Eleanor Rigby playing in the background – I have my iTunes shuffling the Beatles]

Summary: Carly and David win the night, with Syesha and David Cook in the next group. Kristy Lee is so gots-to-go. And two weeks of the Beatles was too much for the group. They are just not up to the songs and frankly, who is?

Amanda – perfect song choice for her and I did enjoy it but this is ridiculous. She can only sing five notes. And can we agree that she needs to avoid the advice to sing a ballad sometime?

Kristy Lee – actually somewhat listenable this week but the makeover was over the top. She is normally very pretty but I thought her look was a distraction. It wasn’t natural for who she is. Jeez, I’m talking about her looks. I’m turning into Paula.

David Archuleta – great comeback. Perfect song for him and he nailed it. He’s back to the front of the line – but he does have some company (see Carly). Question – can he sing something other than a ballad?

Michael Johns – singing Day in the Life was sacrilege. A desecration of one of the greatest songs ever written. TERRIBLE song choice. This song has a structure of different movements that CANNOT be collapsed into a minute and a half. The lyrics are wistful, haunting, lamenting. He may have had personal reasons for choosing this song that were wistful, haunting and lamenting but he didn’t sing it that way. He just seems lost in terms of how he sees himself as an artist and not just a cute guy with a nice voice.

Brooke – I love Brooke (yeah, I know you know that already). I love her voice. She was only OK for me this week but I love her and love her voice.

David Cook – I LOVED what he did with Day Tripper although it wasn’t as similar to the Whitesnake cover as he said. Basically, he used the vocorder like them but was totally unnecessary – and frankly, stupid. But it was a really good performance. But I am a fan of 70s-80s arena rock, so I could be over-rating it.

Carly – possibly my favorite performance ever. Yes, EVER. Wow, she is good. I seriously had goose bumps through the entire song. Fabulous voice, fabulous interpretation, fabulous control, great range. She’s a pro. Look, she’s not my favorite performer but she’s the best singer in the group.

Jason – the male version of Brooke. I like listening to him. Not one of his best performances, though but not bad, either.

Syesha - I love Syesha (yeah, I know you know that already). I was only OK with her “Yesterday” the first time through but the judges loved it and Diandra really loved it so I went back and listened again with my eyes closed. Yeah, it was good, really good. Her problem is that she’s the second best female singer (next to Carly) with the second best personality (next to Brooke).

Chikezie – I don’t care how much distaste you have for My Man Chikezie, Wanda, I like him. I do love the tone of his voice. But he did fall into the trap I thought he would – that he would try to be as clever as last week. Simon was right that it was gimmicky. The slower, first part of the song was where he needed to stay.

Ramiele – she’s so cute and I really want to like her but she’s not really bringing it. She was OK but not up to where her potential is. I think she’s got the same problem as Michael in that she’s not found the right niche for her considerable vocal talents.

Goodbye Chikezie

Let me deal with Chikezie before I express my outrage. Yes, I liked him but I’m not upset he’s gone. He wasn’t going to go much farther than this although he was better than that sorry-no-account Kristy Lee and certainly Rice Krispies Ramiele. When he was good (I Believe to My Soul; and She’s a Woman) he was very good. Other than those songs, he was just OK. I think with the right material and producer, he could have a minor career although has anybody ever done anything finishing in 9^th?

OK. Really – Syehsa and Jason in the Bottom Three? Above that sorry-no-account Kristy Lee and Rice Krispies Ramiele? You cannot be serious. Dolly Parton next week. Could that mean country? Sheesh, Kristy Lee could possibly do well again and bounce out somebody good and apparently it won’t be Ramiele. I’m preparing myself now.

Switching gears – Diandra found out that the wonderful performance of Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” that David Cook did a while ago was pretty close to an arrangement by the rock band Incubus. This guy is pretty shrewd finding rock covers of whatever the theme is. Daughtry, of course, did this a couple of years ago with Live’s versions of the Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and after that, Idol has been pretty picky about mentioning other arrangements. They missed this one, though.

Those of you not familiar with Chris Cornell, he was the lead singer for Soundgarden, a one-off album with some Soundgarden and Pearl Jam members (calling themselves Temple of the Dog), and Audioslave (ohhhhhhhh and I love me some Audioslave). He is one of your quintessential rock front men with a signature vocal sound. The Billie Jean cover was cool but pretty atypical for him.

Best Week This Year

OK, “best week this year” may be faint praise but at least there were no train wrecks. A lot of solid, safe, predictable choices which is why a few performances – and one in particular - really stood out which was …

. . .David Cook – WOW. One of – maybe - THE best of the year. I’ve been lukewarm on him all year but as Randy said, he was molten hot (or whatever he said, dawg). I think you can see Chris Cornell’s version (I love Chris Cornell btw) rise to the top of the iTunes charts. David C. can win this.

