Top 9 Do Country - 4/1/08

Hello and welcome to American Idol for our Tuesday night fix as Ryan says in his opening. He once again looks like an executive in his suit and introduces our judges. Randy in gray, Paula looking I thought quite beautiful in her flowered dress and of course our Simon in his usual shirt but this time in black.

Tonight's mentor is Dolly Parton and while country music is my least favorite I have to say that tonight's show was very entertaining overall. Born in rural Tennessee, Dolly has indeed had a very successful career. Being in the business for 40 years, this 61 year old legend has been a force in country music. She has penned over 3000 songs which is also very impressive. I loved how she got the contestants to sing along with her on the song "9 To 5" and although many may not be into country music you could tell they were impressed with Dolly. She also was very complimentary to the contestants and with that being said let's get to our first contestant.

I have stated many times how boring I think Brooke White is but tonight I have to say she was pretty good on her performance of "Jolene" released in 1974. Doing an acoustic version you could tell she felt quite comfortable in this genre of music. While she had a few minor pitch problems as Randy mentioned, this was indeed one of her better performances. Simon mentions that she lacked emotion and in a way I sort of agree. This is a song about a girl stealing Dolly's husband and I felt Brooke was smiling too much during the performance. I could have lived without the praise fest that went on between Paula and Brooke and sadly Paula rambled a little too much during her comments of Brooke's performance. Overall, though this was good. My grade: B

Our rocker David Cook speaks about doing other people's covers before he performs tonight which I kind of figured he would as there has been a lot of controversy this last week about his using the Chris Cornell version of "Billie Jean". Tonight, however he is doing his own arrangement of 2001's release "Little Sparrow". Dolly loves it and overall I liked it as he did indeed show some range in his performance. Randy thought it was hot. Paula comments on his new haircut which did make him look better and also about him being a well-rounded singer. Simon felt it was not as good as last week. Maybe not but I did like it. My grade: B+

Ramiele Malubay is wearing I thought a bizarre outfit as she sings "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" from the 1982 album Heartbreak Express. She does have a few pitch problems as mentioned by Randy but when this girl hits those big notes she can do no wrong. I think she should stick with that because this little girl does have a big voice. Both Randy and Paula give her some praise as does Simon calling the performance cute but does add it is worthy of a cruise ship performance. I do not quite agree with that statement however I do have to say I was not blown away. My grade: B-

Before Jason Castro takes the stage, Ryan tells him he has received several postcards from the same girl. She feels his singing melts the tension away. This is sort of true because once again with guitar in hand he gives a sleepy performance of "Travelin Thru" from the 2006 soundtrack Transamerica. During his performance I keep feeling like he was running out of air as he sung. Randy mentions the rough start but says it was pretty good. Paula calls it his strongest performance which I disagree with kind of as to me every performance of his is the same. Simon flat out did not like it. My grade: C

The next song was actually written by Barry Mann as mentioned by Dolly while speaking about Carly Smithson. She feels she has chosen the right song and I so agree. Doing the 1977 hit "Here You Come Again", Carly shows why she is in this competition by giving what I thought was a great performance. Loved that big note at the end. Randy also thought it was great and Paula adds it was glorious. Simon on the other hand thought it was good but not great. Wrong again Simon. I loved it. I will say however he was spot on about the ugly outfit Carly wore. My grade: A

No one can deny that David Archuleta has a beautiful voice and he demonstrates this with a heart-felt performance of "Smokey Mountain Memories". I loved, loved, loved this performance. This song was actually released first by Roy Acuff in 1975 however Dolly does have it on her 2004 "Live and Well" album. I listened to all 3 versions and have to say that David sang it best. Randy calls it the best performance of the night with Paula agreeing. Even Simon like it and called it right on the money. For me personally, I can not wait to buy this kid's music. My grade: A

Tonight is a perfect genre for Kristy Lee Cook. I thought she looked great as mentioned by Paula and overall does do a nice job with her choice "Coat of Many Colors" released in 1979. Randy agrees the genre is a good one for her. Paula calls it her best performance. Strangely while she was singing I had in my notes pleasant overall which is what Simon says but does add it is forgettable. I highly doubt the country folks will send Kristy home this week because it was not bad at all. My biggest complaint with her was I did not care for the snotty attitude she displayed blowing Simon a kiss. My grade: B

