American Idol Roundup, April 1

Dolly Parton week. I like Dolly, but not sure how she will be as a “coach” or whether her song catalog is broad enough for all of them to cover. I don't know if they will all be singing Dolly songs or just that she will coach them through their song choices.

First things first, Chikezie should still be here. He has been much better than some, namely Kristy, Ramiele, and Syesha. His performance of “She's A Woman” was one of the best of the year.
FYI, comments are done on the fly while the performers are singing. So my comments on the singing are in advance of the judges.

Brooke White

Jolene, well number one, its an easy one for Brooke to sing. More coffee shop singing. OK but not outstanding. No big notes and not a particularly heartfelt or emotional performance . Grade: B-

David Cook
Little Sparrow
Hmm, admits to using other arrangements. Dolly seems to be too much of a cheerleader rather than coach. Good job of matching his voice to a Dolly Parton song. I like that he is fearless about the high notes. Good job but not his very best. Grade: A-

Ramiele Malubay
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind.
So far its not great. Her voice just isn't that captivating. Its ok and probably as good as she can do, but she's limited. Grade: B-
Well, I say this every year, but I get sick of Paula's unrelentingly “positive” judging. It is tiresome and tedious.

Jason Castro
Traveling Through – I don't actually know this song. Kind of the same as Ramiele. He's doing ok for his talent level, but he's limited in his singing ability. So his performance is better than his singing. He is poised, but doesn't have the strong voice. Grade: B

Simon speaks the truth even though its sometimes confusing.

Carly Smithson
THere You Come Again
Hmm, the sensitive side of Carly. She sounds pretty good on it. Its a nice change from her rocker persona. I think that its the best so far tonight. Grade: A
As I suspected, Dolly's song catalog isn't really broad enough to support an entire show's worth of singing.
Once again Simon's right and Paula's wrong. But this time its about fashion of all things. Carly's outfit does not flatter her.

David Archuletta
Smokey Mountain Memories – Its fine, but I'm getting tired of David. This is not one his best performances but is solid as usual. Grade: B+
The audience screaming is gonna make me hate him. He ain't good looking nor is he particularly charismatic, so the reaction is out of place.

Kristy Lee Cook
Coat of Many Colors – Actually, this is quite a promising start to the song. Sitting down while singing is probably a good strategy for someone who doesn't move well. I think this was a good solid performance. I give it a B+.

Sayesha Mercado
I Will Always Love You – tough song to live up to. You've got 2 separate giant artists associated with this song, Dolly and Whitney. They aren't showing Dolly doing a lot of coaching. Instead, she sounds like Paula, just praising everyone and everything. Syesha is doing a decent job. She's keeping it fairly low key and not overdoing it. She stayed within her talent level. Grade: A

Michael Johns
Its All Wrong, But Its All Right.
Like Carly, I think that slowing it down a bit is good for Michael this week. The bluesy guitar and singing is working. Grade: A

I was wrong about Dolly and Paula may actually just have said something correct. The songs do have good melodies and allowed the singers to excel.

OK, I'm not sure why, but I was a pretty easy grader tonight. The performers better not get complacent though. No telling what type of mood I'll be in next week.

Rankings:
1. David Cook
2. Michael Johns
3. David Archuletta
4. Carly Smithson
5. Syesha Mercado
6. Jason Castro
7. Brooke White
8. Kristy Lee Cook
9. Ramiele Malubay

Bottom 3: Jason, Ramiele, and Kristy.
Who should go home: Ramiele
Who will go home: Ramiele