Ryan and Simon have no intention of hiding their love away, clearly

[jlh]

How much more Ryan Simon bitching could possibly have fit into a two hour show? And they hit all the old favorites too: Ryan is obnoxious, Simon is unhelpful, Ryan is obsessed with shoes, Simon needs to button his shirt. flaming_potato friends, what was Ryan whispering to Simon, please? I only caught the word "obnoxious"! Ryan was really hyper tonight, which he's been on occasion on the news lately. Don't be taking NoDoz, now, Ryan!

Lythgoe said in an interview that they had 25 songs to choose from tonight; I'd love to see the full list, I have to say.

1. Syesha, "Got to Get You Into My Life." Hmm. I don't think the horns are doing her any favors; it ended up being a little Vegas. But she sounded good.
   
2. Chikezie, "She's a Woman." Well, you can't say he didn't put it right out there. I'm not sure the first part of the song really went with the second part of the song, but the stagecraft was fantastic and he sounded great.
   
3. Ramiele, "In My Life." See, this is a pretty song? But it doesn't go anywhere, and she didn't take it anywhere. She got the "you look great" kiss of death from Paula, too.
   
4. Jason, "If I Fell." Oh, he's just so adorable, isn't he? I love drummers. Simon was right in that it was too much like last week, but he'll be fine. He'll work it out.
   
5. Carly, "Come Together." Well, at least she finally is wearing an outfit that goes with the ink. I thought she sounded fantastic, and finally lived up to that potential we've been hearing about.
   
6. David Cook, "Eleanor Rigby." Hmm. Eleanor Rigby as an Incubus song really doesn't work for me. Ali thought it sounded like a soundtrack for a Naruto amv. But that also means it sounded radio friendly, and that's what Simon wants this year!
   
7. Brooke, "Let It Be." Okay, so this is kinda boring, isn't it? I mean, she sounded great, but nothing really happened in that song.
   
8. David Hernandez, "I Saw Her Standing There." It isn't up there with Sinatra doing "Something," but he really oversang this one didn't he? Not really the right song for Sr. H.
   
9. Amanda, "You Can't Do That." She totally picked the right song, and I thought she sounded fantastic. I'm not sure I'm with Simon that she was better last week, as I thought she was pretty damn good.
   
10. Michael, "Across the Universe." Good choice, because he reminded us that he can actually sing, which I was beginning to lose track of. There have been a lot of covers of this lately—Fiona and Rufus, at least, and he seemed to be doing the Rufus, but he didn't really do anything with it.
    
11. Kristy Lee, "Eight Days a Week." I didn't get it. Way too fast, she sounded kind of lame, and it didn't work in any way.
    
12. small David, "We Can Work It Out." Okay, so I have to say here, that Brandon forgot the lyrics, and he was so out. I feel like small David is falling apart under the pressure of the heir apparent stuff, and that sort of sucks, and he'll get through this week anyway, but hopefully everyone will lay off him after this.

[Poll #1152763]


I voted for Chikezie, David Cook, Carly, Jason, and Brooke.

Comments

[dreamerren.livejournal.com]

I love your reviews.

I love your poll.

I love you :D

[jlh.livejournal.com]

aww sweetie, thank you! ♥

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

you know, i can't improve on this.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I never get to watch this on Tuesdays but had a surprise night off. Wee!

I voted for Chickezie, Brooke and Carly.

First thing I noticed was how Ryan started off putting his hands on the judges' shoulders but when he got to Simon he didn't. Which I read as them totally doing it, but that's me.:-D

The Eleanor Rigby ultimately worked, but it was so weird hearing those words sung that way. You can't hoarsely moan lines about Father Mackenzie darming his socks or writing his sermon. The words just work much better when you enunciate like the Beatles.

God, that 8 Days a Week was so bizarre. I felt like the song was fighting the arrangment the whole time. I couldn't even follow it. But I didn't think the problem was the advice--there's other Beatles songs that would work as country, just not that one.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Whee!

8 Days was the one time where I thought Ryan was fishing in the wrong pond for Simon being wrong. Kristy just doesn't know what she's doing. But Ryan was looking for a nice comment to go to the numbers with, and he wasn't finding it.

The hands thing, yeah. It's like, before it was about how much they touched and now it's about how much they don't, because Ryan is more often near Randy, sitting in Randy's chair, while in season 3 he sat on Simon's lap a couple of times.

[zorb]

What the hell was Kristy doing? I was so confused and uncomfortable watching it. Thank goodness for the rampant Rymon fun times.

