American Idol season 7 - Top 11 finalists

Amanda Overmeyer - "Back in the USSR" while it was fun performance, I'm not sure I understood 1/3 of the words she was slogging through, each and every performance, but she's who she is.

Kristy Lee Cook - "You Have To Hide Your Love Away" Started out slow and I was worried, and stayed worried through about 2/3 of the song because she just didn't quite 'get' the song, and didn't really use the hook as well as she should have in her performance.

David Archuleta - "The Long and Winding Road" Kudos to David for not forgetting the lyrics, and he gave his usual level of performance because he was controlled, but he delivered most of the emotion from the song, so he has rebounded well.

Michael Johns - "A Day in the Life" I thought he did okay, but the arrangement was not cohesive enough, but I think he needs to stand still when he sings because he's a little awkward at times with the shoulder sway.

Brooke White - "Here Comes the Sun" Yowie, a little too much smiling from Brooke, she needs to stay a little still because her movements were just all over the place, very distracting to me. It got boring half-way through the song.

David Cook - "Daytripper" That was weird in spots (what was with the voicebox?), and he was mic'd too low, because his background singers were carrying him in some parts of the song, and he got a little boring towards the end.

Carly Smithson - "Blackbird" Hated her last big note, but everything else was pretty smooth, and had really nice tone, with some good melody to the notes, but she almost got through the song, but still couldn't not let loose with one big note that just didn't support the rest of the performance. Plus, really poor choice of clothing (rose-laded top).

Jason Castro - "Michelle" Overall, actually a relaxed rendition, but he was still a little intimidated by the French verses, and he start walking around the song, if that makes any sense.

Syesha Mercado - "Yesterday" Now that's how you hit a high note within the framework of the song (Carly, are you listening?). She was steady and consistent, with just enough angst to sell the song and impart the emotional core of the song.

Chikezie - "I've Just Seen Her Face" This was an average performance, and the harmonica didn't help things. I thought Kristy Lee cook should have done this song. Overall, an imminently forgettable choice. I thought Jim Sturgess sang it better in "Across the Universe".

Ramiele Malubay - "I Should Have Known Better" Quite the prophetic song choice because her voice was so flat, and her head kept shaking around, making her vocals fade in and out, and she really didn't perform the song well (seen better at high school musicals/revivals). Just a jaw-droppingly bad song choice and performance.


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Rankings

Enjoyable
David Archuleta
Syesha Mercado

Middling
Amanda Overmeyer
Carly Smithson

Under-performed
Michael Johns
David Cook
Chikezie
Brooke White
Jason Castro

Once was enough
Ramiele Malubay
Kristy Lee Cook

I think Ramiele or Kristy Lee Cook is going home.