TV

Lots going on as North Texas recovers from Jason Castro getting the boot on American Idol this week. The rumor that he was making a Rockwall appearance last night wasn't true -- he's saying it might be weeks till he's back in Texas.

Here are links to Castro happenings:
, After chatting with reporters, including Darla Atlas, on Thursday Jason appeared on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Here's a blog post at neighborsgo.com on the Leno appearance:

The city of Rockwall didn't get to hold its big party, but still plans to honor Castro at some point. Check the Web site rockwalllovesjason.comfor details.

It was time, wasn't it? Even for those of us who adored him on the show have to admit it. Besides, if he'd squeaked by Syesha this week, it could have caused some sort of violent uprising amongst angry viewers. And nobody wants that.
"I think it's just getting tough for me," he said of the competition. "I think my inexperience is coming in."
Well, the good news is this: He now has a lot more experience to fall back on in the future.

Syesha and Jason await their fate, while Davids A. and C. are safe. Ryan noted earlier that the top three came within a million votes of each other (out of a total of almost 51 million), so to me that means Jason will be departing. (One person clearly came in dead last, in other words. Jason made many mistakes.)
Of course, I'm writing this without knowing the future, so I reserve the right to say, "Oops!" in an upcoming post.

Way back in Season One, Nikki McKibbin (local singer who was regularly panned by the judges -- sound familar?) grabbed a top-three spot from the clutches of the beloved Tamyra Gray -- who was seemingly a shoo-in. People expected to see a Tamyra/Kelly showdown in the end, remember?
This year, people expect a David/David showdown. History tells us it may not happen.

Really, at this point I think it would make Jason sad NOT to go home. He is SO ready. He has already had a tremendous ride. If he does go as expected, I think Syesha will be next (even though I LOVE her voice and think she would be terrific on Broadway). I think this will be a battle of the Davids for the top slot. And if so, which David do you think will win it?

During Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," he forgot the words. Maybe he was serious when he told the Entertainment Weekly reporter he was ready to come home.
Sigh.

Good Lord. Not sure if the nerves got to our hometown guy or if -- as Simon said -- he just shouldn't have attempted Bob Marley. All I know is that his rendition of "I Shot the Sheriff" was pretty painful. He seemed to be trying to infuse the song with extra energy or pizzazz; did you notice all of the extra body movements tonight? But the thing is, Jason is endearing because he hasn't had to try that hard. We like his lack of pizzazz.
His second song better be awesome. Stupendously, magically awesome.

Tonight, the final four got to choose songs from performers who've been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In other words, they have MANY CHOICES. David Cook's first ditty was "Hungry Like the Wolf," which he casually mentioned came out THE YEAR HE WAS BORN. Ouch. Dude is quite young.

Don't cry for us, Brooke White! We want you smiling when you come to Dallas as part of the American Idols Live Tour 2008, coming, appropriately, to the AMERICAN Airlines Center Aug. 25. That means for all of you with short-term memory loss, that we'll also be seeing Carly Smithson, Chikezie, Kristy Lee Cook, Michael Johns (my kids' fave), Ramielle Malubay and of course David Archuleta, David Cook, Syesha Mercado and our very own Jason Castro (wonder if they'll give him time to check on things back home in Rockwall????)
Pop Tarts presents this AEG Live production, which seems appropriate. Tickets available at Ticketmaster, but not until Saturday, May 17 at 10 a.m. Good luck with that!

Rockwall's Jason Castro makes some pronouncements in Entertainment Weekly that might be painful to fans' ears. Interviewed during Neil Diamond week, he told EW: "What happens happens. I'll sing and if people like it, they like it. And if they don't, they don't. I'm kind of ready to go home. ... It's been overwhelming. I got 150 balloons yesterday delivered to the studio because people heard I was sick last week. That's cool, but that's just weird."

Assuming he does well with Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Week (which is a good assumption), and assuming he's not voted off on Wednesday, Jason will return to Rockwall on Friday, May 9, to celebrate his top-three status. The festivities (to be filmed by Fox, of course) begin with a short parade at 3:30 p.m. near the Harbor Amphitheater, next to the Hilton Bella Harbor on Lake Ray Hubbard. Jason is expected to greet his screaming fans at 4:30. Be there! (Pending.)

