American Idol Elimination Night 4/30

Who will Leave AI On Neil Diamond Week
FOX Wednesday 9/8c

American Idol started the night with a long medley of Neil Diamond songs, it sounded really good. Neil Diamond has enough songs to find ways to blend the voices and still give each Idol contestant a long solo.

Ryan Seacrest then pointed out Constantine Murulous and Gina Gloxten (I have know idea how to spell their names and don't care!) plugging an Idol spin-off, AI Extra.


Before Ryan finally started calling out AI contestants, he stopped to say the rumors about Paula on the Internet are not true. She is part of the AI family, so leave her alone (pretty much).



Then Ryan called out Jason Castro.
Jason C. got bad reviews last night and should be in the bottom 2 at least, but he is pronounced safe. Even Jason knew he didn't earn it.

David Archuleta was called out next. Little David A. looks very tired and walked like he was on a very short plank. Ryan went to meet him, and went over his comments from Tuesday night. Paula then told David A. that he needed to act like he was having more fun. Enjoy himself more on stage. He said he would try, then Ryan told him to have a seat next to Jason Castro. Both are safely in the Top 4.


Left backstage was David Cook, Brooke White, and Syesha Mercado.

A break to promote Nigel Lithgow's summer hit So You Think You Can Dance. This is, in my opinion, the best dance/talent show on TV. No Sanjay's allowed!

Back to AI, David Cook was called out and quickly told he was safe. Of course.

Ryan told Syesha Mercado and Brooke White to have a seat with the others until after Natasha Butterfield performed. It was a good song. Afterwards Natasha B. ran over to the contestants and snuggled in between David Archuleta and Brooke White, and gave little David A. a big hug!

They took phone questions for a few minutes, and managed to hook Simon Cowell up with his first(?) kiss. A woman called in to ask which kiss was better, Simon's kiss with Paula Abdul or his kiss at nine years old. Simon was obviously surprised and asked if it was Tara Miller on the phone. The caller stated that she is Tara Miller, how bizarre. Simon actually wanted to chat.

After another long commercial break, Neil Diamond performed. Old yes, but he still has 'it'. He sang Pretty Amazing Grace, his voice has gotten slightly weaker with age, but he stays in control so its not noticeable. He actually sounded great in the rock part. Wow, Neil Diamond's mom was in the audience.



Finally the results are in. If Morey Povich took this long, he would have never made it.

Brooke White is finally eliminated from American Idol, and sobbing. Does she not know who was voting for her? This was completely fair, and a good Top 4 American Idol. Ryan asked her to sing, "I Am I Said". Brooke said, "...this is going to be terrible for me", wrong. It was terrible for us. She missed the beginning again, and finally caught up and sobbed through it.


Season 7 American Idol Top 4 are :
Jason Castro
David Archuleta
David Cook
Syesha Mercado

It should come down to the battle of the Davids.

American Idol Top 5 Perform Songs Of Neil Diamond 4/29

American Idol Contestants Get Tutored By Neil Diamond
FOX Tuesday 8/7c 4/29/08

Tonight the American Idol contestants took on 2 songs by Neil Diamond. Good thing he has a huge library to chose from.

Here is how the night went:

Jason Castro led things off with "Forever In Blue Jeans". It was OK, I kept waiting for him to get really into it, but it just didn't happen. I am sure Jason will sail through to the finals or close with his huge fan base. Jason C.'s first song tonight was not my favorite.



All judging will wait until after the second song.

Next up was David Cook with "I'm Alive" and then "All I Really Need Is You". David C.'s first song was a Neil Diamond comparison, I think that he listened to the track too much. He tried and did sound just like Neil Diamond. It was alright for an imitation.



Brooke White led her set with "I'm A Believer" accompanied by herself on accoustic guitar. I'm not a believer Brooke, sorry.



So far it's kind of boring.

David Archuleta followed up with his first selection "Sweet Caroline", this should pick things up. It was really good. Neil Diamond said that David A. is a bit of a prodigy. Definitely the best of the night.



Syesha needed to follow big with "Hello Again" this should be interesting. Completely rearranged, Syesha did a wonderful job on this performance. This is absolutely what she needed to get out of Whitney mode, great performance.



