David Cook Billie Jean Watch It Here
This… is American Idol. It’s the AI Top Ten, and the theme this week is “songs from the year of their birth.” Tomorrow night we will bid goodbye to another of the Fox reality contestants as we walk down the road to the “Who will it be?” Ramiele (born in 1987) goes first, and she’s doing “Alone.” My first thought is how ballsy that choice is, given Carrie’s outstanding performance of this song a few years back. Then she starts singing, and it’s shaky. Then she starts SCREAMING at us. I have always thought she has a pretty, big, powerful voice. But this? This isn’t good. She also has troubles with her stage presence. Randy agrees with me, Simon doesn’t.

Tonight’s Jason Castro’s birthday (also born in 1987). He’s singing “Fragile,” and he’s got his guitar back. It’s nice, it’s a good version of the song, and it’s a good choice for him. It’s nothing that we’re going to be talking about seasons from now, but it’s nice. In a word? Nice. Simon tells him that he needs to step it up, and if he does, he could win. But as he’s going, he’s too laid back, too much in his own world, and not taking it seriously. I think that maybe Jason doesn’t take anything seriously… but that’s just a guess. And not in a bad way.

Syesha was also born in 1987, and she’s doing “If I Were Your Woman.” I don’t remember this song, but I like her performance. She has such a clear, strong voice. Very Whitney Houston-ish. The judges love it, and comment that she finally turned it on and showed what she could do.