From The Associated Press:

"Why would we get rid of Paula?" wonders Cecile Frot-Coutaz matter-of-factly, when questioned about possibly nixing the wacky "American Idol" judge now infamous for - among other things - critiquing both of Jason Castro's songs after he'd sung only one.

Read more and tell us what you think.

After leaving the show in tears last night, Brooke was back to her peppy self during a conference call with reporters this morning. I asked her about the Paula-centered controversy and whether the other singers rallied around Jason before he had to sing his second song that had already been panned.
"You know what? Jason is a very laid-back guy. I think he was OK," she said with a laugh. "He does what he does, and it's great. Live television is very interesting. We call it 'fly by the seat of your pants' television.' Things change and it can be very confusing. Paula, bless her heart, made a little mistake."
Any regrets - things she wishes she would have done? "Just enjoy it more. Honestly, the pressure was gigantic. I didn't even tune into the media, but it's just your own insecurity that you feel through the whole thing. The pressure and the workload are just physically and mentally huge. You have to find a way to enjoy it."
She agrees with Carly Smithson that the guys are more popular with viewers this season: "The fan mail came in and there would be these great, humongous stacks for them, and the girls got like three a day. The boys are very talented and charming, but oh, to be a boy this year! It probably would have been helpful."

Well, the time has come to "celebrate her home," as the Ruben song says. Seems like she didn't want to be celebrated home, as she couldn't stop crying. But hey, these things happen.
Meanwhile, what do you think of the Final Four? It's certainly an eclectic group. For those who will say Jason doesn't deserve to be there, I say you are wrong. Just my opinion!

He's safe, and I'm not suprised. I think America rallied behind him last night after the Great Judging Debacle -- especially because not one person apologized for putting him in that position. I mean, couldn't Paula have said, "Hey, sorry about hating your performance BEFORE YOU EVEN PERFORMED. Now get out there and sing."
Or, they could have thrown him an apology bone tonight. Instead, it was all about rallying around Paula. Ryan said that "the judges were thrown a curveball on the air," which "sparked a lot of gossip about Paula.
"Just for the record," he added, "the rumors -- they're not true. She's part of our family and we love her."
Wow. Cryptic much? Why not go ahead and explain what the heck happened last night instead of brushing it off like that?
And -- for God's sake -- why not apologize to Jason after you're done kissing up to Paula? Oh well. The voters did it for them.

The group number was particularly odd tonight, wasn't it? But it was nothing compared to the small talk between Constantine Maroulis and Ryan Seacrest. I was creeped out, and I'm not sure why. (Maybe because I remembered how gaga I once was over Constantine. That's gotta be it.)

After rewatching the drama this morning, I was struck by a couple of things.
- Did you catch the looks of everyone onstage as Paula started discussing the second song? Priceless. Especially Syesha -- she was clearly bemused by what was unfolding.
- Do you think esteemed host Ryan dropped the ball for not being the one to step in? His only reaction was to quickly glance at someone offstage as if to say, "What do I do? What do I do!?" I wonder: If Randy (our hero) hadn't said something, would they have just gone on as if everything was fine and dandy? Possibly! Because one thing is already clear, based on Paula's "explanation:" They think we're stupid.

How did the loopy judge see into the future to comment on a performance that hadn't even happened? She told Entertainment Tonight she was "trying to give my critique for Jason Castro and scribbled Jason's name, and that was David Cook's!"
No way. In the notes in question, she'd panned Jason's "second" song for lacking charm and leaving her empty. If that was meant for David, why did she turn around and say to him, "You were fantastic, and it was a song that wasn't known"? This is the type of lie a 5-year-old would tell. The logic is missing.
So what really happened? The judges probably watched the rehearsals and based their notes on them. Which is all kinds of wrong, but it's believable. But it still doesn't explain why Paula Abdul didn't realize that none of the gang had gotten to their second songs yet. "This is hard!" she exclaimed after her slip-up. Yes, recalling the last half-hour of one's life can be a challenge, but most of us manage.

