'Idol' Speculation

Hello Everybody

The big question on every “American Idol” watcher’s mind today was whether Brooke White’s false start singing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “You Must Love Me” on Tuesday (seen in the photo below, Courtesy of FOX) would get the Mesa native booted off the show after Wednesday night’s results show.

Would the fact that Brooke forgot the lyrics, stopped the band, apologized then had the band start up again stick in the mind of voters despite the fact that when finally she sang the song she performed it very well? Or would the fact that Jason Castro performed poorly throughout his version of “Memory” get the dreadlocked Texan eliminated?

Webber was interviewed by host Ryan Seacrest at the beginning of the show and Seacrest explained that on Tuesday they’d seen something they’d never before seen on “Idol,” that being when Brooke stopped her song and started again.

Webber played it down, saying that he’d seen that happen all the time in the theater and called Brooke a “very talented” singer.

But before we found out, and we’ve lamented the hour long “Idol” results show here on the Idol Speculation blog plenty of times before, we had to sit through about 53 minutes of filler before we got the result we were waiting for.

We’ll run through the filler quickly: we had the obligatory group number, the recaps from last night’s performances, the Ford commercial starring the remaining “Idols” and a performance by British singing sensation Leona Lewis (a Simon Cowell “discovery” who won an English version of “American Idol”).

The two Davids, Archuleta and Cook, were the first, unsurprisingly, to be declared safe Wednesday.

Then Brooke and Syesha Mercado, who was impressive singing “One Rock & Roll Too Many” on Tuesday, were called center stage by host Ryan Seacrest. Brooke stated that she believed that starting her song over last night was the right thing to do.

The voters agreed and Brooke was declared safe — she looked utterly shocked at the result — sending Syesha, who looked pretty shocked herself, into the bottom two.

Then Jason Castro and Carly Smithson, whose version of “Jesus Christ Superstar” was her best performance in recent weeks, were called center stage. Castro was declared safe (voters must dig his laid back beach vibe and cool dreads) and Smithson joined Mercado in the bottom two.

Both contestants were allowed to perform again (because there was some more time to kill, not because the votes weren’t all counted up yet - can we please cut the results show to 30 minutes please?!!?).

Then Carly Smithson was eliminated!

Maybe what left voters out in the cold about Carly was her tattoos, or the fact that her husband, a San Diego tattoo artist seen regularly in the studio audience cheering for his wife, has tattoos on his face. Who knows? We at Idol Speculation figured Carly for the Top 3, but as Michael Johns (who we also liked) proved a few weeks ago, anything can happen when it’s left up to fan voting.

So the “American Idol” season 7 Top 5 is Brooke White, Jason Castro, Syesha Mercado and the two favorites to win the whole thing, David Archuleta and David Cook.

Tune in to “American Idol” Tuesday as the Top 5 square off singing tunes, and being coached by, pop legend Neil Diamond, and then visit the Idol Speculation blog after the telecast to get the goods (or bads) on all of the performances.

Hello Everybody

Tonight on “American Idol” the Top 6 contestants, including hometown girl Brooke White of Mesa, performed the extremely difficult to sing compositions of musical theatre maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a couple of the remaining “Idols” had rough nights.

And the contestant who had the roughest night of all was Brooke.

In the preview to Brooke’s performance, Webber, acting as guest vocal coach, said, after Brooke sang for him, that he didn’t think that “that girl had a clue about what she was singing about,” but after a bit of coaching Webber said that Brooke is a “natural, wonderful actress.”

Brooke went third in the order tonight and sang “You Must Love Me,” originally performed by Madonna in the film “Evita,” and Brooke started, then stopped, the tune before beginning again (saying “I’m sorry”), a Cardinal Sin in the performance arts. Brooke was obviously, as judge Simon Cowell said after the performance, “tense,” and judge Paula Abdul told Brooke afterwards “you must never start and stop.” Judge Randy Jackson said Brooke’s performance was okay once she “got started,” but that overall Brooke “wasn’t great.”

After the judges comments Brooke told host Ryan Seacrest, after he asked what happened at the beginning of the tune, that she “lost the lyric.” Jackson said Brooke did the right thing by starting again and Cowell said it was a “brave thing to do.”