Also good:

Brooke – I agree that I wish she had just stayed on the piano but she picked a good song and not a safe one although arguably you get the same type of vocal performance each week. That’s fine, it’s who she is, and she’s got a unique quality.

Syesha – a safe choice but she finally did her R&B diva thing. I could have done without the scale the heights ending, too, endings which happen way too often every year with almost every contestant.

OK, I got my crushes out of the way. Now on to commenting on the rest in order of performance, excluding the above:

Ramiele – closest thing to a train wreck. Safe song choice and not done well although apparently she had no voice. Like Rice Krispies, I want to like her but there’s nothing but a little sugar and a lot of air.

Jason – imaginative song choice, typical nice job but nothing special. A lot better than last week, of course. I still like his laid-back, hippie vibe and vocal style. And the girls are clearly smitten with him.

Chikezie – OK, Wanda, I’m finally going to dog my boy. I keep saying that being a big black guy aren’t enough qualifications to do Luther. STOP! One of the reasons I never watched Idol was that I tuned in one night while on the road and saw Rueben sing a Luther song and I was appalled. No, no, no Chikezie! I still continue to say he has a nice voice when he gets the song right. Tonight, he would have been better served by doing one of the many catchy uptempo R&B songs that were done in the 1985 (Billy Ocean, Kool and the Gang, maybe Freddie Jackson rather than Luther) or even something funky but riskier like Loose Ends, Pet Shop Boys, Level 42 or Simple Minds.

Michael – easily his best night to date but I think the jury is still out on him

Carly – OK, let the debate begin! I liked her again. I think she has an amazing voice and thought this was a perfect song for her no matter what Randy says. Carly is not quite a pure pop singer and not quite a pure rock singer so a song like “Total Eclipse” which straddles both genres I think is her sweet spot. I don’t get why Simon (and Randy) are dogging her so much.

David A. – props to Diandra who noted that she knew of a song that Randy Jackson don’t know about as fabulous Australian Christian artist Rebecca St. James covered “You’re the Voice” on her incredible album “God”. Anyway, David was OK, nothing great. A little risky doing a song few people had heard of. I do agree with Simon that it sounded a bit theme-parkish. But we know he can sing and he will continue to sail through.

Kristy Lee – very, very clever song choice. And she sang it really, really well. I mean, I hate to say it but she was (pretty and) pretty good tonight.

Bottom three prediction: Ramiele, Chikezie and Kristy Lee. Possibly Carly as Simon seems bent on having her voted off. Kristy Lee may have done enough to pull her out of the bottom. Maybe, maybe not.

Carly?????

Carly in the bottom three?

This pretty much assures that David A. will win if he can remember the words every week. Kristy continues to be bulletproof. I actually like the fact that she realizes how thin the ice is that she’s on. I feel like we’ll get a run on the girls – it’s hard to believe but the only one of the final six girls who hasn’t been in the Bottom Three is Brooke. Chikezie is the only guy left who’s been in the bottom three and he seems to have mounted a voting comeback.

What's Up with Ryan?

Apparently, tonight Ryan was on whatever Paula is usually on. Even my wife (Ryan Seacrest Fan #1 – appalling, isn’t it?) thought he was weird.

At first I was nervous about Lennon-McCartney week. While there is certainly much to choose from, they really didn’t write songs for singers. But when I thought about great Beatles covers (Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out; Al Green – I Want to Hold Your Hand; Aretha – Eleanor Rigby; Michael Jackson – Come Together), it seemed like the night could create some opportunities for some people to really stand out and draw attention to themselves. And I think a few of them did.

Summary of my faves tonight (in their order on stage): Chikeze, Carly, Brooke, Jason.

Reviews, in order of performance:

Syehsa – Call me Fickle. Call me Faithless. Call me Philandering. Call me no-longer-have-a-crush-on-Brooke-because-I-have-a-crush-on-Syesha. But she was pitchy at the start and just OK tonight. She looked a little unsure of herself at the start but starting first on the big stage would have been hard for anybody. Still hoping she’ll go far.

Chikeze – yes, Wanda, this was my favorite performance so far this year!!!!!!!! Took a huge risk with the arrangement(s) and pulled it off in a big way.

Ramiele – boring just like the judges said and not performing to the level of her talent. I thought she might have put herself in a gots-to-go-situation . . . . . but there was still Kristy Lee to come. She is going to have to step it up and bring the talent she has.

Jason – I liked this better the second time I watched. For once Paula made sense in that he does make an emotional connection with the listener.

Carly – I don’t want to like her but, wow, she is good and a perfect song choice for her. Appears to be a crowd favorite. And Simon sees dollar signs.

