Idol Thoughts: The Top 12

Okay, now we're into the Top 12! I'm getting really excited here, but I'm also getting really nervous, 'cause we're going to see nothing but good singers get the boot every week now. And now, since there's a new set and a new title sequence on "American Idol", I thought I'd try something new: to write my comments "live", as it were -- as the show is going on, that is. (Until now, I was just making quick notes and writing out the full article the next morning; now I'm writing it all out the night before ... still posting in the morning, you'll notice, but this time it's just touch-ups.) So, let's get started:

Syesha Mercado -- A very good start to the show, with "Gotta Get You Into My Life". I think I've heard better from her, but with the way she strutted her stuff this time around, there's really nothing to complain about.

Chikezie -- I had the sneaking suspicion that he was going to blow me away sooner or later, and this week he finally did! I'll be interested to see if anyone can top his amazingly creative bluegrass-to-country-rock rendition of "She's a Woman". He rocked the house, for sure!!

Ramiele Malubay -- As much as I've come to love her, and as much as I hate to agree with Simon, I must say that her delivery of "In My Life" was a somewhat forgettable turn ... although, in fairness, it came right after Chikezie's amazing performance. She is starting to come into her own, but still needs to let her voice fly.

Jason Castro -- His take on "If I Fell" was pretty good, but far from his strongest performance. I honestly found his voice a bit "whiney" here and there, and (as Randy pointed out) the odd vocal arrangement threw me off a bit. A lot of viewers love him, but I just wasn't "feeling it" tonight.

Carly Smithson -- In what may be her best performance yet, she did an absolutely stirring rendition of "Come Together"! But the one thing I can't shake out of my mind about her is the simple fact that she's already had a professional recording contract. (Am I being unfair in that respect...?)

David Cook -- He'd have to work really, really hard to top what he did last week, but he delivered a great take on "Eleanor Rigby" ... I heard a couple of sour notes sneak in, but his performance made up for it ... really good!

Brooke White -- A tender piano rendition of "Let It Be" ... very, very good, although I liked her last couple of performances better. Still, I'm not quite ready to see her go just yet, so I hope she stays in the game.

David Hernandez -- I must say that this wasn't his best offering. I agree with the judges that he put a bit too much into his performance of "I Saw Her Standing There", and as a result it made him seem to not put enough into his voice. I just hope it doesn't cost him a Top-10 berth, 'cause I haven't seen enough of him yet, either.

Amanda Overmyer -- We knew she was gonna rock the Beatles, and she didn't disappoint, belting out "You Can't Do That". But I'm wondering if I'm starting to tire of her voice. It really isn't the most versatile in the world, and I'm still associating her with Janis Joplin ... and not many songs sound good sung with that kind of voice.

Michael Johns -- "Across The Universe" is one of my favorite Beatles songs, and he did as good a job of it as he could, sticking with a traditional arrangement. I've heard better from him, though, so I'm a bit worried about his chances for surviving this week's round.

Kristy Lee Cook -- Another countrified version of a Beatles song, this time "Eight Days a Week", and pretty good -- hey, it'd have to be phenomenal to beat Chikezie's performance -- and it was perhaps Kristy Lee's best vocal showing, but there seemed to be something missing ... perhaps that it just sounded like a Beatles song plugged into a country arrangement, and that her stage presence seemed to be a bit lacking. But I did think the judges were a lot more harsh on her than they should have been....

David Archuleta -- Did they save the best for last? The best performer overall, definitely (in my opinion, of course) ... but, sadly, not his best performance. We all could tell that he forgot the lyrics to "We Can Work It Out" in a couple of places, but he recovered pretty well for being as new to performing as he is. Despite the shortcomings of his performance this week (and again, I disagree with the lukewarm reactions of the judges), he's still got arguably the most talent, lovability, and charisma of all the contestants.

Now, I'm not sure how things go from here as far as the eliminations, so I'm going to give my predictions assuming that two will be removed....

Who I think ought to be eliminated: Jason Castro (his weakest performance thusfar) and Amanda Overmyer (she's fun, yes, but the novelty is starting to wear off for me).

Who I think will be eliminated: Michael Johns (I think Jason has too many fans to be eliminated this early) and Kristy Lee Cook (ditto for Amanda, more fans than Kristy Lee).

Who I voted for: David Archuleta -- I wanted to vote for Chikezie, but somehow I think he's gonna do quite alright in the viewer votes department this week ... I had to support David in light of his unfortunate lyric trip-ups ... I was sure feeling the agony for the kid, I love him so much. (Yeah, right ... like he's gonna be booted this early, if at all!)

Let's all tune in tonight for the results...!