Brooke’s vocal, once she got going, was actually very good, but the start/stop/start again at the beginning of the performance might hurt her when the audience at home dials in their votes.

Jason Castro, the dreadlocked singer from Texas, also had a poor night, singing Webber’s popular “Memory” from the Broadway classic “Cats,” which lead judge Cowell to remark (harshly!) that it was to him, as it must have been for Castro, the “longest two minutes” of the singer’s life, and Jackson called the performance a “bit of a train wreck,” which, in performance parlance, is pretty bad indeed.

Of the better performances of the evening, David Cook elevated himself to the clear frontrunner in the competition Tuesday night, impressing the judges with his rendition of Webber’s “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera.” Jackson called the singer’s spot “an amazing vocal performance, ” while judge Paula Abdul said that the vocal was another reason that Cook is a good, “well-rounded performer.”

Also impressive was Syesha Mercado, who always seems to find herself in the bottom three contestants in recent weeks only to survive to sing another day, who sang “One Rock & Roll Too Many” from “Starlight Express.” Judge Cowell said it was one of Mercado’s “strongest performances so far” during season 7 of “Idol” and judge Jackson told Mercado she could be a “huge Broadway star.”

Early frontrunners David Archuleta and Carly Smithson were also good on Tuesday, with Archuleta’s “Think of Me” (from “Phantom of the Opera”) prompting Jackson to call the teenager from Utah “the boy to beat,” and Smithson’s take on perhaps Webber’s best known composition, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” drew kudos from Cowell, who said that Smithson’s vocal was “one of my favorite performances of the night.”

It is probably going to come down to either Jason Castro, who wasn’t very good vocally, or Brooke, who stumbled at the beginning of her tune before recovering, getting the axe after Tuesday’s performances.

Tune into the results show Wednesday night to see if Brooke White makes it into the Top 5 or goes home, then check back in with “Idol Speculation” to get the analysis on what happened and why.

Chris    

Hello Everybody

Mesa’s Brooke White dodged her biggest bullet yet on season 7 of “American Idol” Wednesday night, sweating out the bottom three, then the bottom two, before being declared safe to advance to the popular singing competition’s Top 6.

After performing the tunes of Mariah Carey last night, tonight’s results show found the “Idols” divided into two groups by host Ryan Seacrest, the first group consisting of Jason Castro, Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado, and the other group represented by Brooke, David Cook and Kristy Lee Cook.

David Archuleta was then declared safe, and Seacrest then switched Mercado, who was so-so last night, with David Cook, and told Archuleta to join the group he though was going to advance. The singer was non-committal, sitting down in between the two groups (a very PC move on the Utah teenager’s part).

Seacrest then said that the Smithson/David Cook/Castro group was safe and that our bottom three this week were Brooke, Syesha and Kristy Lee.

Of course, as we always lament at Idol Speculation, the results show is an hour long, so before we found out who was going home tonight we had the obligatory group number (the “Idols” singing Carey’s “One Sweet Day”), recaps of all the “Idol” performances from Tuesday (during which time, after a replay of judge Simon Cowell telling Brooke her performance was like “ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun,” Brooke said in a preview spot backstage “Simon, I wish it didn’t hurt, but it does”) a performance by a former “Idol” contender (the likable Elliot Yamin who finished third on season five), a few phone calls from “Idol” fans with inane questions for some of the contestants (is this really necessary, other than to kill a few minutes?!!? Let’s cut the results show down to a half hour! Please!) and a performance by Tuesday’s guest coach Mariah Carey (”Bye Bye”).

But what we care about here at Idol Speculation is the final result — which singer is toast — so here’s how it shook out.

Syesha, who has been a fixture in the bottom three in recent weeks, was declared safe, leaving Brooke and Kristy Lee Cook facing elimination. Brooke had been in the bottom three only once and Cook had been there a few times only to survive to sing another day each time.

Then, after some tense, suspenseful build-up, Brooke was declared safe, leaving Kristy Lee Cook as the odd singer out.

