Laptop Television Mom

We are getting down to the wire, and it looks like my prediction for a David-David finale is about to come true.  We’ll know in short order.  In the meantime, here is the much-anticipated recap from LTV guest-blogger Dixie!

DIXIE SAYS: If
there was any doubt about who TPTB are pulling for, look at the last song aka
Producer’s Choice: Little David gets a mournful funeral hymn. Syesha gets a
penguin cartoon song. And David Cook gets one of the biggest hit songs ever,
complete with string arrangement and back up orchestra. Obvious much?

David
Archuleta “And So It Goes” “With You” “Longer”

Little
David was his usual boring self, although I really liked the Billy Joel number
that Paula chose for him. He sang it rather flawlessly and it was probably my
favorite performance by him to date. Watching Monchichi destroy “With You” sent
me outside on the back porch to play with the cats until it was over. I
actually ran out of the room Monty Python-style. His awkward dancing and saying
things like “Boo” and “Stunna” was just too much for my brain. Did I mention
hip gyrations? GACK!!! It had a very Jon-Benet feel to the whole thing and it
creeped me out! Okay, the last time I heard “Longer” it was three in the
morning on one of those CD collection infomercials. Let’s keep it there. They
did him no favors with such a gooey song choice. He sang it well, but it
reminded me of the “Lite FM” station that is played in an insurance office.
Despite all of this, Little David will be in the finals.

Syesha
Mercado “If I Ain’t Got You” “Fever” “Hit Me Up”

Syesha
looked great (in the first two costumes at least), but overall, her singing was
kind of average. Why did you pick the Alicia Keys song, Randy? “Dawg, because I
know that Syesha already sang it on another TV show and I am the most
unoriginal, uncreative dawg on the planet.” She sounded pretty good on the
judges’ pick, but as Simon pointed out, she didn’t really change it up or add
anything special to the song. As much as Randy loves her, how obvious can Simon
be about wanting her to go home? Seriously, I was waiting for Simon to
physically pack Syesha’s suitcase and schlep it up onto the stage for her.
Although I love “Fever”, I don’t understand why Syesha chose it. For once,
Paula made sense about not being able to see who Syesha is as an artist. And
finally, the producer’s pick for Syesha was their way of making sure she
doesn’t make it to the finals. What was she supposed to do with that rappy,
fast, vocally-impossible tune? Was Syesha trying to dress like a penguin? It’s
hard to believe she was the last girl standing… but her time is so up.

David
Cook “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” “Dare You To Move” “I Don’t Want To
Miss A Thing”

Yes,
Randy, Roberta Flack is predictable for David Cook. Is he stealing Paula’s pain
pills or what? And I wish he’d quit talking about the phonebook. I loved
Simon’s pick for David and I thought he did an amazingly awesome job with it.
Round one definitely goes to the Cookster. He didn’t sound all that great on
his second song, but I think it could have been better if he had more time to
build up to the chorus. David just seemed a little flat on many of his notes.
Not that it has anything to do with his singing, but the red flower on the end
of his guitar was a sweet touch! His final number was in a word… beautiful. The
violins were lovely and made it just a teeny bit different from the original.
David was given the ultimate pimp spot with a smokin’ hawt light show and the
song writer (Diane Warren) in attendance! Now tell me that isn’t a total
“Chosen One” move by TPTB. Yeah, yeah, I’m headed to the grassy knoll… but this
year,
TCO happens to be my
favorite, so let it ride!

Best
of the night: Simon, for the most spot on judging I’ve ever seen

Going
Home: Randy, for being a worthless waste of a front row seat

(Ok,
Ok… best of the night is David Cook by a 100 miles… buh-bye Syesha!)

Wow, I think my prediction of a David vs. David finale is coming true! Yes, even I — LTV Mom — loved David Archuleta this week.   But you don’t care what I think, you want to hear from Dixie (especially after last week’s hiatus!)

