By Victor Balta
Eye On Idol
Comcast.net
It was Wednesday night, and that meant somebody had to go home. The top seven right now are in two distinct groups, in terms of talent, with Jason Castro now serving as the bridge that connects the two: David Cook, David Archuleta and Carly Smithson on top, with Syesha Mercado, Kristy Lee Cook and Brooke White in the bottom half. So, who would go home?
Host Ryan Seacrest told viewers that there were a season-high number of votes of nearly 36 million. That was followed by the best group performance of the season as the top seven sang Mariah Carey’s “One Sweet Day,” which she recorded with Boyz II Men. It’s a song that was practically made for a group version, and it worked nicely with Jason, Kristy and David Archuleta getting some solo turns. It was further proof that Mariah Carey has some pretty tremendous and versatile songs.
During a highlight reel of Tuesday night’s performances and the judges’ comments included a bit with Brooke off-stage saying, about judge Simon Cowell’s comments, “I wish it didn’t hurt, but it does.” Awww.
Right or left? Ryan got down to business quickly, bringing Jason out first to chat. Jason said he hasn’t spent much time at the beach, but he likes it. Jason was asked to step to Ryan’s left, but nobody knew what that meant.
David Cook came out next and Ryan asked him about his emotions after performing on Tuesday. “There were a lot of things that happened this week that just kind of all came to a head at that moment,” David said, adding that it just got a little overwhelming. Ryan asked David to step to his right, causing the crowd to rumble a bit about the fact that he and Jason were on opposite ends of the stage.
Carly came out next and was asked about her mixed reviews from the judges. She said that Simon, specifically, has been hard on her. He said, “I think you’re potentially great, and I just want to give you that extra push sometimes.” Ryan asked her to step to his left, joining Jason.
Kristy came out next and said “Simon can be a butt sometimes, but, hey, that’s Simon Cowell.” America voted and said that she should step to Ryan’s right, with David Cook. (Which number were we supposed to call for that?).
For those scoring at home, that’s David Cook and Kristy Lee Cook (no relation, that we know of) on Ryan’s right, and Jason Castro and Carly Smithson on his left.
Ford commercial.
‘We Miss You, Mom’: Season 5 third-place finisher Elliott Yamin took the stage to perform his recent single, “Free.” Yamin, whose mother was a fixture in the "Idol" crowd during Season 5 and recently passed away, held open his palm where he'd written, "We Miss You Mom" at the end of his performance. He said it was an emotional moment. "This is the first time I’ve taken the stage without her out in the audience," he said, "but I know she’s watching.”
Choosing sides, again: Syesha Mercado came out next and was asked to join Jason and Carly on Ryan’s left. At that point, Ryan’s left was looking like the bad-news area, unfortunately.
Brooke came out next and tried to convince us that she put everything she had into her performance, but I still didn’t really believe her. Or maybe she’s telling the truth and just doesn’t have much emotional depth to put into a performance? Who knows? She joined the Cooks on Ryan’s right.
That left David Archuleta waiting backstage to try to figure out what was happening, but first…
Questions from the viewers: Kristy was asked whether she was able to buy back the horse that she sold to get to the “Idol” auditions. She said she couldn’t because the guy she sold it to doesn’t want to sell it back to her, but that the horse does have a good home. The dude’s probably waiting to cash in on that horse, which is probably the most popular horse in America at the moment – even with the Kentucky Derby just around the corner.
The next caller asked the judges what the first record they each remembered buying. Not a bad question. Randy: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, James Brown. Paula: Jackson 5 (“I Want You Back”), Earth, Wind and Fire and Carole King’s “Tapestry.” Simon said, “I was 10 years old and it was Paula Abdul’s ‘Straight Up.’”
Megan from New Jersey wanted to tell Paula that “I’m the Megan from her show.” Did anybody watch that? She said hi to David Archuleta for her friend, Jessica, and she had something to say from Jamie (but never said it). She finally asked Paula which of her songs best describes her relationship with Simon. “Cold-Hearted Snake” was too obvious, so she went with “Opposites Attract,” even though Simon wanted her to say, “Straight Up.” (This is still a family show, right?).
The final caller asked whether David Cook is single, and some ladies would be happy to hear that he is.
Oh my, Mariah! This week’s mentor Mariah Carey performed her new song, “Bye, Bye,” which is about her father who recently passed away. She playfully gave Randy all the credit for her success and wished all the contestants luck.
Choosing sides: Ryan asked David Archuleta to come out and split the difference between the two groups and it was clear that he was probably going to ask him to decide which side he though was safe and which was in the bottom. David said he’s getting more comfortable on stage and he’s never been as happy as he is right now. Then Ryan told him he’s going home tonight. (Just kidding, but that would have been an amazing twist, right?)
Ryan asked David Cook and Syesha to switch sides, leaving Syesha, Kristy and Brooke on one side, with David Cook, Jason and Carly on the other. Suddenly, the later group was looking like the one to be in. Ryan, predictably, asked David Archuleta to join the safe group, but he sat down and refused to choose a side (didn’t Melinda Doolittle do that once?). Ryan told him he should join David Cook, Carly and Jason, who were all safe.
The bottom three: The first sent to safety was Syesha, leaving Kristy and Brooke. Three weeks ago, this would have been a no-brainer and Kristy would have gone home easily. By now, it wasn’t such an easy decision and I’d bet that Brooke was going home.
America voted and Brooke was safe, which meant Kristy’s time was finally up.
This was absolutely the wrong choice. Kristy probably should have gone home earlier in the top 12, but she didn’t. She improved and was gaining momentum. Kristy and Brooke were on completely different trajectories, with Kristy on the rise and Brooke sliding over the past few weeks.
You’ll hear more from her, for sure. She’s marketable and if Kellie Pickler (who I think is great!) can rule the CMT Awards the way she did this week, Kristy has a future in Nashville.
