Tonight we blog during the Top 4 results show beginning at 9 p.m. ET, when the Top 3 is revealed and Bo Bice and Maroon 5 perform. Links to download songs featured in tonight's blogcast will be posted at the conclusion of the show.
Bo Bice, "Witness" - download on iTunes
Bo Bice, "See the Light" - download on iTunes
Bo Bice, "Ain't Gonna Die" - download on iTunes
Bo Bice, "Siner In a Sin" - download on iTunes
Bo Bice, "Got Money" - download on iTunes
Jason Castro, "I Shot the Sheriff (Live)" - download
Jason Castro, "Mr. Tambourine Man (Live)" - download
Top 4 Week Poll Results - Favorite Remaining Finalists
David Archuleta 126 (43%)
David Cook 107 (37%)
Jason Castro 31 (10%)
Syesha Mercado 23 (8%)
Total votes: 287
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 4 Results (5/7/08)
Simon goes for the kill on Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame night
On a night that celebrated the progression of rock 'n roll throughout the United States' history, the Idol stage was filled with tears, laughs, and an assortment of great and terrible vocal performances. To say the stakes were high was an understatement, as Ryan opened the show by saying three of the four remaining finalists had received the highest number of votes in the past few weeks. Although he did not say who had not received the coveted prize, it can be deducted that Jason Castro is the only one who has not, because he has not delivered a show-stopper in the past few weeks.
Ryan also made clear to the judges that they would be able to comment after each performance, which earned collective "thank you"s from all three of them. Great, there goes any hopes of this episode being more exciting than last week. But it was still able to deliver, especially one certain finalist, and it is fair to say Simon was more than happy to play the role of executioner.
David Cook kicked off the night with his take on Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf." Although he could have picked a handful of more deserving songs of the 500 they were allotted to choose from, David managed to do a good job. His raspy tone really shone through and he looked like he was having fun walking around the stage. Randy was hard to please, has he said he was underwhelmed with the song choice and thought it was "just ok." Paula said something about having a big appetite, and Simon agreed with Randy, thinking it was copycatish. Good to see Paula has been rewired by Nigel & Co. and seems to be back on track.
For his second song, David took on The Who's "Baba O'Riley," in which he pretty much stayed true to the original arrangement. He showed major control by starting the song out in an almost innocent style, and built into a rocked out performance going into the chorus. Although he still was not all the way there, Randy said it was the David Cook he's grown to love, while Paula said she wanted "more, more, more, more, more, more David Cook." Simon's comment was simple and got his message across fairly strongly: "Welcome back David Cook."
Syesha Mercado followed up David C. with Ike and Tina Turner's "Proud Mary," and her performance channeled the choreography of Tina herself. Her vocals took a back seat once she began dancing, but her performing skills once again legitimized the notion that she will be a star on Broadway. The judges were split, as Randy liked how Syesha has come alive in the past few weeks and Paula called her a star, but Simon put a damper on everything when he said it was "shrieky" and "a bad impression of Tina Turner." He made things even worse when he followed up Syesha' comment that she had fun with by saying "well I didn't."
On her second song, Syesha gave a boring yet vocally solid performance of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." Although she looked beautiful, the fact that she just stood in the same spot throughout the whole performance took away from it. Randy was extra harsh in his critique, saying he didn't love the arrangement and thought she pushed out for things that did not fit, and he was disconnected. Upon receiving Paula's standing ovation and comment that she "had come," Syesha could not hold back the tears, and Simon's agreement with Paula set off the waterworks, making Randy out to be the bad guy. Syesha explained that while researching the song and its circumstances, she felt like she had changed, and could not stop crying while reading about the civil rights movement.
And then, it was Jason's turn. The calm before the storm was shown in his pre-performance package, when he said he picked "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley, and added a "go figure" accompanied with goofy eyes. That should have been a warning sign, but no one expected what came next. Jason pulled off one of the weakest, worst, most karaoke performances ever on the show, and the worst one this far into the competition (John Steven's "Crocodile Rock" was worse, but it happened earlier of course). Randy was mild with his critique, calling it a "really karaoke Bob Marley" and saying he didn't get it and Paula was once again as negative as possible by saying she was not crazy about the performance or song but she thought he did a really good job connecting with the audience.
But it was Simon who dropped the MOAB, as he told Jason to "stand back" before continuing his critique. "That was atrocious," he said, continuing to compare it to a "first round audition massacre" and that he did not know what he was thinking. Jason answered Simon's rhetorical question with the biggest proverbial middle finger he could come up with: "I was thinking Bob Marley!" he chuckled. Simon was not amused, and continued the onslaught, saying the only similarity to Marley was his hair and advised him not to sing a Marley song for his next one. And that, my friends, is what we call a performance.
Although Jason did not offer another performance as awesomely bad as his first, he did complete his objective by forgetting a line of lyrics on Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," though he did sound much better this time around. Randy said he was not in the zone tonight, and asked him how he thought he did, to which Jason responded with "I lost some words in there" with a chuckle. Paula said the performance "is what it is" and Simon opted to be nice and blunt this time by saying "Jason, I'd pack your suitcase."
But David Archuleta was able to save the night, as he was overall the best. On "Stand By Me," David sang the classic faithfully by sticking to the original arrangement and was vocally terrific. Randy continued his overexaggerated praise, calling the performance "mad hot," while Paula called him "seasoned" and Simon said it was the best performance of the night so far, while continuing to pile it on Jason by saying David could have "whistled the song and it still would have been better than the last one." David's reaction to Ryan's question of why he looks like he is going to pass out every time he waits for the judges' comments was that "their faces scare me!" Who can blame him?
