I thought Syesha and David Cook were the best on the night, Chikezie has a great voice but agree with those who say that performance wise he often lacks edge

I did not think Michael was as good as the judges hyped him up to be

Once again a good show but still no one standing out as an outstanding talent

Wow, generalize much? I'm sure there were some who enjoyed it since everyone has their fans. A look any most AI message boards would show you that the vast majority of posters thought it was sly at best and just plain grossly manipulative at worst.

Personally, my favorite performances where Michael Johns, Brooke, and Carly, but David Cook really seems to be gaining momentum. One has to wonder if his emo retreads will begin to bore people eventually though.

(lifted from my post in the spoilers thread)Ramiel-singing-'Alone' by Heart....this is one of the few Heart songs that is not very difficult to sing , yet she passed on the 'glory note'. The judges were kind. The truth is, she was very pitchy and breathy. Randy called it on the off-pitch sound. They used voice problems as an excuse. That is not an excuse on such a non-challenging arangement. Ramiel did what Carly usually does and tried to sing notes she cannot in ways she cannot. In all fairness, if Carly had chosen this song instead of Crazy on You, she likely would have nailed it .
I like Ramiel, but this was the wrong song for her.
Jason C-reminded me of a busker, I agree with Simon ...this was a good song choice for him, and I bet he melted a few young hearts. The vocal was okay, not great. I enjoyed listening to him more than I usually do.

Syesha- WOOOHOOO! She lived up to the potential i saw in her with this performance. She looked lovely and sang beautifully. I agree with Simon that the song stretched her vocal ability, but it did not overstretch it. In my oppinion, this was as close to perfect as it can get live, and I loved everything about this performance vocally and otherwise. 'If I was your woman' was for Syesha what 'summertime' was for Leona Lewis in XFactor in that this is the performance that people will notice.

Chikezie- It looks to me like the judges were told to criticise. The producers must be worried, because he proved once again that, vocally, no one else in this competition can touch him. I know this song well,it is difficult to really do it justice, and he nailed it, put a lot into it, and even if the performance was understated, the vocal was undeniable. His phrasing, range, tone, pitch, use of bending notes to convey emotion, the various shades of tone and the power of his vocals, the smooth falsetto...it was one of the few times I have ever been truly blown away by a vocal from someone on one of these shows, and I hope that may be enough to save him this week.
Brooke - I enjoyed her choice to perform the Tori Amos version of the song 'Every Breath You Take'.I had said I was hoping to see a darker side , and she chose this classic song , often mistaken for a love song, but actually about the obsession of a stalker...Her love for music and natural feel for the songs she chooses comes through, and that is what makes her so enjoyable to listen to. I heard some unique and very interesting nuances in her vocal this week.

Michael- this song was too big for him. He sounded forced and strained in places, and he missed some of the money-notes. He was nowhere near as good as the judges made him out to be this week. I have heard bar band and karaoke singers who did as well as Michael singing this medley. He just doesn't have the range and tone to nail the notes and nuances that would have made it a great vocal instead of just a passable one. Non-singers will probably be impressed because he sang a song by a great vocalist (Freddie Mercury), and because they will focus on the loudness of his shouting the notes rather than noticing how he couldn't even hold on to the notes at the end of the phrases...This was good, but not great.

