I have made my stand in my pre-round rankings about who I think finishes where. I have held to a David vs David finale for a while now, but something about the emergence of Syesha combined with the redundancy of Archuleta has me thinking that DA is susceptible to the sucker punch. With three songs each tonight, Syesha has a chance to really show personality that DA clearly does not have. So without further ado… let’s go!
JUDGES PICKS
- David Archuleta - A Billy Joel song is a pretty natural pick for DA, but it’s a broken record in terms of style. I must give him credit for the acapella start. Very confident, and very strong. He was rock-solid with it. I never have any real complaints with his ability, just that he lacks personality and depth, aka believability. All in all. a very strong performance though.
- Syesha Mercado - An Alicia Keys song is a bold and big opportunity for her to rise above DA. She has finally reached the stage in the competition where her personality actually shines through and complements the song. The song was challenging with lots of runs, but she delivered beautifully. She is a real player to make the finals.
- David Cook - Cowell’s pick for DC is really out of left field. A Roberta Flack song for a rocker dude. Nothing predictable about that one. But DC can really show some chops and versatility here, which I know he has. While it may not be the best thing he’s ever done, it is a huge complement that he can pull off something like this song. And the final notes were really strong.
PERSONAL CHOICES
- DA - A Chris Brown song may give him a chance to raise his game a bit. He’s been locked into ballads for a long time. And stumbling onto center stage, DA is showing his limited range. I give him credit for trying to show something different, but what he’s really showing is that he can’t successfully move out of his box. Plus, the believability factor plays into this one too. Trouble is brewing.
- SM - Fever has the potential to be really, really different. And after DA showed his limited range, SM has the chance to really put him under the bus with this one. What in the world has gotten into this girl? This is not the same girl that sange in the first 4-6 rounds. Big props for this as a personal choice. Very creative and I think successful. I’m really surprised by the critique of Abdul and Cowell. I don’t think she will regret it. Far more entertaining than the song DA just did.
- DC - Picking a Switchfoot song is really surprising. Switchfoot is a popular contemporary Christian band. Most people probably will not be familiar with this song, but he actually is far off the original artist’s quality. This is another surprise, because Switchfoot performs this MUCH, MUCH better, and I would have thought DC would match them. Critique may depend on their familiarity with it. At least Randy knows them, and knows he missed it.
PRODUCER CHOICES
- DA - Singing another snoozer song, DA does the Dan Fogleberg song, “Longer”. Fogleberg is actually a Peoria, IL native, where I am blogging from. This song is much more in tune with DA’s abilities. He’s good at what he’s good at… he’s the ballad man. I think Randy wants him to sing the phone book… just a guess.
- SM - Another up-tempo song for her. She has become an actual performer, not just a singer. Maybe that’s the best description of the difference between her and DA… he’s purely a singer. It appears to me that the judges are still pulling for the David vs David finale. I don’t know why. Archuleta is as exciting as watching wall paper dry. At least she offers some spice.
- DC - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing seems like a good pick for him. But he seems to still be a little off. Looks like he’s starting to settle into the song though and hit his stride. Very good finish. I think the crowd liked it.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Archuleta did what he does best - he sang ballads well. But he also showed how limited he is with a very mediocre effort on the Chris Brown song.
Mercado displayed a lot of pizazz and spiciness along with some pretty good vocals. She is a far more interesting and entertaining performer than Archuleta, but she is swimming upstream against the judges. They are clearly in the camp of the Davids.
Cook had a misstep with the middle song by Switchfoot. Great choice, poor execution. But at least that was sandwiched between two other very good performances. He is by far the most versatile and marketable of the three. He should easily win.
The question for tomorrow night will be if the voters are swayed by the pronouncements of the judges or if they will elevate Mercado into the final against Cook. We’ll see.
