West Coasters, avert your eyes, for there be spoilers after the cut!
The boys are on the hot seat first. I'm going to guess Luke Menard is going home, and... hmm. Let's say Jason Castro, but who knows.
Michael is safe. Chikezie is safe. Jason Castro is safe. Of Jason Yeager and Pouty-Face, one is going home.
And that one is Jason.Yeager. I'd pretty much forgotten he existed, so I can see that.
Over to the girls... and, oh, I have no idea. (Meanwhile, based on one shot in the montage, the screen behind the performers is actually a greenscreen. I don't know whether that's the case in general, or just at this smaller stage.)
Kristy is safe. Asia'h is safe. Brooke is safe. Of Amanda and Alexandréa, one is safe, the other's going home.
Alexandréa is done.
Carly is safe. Ramiele is safe. Syesha is safe. Down to Kady and Alaina.
Kady is safe. Alaina is out, and is not at all stoic about it, but manages to get through her encore with the rest of the girls around her for support. Danny McLips looks distraught.
The Lennon/McCartney catalog is available for use on Idol this year, and Idol Gives Back is gonna be April 9th, which should be the week of the Top 8. Question is, are they gonna go with two weeks of combined voting to send two people home again? Speaking for people who participate in Idol pools, we wanna know!
Brad Pitt, Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Daughtry, and Carrie Underwood are all supposed to be on Idol Gives Back this year.
Down to Luke and Robbie.
Luke is safe, rather to my surprise, though I'm not displeased. Robbie's going home.
Shmuel out!
Reactions after the cut!
Carly Smithson: "Crazy on You"
What is she doing with that microphone?
(Sorry, that's the full extent of my reaction.)
Syesha Mercado: "Me and Mrs. Mr. Jones"
S'okay. Not a standout.
Brooke White: "You're So Vain" [playing acoustic guitar]
The guitar doesn't particularly help, but doesn't hurt either. Good song choice, decent performance.
...hey, don't get all congratulatory, Ryan. The results aren't in yet!
Ramiele Malubay: "Don't Leave Me This Way"
S'okay. Not the best song choice; it's pretty limited, vocally.
(Did Ryan actually get Simon to snort water out his nose?)
Kristy Lee Cook: "You're No Good"
I love the shirt, but that's probably my hormones talking. The performance started off well, but never progressed any further. I felt like I was watching her run laps.
Amanda Overmyer: "Carry On My Wayward Son"
I don't care if she likes reading, she's just not doing it for me. That said, it's not a bad performance, if you like that sort of thing, I guess.
Alaina Whitaker: "Hopelessly Devoted To You"
(Hey, wow, Alaina's a Romulan!) [v. Final Frontier by Diane Carey, p. 343-4]
Not bad. But, again, not a standout.
Alexandréa Lushington: "If You Leave Me Now"
S'okay. Still waiting for a performance to blow me away tonight, and we've only got two singers left.
Kady Malloy: "Magic Man"
...okay, we've only got one singer left. C'mon, Asia'h, give me somebody to vote for!
Asia'h Epperson: "All By Myself"
Very tough song, decent job, not a showstopper. There are no showstoppers tonight. Alas.
I'm gonna vote for Brooke, but without much enthusiasm.
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.
Pam wrote the entry I'd wanted to after seeing the "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" video, only a zillion times better. Go read it!
Spoilers follow the cut!
We've had the big group sing and the recap of the guys, and: wham! Garrett is cut. He takes it well.
You know how sometimes a departing singer's encore performance is so much better that you can't help but think that if he'd only sung it that way the night before, he wouldn't have been cut? Well, that totally doesn't happen here. Bye, Garrett. Breaking up isn't hard to do after all.
We've seen the girls' recap... and Kristy is safe. But Amy is out.
...and on to the video for "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," starring Paula Abdul, whose voice is electronically enhanced to the point where it doesn't sound a thing like her. That much is forgiveable. The choreography, less so. Oh, Paula.
Joanne and Amanda are singled out... one is safe, the other's going home. After the break, of course. (I'm betting Joanne is out, but I'm okay with either result.)
Yup. Amanda is safe, Joanne is done. Lots of tears from the survivors during her encore.
And back to the boys. Chikezie and Colton are singled out. Which doesn't actually mean one is going home, but I do hope Chikezie is.
Rats. Colton's out.
Paula and Randy think he should keep at it; Simon thinks he doesn't have a future in the music biz and should find some other job he'll like.
Stay tuned next week for the second week of semifinals!
And on to the girls. Reactions follow the cut!
Kristy Lee Cook: "Rescue Me"
Cute. Also safe, generic, and likely to lead to the night's first pronouncement of "forgettable" by Simon.
And he says: "robotic"..."there wan't anything to grab hold of"... drat. I can't mark that Buzzword Bingo space yet.
