Thanks for sharing that article, Gatsby Michael really does seem to be a very nice guy, I'm sure he'll do very well. It's like he said in that article, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Kimberly Locke (among other contestants who haven't won) are doing great. Sometimes winning doesn't guarantee complete success (hint: Taylor Hicks )

Thanks for the link Gatsby, great interview. It shows what an exceptional person Michael is, he accepted defeat with dignity and it proves to all what a great bloke he is.

*Switching rant on*

I can understand now what you meant in your post about being shocked etc. I was angry in the way Ryan Seacrest chose to tell Michael he was going home. Did he really have to do it that way? That was downright mean, he hinted to the fact that last year no one was sent home after IGB and then whammo... "but tonight we are going to say goodbye to Michael Johns". Whether it was scripted or not, that was uncalled for and unfair to any contestant.

Simon then had to rub salt into his wounds by saying "Based on your performance, you know that it wasn't the right song and you learn from that", to which Michael shook his head in disagreement. I applaud Michael for doing that and staying true to what he believes in. I think it was just Simon's way of saying "I was right, as usual".

*Rant switched off* lol.

Michael will do well anyway, Ryan has probably done him a favour as he will be remembered as the contestant who went off with the shock vote!

Yikes. I know next to nothing about Mariah Carey (and, to be totally honest about the situation, was in no great hurry to learn, either) so I watched the show not knowing at all what to expect. Almost across-the-board, I was pleasantly surprised, though . Makes sense, that ... we're down to only 7 and they're ALL (in their own ways) exceptional vocalists. Now, to me, it's all about sending them home in the right order (which already went off track last week ). Am I the only one who senses that, unless that alleged earthquake rocks California, all we're doing at this point is getting ready for the almost inevitable "Battle of the *Davids*" finale ?

I'll try (and fail ) to be quick here. Carly is on really thin ice, and it makes me very angry. If you ask me (which you didn't) she's gotten to a place of painful self-confusion. A rare case of *trying too hard* to appease the judges (notably Simon) and losing herself in the process. If she'd just stand there and belt out her songs HER way? Magic would happen weekly. No doubt that girl can sing beautifully. Some of the others are so much just *themselves* doing their songs now (no matter what they end up with or even how marginally they do). Carly, though? She's talented but wishy-washy in terms of her "niche". And [in my opinion] that's really tripping her up. Syesha is another one. I'd never heard that song she sang EVER but it clearly was octave high-wire gymnastics (sounded next to impossible to sing without massive effort, to my ears). Yet, once again, she managed it beautifully. She seems the opposite of our Carly - "niched" too MUCH! Always 'bigger-than-her' songs, always proving that (maybe five years from now) somebody'll refer to her as a 'new Whitney Houston'. Unfortunately, this ain't five years from now . Kristy Lee? She was nice last night. She's becoming a pro at this, however. The expectations of her are typically so low that when she comes out and does ANYTHING right, she steals the moment . I'll miss her most of all when she goes, I'm thinking. And Brooke? I've loved her *style* from the start, and will love it till the end. But she was just OK last night. I'm not sure if that was because she sang so nicely or because [*whew!*] somebody finally sang a tune I'd heard before . Well, I'd heard Carly's song before, too - but it didn't land so well with me. The boys? Simon was (grudgingly, again) 100% right. Jason did a fine job (talk about refusing to skip on his "niche" - and he either falls slightly flat OR soars higher than the average pigeon as he stays where he belongs). Last night was a nice song choice for him. Archie is (as I duck, saying so) starting to bother me a little. While it can be said that "Castro always sounds the same" (kinda true...), the songs he sings don't sound the same. If that makes sense? David A., though? It's ALL starting to sound, look and [worst of it] feel the same every week. But he's still pretty stinkin' amazing. OK. So that covers everybody. I'd say three girls will be in the stools tonight (Brooke the least likely to get there, but it COULD happen).

