American Idol - Final Eight

Finally, a guest judge who has something constructive to say. Quentin is such an irrascible asshole. I think I’d hate to have him as a friend, but he’d be fun to go partying with for a few weekends.

Onto the performances:

George – Favourite movie is The Wiz? What the? George looked great, but didn’t do a great job singing. He sounded a little flat pretty much the whole way through. Whether he knew he was off or not, one good thing about his performance is that he sold it. I expect a big rebound next week. But The Wiz?

John Paul Ringo – I finally figured out what JPL reminds me of. He’s the normally-kind-of-quiet guy at the university party who, just as he’s had that right amount of alcohol, gets brave and begins to let his inner wild-guy out a bit. Most everyone finds him kind of obnoxious, but harmlessly so, and there are enough that egg him on so he continues, getting braver and braver, more and more drunk. Unfortunately, those crazy wild eyes tell me that at a point later on in the night, he’ll be too drunk and will become arrogant, then violent.

When JPL sounds as good as he can, he still sounds barely in control of himself. Last night, his singing (I mean ‘shouting’) was aiight, and the best that I can say about him is it was a high energy performance. Still, whenever he tries to perform, to dance around, the quality of his singing dramatically declines. Stand still and sing, son. Stand still and sing.

Jennifer – Sister Act 2? What the? A solid, solid performance. Jennifer is looking better and better each week, and the singing is sounding better each week, too. I think the reason for this is that she has started to feel the songs she’s singing. My criticism of her earlier was that there was a wall between her and the lyrics she was singing. Lately, though, she’s been singing songs that fit perfectly with the anger and fury that, I think, is always bubbling just beneath her personality. I predict her first single will be entitled: “Don’t You Dare Leave Me, Or I’ll Kick Your Ass, Lover”

Hawaii Girl – She did okay, but she just doesn’t have the power in her voice to continue in the competition. Simon is exactly right when he says she (and Diana and Crooner John) is a kid trying to be grown up. Her performance was pretty much unforgettable.

Crooner John – Okay, John. Stop snapping the fingers. Just stop, okay. He did a good job with this song, but Simon nailed it when he said the kid has no charisma. Get off the show.

Fantasia – She will be the next American Idol. She may not win the competition (she should) but she will be the next American Idol. Just like Randy said, the best American Idol performance from any competitor, ever.

Diana – When she finished singing, my wife asked me what I thought of her performance. I realised that I spent most of her time trying to think of what movie I’d pick as my favourite, and what song I’d sing. That doesn’t say much for how her performance grabbed me. Through those thoughts, I recollect an every-town kind of performance that had too many slightly off notes. For the record, the movie I’d say is my favourite would probably be “Raising Arizona”, and the song I’d sing: “I Wanna Be Just Like You” from The Jungle Book.

LeToya – She’s a pro. A great performance that was only eclipsed by Fantasia’s brilliance.

Three that go to the bottom: Crooner John, Hawaii Girl, Diana. Hawaii Girl gets sent back to the Sofas of Safety.

Diana DeGuarmo says good-bye tonight.