DaveChung.com – A Guy’s Blog From Girl World

vice download Never before in the history of American Idol has a Top 4 contestant ever been more ecstatic to go home than this week’s eliminated contestant Jason Castro.

Last night, it felt like Jason took himself out of the competition on purpose by inexplicably performing “I Shot the Sheriff” and forgetting the words to “Mr. Tambourine Man”

. Simon Cowell told Jason to pack his bags last night and it was a foregone conclusion that the Top 3 would be David Cook, David Archuleta, and Syesha Mercado .

During his performances, Jason just looked mentally tired and defeated from the American Idol process. Jason had even been quoted by Entertainment Weekly, saying that he was “ready to go home.”

Clearly, by the smile on his face during his goodbye performance, Jason got his wish. None of the other finalists were devastated, so I think Jason likely made his intentions pretty clear that this week was going to be his last on America’s biggest stage. It was a little awkward to see how excited Jason was to leave the show, but it seemed like our dreadlock sporting finalist had been mostly checked out since “Over the Rainbow.”

three and out movie

Despite checking out of the competition mentally, Jason was inevitably going to be a Top 3 guy this season. He wasn’t a David Cook, nor a David Archuleta, but he had a style all his own that was going to take him far. This was as far as Jason wanted to go, perhaps further, and I don’t think he’ll be shedding any tears as he watches the Top 3 and finale from the crowd.

At this point, I’m wondering how Jason even feels about going on the tour?

Last night, I’d have to agree with Simon Cowell that David Archuleta definitively took the night. His song choice of “Stand By Me” couldn’t have been more suited for his voice and while I wasn’t blown away by his version of “Love Me Tender,” the audience and judges absolutely loved it. I still feel like David is severely lacking stage presence, but his voice seems to make up for it nearly every time. Yes, his performances sound extremely similar every week, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing when your voice is smooth as Archuleta’s.

As is often the case when a theme week (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) matches a contestant’s style perfectly, David Cook had some trouble this week. David’s performance of “Baba O’Riley” was his strongest on the night, but it felt like our resident rocker was feeling the pressure of having to step up after finally having a theme that worked in his favor.

If Cook struggles with the pressure of a theme week, I’m really hoping that he can step up in what will inevitably be a David v. David finale. I’m also hoping that he can choose some universally well-known songs which will help his cause to win votes on the big stage.

Also making the Top 3 is Syesha Mercado, whose performance of “A Change Gon’ Come” had the audience on its feet. Syesha definitely wins the Jordin Sparks award for being the most improved contestant of the season, but it would be the upset of the century if anyone but Archuleta and Cook make the finale after next week’s results show.

Could the guys split the vote and Syesha to the finale?

Ryan Seacrest did say that the Top 3 were separated by less than a million votes this week.

Naw.

But in the rare chance that Syesha does make the finale, this could be the biggest landslide finale since Fantasia v. Diana DeGarmo back in Season 3.

Winner: David….One of them.

 Loading ...

With Mariah Carey’s latest album E=MC2 conveniently hitting stores today, American Idol’s Top 7 took on songs by MC tonight.

There were some interesting song choices and it was obvious that Jason Castro, David Cook, and Brooke White were going to have to make some adjustments with this week’s play list. In the end, the guys were yet again the ones to steal the show overall on a night filled with Mariah ballads.

Personally, this was an interesting night for me since I grew up a huge Mariah Carey fan. I know every Mariah Carey song other than the Glitter (6% from Rotten Tomatoes) soundtrack, which is coincidentally the only Mariah album that I don’t own as I just picked up E=MC2 today. Not only do I know the “fat belly” of Mariah hits, but I know the long tail of songs that “people don’t know.”

Out of the girls, the top performers were, believe it or not, Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercado. Both of the girls chose songs that were less known, with “Forever” and “Vanishing” respectively, both of which are two of Mariah’s better slow songs.

In “Forever,” I knew exactly what it was going to sound like before Kristy Lee started to sing, but it turned out beyond good, almost great! I was actually convinced that Kristy was going take “Hero,” which Brooke White ended up performing, but “Forever,” was probably the best song in the Mariah catalog for KLC that she could have performed and she did a great job with it.