There was no doubt that Syesha Mercado would sing "I Will Always Love You" released as a single by Dolly in 1974. She does a mix of both Dolly's version as well as the 1992 release by Whitney. I actually thought this was a pretty good performance and sounding like Paula she did look lovely. Loved it when she hit the big notes however Simon did not think it was so good. Randy calls it ambitious but does like it. Some trivia here as I was not aware until I research this song that Elvis Presley wanted to do a cover of this song but Dolly turned him down because he wanted the full copyright. This song was introduced by Whitney via the movie "The Bodyguard" and became a huge success by selling over 10 million copies. Wow! Very impressive for a single and it was recognized by the United World Chart in 2007 as the most successful single by a female artist. Getting back to Syesha's performance I have to add she did Whitney proud in my opinion. My grade: B+

Before our Aussie performs I am thinking how on earth will he master this genre. While he is in rehearsal he sounds awful to my ears. However once on the stage I change my opinion as he gives a very impressive bluesy vibe to the song "It's All Wrong, But It's Alright" from the 1977 album Here You Come Again. Once again Michael Johns has impressed me. He sounds great and Randy adds he brings it up a knotch each week. Paula is loving it and Simon calls it his best performance. Not so sure about that statement but do have to agree that for the last two weeks he has really upped his game. My grade: A

Once again I have to say I really enjoyed tonight's performances overall. Each did better with the exception of Jason and Ramiele who are a part of my bottom 3. Not sure who will be in the third spot. One last thing to mention before I sign off. I read on the AI site that on the results show Bucky Covington, Bo Bice and Phil Stacey will be featured. That will be a real treat I think.

I look forward to your comments and with that being said toodles for now.

Here I go.
First up:
Brooke White - I absolutely loved it!!!!! I loved what she did with it. Great song choice though I think she could've done really well with a lot of the songs tonight.

David Cook - I think he did good too. I think most people did tonight. He wasn't as good as last week though. Not amazing. I also liked his old hair style better I thought it made him stand out a little more, I didn't care for this one.

Ramiele Malubay - Not good. Not bad either. Her best performance lately. Can we finally say "Bye-bye" to her? I'm thinking so.

Jason Castro - I Absolutely loved his tonight!!!!! Not sure if I liked his Hallelujah better or this one. Both Awesome!!!!Tied as my favorite of the night with Brooke's. I'll have to watch them both again!

Carly Smithson - She looked horrible. Ahhhh! Very tacky. Her voice wasn't much better. But it was better. I really hope but doubt she's going home.

David Archuleta - He did great with this song.(finally) I thought the song was great. But we already know he can sing ballads can he sing anything else? Not so far. He needs to show some personality and originality! If he does this then he actually has a better shot at winning. (I'm hiding form Angie)

Kristy Lee Cook - Looked Great and did a wonderful job with the song. While her voice isn't as good as some of the other contestants she has something the others(namely Ramiele, Syesha, Archie, Carly don't)- Personality. She's out there having fun while the others are way tooo serious. Being serious can be good but they're just too much.

Syesha Mercado - She did the Whitney version, how'd I guess. Angie and I were just talking saying that she would do this. Not a good thing for her. She ultimately tried something that was way out of her league. Her beginning was too boring though good vocally and then later on she was off pitch. Ohh it was not too pretty.

Michael Johns -22 - Very Original tonight! I didn't like him 'til last week and now 2 weeks in a row? What is happening? He's actually been good. Well my list has been bad so far why not add to it. He's safe for awhile I think.

So that's all them.
My Favorites: Brooke, Jason, Archie(though all the rest besides my bottom 3 were good).
My bottom 3: Ramiele, Syesha, & Carly
Who's Going? Ramiele (but I'm good with any of My bottom 3) I also think Kristy has a shot at being in the bottom 3, though she shouldn't be.