David Cook – totally DISAGREED with the judges (and Diandra) – I thought he butchered Eleanor Rigby – one of the greatest songs ever written.

Brooke – Call me a Two-Timer. Call me Can’t Make a Commitment. Call me groveling to Brooke to take me back. Yes, the crush lives on. She is adorable. Oh, yeah, she can sing, too. Seriously, she and Jason are male/female bookends with their sincere, emotionally connecting styles. They do not have the best voices but they are among the best singers. I thought she was great tonight – again.

David H. – ugh!! What a mess. Could “Papa” have been his peak?

Amanda – ugh! I’m so done with her.

Michael – OK but really not living up to his potential.

Kristy Lee – a clear Gots-to-Go-Situation. How bad was she? Sadly, not as bad as . . .

David A. – wow. That was a trainwreck. I had to stop watching. I wonder if he has the maturity to hold up through the marathon of week after week. That was Simon’s initial concern and maybe (once again) he’s onto something. He really needs to make a strong comeback. I think he’s got enough votes to allow Kristy Lee and Amanda to excuse themselves, maybe even Ramiele. But he can’t, can’t, can’t do what he did this week ever again.

Unless the country voters are deafly supporting her big, Kristy Lee goes home. Ramiele is in danger, too, I think.

Injustice Is Served

Arrrgh. C’mon, Asia’h is a fabulous singer. Clearly a deserving finalist and I thought one of the best in the competition. I just don’t get it except that this is the penalty for doing Whitney Houston and incurring Simon’s wrath for doing so.

At least Chikezie got through and the nightmare of Danny is finally over for most (if not all) of you. I thought he was entertaining but, yeah, it’s a singing competition and he was awful. I feel clean again.

Is this the “most talented” final group ever? I don’t see this group as good as Season Five: Taylor, McPhee (ugh), Elliott, Daughtry and Paris, not too mention Kellie, Mandisa and Lisa Tucker. Even Bucky (ugh) has gone on to do well. Still, at this point, once we (soon?) get past Amanda and Kristy Lee, somebody good will be gone every week.

OK just for fun, my without-much-conviction rank ordering of the Final Idolists. Ahh, never mind, it’s too hard. Let’s try categories instead:

The Final Two: David A., Carly

Maybe sneaks past Carly: Syehsa

Next: Brooke, David H., Asia’h (oh, she’s gone; that sucks)

3^rd tier: Michael, Chikezie, Ramiele, Jason, David C., Alexandrea (oh, she’s gone, too, that sucks)

Bottom rung: Amanda (done when she can’t rock), Kristy Lee (maybe stays in with the country vote)

Let the banter begin!!!!

General observations: Paula has gone beyond all prior extremes of weirdness. When, when, when will Idolists STOP singing Celine, Whitney and Journey? It’s like forbidden fruit that they just can’t stay away from. Finally, IF the voting is correct, this will be a very strong Final 12. Every week somebody good will go off the show. Now to the reviews . . .

Gots-to-Go

Kady – just awful. Nice girl, pretty girl but can’t sing and Simon’s right about her lack of stage personality.

One needs to go

Kristy Lee – pretty girl and the country-fied version of “Faithfully” could have worked (by avoiding trying to imitate the one-and-only Steve Perry) if she had actually gotten more of the notes right. I disagreed with the judges totally, especially Randy who should know better.

Amanda – actually she was fabulous. She is a one-trick pony but tonight she nailed that trick. She needs to find a rock band to be lead singer for. But she is the least talented female left. I wouldn’t be upset if she goes at this point.

Best

Carly and Brooke. Carly has a wonderful voice and will probably challenge David A. for the title. I like a lot of other people better but I can’t deny that she has a large amount of talent. Song choices will be big for her. Brooke (who I have a crush on) doing Pat Benatar (who I have been in love with FOREVER) – OK, I had a BIG turnaround and changed my opinion after 1) Diandra told me how much she liked her; 2) Cassandra told me I couldn’t compare her to Pat Benatar (who I have been in love with FOREVER) and that she liked her which is big because “Battlefield” is one of her favorite songs; 3) I ran back the tape and watched again with my eyes closed. It was very pretty. With all of the big voice girls left, she has a real chance to go far because she is so different. Have I mentioned that I have been in love with Pat Benatar FOREVER?

The Rest

Syesha and Asia’h – OK, nothing great but enough to go through. Just please stop doing Whitney. Asia’h doesn’t have a Whitney-like voice, anyway. I would have preferred to see her go with Toni Braxton.

Ramiele - GREAT voice (especially lower register) but hasn’t really chosen songs that showcase that voice enough. I agree with Randy that she just needs to let it loose.