It’s Mariah Carey night. I’m not real sure how this is going to work out, but it could turn out to be the worst episode of American Idol ever.
Randy is looking for identity, though the judges regularly tell the contestants to not do songs from such well-known singers. For that reason, having a Mariah night is very strange.
David Archuletta “When You Believe”:
Mariah says she’s proud of him. His singing is technically good, but as I’ve said repeatedly, the emotion is missing. He just is missing the life experience it takes to do emotional songs well. He’s a Mormon kid, his dad is up his rear end constantly to the point of making the kid cry, so it’s not surprising that he doesn’t have the real life experience he needs. He did a falsetto. Hmmm… it was okay, but not great. He probably should have passed on that.
Randy said David can sing anything. Paula said he made Mariah proud. Simon said he knew David would choose that song, and that it was very, very good.
Carly Smithson “Without You”
She blabbered on while talking to Ryan. Yawn.
It’s almost as if no one realizes that “Without You” is not actually a Mariah Carey song. It was performed by many artists over the years, and she just did a cover. Carly’s voice sounded kind of weird on all the low notes, and kind of screechy on the high notes. She’s making those weird faces again, she really needs to stop doing that. She got a standing ovation
Randy said he liked that she challenged herself, but the low notes were “not loosey goosey”, whatever that means. Paula liked that she showed vocal restraint at the beginning, then soared. Simon wanted to hear her sing this song even before Mariah week. Simon said she didn’t pull it off, that she’s overthinking, and it was just okay.
Syesha Mercado “Capture”
Mariah liked her, thought she did a great job. I like her dress, it’s kind of metallic, but I’m not that fond of her hairstyle this week. She has a very pretty voice, I like hearing her sing, and she did a lot of changing notes on this one. It was pretty cool.
Randy said she picked the toughest song, and she did a good job, it’s a really hard song to sing. Paula said she was extremely smart this week, by picking a song not many people know, so they aren’t comparing her to Mariah, it was “unbelievably magical”. Simon said “technically it was very, very good indeed”, but that he wouldn’t have picked a song not many people knew.
Brooke White “Hero”
She missed her sister’s wedding over the weekend. Mariah said it’s a good song choice for her.
She’s playing piano. This song is probably a bit too well known for her to try it, because I’m making comparisons in my mind even though I’m trying not to do so. I’m really not impressed with her this week, the song is way too big for her. It sounds to me like she missed a lot of notes.
Randy said he liked it, until the bridge. Paula says she’s identifiable as an artist, that an unplugged version was good, except for “a few off notes”. Simon says she didn’t have much choice but to do what she did. It was like ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun. The important ingredient was missing, her voice isn’t big enough to carry the song.
Kristy Lee Cook “Forever”
She gave Mariah Carey goosebumps, Mariah likes Kristy’s version better than her own. Wow.
So far, it’s kind of boring. It’s still boring. She needs to hit a high note or something. She’s a good singer, but I just didn’t get it. Maybe it’s just me, because I’m not a country music fan.
Randy said it was pitchy in the first part, it wasn’t amazing. Paula said she’s a smart girl, she’s “blown away”, she could have a hit with it. She’s proud of her. She said to Simon that she gave Mariah chills, and Simon said she didn’t give him chills (me either). Simon said she managed with what she could, it was whiny at times, and it wasn’t great.
Ryan was sitting in the audience with Ramiele.
David Cook “Always Be My Baby”
He’s stepping outside the box, he says. Mariah said it was haunting. It’s really strange to hear a guy singing a Mariah Carey song. Still, there’s something about his rendition which is really quite good, once you manage to stop making comparisons. He hit some really big notes at the end, but guy notes, not Mariah notes (thank goodness, because some of her songs make me want to poke out my eardrums due to all the really high notes). I’d say it was the best of the night so far.
Randy said he is ready to make an album, it was the most brilliant performance of the season. Paula said it could be in a movie soundtrack. Simon said it was like coming out of karaoke hell into a breath of fresh air, it was original, daring, stood out by a mile, it was the sign of a great potential artist.
Jason Castro “I Don’t Want To Cry”
Mariah said it was really different. She wants to see if he used any of her tips.
He’s just singing, no guitar tonight. It sounds weird to hear a guy singing a Mariah song again, I don’t really know what to think of this. It’s kind of boring. Still, it’s interesting to hear a guy singing that song.
Randy didn’t love it, he felt like he was at a weird beach luau with somebody playing music in the distance. Paula said she’d like to be at that luau, he is getting confident. Simon agrees with Paula, it wasn’t the best vocal, but it was a cool version.
Simon said the guys “completely won the night”. I’d have to agree with that, which is especially weird since it was Mariah Carey night.
