Jennifer Hudson was one of a handful of guest performers at the highly publicized public memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. At the service, she performed Jackson's "Will You Be There," which can be watched below:
Departing from the usual three songs for three finalists format that has been used in each one of the Top 3 performance episodes for the past seven seasons, this year's crop will have to settle for two songs only: one picked by a judge (or in one case, two judges) and one personal choice (thanks again Kara!).
The judges' picks for the Top 3 are already common knowledge because each finalist received his respective song choice (or in one case, two choices) from the judges at their homecomings yesterday. Paula picked "Dance Little Sister" by Terence Trent D'Arby for Danny, Randy and Kara chose "Apologize" by OneRepublic for Kris and Simon apparently couldn't decide between "One" by U2 or Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" for Adam since there is video of him receiving a text with both songs. Right, that's fair...
Anyway, Danny and Kris are really going to have to step it up come Tuesday if they want to advance to the finale, and that key to doing that is picking a good song in the first place. Although this is not a magic solution to the problem, it definitely sets the stage for a solid performance assuming the singer finds his comfort zone in the choice. Therefore, my song suggestions for the Top 3 can be found below:
Adam Lambert: "Rock and Roll All Nite" (Kiss)
Yeah yeah, Rock 'n Roll was last week's theme, but Adam has made a name for himself singing songs from this genre over the course of the season, so why not keep a good thing going? Adam would blew the lid off the studio with Kiss' "Rock and Roll All Nite," a '70s classic that would allow him to be as theatrical as possible all the while belting out notes at the top of his lungs, and it would not be perceived as a mess. A bit over the top perhaps, but Adam's no stranger to being accused of that.
The judges could possibly criticize Adam for picking a predictable song, but the performance would drown out any negativity they might direct toward him. And there are plenty of other songs that Adam could choose since it really doesn't matter at this point because he will be in the finale regardless.
The doors have closed on voting for the Best Male and Female Video categories, but have opened on voting for the Best Pop Video category for the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The only Idol-related video that made it to the final ballot in the two former categories was Jordin Sparks' "No Air," which is competing against "Piece of Me" (Britney Spears), "I Kissed a Girl" (Katy Perry), "Touch My Body" (Mariah Carey) and "Take a Bow" (Rihanna) for Best Female Video.
As for Best Pop Video, the only Idol-related video open for voting that actually has a shot at notching a nomination is also "No Air," which looks like a lock for a final nomination due to the fact that it has the most views of all videos up for voting. Other videos from Idol alums up for consideration in the saturated category are Katharine McPhee's "Love Story," Paula Abdul's "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," Carrie Underwood's "Last Name," Jordin's "One Step At a Time," Blake Lewis' "Break Anotha," Jennifer Hudson's "Spotlight" and Elliott Yamin's "One Word."
Voting for the category ends on Wed., July 30, with the final nominees being revealed on Fri., Aug. 1. The VMAs will air live on Sept. 7, 2008, at 9 p.m. on MTV.
A few quick notes and spoilers regarding tonight's performance show (all spoilers are from IDF)...
-David Archuleta won the coin toss last week, and elected to go second (duh).
-Clive Davis, despite being demoted over at Sony BMG, chose a song for each of the Top 2 to sing. It was revealed that he chose Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" for David A., but his pick for David Cook has not been revealed.
-David A. will sing "Imagine" for his reprise, while David C. will sing U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" as a new choice rather than a reprise.
-Each David got to choose which coronation song they would like to perform out of the Top 10 chosen by viewers' votes. Or so they claim...
UPDATE: David C. has chosen "No Turning Back," while David A. has chosen "Here I Am."
Looking ahead to tomorrow night's finale...
-Carrie Underwood will perform her new single, "Last Name."
-Bo Bice and Jennifer Hudson have confirmed they will appear, and two former contestants from every season will perform.
-Both Davids will do a duet to OneRepublic's "Apologize." OneRepublic will also be there.