Oh . Wait. I forgot somebody. That funny-looking guy. That guy that has done the unimagineable. Y'know: taken an already popular show/format and decided to make it his, and his alone. No need for these other singing nuisances. Or Simons or Paulas or Ryans. Or strategic commercial breaks or Ford advertising. He walks on, he takes over. He was brilliant last night (once again, after that unfortunate "oops" last time). I wonder, though, how it'll feel at the end of the day to a seemingly nice guy like David Cook? To forever be (partly) remembered as "that dude, a grown man, who sidled into the picture and stole the prize" from a 17-year old unstoppable force/amazing kid, and it only took a month to do it? Mr. Cook is, and I throw the word around respectfully at my house, "spectacular".

Simon definitely had it right that the guys stole the show last evening. I've always thought the guys were generally better than the girls, though.
I kind of agree with you about David A. At the beginning, he just blew me away, but I'm just getting kind of, well..bored with him. Archuletta is a great singer, but David Cook is just SO AMAZING at this point - he has become my absolute favorite.
Carly has always been my favorite girl, but Gats hit the nail right on the head with his take on her loss of identity as a singer. For me, it's almost like David A. - a great voice, but none of that charisma and originality that I believe it takes to be a star.

I agree Gatsby, Archie is sounding the same every week now. He does have an amazing voice but probably needs more time to grow as an artist. He seems more of a classically trained singer and doesn't really fit the mold of an idol to me.

I think Simon is controlling the vote now, he probably was all along .. One negative comment from Simon and its time to pack those bags, unfortunately. When they are being judged it's almost as if they are thinking "Ok, Randy says it was a bit pitchy but that's ok, Paula will always say something good if I can understand her, now hold my breath.. Simon is going to speak". Out of all of them I think Brooke shows her disappointment the most when Simon says something negative, she just can't hide it.

Tonight's show had one star ..

David Cook

He just owned it tonight, it was his night. He's already made it, with or without winning Idol, end of story..

Brooke didn't do anything for me tonight, very ordinary.. sorry. I agree about Carly, she is a great singer but something is holding her back. Maybe she is trying too hard to please the judges. She did say the other week when she looked over at Simon and saw him frowning she just lost it. Jason has had a couple of good weeks and the young girls will be voting to keep him, so I guess he will be safe.

I will probably get it wrong but I think the bottom three will be:

Carly
Brooke
Syesha

Sadly, I think Carly will be leaving.

I agree with everyone. David Cook is doing such a great job. He is one of my top favorites. Also Jason Castro I like alot too, Carly, and David Archuleta I enjoy alot too.
It seems no matter what happens though, that being on the show, they will most likely be releasing albums down the road.

Just wondering too, has anyone seen any of those American Idol magazines around that have those voting/song cards in them? I haven't been able to find any of them around this season. Are they not making them anymore?

Another Michael Johns fan here! I do think he was true to himself but it did make me wonder about the different styles of rock music by Americans, Brits and Aussies and why he was labelled a 'wannabe'. I think part of it was they'd put him in the 'Blues' pigeonhole when he proved excellent at that and were a little reluctant to let him also 'belong' in another pigeonhole. The following is something of a generalization... just my observation. American rock is becoming somewhat darker in tone over the last decade. Johns simply isn't 'dark' enough.. and neither is the Aussie style of Rock which seems to be more about self expression loud and clear while having a great time with the music. Johns is just too 'nice' for the U.S. concept of rock though he works fine 'down under'. He really needs to get his own band and show his worth to the world.

As for last show, hmmm. Some agreement with previous posters-
Archuleta: nice, lovable but I agree with the above posters pretty much.
Kristy.. hoping to see her finally finish on this show, I think she's reached her ceiling.
Syesha. I actually loved her performance- beautiful vocals, perhaps a touch more contrast than necessary but otherwise very nice. For me she was the evening's star
Carly : loved it vocally but somehow she missed the magic moment.. I think she somehow plateaued rather than soared.
Brooke: despite some dodgey moments she made it her own. Nice work on the whole.
Cook: I don't know if he was the star- and I'm quite a fan of his- but a gutsy arrangement of a rather boring song that was probably the best possible treatment he could give it with the limitations of his vocals.
In a way, same with Jason.. very nice arrangement instrumentally but the song was boring and I doubt he could have done more with it.