For once, if Kristy goes home, it will feel like the girl got robbed this week. I’ll admit that it feels like Kristy has been on borrowed time for a bit, but she really could have been the best girl this week. If she goes home tomorrow before Carly or Brooke, it won’t feel right based on this week’s performances. Judging by the reaction of the audience, I think that for the first time, there would be some legitimate gasps in the audience if KLC goes home tomorrow night.

Syesha’s take on “Vanishing” wasn’t amazing, but it was very good, much like she has been the past few weeks. I’m actually a big fan of Syesha, as she’s consistently good, but she’s not consistently great and I wish that she was. Her performances are solid, but it’s a little bit like someone who always gets B+’s.

You want to have her on your team project, but she’s not your rock star. Nice person, solid performer, dependable, but not the person that you put in front of the room to help your group dominate the competition to make up for the fact that you guys didn’t start until the last minute.

Very disappointing tonight was Carly Smithson’s take on “Without You,” which I personally thought should have been David Cook’s song. Though I thought the song would have been better suited for David, it was probably equally suited to Carly with its big notes and time spent in the performer’s lower register – two areas where Carly has always shined in the competition.

Unfortunately, the performance just didn’t feel big enough and the judges were left as disappointed as I felt after thinking this could be one of the better performances on the night. This was the type of song where you expected Carly to catapult herself into the Top 4 performers. Instead she seemed to pretty much reserve a spot in the Bottom 3 yet again. David Cook would have destroyed this song and it feels like it was a wasted opportunity for Carly to really step up.

Even before Brooke White started singing, you knew that she was going to struggle this week. Brooke is all about song choice and simple arrangements of less vocally grueling songs and Mariah is pretty much not that.

Brooke took on “Hero,” a song that hypothetically could have gone ok, but it felt like nerves got the best of her when she could tell it wasn’t going well. Brooke noticeably sped up the tempo of the song at the end and the whole thing felt rushed, lacked confidence, and showed that Brooke is not likely to make it to the finale.

David Archuleta did a good job with “When You Believe,” but I didn’t think it was as good as the judges thought it to be. It was a solid vocal, but David really needs to prove that he isn’t a one trick pony at this point with the ballads. It’s a good trick.

I’m not saying he’s not a great performer, but I’d love to see something else from him to convince me that he’s deserving of being the finale shoe-in that everyone assumes him to be. If either David A. or David C. doesn’t make the finale, that means that one of them would have to play “Chris Daughtry” this season and go at the #3 spot (or even #4 like Daughtry! But that’s not happening) and I’m not sure who has a better chance of playing that part.

I really thought Jason Castro was going to run into some trouble this week because he, like Brooke White, doesn’t have a big voice and really depends on his arrangements as well.

However, Jason took on “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” which Randy thought felt like he was at a “weird beach luau,” a comment that made me laugh out loud.

Honestly, I didn’t think it was great, but it was much, much better than I expected. I was thinking, “Of all the weeks for Jason to go last, this could be really, really bad,” before he started, but he “worked it out,” as Randy would say. I think Jason has a good chance of landing in the Bottom 3 this week, but I don’t think that this performance will send him home as he’s still cumulatively better than all the remaining girls at this point.

Taking on the only upbeat song of the night was David Cook, who is allegedly dating hottie dancer Lacey Schwimmer , performing “Always Be My Baby.” Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that Cook would have chosen this song to turn into a rock song. I could see “Without You,” “Don’t Forget About Us,” and definitely “My All,” but “Always Be My Baby??”

And as weird as it was, it worked. I would have loved to have seen “My All” or “Without You” by Cook, but he took one of Mariah’s happiest upbeat songs up there with “Emotions” and “Dreamlover” and turned into a dramatic, near-emo, rock ballad. Who would have thought? I sure as hell wouldn’t have.

The performance didn’t blow me away as it did Randy Jackson, as I still feel like Cook’s “Hello,” is the stuff of Idol legend, but it was a surprise and a more than pleasant surprise.

