Some more excitement needed on Idol

Maybe it was because I was tired after not getting home from work until 10:00 and then watching postgame hockey coverage before turning on Idol near 11 p.m. Or maybe there were just a bunch of forgettable performances. But whatever the reason, I couldn't really get into Idol tonight. Which may account for what may be shorter blog entry than usual (although once I start writing, I never really know.)

I don't think my lack of excitement had anything to do with Dolly Parton. While I'm traditionally not a fan of "country night," this wasn't a typical country night--since it involved some high-quality songs of one of the top country artists of all time. Maybe it the bad vibe from that really unfunny "April Fool's joke" that Ryan told at the top of the show. Did someone really think that was funny? The American Association of Vocal Coaches or whatever he said?

One other thing before I get to the rundown. To my anonymous commenter on the West Coast who requested that I post after the show airs on the West Coast on Wednesday: I've heard there's some way to set posts to go up automatically at a certain time, but I have no idea how to do that. Perhaps I can save my post and put it up in the morning. Or if I kept the bootee's name out of the headline and first few lines, would that solve the problem?

Brooke White (Jolene)--I really like Brooke White, but if she wants to possibly win this thing, she's going to have to step up her game a little. Her performance was good, but hardly memorable. But it was a lot better than a busker in the subway, Simon. And Brooke, you don't have to answer every judge's critique with a comment or thank you. Just stand there and listen unless they ask you a question.

David Cook (Little Sparrow)--First of all, I don't know what he did with the hair (Is it a piece? Plugs?), but it did look a lot better tonight. You couldn't even tell he had to comb it over. Second, once again the Idol producers slyly gave someone a chance to address a brewing controversy by having him get asked a question by Ryan before his song. Just like Chris Daughtry copped to using someone else's arrangement of "Walk the Line" (Was Live the band?), David admitted that he modeled his "Eleanor Rigby" performance after a cover by a band called Doxology (which had put out a press release taking credit for the arrangement earlier in the week.) Personally, I don't care if singers use someone else's unorthodox arrangement of a popular song--after all, they are singing covers, not original music--as long as the artist who created that unorthodox arrangement is credited on the show. What bothers me more is when the judges call them "brave" for doing it. This whole thing has also given me new appreciation for Blake Lewis, who came up with that whole "You Give Love a Bad Name" thing last year all by himself.

As for David's performance, I was glad to see that he put together his own arrangement (I'll take him at his word) and I thought it was fine, if not spectacular. I was glad to see that he didn't make it into the brooding rock ballad he's done with everything else the last month, but sort of adapted it to his style without seeming to completely revamp it.

Ramiele Malubay (Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?)--I think it's just time for Ramiele to go. There were times I was having trouble heariing her over the music, and she was just kind of boring. Whatever promise she once showed (and her one not bad performance of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" for some reason has been treated like a combination of Fantasia's performance of "Summertime" and Whitney Houston's rendition of the national anthem at the Super Bowl) is not there anymore. And is it just me, or does she seem to increasingly dress like she's 12? Or is her style really "in" for women now? My readers, please help me out.

Jason Castro (Travelin Thru)--Dolly said Jason went "a little bit outside himself" and what he had been typically doing on Idol with this song choice. Really? Has Dolly been watching? This sounded like most of the songs that Jason has done this year. And I thought he was fine if you like that Jason Castro style--which I kind of do. I thought for sure Randy would go to the "Jason Castro is back" well after his performance, but I guess I wasn't good enough for that in Randy's opinion.

Carly Smithson (Here You Come Again)--I agree totally with Simon. It was good, not great, and not worthy of the weekly Carly slobbering our other two judges love to dole out. I kind of liked the fast, Dolly version of the song better too. As for Simon's comments about Carly's clothes, I've already been reprimanded by my sister for commenting on Carly's wardrobe--so I'll pass on that.But from the neck up, she's never looked better.

David Archuleta (Smoky Mountain Memories)--I was never really on the David Archuleta bandwagon to begin with, and I guess I've given up my seat permanently because I wasn't all that blown away by this performance. He was once again very good, but I wasn't getting those "David Archleta is back" goosebumps that Randy and company were getting. Oh, and American Idol producers: Although it wasn't nearly as bad as a couple weeks ago, I'm hearing way too much applauding in the middle of songs. Please take care of that.

Kristy Lee Cook (Coat of Many Colors)--This started very rough, but improved as the song went on. But it was basically Kristy's typical not terrible, but not close to good performance. Like Ramiele, I'm getting tired of it. But that weird, sarcastic "thank you, Simon" as Ryan was throwing it to commercial could do her some damage.

Syesha Mercado (I Will Always Love You)--Here's my problem with this performance: the song is kind of long and dramatic, and squeezing it all into 90 seconds made it feel rushed and disjointed. I felt seasick by the end. I respected the way she tried to sort of combine the Dolly and Whitney versions, and her vocals were pretty solid, but it just didn't work for me.

Michael Johns (It's All Wrong, But It's All Right)--Michael Johns, welcome back to contender status. We've missed you. He sounded great, and was in my opinion by far the best of the night--soulful, strong vocals. I hope he can keep it up.

So who's hitting the bottom three? Let's hope Kristy and Ramiele are there. I'll add Syesha too, just because she was there last week when she probably had a better performance. Fingerhut out, and let's go Caps.