- Theme: Neil Diamond Night. Songs performed: Jason Castro -- "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morn"; David Cook -- "I'm Alive" and "All I Really Need Is You"; Brooke White -- "I'm a Believer" and "I Am...I Said"; David Archuleta -- "Sweet Caroline" and "America"; Syesha Mercado -- "Hello Again" and "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime."
- Theme: Neil Diamond Night. Songs performed: Jason Castro -- "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morn"; David Cook -- "I'm Alive" and "All I Really Need Is You"; Brooke White -- "I'm a Believer" and "I Am...I Said"; David Archuleta -- "Sweet Caroline" and "America"; Syesha Mercado -- "Hello Again" and "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime."—IMDb editor
- "American Idol" - Top Five Performance Show - April 29, 2008
Theme: Neil Diamond
In the audience: Rita "Mrs. Tom Hanks" Wilson
Ryan says we're still reeling from last week's drama and has the audience send a shout-out to Carly. Each contestant will sing twice tonight and get judged after the second song.
Video Package: Neil Diamond in many shiny, fringy jackets and sansabelt pants. He's had lots 'o hits, sold many millions of records, and is an excellent performer. His new album, "Home Before Dark," drops May 6. Neil meets the kids, and talks about encouraging the kids. He encourages them. He hopes they find their own path.
Contestant #1: Jason Castro
Song #1: "Forever in Blue Jeans"
Video: He goofs the words in front of Neil. But Neil thinks he'll do well.
Performance: He starts low, his guitar and the band guitarist sound like they're out of sync. He goes up for the second verse. It's a little murmury and tentative. He smiles a big smile at the end. It seemed low energy to me but the crowd digs him.
Song #2: "September Morn"
Performance: Sans guitar and sitting on a stool, Jason sounds like Enrique Iglesias singing in a piano bar lounge. This is stronger, more in the middle of his voice. He strolls a bit. Snoozy but not awful.
Randy: Thinks it was just an okay/whatever performance.
Paula:Thinks he needs to get outside his comfort zone.
Simon: He says no one recognizes him as the person they put in the competition and that both songs were forgettable.
Contestant #2: David Cook
Song #1: "I'm Alive"
Video: Neil is concerned/impressed that David has picked songs most people won't know. He gives Neil goosebumps and Neil calls him gutsy. He likes David's voice and attitude and is confident about his performance.
Performance: Playing electric guitar, he's singing in that low less comfortable register and there's not a lot of range in the notes. But the song is zippy and he's wearing a funky striped jacket with red leather embroidery- including an AC for his bro- and seems to be having fun.
Song #2: "All I Really Need is You"
Performance: Working an acoustic guitar David is also now in a higher register and he's sliding nicely over the melody. He rocks out the second half, it may not be familiar to most but the song has some nice bits to it and David tries out a nice raspy falsetto.
Randy: He's a huge David Cook fan and thinks David was blazing.
Paula: Is so proud of him and feels like she's already looking at the "American Idol"
Simon: Thought the first song was okay, but the second song was brilliant. He feels like the song was written this year.
Contestant #3: Brooke White
Song: "I'm a Believer"
Video: Brooke tells us she'll be playing two instruments tonight, guitar for "Believer" and piano for the more introspective "I Am... I Said." Neil counsels her to substitute Arizona for New York in the lyrics of the latter to make it more personal. He says she made it genuine and was pleasantly surprised.
Performance: Like the others Brooke starts in a slightly uncomfortable low register. The background singers are turned way down low tonight, somebody must've gotten the memo. Brooke tries to project fun but she seems desperate. She switches up the notes a bit to bring them into a higher register but the whole thing feels a little frantic, stiff, and hot mess-y.
Song #2: "I Am... I Said"
Performance: She has written some lyrics on her palm after last week's gaffe. She doesn't need them. I'm also wondering how she was planning to look at them while playing the piano. She inserts the Arizona lyric and seems much more comfortable on this one. It's midtempo and she bounces and sings pretty strongly. A few bum notes but no tremors.
Randy: Thought she did a nice job on the second song.
Paula: Thought the second song "just worked."
Simon: Hated the first song but the second song was "the Brooke we like." It wasn't incredible but a million times better than the first song.
Contestant #4: David Archuleta
Song #1: "Sweet Caroline"
Video: David asks for Neil's help. Neil, who looks terrific by the way, offers it. He calls David "kind of a prodigy" who, with a little guidance, will do great.
Performance: David sounds good but immediately futzes with the melody, and this is one song that doesn't need that. (Or maybe I've been to too many Red Sox games). He does seem like he's having fun singing an uptempo one for a change. He can't help but let a soupcon of earnest sneak in there though.
Song #2: "America"
Performance: Unsurprisingly, the earnestness is out in full force now and there's more note-switching. He goofs a note and gives a little smile. He actually does the "my country 'tis of thee bit." It's a weird song to chop up like this and the end is a little hammy.
Randy: Says he's in the zone.
Paula: Says it was the perfect song for him and thinks he was on point and brilliant.
Simon: Calls it a smart choice (a la Kristy Lee) and that "it ticked all the boxes" looking to be checked by his fanbase. Very good.
Contestant #5: Syesha Mercado
Song: "Hello Again"
Video: Syesha's excited about the mini-concert. Neil likes her. He asks to give her a hug. It's not creepy.
Performance: She's rocking long wavy locks and sitting at the edge of the stage barefoot. The mosh pit waves. Everybody's switching it up a bit tonight. She goes up a bit early and belts the bridge, it's all a little bit same-y. (Neil Diamond must not have a very broad vocal range since it appears his songs don't cover a whole lot of notes). On a second viewing this one sounded really nice with Syesha making note change choices that fit the song and her voice well.
Song #2: "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime"
Performance: It's an uptempo jam with snazzy handclaps in the "I'm a Believer" Neil vein. She bounces around cutely but she sounds vaguely flat throughout, and then a little sharp.
Randy: Thinks she's finally realized who she is.
Paula: She thought the vulnerable texture of her first song was magic and says with the second song she's a toss-up between Corinne Bailey Rae and Minnie Riperton.
Simon: He calls her a very good "actress-stroke-singer" and thinks she's in trouble because she didn't have a really memorable second song.
Addendum: In one of the strangest "Idol" moments ever, Ryan brought out all of the "Idols" after Syesha's first performance to get quick judge opinions on round 1.
Randy thought Jason was just okay better than last week, Cook very good-in the zone, Brooke better than last week but still a little karaoke, Archuleta the bomb, Syesha strong and very nice.
Paula liked Jason's lower register on the first song but felt like the second song lacked his usual charm. Except that he hadn't sung one yet. When that was pointed out to her, she said "I thought you sang twice." Ryan said she could see the future. Simon and Randy pressured her to just pick a favorite and she chose David Cook.
Simon said they were all lucky to be getting two songs and got right down to it. Jason: forgettable, David Cook: just above average, Brooke: a nightmare, Archuleta: amateurish, Syesha: old-fashioned. He wanted to see and hear the performances of a lifetime in the second round. As noted above, he didn't.
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