Forever Idol | American Idol News

American Idol Says Goodbye to………???

With an opening performance of Neil Diamond hits, all of which were danced and romanced to years before any of the contestants even thought of being Forever in Blue Jeans, the remaining five eclectic wanna -be’s gave what can only be described as an adequate rendition of the hits that made Diamond Front Page Story way back in 1983.

First up, looking like a swampy tree hugger, Jason offered up September Morn which quite honestly would have made me want to go back to bed on a September morn, pull the duvet tightly over my head, put my iPod safely on my ears and spin a few tracks by the genuine article, Neil Diamond. Maybe Jason should consider taking himself off to a penguin protecting Greenpeace ship to Antarctica and serenade the wildlife there!

David Archuleta’s young and innocent look definitely hides a talent far beyond what his visual years would suggest as he took to the stage and to the best of his ability performed his versions of Neil’s 1969 hit Sweet Caroline and America the 1980 track from The Jazz Singer soundtrack album, both of which saw him through to the next round of AI.

Syesha Rocmercado looked every part the new American Idol, as she rang out Hello Again and Thank the Lord for the Nightime dressed in an attractive gold asymmetric stone-age style dress and smiling the smile of a winner as she went through to the next round of American Idol.

David Cook hides a cute face behind his unshaven chin and looks as though he has been in an eight hour fight with the sleep gorilla, but his performance of All I Really Need is You and I’m Alive, left him with the result he strived for when Ryan Seacrest uttered those immortal words, ‘you’re safe!’

Brooke White gave us I’m a Believer and I Am, I Said, a performance which Simon cruelly termed as a ‘nightmare’. As one contestant had to leave the show, the unfortunate choice was in fact, Brooke. After receiving the news that she had been axed from the show Brooke held back the tears long enough to give a sorrowful goodbye performance of I am I Said. Brooke told Ryan that she was happy to be there and her confidence had grown while on the show.

Britain’s Natasha Bedingfield graced the interlude with her single, Take me Away, and barely outshone the 5 contestants and quite frankly someone should take her away. When asked by Seacrest what her first audition had been like she remarked that she never had an audition. Maybe she should have, that would have put her right where she belongs, on the check out at Tesco. (a UK supermarket!) Bedingfield has taken her career to the top by bathing in the reflected glory of her talented brother Daniel, not from her own talent.

Neil Diamond himself added to the evening with his performance of Amazing Grace while strumming his guitar and clad in his almost trade mark black leather jacket. Having lost none of his pitch, charm or looks (only a little of his hair had gone AWOL) Diamond brought a calming influence to an otherwise electrically charged evening.

But the highlight of the show had to be when Simon Cowell was questioned by a phone caller in England, Tara Miller. She had kissed Simon when they were both 9 years old and she wanted his verdict on the performance she had given all those years ago. As usual, Simon remained unruffled, if a little embarrassed, but held his own as he recalled the moment which had occurred at the bottom of his garden back in the family home in London. He asked, in return, for her verdict on his ‘first kiss’ and before Tara had a chance to reply, Simon quickly added, ‘but remember I was only nine years old!‘ We think the man doth protest too much!

ABB

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 8:34 pm and is filed under Neil Diamond, Natasha Bedingfield, Simon Cowell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.