Now that David has made it through Dolly Parton week and Mariah Carey week, has any rocker had a tougher road to the finale?

My vote count was as follows this week:

David Cook: 1

Kristy Lee Cook: 1

 Loading ...

Inspirational songs week couldn’t have been more surprising tonight as three finalists – Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado, and Kristy Lee Cook

– who had almost become afterthoughts, turned out some of the best performances on the night.

It was front-runners David Cook, Brooke White, and Carly Smithson who stumbled a bit tonight in my opinion, continuing this season’s theme of having no contestant being able to completely break away from the pack.

While the judges were crazy about David Archuleta’s performance of “Angels,” I didn’t think that it was that spectacular, especially when compared to some of the performances that Archuleta has performed in earlier weeks. The judges also found Brooke White’s performance Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” to be “pleasant,” but I found this to be one of the most painful performances of the season. I don’t know if it’s her facial expressions or awkward responses to questions that seem to get more frequent every week, but I find myself liking Brooke less and less every week and think that she more than deserves to be in the Bottom 3, if not go home this week.

Michael Johns turned out a great performance to kick off the night in Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” which didn’t necessarily blow anyone away, but it showed a continued progression of improvement week to week.

Joining Michael Johns in the “I’m getting better!” club was Kristy Lee Cook, whose performance of Martina McBride’s “Anyway” was by far her best of the season. Not only was this performance Kristy’s best, but it was just a very good performance overall. It was good, not just “good for Kristy Lee,” which would be a little better than “kind of ok.”

While I’m happy to see that Kristy Lee is improving week to week, the reality is that many of us will never ever be able to shake her trainwreck performance during Beatles Week. Though I found this performance to actually be really great, the problem that I’m having with Kristy Lee is that if I know the song she’s singing, I will know exactly what her performance is going to sound like before she starts singing (again, minus that horrible Beatles performance, as no one could have seen that coming). It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but it takes away from her ability to have a David Cook-like “WOW” factor.

While the judges wouldn’t agree, I thought Syesha Mercado turned out one of the best performances of the night with Season 3 winner Fantasia’s “I Believe,”

which was her winning song four years ago. Syesha may not have a realistic chance of winning Season 7, but she is more than proving that she deserves to be in this talented Top 8. Vocally, she’s about a half step away from being incredible every week and her awkward answers to Ryan’s questions don’t really help out too much.

However, this week Syesha turned out a pure, pop version of a song that most of us only know as Fantasia’s emotional, raspy, stomping around the stage (but amazing), Idol song. Personally, I really enjoyed it and thought it was a stand out performance and Syesha’s best of the competition so far.

Though not as incredible of a beat down as David Archuleta gave the other 19 during Top 20 week with his performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Jason Castro took a moderately sized deuce on the other contestants tonight with his performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the acoustic, Hawaiian-influenced wedding version, a la 50 First Dates.

Jason Castro looked like he was running out of steam before this week and he really needed to wake up and prove that he could regain the magic that was his performance of “Hallelujah.” Not only did Jason prove that he could regain that magic, but he proved that he deserves to be back in the upper half of remaining contestants.

The song was perfect for Castro and vocally, he did just enough to “make the song his own,” while not even coming close to overdoing it. It was by far the best performance on the night, giving him and David Archuleta likely the only two guaranteed spots in next week’s Top 7.

Who deserves to be in the Bottom 3 this week? (though Michael Johns could be in this group as well)

Carly Smithson

Brooke White

Kristy Lee Cook

If Brooke or Carly go home before Kristy, it will be because they both really stumbled this week. Brooke’s performance was almost painful and Simon Cowell was completely right in saying that it was a bad move for Carly to choose a song that was almost angry during inspirational song week. Brooke showed that she just doesn’t have what it takes to win this competition, while Carly’s subpar song choices continue to make her seem like less of a front runner than she should be at this point in the competition.

My vote count for this week included a vote for each of the following contestants – David Cook, Jason Castro, Kristy Lee Cook, and Syesha Mercado.