Many questioned Andrew Lloyd Webber and his songs for the Idol singers and, indeed, quite a few seemed uncomfortable with it (although Syesha and David Cook seemed to have a good time!). But I think the Neil Diamond songbook was much tougher. While there are many interpretations of Webber by Broadway singers out there (which in turn gives this crew a lot of room for interpretation), Neil Diamond's work is so defined by his vocals, love 'em or leave 'em, that they are really hard to cover. He's raw, he's ragged, he's powerful, he's out there. And for me, the best these kids could do (yeah, sorry, even for Syesha and David Cook who were at least smart enough to sing lesser known Diamond songs) was tread water. I actually do like David Archuletta, but come on, you can't sing Sweet Caroline without the audience wishing they were listening to Diamond's version. Your thoughts? Which songbooks have proved the toughest so far this season? (And do you know Diamond has a new CD coming out next week, Home Before Dark?)

You know, it's been driving me crazy all season how much Brooke has reminded me of Carly Simon (although I like Carly much much more because of all the songs she's written). There's something about that long, lean look, the vulnerability, the piano and guitar accompaniment, the husky voice -- anyway, I thought it was just me. Then I read this story from the AP in which Carly Simon says Brooke is her favorite! What do you think? Does Brooke remind you of Carly? And has anyone besides Mario checked out the new Carly Simon album, This Kind of Love?

Here's the video of Paula getting confused that Darla mentioned in this post.
Watch this.
Oh man.
Oh man.
Still. Makes. Me. Cringe.

So here's how I'd rank 'em:
BEST
David Cook: He continues to prove his awesomeness every week. It's sad that he's going through some family health problems, though, because you can see the pain in his eyes.
Syesha Mercado: She's begun to deliver in a way that she should have been doing all along. But better late than never.

SO-SO
David Archuleta: I know everybody loves him, but all of his songs sound the same to me. I tend to lose interest halfway through or something. Harsh, I know!

WORST
Brooke White: Why do "I'm a Believer"? As Paula pointed out, the gang just performed that song in one of their silly little group videos. It was indeed a nightmare, as Simon put it.
Jason Castro (sob): I rather enjoyed his first song, but "September Morn" didn't work. On any level. Still, if I were a betting woman, I'd predict that he stays at least another week.

I take back what I'd said earlier about my favorite Neil Diamond tune: It's "I Am, I Said." Brooke didn't really do it justice, but it's a fun song to sing along with in the car.

OK, I agree with Paula's premonition: His "September Morn" was a mess. Sad to say.

After the gang finished their first round of songs, the judges were asked to quickly weigh in. Paula told Jason that with his SECOND song, "I felt like your usual charm was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty. The two songs made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four."
Finally, someone stopped her Twilight Zone moment. "He's just done the first song," Randy said, rather gently.
"Oh my God! I thought you sang twice," she said.
Yes, we get that. We just don't know why.

He picked my favorite Neil Diamond ditty, "Sweet Caroline." But was it just me, or did he stray a bit too much from the melody in an attempt to be "different"? We'll see if it was just me later, when the judges finally speak.

David took an unknown song, "I'm Alive," and made it quite catchy, while Brooke chose the very well-known "I'm a Believer" and made me a nonbeliever. In her, anyway.

Let me first say that I hate that the judges aren't weighing in until after each singer's second performance. That seems wrong. How are they supposed to remember everything about the first one? We're a short-attention-span society, after all.
I thought Jason did quite well with "Forever in Blue Jeans." Perfect song for him. And might I add that he looks teen-dreamy cute this evening.

He's looking quite rested and healthy. I'd like to pocket the name of his plastic surgeon should I someday opt to go that route.

At the start of the show, Ryan walked past the lineup of Top Fivers and gave his standard "What will happen tonight?" talk. Four of the five singers cracked smiles and generally looked happy to be there, while David Cook remained super-serious. But I guess that's his thing.