‘Idol’ Chatter

ANNE BRALY — So, we’re down to 11, and now that we’ve booted Danny Noriega and David Hernandez out of the picture, things are looking up. I think some of the singers are getting better each week. What about Chikezie’s performance last week? This guy can belt out the Beatles like he grew up on their set, though he contends he never listened to their music. Could this be true? If so, I think it shows his talent. And with a catchy name like that, could it be that he’ll be our next Idol? I like to pull for the underdogs, so he may be my final vote. Though there’s always Jason Castro.

CLINT COOPER — I was glad to hear they were going to do the Lennon-McCartney songbook for another week. Most of the contestants were able to do well with such great songs. Not only did Chikezie shine, where he had only been average, but rocker chicks Amanda Overmyer and Carly Smithson excelled, and David Cook was nothing short of phenomenal with “Eleanor Rigby.” Jason Castro continues to have great appeal, and Brooke White is still my favorite of the female singers.

ANNE — I like Brooke too, and it seems judge Simon Cowell is warming up to her, also. As in not giving her such a hard time. You know what I also find good about this year? Letting the singers play their own instruments. Brooke did an excellent job on the piano last week. Wonder if Jason will pick up his guitar this week? As for rocker chick Amanda, I still want to hear her sing a song without trying to put her rock ‘n’ roll touch to it. It’s as if she’s trying to cover up the fact that she really can’t sing anything else, unlike most of the other singers who have shown more versatility.

CLINT — I agree with you about Amanda. As much as I loved her song last week, she does need to show she can sing other genres. The same is true with my favorite, David Archuleta. After admitting to host Ryan Seacrest he was unfamiliar with the songs and was nervous about performing one, he lived up to his low expectations with his worst performance to date. His voice was still pure, but he forgot the words and gave a generally mediocre performance. I am on the fence about the instruments. Sometimes, they have accentuated the performance, and sometimes they have detracted from it. And while this is a singing competition, I understand producers’ interest in keeping ratings high.

ANNE — David Archuleta will be gone by next week. That’s my prediction. Oh, but we’ve failed to mention anything about Kristy Lee Cook. Maybe she is “forgettable” — Simon’s seemingly favorite description. If she has another train wreck like last week’s country version of “Eight Days a Week,” I’d say she’ll be packing her bags and heading back home to Oregon well in advance of young David.

CLINT — Well, I think you’re wrong about that. David will be around for a long time. This week, I think we’ll be saying good-bye to Kristy Lee Cook, whose song wasn’t as bad as the judges said but is still not strong, or, preferably, Ramiele Malubay, who hasn’t been memorable in weeks.