I am a huge fan of Dolly Parton the person; I wish she'd be our next President. But I have only a rudimentary knowledge of her song catalog, so I was judging the wannabe Idols tonight by and large by their performances, and not their takes on Parton (so if David Cook pulled out yet another cuckoo-crazy cover, it was lost on me.)
Brooke: She sang "Jolene" and looked very pretty doing it, but she fails to stir much in me. She's a pleasant singer, but still I don't get more from her than that. I got picked on last week in the comments section for being too mean about her so I'll just quote Simon, who said that she seemed insincere. At least I think that's what he said, because she was so busy talking back to him in her soothing tones it was hard to make out.
David Cook: It seems like every few episodes David has to scramble to acknowledge that the arrangements he performs aren't always his own and tonight was one of those nights. Anyway, I'm not familiar with "Little Sparrow" but it sounded good. Simon, who has some sort of grudge against songs about birds, admitted that it was pretty good for a song about a sparrow, so that pretty much sums it up. But let us pay special attention to David's style choices tonight: he cut his hair in a way that doesn't scream "I'm denying my true hairline" and dressed in a non-ridiculous way (IE no vests or scarves over t-shirts.) So David came out clean for me tonight.
Ramiele: She sang "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind," another song I don't know that well. It sounded okay but she couldn't seem to raise her voice much above the backup singers and the slide guitar. "I'm not jumping up and down, but I'm not mad at you," Randy said, which seemed right on, until Simon compared it to a cruise ship performance and I realized that a cruise ship performance would probably be more fun.
Jason: Jason sang "Travelin' Through" tonight and for whatever reason, it became clear to me that this guy will probably have the best post-Idol career, picking up leftover Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson and John Mayer fans. I'm not saying he's the best singer or the most talented by far, and tonight wasn't really an exception, although he seemed to be trying a bit harder and more into it than usual.
Carly: Sang "Here You Come Again." Nice, simple arrangement. Good, not great. Simon noted that those of us at home wouldn't be amazed, which was true, but then he dropped the biggest truth bomb of the night—that Carly needs to have a word with wardrobe so that she can start dressing more like a star. Of course the dumbass audience booed and screamed but nothing could have corroborated Simon's statement more than the agonizing bottom-to-top pan of Carly in her unflattering rust colored pants. Girl, it's not you, it's the clothes—you can do better!
David Archuleta: Dolly loved Davey's "Smoky Mountain Memories," and it was a good performance, possibly the best vocal of the night. Yes, it was schmaltzy but for what David does (schmaltz), it was very nice.