 Loading ...

While Ramiele Malubay’s departure from American Idol tonight felt like nearly a forgone conclusion after her performance of “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,” it was the Bottom 3 that shocked yet again this week. Though Kristy Lee Cook lives in the Bottom 3, the Girls’ front runner Brooke White

found herself in the Bottom 3 this week, much to her surprise.

Brooke’s inclusion in the Bottom 3 shows that Carly Smithson’s powerful voice and superior vocals may have caught up to and perhaps even surpassed the excellent song selection and arrangements that made Brooke appear as if she was the only legitimate contender on the Girl’s side after we made it to the Top 12.

Though Carly may have “beaten” Brooke this week, I have a feeling that Brooke still holds an edge in the long run that makes her feel like the only legitimate female contender who can possibly make it to the Idol finale with either David Archuleta or David Cook.

What was more than obvious was Brooke’s shock at being in this week’s Bottom 3. Not since Alaina Whitaker’s shock at being voted off have we seen a contestant be as stunned as Brooke White was to be in the elimination stools tonight.

After Jason Castro surprisingly landed in the Bottom 3 earlier in the competition, it also feels like Michael Johns’ consistently decent performances may have him sitting above Castro in the guy’s power rankings at the moment.

Honestly, while everyone will point to Kristy Lee Cook as the person who they’re most shocked to see in this Top 8, I might be just as shocked to see Michael Johns in this group.

I think that he’s a good performer and seems like a nice guy, but here’s a contestant that doesn’t necessarily have a set genre where he belongs. I am still confused as to where he would end up in terms of his professional recording career. Johns has definitely had some good moments, notably his performance of Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” but while talented, it’s hard to picture who he will be, in terms of a musical career, after American Idol.

abbott and costello meet the invisible man movie download Though I am a converted Kady Malloy turned David Cook fan until the end, the top performance of the week belonged to David Archuleta and his take on Dolly Parton’s “Smoky Mountain Memories.” Though Cook’s unique performances always find a way to stand out, there is no contestant left that can match the purity in David Archuleta’s voice. There is a smoothness and confidence in his ability to hit every note and as Randy Jackson said, “David Archuleta is back.”

Right when it looked like David Cook had a chance to really take control of the competition, David Archuleta showed that he’s not yet ready to give up that top spot with one of his best performances of the competition. Cook, who has been under tremendous pressure all season as he deals with his brother’s battle with cancer, addressed the report on TMZ that said he was hospitalized and said that it was merely a regular high blood pressure medical condition and that it wasn’t nearly as serious as Internet outlets were making it out to be.

Next week, barring an Idol Gives Back “Get Out of Jail Free” card, Kristy Lee Cook’s time on Idol will run out, as she’s been an escape artist of the most mind-boggling kind for what feels like forever, leaving no female hotties left in Season 7.

Since I didn’t have the chance to vote this week, I’ll make the risky move of ranking the Top 8 in writing. Here’s how I think they stand:

1: David Archuleta

2: David Cook

3: Brooke White

4: Carly Smithson

5: Michael Johns

6: Syesha Mercado

7: Jason Castro

8: Kristy Lee Cook

[Poll=1]

Welcome to the DaveChung.com Celebrity Photo Gallery, featuring identical smiling pictures of my run-in’s with some of the biggest names in sports, music, television, entertainment.

(Click on Carrie to view the Gallery)

Sports/USC

Brandon Hancock, Carmelo Anthony, Carson Palmer, Chauncey Washington, Chris McFoy, Darnell Bing, Deuce Lutui, Dominique Byrd, Eric Wright, Jacob Rogers, John David Booty, Justin Fargas, Justin Wyatt, Keary Colbert, Kenechi Udeze, LenDale White, Matt Leinart, Mike Williams, Patrick Turner, Rodney Peete, Reggie Bush, Scott Ware, Tom Brady, Tom Malone, Troy Polamalu, Sam Baker, Steve Smith, USC Song Girls Kim and Lara, Willie McGinnest

