And then there were eleven. After a mostly mediocre performance night yesterday, the voters have spoken. And first to be cut from the finalists is David Hernandez. The 24-year old confirmed former stripper from Arizona sang “I Saw Her Standing There” on Beatles night and apparently, didn’t wow the voting audience. He got the least votes, with Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercado rounding rounding out the bottom three.

If I may say so, having Beatles songs for a competition like this is tough. Though millions (even billions) of viewers and singers alike are fans of the fab four, many of their songs are quite tricky, like the high parts of “She Loves You” or the dead simplicity of “Yesterday”. And to
make matters worse, there were reportedly only a few songs to choose from. I can’t confirm if this is accurate, but according to spoilers from the message boards, AI has pre-selected 25 songs for the finalists to pick from, drawing lots on who’d have first choice I suppose. This is contrary to popular perception that singers in AI are free to select their piece from ALL of the songs covered by a theme. Hmm, so why are the judges always harping on song choices when there is a limited list to choose from?

the front runners: an update

Several weeks ago, I made some sort of prediction with my post on who I perceived as the front-runners in the current season at that time. With what has transpired since then, I feel it necessary to update that prediction.

I still feel that this competition is David Archuleta’s to lose. Though he fumbled the lyrics of his Beatles rendition in last night’s performance, he has already established a huge following in the preceding weeks. There are even reports that a recording contract is waiting for him even if he loses this competition.

Ramiele Malubay has been a disappointment since I named her a front runner some weeks back. Wrong song choices and boring performances have hounded her to the dismay of her many followers, this author included. She has one of the best singing voices in this batch but if she doesn’t pick up her performance by next week, I think she’ll be out of this competition soon. Brooke White, on the other hand, has been very consistent, churning out one excellent performance after another. But I doubt if she’ll win this one. Her 70s Carly Simon-James Taylor style may not get that many votes towards the homestretch. Don’t get me wrong, I like her and believe in her talent as well, but this is more of a popularity contest than a talent competition, and that’s to her disadvantage.

David Cook has been a revelation, to me at least. I never noticed him or his performances before, probably due to my preference for Archuleta and Malubay and their kind of music. But he has shown exceptional talent in recent weeks, transforming “ordinary” song choices into his own. His rendition of “Hello” was the best so far in the competition, even prompting Lionel Richie to announce his willingness to record the said version. I agree with Simon when he said, “If this show remains a talent competition, rather than a popularity competition, you (David Cook) could win this show.”

So there it is, my updated front runners list: David Archuleta, David Cook and Brooke White. But with 10 more weeks to go, who knows what will happen? It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, and right now the fat lady is still warming up her vocal chords.

Update: The wait is over! American Idol season 8 is here! Watch the 2009 American Idol 8 premiere, aka American Idol season 8 premiere 2009, and see the auditions for new talents this year.

The American Idol 8 premiere has been invaded by Katrina Darrell, the American Idol 8 bikini girl, also known as the 2009 American Idol bikini audition. And see Kara DioGuardi, the new judge, in action.

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american idol finals: the first cut

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