Carly- Like Michael, she chose a song that will probably impress non-singers. Total eclipse is another bar band/karaoke standard that I have heard a lot of singers do well. Not a tough song for a competant singer to sing well.
All the same, she sounded better this week. I did not like the note she added at the end, once again trying too hard. Having said that, she sang the rest of it in tune, and didn't force her voice the way she has in the past. Many people sing this well, but most need to shout, and she didnt need to because this song was in the range she can belt it out in.Simon finally told her what she needed to hear-he said she needs to lighten up. I liked this better than last week, but still think she has the potential to do much better. This song was in her comfortable range...now, if she just stays there,and calms down and trusts her voice to sound great even if she doesn't force it, she will be wonderful.Come on, Carly, I know you can do it!
David A- in theory, this song should have worked for him. It did, kind of. This song required more power and agility than he actually has. Not bad, not great, and Simon said it like it was. I doubt that the producers will let their chosen one make that mistake again. Next week, I bet it will be back to simple , not-too-demanding M.O.R.ballads that make the most of his smooth vocal delivery .Babeth , you were right, I think-this was a bit too much for him.
Kristy - This was her best vocal yet...pitchy when she went for the glory note in the middle, though. If I look past how sick I got of hearing people playing or singing this song before I left the states ,she sang it reasonably well....This song will get America's country fans and rednecks to vote and keep her in the competition. Smart song choice for her...(and hearing it made me truly apreciate how wonderful it is to have had the freedom to move to a country where people have just as much freedom, but better taste in music! )
David C- He heald some notes well, but in a range where it is very common to be able to do so. Good song choice for him, but just not enough to it as far as difficulty or uniqueness . On Idol, this kind of performance is not typical, but if he was in a good cover band, this would be considered very good but not amazing. I liked it, but didn't love it and was not blown away. A lot of people will probably think it was amazing. A lot of bar band singers will add it to their setlist and sing it just as well as David did within a month.Quite a few probably already have. If he chooses more songs like this,(Daughtry-esque copies of other people's re-arangements of well known songs) and puts that much into the choices,he will probably make the finals.
For me,out of the guys, Chikezie had the best vocal by a mile, and on the most difficult song to sing.
Syesha was the best of the girls. Gorgeous performance!She was my overall favorite this week, and second favorite vocally.
David C chose an easy song to sing, but it suited him and he sang it well,putting all he had into his performance, so he is 3rd best for me this week.
Brooke and Carly share 4th place, Brooke for overall performance, and Carly because she sang a song that showed off some of her strong points this week.

Ramiel or Kristy deserve to leave this week based on their vocals. I think it will be Ramiel.

Fair enough but opinion on forums doesn't necessary reflect public opinion. For example most people on these forums seem to detest sob stories and sentimental attempts to win votes on UK talent shows but I'm willing to bet a large section of the GBP falls for it everytime!

David cook was good.. i liked him..
Kirsti, did a very clever thing choosing that song.. good for her.

Micheal johns excellent as usual..

everyone else forgettable..

I thought it was clever, and showed determination..to stay in the game/
she as been in the bottom three how many times now?
Choosing a song like this should keep her in , and shake up the competition.. a bit

David Cook was brilliant but he didn't come up with this arrangement himself. Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden & Audioslave) did this on his solo album, last year.

I think they did mention it but I always record and fastforward to the performances.

I think Carly may have peaked too soon. I wouldn't be suprised to see her in the bottom 3 again. I'm not liking her as much as I did in the 70's/ 80's weeks.

Jason Castro should be the one to go but I don't think he will as he seems to have a big fanbase.

Syesha & Ramielle improved a lot, this week, so hopefully they will stay.

Brooke hasn't been the same since she straightened her hair. Her new look doesn't suit her at all and has taken away her charm - she now just looks like an identikit blonde singer.

Thought David Cook was the best of the week again, and it was the first week where I thought, 'hmmm, he could actually win this'. David A has not done anything memorable for a long while now in my opinion and so could fall by the wayside as the competition progresses (I hope so, as I think he'd be a really dull winner).

Syesha really annoyed me this week, her personality grated on me. She did the talking all the way through the judges' comments thing that Brooke did last time. I also particularly hate that baby's cry thing Syesha does. I was hoping she'd go this week, but I don't think she will.

Kristy did a good trick with that song, and I think she's saved herself when she would've been very much at risk. Michael is starting to pick up his game, but I don't think it was as good as it could be yet (or as good as the judges thought).

I think it'll be Ramielle off this week, but I'd prefer it to be Kristy or Syesha.

Kristy was my favourite this week

I didn't think Chikezie would be in the bottom 3.

I thought the song he sang was crap, but imagined that he was too popular to be there this early.

So it wasn't even David Cook's own version that he was getting all the praise for but someone else's!

So not as an original as made out.

Ok, perhaps I'm doing American viewers a disservice by saying they'd all lap it up. But Americans tend to be more susceptible to such nonsense, so I think you can say it guaranteed her alot of votes from a certain section of the US audience, which would probably have been enough to keep her safe.