For Brooke, singing Mariah Carey styled R&B/pop is not her forte (she’s more of a singer/songwriter type in the Carole King mode), so it was a stern test that the AZ native passed this week.

Tune in Tuesday night when the Top 6 “Idol” contestants perform tunes written by Andrew Lloyd Weber, then check in with the Idol Speculation blog after the show to get the lowdown on all of the performances.

Chris

Hello Everyone

Tonight the Top 7 “American Idol” finalists, including Mesa’s Brooke White, performed the songs of pop diva Mariah Carey - who coincidentally (or not?!!?) - has a new CD, “E=Mc2,” in stores today.

Comparing the “Idol” contestants to a singer who recently eclipsed Elvis Presley for most No. 1 singles as a solo artist in pop music history is perhaps unfair (but inevitable), but the remaining “Idol” wannabees gave it a good whirl on Tuesday night.

Brooke sang fourth tonight, taking on Carey’s “Hero,” and sang the tune in her “singer/songwriter” style, and here at Idol Speculation, we thought she was the best she’s been in several weeks.

Judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell seemed to be less enthusiastic about the performance, however, with Jackson telling the AZ native that he liked the tune until the bridge, where he felt Brooke let down a little bit, while Cowell compared the performance to “ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun,” saying that a “vital ingredient was missing” from Brooke’s vocal.

Brooke should be safe for Wednesday’s elimination round, however, as a few of the contestants who have been popping up in the bottom three in recent weeks were a mixed bag tonight.

Syesha Mercado, who performed “Vanishing” this evening, always seems to be in the bottom three (which is surprising to us here at Idol Speculation, as she has one of the better voices in the competition) and despite all three judges offering kudos, might be eliminated do to a lack of popularity (as shown in recent weeks) with voters.

Carly Smithson, who has found herself in the bottom three in recent weeks as well, failed to impress Cowell, who questioned whether she pulled off the vocal for “Without You” or not before concluding that “I don’t think you did.”

And Kristy Lee Cook, who has improved consistently in recent weeks, is again on the bubble after singing “Forever.” While judge Paula Abdul was “blown away” by the performance, Cowell said the vocal “wasn’t great” and Jackson was “not amazed” by the performance.

Of the better performances of the evening, David Cook took a Carey tune, “Always Be My Baby,” and again made it his own (which to us means he sand it like Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder or Creed’s Scott Stapp would have done it, but…), impressing the judges. Jackson called Cook’s version of the song the “most brilliant” performance of the season yet,  Cowell said the performance was “daring, original and stood out by a mile” and Abdul told Cook he was “amazing” and that his version of the tune could be on a “movie soundtrack” (is that a good or bad thing?!!?).

Cook appears to be molding himself in the image of Chris Daughtry, a season five contestant who finished fourth but, as a post-grunge rocker, has sold millions of records with his band, named, conveniently, after himself.

After tonight, a new season seven favorite may have been established in David Cook.

Early season seven favorite David Archuleta was up first tonight and was again on top of his game, performing “When You Believe,” which encouraged Jackson to say after the performance that “that was the bomb,” while Cowell told the singer that he “performed that very well.”

Dreadlocked Jack Johnson-esque mellow beach dude Jason Castro was also good tonight, and while Jackson said he felt like he was at a “weird beach luau” during the performance, Cowell told the singer that the performance was “identifiably you.”

Tune into “American Idol” Wednesday night to find out which of the contestants has made it into the Top 6 and who has been sent home early, then visit the Idol Speculation blog after the show to get all the analysis on how it all went down.

Hello Everybody

After a big night of “Idol Gives Back” on Wednesday, it was back to business for the Top 8 Thursday as the results show aired on Fox.

But would somebody really get booted off? Last year after “Idol Gives Back” all of the contestants, in the spirit of the “Idol Gives Back” theme, were declare safe and two singers were bumped the following week.

But somebody did get booted tonight, and it was a shocker!

