The Top 12 Perform Live

Season 7, Episode 20, Aired

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Tonight the Top 12 finalists perform live for the nation, vying for the American Idol crown. In this special two-hour show, the contestants will sing their hearts out in hopes of winning America's vote and surviving another week in the competition. Tune in to see who impresses the judges and who buckles under the pressure.

Tonight's Theme Is: Lennon/McCartney songs


Performing Tonight are:
David Archuleta
Jason Castro
David Cook
Kristy Lee Cook
Chikezie Eze
David Hernandez
Michael Johns
Ramiele Malubay
Syesha Mercado
Amanda Overmyer
Carly Smithson
Brooke Whitemoreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (8)

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  • Not a good night of American Idol.

    8.3
    "Great"
    By bobbobachoo1, Jun 03, 2008
    I thought it was just an o.k. night. The top 12 sang The Beatles and heres how they did.

    Syesha Mercado "Got To Get You Into My Life" I thought it was a great way to start off the show. i think we'll see better performances, but she'll be safe. In Randy's words, it was pitchy man. 8.4/10

    Chikeze "She's A Woman" Wow!!!!!!!! I loved how he changed it up. I thought it was a great performance. I wanted him eliminated top 24 week, but if he stays this consistent, he'll make it far. 9.1/10

    Ramiele Malubay "In My Life" Snore! It was boring. The vocals were pretty good, but she did nothing special with it. The Beatles singing it was much better (obviously.)7.8/10. Keep your fingers crossed for her.

    Jason Castro "If I Fell" Not as good as last week, but still good. i liked it. I'm not putting it on my IPod, but like Syesha's good, but not fantastic. I say, 8.6/10

    Carly Smithson "Come Together" Loved it! Fantastic! I am now a huge fan of her. I thought it was pitch perfect. Best one so far. 9.7/10

    David Cook "Elanor Rigby" 2 in a row that are fantastic. He did great! I loved him from day 1 and I still love him. You're going to my IPod. 9.8/10

    Brooke White "Let It Be" Beautiful. 3 in a row for her and the night. I loved it. I think it was pitch perfect and touching. 10/10!!!!!!!!!!!!

    David Hernandez "I Saw Her Standing There" I don't know what to say. it just wasn't good enough. There was something strange there. I hated it actually. Not top 12 material and definately not "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" 6.9/10

    Amanda Overmyer "You Can't Do That" I thought it was great! A very cool performance. Worse than last week, but I still liked it. 8.5/10

    Michael Johns "Across The Universe" I was hoping someone would do that song. I was glad Michael did it and not David H. He did fantastic. The judges disagree with me, but I actually liked it. 9.0/10

    Kristy Lee Cook "Eight Days A Week" I didn't want her in the top 12. I didn't think she deserved. After that performance, she 100% should have gone last week. And she should go this week. Horrible. I muted the t.v. in the middle of it. She will not make it. Or at least she doesn't deserve to. 5.3/10

    David Archuleta "We Can Work It Out" Yes! A good performance after that. Right? Wrong! He forgot the words! His singing wasn't as good as I know him to sing. He better do better next week because this week was horrible for him. 6.8/10

    My bottom 3: David Hernandez, David Archuleta, and Kristy Lee Cook
    Bottom 2: David Archuleta and Kristy Lee Cook
    Eliminated: Kristy Lee Cookmoreless

  • ok episode...

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Fwirrel, Mar 16, 2008
    American Idol moves to the big stage. The top twelve performs. I'm getting tired of old songs. They sang Beetles songs mainly in this episode. David Archuleta murdered his song; I really don't like him. Daivd Cook was amazing, like usual. Cook is my favorite and I hope he keeps doing well. I like his style and I can see him actually making an album. The dread lock kid did well also. I like this unique style. None of the girls impressed me very much. The country girl murdered her song. The Irish girl was ok. Overall, a pretty good episode. I just can't wait till they weed out the bad people and we really get into talent. Oh, the part when Ryan started jumping around like a monkey...that was weird.moreless

  • Real shocker in American Idol...

    7.8
    "Good"
    By gabriel927, Mar 12, 2008
    The reason why this competition night was a shocker for me was because David Archuleta got all nervous. He forgot the lyrics to one of my most favorite songs of all time ("We Can Work It Out", which I would've picked to sing as well) and was completely frightened by the stage and the song. I voted for him to stay in the competition because I think he deserves another shot.

    Another shocker for me was Kristy Lee Cook. I really love her, adore her, and hope to meet her and her gorgeous country personality. That said, I have witnessed what is (in my view) the worst possible arrangement of a former Beatles song. She tried to infuse country into the song, but opted for an up-tempo version instead of a slow country ballad. I would HATE for her to leave, but it looks very likely after that performance.

    I am so happy that Chikezie was able to pull of a great performance with his take on "She's a Woman." I loved it, Loved It, LOVED IT!!!

    Ramiele Malubay really played it safe on Top 12 night. She picked a slow ballad "In My Life," which sounded lovely, but really boring. I hope she can be more up-tempo next week if she's allowed to continue through to next week.

    Another singer who fell into the trap of being safe last night was Jason Castro. I really do enjoy that he plays the guitar in his performances, but he was too soft-spoken this week. Like Ramiele, Jason needs to start singing up-tempo songs and entertain to keep audiences' attention.

    David Cook really knocked it out of the park with "Eleanor Rigby." Last week was really lucky for him because his first two weeks were pretty lacking. Now he's become a competitor.

