Asia’h Epherson – Hmm. “More than passable” sounds about right. I thought she sang well. I guess it’s just that Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and other adult contemporary staples bore the hell out of me. So it’s hard for me to get too excited about another Whitney Houston song, even when done well. Also, the more of Epherson’s personality she shows, the more I find her annoying. She’s a good singer and a pretty good performer (though in a bouncy, cheerleader sorta’ way), so I’m sure she’ll be fine this week.

Kady Malloy — Sang Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever.” It’s a pretty obscure song for something from Queen’s catalog. I thought she was vastly improved tonight. It may not be enough to save her, though. Simon’s right. She’s just not projecting her personality once she takes the stage, and consequently, she’s not really connecting with the audience. I’d like to see her get another week. But unless someone else slips up, it probably won’t happen.

Amanda Overmeyer — She sang pretty well, much stronger toward the end. But she looked really uncomfortable. Her eyes were pointed downward through most of the song, and she really seemed to not know what to do with her body. She moves really awkwardly on stage. Maybe it’s nerves. I’m not quite as enthusiastic as the judges. As I said last week, I’d like to have seen her do something a little more bluesy, like Alanah Myles. She needs to kick the notion that she only has one trick. Joan Jett is pretty predictable, and not much of a stretch for Overmeyer at all. There’s also no soul in “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” Still, the judges loved it. It should buy her another week. Which is probably bad news for Kady Malloy.

Carly Smithson – Sang the Cyndi Lauper/Roy Orbison/Celine Dion tune “I Drove All Night.” Very, very good. She sang it better than any of them. You can tell this girl’s a pro, much like Melinda Doolittle last year. I think it’s the phrasing. The less experienced Idol contestants struggle to get the right lyrics out at the right time, and come off sounding mechanical. The pros aren’t afraid to lay back behind the beat at the right time. It’s a subtle thing, but it really makes the vocals pop. Seasoned styling and phrasing can really bring a lot of depth to a song. And Smithson’s got it. Also, I disagree with Simon this time. I think it was a pretty good pick for her. The driving beat (pun fully intended) suits her well. I think she’s got some rock in her, and does well to let it show. I hate to dwell on the tattoo, but again, she’s going to have a tough time selling herself as a torch singer with a sleevefull of ink. She’s got edge and a strong, versatile voice. Nothing wrong with using both to her advantage. I think she’ll coast for several weeks, but she’s going to have a hard time building enough of a base once we get to the late rounds.

Kristy Lee Cooke – Sang Journey’s “Faithfully.” She did much better this week. Nice to see the women showing real improvement from week to week. She’s also right to embrace the country vibe. That’s her best hope, and the genre that best suits her. If she’d gone country from week one, she could have carved out a nice niche for herself by now. The other plus for her is that just about any song can be countrified, and still sound pretty good. That said, I still think she’s the weakest woman still in the competition. She’s probably gone.

Ramielle Malubay — Sang Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds,” one of the few easy listening regulars I actually like (check out the Postal Service’s excellent cover of the song). She has a pretty face and a big voice, both of which go a long way on this show. She definitely sang her way to next week. Also, how high was Paula Abdul last night?

Brooke White — Sang Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield.” When Seacrest said just before the commercial what she’d be singing, I thought to myself, “I hope she does something original, like take it acoustic.” And I’ll be damned. That’s exactly what she did. Still, while I’m a huge fan, but I don’t think it quite worked. The problem is that without the big guitar riffs, the song’s really thin. There’s no melody at all. So it grew boring after the first verse. I think Paula Abdul’s was actually right. Bringing in some drums and a light bass line after the first dozen or so stanzas would’ve added some drama, and really moved the song forward. White’s has a really nice, unique voice, though. She also has style. She’ll be fine for a long time. Like Michael Johns, though, I hope she does well enough to get a record deal, but not quite well enough to win. A guy like Rick Rubin could do some great things with this girl. Be a shame for that soulful voice to be wasted on an overly glossy, cookie-cutter production.

Syesha Mercado — Bah. Another Whitney song. She’s great, and I’d put her in the top three among the women. Fantastic voice, great smile, and great personality. I think she may have missed a couple of the falsetto notes. But it didn’t matter. She nailed the rest of the song. She’ll coast. I just want more grit from her.

Ranking the women:

8. Kristy Lee Cooke — She shouldn’t have made it past last week (I didn’t blog last week’s knock-out night, but Alexandrea Lushington went home way too early).

7. Kady Malloy — Close call between her and Overmeyer. I’d give her another week. But if they’re remotely competent, the rock acts generally get past the early rounds.

6. Amanda Overmeyer — The judges’ effusive praise probably bought her more time.

5. Asia’h Epherson — Close call between she and Malubay. Malubay has the better voice, but Epherson seems more comfortable on stage.

4. Ramiele Malubay — She has one of the strongest voices in the competition. She just needs to loosen up a bit and figure out how to better show it off.

3. Carly Smithson — Easily the best singer left–man or woman. But not the best performer. I’d say the top three are very, very close right now.

2. Syesha Mercado — She’s got the moxie to shoot ahead of the field. She played it too safe this week. She needs to sing something with some sass–show off her sex appeal. Maybe some Candi Staton. Or some Big Momma Thornton. I know. I just used “Big Mama Thornton” and “sex appeal” in the same paragraph. Still. Listen to her rendition of “Hound Dog” sometime.

1. Brooke White — The top three could really be in any order. They’re pretty tight, and all a clear cut above everyone else. I’d put White at the top only because she tried something a little different tonight, and the judges ate it up. Might give her enough separation to nose out just a little over the other two.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 8:39 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.