American Idol: the top 8 women perform

I hate to say this, but I was so disappointed tonight with the women and their performances on American Idol. No one really took any risks at all, whether it be with song choice or arrangements. Last night several men took some risks with their performances and I liked that. I didn’t necessarily care for all of their performances but you have to respect the fact that they took chances.

Here’s my take on tonight’s performances.

Asia’h Epperson. She performed the song “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston. I thought the performance overall was boring and safe and nothing special. It was too much like the original song for me. Randy and Paula both liked her performance; Simon said at best she was a second rate Whitney Houston. Asia’h showed some true grace and presence by telling Simon that she’d take it, implying that being compared as a step below Whitney Houston was almost a compliment.

Kady Malloy. You have got to have some brass ones to select a Queen song, and she picked “Who Wants to Live Forever.” Freddy Mercury was one of the most awesome and amazing performers ever. Whenever someone sings a Queen song you’re going to think of Freddy Mercury and it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. That being said my only comment about her performance was yuck. Randy said it was an interesting song choice for her, while Paula said in her opinion it was her best performance to date. Simon compared her to a robot with her performance and made a comparison to the Stepford Wives. I got what he was saying to Kady, that she has a great personality that just doesn’t come across when she is performing. However I think Simon could use some work on his diplomacy.

Amanda Overmyer. She performed the Joan Jett song “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and yet again it was a performance that was nothing special for me. The judges loved her, and Simon even said that she was fantastic and that it was one of his favorite performances by a girl to date this season.

Carly Smithson. She sang “I Drove All Night” and I don’t know who did it in the 80’s but all I could hear was the Celine Dion version. So in my head I was comparing her to Celine and I thought she did pretty damn good. Randy liked it, and Paula in her very Paula-esque way said she was like a dependable dog. Simon didn’t care for it at all, saying it was a bad song choice and that she was a million times better than the song.

Kristy Lee Cook. Kristy sang one of my favorite songs of all time by one of my favorite bands of all time - “Faithfully” by Journey. I absolutely love the song and absolutely hate what she did to it. She made it country. Not that there is anything wrong with country, but I just did not like the way she performed the song at all. Randy and Paula loved it, and both of them said it could be a country hit for her. Simon said he liked hearing the country influence in her voice but her problem is that she is forgettable.

Ramiele Malubay. She sang “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins and I loved her performance. I thought it was really good for her. Paula, in her Paula like way, was so kind saying that she loves her innocent and pure vocals. Randy thought it was pretty good but that she needed to be more confident. Simon called it good but old fashioned, a very predictable performance that was not big enough for the song.

Brooke White. In my opinion Brooke was the only one who took any chances tonight with her performance of “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benetar. It was not as good as last week’s performance in my opinion but it was a big risk and it paid off in terms of the judges’ response to her. It was just her and an acoustic guitar so it allowed everyone to focus on her and her vocals. Randy thought it was interesting and Simon said it was a great performance. Paula said it was a good choice and she did a good job but would have liked to see her incorporate the band into the performance.

Syesha Mercado. Syesha closed out the night as it began, with a Whitney Houston song. This time the song was “Saving All My Love for You.” It was yet again (in my opinion) a safe, boring and predictable performance that was way too reminiscent of the original. The judges had run out of time so all we got were one or two word comments from them. Randy said good. Paula said sophisticated and lovely. Simon said predictable but good.

I think that Kady is definitely going home after tonight’s performance, and maybe Ramiele (even though I thought she did a great job tonight). Overall I thought the performances were boring and safe. If the women don’t take it up a notch the next American Idol is going to be a man. Just my opinion.

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