Kristy sounded real good.

After the highlights of the previous night are given, Ryan calls Jason Castro out on the stage. He then tells him to start a group to one side of him.

David Cook called next, but told to start a group on the opposite side of Jason. Ok, so we pretty much know based on past seasons, that Ryan will most likely divide the contestants into two groups of threes and then ask the remaining guy to choose the group that is safe. But having David Cook and Jason in different groups...well this should be interesting. Of course I believe Castro should rightly be in the bottom 3, but we know America wouldn't allow that.

Carly who is next to be placed, is told to join Jason's group. No doubt they wanted us to think that that group was the bottom 3.

Kristy's turn comes, and Ryan tells her to join David Cook. Well surely she must be feeling quite ok since we know for sure David C is safe.We get interrupted at this juncture with commercials and the Ford video.

Elliott Yamin graces the stage with his presence. He sang a song that didn't really sound good. No disrespect to his voice. It was just a poor choice of songs. Elliott lost his mom in the last few days. We're sorry about your loss, Elliott.

Getting back to business, Syesha is told to join Jason and Carly. Oh dear, things not looking good for poor Syesha at this moment.Brooke is then directed to David Cook's group.

Once again we get interrupted with some calls. Some questions were pure crap. One Meagan called in and told Paula she is the Meagan from some show, but Paula's expression betrayed the fact that she had no clue who it was. There was one caller who questioned Kristy about some horse. Apparently Kristy sold a horse to be able to get to American Idol. However, she tried to buy it back, but the guy refused to sell.

Mariah Carey came on and did a little number. Like Elliott, poor song choice.

Now David Archuleta is told to come forward. It's not too long before he is announced as safe. But then Ryan pulls a new stunt! He makes David Cook switch places with Syesha. Then he asks David Archuleta to join the group that is safe.

Being diplomatic about it, the youngster sits down. But it was obvious at this point which group was the bottom 3. C'mon folks, we have one group consisting of Syesha, Brooke and Kristy, and the other group containing David Cook and overrated Jason -it's a no brainer. Ryan confirms it shortly after, and so we are left with three girls standing as the bottom 3.

As you know I predicted that Brooke would be in grave danger this week even before she performed, so I was figuring she would be exiting. But then I realised there was no piano in sight! When a contestant leaves, they have to do their performance again. Since Brooke used the piano, they would have had to have had a piano for her if she was scheduled to leave. So I had a bad feeling for Syesha and Kristy.

When Syesha was declared safe, it seemed for a moment that Brooke really was leaving. But then we know the producers don't like results that are too predictable, so I knew there was little chance it would be Brooke.

Ryan then called the person who was safe, and named Brooke. It was then confirmed; American Idol is a real sham! No way Kristy was the lowest vote getter. No way! She wasn't even in the real bottom 3, so my sources say. The producers sacrificed Kristy to keep Brooke in. Wonder why? Well stay tuned until I post my theory for this!

Meanwhile, Kristy sings to Simon on her way out. Congrats girl! You managed to grow on us.

Recap Top 7

The contestants get to have Mariah Carey as a mentor this round as they sing her songs. Apparently Mariah has the record for the most number 1 hits for a single artist.

Ryan pointed out that judges always say not to sing superstar songs, so asked them how they would judge tonight. Basically they don't want to hear them trying to sound like Mariah.

First up was the very talented David Archuleta. Mariah listened to David and thought his rendition was really moving. She advised him to go into his falsetto even if just for a little. I thought David did very fine. I liked his falsetto. Randy was a little worried about tonight because of boys singing girls songs. But his response to David's performance was "that was the bomb baby!" Paula said he made Mariah proud, very proud. Simon knew that he would choose this song and thought it was very very good.

Up next was Carly. Mariah felt she was more than doing it justice. Carly sounds decent, at least better than most of her other performances. We should also note that Carly's arms were covered up. A lot of people keep complaining about her tattoo. well she gave these folks a reprieve this week. Randy said it was pretty good, but wants more confidence demonstrated in the lower range. Paula liked the fact she showed some vocal restraint at the beginning of the chorus. Simon said he really wanted to hear Carly sing this song and now we have a direct comparison between her and Mariah. Unfortunately he didn't think Carly pulled it off. He feels she is over thinking everything.

Syesha with the song Vanishing -Mariah thought it was amazing. I liked it. I said before that Syesha has been growing on me. She is probably my favourite female remaining now. Randy liked that she is bold and goes for it every week. He believes she did a good job all things considered. Paula had a long preamble before she managed to say that overall tonight was unbelievably magical for her. Simon said technically it was very very good indeed. However he thought it was risky at this stage of the competition to choose a song people don't really know.

Brooke White singing Hero - Mariah thought it was a good choice. Listening keenly one gets the impression that Mariah sees Brooke as one of the weaker ones. I thought Brooke was ok, but nothing really original. Also, towards the end she kinda deteriorated a bit. Randy liked the fact that she brought the "whole singer/songwriter" look. I have no idea what he's talking about. He also noticed some weakness toward the end. Paula said she sounded really good except for a few off notes. Simon said it was a bit like ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun! LOL!! Brooke's expression betrayed her shock and perplexity. "Surely it wasn't that bad" she thought.

