American Idol Live

I grew up going to concerts. I have seen more concerts than I can possibly recall here today. I had never in my life seen a concert with a more diverse audience than this show. This is proof that American Idol truly crosses all boundaries. I know the show is passed its peak, but the behemoth is still alive and kicking and totally undeniable. I have never been before and I am told the format changes each year, but this year the Idols performed in order of how they were voted off.

Chikeze: I was a big fan of his on the show and I knew that his downfall was the weekly themes. Opening a show like this, where the crowd is just dying for the top 2, is not easy, but this dude set it off. He only had three songs and he only did 1 song that he performed on the show. I was disappointed he did not do his funky Beatles cover, but his version of Usher's "Caught Up" was perfectly polished. When he started singing John Legend's "So High" I was worried because it is one of my favorite love songs from one of my favorite singers, but Chikeze really nailed it. His falsetto totally blew me away and he set a high standard for the evening.

Ramiele: This was by far the low point of the night. As I sit here now, I cannot recall a single song she sang or even how she performed. I do remember she looked hot, but this was totally forgettable. How she made it into the top 10 was beyond me during the show and it was confirmed here. She is young yes, but she was just out performed by the light show playing on the big screen behind her. Her set could not end soon enough.

Michael Johns: This guy was my pick to win it all from the very first audition. How he left the show so early just shows how stupid America is. Johns was one of only 3 of the Idols who have a voice truly worthy of owning an arena. His Queen songs were perfect as were his other two songs. His bluesy re imagining of a Dolly Parton song was the highlight of the night for me. Michael Johns was born in the wrong decade as he is the prototypical lead singer of a 60s rock band. He needs to be fronting a stadium rock band.

Kristy Lee Cook: Honestly this girl didn't need to sing; she just needed to stand on stage in those amazingly tight jeans and a shirt that give you just a hint of sexy tummy. She did her country thing and her "I love America and the troops" thing, which led to some really inappropriate jokes from me at my seat. She ended with some cowgirl song that featured a lot of her moving her sexy hips from side to side. It was basically awesome and more awesome every time she turned her back to the audience. She didn't have that sexy wavy or curly hair, but with jeans like the ones she had on, it did not matter.

Carly Smithson: Carly opened her set getting her Goth on to Evanessence. It was the perfect song for her. She has a big voice, but she did crack two times during her set and when she talked to the crowd she was kind of an idiot. I enjoyed her performance of Heart's "Crazy on you." She totally killed it, but I think by this time in the show I was just ready for my remaining favorites. I have nothing against this girl, she just doesn't hold my attention well.

Brooke White: The sweetest girl on the planet kept in her comfort zone with a piano and guitar. She didn't do anything amazing, but she preformed well and her talking breaks sounded the most genuine of the night. She has kind of an odd vibe and she probably is not right for such a big venue, but her cover of Coldplay's "Yellow" was one of the more tender moments of the night. Her vocals were stronger than I was anticipating because she was often quiet on the show.

Jason Castro: I have decided this guy just looks stunned all of the time. he seemed the most surprised by the fan reaction maybe because he doesn't understand how girls can like a guy who doesn't seem to ever shower. That being said he performed a version of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" that was so odd sounding because he did it the way Jack Johnson would sing that song. He has a nice quality to his voice, but he did seem a bit too overwhelmed by the screaming and squealing by the girls in the house. He played his guitar for all three songs which probably helped him a lot.

Syesha: How this girl finished in the top 3 is beyond me. Her little dress helped though. Hello, Syesha's cleavage, nice to see you, really. Wow. She went through the typical black girl karaoke artists- Rhianna, Alicia Keys and Beyonce. I have never heard a girl who over sings the way this obnoxious girl does. Christina Aguilerra would have thought she did too many runs in the middle of her songs. Seriously girl, it is perfectly okay to just sing a song, honestly it is. She nearly ruined Alicia Keys. Also, "Umbrella" is Rhianna's song and she is the only one who should sing it. We heard her sing it thousands of times last summer and why would anyone else do it? Syesha's stage presence was not nearly as energetic or sassy as I would have thought and if her cleavage had not been so visible I probably would not have paid much attention.

David Archuleta: My disdain for his brand of faux humility is pretty well documented in my household. Nobody who has been singing for his entire life is surprised when people praise his singing. No one who trapped the first American Idolers in an airport to belt out a tune is shocked people like his voice. Archuleta is a fake obnoxious teenager, but dude can flat out sing. On this night, he sang his ass off. I was not a fan of the songs he sang, save for his opener, but he sounded excellent and he managed to make "Apologize" less annoying than listening to the actual song. He commanded the stage pretty well and he knew exactly how to get the crowd to scream and scream and scream and scream. My ears were about to burst when he kept saying "Oh wow guys, this is the loudest yet. Ah shucks, you like me. I am so humbled by my own amazing talent. Thanks for coming to watch he pretend to be grateful." Okay maybe he didn't say it exactly like that. I can't see him being a big star because he is so awkward when he tries to speed things up, see his uncomfortable "Beautiful Girls" run during "Stand by Me." YIKES!

David Cook: I was surprised that no time during the show did they say anything like "Your American Idol: David Cook." Cook is a star and he knows it, which is cool. You get this confident, slightly cocky, but still down to Earth performer ripping through emo-ed out versions of Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson. He managed to almost hold my attention during that god awful song American Idol forces him to sing and he straight tore through The Foo Fighters "My Hero." He knows how to work a crowd, spending a lot of time talking and shaking hands. Who knows if the chains of American Idol will be the downfall of David Cook, but he is the first winner of the show who seems to be totally level headed about the whole thing. The girls love him, but more importantly, the women love him too. He truly crosses age barriers.

My vision of how this show would go and how it actually went were very different and left me feeling quite disappointed overall. I had visions of medleys and duets and just a lot of group camaraderie and I got virtually none of that. I enjoyed much of the individual stuff, but I wanted to hear some of these people singing together. I wanted to watch some stage chemistry, instead I got slick over too quickly performances. Why wouldn't they find a way to put the two David's on stage for a little bit? What I listened to where 5 or 6 people singing for a record deal and the others just warming up for recording their albums.

Oh and the only time all 10 were on stage together was for Rhianna's "Please don't stop the music." I am sorry but watching Brooke, Jason, Michael, Carly and David Cook trying to sing and dance to such a song was so funny, I thought I was going to die laughing. Michael Johns and Brooke White should never sing the lines "You hands around my waist." They really shouldn't. That being said, getting to see Kristy Lee Cook back in really really tight jeans made up for it. Seriously, that girl is so sexy.