Chikezie was easily my favorite, but I enjoyed Carly a lot, too. I really think Castro needs to ditch the "one guy and a guitar" schtick, because it's getting predictable and boring.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Kristy, so bad even Paula couldn't sugar coat it.

Castro needs to branch out, but the one guy and a guitar thing works well for so many actual artists, so.

Oh Rymon

[locumtenens.livejournal.com]

Ryan was really hyper tonight

Wow, was he ever! But I love that he can let go and look a bit silly now and then. He hasn't always been that way.

I am so disappointed by Syesha and Ramiele. They have such interesting personalities offstage but I have been so booored by their performances the last few weeks.

I'm amused the two older Davids get their last names used, but D. Archuleta is only called by various pet names. :D

[jlh.livejournal.com]

That's the other thing about watching Rewind, is seeing how tight Ryan used to be. He really has matured.

Syesha has definitely had two bad weeks, and I really like her too. Ramiele I don't like so much as I feel she has a great voice that she really didn't show off tonight.

oh, small David, you are so small.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

My husband wasn't home tonight so I watched with my son, and I was really kind of amazed at some of the performances. I saw Chikezie sing one of the previous weeks, and I thought he had the most beautiful voice, but tonight he just blew me away. Carly and Amanda rocked, too, and I loved the way Jason was so laid back and just sang the song straight and let it be pretty all by itself.

I mean, wow. I really enjoyed myself, watching the show.

Also, Simon and Ryan were cracking me up.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! There is a way to get in, as long as you make it about the things that you enjoy and don't worry too much about the rest. Heck, that's what Simon does. I agree with your picks!

The Rymon, it flows.

[akari-hayashi.livejournal.com]

Damn, it sounds really bad lol. I am almost afraid to watch it tonight now.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

What, small David? It wasn't good; Simon said it was a mess, and it was. I don't think he has a lot to worry about if he can rally and get back on track next week, and it says something that he hasn't been manufactured for our pleasure. The thing that could screw him is the number of people who haven't been watching the semis, heard he was the second coming, and then heard that performance and were even more disappointed than they might have been. All that said, it isn't a good sign that the crumbled a little bit under the pressure and a theme he wasn't comfortable with, so I hope he proves himself a bit stronger than that.

All of that said, he sounded good, just uncomfortable, nervous and a little unprepared.

[akari-hayashi.livejournal.com]

Ah... Interesting insight. It kinda prepared me for tonight. And yeah, he was just too uncomfortable, and didn't even try to hide it. Too honest, the little boy. I think his current fans are enough to back him, and hopefully convince other people to give him another chance.

Rymon was LOVEEEE.

[ziggy1278.livejournal.com]

Brooke. Not boring.
Chikezie. Was that a fake campfire?
Holyshit if I got into the voting thing I would have voted for both of them.

I really think Kristy Lee might survive based on the Dolly Parton fan base alone. I think it would not be a huge surprise if David H or Ramiele wen't home.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I agree about the eliminations, and I wouldn't be surprised if Syesha went home, either. Uninteresting performance in the first half of the show, not great, and if Ramiele had been later in the show she would have been a little safer, though she also would have been more harshly judged. Kristy Lee could definitely ride the "I'm the only country singer" vote to be the singer who sticks around too long, but when even Paula doesn't have much that's good to say about you, it's not a good sign. For David H and Ramiele, it really depends on the gay vote, I think; Ramiele is the only real diva left on the show but she didn't bring it (not to mention that she apparently misunderstood the meaning of the song), and David H oversang and had his usual bizarre stagecraft, both of which are tendencies of his, to make everything feel like Celine in Vegas.

Brooke really didn't move me. It was very nice, she sounded great, and I'm not saying she was being safe, but the song didn't go anyplace. I'm sure it doesn't help that I really, really don't like that song at all because it sort of drones on and on forever like the song that doesn't end, and all I picture is C____'s high school class singing it at their commencement. But I was very like, whatever. I'm glad people liked it because I like her.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I meant to vote for Chikezie, Carly, Brooke, Cook and Michael. But I didn't manage to find my cell phone in time :))

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

we are as one on syesha, chikezie (i mean, we were cheering at our house, total knockout), ramiele, jason, all the davids (although honestly i was very happy to hear what the judges said to small david, not because i dislike him but because i felt that particular performance failed in exactly the way hernandez's did, and it would have disappointed me had they bluffed it out for him), amanda, michael, and kristy lee.

