Tonight’s episode of American Idol 7 was chaotic, rushed, and overall disappointing. Neil Diamond is one of my favorite songwriters and it’s such a shame that he seemed to have been such an ineffective mentor. He didn’t really give any advice about arrangements, tips on how to improve their performances, or much of anything, really. I don’t blame the contestants for screwing up tonight - the theme was all wrong, and the format was all wrong.
Top5 Part1 Jason Castro
Jason Castro sang “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “September Morn”, both of which were done in a nicely mellow way. Jason handled the notes very nicely and remained consistent all throughout the two songs in terms of intensity, but he was a little off-key on the chorus of “September”. Randy seemed to have mixed opinions on the songs, Paula liked the first one but not the second, and Simon said that both were forgettable.
Top5 Part2 David Cook Brooke White
Up next was David Cook with “I’m Alive” and “All I Really Need Is You”. It’s funny that David chose songs that were a little obscure when he could have picked more popular ones that he would have totally done well. Neil Diamond seemed to be pleased with the song selection though. I like how David started “All I Really Need Is You” with an acoustic guitar, showed off his strong vocals, and gave an overall engaging performance.
Top5 Part3 David Archuleta and Syesha Mercado
On David Archuleta’s menu was “Sweet Caroline” and “America”. Quite honestly, he did a disappointing job with “Sweet Caroline” - which is a shame because it’s one of my favorite songs. It did pick up towards the end, where he closed the song with a little more power and confidence in his voice. On the other hand, his performance of “America” seemed rushed and overall unimpressive, with not much redeeming qualities.
View the rest of the performances after the jump.
Top5 Part4 Jason Castro and David Cook
Top5 Part5 Brooke White David Arculeta
Top5 Part6 Syesha Mercado
