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Brookie L. Crawford
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Member Since: 3/2007Last Seen: 9/07/2009

David Cook Takes some Risk on Idol's '80s Night

News Type: Event — Tue Mar 4, 2008 11:13 PM EST

Live Poll

Who Should Go Home

  • Luke Menard
    31%
  • David Archuleta
    1%
  • Danny Noriega
    55%
  • David Hernandez
    2%
  • Michael Johns
    1%
  • David Cook
    1%
  • Jason Castro
    1%
  • Chikeze
    8%

Total Votes: 468

The Top 8 Men

David Cook rocks Lionel Richie's "Hello."

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In the last performance for the guys before American Idol releases the Top 12, the men needed to take some chances with their '80s selections to secure their place in the final phase of the competition.

And one man stood out above the rest for taking a risk that locked his spot in the Top 12.

David Cook gets bonus points for the most original twist to an '80s tune. Armed with his electric guitar, Cook took "Hello" and made it a rock song. I would have never pegged him to choose a Lionel Richie song. But he did and he made it work for him.

On the other hand, Jason Castro went the safer route, choosing a song that was made for him to solidify his place. Leonard Cohen's (yes, I know it was made popular by Jeff Buckley, but that wasn't until 1994) "Hallelujah" totally fit Jason. And as a bonus, we got to see him without his guitar.

It was hard to evaluate Michael Johns rendition of "Don't You (Forget about Me)" because I was flooded with high school memories (as were others I'm sure, right Scott?). But from what I can remember, Michael did a decent job with the Simple Minds tune, but it wasn't a tune that really gave him the chance to showcase his talents.

Similarly, David Hernandez gave a solid showing. His rendition of "It's all Coming Back to Me" gave him a chance to display his voice, but the performance wasn't as good as last week. However, I still think he's safe in the next cut.

I continue to think that David Archuleta is being overhyped. Tonight he sang "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins. This guy really needs to lighten up and have some fun. Every song selection doesn't have to be a message about healing the world. He's 17. Let's see a bit of that youthfulness.

The next two were a bit of a tossup. But I think that Chikeze has the edge over Luke Menard. Chikeze's rendition of "All the (Wo)man I Need" gave him a chance to exhibit his voice, but it wasn't his best choice for a song for him. On the other hand Luke's version of Wham's "Wake Me up Before You Go-Go" was decent, if not forgettable.

And lastly on the list was Danny Noriega. All I can say is what was he thinking? I'm with Simon on this one. It was horrible. I didn't like anything about it – the purple hair, the leather outfit, the arrangement, his voice, nothing.

The rest of the hour was filled with each of the contestants revealing an embarrassing moment. While I sure these "moments" were embarrassing at the time, they weren't very memorable for the audience.

Based on tonight's performance, I think I might have to rethink my predictions for the Top 12 and send Luke and Danny home.

---------------
Here's a recap of the semifinals:

Top 20 Results Show

Top 10 Women Perform

Top 10 Men Perform

Top 24 Results Show

Top 12 Men Perform

Top 12 Women Perform

A Closer Look at the Top 12 Men

A Closer Look at the Top 12 Women

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8.8
1.1
{"commentId":1541522,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
vacelts

Who do you think should be sent home?

{"commentId":1541522,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Tue Mar 4, 2008 11:17 PM EST
{"commentId":1542297,"authorDomain":"evilgenius"}
evilgenius

Luke Menard or Danny Noriega. Both of them were bad last night.

{"commentId":1542297,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"evilgenius"}
  • 1 vote
#1.1 - Wed Mar 5, 2008 8:17 AM EST
{"commentId":1542308,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
vacelts

evilgenius, I agree. I was hoping Luke Menard could hang on to the Top 12 since he's from my hometown. But his performance last night gave me no hope.

{"commentId":1542308,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
  • 1 vote
#1.2 - Wed Mar 5, 2008 8:23 AM EST
Reply
{"commentId":1547906,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
Scott (Scoop) Butki

Thanks for the shout out, Vacelts. I'm offline at nite but was texting comments to Vacelts during the show.

Wouldn't davids most embarrassing moment be when he was revealed to be a stripper?

{"commentId":1547906,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
  • 2 votes
Reply#2 - Thu Mar 6, 2008 2:17 PM EST
{"commentId":1548014,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
vacelts

Apparently boogers trump stripping. Who knew?

{"commentId":1548014,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
  • 2 votes
#2.1 - Thu Mar 6, 2008 2:50 PM EST
{"commentId":1560104,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
Scott (Scoop) Butki

What about boogers while stripping?

{"commentId":1560104,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
  • 1 vote
#2.2 - Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:18 AM EDT
{"commentId":1560680,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
vacelts

I think it would definitely ruin the mood.

{"commentId":1560680,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
  • 1 vote
#2.3 - Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:22 AM EDT
Reply
{"commentId":1550783,"authorDomain":"kawatteru"}
Duhwayne

After reading the recaps for this week, I just confirmed that you're a below average reviewer.

{"commentId":1550783,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"kawatteru"}
    Reply#3 - Fri Mar 7, 2008 9:28 AM EST
    {"commentId":1551456,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
    vaceltsDeleted
    {"commentId":1551538,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
    vacelts

    You are entitled to your opinion.

    {"commentId":1551538,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
    • 1 vote
    #3.2 - Fri Mar 7, 2008 12:15 PM EST
    {"commentId":1560107,"authorDomain":"sbutki"}
    Scott (Scoop) Butki
    After reading the recaps for this week, I just confirmed that you're a below average reviewer.

    I disagree - I think she's doing a great job.

    {"commentId":1560107,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"sbutki"}
    • 1 vote
    #3.3 - Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:19 AM EDT
    {"commentId":1560682,"authorDomain":"vacelts"}
    vacelts

    Thanks Scott.

    {"commentId":1560682,"threadId":"229427","contentId":"1344072","authorDomain":"vacelts"}
    • 1 vote
    #3.4 - Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:23 AM EDT
    Reply
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