Beatle Mania Hits
American Idol!

The Top 12 American Idol contestants strutted their stuff on the shiny and intricate new stage Tuesday night as they sang the music of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Great songs made for a pretty good evening, as there were surprisingly few catastrophes delivered by the finalists. The new stage, new logo, new opening credits and a group of strong performances all made for a promising and fresh start to the finals round of the competition. Ryan Seacrest's return to the use of hair product and styling tools was just icing on the cake. All's well in the Idol world.

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take
on the AI7 Top 12: Lennon & McCartney.

Syesha Mercado "Got To Get You Into My Life"
Liza: I hated that arrangement, and it was very cabaret-ish. The opening was pretty painful, but she pulled it around at the end.
Score: 6.0
Destiny: I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Cabaret is the perfect way the describe it. Syesha is a good singer, but not a great singer, and her uninspired performance only confirmed my feelings that either one of the females eliminated last week (Kady and A'siah) should have had Syesha's spot in the Top 12.
Score: 6.0

Chikezie "She's A Woman"
Liza: I really like the bluesy Southern spin he put on the song, but he lost me a little when he started doing the Carlton and then spazzing out like Taylor Hicks. And dude ... act like you've been there before!
Score: 7.5
Destiny: I liked the opening, too, and wished that part would have lasted a bit longer. It was very Amos Lee. I didn't know Chikezie had this in him. I think he certainly made his mark with this performance, undoubtedly buying himself some extra time in the competition.
Score: 8.5

Ramiele Malubay "In My Life"
Liza: Great song choice, but I don't think she sang it in the right key. It was too high, and she ended up sounding very breathy, and she chose some odd times to take breaths. Her voice sounded lovely at times, but overall it was a little boring.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: I thought Ramiele's dedication of the song to her friends who had already left the competition added something to the performance, especially considering how choked up/devastated she seemed after each round of eliminations in the past three weeks. With that in my mind, I appreciated the simplicity with which she sang the song. She sounded lovely. It wasn't the best thing ever, but it really wasn't worthy of the major dissing that Randy gave her.
Score: 8.0

Jason Castro "If I Fell"
Liza: Another great choice by Jason. His musical sensibility and taste is very impressive to me. I just wish his actual singing would live up to that. He was singing quite well until the end, and then his voice crapped out just like last week.
Score: 8.25
Destiny: I find Jason to be the most interesting contestant this season. His song choices and vocal interpretations are always captivating, and his personality is just flat out charming. Great rendition of a great song.
Score: 9.0

Carly Smithson "Come Together"
Liza: Carly's been at her best when she's doing the rock songs, and today was not different. She really has a big set of pipes that are well-suited for rock songs, and she looked very comfortable on stage.
Score: 9.0
Destiny: I just don't get it. I'm surprised by the judges' over-the-top high praise of this performance (and ever other performance Carly does) and by Liza's high marks. I just don't get it. I don't think Carly is a bad singer (though she did shout her way through this song), but I don't think she is outstanding by any means. She does seem to have a lot of support from the audience, so I may just be totally missing the boat. EVS.
Score: 6.5

David Cook "Eleanor Rigby"
Liza: David is very NOW, and it seems like he can turn any song into something prevalant and current. And he can sing! I'm not so sure about the screaming at the end, but overall I really, really liked that. He is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Score: 9.25
Destiny: I have to admit that he is quickly becoming one of my favorites as well. I am shocked. Three weeks ago I couldn't stand the guy; he was on the creepy and super-smug side, and his singing was mediocre and just not my cup of tea. Starting with last week's stellar version of "Hello" he has amazingly transformed himself into a major contender in this competition and undoubtedly sealed his fate as a success in the music industry once the show is over. Along with his musical transformation, Cook is also becoming more likeable pre and post performance, and his physical appearance is becoming much more appealing. He sounded great on "Eleanor Rigby", successfully putting his stamp on the entire song. Impressive.
Score: 9.2

Brooke White "Let It Be"
Liza: I thought this was a risky song choice because of the repetitiveness of the song, as well as a risky choice to stay behind the piano. I was worried she wouldn't be able to engage the audience this way, but she really puts her heart on her sleeve whenever she sings and makes you feel every word. It took her a little while to really get into the meat of the song, but the last half of the song was just terrific.
Score: 9.0
Destiny: Brooke is terrific. She joins Jason as the most interesting contestants on the show. It is really gratifying that the judges (and seemingly the audience) are so positive towards these heartfelt artists who don't have to use huge vocal runs to convey passion. It certainly is a breath of fresh air on the American Idol stage. As for the song choice, I agree again with Liza that "Let It Be" seemed a little risky for this format. But Brooke's heart shone through so powerfully during and after the performance that any potential problems were quickly forgotten.
Score: 9.0

