Yet again the "American Idol" judges were faced with a controversial candidate whos hitting the headlines for other than musical prowess. The Idol judges put out a clear message to the viewing public, if the objected then they should kick them off the show, a useful way of boosting income.Tonight it was Amanda Overmyer overlooked her transgression - getting busted for a DUI in 2006 even though it's all over the Internet. But Amanda was unfazed as she chose to belt out, going with "I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.The judges should have criticised her for being predictable and staying in her comfort zone, but instead they went over the top in their praise for the rocker, as Randy J quipped "Thats the Amanda we loved when we first saw her,".Even the acid tongued Simon Cowell drooled "If I'm being honest, I thought it was fantastic. You absolutely nailed that song. It was the perfect song for you,"... we never saw that one comingCarly Smithson one of Simons favourites picked up some negative comments for her choice of song "I Drove All Night" a Cyndi Lauper tune - not taxing enough! The Cowell stating "Once again I don't think you chose the right song," adding "Its just not a great song, and it doesn't give you what you deserve because you are a million times better than that song."
Brooke White another predictable player, like Overmyer she sings the same way every week, turning every effort into the girl-guitar-stool show, though this time around she varied the theme by being accompanied by a solo guitarist while singing Pat Benatars Love Is a Battlefield.Randy and Paula Abdul were luke warm Paula's best was - she would have liked to seen the band more involved. Simon, though bucked the trend labelling it her second great performance in a row, cue more of the same next week.Syesha Mercado closed the show with Whitney Houston's 'Saving All My Love for You,' and because the judges spent a good chunk of the night going off on random tangents that had nothing to do with the performers, the show was running long and they had very little time for Mercado. The judges comments in their entirety were:
"Good. Good," - Randy. "Sophisticated. Loved it," Paula "A bit predictable, but good," Simon.
Another Houston rendition was Asiah Epperson "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." The 19-year-old picked a good song for her, she even managed to get Paula on her feet dancing throughout, before exclaiming "You nailed it. You really nailed it."
Simon however sniped "at best, it was second-rate Whitney Houston" before acknowledging that it was good enough to make the final 12 with the guarded remark singing first can make a performance seem forgettable by the end of the show, so Epperson will be sweating it out until the results come in.
Though it's probably safe to say Ramiele Malubay performance of Phil Collins "Against All Odds," a number that takes strong vocal skills has more to worry about as Simon cautioned "I actually thought it was very old-fashioned. I'm not jumping out of my chair on that."
Kristy Lee Cook's 'Faithfully' was at best forgettable and might put her in line for elimination.
Tagged in American Idol