Music/American Idol

AJ Tabaldo, Anthony Fedorov, Blake Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Constantine Maroulis, Danny Noriega, David Hernandez, Jared Cotter, Jason Castro, Lisa Tucker, Kady Malloy, Nick Lachey, Marie’ Digby, Suge Knight

Television

Eric Dane, Eric Mabius, Mary Murphy, Masi Oka, Michael Urie, T.R. Knight

Entertainment

rounders online

Eden Espinosa, Ian Bernardo, Megan Hilty, Perez Hilton, Will Ferrell

While the story tonight was supposed to be Chikezie Eze heading home, turning the Top 10 into a Top 9, the real story was seeing one of the front runners, Jason Castro, in the Bottom 3 tonight – a la Alaina Whitaker.

Jacuzzi was an early favorite of mine. I felt like he was part Luther Vandross, part Clay Aiken in terms of his voice. A pleasant surprise, he turned out to be a really great performer in spurts. While Chikezie is definitely a good singer, he, like Amanda Overmyer, really made it just about to where he should have in the competition. I could see Chikezie making it to the Top 7, but anything beyond that would have just felt like borrowed time. He’s a fantastic singer and had some fabulous moments on the show, but just didn’t seem to carry that “WOW” factor that David Cook and Brooke White (my “Dream Finale”) are bringing by the backpack lately.

While most will say that Chikezie’s performance of “She’s a Woman” was his best moment on Idol, I would have to say that Chikezie really shined at his audition, where he performed this song, just as he did during Top 16 week.

Jason Castro knew that he had an off-week this week and I agree with the judges in saying that it looks like he is taking the competition a little too lightly.

Jason’s performance of “Fragile” was uninspired at best and perhaps being in the Bottom 3 was the kick in the pants that he needed to regain that magic that he had when he performed “Hallelujah,” in what feels like forever ago.

Being in the Bottom 3 tonight proves that the Dreadheads aren’t nearly big enough to carry Jason through the competition on the memory of “Hallelujah” alone. Castro is truly a breath of fresh air in the competition and I hope that he steps it up because he really brings something unique to the stage.

Even as David Archuleta continues to drift down the Idol Power Rankings (to maybe…spot 1.5 by now), competitors like Carly Smithson

and even Michael Johns have been stepping up their game to try and get to that Tier 1 level where David Cook, Brooke White, and David Archuleta have firmly staked their claims.

With nine contestants left in the competition, I believe that there are three tiers that are quickly starting to form week to week:

Tier 1

David Cook, David Archuleta, Brooke White

Tier 2

Carly Smithson, Jason Castro, Michael Johns

Tier 3

Syesha Mercado, Ramiele Malubay, Kristy Lee Cook

But let’s be real here, guys.

Yet again, the performance story of the week was rocker David Cook, who is proving to be everything that Blake Lewis was last year and more – originality, stage presence, mixed in with a little over confidence, and memorable performances that leave you wondering what he’ll do the next week.

This week, Cook’s take on “Billie Jean” was not only risky, as Simon Cowell recognized, but incredible. If I would get out of the mid-2000’s, I would purchase an iPod Video and buy that performance. Much like his performance of “Hello” and “Eleanor Rigby,” Cook absolutely won over the in-studio crowd during his performance and generated more excitement than any of the other nine contestants could on their own (yes, even David Archuleta).

It’s interesting because while Archuleta gets the big cheers when his name is called, it is David Cook that electrifies the studio audience with his performances week in and week out. At this point, I can’t imagine cheering for anyone else to win American Idol, despite the fact that EVERYONE is playing underdog to David Archuleta.

My vote count this week was as follows:

David Cook: 2

Syesha Mercado: 1

Entertainment Weekly, one of my very favorite weekly magazines, put odds on the American Idol Top 12 finalists with David Archuleta leading and Kristy Lee Cook bringing up the rear.

EW’s panel of Idol experts got the list pretty right, with a few adjustments here and there, which is one of the many reasons why I’m such a big fan of the print magazine.

