Who needs writers, anyway? It's the OFFICIAL AMERICAN IDOL 7 THREAD

Brooke's elimination was as sad and as dramatic as I expected it to be. Even as a big Brooke White fan, it's not too big a deal for her to go home, she was clearly becoming unraveled. Still though it was sad.

she had a great song (lyrically) to sing out on though, probably my favorite ND song.

I loved Brooke at the beginning, and I won't fault her for being as emotional as she is, but I was getting really tired of seeing it play out on tv every week. She'll make a good first record, but I'm glad I don't have to watch her anymore.

Whoa, Brooke CRIED at the end? holy shit, no one anticipated that! She's like a girlfriend on Seinfeld or something.

Gennice: Oh, yeah, she'll be here....(DROPS HOT DOG) Oh no, my frankfurter, my frankfurter fell (sob sob sob sob). It was really good. I can't believe that I dropped it. (sob sob sob sob)

Jerry: It's okay...it's just a hot dog, (still sobbing) everything is going to be okay.

Gennice: No it (sob) was really good.

seriously. I predicted a crying mess of an ending at the beginning of the hour, and my expectations were exceeded.

Glad she's gone. WHo does Castro have incriminating info on in the AM. Idol executive suite?

i've never voted for idol, but jason castro may be the hottest dude on there in awhile, so maybe all the young dudettes are voting for him.

Jason Castro: Secretly Worse Than Sanjaya

truth bomb

Syesha really got over those tears quickly. I know when I start crying my nose runns and I start hiccuping. Luckily she didn't have that problem! How fortuitous!

:)

This season is like the definition of 'WTF'

this is more rigged than the 1919 World Series. Is Archuleta's mom blowing R. Jackson or something? He's a bit over the top in his praise for Mr. Missing Chromosome.

The elimination of Brooke has caused me to lose slight interest in the show. This is the first time since season 4 in which I have intentionally skipped watching a finals performance show I otherwise could have watched. I mean, the only reason I skipped it was cause I was so busy, but if Brooke were still alive I would have found a way to swing it.

I missed an ep or 2. What was the deal with Jason "wanting" to be voted off (mouthing "don't vote" and stuff)?

Paula's song choice for Archuleta...erm.

There's a very good piece in EW today about what needs to happen to American Idol (and soon) if they want anyone to care after this season. Specifically, providing a way for Randy and Paula to leave the show with their dignity intact. They aren't judges, they're non-sequitur dispensers.

I nominate Sheila E., because she was awesome (and a credible judge to boot) on The Next Great American Band. And if they can't find anyone else for Randy's spot, they could maybe bring along Johnny Goo Goo Rzeznik from that same show too. At least he's more coherent than Randy.

There's a very good piece in EW today about what needs to happen to American Idol (and soon) if they want anyone to care after this season.

Not lost 95% of its good contestants before the top 12?

I think Paula serves her purpose well. Randy, on the other hand, is absolutely pointless. He's not mean enough to be funny, warm enough to be a comforting presence for the contestants, or objective enough to be at all worth listening to.

song spoilerzzzzzz

David C - Simon's choice: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"/free choice: Collective Soul - "The World I know".
Syesha - Randy's choice: Alicia Keys - "If I Ain't Got You"
David A - Paula's choice: Billy Joel - "And So It Goes" (the official Mormon song of AI)

I've decided that the judges are infinitely more tolerable if you pretend that they are in on a conspiracy to get David A out by artificially building up the audience's confidence in his inevitability.

MORE SPOILERS:

OH JESUS CHRIST, GUYS: David A. is singing Dan Fogelberg's "Longer"

And look! No need to wonder what Syesha will sound like

Why didn't Archuleta substitute 'boo' with 'girl'?

Archuleta doing that song with those lyrics (pretty little figure?) was nauseating. Glad to see the judges finally be ever so slightly critical of him. And what was up with Syesha tonight? She seemed a bit manic in her banter/etc with Ryan tonight.

Randy has definitely been a big waste of space this season...first telling DC that he should have done a rock song instead of mixing up an RnB song, then telling DC that Aerosmith was predictable? And when he was praising David A's last performance, it was as if they switched up his cue cards, "eh, innnnteresting song choice...but it was a hot one tonight!!!!1". Even the audience didn't seem to believe it enough to cheer.