that leaves carly, whom i just DO NOT GET. yes, she sounded good vocally, and she usually does. but i thought simon was wrong, this was even less the right song for her than ever, because the song isn't about anything but itself, so when you don't connect with lyrics anyway, and to me she doesn't, there's nothing left but attitude. also, the thing with that song is, when i was 13 i used to rewind my vcr over and over to watch steven tyler being evilly sexy in the sgt. pepper movie, and carly, you're no steven tyler.

and brooke, whom i thought was absolutely fantastic, but the thing with that song is, i was in high school before i read that he wrote it about his mother, and it never occurred to me until then that it wasn't a catholic song, and so it has always hit me on a level i cannot rationally explain, and i love brooke.

want to go: kristy lee. fear will go: syesha.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I have to bond with anyone who has seen Sgt. Pepper's that many times. I have a friend who *constantly* teases me about it. It's really not my fault--it was on cable all the time the first time my family got cable! I loved Stephen Tyler doing that song.:-)

Also, I love Brooke. Whichever way I'm feeling about that song on any particular day, I like that she just brings something to everything--I mean, not always a fantastic arrangement or whatever, but she also sells me that she's singing about something/someone. I don't know how to explain it but it sets her apart from everybody for me because of it. Her sitting at a piano singing is just...more than anybody else even doing a lot. JMO.

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

It's really not my fault--it was on cable all the time the first time my family got cable!

hee! why do i think our families must have gotten cable at about the same time? truly it was on all the time. he was so dirty, and i was enthralled.

she also sells me that she's singing about something/someone. I don't know how to explain it but it sets her apart from everybody for me because of it. Her sitting at a piano singing is just...more than anybody else even doing a lot.

yes. that's it exactly.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

First, I support all Meg-Juli bonding.

Everyone loves Brooke so I'm glad I voted for her anyway, but I think unlike for Jacob, my disinterest in this song overwhelmed my usual liking of her. I thought she did it well, and she's cute, I just didn't really care. Also, re Paul, I think he was purposely punning the name, so it's not that it isn't a catholic song, but that it needn't be, but also, it needn't not be.

Ali said last night that she wouldn't care if Syesha went because she doesn't think Syesha will do anything interesting on the show, and I agree, and that made me sad for Alexandrea, because I think she really would have. ALAS! But despite people hating on Katie Lee, Syesha and Ramiele are much more in danger of being just plain forgotten.

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

spamming you, because i forgot to say that the rymon had me in hysterics. i kept yelling "omg clio."

[jlh.livejournal.com]

omg juli!

[ziggy1278.livejournal.com]

Sooo, I love this recap more than I have ever loved any recap. Recaps are the best when they end up saying exactly what you were thinking in a way that is better than when you thought it. I think that happens in every paragraph this week, and this bit doesn't disappoint:

David Hernandez tells us about his job at a pizza bistro. He says the words "pizza bistro" like a million times, which no matter how many times you say "pizza bistro" it still means teabagging out-of-town businessmen.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I agree with a great deal of it, except Jacob's weird dislike of Amanda, which I think just hooks into his inability to deal with anything that happened in music before about 1961, so she's suddenly Elvis with all the baggage that has for Jacob, and that's sort of unfair.

And I do actually agree that I'm concerned that Ryan found the uppers, because he was hyper like this Friday on e!news and I thought it then, so I'm not sure it was just, you know, the set or that he kept winning the eternal duel with Simon. But now you see why it was Jacob that made me a shipper. So you have him to blame for all of this, actually.

[ziggy1278.livejournal.com]

I get it though. If there is one polarizing person on the show it's her. I don't imagine anyone is very "so so" about her. You either love her thing or hate it, and he clearly hates it. Personally, I think she is so awesome that I just don't even mention it anymore because it's always the same and it's always cool.

um, hi there!

[axis2cluster-b.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't mind, but I added you to my friends list. I've seen you around a couple of Idol LJs and Ally really likes you and I think she's pretty nifty, so here I am. *is a big dork*

Also? Just how 'doing it' ARE Simon and Ryan, anyway?

Re: um, hi there!

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I never mind! Welcome!

I wouldn't assert they were actually doing it until the talk of Africa last season, and the way that Simon always talked about it. Last season was really the season that it OMG showed, and we all started referring to it as Ryan and Simon's African Honeymoon. They might have started fucking well before that, but the love stuff happened in season 5 or 6. And now, it's just ridic, and really really fun to watch, because there's clearly so much affection underneath, and they're letting that show.