[reflex]

Round one goes to Syesha.

I take it you don't agree with Simon that she may be in trouble tomorrow night.

As I have done every week I have cast my 20 or so votes before the phone lines filled up for David Cooke.  As Randy Jackson would say "He is the Bomb."

Ken

If you count both songs, then Syesha was the best tonight.  David Cook was the best on the 2nd song, though.  Simon would say that because maybe, just maybe, people will want to show him he's wrong and flood the phones for her.  She deserves to stay, and I think he believes that.  But for weeks she has been in the bottom two/three and not because she didn't sing well..but because she didn't get enough votes not to be. 

[reflex]

The final two should be Syesha and David Cook, IMO.

[giantsteps]

 
 I sort of hohummed through tonight's performances 'cause.....well....I'll be kind, nice and forgiving. Neil Diamond's songs don't move me. Jason Castro was the weakest performer. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


 Frank

[Bigfish]

Round one goes to Syesha.

I take it you don't agree with Simon that she may be in trouble tomorrow night.

Ken

I think she IS in trouble, she doesn't have enough 13 year old girls voting for her...

That doesn't mean I don't think she isn't the best talent left, I do, but as we have seen the best talent doesn't mean that you will win..as has been mentioned, this is a popularity contest with singing, not a singing contest.

I actually think Syesha is a very good singer and one of the top three on the show.  She is certainly a much better singer than Jason or Brooke.  If I could cast a vote to send someone home, I would vote bye bye to Brooke.  However, as we have seen over the past few week she is like a cat with nine lives.  She must be getting votes because of her looks because she can barely carry a tune.  

I am voting for David Cooke because I would buy his albums and I belive he will be very successful!

Ken

[Bob in St. Louis]

I'm in the HT room warming up the amps, the wife is upstairs doing 'things'. We have Tivo and will be watching in a few minutes. 
"Niel Diamond" is the theme tonight ?!?! ........  I'll grab another cocktail.
If I'm lucky, I'll fall asleep before it's over.

David Cooke is from southern Missouri. Can we Missourians take any pride from that? 

I still like Mrs. Smithson (as long as she wears long sleeves).

Bob

[John Casler]

Final three according to tonite should be:

1) David Cook

2) Syesha

3) David Archuletta


And I refuse to watch HELL'S KITCHEN which follows IDOL out here.  It looks like a totally staged Train Wreck with a "blank blank" throwing tantrums about feakin pizza.

Rather watch an hour of commercials.

[PhilNYC]

Syesha has a very good voice, and the judges are right that she seems very comfortable doing theater/showtune-type songs.  But theater/showtune-type songs aren't going to win the show.  Up until she started doing these types of songs, Syesha had been doing the "power-voice" songs like Whitney, Celine, etc, and in that genre she is not spectacular...too many previous contestants from other seasons were WAY better than her doing this style (Fantasia, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha, etc).  So...I agree with Simon that Syesha might be in trouble this week.

That said, I thought Brooke and Jason were clearly the weakest this week.  David Cook continues to prove himself every week.  And I continue to get more bored with David Archuleta, who sounds the same every week (admittedly very talented for his age, but not much variety).  IMHO...

[jasonc]

Syesha has a very good voice, and the judges are right that she seems very comfortable doing theater/showtune-type songs.  But theater/showtune-type songs aren't going to win the show.  Up until she started doing these types of songs, Syesha had been doing the "power-voice" songs like Whitney, Celine, etc, and in that genre she is not spectacular...too many previous contestants from other seasons were WAY better than her doing this style (Fantasia, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha, etc).  So...I agree with Simon that Syesha might be in trouble this week.

That said, I thought Brooke and Jason were clearly the weakest this week.  David Cook continues to prove himself every week.  And I continue to get more bored with David Archuleta, who sounds the same every week (admittedly very talented for his age, but not much variety).  IMHO...

I agree with everything you've said here.  In regards to Syesha, she's been getting a lot of praise here and I just don't see anything "special" about her.  I thought her first song was going well until she started shouting and her second song was OK.  She has zero originality, if you heard her on the radio would you know it's her?  There's also something about all her performances (whether awful or decent) that doesn't sit well with me.  The best way I can describe it is that I see someone "acting" - she just never comes off as a genuine to me.  She's a pretty good singer and getting nicer to look at and that's about it.

