A slightly broader focus this week, with the singers allowed to choose songs written by only Lennon or McCartney, and the Harrison songs up for grabs as well. Unfortunately, the results are mostly disappointing.
The rundown:
Amanda, "Back in the USSR" -- As ever, Amanda doesn't really sing the song so much as she clubs it to death. It's a loud, ugly, vulgar shriek; her pitch is just slightly off, most noticable when she's not quite in unison with the backup singers. She's also tending to pull the mike away from her mouth before she's actually finished singing the phrase.
Kristin, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" -- Now Kristin finds her sultry, seductive side? It's an odd emotional disconnect from the song, which she never really seems comfortable with; she's more nervous than we've ever seen her, and she misses the final cutoff entirely.
David A, "The Long and Winding Road" -- Not his best performance -- it never quite catches fire -- but it's solid enough, and his voice is as lovely as ever. He's a bit too free with the rhythm for my taste, occasionally seeming to drag behind the beat.
Michael, "A Day in the Life" -- Not a song to be condensed to 90 seconds. The performance is what we've come to expect from Michael: The vocals are reasonably solid (though the falsetto on "Lords" is badly botched), and he is utterly devoid of the charisma that might us care.
Brooke, "Here Comes the Sun" -- The song needs a bit more energy than she's bringing to it, and she's painfully awkward moving about the stage. The performance is dull and empty, and in the post-song segment, she's excessively apologetic and deferential to the judges in a way that I found very unappealing.
David C, "Day Tripper" -- I could have done without the voice box break, but otherwise this is a fine performance; the song and the style suit David very well. Simon raises the one note of concern, which is that David is on the verge of seeming like a one-trick pony.
Carly, "Blackbird" -- We haven't heard much of Carly's lower register before, and it's quite lovely, a nice departure from the usual problem of Idol women, whose low notes tend to disappear. The performance is marvelous, finding all the emotional notes of the song while remaining relatively understated and subtle.
Jason, "Michelle" -- There's a thin line between laid-back and lethargic, and Jason is on the wrong side of it tonight. He gets a bit better as the song goes on, but it's his least interesting performance by far.
Syesha, "Yesterday" -- The arrangement is simple and lovely, and this is Syesha's best vocal performance yet. I wish she hadn't belted the words "something wrong" -- it destroyed the intimate mood that she created in the rest of the song -- but that's a question of style and taste, not of talent. She even opened her eyes occasionally.
Chikezie, "I've Just Seen a Face" -- He's trying rather obviously to copy the stylistic range of last week's "She's a Woman," and this attempt isn't nearly as successful. The slow half has too little energy, and the fast half is frenzied, with lots of pitch problems.
Ramiele, "I Should Have Known Better" -- Not a song that lets a singer show what she can do, is it? Ramiele seems uncomfortable moving on stage, and she's trying to pump more big-note drama into the song than it can sustain.
For the night: Carly, Syesha, David C, David A, Jason, Chikezie, Brooke, Michael, Ramiele, Kristy, Amanda.
For the season: Carly, Jason, Brooke, Chikezie, David A, David C, Syesha, Michael, Kristy, Amanda, Ramiele.
Deserving the trip home: Amanda or Ramiele, by a long shot over anyone else.
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