Well, I definitely agree with the results last night. I only wish she had gone last week and Michael was still in the running.
You know, last night when I was watching, I kept thinking something about David Archuleta that I was going to mention here today, and then I read this article this morning that says exactly the same thing! Does it seem to anyone else that he just seems right on the edge of an emotional breakdown when someone is asking him a question?
The article is worth a read - it's very interesting how the idols have evolved over the weeks.

Very good article cinnamon, I loved the comments about Jason, Carly & Brooke .. very funny!

It makes you feel a bit sorry for poor Archie, he must be feeling completely stressed out with it all.

I loved the cheeky way Kristy Lee ended her time on idol singing to Simon, that was hilarious. Didn't Simon look kind of uncomfortable for once!

I've just read that it will be Andrew Lloyd Webber as the mentor next week. That should be interesting, I love all those show tunes and there is so many of them to choose from. I wonder who will be doing songs from The Phantom? David C or Archie?

What is the names of the songs that Elliott Yamin and Mariah Carey performed on the show Wednesday night?

You know, I just watched it again, and really, in my opinion, David Cook is way above the rest. I think the answer is in his originality, and he surprises every time. What a star!

Amy, see the "other performances" section of this page.

Thank you so much.
I've just bookmarked it too.

Has anyone on here ever been out to see "American Idol" in person? I would love to be in there in the audience someday.

One thing I keep thinking would be interesting is for someday whenever we call to vote, have the contestants once in awhile surprise the voters and answer the call personally and then they can thank us for voting for them. If I was a contestant I know I would love to do something like that.

Thanks for that article, cinnamOn ! Most interesting. There really is something visibly changing with Archie - I'd mostly just chalked it up to his youth, his rather public "oops" that night w/ the Beatles song (shook his confidence, I figured, in a big way) or maybe just his large at-the-start "front runner"ness getting knocked down a little, or a lot, more each night. I bet all those things factor in, but there's probably A LOT more in the mix somewhere. That *not eating* bit went right over my head, in a hurry. In retrospect, it was disturbing, wasn't it? Somehow, to be nervous and eat and [whoops] vomiting a little under the anxiety, seems better than making it sound perfectly "regular" to not eat at all because you KNOW you're going to puke. Like it's a pattern you're quite used to (and, thusly, so is everbody else)? I've heard all the allegations about his Dad ~ and wonder how true they may or may not be. His Dad looks a tad suspicious down there all bug-eyed weekly, but I'm not sure if my perception of him might be skewed. But (and I didn't really realize it until I read that FoxNews thing) even though I've marvelled at Archuleta's talent, thought his voice was limitlessly *there*, admired the way he bumbles around to get his footing and then finds his spot and lets angels' wings come out once he's planted, I think I've always somehow felt sorry for him. Interesting, too - he and Jordin Sparks are/were the same age at this point in the game. Her I never felt sorry for. She seemed talented AND happily seventeen at once. Her poise and spiritual generosity was entirely genuine ~ and not always perfectly handled, which made sense and was endearing. Archie's different. He walks around with the world on his shoulders, it seems. And, heck, I don't think he's been away from a microphone in his life long enough to EVER get a grip on what those shoulders are supposed to be used for in an average day. Very disturbing, really. Great, now I'll feel even worse when I don't like one of his songs .

Weird, too, reading that column. I had in my notes (scary, ain't it ... I still take 'em) a couple of things about how the Idol finalists just look - nothing noted about how they 'sound'. I'd forgotten I wrote it ~ but has anyone else noticed that, more than just once, Carly has morphed into a near sister of 60's singer Grace Slick as she's up there? It's v-e-r-y weird. Every whipstitch, they're twins! And Jason Castro? If ever a "look" was born to thrive in Tim Burton movies, that guy has it . I'll skip on who, at one time, I jotted down as "akin to a grown-up sized Chucky doll" (things have certainly changed on that particular viewpoint). Funny, though, how we all stare and notice stuff about these *just-folks-on-the-street* this time last year, now suddenly stars. That, in itself, must be its own sort of daunting pressure.

