Season 7 ~ Episode 34 – April 23, 2008

By: Mary Cavaliere

Yikes, another painful opening of the elimination show.  The final six attempted to sing All I Ask Of You from Phantom Of The Opera.  As I’ve said before in previous blogs, these voices just do not blend. They should let each contestant sing a portion of the song because listening to them sing in unison just doesn’t work.

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Andrew Lloyd Webber chatted with Ryan Seacrest and expressed how bad he felt for Brooke because he said at the rehearsal her performance was flawless.  He also seemed a tiny bit annoyed that Jason did not take his advice in choosing a different song.   Ryan asked him if he had to write a love song for Paula and Simon what would it be called?   “Time To Say Goodbye” I think says it all, don’t you?

Now the only thing worse for me than having to listen to Kristy Lee Cook sing is having to listen to George W. Bush speak.   He and the First Lady appeared in a clip on the show to say thank you for all of the donations made to Idol Gives Back (which was over $65 Million).  Rock on Idol!

I loved the segment on Idol alumni which focused on previous contestants who have performed or are performing on Broadway.  Tamyra Gray was in Bombay Dreams and is now playing Mimi in RENT (that I would love to see).  Both Fantasia Barrino and Lakisha Jones appeared in The Color Purple.  Clay Aiken is still performing in Spamelot (I would love to see this as well), and Diana DeGarmo was in Hairspray.

Tonight’s guest performer was Simon Cowell’s latest find, Leona Lewis, who sang Bleeding Love from her new CD.  She is a very beautiful and talented young lady.

Now that we’re down to only six contestants there is no bottom three, but rather a bottom two.  I was a little surprised that Brooke and Jason weren’t in the bottom two, but that goes to show how much America loves them both.  Syesha and Carly ended up there instead and I don’t think it’s because they are less talented but rather that they may not have the same fan base as Brooke and Jason.   In the end it was Carly’s turn to go home and I have to admit I’m glad my girl Syesha is still standing strong!

Next week’s mentor is Neil Diamond.  I’ve seen him twice in concert and he has been a phenomenal entertainer for decades.  My guess is he’ll have a thing or two to teach these youngsters, and I can’t WAIT to hear what David Cook does with one of his songs!

You can read more of Mary’s television blogs at www.myspace.com/italiangirl57

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