American Idol 7 / Week 13
Three songs this week -- chosen by the singer, the judges, and the producers.

Apparently it's a really close race between the top three? I can see between the Davids ... but really? Syesha's right up there?

The kids visited their hometowns, and blah blah blah packages.

Judge Selections

David Archuleta: The mayor of his hometown has an awesome waxed moustache. (Dictionary check #1: LJ doesn't like "moustache", but it's an acceptable alternative. I think it looks better than "mustache".) For the judges' choice round, Paula assigns him Billy Joel's "And So It Goes". She explains that the level of difficulty will "exploit the beautiful timbre" in his voice. (Dictionary check #2 -- "exploit" sure is an odd choice here. The main entries for its use as a verb are "to utilize for profit" and "to use selfishly".)

Anyhoo, on to the singin'. He's his usual self, with his big bad voice hitting all of the difficult notes. He's backed by some lovely wistful strings. It's a decent performance, nice and unsurprising. Randy applauds the choice, would like to see David on piano for this one, but loves loves loves it. Paula calls it pure and sunny. Simon calls it very good, and then predictable, with no surprises. Simon and I are on the same page out of the gate today.

Syesha Mercado: She gets a text from Randy while in a limo, telling her she's doing "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys. Her favorite artist, and a song she loves. We don't get to see the mayor of her hometown at all, which breaks my heart. She tells us she knows exactly what she wants to do with the song.

Which is, apparently, to not change it up very much. I'm not overly familiar with the original, although I've heard it, and this arrangement doesn't strike me as too far out of the box. Again, it's an all right performance, but nothing we don't expect from her. Randy likes, Paula likes, Simon says she sang it well, but wishes that Randy had chosen something where she wouldn't have done an imitation of the original. That's two for two, me and Simon.

David Cook: He gets a text from Simon while doing a bit on the Kansas City FOX affiliate. And he couches it that he's rude, and forgot to turn his phone off. Oh, Cook, the artifice just doesn't work, buddy. The text is from Simon -- the song choice is "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack. Oh, this should be interesting. Simon chose it because it's one of the great songs of all time, and wanted to do something different.

He starts it out soft and gentle, with some nice falsetto. Then the drumbeat kicks in, and it gets a little heavier. Then he hits some awesome notes at the end. It's not changed up as much as I would have liked, but it was pretty good. It's not a song I really care for, though. Randy wishes Simon hadn't picked something as predictable, needed more rock, but liked it. Paula calls it one of her favorite songs, and loves it. Simon thinks it was one of his best performances, but labels his opinion as biased. Aww, that broke our short streak, Simon!

Contestant Selections

David Archuleta: He's doing "With You" by Chris Brown. Who? What? Apparently it's a newer song. It's some bouncy little pop song? There are a couple of places where it sounds like he's having trouble with the notes or the lyrics. I guess his performance is good overall, but I don't care for the song -- it's schlocky crap. Randy calls it good, but doesn't feel like it's a good fit -- David shouldn't be singing "my boo", apparently. Paula likes it. Simon expected a treacly ballad, so it's good that that didn't happen, but found it awkward and not quite right. Good, we're back on track.

Syesha Mercado: She's doing "Fever". Wow! She'll be using a chair -- "working it" and "walking around it". Oh dear. Ricky Minor is out there with a stand-up bass as well. The performance is all right, although like so much out of Syesha, it's painfully overacted. Sure enough, she briefly sits on the chair, then does some laps around it. Weird. I'm going to say right now, it was really cabaret. We'll see if Simon agrees. Randy calls it an interesting choice, but says she sang it amazingly well. Paula was surprised by the choice, and doesn't think it shows what Syesha is as an artist. Simon thinks she'll regret the decision tomorrow, because she had a chance to prove she's contemporary, but instead did a lame cabaret performance. YES! SIMON'S WITH ME!

David Cook: Instead of sitting on a silver stool with David, Seacrest is sitting on Syesha's prop chair like a big ol' toolbag. Cook's pick is "Switchfoot" -- is that the song name, or the band name? Ah, the song is "Dare You to Move". It's a modern rock ballad like every other modern rock ballad, all soft and then full of guitars and hoarse yelling at the chorus. He's not that dynamic on this one, and I'm meh on it. Randy calls it good, but a little pitchy. Paula wants more. Simon thinks it was as expected, and the song wasn't melodic.

Producer Selections

David Archuleta: Dan Fogelberg's "Longer". Ah, Fogelberg. One of his many songs that I love. Archuleta gives it his standard treatment of sparse backing music and big meaty man-voice. It's all right, but nothing exciting from him. Randy likes, Paula finds it lovely, Simon has criticism for the song choice, but thinks that David did his best with it. But it's a song for a 90-year-old.

Syesha Mercado: She's been tapped for "Hit Me Up". It's ... a terrible song. It sounds like she's pitchy, at times either sharp or flat. And the "skinny jeans" aren't doing her favors -- I think you need to be a size zero to pull those off. It's an ugly song, not very melodic, and despite the fast beat, it's boring. Randy can see her doing that kind of song, but it's just OK for him. Paula points out that it's from the "Happy Feet" soundtrack. She doesn't think it's the type of song that defines Syesha. Simon says it's better than the second song, but that she had her best moment last week with the Sam Cooke song. This one was forgettable, and didn't give her the defining moment she needs to stay around.

David Cook: The producers have given him "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". He's surrounded by a half-circle of strings, and it's really weird. He sounds all right, with a couple of off-key notes here and there, but the strings are doing this weird staccato delivery that doesn't fit right at all. Plus, despite the fact that Aerosmith did a version, this song always sounds like a country song to me. Meh -- it's his least impressive performance of the night, but I think he's still bound for the finals. Randy says it was OK for him, but predictable. Paula loves it, and points out that schlockmeister Diane Warren is in the audience. I still haven't forgiven here for the theme to Enterprise. Simon tells Cook that he wins the night.

Recaps: Archuleta was wistful and soft, then all up-with-people, then wistful and soft. Syesha was an imitation of an R&B artist, then a stilted cabaret artist, then off-key and boring. Cook did wuss rock, then mod rock, then country rock.

I don't think there will be a bottom two this time. So I'm just going with Syesha for elimination.