Idol Top 12 Performances

With a brand spankin’ new intro and set, American Idol started its next leg of the competition with a big bang. The theme of this week was songs from the Lennon-McCartney songbook, which truly assisted in making the show more entertaining overall. A majority of the contestants dealt with obvious nerves being on the enhanced and enlarged Idol stage. Most of the performances were equal to last week; though some singers stepped up their game, while a few stumbled into the possibility of being in the bottom three.

Last week, Danny Noriega, Luke Menard, Kady Malloy and Asia’h Epperson were voted off, creating Season 7’s Top 12:

Chikezie, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, David Cook, David Hernandez, Michael Johns; Kristy Lee Cook, Ramiele Maluby, Syesha Mercado, Amanda Overmeyer, Carly Smithson, and Brooke White.

Recap
· Syesha Mercado- "Got to Get You Into My Life"
According to Simon, it was a good song choice. However, Syesha started weak and seemed troubled by nerves throughout her performance.
· Chikezie- "She’s A Woman"
Arguably one of the best performances of the night. Chikezie was energetic, took control of the stage, and surprised us all with an interesting, fun rendition.
· Ramiele Maluby- "In My Life"
The safest, most forgettable and most boring performance of the night. Ramiele’s vocals were good, but the song choice was predictable and dull.
· Jason Castro- "If I Fell"
Jason still boasted his natural, mellow vocals, but the song choice didn’t compare to last week’s “Hallelujah.”
· Carly Smithson- "Come Together"
With the best song selection of the evening, Carly also provided America with the best vocal performance of the entire show. She’s consistent, strong and likable.
· David Cook– "Eleanor Rigby"
David wisely chose to let his guitar rest and instead rocked the stage solo. Despite a bit of trouble on some of the low notes, his performance was believable and brilliant.
· Brooke White- "Let It Be"
Though I thought the praise from the judges was a little too kind, Brooke still picked a fitting song and performed it well. However, she did struggle to hit some of the bigger notes.
· David Hernandez- "I Saw Her Standing There'
David is still a strong vocalist, but his take on an otherwise decent song choice was a bit overdone. I thought he had some good moments, but Simon referred to the performance as “corny, verging on desperate.”
· Amanda Overmeyer- "You Can’t Do That"
Though I’m still not a fan, Amanda did select a great song, and she definitely put her mark on it. She works the stage well, though it’s a shame she insists on wearing such hideous pants.
· Michael Johns- "Across the Universe”
Michael gave a solid, good performance, but he left the judges wishing he had taken more chances with the song. Despite this, his vocals were smooth and soaring.
· Kristy Lee Cook- "Eight Days A Week”
Kristy has a good voice, but tonight, she almost made me wish Idol hadn’t acquired the Lennon-McCartney songbook—that’s how cheesy and awful her country version of this classic was. Simon summed it up as “horrendous.”
· David Archuleta- "We Can Work It Out"
David gave his first truly weak and poor performance so far in the competition. It was truly the most disappointing moment of the night; though, not necessarily the worst. It felt forced and was just a mess.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Chikezie, Carly Smithson, and David Cook were the most memorable and talented in the bunch. Unless America is complacent or insane, they should all be safe.
· Following closely behind, Brooke White, Jason Castro, Amanda Overmeyer and Michael Johns gave decent performances. Hopefully their fan bases will pour in enough votes to keep them in the competition.
· David Archuleta had the most anticlimactic performance, but viewers should be forgiving as he has performed consistently in the past.
· Syesha Mercado was all nerves, Ramiele Maluby was forgettable, David Hernandez took a shaky risk, and Kristy Lee Cook’s background music destroyed a classic. These are the contestants in danger of elimination.

Tune in at 9pm Wednesday night for the results on FOX.

P.S.- Critic’s Vote
This week it was especially hard to decide who to relegate my votes to. Usually I’ll vote for as many contestants as need, even if it’s nearly all of them. This week, the critic’s votes went to Michael Johns. As Simon said, he’s a consistent performer; he just hasn’t had his moment yet. Here’s to hoping that big, special vocal moment comes soon.