American Idol - Dolly And The Two Big Ones (David and David)

Top 9 Performance Night - Theme: Dolly Parton (That wasn't an April Fool's joke? Love Dolly and can't wait for 9 to 5 The Musical but I really thought it was a joke (the theme, not the musical)!) (As for the post title, look, I was trying to work in Dollywood, Dolly Would Not America and reference the Ferras song but nothing worked out okay?)

Brooke White sings "Jolene" started off a bit off-putting but then I basically realized she sounded like Dolly Parton and I didn't mind it at the end. Probably her worst performance yet, but that's because she's generally excellent. I wish she could have been much better, but I didn't hate it at least.

David Cook sings "Little Sparrow" in (finally) his own arrangement, and though I'm not loving the goatee, I'm digging the hair makeover. Oh, and the voice? He's knocking it out of the park again and flipping over this competition. I took him for a Daughtry wannabe but he's really growing on me and is becoming my top 2 faves.

Ramiele Malubay sings "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind". No. I wasn't even paying attention.

Jason Castro sings "Travelin Thru" and while I'm not a fan, I thought he did a good job as he did last week. I know most people teenage girls love him for the eyes and the hair but I actually liked the performance more when I didn't look at him. The voice was nice as long as I don't watch his innocent chillin' waif routine.

Carly Smithson sings "Jolene" and she sang it great but I thought the overall performance was only good. Again, I think I almost liked her when I only heard her, as beautiful as she may be. This is where the star essence didn't emanate as equally as her powerful voice. Except usually she has more presence so I'm not sure what went wrong this week. That being said, I'm being totally nitpicky because she was still pretty wicked. But I could agree with Simon's point.

David Archuleta sings "Smokey Mountain Memories" and my SUPA-STAR is BACK!!! I think I'm just going to squeeze him and keep him in my pocket for safe keeping. Seriously, that voice is just stellar. STELLAR! What else is there to say? I know I know, the backlash, the crazy stagedad, that yearning look when he sings, but I don't care about any of that the moment he starts singing. Plus, another haircut for another David for a nice sharp look. Adorable. Seriously, I'm keeping him in my pocket and I'm not sharing. Okay, maybe a little. Just to show off.

Kristy Lee Cook sings "Coats of Many Colors" and it wasn't perfect, but the country fit her pretty decently. Sadly, it was usually the simpler notes that seemed to strain Kristy. She can hit those high notes, but the middle ones warble a bit in an unfocused performance. Not truly horrid, it was still one of her better performances but her weak voice is starting to look obvious against the rest of the (much stronger) competition (even Ramiele, who sings decently, is just really boring and forgettable).

Syesha Mercado sings "I Will Always Love You". If ANYBODY should NOT have sung this song, it was Syesha. And yet she did. Way to get away from the R&B/Whitney/Diva ghetto/fallback. That being said, she was actually pretty great. And I liked her performance. Not a LOT but more than a little. Somewhere in between. Ha, Simon just said what I just wrote.

Michael Johns sings "It's All Right, But It's All Wrong" and his raspier voice has a nice overall sound and he does his whole rockin' thing, but I didn't love it as much as his performance last week. Though what was with that scarf? It's not all right, it's all wrong.

Best of the night: David Archuleta

Next best: David Cook (is it me or are these two top spots now going to be the two David's switching back and forth?)

I even liked: Carly Smithon, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado

Worst of the night: Kristy Lee Cook

Most forgetable of the night: Ramiele Malubay

Going home? Ramiele? My third time's prediction is a charm?

All the videos of the performances are after the jump:


Brooke White - "Jolene":




David Cook - "Little Sparrow":




Ramiele Malubay - "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind":




Jason Castro - "Travelin Thru":




Carly Smithson - "Here You Come Again":




David Archuleta - "Smoky Mountain Memories":




Kristy Lee Cook - "Coats of Many Colors":




Syesha Mercado - "I Will Always Love You":




Michael Johns - "It's All Right, But It's All Wrong":




For more on American Idol Season 7:
Click here for the most recent posts.

Top 10 Performance Night - Okay, Now there Really IS A Race! Or I'm Just Getting Soft (includes videos of all the performances), Results 10 to 9 - Chikezie, Meet Daniel Powter... Back in Obscurity

Top 11 Performance Night - That Old Awkward Phase (includes videos of all the performances), Results 11 to 10 - When The Stylists Finally Called In

Top 12 Performance Night - Death Race 2008 (includes videos of all the performances), Results 12 to 11 - Strippers and Prostitutes Are Not The Same Thing

Top 16 - Girls Night - Brooke's and Done, Boys Night - He Plays Piano Too?

Top 20 - Boys Night - Who Are Those Hotties - American Idol Hairdo's Edition

Top 24 - Boys Night- American, Should I Do Idol?

Thanks to Rickey for the photos.