Top 12 Recap

Since "American Idol" now has its most talented Top 12 ever (you know, besides Seasons 2, 4 and 5) it was only appropriate that they finally got to do a theme week of arguably the most significant band in rock 'n roll history: The Beatles. The Beatles, as we all know, were musical pioneers whose influence is still strong today, and the diversity of their catalog offers something for everyone. Of course, the advance word is that our Idols can only choose songs from a list of 25, and they're all pre-Sgt. Pepper's Lennon-McCartney compositions, but hey, any Beatles is good Beatles, right?

There's a new stage set and they've changed the theme song graphics. After all, they love to keep things fresh on "Idol". I think it's funny that Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks get most of the face time in the new theme song. I guess they'd like to forget that Ruben, Fantasia and Taylor ever won.

We kick off the Finals with Syesha "Snoha" Mercado. All right, she's getting the death spot! Maybe we'll see her go home sooner than we expected! She's singing "Got to Get You Into My Life" (which most people apparently don't realize is about marijuana) and starts off sounding pretty bad. She gets it together after a while, but her voice is drowned out by the band most of the way. I'm sure it's hard to adjust to the new set with the different acoustics and such, but since I don't like Snoha's personality I hope it costs her. Randy and Paula both agree with me that it started rough but got better in the middle. Simon says it was better than last week. Whatever. I'm just looking forward to her elimination.

Up next is my favorite male contestant, Chikezie. He chats with Ryan and says he thought he was going home last week because Danny was such a lovable guy. Well, some of us who didn't love Danny are certainly happy to have Chikezie instead. Going this early may hurt his chances. I guess I'll have to give him some extra votes this week. He tells us he's singing "She's a Woman", which immediately strikes me as a good song choice, since it's a more soulful number. The performance starts with Chikezie sitting on the steps being backed by a country-bluegrass band. Huh? Well, at least it's different and interesting. The band should've added a washboard and jug for the full effect. Suddenly the house band kicks into high gear and Chikezie starts souling it up and rocking out. He even adds some "My Generation"-like stuttering in the middle. There are a few bad notes, but this performance is so energetic that it doesn't matter. So many people seem to dislike Chikezie, but this performance shows why I've been a fan since the beginning. Way to prove everyone wrong, dude! Randy says he smashed it and then steals my joke about the washboard and jug. Paula says he took a risk and it paid off. Simon likes it and says he took control of the stage. Ryan then goes crazy with Chikezie for a minute before giving the number. It's nice to see the fans' whipping boy getting a moment of glory.

Ramiele Malubay is up next. She's singing "In My Life" and dedicating it to her close friends that have been eliminated from the competition. Man, Danny's presence is still being felt on this show. Ramiele sings the song well, but she runs into the same problem that's plagued her since the beginning of the competition: Her performance is a tad boring. The song is good, her vocals are good, but it's not the type of thing that's going to excite anyone. She also seems a bit nervous, which surely doesn't help. The judges all say basically the same thing: It was too boring, too safe and she could've done more with the song. I agree. All Ramiele can do in response is pout. I hope she gets another week to show us she's better.

Jason "Cody Lambert" Castro brings back the guitar this week for "If I Fell". His voice sounds a little too soft to me, but my mother likes the emotion he puts into his singing. While it's another slow song, it's not quite as plodding as Ramiele's was. I like it overall. Randy says he liked it but didn't love it. Man, Randy seems to be echoing my thoughts tonight. Should I be worried? Paula says it was good because he made an emotional connection with the song. Simon says it was like a student in a bedroom at midnight and that it was boring. I agree it wasn't his best, but Jason and his goofy personality will most likely be in this thing for a while.

Now we come to America's most polarizing barmaid, Carly Smithson. She chats with Ryan about life off the set and tells us that she rooms with Amanda. Yee haw. She's singing "Come Together" tonight. Huh? I thought they were only doing pre-Sgt. Pepper's stuff. Is Carly getting special treatment? Maybe the mention of Coca-Cola in one verse helped her get the song cleared. Her vocals are pretty good, but I don't feel like this performance really goes anywhere. I've long felt that this was one of the more overrated Beatles songs, and Carly doesn't bring anything new to it for me. Everyone's saying she's one of the contenders to win, but I disagree. This girl really doesn't have any star power, and I don't see how they'd market her. I doubt she has the fanbase to keep her in this thing for the long haul. Randy says she was strong and confident, and that it was a stellar performance. Finally I disagree with the pitchy man. Paula thought she was watching a star. I couldn't disagree more. Simon says she finally connected with the right song and compares her to Kelly Clarkson. I guess that gives us an idea of how she'd be marketed, but I can't see her coming close to Kelly's success. Considering how rhythmically similar her name is to Kelly's, people would probably just see her as a copycat, and rightfully so. Oh well. She'll probably be this year's "shocking" elimination.