Kristy Lee Cook -Forever Mariah liked that she chose this song since not too many people know it. She also said she got goose bumps listening to Kristy. Wow. Well listening to Kristy didn't seem to impact me as it did Mariah, however, I do think she did a good job. The fact that the song is not too well known could work against her since people tend to be drawn to what is familiar. Randy didn't think it was amazing as there were some pitchy notes in the first part, but toward the end she really hit the notes. Paula was blown away. Simon started leading Kristy to agree that she wasn't too happy when she found out it was Mariah Carey week. Kristy said she was just happy that she gave her chills. Simon said she didn't give him chills, that it was a little whiny in parts, wasn't great, but she did what she could. There wasn't any need for Simon to be so harsh unless he is trying to get Kristy eliminated this week. She was decent.

Ramiele in audience

David Cook singing Always Be My Baby -Mariah was surprised David chose this song. I wasn't impressed; I prefer the original. That's not to say it wasn't ok. Randy exclaimed that more than anyone else on the show, David is ready to make an album. He also gave him a standing ovation, which he says is his first for the season. Paula remarked that it could be a movie soundtrack. Simon commented that it was like coming out of karaoke hell into a breath of fresh air. He also complimented him on taking risks. After all that, David couldn't hold back some tears.

Jason Castro - Mariah gave the kid some melody tips. Again, Jason did another non-starter. This fellow is just dead set against singing out. Randy didn't really love it. Paula liked it and even thought it amazing. Whatever. Simon uncharacteristically agreed with Paula. He did say it wasn't the best vocal though. Overall Simon felt the boys did a much better job than the girls.

The weakest for the night was without doubt Brooke. Carly will probably show case in the bottom 3 or 2. Kristy took a risk by singing a not so familiar song, so she is liable to appear in the bottom group too. However I do believe the producers have agreed to release Brooke.

Season 7 - Best talent?

The current Season 7 of American Idol is being touted as the best yet with the most talented top contestants in the history of the show? Is this really so, and if yes, why?



Well it's not too difficult to determine the veracity of the assertion. We know season 2 with Clay Aiken was better than season 1. We also know that no other season since has compared with the second. Let's check it.


Season 3 where Fantasia won was ridiculous. It did have Jennifer Hudson, Latoya London, Amy Adams and George Huff. But even with these, it couldn't come close to a cast with Clay Aiken, Trenyce and Carmen Rasmusen.


Season 4 was another joke. Bo Bice?? Please. While Carrie Underwood is ok, she is highly overrated. Fortunately for her there is a strong country fan base in the south. Still this season did star Anthony Fedorov, and Vonzell Solomon who should have rightly gone further than Carrie. Yet we must agree that Clay and his co-stars outshadowed this set of talent.


Season 5 had Elliot Yamin. I have no special love for Daughtry, but he is quite talented. Taylor Hicks winning that year was most unfortunate. There were however talents such as Mandisa and Paris Bennett. This season was not too bad talent-wise, but I think we can agree that it still trailed behind Clay and company.

Season 6 was surely the most attrocious. Who could forget Sanjaya Malakar, the worst top 12 contestant ever, maybe even the worst ever of the top 24! Then there's that Blake Lewis character with his side-kick Chris Richardson. If you don't think Blake is all that bad, just review his guest appearance performance earlier in this season 7. It was horrible! The best of this season no doubt were Melinda, Jordin, Lakisha and the Lovely Haley Scarnato who was most underrated. Anyway, season 6 was nothing to talk about.

Now Season 7 we actually have an assortment of real talent. First and foremost must be David Hernandez. Of course there are David Archuleta and David Cook too. Brooke is also decent, and Carly is talented, even if she hasn't learnt how to be appealing yet. So objectively speaking, this season does seem to edge out the good ole' days of season 2. I doubt any talent on this season surpasses that of Clay, but in terms of the variety and quality of talented folks, I must agree that this season tops them all.

So what happened this year? How did AI manage to go from worst (season 6) to best in just one year? That's quite a swing. Well naturally I have my theory and I invite you to post yours too. But I think mine is correct. Here goes...

Recall that last season was a massive disaster with Sanjaya Malakar. There were also other notable misfits too, such as Antonella Barba. The top 12 for the most part was just plain lame. The votefortheworst crowd were in candy land with such a wide variety of assortments. They could easily pick a candidate that everyone would agree was out of place, even if not necessarily the worst.

With the advance of Malakar so far into the competition, votefortheworst got more out of hand than the AI producers would care to admit. Naturally AI guys hate votefortheworst and truly want to see its demise. Well they certainly did some questionable things last season to undermine their nemesis, in their attempt to do damage control. However, the real solution is to nip the problem in the bud.

