American Idol - The Top 12

All right, new logo, new stage, lots to get excited about! Except maybe the performances.

Syeshia Mercado - "Got To Get You Into My Life"

A little by way of the Earth Wind and Fire version, very empty version of the song. And for some reason Syeshia sports an 80's look a week late. Not feelin' this one. Jumping ahead a little, but I think it's between her and Kathi Lee Cook in a race to the bottom this time.

Chakeize - "She's A Woman"

After weeks of selling us the old school R&B lover man bit, Chakeize suddenly switches up and performs the song with a bluegrass beginning and a rock ending. Meanwhile, he works the stage like a madman and pushes his voice to the limits of its range. Shocking but great, Chakeize finally makes a case for himself as a distinct talent. If this doesn't get him out of the bottom two, nothing will. His end zone dance at the end with Ryan Seacrest was infectious and entertaining.

Ramiele Mulaby - "In My Life"

Poor Ramiele, she started off strong but after her mediocre 70's week she's lost confidence and direction. She's stuck in ballad land with a particularly muzaky version of the Beatles classic. Worse, on elimination nights she's becoming the equivalent of "the crying girl" without Sanjaya. She dedicated the song to her eliminated friends, but if she continues on this track this will be her own epitaph (American Idol wise, that is).

Jason Castro - "If I Fell"

An OK followup to his Jeff Buckley triumph last week, Beatle's week finds Castro returning to his guitar strumming ways. I thought it was a little boring but appreciated some of the quirkiness to the vocal. For some odd reason the tone of voice reminded me of David Cassidy in parts. Maintains his sensitive modern folky image but does little else.

Carly Smithson - "Come Together"

The Heart influence shows with a very Wilson sisters take on this rocked out tune. I liked the verse sections a little more than the chorus where the theatricality was a little overdone (the "...over me" part where she seemed to sway a little). Still, a strong enough performance to barely win me over.

David Cook - "Eleanor Rigby"

Lightning strikes twice as Cook rearranges yet another song to his emo-rock ways. Finally leaving the guitar behind, Cook actually becomes a bolder front man with his Vampire jacket and Freddie Mercury style mic stand holding. Like "Hello", Cook adds a menacing tone to a song that previously didn't have any. Needs to be careful of doing too many emo ballads now or he'll paint himself into a corner. He's getting stronger by the week.

Brooke White - "Let It Be"

Carly Simon's clone, um, I mean Brooke White goes to the stage to perform "Let It Be". It was OK, Brooke White always has a pleasant way about her and she is able on the piano. The judges rave about it, I didn't get into it to that extent. Her self congratulatory post song interview was a little off putting but not horribly so.

David Hernandez - "I Saw Her Standing There"

Dull...painfully dull...and Hernandez has a one-size-fits-all performance style now that's distracting. It's not a distinct performance style like Overmeyer's blues rock, Michael John's Vedderisms or White's Carly Simon fetish. He's gonna plant his feet and swivel his pelvis, he's gonna turn his head sideways and close his eyes on high notes, he's gonna end with the big note. It's almost like he's had a job where he goes out in front of people and does a certain routine every time before. If we peel away the layers, we'll see...aw, short of metaphors tonight.

Amanda Overmeyer - "You Can't Do That"

Heeding the judge's previous advise, Overmeyer goes full throttle into a Janis Joplin styled rendition. She gives a pretty good performance but not quite as good as last week. I liked how she dug into the second verse a little more, too bad she couldn't sustain it. Simon rightfully criticizes that half the lyrics were unintelligibly sung. This was so Joplinesque I thought she might fall drunk off the stage. If she gets ahold of something like "Ball and Chain" it could be awesome.

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Michael Johns - "Across The Universe"

A so-so acoustic version of one of the Beatles most recently revived songs. I guess Johns doesn't keep track of who he's mimicking, Eddie Vedder had a fine version of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" a few years back. That was acoustic too, so maybe Johns was paying attention. Still, this guy is coasting on good will more than anything at this point.

Kathi Lee Cook - "Eight Days A Weak-Week! Did I say weak?"

Paula Abdul started the night off with a bunch of double talk about if you play it safe or make changes you can do well or something like that. Anyway, Lee Cook takes the judges advice and bizarrely rearranged the early Beatles hit into a manic country song. It reeks of a Miss America performance where a thin blond girl misapplies her talent with ridiculous results. Nothing works and she's competing with Hernandez for most annoying mannerisms (wobble the head, sing from an upward stance and widen her eyes to punctuate the end of a sentence). I think her looks saved her last week, yet she's making it hard for herself by giving pathetic performances.

David Archuleta - "We Can Work It Out"

Anyone waiting for a poor showing from the lip licking wonder got their wish this week. Botched lyrics, awkward stage presence and seeming visibly lost ruined any chance at pulling off Beatle's week. Archuleta even admits he doesn't know the Beatles because of their age but as my wife points out knows another 60's artist, Stevie Wonder. It's Wonder's take that Archuleta uses but no arrangement can disguise his discomfort. Archuleta seemed more lost than a Patriots fan in New York (reaching for a metaphor here). He's safe due to the momentum built up from the first few weeks.

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Despite all the hype about the "most talented final 12 ever" this is shaping up to be a dull season so far. David Cook gets the most build up in momentum while Chakeize delivered the performance of the night. Lee Cook should be the one to go this week but as previous shows have shown the obvious pick isn't always the right one.