David Hernandez "I Saw Her Standing There"
Liza: I was getting a stripper vibe from him, and he struggled a little bit with the low note in the chorus. It's strange because as upbeat as that song is and as much as David was dancing around trying to engage the crowd, there were times when it just dragged, and his glory-noting and runs didn't help in that regard.
Score: 7.0
Destiny: Ah, 'tis difficult not to think about David being a stripper whenever he is on stage isn't it? And when he was talking about his latest job at the "pizza bistro", I couldn't help but think if that was code for strip club. Or if the strip club actually has a pizza bistro in it. Either way, this performance was just all sorts of wrong. His vocals were off, and even if they were "on", the arrangement of the song was on the irritating side.
Score: 5.5

Amanda Overmeyer "You Can't Do That"
Liza: Her "Amanda spin" seems to consist of mumbling and not enunciating. She's a good performer, but I don't think I could stand to hear this kind of singing for 11 more weeks. I do like the hair much better this week, but I REALLY could have done without the Constantine-like tongue and devil horns.
Score: 7.25
Destiny: I don't want to hear this kind of singing for 11 more weeks either. And I don't want to hear the judges praise her to the hilts again. Besides her grating voice, Amanda's less-than-charming attitude makes me look forward to her elimination. And what is up with her saying that she never heard this song before? Slap.
Score: 5.5

Michael Johns "Across The Universe"
Liza: I am so glad someone picked this song, and I'm glad that if it wasn't Brooke (who really could have slayed me with this one), it was Michael. This was his best performance since "Bohemian Rhapsody," and it was nice to be reminded of what a good singer he is. I think he could have powered the vocals a little less, but overall I really enjoyed it. Randy's criticism is ridiculous. For some people he wants them to change it up, for some he doesn't. Make up your mind, dawg!
Score: 8.75
Destiny: Word about Randy being ridiculous. It was just idiotic his contradicting comments throughout the evening. Michael's straightforward presentation of this song was effective, and it was nice to see this side of him. I will openly admit that his good looks contribute to my enjoyment of his performances, but how bad is that, really? I mean this ain't no radio show! Pretty things to look at are what make television the powerful medium that it is. And this is definitely something I could look at and listen to for 11 more weeks.
Score: 8.9

Kristy Lee Cook "Eight Days A Week"
Liza: I HATE countrified Beatles! Especially when the singer can't find the tempo! This was a big hot mess and probably one of the worst performances ever at this stage of the competition.
Score: 2.0
Destiny: I wouldn't mind countrified Beatles, but I did mind this over-the-top hee haw festival. The band, being their ever overdone selves, was way too heavy on this arrangement and way too fast. A slight bluegrass fiddle here and there would have been tolerable, or a modern country arrangement a la Shania Twain would have worked, but the full-speed overcrowded dixie band version was just out of control. There's not a singer around who could have kept on top of that (or who would have wanted to). Kristy Lee missed the mark on this one big time. Considering her strong showing thus far, I am puzzled as to how this could have happened. And what was up with Paula? Despite having a lot to complain about with this performance, I can't help but think that her unusually negative comments towards Kristy Lee came out of a resentment of Kristy Lee's I-only-care-about-what-Simon-thinks pre-performance statements rather than Paula's actual opinion of the performance. You know Paula and Randy don't like to be shunned, dawg!
Score: 5.0

David Archuleta "We Can Work It Out"
Liza: Going last. What a shock. Only not. And this isn't even pimp-spot worthy! Even without the missed lyrics and the obvious improvising it wasn't pimp-spot worthy. It was cheesy and a bit high school talent show-ish. Thank you, Simon, for not treating him with kid gloves.
Score: 6.0
Destiny: This definitely was Archuleta's weakest performance to date. I hope this is the last we see of his nerves getting the best of him. It was all a bit amateur hour, and when he forgot the lyrics it was just plain nervewracking. Get it together, boy, and show us what you got!
Score: 6.0

Who Should Be Eliminated:
Liza: KRISTY LEE!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!
Destiny: Amanda

Who Will Be Eliminated:
Liza: Kristy Lee or Syesha
Destiny: Syesha or David Hernandez

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