It’s hard to believe that there are only two weeks left in one of the more enjoyable competitions on TV. AI always seems to speed by, although this has not exactly been the most exciting season ever. AI has suffered this year from poor songbook selections by the producers. There are a total of 11 rounds of music choices.. and far too many categories this year have been mediocre to boring. AI is still the most watched show on TV, but if they want to maintain that much further they will have to broaden the choices they offer to the contenders and challenge them to stretch themselves. Another season like this one could really damage the show.
Since there are only three to rank this week, I thought I would go back and check my earlier rankings against the results. After the review, this week’s rankings are at the bottom of the post.
PREDICTIONS FOR THE FINAL 12 (From Week 1)
Click here to check out all the rankings from that week
Guys
1. David “Aw Shucks” Archuleta
- Strengths
- Overall like-ability; raspy-edged mature voice; speed-dial teen girl fans, confident performer, “aw shucks” personality
- Weaknesses
- Too low-key so far, front-runner status can be disadvantage
2. Michael “Double D” Johns - “Dingo Dude”
- Strengths
- An Australian accent (always a plus), a strong voice, ability to do “foreign songs” well
- Weaknesses
- Is either really good, or just average, still hasn’t risen to the level of his “Bohemian Rhapsody” standard since then
3. David “Help Me With My Hair” Cook
- Strengths
- Has the most “edge” to his voice of any of the dudes left, seems to be comfortable with himself, benefitted by comparison to Carrico
- Weaknesses
- Demeanor, dude just doesn’t seem to be “in it”, May be trying too hard to be cool with an “I don’t care” ‘tude.
GALS
1. Brooke “I Dare You Simon” White
- Strengths
- Totally unique among all the women, strongly reminiscent of Carly Simon (which can NEVER be a bad thing), underestimated
- Weaknesses
- Whole new world for a girl that has never even seen an R-rated movie(although I admire that), environment and experience may catch up to her and overwhelm her
2. Carly “Take 2″ Smithson
- Strengths
- Incredibly strong voice, LOTS of experience
- Weaknesses
- A previous contract, too MUCH experience, I think voters will eventually think twice before giving her the win because of it
3. Syesha Mercado
- Strengths
- Winning personality, good vocals
- Weaknesses
- Seems a bit frail and sickness-prone, not particularly distinctive which could drop her lower unless voters find something more to latch onto
Overall, not to bad. 2 out of my top 3 ranked guys are still standing, and 2 of my top 3 ranked gals made it to the last two gals in it. On top of that, some of my assessments were dead on too. So what does that mean going into the final three rankings? Not much. :-) Here they are…..
THIS WEEK’S RANKINGS
- David Cook - Cook remains the man to beat. he’s got everything a recording company could ask for. It’s not even debatable whether or not he’s the best still in the competition. But whether or not he wins will always be up for grabs until the last phone call is made.
- Syesha Mercado - In a surprise move, I have put Mercado ahead of DA. I think she has really found herself over the last few weeks. While neither her nor DA had a lot of personality in the early stages, she finally seems to have found hers. She’s not in the same category as DC, but her spunkiness combined with good vocals over the last several weeks plus the fact she’s the last gal in the competition moves her into the #2 spot in my opinion.
- David Archuleta - DA consistently delivers quality vocals… but they lack conviction. You watch this kid and you just know he has virtually no experience with most of what he sings about. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that the emotional depth of a song can’t be explored if you’ve never been there. He was and is more likable than Carly Smithson who had a similar problem. But Carly’s problem was not so much life experience as just not connecting with the song or the audience. I think DA has shown he connects with the audience, he just needs some seasoning to become believable.
It’s a huge shocker to me to have moved Mercado past DA. The battle of the Davids has seemed inevitable for weeks. But a funny thing happened on the way to the finals… Syesha showed up. It may still wind up being a David vs. David finale, but I think one between DC and SM would prove to be more memorable.