1. David Archuleta (2-1)

2. Jason Castro (7-2)

3. Carly Smithson (5-1)

4. Brooke White (8-1)

5. David Cook (10-1)

6. David Hernandez

(12-1)

7. Michael Johns (15-1)

8. Ramiele Malubay (20-1)

9. Syesha Mercado

(25-1)

10. Amanda Overmyer (100-1)

11. Chikezie (250-1)

12. Kristy Lee Cook (500-1)

If I was to make any adjustments, I’d probably flip-flop David Cook and Brooke White at the 4 and 5 spots. I’d do the same for Chikezie and Amanda Overmyer in the 10 and 11 spots. Other than that, the list is pretty spot on! I think that Ramiele is a wonderful singer, but she might be a little too sweet to make it as far as Jasmine Trias did in Season 3.

Is anyone confident enough to take David Archuleta on those odds? He’s one of the few contestants left with an absolutely fanatic fan base, but we’ve seen in the past that this doesn’t always translate to the most votes (see last year’s Blaker Girls or Season 2’s Claymates) in the finale.

 Loading ...

By the way, I saw that my Top 16 results photo recap got posted on AmericanIdol.com, which you should definitely check out to relive the drama that was my not-so-secret crush Kady Malloy leaving the show, along with Danny Noriega, Asia’h Epperson, and Luke Menard.

American Idol Season 7 is turning out to be the year of shocking final two. First, my not-so-secret crush Kady Malloy took out Alaina Whitaker. Then, Chikezie took out Danny Noriega in a final two showdown. Now this week, David Hernandez lost against Kristy Lee Cook, who sang the most horribly arranged song in the history of American Idol with her fast-country version of “8 Days a Week.”

Out of this week’s bottom three, the bottom line is that all three of the contestants, Syesha Mercado, David Hernandez, and Kristy Lee Cook were all missing that true star quality. Honestly, it would have been nice to see David Archuleta in the bottom three for forgetting the words to his song while on the Top 12 stage, something that should never, ever happen. However, David has the golden voice and the fanbase to follow, so he was safe this week.

Kristy Lee Cook did look beautiful with her flat-ironed ‘do and just unbelievably hot body, but it’s tough for anyone to even lie with anything close to a straight face and say that they don’t believe Kristy deserved to go home this week after what was truly the definition of a train wreck of a performance. Kristy Lee’s country take on what Idol fans are calling “Beatles Week,” sounded like one of those mashups that people used to upload on Napster back when it was actually cool to say that you paid for Jay-Z’s “Gray Album,” even though you know that it sounded worse than Jay-Z’s “Black Album” AND The Beatles’ “White Album.”

It was horrendous. Atrocious. Terrible. A mess. To quote Simon Cowell, “Sorry.”

But was it worse than David Archuleta forgetting the words not once, but TWICE over the course of his performance? Yes, it was still worse.

Now we’re into the Top 11 with plenty more group numbers and silly music videos to come before we crown our next American Idol. With ten eliminations left, who’s got a chance to win?

In my opinion, those with a legitimate shot at becoming the next American Idol at this point in the competition are:

David Cook: Haters will say that he “sounds the same” in every song. The fact of the matter is that David Cook is consistent, wins more people over every week, and a rocker has never won American Idol. Eventually, the rocker curse will end and Cook has everything it takes to do it. Top performance so far: “Hello”

David Archuleta: If David Archuleta wins, unfortunately it likely won’t be because he turned out the best performances, as he’s proven to be completely vulnerable the past couple weeks. With his fanatic fan base (hear the screams whenever he sings in the group numbers), the Arch Angels alone could take the nicest guy on the block all the way to the confetti falling on his head as he sings “Inside Your Heaven.” Top performance so far: “Imagine”

Carly Smithson: Has even won over the haters who kept harping on the fact that she once had a record deal with consistent performances and a genuine fire for performing. Taking a page from David Archuleta’s book, Carly pulled out the ace up her sleeve by singing “Come Together,” a song she’s been performing forever, much like Archuleta did with “Imagine.” Carly is still a long shot, but she has a good a shot as any of the girls (which isn’t good compared to the guys). Top performance so far: “Come Together”