-The Top 5 contestants will each perform with an "idol" (kind of like what happened in Season 5). Bryan Adams is one of those rumored to be performing with someone.
-The Jonas Brothers will perform their hit single "S.O.S."
-Paul McCartney is rumored to be performing.
-The Top 2 will each perform with Mariah Carey and Neil Diamond.
UPDATE: David C. will perform with Carey in a duet of "Always Be My Baby."
That's about all I've got for now. Keep checking back later for more.
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Country contender Kristy Lee Cook felt the heat last night as she became the sixth finalist to be voted out this season. She took it well all things considering, and even when it was announced Brooke White would be joining her in the bottom two, Kristy Lee comforted her by saying she was not going anywhere and she would be the one leaving.
The irony is that Kristy Lee had been improving each and every week since the Top 12, and she delivered one of her best performances with "Forever." As for why she was eliminated in spite of her growing success, her obscurity of her song choice could be partly to blame, although usually that works to a contestant's advantage. The true reason she went was because the Idol kitchen is too crowded with talent, and has been for the majority of Season 7. At this point, it's any given week for every single finalist that is not named "David."
What made Kristy Lee's departure especially satisfying was her ad-libbing and the deliberate uncomfortable mood she set for Simon in her encore performance. It was refreshing to see her leave with such a great attitude.
As for the rest of the results show, Season 5 second runner-up Elliott Yamin delivered a touching performance of his song "Free," and he mentioned the fact that the performance was the first one that his mother, Claudette, had not attended, following her passing late last month. Elliott was all smiles as Ryan gave his condolences and gave Claudette praise she most definitely would have appreciated.
Mariah Carey, this week's mentor, also performed, taking a stab at her brand new single "Bye Bye." Mariah flattered Randy when she gave him credit for a lot of her success, out of courtesy and kindness, of course.
As for the dreaded "group-choosing" bottom 3 style that Ryan put the finalists through for the umpteenth season, a tradition that was started by Bo Bice back in Season 4 was upheld, as David Archuleta promptly sat in the middle of the stage when asked to choose the group he thought was safe. The only contestant to not follow Bo's example during Top 7 week was Taylor Hicks, who correctly chose the correct group back in Season 5.
The lowest point of the results show was without a doubt the finalists' group performance of the Mariah Carey-Boyz II Men duet of "One Sweet Day." There was such disorganization and the vocal pairings did not mesh whatsoever (Syesha Mercado and David Cook? C'mon...)
Despite the fact that Kristy Lee was not going to win no matter what, her elimination goes to show that from here on out, it's every man and woman for his or herself. And Andrew Lloyd Webber week does not look to be any kinder to the finalists.
In what could have been a lackluster night, David Cook brought the crowd to its feet with his unexpected rocked-out version of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby." At the conclusion of his performance, Ryan pointed out that David was tearing up (thanks Ryan for letting us know...). The reason: his brother, Adam, who is terminally ill with cancer, made an $80,000 trip out to see David perform.
Adam's hometown of Terre Haute, Ind., helped him raise money for the trip, and David could not help but reveal his emotions after his performance. The moment will be one that he never forgets.
Aside from David's outstanding performance, the rest were just "meh." David Archuleta opened the show with "When You Believe," Mariah's duet with Whitney Houston from The Prince of Egypt soundtrack. The judges all loved it and Simon had to throw in that he produced the song. There were parts, however, that the judges must have zoned out on, because it was not nearly as good as usual.
Brooke White did the near-impossible "Hero," but was able to make it her own. Her piano playing skills are remarkable, but Paula mentioned how Brooke let a few bad notes speed her up, which was true. Brooke did do a better job not talking over the judges during their critiques, but Simon's comment about "ordering a hamburger but only getting a bun," followed by Randy's add-ons to the failed comparison about not getting mustard or mayonnaise were just plain out there. Will find herself in the bottom 3, possibly the bottom 2.
