Tonight's Lineup:

Luke Menard - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
David Archuleta - Another Day In Paradise
Danny Noriega - Tainted Love (Vote For The Worst Pick)
David Hernandez - It's All Coming Back To Me Now
Michael Johns - Don't You Forget About Me
David Cook - Hello
Jason Castro - Hallelujah
Chikezie - All The Man That I Need

I actually really liked Danny Noriega's performance. I hope he makes it to the Top 12.

Listen to Danny Noriega's performance:

Update:

I was too tired to post my thoughts on this week's performance by the guys. But this morning, I thought that I just 'had to' update my entry.

This week's theme is "The 80s".

First off, Luke Menard. I was really disappointed with his song choice. Sure, it was a great song (when it first came out) but I don't think this song would show off your talent in a singing competition. LM has a small, high voice. I often think of Kenny Loggins when he sings. Why can't he just pick a Kenny Loggins song? KL made three albums in the 70s, and four albums in the 80s.

David Archuleta. He reminds me of Zach Efron minus the 'arm behind his head' pose. DA's voice is, in my opinion, a polished version of Efron. I didn't like the performance. I know he has a lot of fans, but Simon Cowell was right. It was too dreary. I haven't seen that 'wow' performance his fans seem to talk about.

Danny Noriega. Now, that's different. Teehee. Minus the slightly unsettling performance, I thought that he sounded great. Besides, I love this song. It reminds me of that Friends episode where Danny DeVito guests as a stripper in Phoebe's bridal shower.

David Hernandez. Nicely done, I must say. I loved the diva-ish performance. He reminds me of Jai Rodriguez of the Queer Eye's Fab Five. Mikee thinks he looks like Marc Anthony. Now I'm intrigued whether there are any video-ed performance of his strip-club days.

Aussie Michael Johns comes back for the 80s. A few days ago, a few of us were talking about MJ and compared him to similar artists & 'look-alikes'. The names that came up include Michael Hutchence, Guy Pierce, Rob Lowe, Alfie Anido, and Jim Morrison. I like his voice, and his performance this week. To quote Simon Cowell, "I liked it, I didn't love it. I still think you have a huge talent, but haven't quite connected with the right song that has your moment yet. I actually prefer you when you're--like a soul singer. But, I really, really, really like you, and I think your going to do very well in this competition.

David Cook sang Hello. I really liked his 'version' of the song. Personally, I didn't like the original (by Lionel Richie) and get squeamish every time I hear it. DC did a really good job. The only part I didn't like was when he yelled "I love you". I ducked thinking someone was yelling 'Fire!!!'.

Jason Castro's Hallelujah renders a sigh of relief. I like the slight croaky tone in his voice. When the judges mentioned that he should try performing without the guitar, I was a little unsure about how his performance this week would turn out. Props to the emotional prowess. His voices sounded great. Simon thought it was brilliant, and I'm sure lots of us thought the same.

Chikezie second take on All The (Wo)Man That I Need was not a good show ending.

So, there you go. I thought there were some really good performances this week. I'm still waiting for that breakthrough performance where I would say/think -- "____ will win!".

Posted on 05 March 2008 | American Idol | Permalink | Comments (2)