Rushing to the living room with a plate of freshly made fried rice... time for the second week of semifinals! This time it's '70s week. Liveblogging after the cut!
(Well, except that I'm not actually hitting "post" till the end. Delayed-blogging?)
Michael Johns: "You Can Go Your Own Way"
That was uneven, dawg. I wasn't feeling it.
(Hmm. This attempt at fried rice is a step back from my last one, I think. I think I fried it too long, plus I probably should've covered the rice better in the fridge after cooking it this past Sunday. Still reasonably tasty and filling, though.)
Jason Castro: "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" [playing the acoustic guitar]
Better than last week, I'll give him that. The guitar playing isn't overwhelming the singing this time. That said... not a standout performance either.
(I loved his interview segment, though.)
Luke Menard: "Killer Queen"
Holy crap. Luke's a member of Chapter 6?! Their version of The Wizard of Oz rules! (Do they not have a recording contract? Do indie acts not count? Hmm.)
...well, anyway. Not bad. Tricky song, but I'm not sure it's what he needs, either...
Robbie Carrico: "Hot Blooded"
Now we're talking. Could've gone further, but still the best of the bunch so far.
Danny "Pouty-Face" Noriega: "Superstar"
Well, it's better than last week. I still find him really annoying and want him off the show.
Aww. He almost managed a redemptive apology for last week, but couldn't bring himself to pull it off.
David Hernandez: "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"
Not bad! (Way better than last week.)
Jason Yeager: "Long Train Running (Without Love)"
Nice smile. Less bland performance than last week. But is it less bland enough?
Chikezie: "I Believe"
Chikezie has just redeemed himself. Easily the best so far tonight. Nobody else is even close.
"I wore that suit on TV! I can't wear it again! Only you do that!" ...in seven years, this is the first time anybody's successfully scored off Simon. I'm impressed.
David Cook: "All Right Now" [playing the electic guitar]
Word nerds unite! And we have our first good use of an instrument in the semifinals: the vocals stand up great on their own, and the axe adds a little somethin'. Hard to directly compare to Chikezie's, being a totally different style, but they're definitely the top two so far.
(Boo, Simon! Crossword puzzles rock!)
(Oy. David? The one exception from five minutes ago nonwithstanding, nobody else has ever done well arguing with Simon in the past seven years. You're not gonna be an exception. Shut up.)
David Archuleta: "Imagine"
...I see we're steering clear of the anti-religious lyrics, sticking with the Commie stuff. Probably a good idea.
Well, he hit that one out of the park.
("Why didn't you sing the first verse?" Randy? Are you trying to cause trouble?)
I'm voting for... well, I think I'm officially in David Cook's corner now, but I'll also throw a vote or two to Chikezie and David Archuleta. Though there is no way Archuleta isn't totally safe.
Posted by Shmuel at February 26, 2008 9:31 PM