Just as Brooke rebooted her performance, is Sting going to have to reboot his rankings? Considering the results of this week, when good performances were rewarded with a trip to the bottom two – or out the door – and performers who did poorly stuck around, how in the world do you rank this? Sting7 is going to try.
I’ve already told you what I think about the outcome of Wednesday night’s show in my post-results show article. Now it’s time to try to figure out where each of the remaining Idols stands. Remember that the number in parentheses describes where they were ranked last week. So, on with the rankings!
(2) David Cook – I can’t ignore that Cook is still gaining momentum while Archuleta seems to have stood still. We could feel this coming. But I was banking on the competitor that is in David Archuleta (and sweet as he is, he’s been on Star Search, Idol, and who knows how many talent competitions that are not televised – he clearly likes to compete) would step up his game and squash Cook before he becomes dangerous. Too late. In some way, Archuleta looked ready to give up the white hot heat the comes with being “the favorite.”
(1) David Archuleta – Yep, he let Cook catch him. I am not one of those who are ready to worship at the feet of David Cook. He’s done some things I loved, some others that didn’t thrill me so much (the last couple of weeks). I do have to again note David Cook’s musicality; I do think Cook could make a quality album if given the opportunity and the artistic freedom to express himself the way he wants. As for David Archuleta, all is not lost. He can regain control of this competition with an Idol Moment type of performance. David Archuleta more than any other competitor has the skill to turn that on. Carly never could find the switch.
(3) Syesha Mercado – What, oh what does she have to do? Finally the judges give her some credit (even if the voices from the fringe don’t) for nailing another song right to the wall, and America still puts her bottom two. At this point, it’s going to be difficult to avoid bottom two. All Syesha has to do is keep her level of difficulty up. And I do believe there are a significant number of people who still see this is as a singing competition and not a popularity contest and vote with their ears. Now that Carly is gone, Syesha has the strongest voice left. I don’t know that she will ever again be ranked higher than she is right now, but Syesha Mercado is a star. Did you see that little red dress? Did you see what was in that little red dress? STAR.
(5) Jason Castro – So done with him. First there was the ukulele, and Tuesday night there was his insufferable mewling. I chuckled when Andrew Lloyd Webber didn’t bother to hide his revulsion of Jason’s performance, and chuckled again when the still steaming Jason didn’t want to answer Ryan’s questions later in the show. Despite all of that, I still have to rank him higher than…
(6) Brooke White – Brooke is not having fun anymore. Two weeks in a row, she thought it should have been her going on to post-Idol glory, and one of those weeks, I actually agreed with her. Big showstopping blunder. Maybe the biggest in Idol history. When she double-clutched on “Every Breath You Take,” she was only accompanying herself on piano. This time, a whole orchestra had to ramp up the intro again. I have been anti-Brooke, but even my bitter, gristled Idol heart broke for her… but she deserved to go home. I don’t even think Brooke would disagree with me. Idol history tells us that comeuppance doesn’t always happen immediately. Your lame performance may not get you eliminated right away, but the next week. The Ryan Starr Syndrome, my friend.
So, that’s how I stack them! A curious week, was it not? David Cook slips past a water-treading David Archuleta. Syesha comes on big and ends up at the bottom anyway. Jason mewls (that is really the only way I can describe that performance), Brooke reboots (again), and Carly goes home.
Remember a couple of months ago when Idol was accused of “handpicking a winner”? Ah, yesterday’s scandals. Next week, David Bloomberg and I try to predict who goes next, and after the show, I stack them again! Stay tuned!
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent articles on Foxes On Idol:
Sting7 has been a respected published writer for many years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He currently lives in Europe, loves cold lemonade, ice cream and kittens! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com.
