I've gotta say, I've been HUGELY disappointed with song choices all season on American Idol. Aside from David Cook and Kristy Lee Cook at the end of her run, I don't think we had anyone make a well-considered musical choice on any show.
So with that in mind, I'm going to lay out how I would have chosen songs for each Idol this season.
Top 12- Lennon/McCartney:
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| Chikezie Eze | "She's A Woman" | "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window " | He could have wailed on this one |
| David Archuleta | "We Can Work It Out" | "Day Tripper" | I can actually hear his vocals working on this up-tempo song |
| David Cook | "Eleanor Rigby" | "Eleanor Rigby" | This was the good choice of the night and the first indication that DC was special |
| David Hernandez | "I Saw Her Standing There" | "And I Love Her" | He should have stuck with Beatle ballads |
| Jason Castro | "If I Fell" | "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" | He's the only one that can pull off the slightly more twisted Beatles songs. |
| Michael Johns | "Across The Universe" | "Why Don't We Do It in the Road? " | Michael really needed an injection of testosterone at this point in the competition |
| Amanda Overmyer | "You Can't Do That" | "I Saw Her Standing There " | A much more appropriate song for her voice |
| Brooke White | "Let It Be" | "Let It Be" | One of only three decent song choices that night |
| Carly Smithson | "Come Together" | "Penny Lane " | This early in the season, she needed to show a softer side of her vocals |
| Kristy Lee Cook | "Eight Days A Week" | "Yesterday " | Anything's an improvement over that hoe-down version of "8 days a week" |
| Ramiele Malubay | "In My Life" | "The Long and Winding Road " | This would have been more memorable |
| Syesha Mercado | "Got To Get You Into My Life" | "Got To Get You Into My Life" | The last good song choice of the evening |
Top 11 - Beatles:
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| Chikezie Eze | "I've Just Seen A Face" | "I Got A Feeling" | Good song for belting out his baritone vocal |
| David Archuleta | "The Long And Winding Road" | "Do You Want to Know a Secret " | The girls in the mosh pit would love this one |
| David Cook | "Day Tripper" | "Come Together " | I'd love to hear what he'd do with this song |
| Jason Castro | "Michelle" | "All I've Got to Do " | Guitar strumming, happy-go-lucky, head bobbing. It's Jason all over. |
| Michael Johns | "A Day In The Life" | "I'm Only Sleeping " | Good, laid back song with strong melody line in his range |
| Amanda Overmyer | "Back In The U.S.S.R." | "Back In The U.S.S.R." | Good choice |
| Brooke White | "Here Comes The Sun" | "Hey Jude" | Piano song. |
| Carly Smithson | "Blackbird " | Blackbird | Good choice |
| Kristy Lee Cook | "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" | "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da " | She'd have been much more memorable with an uptempo song like this |
| Ramiele Malubay | "I Should Have Known Better" | "I'll Cry Instead " | Upbeat and in her vocal range |
| Syesha Mercado | "Yesterday " | "I Should Have Known Better" | This was a much more appropriate song for Syesha than Ramiele |
Top 10 - Birth Year:
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| Chikezie | If Only For One Night - Luther Vandross | No change | Chikeze sounded good on this one |
| David Archuleta | You're The Voice -John Farnham | Cherry Pie - Warrant | Admit it, if he'd actually sung this, you'd be a fan, right? |
| David Cook | Billie Jean -Michael Jackson | No change | This was his breakthrough moment of the season |
| Jason Castro | Fragile -Sting | Faith - George Michael | Upbeat, guitar strumming song. Right up Jason's alley |
| Michael Johns | We Will Rock You /We Are The Champions- Queen | No change | I can't blame him for trying Queen after his triumph in Hollywood |
| Brooke White | Every Breath You Take - The Police | No change | The judges liked it, so I don't see a reason to change it |
| Carly Smithson | Total Eclipse Of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler | No change | Good song for her, but not so good performance. |
| Kristy Lee Cook | God Bless The U.S.A. - Lee Greenwood | No change | This was the moment she turned it all around |
