Chickie's Take on the Top 4

Well gee, do you think the producers want Jason off the show?

I've loved Jason from the get-go for a variety of reasons. He's genuine. He doesn't seem like he could be corporately corrupted. He's a folkie. He's a peace and love dude. He's not any of the things American Idol is looking for.

But wow... were Randy and Simon getting paid extra bucks for every harsh comment made? Simon was particularly brutal. Unjustly brutal. I haven't cringed that much listening to Simon since he clubbed Sanjaya like a baby seal after his very first performance in the Top 12. It turned me off completely, and I have to say that it ruined the rest of the show for me.

Personally I didn't think Jason's version of "I Shot the Sheriff" was that bad. I suppose as far as American Idol goes, it was a poor song choice, but for Jason it was right on. I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I liked Jason's version better than Eric Clapton's, whose recording of the Bob Marley classic leaves me completely bored. For as much flak as Jason has gotten over the past few weeks, he has never back talked the judges, but last night he finally gave it back to the man in his own way. When asked by Simon, "What were you thinking," Jason happily replied, "I was thinking Bob Marley!"

Translation: FU, man.

I think he stuck it to Simon again when he chose a Bob Dylan song for his second number. Simon once said that he hated Bob Dylan's music and that Dylan would never make it on American Idol. Really? What a shock. A lot of people wonder whether Jason flubbed the lyrics to "Mr. Tambourine Man" on purpose. I don't know, but seriously... did it sound much different from the way Dylan mumbles his way through a song?

Jason's comments this past week about being ready to go home have gotten a lot of press. I'm of the opinion that even if Jason's fans came out in droves and voted him to the number one spot, the powers that be would remove him anyway. It's my belief that at this point in the show, the producers take charge and voting doesn't really matter much. I know, I know - I'm too cynical... but I still believe it's true.

So the theme this week was songs from the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and David Cook chooses "Hungry Like the Wolf." Alrighty. I luved me some Duran Duran back in the day. It was one of those bands in which girls had their one favorite, you know, kind of like how girls either went for Paul or John or for Mickey or Davy... (my favorite Monkee was Mike. I was always a nonconformist). So of the five pretty boys in Duran Duran, I went for Simon. I have fond memories of me, newly licensed to drive, tooling around in the springtime with all the windows open in my 1972 Cutlass Supreme (WHAT a great car that was) and blasting "Rio" from my collection of cassette tapes.

hehehe cassette tapes.

But did I get that old thrill back when DC launched into some glam rock from the early 80's? Um, no. I thought it would have been a brilliant move on Cookie's part if he had altered the song in some way, but he sang it just as it was (albeit on key... Simon LeBon couldn't sing on key to save his life). I found it dull and uninspiring, although Cookie sang it well enough.

DC pulled a Michael Johns and Day-in-the-Life'd "Baba O'Riley." In my opinion, there is no good way to condense that song to a mere 12 seconds. What? It was more than 12 seconds? Well it didn't seem like it. There was a moment there when the tempo started to take off, and I thought, "Ok, here comes the Cook moment," and then suddenly the song ended. Whoa. As DC does, he sang it well, but it just wasn't right.

 As God as my witness, I never thought Syesha would be the last female standing. In fact, when Syesha made the Top 12, I figured she'd make it to about #8. I wasn't surprised that she chose "Proud Mary" as one of her songs. It made me roll my eyes. She performed the song exactly how I thought she would. It did nothing for me. For her second song, she chose "Change is Gonna Come." Apparently I was the only one in my house who didn't know this song. Even my kids knew it. Anyway, not knowing the song didn't make me appreciate her performance. I thought she sounded strained, and some of the notes she hit sounded forced. When Paula's praise drove Syesha to tears, we all thought a Brooke breakdown was a-coming. If the judges weren't ordered to hate on Jason, they probably would have turned against Syesha last night, but as it stands, it looks as if a Top 3 will include the diva wannabe.

In addition to the extra bucks Randy is getting for dissing Jason, he's stockpiling under-the-table dinero for loving Little David. "Stand by Me" seemed an obvious choice for this kid. It's never been one of my favorite songs, and although I thought the kid's voice seemed right for the song, I didn't like how he sang it. The weekly shots of Evil Stage Dad continue to creep me out, and I'm wondering if he's brokered some kind of airtime deal for himself. They show this guy way too much. Archuleta's second song was "Love Me Tender," which is yet another song I never liked. Again, I didn't like the way David A sang it. I think this kid is cheesy, and I also think he is everything the producers want in an American Idol. For that reason alone, David Archuleta should win American Idol.

Both Chris Sligh and Phil Stacey released albums recently. I listened to the song samples on iTunes, and for the most part I was impressed. So maybe we should let the David Cooks and the Jason Castros be free to pursue the music they desire. Little David is a perfect candidate for the machine.

So, that's my take on R 'n' R HoF week. Tune in tonight to see the dramz continue. Thanks for reading!