America’s Biggest ‘Popularity Contest’

“Did you mean to die like that?
Was that a mistake or
Did you know your messy death
Would be a record breaker?”

So as the lyrics of the song would say, “Jesus Christ, who are you? What have you sacrificed?”


After 38 million votes, Carly’s elimination last Thursday (Wednesday in the States) was a heart breaker for a lot of people (well… especially me). Twas, indeed, Simon’s ‘kiss of death.’ Singing “Superstar” from the 1971 rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Carly received great reviews from the judges. It was a showcase of her vocal versatility, nonetheless, an emancipation of how she loves the stage. True to a fact, she’s one of the vocally endowed contestants. If only it was not a ‘popularity contest,’ she could have won. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

With all the bitterness, let me arrange the ‘other’ five contestants, starting from the best performer, to the most errr..., let me just say to my least preferred…


Syesha’s Fantabulous Performance
Syesha is a natural performer. Her theatrical performance of “One Rock & Roll Too Many” from the 1984 West End rock musical “Starlight Express” was superb! Sizzling. Sexy. Hot. It was fantastic and fabulous, therefore, a fantabulous act. Yet, despite being one the best performers in the Andrew Lloyd Webber night (together with Carly), she still struggled at the bottom two.

Why is she still there? She’s just lucky enough, again, not to be eliminated that week. Five times of being a part of the bottom three/two proves only that she has no fan-base. And since it is a ‘popularity contest,’ please don’t expect her to win AI. I’m giving her one more week…


THE David Archuleta
The Goliath of Season Seven survived last week’s eliminations confidently unscathed. Rendering a pop version of “Think of Me” from the longest running Broadway show in history, “The Phantom of the Opera.” It was really surprising to see David turn an operatic piece —originally sang by Christine Daaé (the Phantom’s protégée)— into a conventional acoustic ballad. The version was well arranged; hence, it completely fitted his personality of being a future pop icon. Brilliant as it was!

Why is he still there? Why shouldn’t he? My goodness, he’s the next American Idol! Errr… isn’t it that obvious yet?


Phantomized Cook
It was a good try for David Cook to cover “The Music of the Night” from the most lucrative enterprise of all time, “The Phantom of the Opera.” This guy can sing. He really can. The good thing about him is that he can turn any piece he wanted to sing into his own forte. “Daughtry, statue?/read: iz-dat-hue/”

The not so good thing about his performance is that he lost the touch of the ‘Phantom’ in his rendition of the song. The Phantom, a daunting opera ghost utterly obsess with Christine, is supposed to be an eerie and petrifying singer. That was something lacking in his performance. He was not able to embody the character of a “malicious, volatile, dangerous and somewhat bitter,” musical genius. In short, it was not sufficiently impressive, as compared to last week’s “Always Be My Baby.” (Too bad I’m a Le Fantôme de l'Opéra buff).

Why is he still there? Because he got talent, I mean, lots of it. And he also got fans, lots of them, thou not that much as the ‘other’ David.


Brooke ft. One Republic
Brooke White should have sung, “Stop and Stare,” worst, “Apologize.” “Stop and Stare” for asking Ricky Minor to do it all over again; “Apologize” for making Paula Abdul look so scary in television.

Messy as it is, it was the first time that kind of drama happened on AI’s history. Is she vying for an Emmy’s Best Performance of a Female Actor in a Drama-Musical-Reality Series? Maybe not…

All of the judges weren’t that happy after hearing Brooke sang the 1997 Oscars’ Best Original Song from a Motion Picture, “You Must Love Me.” At least she realized now that it’s ‘kinda bad’ to interrupt a judge when s/he’s still giving his/her comments. Oh well, there’s always an excuse in committing mistakes…

Why is she still there? Ben (my bff who was willing to commit suicide if ever Brooke was eliminated last Thursday), is right. She had gathered already quite a number of supporters since she crossed the threshold of the top 24. But still, it’s not that much as the cronies of the boy named ‘David.’


Mesmerized Jason
Meow! There goes Jason’s “Memory” from the West End’s award-winning musical “Cats,” who turned out to be the ‘underdog’ during the performance night. Arf!

After bargaining his entire AI career, it was his worst song choice, to date. Well, the performance was actually just a so-so, meaning, it was not that really bad. Nonetheless, it could have been a perfect goodbye song for Jason Castro during the elimination night as he sings, “Tonight will be a memory too… and a new day will begin.”

Why is he still there? Charisma. Nothing else. Oh! I forget to mention that he can play the ukelele. That’s it!






Carly left the competition with pride and honor. An epitome of how grateful we should be of the talents given to us.


And just as Judas Iscariot had said:

“[Carly], tell me what you think
About your friends at the top
Who d'you think besides yourself
Was the pick of the crop?”

(Carly’s pix grabbed from ReyPJ’s multiply)