Brooke White thinks it would surprise people to know she's a beauty school dropout. Shouldn't that be a lead-up into a song from Grease? Halfway through the beauty school program she found Jesus, err, music, prompting her to change directions and drop out. We now have the explanation for why her hair is in the state it's in. Woman, flatiron those horrible curly bangs! We get some shots of Brooke cutting a guy's hair (her husband?) in her bathroom. It is possibly more ghetto than the haircut I got once at Fantastic Sam's, in which they sent me out in the rain with wet hair because I had no idea they charged extra for the blow-dry. But I'm not a high school dropout, she says defensively. Touché.
Brooke is picking up the guitar tonight, which is a smart move since it'll make her instantly memorable. If anything, it will save her for one week or two, a la Jason Castro on a good day (i.e. last week). She's singing Carly Simon's "You're So Vain", which suits her, but I think her vocals are a bit weak. No matter, she just goes strummy-strummy-la on guitar and no one will scrutinize her vocals too closely because she looks all cute playing guitar. Is it just me, or does she look a lot older tonight? Probably all the heavy stage makeup. In my humble opinion, she doesn't add anything new to the song. It's just a good but predictable rendition of a song that's enjoyable. It's not a groundbreaking interpretation. She's like the Starbucks of the singing world. It's consistent and familiar, no matter where you order that grande vanilla soy latte no whip no foam no cancer-causing sugars, but I still don't really like it. While the performance was pleasant overall, I don't feel she's the most compelling contestant. I would walk past her if she was playing at Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, and probably not put any cash in her open suitcase. I'm po', people. Also, Brooke has some crazy killah eyes.
I can't be the only one who sees the resemblance, right?
Randy isn't sure if she brought anything different to the song, but it was a great song choice. He liked it, but says he and Paula are wondering if she's targeting the judges panel with the "You're So Vain" chorus, a male judge that's not him, perhaps? Oh, a tribute to Simon Cowell/James Taylor/George W. Bush/whoever.
They didn't like the way she was looking at them. Paula thinks it's the perfect song for her, and that it suits her totally. It's comfy, and people dig it. Simon absolutely loved it as well, in surprise agreement with Paula. He feels it's a rare occasion where the artist genuinely chooses the song (as opposed to producers, eh?) and says the song didn't feel old-fashioned. It's the reason why she was put through. Brooke's safe this week, people.
Ramiele Malubay, who is the walking personification of Cute Overload , reveals that she makes Baby Jesus cry. Like Sanjaya, she hula dances but looks much more convincing while demonstrating some moves. Seacrest continues to butcher her last name, but her fan base is solid. According to her MySpace profile, she raps in Tagalog! Seacrest points out that she was a big, blubbering mess last week when Colton and her roomie were kicked off the show. I'm also over the asymmetrical bouffant hair-do. It's so last week.
Surprisingly, she selects Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way." It's disco-inflected (or should I say infected?) and very uptempo and bouncy. I like Ramiele a lot, but her voice is flat in the verses. She's adorable, but the song doesn't suit her. I kind of hate the song. I feel like she's holding something back. The judges will probably tell her that she's got the chops but she needs to pull out all the stops. Or something that rhymes. She's on the stiff side, which shouldn't be the case for someone who's not even old enough to drink. I'm disappointed since the performance was mediocre compared to what I think she's capable of. Ramiele's safe though. She's just got to STEP. IT. UP. 2!
Ramiele, age 4.
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Comments (16)
The fact that you referenced Butters in relation to Lushington's song choice means you're my best friend forever and ever!
1 of 16 | Posted by Izzyboy | Posted on February 29, 2008 6:27 AM
The fact that you referenced Butters in relation to Lushington's song choice means you're my best friend forever and ever!
2 of 16 | Posted by Izzyboy | Posted on February 29, 2008 6:28 AM
I love the music of the 80's. This new AI group, however, will continue to butcher every song they attempt.
Except, I guess, for Fetus. From all the breathless ass kissing I've seen, apparently he's been designated as Jesus Christ 2.0.
That is all.
3 of 16 | Posted by Snarky | Posted on February 29, 2008 7:15 AM
I noticed the scarfs, too. Are they prtecting their vocal cords?
I can't stand Amanda and hope she goes fast!
4 of 16 | Posted by menomor3 | Posted on February 29, 2008 7:25 AM
T.Vo, I'm not even through the recap yet, but I had to give you kudos for the Bill as Towlie screencap. That was so random and hilarious. LMAO!
5 of 16 | Posted by JasonR | Posted on February 29, 2008 8:15 AM
OK, I finished. Recap was absolutely hilarious. Double threat with the sarcastic recapping of song choice AND fashion choice. BTW, I recall once that in an interview in one of the past seasons that one of the finalists said that they get a budget from the show but the contestants do shop for and choose their own clothes, so you can rest easy in making fun of them for what they wear if you so choose.