This is how I rate the final contestants-
#1 David Cook - Talented
#2 David Archuletta - Good distinct voice and good ear but getting old (arguably best performance in AI history with Imagine)
#3 Brook White - Genuine, decent distinct voice, personality is annoying
#4 Syesha - Above average voice but not a genuine performer, lacks unique voice
#5 Jason Castro - Dumb, has a look that has kept him in the competition, has a weird breathy unspectacular voice

[zacster]

What last night's show confirmed once again for me is that of the five, #6 should win, NONE OF THE ABOVE. 

The only Idol that I've thought had a really good voice and would make it on her own is Carrie.  And I think this in spite of the fact that I despise country music.  She came out week after week and just showed what she can do and got better each time.

At the start of this season, I really thought Brooke would come through, she had a much different style than previous contestants, but unfortunately for her, her voice just doesn't quite do it.  Sitting at the piano she does a good job, but every time she's stood up it's been horrible.  David A is just plain boring to anyone over the age of 14, David C is OK but nothing special to me, Jason is horrible, and Syesha doesn't have a chance even if she's OK.  Every one of them has had really bad weeks where you wondered why they were still there.  None of them will make the leap to stardom, they're doomed to Taylor Hicksdom, so why bother. 

[nodiak]

I have been pretty surprised that out of the whole usa this is the top. Certainly logistic$ must make it hard to get to an audition, cutting out alot of potential contestants.
I stick with Syesha because of tone, dynamics, actual control. DC I'm trying to relate to. DA is limited but is tone-boy. Brooke and Jason just have bad voices, much worse than the last 6 or so that were voted out.
Seems like out there somewhere is some awesome talent, hopefully doing their thing.   

[TF1216]

After the buzz created from last week's elimination, I wonder how many will tune in tonight.  I know I will be tuning in because of the surprise America (at least me) was dealt last week when Carly was sent home.

[jasonc]

I have been pretty surprised that out of the whole usa this is the top. Certainly logistic$ must make it hard to get to an audition, cutting out alot of potential contestants.
I stick with Syesha because of tone, dynamics, actual control. DC I'm trying to relate to. DA is limited but is tone-boy. Brooke and Jason just have bad voices, much worse than the last 6 or so that were voted out.
Seems like out there somewhere is some awesome talent, hopefully doing their thing.   

Bottom line- The "real deals" that are out there and that will be don't and will never need American Idol or any other talent show for me to discover them.  With that said, I suppose it is possible for AI to one day discover a truly gifted soul that may have been too lazy or didn't have the confidence or ambition to launch their own career.  I'm also not sure how someone with real chops (typically one that doesn't deliver mainstream garbage) would fair on this show?  I pretty much just listen to or buy music from true song artists meaning those who write their own songs and have their own voice.

American Idol is what it is and it's premise is great in that it brings the less talented individual to the masses to be chewed and then eventually spit out and in the process make someone lots of money.  Typically this is around the time of the show that I start tuning out.  I have a pretty good idea of the contestants capabilities and because I'm not really a fan of any one of them I start to disconnect.   I especially like the trainwrecks at the beginning of the show, root for some I'm interested in, later focus on people I would like to see get eliminated and then end up at the point I am now.  But I will keep watching as I always do, one of the many reasons why American Idol is so damn successful.

[zacster]

Bottom line- The "real deals" that are out there and that will be don't and will never need American Idol or any other talent show for me to discover them.  With that said, I suppose it is possible for AI to one day discover a truly gifted soul that may have been too lazy or didn't have the confidence or ambition to launch their own career.  I'm also not sure how someone with real chops (typically one that doesn't deliver mainstream garbage) would fair on this show?  I pretty much just listen to or buy music from true song artists meaning those who write their own songs and have their own voice.

