Mariah Carey Week - Top 7 - 4/15/08

Well today is the last day for taxes and hope all of you got yours in on time. Oops I am suppose to be talking about the show. Sorry, tee hee! Okay after the shocker of last week with Michael Johns going home which Ryan does mention in his opening segment we are introduced to our judges and our remaining 7 contestants.

You have to give it up to Mariah Carey who has become a real legend in pop music. With a 5 octave range, she has sold over 160 million albums worldwide. Also amazing is the fact that she has won 5 Grammies and has 18 #1 hits which puts her in the top 3 of having the most #1 hits to date. The number #1 spot is held by The Beatles who have had 20 number ones. The 3rd spot goes to my top favorite of all time, Elvis Presley who had 17 number ones in his short life. One thing I would also like to add here is I liked how personable she was with the contestants although in the past I have considered her to be a little phony. However tonight she was great with her imput.

As you all know Randy Jackson has worked quite a bit with Mariah as well as others. Ryan asks him how do you judge the contestants as he has always said it is not good to sings songs by divas. Randy says they have to be themselves and some of the group prove that tonight so let's get started with the performances.

Our sweet guy David Archuleta is up first and mentions he does not feel worthy to be in Mariah's presence however tonight I think he made her proud with his rendition of "When You Believe". This song was actually written as the theme song of the movie "The Prince of Egypt" which was released in 1998 however I do notice that David is doing the Leon Jackson version. In case you are not aware, Leon Jackson won on the 4th series of the show "The X-Factor" and this was his debut single after winning. Another bit of trivia since Simon mentions this in his comments (he is a judge on that show) the song did hit #1 in the U.K. I thought David sounded quite good and showed some range. He may just stand still but this kid has a natural talent doing ballads and I once again have to say I love his voice. All the judges gave him high praise and I agree. My grade: A

In spite of the judges not being too enthused with their remarks to Carly Smithson, I actually liked her singing "Without You". Another little history lesson here is that this song was originally recorded by Badfinger in 1970, then Harry Nilsson made it a hit in 1971. Mariah released it as a single in 1994 and it peaked at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In a way I kind of felt Carly made it her own however I did notice a off-note here and there. Randy thought it was pretty good, Paula likes the vocal restraint and power she displayed however Simon just thought it was okay. One last thing I thought Carly looked quite elegant tonight. My grade: B

:eyepop: My eyes almost popped out of my head when Syesha Mercado comes out on stage all decked out in gold which reminded me of the movie "Goldfinger". Tonight she is singing "Vanishing" which is not well known although it did appear on Mariah's debut album in 1990. This original version by Mariah does have a gospel feel to it but I did not feel that from Syesha. Instead I felt she was screaming some of the lyrics and one part sounded to me like she was warbling. Randy thought it was a tough song to do but felt she did good considering, Paula calls it magical (huh) and Simon thought it was good technically. For me it was a little less than okay. My grade: C

I thought Brooke White looked quite lovely tonight as she chats with Ryan about missing her sister's wedding. Singing one of Mariah's best known hits "Hero" from the Music Box album released in 1993, she started off nicely while playing the piano. However as the song progressed she sounded to me like she was gasping for air and she appeared to be shaking like a leaf towards the end. Randy thought it was pretty good until she got to the bridge, Paula thought it was brave to do this unplugged version and Simon did not feel it was a strong performance and compared it to ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun. Did you not love all this reference to food and I loved how Ryan says if you want take-out call this number. My grade: B-

I can not believe it but for me Kristy Lee Cook really steps up to the plate and gives a wonderful performance of "Forever" from the Daydream album released in 1995. Mariah likes her version better than her own as she mentors Kristy. Looking beautiful, her vocals were exceptional I thought. Randy also mentions her stepping up, Paula is blown away however Simon feels it was whiny at times and wasn't great. Simon it definitely out-voted on this one as I honestly feel Kristy could have a hit in the country field with this number. My grade: A

How does a person take a pop song, re-arrange it and make it sound like a rock song. Ask David Cook as tonight he was in his element and gives a fantastic performance of "Always Be My Baby" which again was from the Daydream album. Mariah mentions how haunting his rendition is and I agree. I thought it was totally awesome. Randy is so enthused he actually gives David a standing ovation, Paula thinks this song could be on a movie soundtrack but I really liked Simon's comment that David's singing was like coming out of karaoke hell into a breath of fresh air. These high compliments actually made David tear-up. Great job! My grade: A

