The one thing I feel I must comment on is the constant and completely incoherent ramblings of Paula Abdul. Over the last six seasons we’ve all grown accustomed to her being overly nice and not really saying anything substantial, but is it just me or has she just totally gone off her rocker? The stuff she was spewing forth last night was the mindless drivel of an altered mind. I don’t know if she’s drinking or taking pills or what’s going on, but even Randy couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. He actually tried to shut her up a couple of times. I was almost embarrassed to listen to the incompetent words coming out of her mouth. I think the producers should be as well.

The Best Of The Night

Anyway, as always I’ll start with my three favorites of the night. This week it wasn’t hard to pick my favorites at all.

• David Cook – David’s rock version of a the Lionel Ritchie classic, Hello, was absolutely fantastic! David’s barely been on my radar thus far, mostly because he’s failed to impress me. Last night he impressed pretty much everyone. Put him in the studio, put that song on a CD and release it in two weeks because it’ll go Platinum. David came to compete.
  
  

  David Cook – Hello

  [youtube 3-pqBVsvXa4]
  

• David Archuleta – Make no mistake, David Archuleta is the one to beat in American Idol 2008. He had yet another strong performance, this time playing the piano as well as singing (almost) perfectly. I wasn’t crazy about his choice of song, but anyone with any kind of sense can see this kid has the talent.
  
  

  David Archuleta – Another Day in Paradise

  [youtube 8312H7Mmo58]
  

• Jason Castro – It wasn’t exactly the most exciting performance of the night, but vocally Jason did a really impressive job. He showcased his range and control better than pretty much everyone else this week. He’s been one of my favorites all along.
  
  

  Jason Castro – Hallelujah

  [youtube KwU1fpfcluY]
  


I feel pretty confident in saying these three contestants will be safe this week. I’m always a little worried about Jason Castro because there’s no way to know if he’s really reaching an audience. It’s possible his song choice this week might not be popular enough to get him a lot of votes, but I think Simon’s endorsement probably saved him.

The Worst Of The Night

Picking who I felt were the worst performances of the week were as easy as picking the best performances. As long as a couple of these guys are in the competition it’ll probably remain easy.

• Luke Menard – Luke was singing on borrowed time anyway since he should have been gone last week, but he certainly didn’t make a case for himself to stay in the competition. He’s been vexed by poor song choices the whole season and hasn’t performed well at all. I feel bad for him because he seems like a nice guy, but this did not work.
  
  

  Luke Menard – Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

  [youtube E-gyw6RM2oo]
  

• Danny Noriega – No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Why? Terrible. Awful. Disturbing. The only time this might would work is if David Hernandez was dancing while Danny sang…for the…um…”right” audience. Go away.
  
  

  Danny Noriega – Tainted Love

  [youtube iMxtfUdmWhc]
  

• Chikezie – There’s really no denying that Chikezie has a strong voice and tons of talent. I didn’t really think he did as badly on this song as Simon did, but at this point, doing well and being a good singer isn’t enough to keep you in the competition. Chikezie has to bring something extra, something special if he wants to win – and this wasn’t it.
  
  

  Chikezie – All the Woman That I Need

  [youtube xi7G1V-8rwc]
  


All three of these contestants did poorly this week and all three have struggled at times in previous weeks. Only two of them will be going home this week, but all three should certainly be worried and whoever gets to stay should think about listening to the judges (well, Simon) and changing some things to try to stay in this competition a little longer.

The Middle Of The Road

Although I didn’t pick the other two contestants to be in my top three, I felt both of them did fairly well. They both have tons of talent but have to be careful about song choice because that’s where they have the best chance to really stand out.

• David Hernandez – He may or may not have been a gay strip club dancer (but it’s looking like he was). Either way, the boy can still sing and he’s been doing really well. There’s a whole section of the population who may never hear or care anything about David’s possible pole dancing experiences so I wouldn’t count on it being a huge factor (other than maybe stealing some gay votes away from Danny Noriega who I can only assume is as annoying to gay people as he is to straight). When David picks the right songs he can really sing.
  
  

  David Hernandez – It’s All Coming Back To Me Now

  [youtube ElYrUbzAy4M]
  

• Michael Johns – Michael seemingly picked the perfect song for himself this week. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a song that he was able to blow us away with while several others were able to really shine with their songs. Michael is incredibly good and is already a polished professional. I have no doubt you could stick him in front of a band right now and he’d do well. But if he wants to win American Idol 2008 he’s going to have to blow us away. And that means taking some risky chances.
  
  

  Michael Johns – Don’t You Forget About Me

  [youtube 5qaJ5qG-ND0]
  


I think both of these guys are going to be solidly safe this week. They were both too good to think they should be in danger. Of course, that’s kind of how American Idol works sometimes and people forget to vote for the ones they feel should be safe. So, you never really know. I think they did enough to impress, however, and will be around next week.

Who’s Going Home

Since Jeff (of Static ThinkBox) and I are in a pseudo-competition to see who can more often correctly guess the persons voted off of American Idol, I have no choice but to make solid picks as to who I think will get voted off this week.

I think it’s going to be tough, but, as much as I hate it, Danny Noriega isn’t leaving us just yet. Luke Menard and Chikezie will be the two men who get voted off this week.

The American Idol Top 8 Men

• David Archuleta, 17, Murray, Utah
• Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, Texas
• David Cook, 25, Tulsa, Okla.
• Chikezie Eze, 22, Inglewood, Calif.
• David Hernandez, 24, Glendale, Ariz.
• Luke Menard, 29, Crawfordsville, Ind.
• Danny Noriega, 18, Azusa, Calif.
• Michael Johns, 29, Los Angeles by way of Australia

For a quick recap of each contestant from a slightly different perspective and to see who Jeff’s picks are, swing by American Idol Season 7: Top 8 Guys Performances – ThinkBox Style and see what Jeff has to say about last night’s episode. As always, please remember that we make our picks independently and without knowing who the other is picking as the best and worst.


American Idol Pick Off 2008: Jeff 5-3 Jason 4-4
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