Next up is David "Combover" Cook. He sings "Eleanor Rigby" and starts a bit off-key. He gets it together quickly and the arrangement allows his vocals to work. While I don't deny this guy's talent, I don't like the sound of his voice. It always sounds either nondescript or annoying to my ears. The judges all love the performance, and Simon even tells him he could win, but I'm not all that impressed. I really don't want him to win. I would never buy an album of this guy's bore-rock. Sadly, I know he won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now we have my favorite female contestant, Brooke White. She's doing "Let it Be", which tells me one of two things: Either what I heard about them doing only pre-Sgt. Pepper's stuff was wrong or Brooke's getting special treatment. Since I actually like Brooke I don't have the objections to special treatment that I do with Carly. I guess I'm being hypocritical, but Brooke deserves to win more than most of these contestants. Of course, it's always possible that the pre-Sgt. Pepper's-only thing was wrong. Brooke plays the piano with her performance, and the vocals are far from pitch-perfect. It seems like she's struggling to sing and play at the same time. It's kind of a boring song choice, but since I like Brooke I don't care. It's good enough. Randy says it wasn't her best performance but that he likes the conviction in her singing. Paula says the emotional connection makes people fall in love with her. Simon says it was one of the best of the night. Brooke has tears in her eyes while listening to the judges. She's starting to remind me of Melinda Doolittle. I remember last year Melinda got teary-eyed after a performance, and the judges commented on how she was obviously enjoying the experience and wasn't treating "American Idol" as a mere stepping stone. They say basically the same thing to Brooke. I guess I like Brooke for the same reasons I liked Melinda. She's humble, gracious and down-to-earth. She doesn't have Melinda's vocal chops, but she still has my vote.

Next is David Hernandez, and he's singing "I Saw Her Standing There". He tries to add his own spin to the song, but the new arrangement just doesn't work. The original was great because it had a non-stop energy to it. The music halting during the verses in David's version disrupts the flow, and adding runs to the vocals was unnecessary. Perhaps he was trying to make the song more dramatic or something, but it just didn't capture the spirit of the original. Sometimes less is more. Randy and Paula both say it was overdone. Simon says it was corny, verging on desperate. I think David may be headed for the Bottom 3.

Amanda Overmyer, the real rocker in this competition, is up next. She sings "You Can't Do That", a lesser-known song. Just like in "Carry On Wayward Son" she preserves the original's male perspective, but this time she actually pulls it off. We all know by now that she doesn't have a "pretty" voice, but she makes it work with the song. Randy loves it. Paula is blown away. Simon says it wasn't as good as last week but that Amanda is a breath of fresh air in the competition. In my opinion it's her best performance to date. She's also learning to smile when facing the judges, which should help her in gaining votes.

Ryan tells us that Michael and Kristy are performing after the break. Shocker of shockers! David Archuleta's getting the pimp spot tonight!

Next is the other fake rocker, Michael Johns. For the third time tonight we have a post-Sgt. Pepper's song in "Across the Universe". I'm guessing we got bad information about the period these songs would be from, but then again, Michael seems to be one of the favored contestants. Still, "Across the Universe" isn't interesting enough to warrant special clearance. Michael sings it all right, but this performance is hardly a great one and I'm still not a fan of his style. Randy says it was boring and that he could've done more with it. Paula likes his quiet confidence. Simon agrees that Michael needed to do more with it. Michael's stock seems to be falling every week, but he probably has enough of a fanbase to coast a while longer.

Kristy Mannequin Cook is back to bore us. She tells us she's going to sing a countrified version of "Eight Days a Week", and it's just as bizarre as it sounds. The boot-stomping arrangement is completely overdone, and Kristy sounds like she's rushing to keep up with the music the entire time. She's her usual self in this performance: bland, emotionless and completely lacking in personality. It's hard to believe this girl once lost a record deal (not the losing it part, but the having one in the first place part). The only way I can see her being safe is if all the country music fans with no one else to vote for rally behind her. Randy says it seemed too forced, and that he half liked it and half didn't like it. Paula says she didn't get it. Simon says it was horrendous, that she sounds like Dolly Parton on helium (hey, that's hard to do!) and that she was brave but foolish. I think America needs to put Kristy out of her (OK, our) misery by not voting for her tonight. Of course, if I could send anyone home right now it would be Carly the Inked-Up Drunkard or Snoha, but I like to keep my hopes realistic. When Ryan asks Paula if she thinks Kristy will be back next week, the only thing Paula can say is that Kristy has a huge fanbase. When even Paula Abdul thinks you're going home you know you're in trouble.

Last, and arguably least, is the obvious chosen one, David "Mini-Carmen" Archuleta. He sings the Stevie Wonder arrangement of "We Can Work it Out" and finally shows once and for all that he's not the invincible singing machine he's been portrayed as. He forgets the lyrics several times, and it takes him a while to find his footing. He pulls it together in the second half, but it's not good enough to overshadow the poor start to the song. Honestly, David is just an OK singer to me. His version of "Imagine" was great, but his voice has seemed a bit weak in his other performances. He's likable enough that I'd be happy for him if he won, but I think it's safe to say he's overrated. Randy says it was forced and didn't work. Paula says it wasn't his best but that she loves him. Simon says it was a mess. At least we know now that if David does win this thing like everyone's expecting the journey won't be without a few bumps. He's got so many fans right now though, that he'll have to have several more performances like this one if he ever wants to see the Bottom 3.

Now that only one person is going home each week I guess I'll start predicting the Bottom 3 along with the person going home.

Bottom 3: David H., Kristy, Ramiele
Going Home: Kristy

David's arrangement didn't work, Ramiele was boring and went early, and Kristy was just bad all over. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but I'm predicting we've finally seen the last of The Mannequin.

Also Vulnerable

Syesha

Probably Safe

Chikezie
Carly
Amanda
Michael

I'd be Shocked

Jason
David C.
Brooke
David A.

Whom I Voted For: Chikezie, Ramiele, Jason, Brooke, Amanda. I got plenty of busy signals early on for Chikezie and Brooke, so things are looking good for them. As for the others, we'll see.

Check back tomorrow for my recap of the results show. I can't wait to see the cheesy Beatles medley.