Irish Eyes are no longer smiling as the lass from the Green Isle is free to continue her tattoo career. Perhaps she won’t blow her second chance at that career. In some ways I feel a bit sorry for her because she clearly had some incredible vocal skills. But she seemed to lack the heart of an artist. She never could quite connect with what she was doing. An artist has to have more than simple skill….they must possess a unique interpretive ability that seems to be the one missing ingredient for her. It could come into play in her new career as well, but I wish her well.
Now on to the final five…this is where it starts to get really interesting again. From what I’ve read, the numbers for AI have dropped a bit this year. I think the middle rounds are always a bit of a lull, and the songbook choices by the producers this year have been AWFUL. But this week they are rounding back into form with songs from Neil Diamond. He’s got a lot of thoughtful songs and a lot of high energy songs and this week should be a lot of fun….which is sorely needed after the last two miserable, depressing weeks. So, here we go….
- DAVID COOK (Up, Last week #1) - How can you be up if you were #1 last week? Because he strengthened his hold on the #1 spot. I was ready to drop him down to #2 for the last couple of weeks but just couldn’t pull the trigger. Then David A came out with a pretty strong performance last week. I thought for sure DC would be dropping. But he truly surprised me and delivered a really good performance with a style I didn’t think he had in him. He has proven week after week to easily be the most versatile fighter in the competition, and barring a major disaster, is the odd-on favorite to close the deal.
- DAVID ARCHULETA (Down, Last week #2) - Just like DC climbing in spite of maintaining the same spot, DA is dropping in spite of maintaining the same spot. His performance last week was solid…but it’s the same-ol’, same-ol’ over and over again. In spite of very good performances, he has shown that he really isn’t in the same league as DC. So…he’s dropped in strength, but holds on to the #2 spot. I really don’t think he has the ability to overtake DC at this point. It will take a disastrous performance by DC for DA to climb ahead.
- BROOKE WHITE (Up, Last week #4) - This is really sort of a toss-up between Brooke and JC. Likability factor for both is high….which is why they are still in it. Last week had the potential to produce terrible results for either of them. Brooke had to stop the song at the very beginning and start over….and JC’s….well….it was just awful. Either of them could have wound up in the bottom, and either of them could have gone home. But they’re still here. Brooke clearly has the better voice, more skill, and I think far more marketable skill than JC, (plus I really like her), so she moves up to #3.
- JASON CASTRO (Down, Last week #4) - As stated above, this is sort of a toss up. But there is no denying that the last round was absolutely horrible for JC. Even Andrew Lloyd Webber was somewhat stunned at both the selection and the performance. He doesn’t have the all-around skills that Brooke has, and he’s nowhere close to being in the same league as the David brothers. I have thought several times already that JC would have reached the end of his road, but he’s created a fan base that is keeping him around. He’s not nearly as irritating as Sinjaya, but he’s not much better vocally.
- SYESHA MERCADO (STEADY, Still looking up from the bottom) - Another really good performance from Mercado last week, but she just can’t get any traction. She is better and far more consistent than JC, but she is also far more consistent when it comes to winding up in the bottom. I’m not sure what it will take for her to make it past this round. I think she’s already given the best she’s got, and she’s still finding herself at the bottom each week. Only now, she’s run out of other targets.
I don’t necessarily think this is THE TOP 5 but it’s what we have left. If I could have personally selected the top 5 it would look like this:
- DAVID COOK - Gotta give him the props
- DAVID ARCHULETA - A bit tired by now, but he is a strong contender
- BROOKE WHITE - Easily the most sincere “artist” in the bunch
- DOUBLE D (Michael Johns) - He exited too early and was just rounding into his best style
- CHEEZ-IT - Not the Luther Van Dross vibe, but the spicy brand. If he had stuck with that, he would still be cooking right now.
Any other thoughts out there about the best top 5?
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