(And, aww. Having been sick all last week, the contestants have my sympathy.)
(Ooh. I really should make an Idol Buzzword Bingo card.)
Joanne Borgella: "Say a Little Prayer"
I love the scene in My Best Friend's Wedding where the entire restaurant starts singing this song. It'd be nice if this performance kept my interest enough that I didn't spend my time thinking about the movie. But it doesn't.
Alaina Whitaker: "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday"
Oh, so this is what that song is supposed to sound like. Not bad at all!
(The performance, that is. I think I'm with Simon in not caring for the song itself.)
(Should I make one combined card, or seperate ones for Randy, Paula, and Simon?)
Amanda Overmyer: "Baby, Please Don't Go"
...what the hell was that?
(Like Simon, I have never heard this song before, despite there apparently being a dozen covers of it.)
Amy Davis: "Where the Boys Are"
Yawn.
Brooke White: "Happy Together"
...okay, maybe I just love this song. I can live with that. Anyway... room for improvement, but works.
(Ooh, and I love her rapport with Simon.)
(And "washing-up liquid" is the standard British English term for dishwashing detergent, people. Yeesh. Good thing he didn't say "Fairy Liquid.")
Alexandréa Lushington: "Spinning Wheel"
Love the outfit. Not a bad performance, either. I'm not sure how to score it, really.
(Yes, it's a tricky song. Yes, the performance values were good. No, I don't think it's "relevant" at all. Yes, the singing itself wasn't all that. Beyond that... oh, I dunno.)
Kady Malloy: "A Groovy Kind of Love"
If the camera zoomed in any closer, we'd be inside her nostrils.
Anyway... eh. Okay. Kinda boring.
Asia'h Epperson: "Piece of My Heart"
I'm not a fan of raspy voices (cf. Fantasia, not to mention Janis Joplin), but putting that aside, she done good.
Ramiele Malubay: "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"
[swoon] Best of the night so far.
Syesha Mercado: "Tobacco Road"
...good thing I said "so far." A bit rough toward the end, and the band was doing its best to drown her out, but that was great.
(Oh, give the "yes" thing a rest, Paula.)
(Between Alexandréa, Asia'h, and Syesha — not to mention Chikezie — the nation's copyeditors are going to be keeping busy.)
Carly Smithson: "The Shadow of Your Smile"
(Well, yes, one might say MCA imploded, but... well, anyway. This is not a new question, and I don't have a problem with her being in the competition.)
Ehh. Fine as far as it went, but it didn't go very far.
I'm voting for Syesha. Though I may vote for her a few times and also add a couple for Brooke and Ramiele.
First live show of the season, and I still owe people mix CDs. This... is American Idol.
The semifinal weeks have themes this year. I'm skeptical about that, but we'll see how it works out. It's 60s week, and the boys are on the hot seat tonight. Reactions to the performances after the cut!
(The pool starts in three weeks, once we get to the finals. The usual rules, though I'd like to know what they're doing with Idol Gives Back this year. More on that to come.)
David Hernandez: "In the Midnight Hour"
S'okay. Good start, decent performance, but hardly a standout. (Though that may depend on how the rest of 'em do.)
Chikezie: "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday"
Yawn.
David Cook: "Happy Together"
Interesting take, and unlike the judges, I thought it was strongest at the ultra-mellow start. From there he could've explored those mellow possibilities further, or reversed course and really amped it up; instead he ended up somewhere in the middle. Didn't quite work, but I'd like to see what he does next.
Jason Yeager: "Moon River"
Nice smile. Totally bland performance.
Robbie Carrico: "One (Is the Loneliest Number)"
Perfectly decent performance. But still nothing memorable.
David Archuleta: "Shop Around"
"Shop Around"? Really? ...okay, wildly implausible choice, but he actually made it work by the end. I'm confused.
Danny Noriega: "Jailhouse Rock"
A bit rushed, a bit scattered. Pity.
Luke Menard: "Everybody's Talkin'"
Pretty. Which, for better and for worse, is all I can say for it.
Colton Berry: "Suspicious Minds"
Way better than the other Elvis song tonight, anyway.
Garrett Haley: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
Yawn.
Jason Castro: "What A Day for a Daydream" [playing an acoustic guitar]
(The finalists include Noriega and Castro? ...umm, never mind.)
The guitar isn't helping at all. Reminds me of Paula and Carole in The Magic Garden. (And I have very fond memories of The Magic Garden, but Idol it ain't.)
Michael Johns: "Light My Fire"
Ah, the year's first use of the firey backdrop.
Not bad. And yet, not superlative. Maybe my expectations for the final spot are higher.
Michael Johns and David Archuleta probably had the night's best performances, but I'm voting for David Cook, on spec. Given my druthers, Chikezie and Garrett would be going home this week.