American Idol is what it is and it's premise is great in that it brings the less talented individual to the masses to be chewed and then eventually spit out and in the process make someone lots of money.  Typically this is around the time of the show that I start tuning out.  I have a pretty good idea of the contestants capabilities and because I'm not really a fan of any one of them I start to disconnect.   I especially like the trainwrecks at the beginning of the show, root for some I'm interested in, later focus on people I would like to see get eliminated and then end up at the point I am now.  But I will keep watching as I always do, one of the many reasons why American Idol is so damn successful.

This is pretty much how I feel.  When I hear some struggling or recently discovered talent, I think of how they would fare on AI, and usually my conclusion is they might be selected by the judges to move on, but wouldn't make it past the second or third audition, much less the top 24.  And conversly, I always look at the AI contestants and wonder if they could make it on their own.  (This is easier, as so few of them make it anyway, even with the boost from AI.)

And singer/songwriter is a different type of talent.  You wouldn't exactly call Bob Dylan a great singer, but that wasn't his primary talent.  The real talents do it all, sing/write/play/perform.  And there is also the quirk factor, sometimes someone so different comes along that even if the voice isn't the strongest, they still get heard.  Originality means more than anything, and the mainstream singers that AI prefers are far from that.

[jasonc]

Bottom line- The "real deals" that are out there and that will be don't and will never need American Idol or any other talent show for me to discover them.  With that said, I suppose it is possible for AI to one day discover a truly gifted soul that may have been too lazy or didn't have the confidence or ambition to launch their own career.  I'm also not sure how someone with real chops (typically one that doesn't deliver mainstream garbage) would fair on this show?  I pretty much just listen to or buy music from true song artists meaning those who write their own songs and have their own voice.

American Idol is what it is and it's premise is great in that it brings the less talented individual to the masses to be chewed and then eventually spit out and in the process make someone lots of money.  Typically this is around the time of the show that I start tuning out.  I have a pretty good idea of the contestants capabilities and because I'm not really a fan of any one of them I start to disconnect.   I especially like the trainwrecks at the beginning of the show, root for some I'm interested in, later focus on people I would like to see get eliminated and then end up at the point I am now.  But I will keep watching as I always do, one of the many reasons why American Idol is so damn successful.

This is pretty much how I feel.  When I hear some struggling or recently discovered talent, I think of how they would fare on AI, and usually my conclusion is they might be selected by the judges to move on, but wouldn't make it past the second or third audition, much less the top 24.  And conversly, I always look at the AI contestants and wonder if they could make it on their own.  (This is easier, as so few of them make it anyway, even with the boost from AI.)

And singer/songwriter is a different type of talent.  You wouldn't exactly call Bob Dylan a great singer, but that wasn't his primary talent.  The real talents do it all, sing/write/play/perform.  And there is also the quirk factor, sometimes someone so different comes along that even if the voice isn't the strongest, they still get heard.  Originality means more than anything, and the mainstream singers that AI prefers are far from that.

Zactly!

[giantsteps]

 Jordin Sparks...you blew me away, especially when you sang "On a clear day" and now you're wasted in the wrong hands. Oh well , American Idol continues to be.......

  E            N            T            E              R             T             A             I             N             I             N              G


 Frank

[giantsteps]

 Mr teeny bopper triad chord has-been kindergarden concept Neil Diamond had to step in and annoy me.
 Aaaaarrrgh!


 Frank

[giantsteps]

 
Good luck Brooke! You're a sweet girl and deserve the best.


Frank

[reflex]

It really should have been Jason.  When he performs he acts like it doesn't much matter how much he sucks, he's gonna get alot of votes from teenage girls anyway. 

[giantsteps]

It really should have been Jason.  When he performs he acts like it doesn't much matter how much he sucks, he's gonna get alot of votes from teenage girls anyway. 

 Right on.


 Frank

[Bigfish]

I missed the show last night and just found out Brooke was voted off when I read the posts here this morning.  If you have read any of my earlier posts you know that this news does not disappoint me in the least.  Brooke, based purely on her singing ability, should have been gone many weeks ago and I did not believe she even deserved to be in the top 10.  I wish her well!

Mr. Castro is a guy that concerns me because the teen crowd, that texts their votes, may get him the crown!  Like Brooke, I felt he should have been gone many weeks ago!

Ken