A Hard Day's Night

Hello, faithful readers! Brenna here, taking on the top 12 performance night on your behalf. Tonight, as we’re reminded frequently, we celebrate the Lennon/McCartney song catalog. Well, now we know where the money from “Idol Gives Back” went!

There’s a bright, shiny new set that looks like the Star Trek Enterprise. The band is about eight miles from the singers… perhaps they were as creeped out by David Cook as we were? They kill time by playing some music and talking with Seacrest, since we do have two hours to fill and only about 30 minutes of relevant content.

Syesha is up first, singing “Gotta Get You Into My Life.” I can’t concentrate on the first half of her song, because I’m too concerned with her hair. What is that? And who thought that looked good? I like the arrangement of the song, but her performance is just ok. I don’t think the song gives her much opportunity to show off her chops.

Chekezie is next, and I have to admit, I like this guy. I just want him to stop being bipolar and give us a good performance every week. He doesn’t disappoint this week, giving us an awesome new interpretation of “She’s a Woman.” He starts it out with a bluegrass feel before absolutely rocking it out halfway though. I really enjoy his performance, and Love (with a capital L) his family. What’s more, he reminds me of George Huff and brings back warm, fuzzy memories.

We need more of this in our lives.

Ramiele starts off at the bottom of the stage, looking like an outtake from an early Christina Aguilera video, and taking on a Disney-fied version of “In My Life.” Her voice sounds really pretty, but… yeah, I can’t do it. There’s nothing worth writing about in this performance. Just like with Syesha, there’s no opportunity in this song to really shine, and it ends up being dreadfully boring.

Is it me, or are there bugs flying around Jason’s hair during his interview? That’s just foul. He performs a decent version of “If I Fell,” which I agree with the judges, was not as good as his previous performances. The falsetto was a little rough. All in all though, I’d take him any day over most of the other contestants.

Carly tells us she’s going to take on “Come Together,” and I think, good luck. It’s such a big song. I disagree slightly with the judges – while she did a great job with it, I still don’t think she’s found the perfect song for her. Maybe I’m expecting too much from her. I do give her loads of credit for picking the most difficult song so far, and she’s not in danger of going anywhere.

Oh no, David C. I liked you last week, and this week you have to pick my all-time favorite Beatles song, “Eleanor Rigby.” He rocks it out again, and the judges think he’s hit another home run, but I beg to differ. It’s probably because I love this song so much, but I think it’s the worst thing he could’ve done to the song. I hate it. The beauty of the original is it simplicity, the strings, the melancholy story… excuse me while I play it to get his version out of my head!

Ok, I’m back. We did get the best Paula comment of the night though, in her telling David that he is a “thoroughbred.” I think they upped her meds this week.

I’m going to say right now that Brooke is my favorite of this top 12. I think she’s genuine, ridiculously talented, and likeable. She commands the stage once again with her moving cover of “Let It Be,” which is everything David C.’s earlier performance was not. Emotional? Check. Beautiful? Check. Subtle? Check. Heartfelt? Check. I love that her voice isn’t perfect. The rasps and the cracks make the song that much more beautiful, and I’m nearly in tears with her at the end. I want Brooke to stay in this competition as long as possible, because I really think we’re seeing an artist blossom in front of us. Also, she gets, hands down, the cutest sign we’ve ever seen on Idol: “We love Brooke but miss our nanny,” with photos of the babies she used to watch.

David H. has the misfortune of following Brooke, and he does a forgettable version of “I Saw Her Standing There.” I like David, and I wish this had been better, but there’s really nothing more left to write about it.

Amanda actually looks good tonight! Those crazy Tim Burton movie style pants aside, of course. She performs “You Can’t Do That,” and I rather like it. It’s a good style for her. I agree with Simon though – girl needs to enunciate! I was taught that in 9th grade choir.

Michael, who was one of my favorites early on, has failed to impress me as of late. He does a decent “Across the Universe,” one of his better song choices of the last few weeks, but still leaves me wanting more.

Let me take a minute to discuss the judges. Is it me, or are they even less constructive than in previous years? Neither Randy nor Paula offer the contestants anything to build on. In Michael’s case, Randy tells him that he should have changed the arrangement or melody. Didn’t he just tell Jason earlier not to mess with a great song? I’m confused. And how does Simon not know Carly’s name? Seriously, how much are they getting paid? AND WHAT EXACTLY IS IN THOSE COKE CUPS?

Paula in a non-crazy moment.

Oh, Kristy Lee. Why are you still here? If you guessed, “to absolutely butcher ‘Eight Days a Week’ beyond repair,” you’re right! Honey, adding fiddles does not equal “taking a risk.” Thank God the judges hated it, though now Kristy will probably get the sympathy vote and put us through misery yet again next week.

David A. gets the pimp spot this week, and fails miserably. You all know I’m not on the Archuleta Train, and this week proved precisely why. When I was in high school, my show choir did this atrocious medley of Beatles songs. Watching David A., I half expected a choir of fellow 17-year-olds to show up behind him, doing choreographed moves to back him up on “We Can Work It Out.” He’s just so little! It doesn’t work for me.

To wrap things up, I’d give the top prize of the night to Brooke, and I’d name the bottom three Ramiele, Kristy Lee, and David H. Since we’re not lucky enough to see Kristy Lee go home, I’m betting my money on David H. to “conveniently” be voted off. Sorry if I’m just a wee bit skeptical of the integrity of this show. This is, after all, the medium that tried to convince us someone was actually voting for Sanjaya.

Lindsay will be with you tomorrow, blogging the joys of the reappearance of Katharine McPhee. Really, who knew she was still around? Good luck with that, and good night!