"Without You" was taken on by Carly Smithson, who did well vocally and looked great, but there were times where she strained her voice to hit a few high notes. Simon noticed this, and said he had always wanted her to sing this song, but he didn't think she pulled it off. Paula and Randy made it seem like Carly had no confidence, as they told her she needs to "trust [herself]." Although it might seem like a definite bottom 3 appearance here, I think Carly will eek it out this time.
Syesha Mercado made a smart choice in "Vanishing," a song that not many are familiar with, and was able to show control. Instead of her usual power voice/shouting, Syesha came off as a seasoned veteran and looked beautiful in a gold dress. Paula was happy she chose a song not many people know and said the performance was "unbelievably magical" for her. Simon Said it was technically good, but he did not think it was a good idea to pick a song not many people know at this stage in the competition. Randy complimented Syesha on her tough song choice but said there were a few pitch problems. Another week in the bottom 3 for Syesha is in store.
Another finalist that got great reviews and has shown much improvement over the past few weeks is Kristy Lee Cook. Taking on another lesser-known Mariah song, Kristy Lee sang "Forever" and was told by Mariah during her mentor session that she "gave [her] chills," something Kristy Lee was proud of. The judges were not as kind, but they still gave her props for showing improvement. Paula did say she could have a country hit with the song today, but Simon said she did not give him chills. She will most likely land the third-least amount of votes.
And finally, Jason Castro closed out the show with "I Don't Wanna Cry," a performance that was accompanied by bongo drums and two guitarists. Jason sounded good vocally and was not as boring as usual. After Randy made a comment about the song sounding like it was from "some weird beach luau," Paula said she'd "love to be at that luau all night long." Simon agreed with Paula, whether or not he was referring to wanting to be at the luau all night long. But regardless, he liked it, and that's really all that matters.
So tonight, look for the two Davids to sail through to the next round, while everyone else is in danger. It's a tough week where any one of five finalists could be going home, especially after last week's shocker.
Predictions:
Bottom 3: Kristy Lee, Brooke, Syesha
Bottom 2: Brooke, Syesha
Eliminated: Syesha
Kicking off festivities will be the Top 8 finalists when they perform inspirational songs on Tues., April 8. The following night, Idol begins at 7:30 p.m. ET for a special two-and-a-half hour event that will be filled with celebrities, guest performers and performances by the finalists. Those slated to make appearances on Wednesday's episode include Amy Adams, Annie Lennox, Ashley Tisdale, Billy Crystal, Bono, Brad Pitt, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Chris Daughtry, Dane Cook, Eli and Peyton Manning, Elliott Yamin, Fantasia, Fergie, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Connolly, John Legend, Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, Robin Williams, Snoop Dogg, Vanessa Hudgens and senators Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton.
Corporate partners with Idol for the special that will be making large donations include ExxonMobil, News Corp., Ford, Coca Cola, AT&T and Allstate.
Last year, the event raised a combined $76 million from viewers and corporate donors. Considering the fact that this year's event is set to be even bigger and better than last year's, put money on the total being significantly larger this time around.
And the week will wrap up on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the Top 7 is revealed and Jordin Sparks performs her hit single "No Air" with Chris Brown.
So, get ready to hit the couches, or in many cases, the TiVos.
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It was discovered today that there is a way to view the Season 7 finalists' studio recordings on the iTunes Top 100 chart. FOX has prohibited the charting of the tracks in order to discourage it from affecting the competition, but just as in every case, there is a way to get around the stoppage.
The results are staggering, showing David Cook's cover of "Billie Jean" way out in front of Mariah Carey's new single "Touch My Body," which appears as #1 on the official Top 100 chart.
Other top Idol tracks include Michael Johns' "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions" at #11 and David Archuleta's "You're the Voice" at #12. Other placements on the chart include Cook's "Eleanor Rigby" at #15 and "Hello" at #19, and Brooke White's "Let It Be" at #16 and "Every Breath You Take" at #17.