In round two, David stepped up his game even more on Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," which featured a creepy zoom-happy camera guy who did not want to take the camera off David's face. Randy again called his vocals "hot," which by the way is becoming his word of the season, while Paula blabbed her usual praise. Simon clearly decided on the winner of the night, saying David "crushed the competition."
Ryan closed out the show by reminding voters that Tamyra Gray and Chris Daughtry came in fourth, by which he meant: "David & David fans - vote or else!" And it looks like they did just that. Jason will be going home without a doubt, as it would be unjust for him to carry on with the show against his wishes. His fans must have taken the hint after last night, as there was no better way to say he wanted off than how he acted. Jason is a great person, but his time on the show has finally come to an end, and he and his fans should be happy with how far he made it.
Predictions:
Bottom 2: Syesha, Jason
Eliminated: Jason
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 4 Perform (5/6/08)
Tonight we blog during the Top 4 performances at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the finalists tackle songs from the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Links to songs featured during the blogcast will be posted below the live blog at its conclusion.
Katharine McPhee, "Until You Come Back to Me (Live)" - download
Kelly Clarkson, "Addicted" - download on iTunes
Brooke White, "I Am...I Said (Studio Version)" - download on iTunes
Daughtry, "Sorry" - download
Chris Sligh, "She's Not There (Studio Version)" - download
Clay Aiken's 'On My Way Here' released
On Here, Clay, who is signed with RCA Records, said he felt a deep connection with the songs. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said the following:
"When I (did) the first album, I ain't been through nothin', you know? ... But now I've gone through some crap, and I've gone through some good things, and I've started thinking, 'Oh, wow, I know what that song's saying, I've done that, I've experienced that, that's happened to me.'"In the interview, Clay also acknowledged that he's "not trying to be Justin Timberlake" and embraces his legacy on the adult contemporary front.
Buy On My Way Here for $7.99 at Amazon.com or $9.99 at iTunes.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Jason Castro spooked by dolphin
The Top 4 finalists spent their Saturday in Las Vegas relaxing, as they watched Cirque Du Soleil's "Love" at the Mirage. They also got to visit some dolphins at the resort, and Jason Castro seemed to have the surprise of his life when the dolphin he was petting got a little too friendly with him.
Keeping up with Chris Sligh
Aside from releasing an album since wrapping up his stint on Idol, Chris has performed at the 2008 Dove Awards with fellow alums Phil Stacey and Season 5's Mandisa.
Chris has also been known to stir the pot, as he created a controversy in late 2007 by posting about the breakup between eighth-place finalist Haley Scarnato and her fiance, Bobby, on votefortheworst.com. Although he said he was doing it to stick up for Haley, it came across to many as airing their dirty laundry, especially considering it was coming from someone close to her. The following is a sampling of the post:
"Breaking up with Bobby was the incredibly best thing that Haley could've done and knowing what I know, I'm telling you, there was no other option. And just so there's no confusion, Haley paid for the engagement ring...the ring Bobby bought her was a small, less expensive ring and after she got off the show, she bought a more expensive ring (I know that sounds bad, but I'm putting it into perspective - she bought it with her money).
Bobby was a jerk, and I'm being incredibly, incredibly kind by saying that"
Running Back to You will be available everywhere, and at Target for $9.99 beginning tomorrow.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
An 'American Idol' episode of 'Bones'
Two former finalists will make appearances on the upcoming episode of the FOX series Bones, which stars David Boreanez and Emily Deschanel as two FBI forensics agents that must solve how people were killed by studying their remains.
Ace Young, who came in seventh on Season 5, and Brandon Rogers, who finished 12th on Season 6, will appear as singers in a karaoke club. Ace sings Nickelback's "Far Away," while Brandon sings "My Corner of the Sky" from the musical Pippin.
The episode will air Mon., May 12 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
John Rich: 'American Idol' infuriates me
Following Paula Abdul's high profile gaffe on Tuesday's performance episode of American Idol, John Rich, a country music producer and member of the duo Big & Rich, went on the attack, voicing his opinions of the talent show.
Rich said the following at an NBC press event, at which he was promoting the upcoming season of Nashville Star, on which he will serve as a celebrity judge.
Rich's comments did not go unnoticed. A statement was issued by FOX in response to the criticism.
"'American Idol' infuriates me as an artist. They're being fake about it. When you can't make a cognizant comment about someone's performance and you're commenting on something that happened the day before, why don't you just walk up onstage and slap them right across the face while you're at it? As an artist, I would just flip them the bird and walk off the stage. ... She wasn't even paying attention to what was going on."
"John Rich's ungentlemanly and opportunistic comments are particularly disturbing considering the fact he attended a taping of 'American Idol' last April, told producers, judges and performers he enjoyed himself and also did an interview with a crew from 'American Idol Extra' where he was extremely complimentary toward the show."One has to agree that even though it comes off as a desperate ploy for publicity for Nashville Star, Rich is voicing true concerns that have been raised after this week's series of events, and should be addressed by FremantleMedia.
Digital sales roundup: "No Air" #4 (5/3/08)
In this week's digital sales roundup, only one Idol alum is represented in the Top 50 of the latest edition of Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, as Carrie Underwood's two entries, "All-American Girl" and "Praying for Time" and Daughtry's "Feels Like Tonight" fall off the chart. Jordin Sparks leads all tracks with "No Air," her duet with Chris Brown, which remains at #4 with 118,946 downloads sold this week. Full numbers, courtesy of bks from Pulse, are posted below.
04 04 Jordin Sparks, "No Air" 118,946 -12% 135,720 1,495,040
39 47 Jordin Sparks, "Tattoo" 21,255 -11% 23,959 1,578,682
Total sales in bold.
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