Good! Jason should be in the bottom 3 as he was boring!

Can't believe Syesha's in the bottom two.

Or Chikezie for that matter (although I already knew he'd gone yesterday).

Neither of them should have been in the bottom two.

Oooooooooooo! I didn't see that one coming at all.

Yes I didn't like his song last night, but he has done very well in other weeks.

Jason should have gone.

No I thought she sung very well and far far far better than a majority of others.

Can't believe that Kristie is still in the competition. I suppose she appeals to middle America. Chikesie is a much better singer but maybe a bit too Luthor Vandross for today's generation.

Nooo - he's my favourite. Kristie should have gone.

My bottom three would have been Jason, Kirsty and David A.

2 weeks in a row they got it wrong now

Mine would have been Ramiele, Kristy and then I'm not sure. They are all pretty good.

I was hoping Jason would go, I haven't taken to him at all. Really shocked about the result tonight... but I am glad it wasn't Syesha, she's my favourite at the moment!

Ryan said when he introduced it that it was Chris Cornell's version of Billie Jean.

I think he sang it well but some of the praise is a bit OTT.

Syesha Mercado -- 1987's "If I Were Your Woman" by Stephanie Mills- This was a great song choice and she did not disappoint me. Like Randy it was just brilliant and heartfelt. She is my favourite and I really think she is bringing it home now.

David Cook -- 1983's "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson-Did not recognise the song. I thought it was great. Although I would not use the word 'amazing'.

Carly Smithson -- 1983's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler-For me this was just wrong. Sounded angry and shouty. Seem to force her vocals throughout. I just do not get her. There is an air of desparation about her. It was the wrong song choice I said so in my other post.

Chikezie -- 1985's "If Only For One Night" by Luther Vandross- Vocals were brilliant. Again as I
said in another post it could either come across as cheesy or great. For me it was cheesy. I do not think there is anything wrong with the vocals. As a woman listening to man singing this to me it did not work. I will run for my life.

Brooke White -- 1983's "Every Breath You Take" by The Police- If she is not behind an intrument she does not quite perform well. Not a great thing for a career-make it fun even with a paino. Alisha Keys for example does. There are times when you have to sing and perform on stage without them. I liked the performance to a certain point. But I cannot quite work out what I did not quite like about it. But just ok for me.

Jason Castro -- 1987's "Fragile" by Sting-Ok I like Jason. But something went wrong with that song as I thought it would. It never really got started. Instead what I got was a sleepy song that was not effective. He is not going anywhere.

Ramiele Malubay -- 1987's "Alone" by Heart-I cannot quite work out Ramiele. The song choice for a start I did not quite get as said in another post. It was too big for her. For me she was shouty and out of tune at times.Not memorable at all. :yawn:

Michael Johns -- 1978's "We Are the Champions" by Queen- Now i like Micheal very much. But I have to diagreee with the judges. From where I was listening it just sounded out of tune and strained. Music is subjective I know. But I did say it was not the right song choice. I just did not get it. Best performance? No it wasn't and am honest about the people I like and do not like. I said earlier giving him this song they may be trying to get rid of him. But the judges raved-I do not know what they are listening to.:sleep:

Kristy Lee Cook -- 1984's "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood- Well,saved herself alright. But I still did not get it. Yes, I like Kristy but now what. The song was patriotic which will keep her in. But I think they should do an exchange with Alaina. She had more potential.

David Archuleta -- 1990's "You're the Voice" by David Foster with Jeff Pescetto-As I watched David on stage I could not help thinking why are they trying to turn him into an adult- child? I found the song repetitive and boring and did not show case his voice. He lost some ground with the song. As the chosen one he should be fine.

Overall, a better show than last week's offer. Who will go its a tough call. But I will chose Ramiele, Chikezie, Jason or maybe Carly in the bottom three. My favourites of the night were, Syesha, David C,Chikezie and to some extent Brooke.

Regards

Babeth

I just gawped at the screen at Kristy's song! Totally agree with Simon there - what a brilliant song choice to save her!