Brooke White: Though something about her feels very cold to me, which I think comes from the fact that she didn’t mingle with any fans compared to the other Idols at the Top 12 party, Brooke knows how to utilize her vocal limitations with good song choices that don’t expose the fact that she cannot hit the “big notes” like some of the other big players. Top performance so far: “Love is a Battlefield”

Jason Castro: Like Brooke White, Jason chooses good songs to hide the fact that he doesn’t have the biggest voice in the competition, though that’s part of his appeal. Jason is just a really likable guy who would fit an interesting niche in the music industry. The Castronauts and Dreadheads are a big fan base, but I wonder if they have enough to over take the Arch Angels in terms of fanaticism and if Jason has enough good songs to stand out as the greater of the two between he and David Cook. Top performance so far: “Hallelujah”

Normally, I’d post a big blog about the Top 16 results show and how I felt about it. I’d say that I was really sad about Kady Malloy leaving because she is and will forever be my favorite of American Idol Season 7 (true story!).

I am really bummed out that we said goodbye to Luke Menard, Kady Malloy, Asia’h Epperson, and Danny Noriega tonight. Though I’ve been under the weather all week, it gets offset by the fact that I found out earlier today that I would get to attend the American Idol Top 12 party tonight! Woo hoo!

I was worried that Kady wouldn’t be in attendance because she didn’t make the Top 12, which would have been the biggest letdown ever. Right after I walked in, I saw that Kady was standing right there in front of my very eyes!

Any talk about Kady not having a personality is not only wrong, but completely ridiculous because she was so much fun! The tour is really going to miss out on having someone with her personality and the life that she exudes. She was so gracious to everyone who came up to speak with her and I think it’ll take her really far wherever she goes.

I’ve met almost everyone I want to meet (Lauren Conrad, where are you?), but it was really a dream come true to meet Kady! It sounds like she has some exciting stuff lined up that we can all look forward to seeing. Kady is definitely, definitely one of the most beautiful contestants in the history of American Idol and not just because she gave me an enormous hug after she heard about my love for her. She was probably one of the most personable celebs that I’ve ever met!

While I didn’t get to meet all the Idols, since they had been doing interviews all night and well, they had to eat! I did really enjoy meeting the handful that I got to meet.

Jason Castro was extremely nice and just seemed like a really cool guy. Danny Noriega had the patience of a saint taking pictures with everyone who asked. The recently departed TMTH (Best. Abbreviation. Ever.) Idol spent a bunch of time with Kady Malloy, Ramiele Malubay, and the other Idols, which was really nice to see. All the Idols were on their best behavior and for a seven season fan like me, it was appreciated and beyond awesome.

One of the nicest guys on the whole night was Luke Menard, who was really cool and a great person to talk to. Luke was really different than a lot of the other competitors in terms of sound and style, but it sounds like the exposure on American Idol will do nothing but good for him. He wasn’t sure if he’d go back to his a capella group or if he would pursue something else, but after meeting him, I hope for nothing but the best for him.

Beyond this season of Idol, Blake Lewis and Gina Glocksen from Season 6 were in attendance as well! Blake took this picture of us and it was really cool to meet him! A bunch of the Season 7 Idols were coming up to speak with him before I came over and Blake still took the time to step out for a minute to snap a quick picture with me. I was a big Blake fan throughout Season 6, so getting the chance to meet him was a big thrill.

One of the most cool moments of the night was when I met David Hernandez, who was definitely one of the most approachable Idols. He took an unbelievable number of pictures with fans, but still took the time to speak to each of them until they were talked out. One of the people that was helping manage the Idols all night kept trying to pull David away to grab some food, but David told her that she had to wait because he wanted to say what’s up and snap a picture with me first. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it was really refreshing.

Outside of American Idol, the very awesome Mary Murphy from So You Think You Can Dance was also in attendance! I told her about how So You Think You Can Dance was a big reason why I started taking Salsa classes and we talked about how the hot tamale train has become a part of American culture for anyone who has seen the show before. I was so excited to meet her because I think SYTYCD is easily one of the best reality shows on television because of how well they develop all the contestants (much like American Idol is doing this season!). And of course, the dancing and Lacey Schwimmer doesn’t hurt!