    I did not like David Hernandez last night. His performance was too much like karaoke. David overdid the song "I Saw Her Standing There" and was really having a hard time watching it.

    Michael Johns was actually disappointing last night as well. He sang the song well, but he needs to bring something different to the slow ballads. Otherwise, Michael was also slow.

    Brooke White, as always, sounds beautiful when singing (mostly) with minimal instrumentation. She really scored with her piano skills. Amanda Overmyer was another girl who did well with her rocker abilities, despite not being really coherent. As always, Carly Smithson is great, except she finally found a song that made her moment last night. Overall, the performances were solid, with a few surprises (both bad and good).moreless

  • Hmmmm....

    8.9
    "Great"
    By AangPhantom777, Mar 12, 2008
    Well, this episode surprised me with some of the singers.

    First of all, did anyone else think that David Archuletta wasn't at his best during this episode? I still voted for him, of course, but I just hope that this doesn't continue. He'll loose votes that way, even though I agree to still vote for him.

    I liked most of the singers, except for Amanda again. Not a fan of her, I don't really like her singning. If you ask me, she's the next one to be thrown off- eliminated.

    So, this episode was pretty good, with some laughs with the judges and Ryan. So, 8.9 out of 10.moreless

  • The kids take on the greatest pop-rock songwriters of ALL-TIME, with predictably uneven results, but a few gems… finally the competition heats up!

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Frennis, Mar 12, 2008
    Syesha Mercado A little flat here and there, I hated her hair, but not bad overall.
    7.5/10

    Chikezie Eze In the words of the TV prophet Jimmie Walker, "Dy-no-mite!" Absolutely stunning. Great song choice, great energy but what was with that vest?! Oh, well Best performance of the season! ! !
    9.5/10

    Ramiele Malubay Cute girl, decent voice, boooring performance!
    6/10

    Jason Castro Aaaagh! Absolutely terrible! Shave his white-boy dreads and send him to the musical Gitmo, he is a rock & roll terrorist!
    4/10

    Carly Smithson Ah, the Irish lass turns in a nearly perfect rendition of "Come Together", and looks amazing in the process!
    9/10

    David Cook This kind of performance might cut it for some local Marilyn Manson-type band, but not on a singing competition, and not with such a weak voice. How did he make it this far?
    6/10

    Brooke White Not bad, not great if you're going to take on "Let It Be", which may very well be the Holy Grail of Beatles songs, you better come to the show with guns blazing she didn't, but it could have been a lot worse.
    7/10

    David Hernandez He couldn't even do the Little Richard "Whooo!" falsetto, and that makes the song. With that paper-thin voice and mediocre stage presence, he's lucky to have made it this far. Awful!
    5/10

    Amanda Overmyer Once again, Amanda shreds her way through another classic, predictable.
    5/10

    Michael Johns Wow, three terrible performances in arrow for this episode, what did I do to deserve this?! Beautiful song, savagely mauled to death by a sub-par lounge singer wannabe.
    5/10

    Kristy Lee Cook Wow, this was bold. It may not have worked out, but attempting to turn a pop masterpiece into a bluegrass song is daring to say the least. Her vocals were fine, but this arrangement just never quite got off the ground. She shout leave this kind of experimentalism to someone like Alison Krauss or Bela Fleck, but a couple extra points for even trying this.
    7/10

    David Archuleta Who let this kid on stage. Awful, awful, terrible, atrocious, awful! One of the worst performances of the season. Did I say awful?
    3/10

    My prediction bye-bye David Archuleta!moreless
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  • TRIVIA (0)

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  • QUOTES (7)

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    • Simon: (on David Hernandez's performance) David ... no, no no. I thought it was corny verging on desperate, to be honest with you. It was all a little but rabbit in the headlights.

    • Simon: (on David Archuleta's performance) That was a mess. It was just all over the place. At this point in the competition, I expect incredible performances and this wasn't. It was your weakest performance to date.

    • Simon: (on David Cook's performance) Paula's right -- if this show remains a talent competition rather than a popularity competition, you could actually win.

    • Simon: (on Kristy's performance) I thought it was horrendous, actually. It was a very brave but probably foolish thing to do, because that song just doesn't work in that style.

    • Simon: (on Chikezie's performance) I'm really surprised that I actually agree with these two. What I loved about it, apart from the fact that you looked as if you got drunk halfway through the performance, is that ... you've really changed since last week.

    • David Hernandez: I got fired from my job at a Pizza Bistro, ironically on my day off.

    • Simon: (to Kristy) You sounded like Dolly Parton on helium.

  • NOTES (8)

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    • List Of Songs Sung By The Contestants David Archuleta - We Can Work It Out Jason Castro - If I Fell David Cook - Eleanor Rigby Kristy Lee Cook - Eight Days A Week Chikezie Eze - She's A Woman David Hernandez - I Saw Here Standing There Michael Johns - Across the Universe Ramiele Malubay - In My Life Syesha Mercado - Got To Get You Into My Life Amanda Overmyer - You Can't Do That Carly Smithson - Come Together Brooke White - Let It Be

    • David Archuleta forgot the words to his song choice.

    • Ramiele Malubay is the third Filipino contestant on the show. The first was Camille Velasco and the second was Jasmine Trias.

    • Carly Smithson is the first Irish contestant and Michael Johns is the first Austrailian contestant.

    • At the age of 17, David Archuleta is officially the youngest contestant on the show and at the age of 29, Michael Johns is the oldest contestant this season.

    • This is the first episode to reveal new graphics.

    • This is the first episode since season 4 that reveals a new stage.

    • This is a two hour episode

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