And what was up with Syesha getting her text message in the comfort of her limo? No big crowds, no morning program, no Official Syesha Mercado Day?

WTF? Did everyone else see a completely different performance of "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"? Because the one I saw was awful. He didn't have the range or the power to deliver or even cut through, plus was just painfully flat on the big dramatic close.

I thought his last note was flat but then I think that's just his stylistic choice (for better or for worse)...he starts out flat and moves up to hit the right pitch. I think he did the same thing during the first song, so either he's making the same mistake over and over or else he's doing it intentionally.

I didn't think his last performance was all that great either, but compared to the other two he was definitely the best of the night.

compared to the other two he was definitely the best of the night

I actually have to concede this, but the standing ovation was a bit much. Tonight, there were no winners.

I seem to be the only person around who thinks Syesha's "Fever" was really, really good.

It was so campy though. She's way too much of an actress to be tolerable in anything but theatre.

Have they announced what the winning finale song is yet? I expected them to do it tonight.

and ohmigod Simon's expression during Fantasia's performance

This had to have been the worst television episode of all time.

http://i26.tinypic.com/20jjsdt.jpg

that put it near the top of the eps this season

To the finale's credit, it's definitely going to be one of the most suspenseful ones there's ever been, and I've heard that they are going to shake things up, presumably letting David C rearrange whatever crap song he's given. And it's on my birthday!

I'm still worried that David A is going to win though.

Why the hell would you NOT want him to win?!?!?!?!?!

Because he is not a fraction as good as people think he is. He can't sing anything uptempo, and he puts a 5k run into every line he sings. He seems like a nice kid and all but give me a break.

Bullshit. First off, the uptempo Shop Around is probably his best performance of the season. Second, I don't know wtf you're talking about with the "5k run" statement...The past two weeks, he's given some fucking beautiful performances, first with Love Me Tender and second withAnd So It Goes. There's more understatement in those than there is vocal gymnastics. See also the very stunning Smoky Mountain Memories. He's really special. Also, and perhaps most importantly, he's up against a guy who covers Switchfoot.

Tape Store, are you playing the role of a David A lover just for funsies? Because it almost comes across as a piece of performance art. If so, bravo!

If he wins, who cares. David Cook will sell more records over a longer period of time regardless.

Not completely, though i cribbed that "he is special" line from this fanatic on the AI board. I'm really baffled by this David Cook love. Anyone want to explain?

I am too. I don't particularly love David Cook, but I do think he is a nice guy. I'd have liked to see Syesha in the finals instead, because she might've needed the help.

I'm thinking back on all the top 12 this year, and the only one I really still have good feelings about is Chikezie (and he only got to perform three times). I would say Brooke too, except she forced me to hate her.

His performance of "Shop Around" was good, but the only other uptempo number I can remember him doing was "We Can Work It Out" and boy was that a duff one. And you're being a bit selective...if you want a prime example of his inability to shorten up his phrasing (even Paula called him out on it ffs) his performance of "Stand By Me" would be exhibit A. Is he really going to be a success outside of the context of AI?

David C has really grown on me this season, and I genuinely look forward to seeing what he does every week. The only David A performance I remember being excited about was "With You" because I really wanted to hear him sing "I need you, boo". And if David C wins, this will officially be the first time the person I rooted for throughout the finals actually wins (Tamyra, Clay, LaToya, Nadia, Paris, Blake, etc).

I think you should listen to his studio version of We Can Work It Out...not bad at all.

^^^could have been cast as Zac Efron character in Hairspray

I just hate his voice! He's always on the verge of being out of breath, and not in a good way.

I've heard Stevie's version wayyyyyyyy to many times to even process David A's version as anything but white noise. Stevie's version was the MOLTEN HOT LAVA BOMB OF ALL TIME Y'ALL.

I'd say David A has a very pleasing timbre, but his dynamic range and vocal register feels pretty restrictive. Every song he sings feels a bit too boxed in and comfortable for me. But I don't think the producers would be too upset if he won, as he seems willing to play by the "rules" of the industry, and sing whatever hunk of innocuous cheese they write for him while not forgetting to emote in a professional way. As AMG put it in one of their roundups, he's a "hermetically sealed robot dolphin in a snow globe."

david a. kind of looks like someone's blind neighbor that ends up getting molested. the kid creeps me out when he sings.

Dear journalists, David Cook is not "emo" kthx