What a night! What a Top 12! If you thought I was into American Idol before, we’re just getting started…

American Idol’s most talented season lived up to the hype tonight. Just when everyone was about to declare David Archuleta the winner (myself included), David Cook, Jason Castro, and unexpectedly, Chikezie, begged to differ with strong performances that should take them through to the coveted Top 12. However, with Alaina Whitaker’s early departure last week, anything is possible.

David Cook’s performance of Lionel Richie’s “Hello” did what seemed impossible. He made Idol front runner David Archuleta look beatable. If I take it even further, tonight, Cook almost made Archuleta look average.

While David A. turned in a solid performance of a Phil Collins song and sat down at the piano for the full time all season, David C. really showed his potential to be a commercially successful rock artist. Beyond putting together one of the best arrangements of the season, something the contestants actually have a ton of control over, Cook did what Archuleta did last week – bring an older song into 2008. However, Cook took this in another direction, by completely switching the song’s genre and making it modern at the same time.

Another thing I like about David Cook is that he doesn’t always sound exactly the same (sorry, Nickelback).

Was it in the same league as David Archuleta’s “Imagine” ? Not quite, but it’s a performance like this that makes people buy tickets to the American Idols Live! tour. This will undoubtedly be one of the top performances of the season and a performance that will define David Cook throughout the competition. I’m saying it now and I guarantee this statement will stand.

This was a breakout performance for someone who has already been one of this season’s strongest Idols. After tonight, I can’t wait to see more from him. As much as I raved about David Archuleta last week, David Cook has been just as consistent and could very well be my favorite guy (and I rarely, rarely vote for the guys once we get into the Top 12).

Best of all, so far, David Cook has no major scandals. No gay stripping, no Santa rape, no weapons charges, or crystal meth brew houses, and really, that’s refreshing.

Right after, Jason Castro performed “Hallelujah,” made famous by Jeff Buckley and well, the FOX television series: The OC. I was happy to see Castro let go of the guitar, but still have a firm grasp on his identity as the folk rock guy in this season’s competition. While Jason missed one of the final notes in the song and missed it BADLY (really, really badly), the rest of the performance was brilliant.

How good was it? It was so good that when I asked my mom about tonight’s show since she’s three hours ahead of me (if you’re reading this, hi!), she specifically remembered that it was Jason Castro’s performance that Simon loved this week.

I think that this was the bravest song choice of the night, but a perfect, perfect song choice for the dreadlocked bucket of smiles that is Jason Castro.

Similar to what David Cook did this week, Jason Castro sounded like someone that could potentially have an album out of this year’s Top 24. He has a sound and an identity unlike anyone who has previously won American Idol that could find some commercial success with a completely different audience.Who else was good this week?

David Hernandez really did turn in a strong performance, despite all this gay stripper nonsense that surrounded him this week. Unfortunately, he went before David Cook, Jason Castro, and Chikezie. Will people remember that his performance hit some of the biggest notes on the night?

Unfortunately, Danny Noriega didn’t have a strong week, which might not fair to well for him, though he has a strong fanbase, it’s tough to say whether he’ll be able to overcome the profanity-laden Christmas hating video that has surfaced online with what was a very ok performance.

Surprise of the night? Chikezie Eze.

Did anyone expect that?? Chikezie came back to life after Alaina Whitaker mopped the floor with him after singing the same song as him in week one. For week two, I can’t even remember what song Chikezie sang and that’s a bummer. But this week, Chikezie went back to his audition song, which is why it might have sounded so familiar to anyone who was watching. Simon wasn’t crazy about it, but I thought it really was a fantastic vocal. For once, Chikezie didn’t show any attitude and that was a welcome surprise that might take him into the Top 12 (maybe).

Here’s my vote count tonight:

David Cook: 3

Jason Castro: 2

Chikezie: 1