American Idol: Top 4

Top 500 Songs of Rock & Roll resulted in the one of the most boring nights ever. Snooze.

David Cook "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran and "Baba O'Reilly" by The Who
Both songs are good. However, no one should ever try to touch them. Cook was meh on the first and was decent on the second (nowhere close to being his best).


Syesha Mercado "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner and "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke
Syesha, you did not just compare your struggles on Idol with the struggles of a nation during the civil rights movement. You did, didn't you? Oh lord. There was too much hubris and histrionics in these two performances. Any other past diva would have made the most of "Proud Mary" (Danny Noriega included) but Syesha just sorta left it there (her dancing was the tops though). Her second performance was much better and if not for the over-the-top and manufactured "moment" for her (created by Paula's tears) then it would have been the overall best of the night.


Jason Castro "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley and "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan
This was a giant "fuck you" to AI, the producers, 19E and everyone else who has tried to sandbag Jason. Yeah, the first one was not a good idea, but the latter was much more impressive. Just like Sy's second one, this had potential to be the best of the night, but Jason forgot the lyrics and of course Randy was there to butcher him.


David Archuleta "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King and "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley
Oh, how I hated these two. The former, because Jason should have sung it and more importantly because the bongos were too loud and goddamn, he did the "Beautiful Girls" sample from Sean Kingston even. Gag me with a spoon. OH and you don't sing "Stand By Me" to yourself or your dog Archie. The second was a touch better, but really. He's 17 and he's singing a song that is not in his comfort zone or should not even be in his set list until he's met the right person.


Rankings:
1. No one
2. *tie Jason Castro "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Syesha Mercado "A Change Is a Gonna Come"
4. David Cook "Baba O'Reilly"
5. Syesha Mercado "Proud Mary"
6. David Cook "Hungry Like the Wolf"
7. Jason Castro "I Shot the Sheriff"
8. David Archuleta "Love Me Tender"
9. David Archuleta "Stand By Me"

Bottom Two:
Jason Castro vs Syesha Mercado. There could be a case made for either David leaving in top 4, since Tamyra, LaToya and Daughtry all left at #4 on odd numbered seasons, but I think the pattern will change this year. There is also potential for Cook to join Castro in the bottom two, to make sure that his fans will vote for Cook on finals night over Archie. But I think the combination of a terrible past two weeks (according to the judges) and the fact that the producers would probably want the black girl to stay one more week (there's never been a top 3 with a girl), I have to suspect that Syesha will barely make it over Castro. *sigh. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Jason's weeks are numbered, which sucks because Syesha does not deserve top 3, especially over Jason, Brooke, Michael, hell even David Hernandez (yes, I'm still bitter).

Goodbye to...
Jason Castro.