American Idol needs to rethink their format.  FOX, 19 Entertainment, the judges – changes need to be made.  Tonight, on the most important American Idol episode of the season, the judges were plain terrible.  There was an extended discussion about penguins, Randy and Simon had a round-long pissing contest and Mr. Cowell called the cheesy ballad from Armageddon one of the greatest songs of all-time.  Not to mention Paula Abdul, who found amazing new ways to confound the audience.  Even if the three judges are under contract for three more seasons, why not just cut them loose before they get even more embarrassing?  They clearly don't care all that much anymore.  Anyways, it was a fairly lackluster show that will likely make the American Idol final two look exactly like the final two we've been expecting for weeks. 

1. David Cook - "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” "Dare You to Move," and "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing"

David wins the night on the strength of his first song.  He got progressively worse in his second and third songs, but the song choices were to blame there.  Cook does what he always does – sing rock ballads well.  The first Roberta Flack song employed some of his creativity, and the other two allowed him to tread water.  Cook should be a no-brainer for the top two, but I think there's a slight chance he gets eliminated tomorrow.  The judges were almost too kind, perhaps putting his voters at ease. 


2. Syesha Mercado - "I Ain't Got You,” “Fever,” and “Hit Me Up”

I thought Syesha was good tonight.  The first Alicia Keys song was well-sung, especially given the inevitable comparisons to the original.  She changed it up just enough to make it her own.  The third song, the producers' choice, wasn't bad either.  Not special, and it didn't fit perfectly with her abilities (not her fault, remember), but it didn't hurt her.  Now, the judges had problems with her choice of “Fever.”  I didn't.  Given that her other two songs were modern, I like that she went old-school.  It wasn't unbelievable, but it's a great song and she had fun with it.  I'd certainly rather watch that performance over anything by David A.


3. David Archuleta - "And So it Goes," "With You," and "Longer"

Nothing can be said.  First song was vintage Archuleta – boring, well-sung ballad.  The second was an unmitigated disaster.   Terrible, awkward, nothing that could be considered commercial.  He is incapable of doing anything upbeat.  The third song made the first song sound like techno.  I don't know what to say.  If this is our American Idol, we've all failed.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)