D Squared...I hope!

So now that I am back to blogging, I am very anxious to share my thoughts on tonight's AI. From what I can tell, the finals are going to be David and David and here's why.

David Archuleta: For those of you who read my blog, I have never hid the fact that I love the awkward, humble, overly peppy teen from Murray, Utah. I just love his talent and how he is so earnest about every song he approaches. Tonight was no different. For his first song, Paula chose And So It Goes. I am a huge Billy Joel fan and for once, Paula was not crazy. His second song choice was Chris Brown's With You. I have to agree with the judges that David is too white to sing this song, but I like them, applaud his effort and strategy to pick a younger sounding song. It is just so funny to me that someone who sings with such soul can rob the soul out of that song and replace it with an Up With People feel. I almost think he wanted people to join him singing while they were waving their hands back and forth in the air. For his third song, Dan Fogelberg's Longer, he gets an award for doing the most he could with such a crap song choice. When I hear that song I think my eighth grade Civics teacher listening to 98.7 The Bay and grading papers with a warm Diet Coke and an ugly dog asleep at her feet. Just something really sad like that. Luckily, the judges all agreed he could sing "The Phonebook" and they would listen. I wonder what next year's praise catchphrase will be.

David Cook: I haven't always been his biggest fan, but I think he is much more of a defined artist than Syesha is. David's first song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, was an odd choice especially since I don't think it was intended to climax at the end, but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard. His second song, Dare You To Move, was just what I guessed he would pick but was much more "pitchy" than I expected. His third song, Don't Want To Miss A Thing, other than being a shameless tribute to the music of Diane Warren (what AI season isn't?) was ok. I still think they should just do a Diane Warren night like they did in season three and get it over with already. He sang it exactly as I thought he would and I think he will make it do the finals.

Which brings me to my least favorite contestant, Syesha. Aside for every mannerism she does annoying me, I just don't think she is a defined performer. She is like an actress doing a performance of what a performer should do, not what she actually is thinking and feeling. Her first song, If I Ain't Got You, was a Xerox of the original with a few additional flourishes. Her second song, Fever, was painful to watch. Yes, Syesha, you are attractive. Yes, dancing around a chair is sexy. No, you should not combine the two with a really old song on the semi-finals of American Idol. I know like four other people saw the movie The Fighting Temptations (and as mentioned in an earlier post, Black Cinema is one my guilty pleasures) but her performance tonight was almost a complete replica of Beyonce's performance in that movie. She even did the Beyonce signature side-lunge. Bad form, Syesha. Her last song, the Happy Feet song was lame. Be yourself, not a copy of other performers! She honestly would be my first choice if they were casting a biopic about a black female performer. She would probably be able to imitate them perfectly. For next week, they get to pick their favorite song from the season and I REALLY don't want her to sing Change is Gonna Come and I know she would choose it. Once was self-indulgent enough, twice would be unbearable.

Keep voting for either of the Davids. The lines are open for just a few more hours!!