| Ramiele Malubay | Alone - Heart | I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany | The cuteness factor of her singing this song is irresistable |
| Syesha Mercado | If I Were Your Woman - Stephanie Mills | No change | I actually liked this. |
Top 9 - Dolly Parton:
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| David Archuleta | Smoky Mountain Memories | Great Balls Of Fire | Dolly actually recorded this one. He'd have impressed me if he'd have chosen it |
| David Cook | Little Sparrow | No Change | |
| Jason Castro | Travelin' Thru | No Change | |
| Michael Johns | It's All Wrong, But It's All Right | No Change | |
| Brooke White | Jolene | Me and Little Andy | This song is so sad that Brooke would have made Simon cry |
| Carly Smithson | Here You Come Again | No Change | |
| Kristy Lee Cook | Coat Of Many Colors | No Change | |
| Ramiele Malubay | Do I Ever Cross Your Mind | Jolene | She needed a strong song in her mid-range with some attitude |
| Syesha Mercado | I Will Always Love You | No Change |
Top 8 - Inspirational Songs:
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| David Archuleta | Angels - Robbie Williams | No Change | Excellent Choice |
| David Cook | Innocent - Our Lady Peace | I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly | His smoky low range would work well here. |
| Jason Castro | Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole | No Change | Jason's best song all season |
| Michael Johns | Dream On - Aerosmith | Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor | Dream On isn't inspirational. Eye of the Tiger makes you want to work out. |
| Brooke White | You've Got A Friend - Carole King | I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash | Slightly less predictable and it's got a little beat to it |
| Carly Smithson | The Show Must Go On - Queen | The Rose - Bette Midler | Replacing depressing with inspirational. |
| Kristy Lee Cook | Anyway - Martina McBride | No Change | She really performed this one well |
| Syesha Mercado | I Believe - Fantasia | Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves | Getting her out of the Diva copycat business. This is a fun song, too. |
Top 7 - Mariah Carey:
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| David Archuleta | When You Believe | No Change | One of the few times I liked what he sang |
| David Cook | Always Be My Baby | No Change | This was a triumph. He could have recorded this. |
| Jason Castro | I Don't Wanna Cry | No Change | For Jason, this was pretty good. |
| Brooke White | Hero | Through the Rain | This would have been perfect for her understated style |
| Carly Smithson | Without You | I Still Believe | I can't believe she didn't pick this in the first place. |
| Kristy Lee Cook | Forever | No Change | Even though she lost the vote, this was one of her best performances ever. |
| Syesha Mercado | Vanishing | Vision of Love | This was the one week she could be forgiven for singing a diva song. |
| Top 6 - Andrew Lloyd Webber: |
| Singer | Song Choice | Better Choice | Comments |
| David Archuleta | Think Of Me - 'Phantom of the Opera' | No Change | Archie had probably been saving this idea all season |
| David Cook | Music Of The Night - 'Phantom of the Opera' | No Change | The bravo performance of the night |
| Jason Castro | Memory - 'Cats' | Crazy - Starlight Express | This is the only song I can find from ALW that Jason could have pulled off |
| Brooke White | You Must Love Me - 'Evita' | No Change | This would have been good had she not screwed it up. |
| Carly Smithson | Superstar - 'Jesus Christ Superstar' | No Change | "All I Ask Of You" would have doomed her. Too bad she got voted out anyway. |
| Syesha Mercado | One Rock n' Roll Too Many - 'Starlight Express' | No Change | Darn good choice. This marked Syesha's rise up the rankings |
...and that take us up to two weeks ago. I've been writing for 3 hours, so I'll catch up on this another time.
2 comments:
Your musical knowledge is really wasted in your current career. You know that, don't you?
If only there were some career in the music industry where you tell people what they ought to be doing...
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