Cook wins AI7!

with 12 million votes ahead of baby archie, cook was named the seventh american idol!

wohohoooo!

(he really should thank simon this time... despite his not-so-good performance last night, americans still believed that he deserves the title)

cheers for DC!

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)

Seven Wonders of AI

Let me arrange the remaining seven contestants based on their performances last April 16 (15 in the US) after Mommy Mariah coached them that week.


1. David Cook deserves the top spot after singing the 1996 Mariah Carey’s hit “Always Be My Baby.” He rocked the world by giving the diva’s song a spice of alternative music. Applauses and a standing ovation for David after melting the hearts of several women.




2. The David Archuleta, as expected, surpassed this week even without making any effort. As predicted, a power ballad will be his song choice; and so he did sing “The Prince of Egypt’s” main theme “When You Believe.” I wonder which part is he singing, Houston’s? or Carey’s? Ha!

3. Syesha Mercado performed “Vanishing,” a song “that not many people know,” quoting Paula. Regardless of that fact, she was able to please all of the judges, including me. Vocally, she’s someone the other contestants should watch out for.

4. Jason Castro’s “I Don’t Wanna Cry” was sufficiently innovative to satisfy Paula and unexpectedly, Simon. Audibly, it was good enough to be classified as a so-so performance.

5. Carly Smithson, who was very happy knowing that she’s safe during the eviction night, performed “Ken Lee,” I mean, “Without You.” I was even waiting for the “tulibu dibu douchoo” line, but nah! You got it right, girl!

6. Kristy Lee Cook who was very, very pretty during that night countrysized the 1996 doo wop hit “Forever.” However, KLC was not fortunate enough this time to get away from being eliminated, after surviving the bottom 3, three times.

7. ‘Attitude’ is something Brooke White has that is a big turn off for some people. Receiving bad comments from the judges and not taking them justly will never do her any good. In the end, it’s not Simon who would be voted off out of the competition. Well, anyway, her rendition of “Hero” was indeed weak. That’s it.


Next week is Broadway week. I can’t wait to hear them sing Andrew Lloyd Webber oeuvre. Recalling some favorite “Phantom” songs, here are the pieces from the Broadway musicale, I believe, they should stage: “The Phantom of the Opera” rock version for Cook, “Music of the Night” for Archuleta (what else can he sing?), “Masquerade” luau version for Jason (haha), the classic “All I Ask of You” will definitely fit Syesha, “Wishing You Were Somewhere Here Again” for Brook, and “The Point of No Return” will be perfect for Carly.

Oh! I’m so excited for next week’s performance night!

AI Recap

I wont enumerate anymore my excuses for not blogging about AI for the past three weeks. Nevertheless, let me recap my top picks during the past three-week’s performance nights before appraising the latest recital of the top seven.


Tough Ten Tough Picks

1. Michael Johns deserves the top spot of week ten. Indeed, it was his shining moment after knocking out two of the Queen’s most famous and popular songs “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Freddie Mercury would be proud of you boy!

2. Despite committing mistake with her first key, Brooke White still managed to catch up with her rendition of Sting’s opus “Every Breath You Take.” Brooke staged the 1984 Grammy Awards Song of the Year by The Police with pride and glamour; whereas, the judges thought it was just a so-so performance.

3. Syesha Mercado is a performer who will undeniably give you goose bumps. Belting “If I Were Your Woman,” originally by a Grammy Award-winning R&B and soul singer named Stephanie Mills, Syesha awed all of the three judges.


Performance-wise, the following deserves to be at the bottom three for: (1) picking the wrong song; (2) messing everything because of the wrong song; (3) it was a bad choice of song; and so on…

8. David Archuleta – "You're the Voice"
9. Ramiele Malubay – "Alone"
10. Jason Castro – "Fragile"

Good thing the three of them still thrived ‘coz Chikezie Eze bade farewell that week. Poor Eze.

Idol Says Malu-bye to Ramiele

It was quite not a shock to see this headline on Yahoo News. Although she was a personal favorite, her talents was not that enough to please the Americans. In the first place, she’s not a country singer, and she’ll never be one.

Consequently, Brooke’s “Jolene” version was not that convincing enough for majority of the judges to favor her performance, nor Jason’s rendition of “Travelin’ Thru.” By the way, I’ve been promoted already as the home-based fourth judge, in case you don’t know yet.


So as to enumerate, the top spots belong to the following contenders for belting their hearts out:

3. Michael Johns – “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right”
2. Carly Smithson – “Here You Come Again”
1. Syesha Mercado – “I Will Always Love You”

Down to Eight

Inspirational songs week gave the competition a soothing and tranquil ambience. And topping the eight finalists are the following:

1. Jason Castro’s ukelele version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” This one is a notch better than the Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s adaptation of the 1939 Academy Award for Best Original Song for the movie “The Wizard of Oz.”

2. David Archuleta’s piano version of “Angels.” Singing the Robbie Williams 1997 power ballad, this kid proved once again how talented he is. Bad thing is, he had been too comfortable with the same genre of music.

3. Brooke White’s version of “You’ve Got a Friend.” It was way too pleasant and perfect to close the evening, quoting Simon and Paula, respectively.