:surprised: Last up is Jason Castro who is singing "I Don't Wanna Cry" from Mariah's debut album. I will give props to Jason for coming out of his usual comfort zone by giving what I thought was his best performance to date. The arrangement was a little different than the original and he showed some range however some of his notes did come off a bit pitchy. Randy does mention this and did not love it. He says he feels like he is at a luau and of course our nice Paula wants to be at that luau. Simon says it was identifially Jason and liked the performance. My grade: B

I was wondering how our contestants would do with the music of Mariah and actually felt many did quite well. It was definitely a good night for the guys as mentioned by Simon.

My bottom 3 - Syesha, Carly and Brooke

As always, I look forward to your thoughts and will now say good-night.

I am anxiously awaiting the results report as I hear they all did really well this week, especially considering the shoes. Like her or no, there's no denying Mariah has A Voice.
~tyg

Hi tyg. I am with you on this. Tonight's elimination should be an interesting one but I am almost certain it will be a girl.

Thanks CC, great review, First off let me say that I am not a hugh fan of Mariah Carey, she does have a great voice and can sing for sure but for some reason I've never really gotten into her.

I was not home for the start of the show but luckly was taping it and got to ff through all the darn commericals YES... ha..

Ok David- Yes he did a very good job but this seems to be his type of music that he does do very good at, I'd really love to see him "break out" and do something a little different but last night it was fitting.

Carly- She does have a good voice and I do love her accent and wonder where does it go when she sings ha.. Anyway, again she is not my favorite but did ok, and yes she did look very nice I think my grade would be a B- though. JK...

Syesha-She is another one that seems to be skirting by and must have luck on her side, did not like her performance at all and I agree that she seems to screen and try to get those high notes when it's not needed.

Brooke- I so agree that she looked beautiful tonight, did not care for her perfomance that much, thought she lost something singing that song, and I was not suprised when the judges said what they did, And in all honesty, I remember Heather doing this HERO the night of the Top 20 during season 5 and I loved it thought she did a great job but the judges really belittled her for her performance. Sad but it was very good in my opinion.

Kristi- My opinion of Kristi is that the rest better watch out, this gal has come alive and it sure stepping up to the plate and is into this show big time. I don't think the other had to much to worry about earlier with her but they better keep watching over their shoulders because she's moving up a lot.. She did a very good job last night and I think she is the only gal that is safe this week.

David C- Sorry CC I did not like Davids song or the way he sang it, He's a great guy and good singer, but for me the performance was just so so, I did feel for him though, knowing his brother with brain cancer was there and he did ok just not great IMO I was very glad that the judges agreed with you though. I had tears in my eyes watching him try to hid his.

Jason-I did like Jason's performance and he's another one that seems to be really into this now, I think that earlier in the season he was just getting by and now seems to steped it up like Kristi did, I would like to see him do something NOT so soft or smooth as I think those type of songs are easier done that what David C or some of the others have done.

I agree with your bottom 3 and I think that either Syesha, or Carly will go. I do not think it'll be another shocker week like last week was and for that I am glad. I'd hate to see Jason or David leave at this point.

Good job CC..

Season 5 this time The TOP 7 the idols sang "THE GREAT AMERICAN SONG BOOK"

Taylor sang "You Send Me"




And ACE went home

Sandi for the reminder. I loved, loved, loved how Taylor sang "You Send Me". I think that is when Simon realized that Taylor was definitely a contender for the win although he did always seemed to get a kick out of finding something wrong with Taylor's look or performance.

I was sorry to see Ace go although his performance was not so good that night. However, really looking forward to getting his solo cd which comes out July 15th according to his myspace site.

Unfortunatley I missed the first three performances of the night but thank you CC for the re-caps. Of the ones I did get to hear David Cooks was the best. The judges were right on with their comments about his performancel. I love it when a man tears up like that.

This is the results night so I'm looking forward to seeing who goes home. I love Mariah Carey too and can't wait to see her perform. Keeping my fingers crossed.