The Top 8 Finalists Perform

Season 7, Episode 28, Aired

Episode Summary

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7.2
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Tonight the Top 8 finalists will perform LIVE for the nation, vying for the American Idol crown. The contestants will sing their hearts out in hopes of winning America's vote and surviving another week in the competition. See who impresses the judges and who buckles under the pressure.

Tonight's Theme Is: Inspirational Songs

Performing Tonight are:
David Archuleta
Jason Castro
David Cook
Kristy Lee Cook
Michael Johns
Syesha Mercado
Carly Smithson
Brooke White
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • Good night. Idol Gives Back.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By bobbobachoo1, Jun 03, 2008
    Idol Gives Back. Inspirational Songs. Let's see how they do.

    Michael Johns "Dream On" I loved it. He'll make it far. Great job Michael. 9.5/10

    Syesha Mercado "I Believe" *sigh* I didn't like it. Not good enough. She might be in trouble. 8.3/10

    Jason Castro "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" I loved it!!!!!! Best from him and the night!! I loved it so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10/10!!!!!!

    Kristy Lee Cook "Anyway" I actually liked it. I thought she did great. Great job. 9.7/10

    David Cook "Innocent" Whats up with the good ones? I'm not liking them. His worst performance by a mile. 8.1/10

    Carly Smithson "The Show Must Go On" I disagree with the judges. I actually liked it. 8.7/10

    David Archuleta "Angels" Loved it!!!!!!!!! Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!! 10/10!!!!!!!!!!!

    Brooke White "You've Got A Friend" I liked it. Didn't love it. Just o.k. Not too good. she should be nervous. 7.9/10

    Bottom 3: Syesha Mercado, David Cook, and Brooke White
    Bottom 2: David Cook and Brooke White
    Eliminated: Brooke White :'(moreless

  • I give it an 8.95

    4.7
    "Poor"
    By cybernaut_ev, Apr 11, 2008
    out of a possible 879,284,525.

    What's with that weird tubetop dress Paula was wearing? What is this, medieval England where women were scrunched up in braless corsets? She looked so squeezed up. And Michael Johns, haven't you learned the lesson of Carly? Do not talk back to the judges! The audience doesn't like that, no matter how innocuous the content. You should stand there like a deaf mute with a mindless, frozen smile, or tearful reactions are okay. But don't contradict them! His performance was better than what he usually does although that last "Whoo" note came off silly.

    Well Mariah Carrey's got nothin' on Syesha. She can hit those shrieking notes with the best of them. She can start her own line of unmemorable tunes just like Mariah because shrieking is like some kind of dog whistle. People come in droves for miles. Once again a contestent engages in conversation with the judges. Shut up, Syesha! You will be voted off if you dare speak back! Don't even look them in the eye--or--no soup for you!

    Castro-OMG how did he sing that song with a straight face? That's Catherine's song, you droll! And even she couldn't sing it right. The judges were even more laughable than the song when they were fawning all over Castro over the tidbits of delivery he gave. Did he roll his eyes when Paula told him he had the most unique sound?

    Kristy Lee Kook-Obviously the David Archuetta counterpart for the male vote. Can't she come up with an inspiration song someone's heard of?

    David Kook-My favorite guy I cannot stand. And he didn't fail to disappoint. Never heard of the song, didn't like it, and couldn't wait for him to get off the stage. Wasn't that jacket just a wee bit tight? I thought he was going to do an Incredible Hulk and burst at the seams. However, he was correctly contrite, acquiescent and mute when the judges lambasted his performance.

    Carly horrible performance from Carly. She can't afford to have a bad one as people are looking for any excuse to vote her off. And with the judges, including Paula, naysaying her, it just doesn't bode well. Simon gave her the kiss of death saying she might be in trouble after tonight. However, she displayed proper American Idol etiquette by being dutifully contrite and apologetic as the judges picked away at her like vultures on a carcass.

    David A-Another crappily written song. Halleluiah and Amen! The song brought out the fact that David has no lower register as it sounds as hollow as his speaking voice. Nice going, David!

    Brooke-What, no waterfall of tears? "How's the weather, Brooke?" "Sob, sniffle, it's lovely, waaaaaaa!!!!" The emotional basket case that is Brooke. A Yellow Stone Park gusher waiting to happen. Now I know why they call her Brooke. I'm surprised her singing didn't cause her eyes to well up. Oh, wait, it did.moreless

  • American Idol enters its "Idol Gives Back" week with the final eight contestants singing inspirational songs. From Aerosmith to Carole King, they each tried striking a chord to connect with their fans. A few managed, but certainly the majority did not.moreless

    7.0
    "Good"
    By Cubtracker, Apr 09, 2008
    Michael Johns started with "Dream On" and failed to make it his own. I won't say it was karaoke, but it was definitely not original. And he failed to hit the final note on spot, which if you go there, you definitely need to ace. Nevertheless, Michael lives to see another day.

    Syesha Mercado tried to tap into the remarkable magic which was Fantasia with "I Believe" but as Lloyd Bentsen would undoubtedly point out here, "Syesha, you are no Fantasia." Despite that, I think her performance was good enough to get her into the round of 7.

