Apr 16 2008
In Case You Forgot
Ryan set his 'repeat-o-meter' on high tonight as he repeated many things, many, many times. Among them, the results show goes back to its regular Wednesday time slot, EVERY vote counts, and all performances can be purchased from iTunes. Got that? No? Do we have to repeat it?
Songbird
This week's celebrity mentor is Mariah Carey, who was described as having one of the 'most prolific' careers in music, and that her 'amazing five octave range' allowed her to have album sales surpassing 160 million, and more #1 hits than the King himself, Elvis Presley.
Judging Identities
Before we got to the actual singing competition, Ryan wanted to know how the judges were going to judge the performances tonight, considering all the contestants would be singing Mariah Carey songs. Randy noted that they wanted to be fair and that they'd be looking for the contestants to 'identify themselves.' Simon and Paula didn't really answer the question, instead taking digs at Randy, who once worked with Mariah.
Strong Start
Up first was David Archuleta, who chose "When You Believe." Mariah thought his singing was beautiful and suggested that he use his falsetto in the song. David joked (or at least we think he was) that he was 'not worthy' to be in Mariah's presence. Randy began by saying that he was worried about tonight, especially with 'boys singing a girl's song.' Randy then said that 'if you can sing, you can sing anything,' and then he looked at David and said, 'YOU can sing anything!' Paula said that David made Mariah Carey proud with that performance. Not to nitpick, but how would Paula know this? Incidentally, this week's catch word/phrase for Paula is 'proud' and/or 'proud of you.' We'll see how many times she uses it tonight. Simon said David's performance set the 'benchmark' for the night, and that he performed 'very well.' Simon also noted that the guys would have an easier time as they wouldn't suffer from direct comparison to Mariah.
Slow Start, Strong Finish
Carly Smithson chatted with Ryan a bit and mentioned how much she missed the recently ousted Michael Johns, or as she referred to him, 'MJ.' She noted that Michael was the 'goofball' and cut-up in the group and that the past week without him has been very boring. When Ryan asked if she was implying that the remaining contestants had no personalities, Carly clarified that it was just weird without 'MJ,' and that they missed him. Carly sang "Without You" and Mariah was very impressed with Carly's range during rehearsal. Carly described Mariah as 'cute' and a 'big sunshine day' which amused us. Bet that's the first time anyone described Mariah Carey that way. Randy liked that Carly challenged herself but he found her weak at the start of the song, and it wasn't until she hit the power notes towards the middle that she started to shine. Paula noted that Carly chose parts and 'made them your own.' Simon said he was glad that Carly chose this song because they could finally make a comparison, but Carly didn't quite 'pull it off.' He thought it was 'an okay version' of the song, and while he believed she was capable, she was 'over thinking' things and still too 'wound up' which was 'holding [her] back.'
Lukewarm Praise
Syesha Mercado chose "Vanishing," which was a song that Mariah wrote as a teenager and is still one of her favorites. The buzzword for Syesha this week seems to be 'lukewarm,' which described the sentiment she inspired in those around her. Mariah found her 'composed' and thought she did a 'great job,' but it sounded like rote praise to us. Similarly, after her performance, both Randy and Simon gave her middling praise. Randy said she picked the tough songs and 'did a good job.' Simon found it 'technically good,' but he questioned the song choice, particularly its relative obscurity. Paula rambled about how smart Syesha was to pick a lesser-known song so as to not suffer in comparison (as she has in recent weeks) and then ended it by saying it's been 'unbelievably magical' for Syesha.
Quick Scorecard Review
Before the next performance, Ryan asked the judges what they thought of the evening so far and Simon declared that David Archuleta had stolen the night and 'he's the one to beat.'
