American Idol, 02/27/2008, Top Twenty: Men

Four down, eight to go until we get our Top Twelve. No excuses about nerves this week. It's time to get serious, folks.

THIS is American Idol, and tonight's theme is 70s Classics.

Michael Johns opens the show with the Fleetwood Mac classic, "Go Your Own Way". Did y'all see the reunion show back in the late 90s? I loved watching Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks glare at one another on stage while they sang this song. The animosity was beautiful. I love this song period, but I'm not so sure how much I like Michael singing it. The vocal is a bit...goaty. No doubt, he's a performer, and has remarkable stage presence, and I was happy to see that it ended much better than it began.

Completely unrelated--but not really-- sidenote: Paula's hair is much, much better this week than the flat, greasy look she was sporting last week. Back to the singing!

I didn't recognize the song that Jason Castro was singing at first. I really had to close my eyes and listen to realize that he was singing "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" by the BeeGees. It sounded really fresh and modern, and I like that he's continuing to use his guitar. Though, at some point, I would like to see him perform without it, just to make sure he's not using it as a safety net. I really, really liked his rendition, and I don't know why the judges critiqued it the way they did, because what I heard could be played on the radio today.

I could not understand one word that came out of Luke Menard's mouth. Richie recognized the tune, and told me that it was Queen's song "Queen Killer". He played the stage a little, but I was much too confused by the song to appreciate anything else that might have happened.

WOW! Robbie Carrico's bandana finally came off! Too bad it wasn't by a pack of wild hyenas. I really, really don't like this guy. I think it's the fact that he's such a poser. We all know he's not a true, real rocker, and his choice of "Hot-Blooded" really proved it. Richie and I agreed--great song, wrong singer. Each week, he makes it more apparent that he really is the boybander he always was. There was no angst, no gut-wrenching emotion in the performance. You can tell that he's playing a character.

If Danny Noriega was old enough, I'd think he was doing an homage to the 40th anniversary of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. But since I know he's not, I'm just going to come out and say that the checkerboard cardigan is butt-ugly. He's singing The Carpenters' version of "Superstar", and I cannot understand why the judges called Luke Menard theatrical, and didn't call Danny on it. Y'all, Danny is the most theatrical performer of them all. I'm including all seasons of American Idol here. More theatrical then Katharine McPhee, even more theatrical than Constantine Maroulis, and that man was practically a one-man Broadway show. Every movement, every look, every freaking blink is planned out by this boy. The song itself? I'm falling on the "meh" side of the fence. Kinda boring.

Is David Hernandez still on this show? I had completely forgotten about him. I'm remembering him now, though, with this performance of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". When I think about this song, I think about the actual Rolling Stones, and what it must be like to be the kid of Mick Jagger or Keith Richards, which always gives me the giggles. I'm really glad that David chose this song; it really was an excellent choice for him. The vocal was amazing, he had an incredible rapport with the background singers and the audience. As the men have been incredibly blah tonight, I have to say that this has been the best vocal of the night. I'm glad David reminded us that he was still on the show.

I've just got to say it. I was will to give Jason Yeager the benefit of the doubt last week, due to nerves, but this week, I just have to tell y'all that I'm not a fan of this guy. Singing The Doobie Brothers' "Without Love" didn't do him any favors. He never connects with the song or with the audience. I hate using the same analogies that Simon (or any of the judges for that matter), but Jason really sounded and looked like a lounge act, with the cheesing at the camera and the cheesy swinging of hips, like a Saturday Night Fever reject.

Well, Chikezie is back to wearing street clothes, which I guess is better than stealing one of Ike Turner's suits. But with him singing Donny Hathaway's "I'm Leaving", he doesn't need any external drama tonight--it's all coming from his performance of the song. He sang that song like he was on fire, and I mean that in the most complimentary way. I enjoyed the mess out of that song! Definitely one of my favorites of the night.

You can tell that David Cook is in his element singing "All Right Now", and as disgusted as I was with him during Hollywood and last week, I became a fan again tonight. This was absolutely the best choice of sing for him, and having the guitar (and having the guitar have a solo of it's own) helped the performance immensely. Richie was making Chris Daughtry comparisons, but I shall refrain. It didn't help that David also like crosswords and calls himself a "word nerd". It seems that as ling as David remains in the competition, I will continue to be teased. It's OK, though. He teases me because he loves me.

I can tell you now that David Archuleta is a Chosen One, because he got clearance to sing John Lennon's "Imagine". It is very, very expensive to get the rights to sing any of the songs written by John Lennon. Thankfully, though, he sang it with such restraint, such conviction, and almost completely acapella to boot. I am not ashamed to admit that I think that his vocal was truly a thing of beauty. Sure, I still think he's a goofy, strange cookie, but wow--that performance really blew me away! My favorite of the night.

Overall a mediocre night with a few bright spots. Possible eliminees? Luke Menard and Jason Yeager. Too confusing, and way, way too cheesy.

Toodles!