As for Idols answering callers voting on Tuesday nights? My hunch is that they'd rather clean the toilets at the local BP station. After days of grueling practice, appearances, filming commercials, hardly having time to sleep? Finally being done with their stressful performances only to answer phones for 12 hours? Especially phones with no people saying stuff on the other end (the votes AREN'T voice-transmitted, after all)? Seems to me if anything'd send our poor little Archie off the deep end, that'd likely be it ....

Quick update : I was reading around a bit yesterday and discovered a neat little *newsflash* - our biker nurse, the sent-home Miss Amanda Overmyer, is evidently staying in California for a while after all. According to Wikipedia:

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Since her elimination she has booked a show at the legendary Whisky a Go Go bar in West Hollywood, she is scheduled to perform on May 24, 2008. Overmyer is also reportedly in talks to play her real-life musical influence (Janis Joplin) in a film about the aforementioned bar.

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Um ... maybe I'm the only one ... but I think that's entirely cool indeed !

My word! Sayesha was superb, wasn't she? As the judges said , that is definitely her metier.
I guess that Jason will go home this week. His performance of Memory was so embarrassing. I really thought it was awful.
Outstanding again, in my opinion was David Cook.
I liked Amanda, and found Brooke passable. David A seemed to be out of his depth again. What do you think?

Oh, dear ! What to say about last night [*sigh*]? I like Brooke bunches -- even when she's not so great, she's better than many (in my opinion). But, while it's not really written down, everybody 'pretty much' knows it: it is not good, and usually *fatal*, to flub your lyrics on "American Idol". Archie seems able to survive doing it, as well as a very short list of some others, but it is typically nothing short of the 'kiss of death'. And Brooke not only forgot the words last night ... she stopped the song completely and started over ? OK. Things look pretty bad for her ~ BUT I'd like to say that she pulled it together (more than less) and there was definitely some fierce power and strong emotional connection to her spin on "You Must Love Me" in spots. And (if I might dare), too, Miss Abdul is a dancer, first and foremost. As such, she is right in saying that dancers should never *oops* and NOT keep going, recovering as best they can. I think it was better for a singer to stop the song (especially that soon into it) and get back on track. Simon and Randy thought so, too. But, all that said, things look mighty bleak in Nanny-Land tonight. Which is too bad.

Otherwise, I was pretty unimpressed with the song choices last night (the singing was good, but the choices [given the huge catalogue] were predictable and uninspired). Or at least I thought so. Syesha was a revelation, though! A nicely unattached-to-a-miscellaneous-diva tune that she pulled off very nicely. Carly was quite good, too (thanks to Sir Webber). He steered her into a dandy choice and she was everything right for "Jesus Christ Superstar". Shoot me ... but, once again, Archie left me flat. Pretty song, those soaring runs of his spot on (the lower tones not so much). I didn't care for the arrangement (Boyz 2 Men meets "The Phantom of the Opera"?) and, as usual, I watched liking his performance of the song while noticing more his somewhat complete lack of emotional connection to it. I know, I'm probably being harsh . Mr. Cook was, to me, once again pretty much awesome. Aside from that *too much* of a last note, I thought he showed his powerful vocal range very well -- and he didn't "Cook" up the tune this time. He didn't really need to (it's a grand song ~ "The Music of the Night"). Even restrained, the fellow resonates in a rather amazing way. And he didn't restrain all that much.

May I snarl now ? Ye Gods, I hate that song "Memory" . The only good thing, if you ask me, about it is that it's sung by a cat in some God-forsaken alley (or somewhere). And should be, too. I like the song, I'm afraid, even less now after hearing Jason have a howl at it last night. Maybe not his fault, that. Yma Sumac could sing it, maybe even Maria Callas? I'd still want to bury my head in the nearest litter box as to hear it sung. Again. And again...

