American Idol's top nine contestants gathered tonight to perform songs written and/or sung by none other than Dolly Parton, who also acted as the first mentor of this season. I was surprised to hear that Dolly Parton has written over 3,000 songs — that's amazing! I honestly didn't know she'd written anywhere close to that amount. I thought she was very sweet with all the contestants and everyone seemed honored to have had the chance to meet her and sing for her.
The first contestant up to bat was:
Brooke White - "Jolene"
I didn't like this very much. I'm not sure what it was, exactly, because her voice was okay, so maybe it was the arrangement? At any rate, something wasn't right and it affected how much I liked the performance overall. That being said, I'm fairly sure she'll be safe for another week. The judges were all over the place: Randy said, "It was alright." Paula said, "Excellent and wonderful." Simon said, "It wasn't one of your better performances."
David Cook - "Little Sparrow"
I very much liked David Cook's version of this song. This is the fourth week in a row that I've been completely impressed by David C. It was a great performance, which I'm becoming accustomed to seeing, and honestly, right now he's my pick to win American Idol. On David, the judges were pretty much in agreement. Randy said, "Once again, another hot performance." Paula said, "Fantastic!" Simon said, "If you can make a song about sparrows sound good, which you did, then congratulations."
Ramiele Malubay - "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind"
I've not been a fan of Ramiele's for the last many weeks, and this week doesn't change the status quo. For me, it was pretty much more of the same — which we've already heard, over and over. While she did try to bring a bit more excitement to the table this week, it still wasn't anything that will give her the oomph she needs, though the last part of the song was better than the rest. Randy said, "I wasn't jumping up and down but I wasn't mad at you either. It was alright." Paula said, "You were having fun!" Simon said, "It was forgettable."
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
For the most part I agree with everything you said, with one exception. I'm afraid Brooke's 'just okay' performance could really hurt her this week.
Or maybe I'm just sour on the the fact that Kristy Lee Cook and Ramiele Malubay remain week after week while less deserving go home.
What was missing in Brooke's rendition of Jolene was the passion. It's a song of desperate pleading and she didn't have the emotion behind it. Like you said, it wasn't bad - not by a long shot, but it just seemed to miss the mark.
David A and David C were terrific, but Michael Johns blues version of "It's All Wrong but It's All Right" was the best for me. I'm so glad he finally hit his stride.
2 - shanabrown
carly and syesha are the best micheal johns and david cook are great david archuletta not geat simon is not fear in is commens think i do a better job, no longer intresting in watching the program.
3 - El Bicho
Brooke White - "Jolene"
"I didn't like this very much. I'm not sure what it was, exactly,"
Simon and Connie nailed it. This was the only performance I saw because I love The White Stripes' version, and Brooke had absolutely no idea the emotion of the song. You don't grin like an idiot and wink at the audience while your pleading with another woman to stay away from your man and not ruin your life.