    Jason Castro went for "Over the Rainbow." No, not the Judy Garland arrangement but rather some dude's in Hawaii, ukulele included. It was definitely Castroesque and he certainly has an audience (kinda reminds me of Sanjaya without the sex appeal) but my wife sneaked a peek for the first time and couldn't get past Jason's dreadlocks. I didn't even know how to spell dreadlocks or know if it was one word or two. The judges loved Jason's performance so I'm sure we'll see him next week.

    Kristy Lee Cook turned in the best performance of the night with Martina McBride's "Anyway." Kristy's smile and vocals more than compensate for a questionable taste in wardrobe. A lock for next week. And Simon, the phrase is "Good for you" not "Good on you." David Cook put on a white jacket and sang how everyone is "Innocent." I agree with Simon, a bit self-righteous on David's part. Normally a solid performer, not his best work this time but his past submissions will be good enough to get him through one mediocre performance.

    Carly Smithson has the raw material to be a genuine talent but she must not have gotten the memo that this song was to be inspirational. "The Show Must Go On" may have worked for Freddie Mercury on Live Aid but it doesn't translate here for Carly. I believe she is the most vulnerable to be ousted from the competition, definitely in the bottom three. David "sigh" Archuleta brought us "Angels" last night but really, when hasn't he? I was holding my breath, hoping to high heaven he wouldn't reprise his "Imagine" offering from a month ago. Thank the angels he didn't. David continues to choose songs I haven't heard before but whatever he chooses he knocks out of the park (except that one time he forgot the words). Of course it goes without saying that I am in the tank for him, so take my analysis with a grain of salt. The piano was a nice touch. Safe to sing again and again and again.

    Brooke White capped the night with "You've Got A Friend." Like Michael at the beginning, I just didn't feel she put enough of herself nto the number, playing it safe with an arrangement everyone has heard a thousand times. Nevertheless, she should have no trouble getting enough votes to come back next week.moreless

  • In a show usually filled with diversity, this episode just fell flat.

    6.9
    "Fair"
    By AmeliaCaine, Apr 09, 2008
    Tonight's episode was good, but not the best. The theme (inspiring songs), felt very vague to me. It seemed to me that the contestants could have chosen any song they wanted to, which is good in some ways and bad in others. It was nice to see what type of song each contestant sang, but it made it difficult to compare them. Overall, however, I thought everyone did pretty well. My favorite performance of the night was actually Michael Johns. I've always liked him, but he's never been at the top of my list. Tonight I thought he really brought it. David Archaleta got the runner up spot for me. That boy can sing, sing, sing. And for some reason, I don't get tired of his ballads every week. He sings them beautifully.

    As for the bottom three, I would choose Kristy, Syesha, and Carly (as much as I like her.) Syesha sang fairly well, but I agree with the judges that it's hard to connect with her. She seems very unoriginal. Kristy sang well tonight too, but then almost everyone did. She's been the worst overall, and it's time for her to go in my opinion. I hate to put Carly in the bottom three, because I like Carly. But she just didn't bring it as far as everyone else did.

    The night rates for me, a measly 6.9. I thought it could have been better. I know that tomorrow, Idol Gives Back, will be awesome.moreless

  • Filled with great and superb performances=)

    8.9
    "Great"
    By titiembe, Apr 09, 2008
    Micheal Johns is first up this week- Again, I love the song choice from him.. Aerosmith is awesome:] Randy is so harsh lately, I give Micheal an 8 out of 10. Micheal has been improving for me a lot these past couple of weeks.

    Syesha is second- I thought it was pretty good, and of course compared to Fantasia not so much but it was still good vocally, just lacking a little emotion. I give her this week an 8.5 out of 10.

    Jason is third- He chose Over the Rainbow to perform. I don't really like that version that he sang much, but it wasn't bad.. it just wasn't my favorite performance and song choice.. 8.8 out of 10.

    Kristy Lee Cook is fourth- Anyway by Martina McBride... I thought it was cute, it was pretty, but I think it might be forgotten if the other contestants this night are better. Big improvment over the last few weeks too, I still want her to go though. 8 out of 10.

    David Cook is fifth- I loved it... unusual, yes. I disagree with Randy and Simon, I thought he was just... amazing. I also loved the little note on his hand at the end of the performance. 9.2 out of 10.

    Carly is sixth- The Orchestra looked so cool in this performance when they were feaured XD. I thought Carly was very great as usual, not her best for me, yet still impressive. I give it a 9 out of 10.

    David A. is seventh- Amazing as always. And of course he will stay. Enjoyed the piano, vocals were good, and it was just... superb. Not my favorite from him, still. 9.1 out of 10.

    Last but not least is Brooke White- And she delivers another "pleasent" walk in the park. It wasn't the best of the evening but I am confident she won't land herself in the bottom 3. Or at least I hope so. 8.9 out of 10.

    Although I am missing Ramiele, this week was maybe better than the last two, just maybe. Can't wait for Idol Gives Back tommorow.moreless
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