On the contrary, thou, it doesn’t mean that their performances were totally disastrous, here are the not-so-amusing contestants for the night:

6. Kristy Lee Cook – “Anyway”
7. David Cook – “Innocent”
8. Carly Smithson – “The Show Must Go On”

After the 30+ million votes, Carly was so shocked that she’s still in the competition.

It was MJ who unexpectedly went home that night.

Beatles Extension

Last week’s theme was actually McCartney-Lennon originals. This week’s theme extended to the Rolling Stone’s Topnotcher in its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time —The Beatles.


Black bird singing in the dead of night

Again, Carly Smithson rocked the house by singing McCartney’s 1968 opus ‘Blackbird’. It’s an F for Fantastic and another F for Failure since she was included in the bottom three. Indeed, it was an unexpected scenario for a lot of people.

In addition to the innovative arrangement, her husky voice gave her the right to own the song. The performance is totally NOT indulgent nor meaningless, contradictory to what Simon claims.

For Carly:

“Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life,

You were only waiting for this moment to arise…”

The Redeemers

The vulnerable Syesha Mercado is hailed for redeeming herself after singing the song with the most cover versions of any song ever written —‘Yesterday.’ With more than 3000 recorded cover versions of the song, Syesha gave justice to her own version by revealing her vocal prowess. Last week’s inclusion to the bottom three pushed her more to persevere in the competition.

Another contestant who redeemed himself from his last week’s VERY bad performance is David Archuleta. Singing The Beatles last #1 song in the United States, ‘The Long and Winding Road,’ he “has brought the hotness back to his game,” quoting Mr. Jackson.

Noticed the number of blondes screaming in front of the stage after this kid performed? WOW.

Just an advice, please do stay away from the coat and shirt stuff. Don’t you have anything else in your closet?




Please Do Spare Them

Finished with the best performances, here now are the so-so…

Amanda Overmyer’s rendition of The Beatles’ parody song of the Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls’ —‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’— was not strong enough to keep her in the competition. The I-will-never-sing-a-ballad contestant claimed her fame by being the “Rock and Roll nurse” of the season, as coined by Randy. True enough, it’s hard to stay in the competition if contestants are biased to the genre of music they loved to sing.

Her performances had been very predictable (from Simon’s vocabulary) for the past few weeks, and Paula was kinda wrong in her prediction that Amanda will carry on to the Top Ten (read: /tough/ /ten/ - in honor of Janina San Miguel).

Kristy, who desperately loves the bottom TWO, performed again a trying hard version of the Bob Dylan inspired 1965 Beatles song ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.’ It seems that she’s having a hard time looking for a song that would definitely suit her. Lets cross our fingers so that she would be able to survive the bottom TWO next week…

The 29-year-old Aussie, Michael Johns, messed his performance of the 1967 psychedelic rock song ‘A Day in the Life.’ To sum Paula’s meandering explanation the other night, Michael is not aware that he is out of tune. But the good thing is, he has a very decent wardrobe at home.

Time for the Top 12!

Although the results are already in and David Hernandez bade his goodbye three days ago, here is an assay of the best Beatles rendition and the worst (or should I say substandard) performances in AI Season Seven’s Top Twelve.

‘Beatles Deluxe’

Of the 12 finalists, Carly Smithson overruled the Beatles accolade by singing Come Together. It was a perfect choice for her. Indeed, it was one stellar performance, quoting Randy Jackson. She gave the song a female stroke, offsetting her Irish twang. Thus, something much better than Aerosmith’s 1978 remake of the song. Is she a Kelly Clarkson in the making? Let’s find out next week…

Second on the list is Brooke White’s Let It Be adaptation. It was a very heartfelt performance according to Mr. Jackson. And yes, it was, indeed, soulful and solid —you can even feel her embodiment to the song. Hence, the piano made it easier for her to breathe life into the Paul McCartney “Mother Mary” song.






To complete the top three, Chikezie will do the job. As Simon blurted out, “I thought you were terrific.” Restless he may have been after the performance; but Chikezie did give his very best as he sang She’s A Woman. One thing for sure, Chikezie has one proud mama out there…






‘The Pits’

Never mind the 4th placer until the 9th… why don’t we just proceed to the bottom three?


The tenth place should be awarded to our very own Ramiele Malubay. “It was pretty safe,” quoting Paula. As a matter of fact, it was very safe. We've had enough of the 'safe and sound' songs, Ramiele. Show us what you can do. We all know you can do better than that. You have talent, lots of it. Better use them properly.

“So, those who are in favor, please raise your right hand…”

“One, two, three, four… 88,701,000!”

(Well, that’s according to the year 2000 census).

David Archuleta rests on 11th place. Ha! Finally he stumbled and fell. The cute days are over for David. He may have been groomed to become the next American Idol but this is one song that brought him to infamy. Simon is just fair in saying that he made a mess in singing the Stevie Wonder 1971 cover song We Can Work It Out. The bad thing is that it didn’t work out for him...

Finally, the last place is occupied by Dolly Parton singing Eight Days A Week ‘on helium.’

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Too bad Kristy, the country thingy didn’t work.

As for the unfortunate David Hernandez, even you may have overdone the song, there is still one thing we are all sure of… you have proven your worth of being AI7's ultimate 12th placer.