6 of 16 | Posted by JasonR | Posted on February 29, 2008 8:31 AM
By the way T.Vo, I didn't mean to imply you were one of the ones slobbering all over Fetus. Everyone else seems to be.
You rock!
7 of 16 | Posted by Snarky | Posted on February 29, 2008 8:46 AM
Guess I'm the sole Lushington fan . . . she seems to be bringing subtle changes in melody that the others don't, Ramiele was thuddingly dull repeating the exact melody twice. Simon's never heard Magic Man, yet Hard songs have been on the show for seasons now . . . lame! He's so obvious in who he wants gone, F him!!!
Did we all hear about the wig!?
8 of 16 | Posted by juddfan | Posted on February 29, 2008 12:12 PM
What wig??? I heard some Bret Michaels-type wig jokes about Robbie Carrico. What gives juddfan?
9 of 16 | Posted by JasonR | Posted on February 29, 2008 12:38 PM
juddfan -- I actually liked Lushington (and okay, I had a soft spot for Butters' interpretation of the Chicago song) but I think this week's performance (while technically better than Amanda's/Kady's/etc, for sure) was really incongruous with who she is as a singer, or at least what the audience and judges were hoping for. I think we were all hoping for her to belt something big and vibrant. I did appreciate the subtlety of her interpretation more than Ramiele's song, which was slightly more memorable due to its upbeat tempo.
As for the wig, yes, I have heard the TMZ rumors that his locks are polyester and not from the Dolly Parton collection! DListed and MTV are also debating the wig's existence (they're no Drudge Report, though). Hit up Google.
10 of 16 | Posted by t.vo | Posted on February 29, 2008 2:43 PM
Thanks T.vo--I'm a huge dlisted fan, PP 4evah!!! I sometimes wonder if MK isn't on here somewhere, hiding under some psuedonym!!!! Weirdly, the wig came after the votes, so couldn't be considered in the later voting . . .
11 of 16 | Posted by juddfan | Posted on February 29, 2008 3:41 PM
I mean later results . . .
JasonR, Robbie faux rocker is rumored to be wearing a wig . . . talk about credibility!
12 of 16 | Posted by juddfan | Posted on February 29, 2008 3:43 PM
I, too, liked Lushington. She was my favorite! BOO HOO.
13 of 16 | Posted by dani2526 | Posted on March 1, 2008 11:52 AM
It's nice to see some Lusington luvin on this site. I couldn't understand any of the judges comments this week. I don't think Lush has a belter's voice but rather a very clear, nuanced voice - and that was on full display in her performance, which I really loved. I don't understand how that blond chick (the one with the guitar not the other 20 blond girls on stage - seriously I can't tell them apart just yet) could be praised for a boring, copy-cat version of 'You're So Vain'. Meanwhile Lush gives a IMHO wonderfully layered and subtle interpretation and is trashed for it.
My other favourite of the night, Syesha, got pummeled for the most ridiculous of reasons. I thought she did a very good rendition of "Me and Mr(s) Jones". Randy tells her she needs to pick a song where she can belt more. Um, Randy, if every note is belted out then there is no dramatic build-up to the big notes - which this performance certainly had. Then Simon criticises her for the most ridiculous of reasons: that the song was not originally written for a woman. WTF?!
I'm a fan but what the heck was up with Ramiele? Bad choice of song. Oh, and I thought the Irish lass did an bang up job on the Heart song.
14 of 16 | Posted by bdos88 | Posted on March 1, 2008 12:40 PM
I finally figured out who Simon reminds me of.
Those cranky old people who yell at the neighborhood kids to GET THE HELL off my lawn!
I've known:
- One old guy who hid in the bushes and hosed down the kids.
- One old lady who came outside with a shotgun if she saw the kids.
and
- One guy who sits in his garage where you can't see him and shoots kids with a paint ball gun.
I gotta admit, that is a pretty cool use of a paint ball gun.
Simon...you are gonna be the best cranky old guy, ever.
15 of 16 | Posted by rhoda | Posted on March 2, 2008 3:25 AM
What? How is Kady Malloy the resident hottie? I don't think she's hot by any stretch of the imagination. I like her, though. I'm quite dismayed by this week's results show.
I too disagreed with Simon's comments about SYESha. Made no fucking sense. Since when did people only sing songs that were originally written for their gender on this show? Or, you know, in life? Remember last year when hey all had to do Bee Gee's songs and Barry Gibb was shocked by every choice the women made because they were originally written for men?
16 of 16 | Posted by Rock Star | Posted on March 3, 2008 7:44 PM