OK. Looking forward to hearing what the rest of you thought after watching/listening last night !

My top three last night (in no particular order) were Syesha, David Cook and Carly.

Sat here shaking my head and saying "Oh, Brooke, you've blown it..." when she flubbed the start.

Took my dog outside in the middle of Jason's performance (on purpose). Archie just didn't do anything for me last night.

I also enjoyed Rickey Minor's performance, very good entertainment value

No guesses for who was my favourite tonight?? I was hoping.. wishing.. David Cook would do that song and he did! I was a bit stressed out when Andrew Lloyd Webber said he "may" be ok with the song. I thought, oh no, not another train wreck.. please. He didn't let me down, he did a wonderful version of the song. How versatile is that man? You are right Gatsby, about the "too much" on the last note.. I think he was a tad over excited!

I loved Syesha tonight too, very sassy and the style suited her down to the ground. It's the best performance I've seen from her so far, she is certainly upping the ante for the end of the show.

Carly was great too, I'm glad she listened to ALW's advice the song suited her style and voice much better than the one she was going to choose.

Archie didn't do much for me either, I just didn't like the change to the original song.. He sings beautifully though and he will get better and better with time.

Jason is getting very predictable now, I don't know what it is about him but every song he sings seems to have some kind of indie or folksy twist added to it. I think he should be the one leaving this week. He's just not in the same "league" as the others in my opinion.

Who have I forgotten? Ummm.. Brooke, oh poor Brooke she may be in big trouble with that slip up! Great to see Simon say that he would have done the same thing if it was him..

I look forward every week to reading all the thoughts of everyone after the show, especially your recaps Gatsby. I always get a good laugh at your "one liners". What will I do when the show is over? I'll have to find another US reality program to watch!

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we are just paying to watch old shows and reruns most of the time..

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so are we indeed. What's more they are repeated , sometimes on the same day. Its awful, but its all we have.

We have no access (that I know of) to "Canadian Idol", either . I'm sure I'd love it, too. But, realistically, I'm thinking one regional "Idol" obsession per year is enough for this kid . I'd still enjoy seeing it, however, for sure...

As for this "American" version craziness? We're up to that point again, I'm afraid. With so few singers left, the bottom three (or now two?) DO NOT reflect the worst performances, as a general rule, even a 'little' anymore. It's all about that structure-free science as to who calls and votes why - and how many times they do it. Carly and Syesha were the "Best Of Show" on Tuesday (along with Cook), I thought - and most agreed, everywhere that I read. Yet *bang!* Off to the 'bad girls' stools they go ? Syesha might just as well follow Kristy Lee's lead, at this point, and make a 'reserved for' sign for herself in Stoolsville. She was reviewed, consistently and everywhere, as flatly remarkable and/or astonishing on Webber night. Carly was similarly praised for her driving no-holds-barred take on "Superstar". And now Carly's getting sent back to the pub (for the moment)? And don't we just KNOW, even if Syesha somehow manages to *fix* the global fuel crisis (while singing "Climb Every Mountain" better than ol' Julie Andrews managed it) between now and next Wednesday, she's off to her stool again next week? It's very distressing. I'm fans of both, but without question Brooke and Jason (maybe even Archie) were on the wrong side of the stage as things shook down last evening.
I'm not worried, career-wise, about any of them at this point. But trying to figure out the slapdash voting patterns is not only frustrating, I'm thinking it's essentially impossible. I reckon the best thing to do, now, is to sit back and enjoy the show. In many ways, the 'winning' and 'losing' is already done.

Next week? Neil Diamond. Let's see what David Cook can do with, let's say, "Cracklin' Rosie" , eh? I tell ya, though ... if Jason bumbles his way into picking "You Don't Bring Me Flowers"? I'm certain I'll have to have some hard liquor on the ready...

Oh I so agree! What the heck is that bumbling dope doing still here? These shocks do seem to be part and parcel of the series, though. I can remember being similarly flabberghasted last season, at about this stage.