... unscripted television...?

I couldn't resist.

Alright, it's Top 11 night on Idol, and I'll actually be watching DWTS (curiosity re: Seles and Yamaguchi). I've seen the premiere of Miss Guided more than once, so while it was enjoyable, it's not on my menu this evening.

Amanda - "Back in the USSR" - More reason to love Amanda... I recently found out that my dad doesn't like her voice (not a Janis Joplin fan). The song is high energy, but more than last week I'm actually noticing the lack of enunciation. I love the way she commands the stage and, again, it's lively, but I do want to understand what she's singing a little bit more. If she ever gets to be her own star, I sincerely hope that she chugs a fifth of Jameson before going on stage. This girl could singlehandedly bring back hardcore rock 'n roll. Memorable enough considering she is starting the show off (more memorable than Syesha last week, for sure). Still, I agree with Simon. I'd love to hear her take on a ballad. Doesn't mean she's belting a ballad out. Just making it her own. That'd be awesome.

Kristy Lee - "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" - In her video package, she says she did a "new" song last week, and then goes on to say that she picked this week's song based on the title. I'm guessing, then, that she's either totally unfamiliar with the Beatles (unforgivable sin) or has had to settle for her second or third choice because of the lottery system. A bunch of the song was too low in her register. You know, there were some decent moments in this song by KLC. I'm not entirely disappointed now that the once-and-future stripper was eliminated last week now. And in the post-performance interview, she admits "this whole Beatles thing" is new to her, and suddenly I don't care whether she can blow Simon out of his socks or not.

David A - "The Long and Winding Road" - Wait. The Annointed One isn't singing "Yesterday"? I'm shocked. Anyway, TAO is back in form, melting the knees of 13-year old girls across America with just the power of his voice. Oof, Simon has brought "master class" out during THE TOP ELEVEN.

Kelli Pickler is performing tomorrow? Two weeks ago it was Blake Lewis, last week Katherine McPhee, and now the Pickler? Jeez. Way to stay in the family...

Shameless plug of iPhone is terrible. Terr-i-ble. And I'm a diehard Mac addict.

Michael - "A Day in the Life" - Yeah, it's all been downhill for Michael since "Bohemian Rhapsody", hasn't it? Poor guy has to go after TAO, too. Was his voice supposed to crack at that note? I... can't tell...? Still, if sex appeal can save KLC, MJ is safe this week.

Brooke - "Here Comes the Sun" - This is the first time since the Top 12 Women that Brooke has been sans instrument, IIRC, and it's a little weird. Brooke is a little talk-y during the judging... but at least she's talk-y because she's entirely agreeing with the critiques and is telling the audience to not boo the judges giving negative comments.

David C - "Day Tripper" - Will he suffer the same fate as Brooke and come down off last week's high (and a two week string of great performances for both, actually). The guitar is awkward in front of him when he's singing because he's just letting it hang. For the most part. The camera generally covers it up, but I bet the judges noticed. Not as electrifying for me as his "Eleanor Rigby". He fares better than Brooke did following up last week's highlight. Simon gives the same "old hat" speech he gave Amanda.

Carly - "Blackbird" - That's uncanny, given the silly judges banter pre-video package. Or is it. Hm. Most of the song is really just fabulous, but then she gives in to the sort of a-melodic, pitchy shouting. I don't get Simon's criticism about the lyrics being on the nose. Because Idol is known for its subtlety....

Jason - "Michelle" - Eh.

Syesha - "Yesterday" - So, Syesha won the "Yesterday" lottery, Let's hope she sucking f*** it up. Love her dress and earrings. The problem with this song is that everyone knows it and everyone has covered it. I don't think you can take real risks with it by changing it up (sure, you can harmonize... but you can't do to it what David Cook did to "Eleanor Rigby"... that would be true musical sacrilege). So, you can't take risks, you can't screw up... how do you not wind up being forgettable. Apparently you go on harmony runs. Simon's right, that's the song Brooke should've sung (but, obviously, she couldn't... because Syesha was singing it... which sucks because she'd have hit it outta the park, I imagine, while Syesha's was just a hair better than good).

Chikezie - "I've Just Seen a Face" - I feel like if you don't play an instrument, don't bust one out. So I'm skeptical about this performance going into it. He pulls the harmonica off... not at all. Corn. Ball. I didn't feel the performance.

Ramiele - "I Should Have Known Better" - Like Idol should've known better than to have two weeks of (essentially) the same theme, and Ramiele shouldn't known better than to wear that girdle thing. Ramiele took the wrong message from the judges. It wasn't that the ballads were boring (that's Amanda's opinion). It's that Ramiele's performances of the ballads were getting boring. But that's her comfort zone, so if she's here next week, she needs to find a ballad and SING THE HELL OUT OF IT. Watch tape of TAO's "Imagine" and "The Long and Winding Road" for how to pull that off.

I gotta say, there are a lot of Beatles songs that, despite two weeks of opportunity, went entirely unsung. And what was sung, wasn't sung that well for the most part.

Bottom 3 (Performances, IMHO) - KLC (gone), Michael, and Brooke... but I bet Ramiele is in the bottom 3 instead of Little Miss Nanny Sunshine (er, Brooke) since Brooke has had much higher heights in her performances to get a bigger fanbase than Ramiele probably has been able to amass. I'd stick Jason in there if I could, just to prove a point to him.

DWTS: OMG, this show is so the cheesiest... but I think it's intentional, so it gets a pass (but not a season pass). Seles bombs, Yamaguchi rules. I hope Monica sticks around, though.