Ryan Seacrest had the judges stop and critique at this point. Randy was impressed with David Cook, David Archuleta, and Syesha Mercado. Paula was completely lost. Simon told them all they better be glad they had 2 songs tonight because they all sucked.



Bringing us back to Jason Castro for his second song "September Morn". This song fit Jason's voice better, he seemed more in control. It was still pretty boring, Simon and Randy are going to be pissy with him.



Randy Jackson - "It was just OK"

Paula Abdul - "... you took the same liberty on both songs"

Simon Cowell - "... you struggled through both songs... you're going to look back at tonight and think 'I don't know who this person is'"

David Cook came out again with "All I Really Need Is You". It started boring, but got better. I just don't really like David C., but he is in tune usually. Should be safely in the Top 4 easily.



Randy - "... I'm a huge David Cook fan right now, cause you rocked the house tonight"

Paula - "... I feel like I'm already looking at the American Idol"

Simon - "... the first song was OK, the second song was brilliant... you made that song sound like it was released this year, that's what I'm talking about"

Brooke White played her piano to "I Am I Said". Weaving Arizona into the song (from where she hails), it still wasn't good. Simon called her first song a nightmare.



Randy - "... nice job"

Paula - "... this song showed your vulnerability, and that works"

Simon - "... this is the Brooke we like... it wasn't incredible, but it was a million times better than the first one"

David Archuleta came out with "America". Another great performance. The best of the night in my opinion.



Randy - "... alls I can say is you are in the zone"

Paula - "... great choices"

Simon - "... excellent song choice"

Syesha closed the show with "Thank The Lord For The Night Time". It was another strong performance for Syesha tonight. She put a blues spin on the song that really worked.

Randy - "... I like you in this"

Paula - "... that texture in your voice is magic"

Simon - "... you are a very good actress/singer... I think you may be in trouble tonight... because there are only 5 of you left"

Simon is right, Syesha has a poor fan base according to the last few weeks. The bottom 2 this week, based on performance, should be Jason Castro and Brooke White.
The actual bottom 2 will most likely be Syesha and Brooke. Hard to say how big the 'fan base' is at votefortheworst.com., they may be able to keep Brooke around to the Top 4. Do not vote at this site, please.

American Idol - Neil Diamond Mentors The Top 5 4/29/08

What Neil Diamond Songs Do You Think The
American Idol Top 5 Should Sing?

The American Idol Top 5 contestants are mentored by Neil Diamond this week, so I thought I would come up with a list of what I would like to hear them sing.

At least the kids have a decent library of songs able to be brought back in a pop genre. Neil Diamond has a huge list of songs to look over, though I just know it will be the same cover tunes of the previous weeks. Hopefully David Archuleta will continue his pick of more obscure songs for our listening pleasure.

So let's get right to it, this is what I think the AI Top 5 contestants should sing on Tuesday night:

Syesha Mercado - "Hello"
Syesha can choose any Neil Diamond song she wants, this girl can sing. The problem is her fan base. I chose this song for Syesha because she is so theatrical I think she can really put a feeling behind this song.

Brooke White - "Song Sung Blue"
Brooke should have gone home weeks ago, but since we have to continue to listen to her she may as well know the words. I think their are only about 10 words in this entire song. Just get through it on the first try, please.

David Achuleta - "Robert E. Lee"
This song from the movie The Jazz Singer is just what little David A. needs to pick up his song tempo and get the crowd going (more than screaming girls). My guess would be that we may see David A. attempt "Cracklin' Rosie", but I hope not. While David A. can sing anything, I don't think this song suits him.

David Cook - "Solitary Man"
I don't think David Cook will actually choose this song, but I do think that it suits his style and attitude. This song is ready for a good rock version. I will be interested to see what David C. attempts, I so hope it's not "America" from The Jazz Singer. I am afraid this would make David C. appear even more arrogant than he already seems to many young fans.

Jason Castro - "Red Wine"
This was so easy it was funny, we all said it at once! If Jason chooses another song I think he is giving up his strength. Jason Castro almost has to treat us to a UB40 like version of this Reggae favorite. Jason C. needs a good week!