Tonight on American Idol, the contestants had to sing from Mariah Carey’s songbook. I’ll be the first to admit that while I know of Mariah, I’ve never listened to her songbook. I guess there’s a lot of famous music artists that I haven’t ever bothered to get to know, especially in the past 20 years. So I had almost zero familiarity with the music this time around.

Paula Abdul had on a purple off-the-shoulder dress on, which was finally something that was well-tailored to suit her.
What is with Randy Jackson the past few weeks? He’s gone from constantly agreeing with Paula and nearly raving over every performance to being not very impressed with most. Almost makes you wonder if the producers told him “You and Paula always agreeing makes for boring TV, start being more critical.” I could almost see a case for that, really. One gushing Paula is enough.

David Archuleta - “What You Believe“: First, the black leather pants have got to go. Second, this song was boring with a capitol B. I nearly fell asleep. On the bright side, David A. performed with his usual professionalism, earning accolades from the judges and, of course, from the screaming tweens in the studio audience. I felt it was a little too low in pitch for him in the early parts, but the vocal runs and more power type notes were very good.

Carly Smithson - “Without You“: This was the one song I was familiar with - because I grew up listening to then-famous Harry Nilsson’s version, which you can listen to via this YouTube video. Carly was also too low-pitched early on, and as we watched I said to hubby “I bet that’s so she can hit the power notes” - and yup, when she belted out the chorus, she sounded pretty good to me. She seemed to be trying harder to frown less and smile more, but she still seemed a bit physically uptight or something - and it shows in her voice. So a decent performance but not stellar - it certainly wasn’t anywhere as good as Nilsson’s version. Since we’re down to only 7 now, I’m going to say she’s not safe.

Syesha Mercado - “Vanishing“: The most exciting part about Syesha’s performance was her shiny gold dress. She had some good vocal runs, and yes she can sing, but she just didn’t inspire me in any way. It’s like she’s technically proficient but has little stage-charisma. Not safe.

Brooke White - “Hero“: Sitting behind the big black piano once more, Brooke started out quite well, imo. I like Brooke’s sound, so perhaps I’m not the most impartial. Towards the middle of her performance tho, I frowned and asked hubby “She’s sped up the pace, hasn’t she?” Hubby said “yeah”. I was glad the judges also commented on that, so I could be sure it wasn’t just my imagination. So, in all, she sounded pleasant - but nerves must have gotten to her again and she started rushing the song at the end. I hope she sticks around for a little longer, but even so I’m going to have to say she’s not safe.

Kristy Lee Cook - “Forever“: From being almost universally panned on the internet for her performances to having a string of pretty good ones, Kristy continues her run with a good vocal on this song. There were a few minor off-notes but all in all it was pretty good. Hubby commented that he thought she sounded just a bit like a young Patsy Kline. She might still be in the bottom three, since she’s ended up there so often, but I think if she is, just like all the other times she won’t be voted off. Of course, if she continues to be good, she could eventually fall victim to her fans voting for her less often etc. But not this week, I think.

David Cook - “Always Be My Baby“: OK, David C. can sing that alternative rock sound very well. I admit it. Especially the power notes. Although, once again I thought he was a little too low pitched at the start. Maybe it’s my weird ears again. The problem is, I still don’t like him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way at this point. Still, he definitely sounded like someone with a hit record with this performance, and he’s safe, safe, safe.

Jason Castro - “I Don’t Wanna Cry“: Guitar-less and sitting on a stool, I thought perhaps Jason was going to try something really different and blow it. But he wisely had the band play softly, with mostly a guitar (or whatever) playing the most audibly, and it worked. It was typical Jason, being kinda mellow and lightweight, but he sang well. It was very much an “easy listening” type of arrangement - y’know, the kind you’d hear on an “easy listening” station while at work. Sometimes that can be a bad thing, but in this case, I think it was a good thing.

So who will be in the bottom three? I think it’ll be three gals. Carly and Syesha, and then either Kristy or Brooke. Who will go home? I’m kinda thinking Carly. But as always … who bloody knows. :)