Faced with tanking ratings, American Idol tried to appeal to their main demographic last night (teens and young adults) by having Neil Diamond night.  Not just one song from each contestant, but two.  The cricket chirping you hear is the sound of the target demographic going, Huh? Yeah, that's right.  I happen to know who Neil Diamond is, but that doesn't mean I want to hear ten songs by him. Flashbacks of Neil Diamond show that the guy has NEVER looked young. However, he's about 30 times better looking now than back when he was relevant.  I guess getting rid of that terrible hair_style_ really cleaned him up good.  He looks sorta handsome, even. Jason Castro - Forever in Blue Jeans Jason's two songs were actually two that I liked, so I was looking forward to hearing him sing them.  This was no disappointment.  Except for some flat notes in the middle, I found this flawless and perfectly enjoyable. David Cook - I'm Alive David, who absolutely does NOT want to publicize his cancer-ridden brother for ratings, not only plays his A.C. guitar, but now has A.C. on his jacket.  Next thing you know, he'll write A.C. on his forehead.  The performance, eh.  What can be said that hasn't been said before?  His vocals are starting to get a little grittier.  I don't know if he's purposely trying to steer away from the Daughtry comparisons, or if he's sick, or if he's just going for a new sound.  Maybe the grit will annoy some of his fans and he'll get voted off, because that worked so well when his girly singing of the Andrew Lloyd Webber song pissed his fans off and got him voted off. Brooke White - I'm a Believer She looks like Madonna, with that mainly-curly-but-flat-on-top hair_style_ and that weird frilly shirt (and matching leather pants).  Madonna's got a new album out this week; maybe Brooke was trying to subtly emulate her to rouse the Madonna fans out there (who of course are watching, because Madonna fans love Neil Diamond, don't they?)  Wow, what a train wreck.  I am convinced that this would have been much better if she had just started in a higher key.  It was WAY too low for her, and for no good reason because there weren't any glory notes or anything.  Whoever arranged that song for her obviously wants her to be gone.  There is a shot of Paula dancing sort of tilted to the side like she's drunk, which in retrospect is funny because it is a glimmer of things yet to come... David Archuleta - Sweet Caroline Eh, same old stuff.  Starts out weak, gets a lot better, sings plastically to the 9-year-olds in the mosh pit.  David seems to be trying to sound a little more pop than usual, and had he been taking this route for the last eight weeks, he would have succeeded.  But since everyone pretty much identifies him now as the good but bland singer of sensitive inspirational ballads, the pop attempt doesn't go over so well. Syesha Mercado - Hello Again Syesha's got Madonna hair too!  And it's weird, but with her eyes & eyebrows, her makeup, and her face shape, she actually looks a little like Madonna.  So I think in the contest to see who can look most like Madonna, Syesha wins.  Sorry, Brooke.  Anyway, Syesha flawlessly sings a Disney Princess song that Archie probably totally covets.  Syesha's biggest danger now is that she's sort of forgettable.  She's the best vocalist on the show, but as we know, the show is not about who is the best vocalist.  Syesha had to knock one out of the park today to stay safe, and I don't think she did, with either of her songs.  They were both very good, but little more. Okay, how about a moment for the BEST MOMENT IN AMERICAN IDOL HISTORY?  Ryan gives the judges a few seconds to sum up the first round of performances. Randy snaps through his usual critiques: Jason, I don't like you so of course you were bad.  David, I want you to win so you were awesome.  Brooke, not good.  David, you can sing everything.  Syesha, you're the only black person left so you're my favorite.  You know, stuff we hear every week. And then... Paula Abdul quote of the week, the season, the entire show: Oh my god, I thought you sang twice. What a magical moment, when she started babbling on about Jason's song, and all of America is thinking, Oh good grief, why did they even let her open her mouth, because she's going on and on and on and there won't be any time to...did she just comment on Jason's SECOND song?? Oh yeah she did.  And everyone just stood there.  Ryan looks offstage, as if trying to get the attention of the guys in the white coats.  Randy and Simon are speechless.  It was one of those beautifully un-rehearsed moments where even radio-show host Ryan can't figure out what to do.  Finally, Ryan interrupts and passes the baton to Simon, who cuts Paula off as she squeaks that she was actually reading her notes for David Cook, which she totally wasn't because she was criticizing him, and Simon starts talking before Paula can finish her first critique.  Which is good, because even if Paula had NOT fucked up, she'd probably still be talking now. Oh man, BEST moment in AI history, seriously.  I'm so glad I taped it. Jason Castro - September Morn I was less enchanted with this one.  I liked it because I like his voice, but I found it boring.  He slowed it down a little, perhaps trying to make it romantic, but it just made it plodding.  The girls in the mosh pit sway their arms with no regard to the rhythm of the song.  Hopefully they will do more with the song in the studio version.  Simon says he struggled through both songs, and I could almost see it with this one, but I thought he seemed utterly confident with the first song. David Cook - All I Really Need Is You I almost wrote Chris on my little note sheet.  So I'm still stuck on him being Daughtry.  All I have written after

This week's guest mentor is Neil Diamond. He has sold millions and millions of records, but none were sold to me. I loved the comment that he had over a dozen top ten hits.  Wow, what an accomplishment!  

I wonder why Itoshi always waits for American Idol to feed the cats? They must starve the rest of the week.

In article < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it says... Soon as I saw the BIG letters AC on his jacket, I knew you, Flk, etc. would have a field day on his being discreet about his brother's illness! I would hope that those who feel he has not contributed to the effort of promoting his brother would have noticed this and reconsidered if their previous positions remain valid. Nope. I still don't see anything wrong with his keeping the AC on his guitar or his jacket if he wants.  It represents both his brothers, he has always worn the AC to represent his brothers and I don't think he should have to stop doing so because some people might think he is doing something wrong.  Maybe he does it so his brother knows that his thoughts are with him during their time apart, since after all, he can't actually mention his brother, unless of course he makes the finale and he can say something on the results night. But this brings up an interesting question.    He was only wearing it for the 1st number and then again at the end when they were briefly on hte stage, yet didn't have it on during the 2nd number.  I wonder if parts of last night were taped and parts weren't.  Maybe they saw after the dress rehearsal that they wouldn't be able to pull it off in an hour for some reason and had to do some editing.  

Judy said the exact same thing about the spot on vocals and I'm wondering if I heard things differently.   IMO, David sounded quite pitchy in parts of Sweet Caroline.   Not sure, but I believe he was sharp (singing above the note?).    I'll watch again, to be more specific on when I thought it occurred. Anyone else hear some pitch problems? There were a few at the beginning, but David's MO seems to be to start out a little weak, and get really good by the end of the song, so you forget the weaker opening.

PB < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it wrote in message David Archuleta - Sweet Caroline Find the melody. It wasn't even like he was divaing, he was just sucking. I can't agree more.  He fudged up the melody of the verse, and almost did it on the chorus.  He also hit one hell of a sour note, even my daughter said, WTF? Thank you, I thought I was the only one that noticed.   There were a few clunkers and cannot believe that no one has commented on it.   It was a perfect time for Randy to mention it, but alas he won't.