This season they acted early and crippled the votefortheworst regime from the start, by ensuring to send only talented folks through to the top 24. Even Amanda who seemed somewhat out of place, had some decent moments. Who would blame the AI governors for not wanting a repeat Sanjaya Malakar phenomenon? They realised their mistake last season and did the right thing. They realised that sending musical weaklings in the ring with the big boys doesn't pay off in the long term, even if it is entertaining for a while. Votefortheworst is left with no real contestant to pick, and so their support has gone down the drain. But the upside is, we end up with a cast that is above par.

The AI producers realised they did a crap job last season in selecting contestants, and they decided that a repeat blunder was out of the question. No doubt votefortheworst helped them to see the light.

Recap Top 8 Results Show

After a somewhat exhausting break with the Idol Gives Back special, it is back to business. Time for someone to pack their bags and go!

First however, is a recap of the charity special. Naturally it is a bit lengthy considering it was a long show (2.5 hours -that's a lot of commercials!).

Over 31 millions votes cast. Apparently this is the highest for the season.

Time to get some results now. It's the now regular routine with empty sofa and 3 empty seats. Our first revelation is of Brooke. Ryan mentioned something emotional going on with her and she explains her sister is getting married this weekend and she won't be able to be there. Then she realises that this is the results show and she just might get to go home after all. Alas, Ryan tells her the unfortunate news, that she is safe, which means she will miss the wedding.

Next up is David Cook who walks quite humbly on to the stage, looking quite sheepish, knowing that he really did poorly and stands a chance of going home. No doubt he also recalls Simon calling him pompous, and so must not make Simon look right. When Ryan asks him how he feels, all he could muster up was "either way". Well the lucky bastard is safe! Truth be told, even though he did the worst this round, he has done enough to prove his right to remain in the show. So it's good the producers decided to keep him on.

David Archuleta called to face the music. Well he's safe. We all knew that anyway. Moving on...

A little spill over from the charity show takes our attention to Africa. Things are really bad in some parts over there. I hope you all gave a lot.

We then get treated to a performance by Jordin Sparks (she won American Idol last year btw) and some guy named Chris Brown. A decent little gig I admit. After that, some folks come on stage to present Jordin with some tokens to mark her success. Apparently she has items that has had over 1 million downloads. This is supposed to mean that American Idol works. Ok, but what happened with Taylor Hicks?

It's now Jason Castro's turn to hear his result. At this point he must be thinking that with just 5 contestants including himself left to be seated, that the probability is quite high that he'll have to take a bad seat. But it was not to be. This guy has escaped again!

Kristy is called next, and this is when I was quite sure that they would leave the bottom 3 for last. It had crossed my mind earlier, but I couldn't be sure. Kristy is safe (amazing how far she's come considering she should rightly have gone from the top 12 week)

Just before the break, Ryan asks who will have the lowest vote count, and if you had a sharp eye, you'd have noticed Carly raising her hand. She clearly knew she deserved to go.


I should mention that there were some clips by the presidential candidates.

So our so called bottom 3 is Michael, Carly and Syesha. Well if you read my recap of the performance show, you'll see I didn't even mention Syesha as being in any danger, so I knew she was ok. Carly no doubt was the bottom vote getter. However, as I said, Michael was also in danger, depending on whether the producers decided to let a guy go.

Ryan asked Randy what he thought. Randy said it was a pretty surprising bottom 3. Asked if she thinks America got it right, Paula says partly.

Well when Ryan called Syesha and Carly together, it was clear that Michael was the chosen one.

I must say I'm not at all sorry to see him go. As I've said, his style doesn't suit me. A girl will go home next week. Good chance it will be Brooke. But I guess there's still time to change the future!

Recap Top 8

So we are down to 8 contestants.

This is Idol Gives Back week. Tomorrow will be the special show with all the supposedly big names. The results will be aired on Thursday.

The theme for the night is Inspirational songs, in the spirit of Idol Gives Back

First up was Michael Johns singing Dream on by Aerosmith. I didn't like it. I guess I don't fancy this guy's style. Only once which was during the hollywood auditions was I ever impressed with him. Randy thought it was a good song choice but said there were some pitch problems. Paula couldn't disagree more. To her it was the perfect song, and felt that it sounded as good as he looks. As a guy, I don't see anything special with his looks, so maybe Paula meant he sang just ok. I can accept that. Simon said it was a very good perfomance, but didn't like the impersonation of a rock star, and felt it was a little bit wannabee-ish.

Syesha -Performed I Believe by Fantasia I would say she did pretty good. I think I've heard more impressive from her, but this was still good quality. Randy said it was just ok and thought she didn't have the special connection that Fantasia seems to have. Paula believed this was hands down one of her most shining nights. Simon acknowledged that technically she sang it very well. However, like Randy, felt that it lacked the big wave of emotion that Fantasia communicates when she sings it.

Jason Castro - I confess that each time Jason steps up to sing, I think to myself, "this joker" . Well this week he sang an obscure version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. While it was ok, and even decent in parts, it is pretty much the same non-starter every striking week! Random Randy exclaimed that Jason Castro is back and that it was hot! Paula commented that he has the most definitive sound, and overall thought he did a great job. Simon thought it was fantastic. The judges must be trying their best to keep this kid in the show.