DIXIE SAYS:  Tonight’s
show was thoroughly underwhelming, especially considering how many excellent
songs they had to choose from. This seems as good a time as any to announce
that this will be my last year blogging for American Idol. The love loss for
the show really started last year with Jordin Barks and Blake Lewis in the
finale. I was hoping Season 7 would renew my passion, but it hasn’t. Although
each week has become increasingly more excruciating to watch, I’m committed to
see this train wreck to the end. I’d never quit mid-season!

With
that said, I am very excited to announce that I will once again be blogging “So
You Think You Can Dance”. Season Four premieres on May 22^nd, and I
will start my blog with the live Top 20. I watch many other competition reality
shows, so if you have any other blog ideas, I’m definitely open to them. Just
please, no more American Idol!!!

Here
are my reviews of the Top 4:

David Cook “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Baba O’Reilly”

Is this the same guy who knocked my socks off with “Billie Jean”?
The magic has definitely vanished. I still think he has a great voice, but
there’s something missing. On the Duran, Duran song, the audio mix was so
screwed up, he sounded like he was singing acapella. Sound issues aside, it was
a decent performance, but far from his best. Even on The Who song, I was
expecting a lot more from him. His falsetto was awesome, but he didn’t do
anything special with the performance. The ending had no energy and it felt
unfinished. I’m sure he’s safe, but I kind of get the feeling that he wants to
go home. Perhaps his brother has taken a turn for the worse and he wants to
spend some time with him before the tour starts. Personally, I’d like to see
him win this thing. You know, a little Daughtry retribution!

Syesha Mercado “Proud Mary” and “A Change Is Going To Come”

SyMEsha
is excited about the tour because she’ll be able to meet her fans. So, what is
she going to do for all those weeks after she meets both of them? Just kidding.
I want SyMEsha to go home solely for the fact that she referred to herself in
the 3rd person in her first video package. Then, I had to watch her second
video package three times to make sure I actually heard her compare her
American Idol journey to the Civil Rights Movement. And yeah, she did. The
mind, it boggles. The fact that she was totally AMAZING on her second song was
utterly ruined by her asinine video package. That said, Randy dissing her made
absolutely no sense. It had to be because the producers told him to. I thought
her vocals during the Sam Cooke song were darn near perfect, but ouch, “Proud
Mary” was high and screechy. The slow intro was great and attempting the
choreography was a nice touch, but she ain’t no Tina. At the beginning of the
show when Ryan announced that three of the top four contestants have
consistently been the top vote getters, you know Syesha is the odd man out.
Because of that, she might be leaving this week.

Jason
Castro “I Shot The Sheriff” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”

You
see, if America would have booted
Jason off when they should have, we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of hearing
these amazingly awful, cringe worthy performances. Pack your suitcase, indeed!
When Paula says, “It is what it is”, you know it’s the end of the road! Bob
Marley was choking on his dreads during the first song and Jar Jar was choking
on the words during the second. I expected a train wreck after what he’s been
bringing to the table for the past several weeks, but this was even worse than
I expected. Thanks for exceeding my expectations! As nice and funny as he
seems, Jason is definitely not worthy of being in the Top Four. Either someone
smuggled some serious bud into this boy on Monday or he’s over it and trying to
get eliminated.

David Archuleta “Stand By Me” and “Love Me Tender”

The
season is nearing the end and I finally agree with the judges in regards to
little David; he definitely sang the best in Round 1 and I absolutely loved his
version of Elvis. He is still closing his eyes and adding new bad habits every
time he performs, but he definitely out sang the elders this week (with the
exception of Syesha’s second song). Of course, Randy’s comments were still over
the top pimping, but he’s obviously just sticking to the script.

Worst
of the Night: Jason, who threw himself under the bus.

Going
Home: Syesha (just because I don’t think she gets many votes). Of course I
think it should be Jason, but then again, I thought Kat McPhake should have
left when Chris Daughtry was voted off and that was the Top 4.