It's hard for me to imagine any guy singing a Dolly Parton song, but last night, all of the guys pulled it off amazingly well.
Let's start with David Cook. He sang "Little Sparrow", a song I wasn't familiar with. I think when a contestant uses a song that the audience isn't familiar with that it can be a good thing. It gives them an opportunity to present something new and fresh to us without any preconceived notions of what it should sound like. It's like getting a taste of what this contestant might sound like if they were to win the competition and bring songs to us that we don't already know and love. David stepped back from his rocker persona and delivered something slower to us, but he did it with out losing his edge and I feel he'll be safe from elimination tonight.
Jason Castro did his thing. He picked an obscure song that most don't know, and presented it to us in his acoustic, earthy, granola loving way. And that's what makes him good. He doesn't shy away from who he is and what he wants to be. Although, if that doesn't work out for him, I think he can be a stunt double for John Travolta. Man, I can not get past how much he resembles and dreadlocked Vinny Barbarino. Seriously! In the end, although it was a good performance, he was the weakest performance of the guys, but he'll be safe because both Kristy Lee Cook and Ramiele Malubay were both worse than he was. So, he may be in the bottom three, but will ultimately be safe.
David Archuleta sang "Smoky Mountain Memories" and did a fantastic job! He found a song that wasn't too big for his voice, like last week's "You're The Voice" by John Farnham. David needs to realize that while his voice is very good, it's never going to be a voice that can wail and bring down the walls around us. It is a smoky and delicate sound that certainly has a place in the music world, but he needs to be careful with the songs he chooses (of his Dad chooses, as the rumors suggest). He'll be safe.
The guy who won the night for the men was Michael Johns. This guy is going to go places. The gospel tinged "It's All Wrong, But It's Alright" was, in a word, remarkable. It was the perfect song for him. He sang with emotion, passion, strength and honesty. Wow. It was a "blazing hot performance" of a song with a great hook and was probably the best he's done all season. He even pulled several votes from me, although I spent most of my phone time voting for Carly.
The guys are a tough bunch to beat and now I'm balking on calling David Archuleta the winner early. The verdict for me is, now, still out.
