Author: Mike Farley (Page 87 of 117)

Last night’s “American Idol” results show featured a couple of surprises…but more on that in a minute.
They started out with a group number of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s tunes and it was, as you might expect, horrible.

Then President Bush and his wife got on and this is what I heard: blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. At least that’s what I heard in the part I didn’t fast forward through.

On to business. There would be a Bottom 2 tonight, not a Bottom 3. David Archuleta and David Cook, both safe..and really, we all knew that already.

Then British pop star Leona Lewis performed…..she won the “X-Factor” competition in 2006, which is like the UK version of “Idol.” She also has been guided in her young career by one Simon Cowell. Here is an interview I did recently on Bullz-Eye.com with Leona for all of you who haven’t heard of her yet. I have to say though, her single “Bleeding Love,” pretty much put me to sleep. But she has great pipes, that’s for sure.

Anyway, back to business. Syesha, Bottom 2. Brooke, safe. Wow, I was sure Brooke was going home and thought Syesha did a great job Tuesday. Simon said America must have felt bad when Brooke messed up the lyrics (a planned strategy perhaps?…nah, that was too real).

Carly and Jason…you knew it was Jason, right? Wrong. Jason, safe, Carly Bottom 2. Damn, this goofy kid is in the top 5? Talented, yes. Goofy, definitely. So it was down to Syesha and Carly. Ryan Seacrest had them both sing and I plowed through with TiVo’s fast forward button. No need to see all that shouting again.

Then, Carly going home…..wow. I know she was close to exiting a few times, and I think she deserved to go home a few times, but not last night. She was really great on Tuesday….okay, maybe a bit shouty as always, but not bad enough to go home. What it comes down to is that there are six, now five, really good singers left, so someone has to go home each week. Carly will be fine.

So that’s it…..here are my power rankings, and Brooke White has ratcheted back up a few notches now..

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke White
4. Syesha Mercado
5. Jason Castro

I’d be really, really surprised if it’s not David vs. David in the finale. Do you agree? See you all next week….

So last night’s “American Idol” featured mentor Andrew Lloyd Weber, who has written the music for pretty much every major Broadway musical in the last 30 years. The man is a living legend, and whether or not show tunes are your thing, the remaining six contestants did a fine job of adjusting to the material last night. Let’s recap, shall we?

THE GOOD

David Archuleta sang “Think of Me,” and forgive me in advance if I mess up these titles…I know as much about show tunes as Weber probably does about the NBA. Anyway, young David did a really nice pop version of a song that is sung by a woman (okay, Mrs. Mike told me that!)…well, the kid really hit this one out of the park. Randy said David could sing anything, Paula said it was a risk but came out “absolutely perfect,” and Simon said it was pleasant but not as good as some of David’s past performances.

Carly Smithson has had trouble with song choice Continue reading »

Sometimes you think you know something about judging talent and sometimes you don’t. That’s what makes “American Idol” such a compelling show, as we all try to put ourselves in the shoes of Randy, Paula and Simon and pretend we’re judging the talent, predicting who stays and who goes. But we’re certainly not always right.

Last night, after another horrid group number, it was down to business. Ryan Seacrest put the contestants into groups on his left and on his right. Jason, left. David Cook, right. Carly, left (after Simon telling her he is hard on her because he believes she has huge potential). Kristy Lee Cook, right.

Then Elliot Yamin came out and sang, and I mean sang. This dude has unbelievable pipes, and I think he and Marc Broussard may be the most soulful white dudes I’ve ever seen.

Then some phone calls, and the best one was the woman who asked the judges what the first records they ever bought were. Randy’s were Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and James Brown; Paula’s were Earth Wind & Fire, Jackson 5 and Carole King; and Simon said his was Paula Abdul. Ha!

Then Mariah Carey came out and sang her new single. Well, she sort of sang….it was like part singing, part lip synching, part bland computer-generated crap. Who am I kidding? It was all bland computer- generated crap, and Mariah was just there trying to look 20 years younger than she is in a short dress and diamond crusted microphone and mic stand. I have a word for you, and that word is BLECH.

Syesha, left. Brooke, right. Then David Archuleta, safe. Ryan then made David Cook and Syesha switch places. For those of you who are confused right now, that left two groups: David Cook, Jason and Carly; and Syesha, Kristy and Brooke. David Archuleta was asked by Ryan to join the group he thought was safe, and he sat in the middle of the floor. Seacrest didn’t waste time, telling him it was the David C/Jason/Carly group.

That left a bottom 3 of Syesha, Brooke and Kristy. Hmm…I really thought Carly was going home, but I was wrong. Syesha, safe. That left Brooke and Kristy, and Brooke was safe. Kristy Lee Cook, going home…I really though she brought her A game the last two weeks, but America disagreed. I also thought she had become a dark horse to win it all, but I was way off. Maybe America is smarter than I thought? Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought? Whatever, we have a pretty strong top 6.

Here are my power rankings:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Jason Castro
4. Carly Smithson
5. Syesha Mercado
6. Brooke White

I like Brooke better than the other two ladies remaining, but I don’t think America does. This thing is seriously heating up now, and we’re barreling toward the finish line. Keep throwing me curveballs America, I’ll connect on one soon. Meanwhile, have a great week everyone….