First the important info: host Ryan Seacrest announced that over 60 million dollars have been donated so far to benefit the Idol Gives Back Foundation. To donate, call 1-877-IDOL AID (436-5243) or visit americanidol.com

The show recapped some of the highlights of last evening’s program, the Idols repeated their performance of last night’s gospel number (“Shout to the Lord”), a video of celebs grooving to “I’m A Believer” was shown (last year’s video of different celebrities dancing to The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” was a youtube hit) and last year’s “Idol” champ, Glendale’s Jordin Sparks, sang her hit duet with R&B singer Chris Brown, “No Air,” then Jordin got some sales awards — a gold record for her debut CD and plaques representing 1 million downloads for he debut single “Tattoo” and “No Air.”

But as we like to do here at Idol Speculation, we cut to the chase with the results, so here they are:

The Idols were being judged tonight on their Tuesday performances of “songs of inspiration,” and Mesa’s Brooke White was the first contestant to be declared safe, so some of our tension (we’re openly rooting for the hometown girl here at Idol Speculation) dissipated quickly!

Tonight the bottom 3 were Syesha Mercado, who seems to always be in the bottom 3, Carly Smithson, who’s been there before herself, and Michael Johns, making his debut in the bottom 3.

After building suspense, per usual, with well-timed commercials, Carly and Syesha were declared safe and the odd man out was one of the early favorites Michael Johns, who after rough version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” Tuesday was sent packing to a chorus of boos and looks of shock on the faces of the fans in the audience and on judge Paula Abdul.

The transplanted Aussie from Georgia struggled in recent weeks (Simon has said he didn’t like Johns’ “impersonation of a rock star”) but this has to come as a surprise, as surely Johns is better than some of the contestants still standing (or as the case may be, sitting on the couch).

But when it gets down to the Top 10, one bad performance can end it all, and Johns proved that tonight.

Tune into “American Idol” on Tuesday, when the Top 7 “Idol” contestants perform, then check in with Idol Speculation to get a rundown and analysis of all of the performances.

Chris

Hello Everybody

Usually Wednesday night is elimination night on “American Idol,” but tonight it was a variety styled show titled “Idols Give Back” (I know they did this last year, but to be honest this is only my 2nd year watching the show, so I don’t know how many of these they’ve done).

Thursday night will be the results show this week, but last year, in the spirit of giving, they didn’t kick anybody off, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Tonight’s two and a half hour show wasn’t about the “Idols” singing for the judges, so our Idol Speculation blog doesn’t have much to report on that front (the Top 8 contestants did perform a few group numbers, singing Rihanna’s “Please Don’t Stop the Music,” “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway show “Rent” and the gospel tune “Shout to the Lord”), but there were plenty of celebs on hand to perform live at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, among them Miley Cyrus, Snoop Dog, Heart singing with Fergie, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox, and Carrie Underwood, with Ben Stiller, Jimmy Kimmel and Robin Williams performing comedy for levity.

While the entertainment was fine, the important thing to take away from the show tonight was how to donate money to a great cause (there was plenty of heart-wrenching documentary footage Wednesday, with both Bono and Annie Lennox speaking to kids living in HIV-ravaged Africa, Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley touring a poor area of Kentucky where Billy Ray grew up and Brad Pitt appearing in a doc depicting the rebuilding effort in New Orleans), so in case you missed “Idol Gives Back,” here is how to go about making a donation.

The Idol Gives Back Foundation benefits 6 charities (The Global Fund, Children’s Defense Fund, Malaria No More, U.S. Programs, Make It Right, Save The Children and the Children’s Health Fund) and money can be donated by mail (send a check to the Idol Gives Back Foundation, P.O. Box 414214, Boston Mass., 02241-4214), through the internet (visit americanidol.com) or by calling 1-877-IDOL AID (436-5243).

Tune in Thursday for the results show, and then we’ll be back with Idol Speculation after the program to dish on whether an “Idol” was sent home, or if, like last year, they give everybody a pass and tomorrow and two singers will be axed next week.

Hello Everybody

Because we at the Idol Speculation blog want to bring you the goods on “American Idol” up close, tonight we went to a Brooke White “Idol” viewing party at Costa Vida, a Mexican restaurant in the singer’s hometown of Mesa, and took in the performances surrounded by Brooke’s family, friends and fans.

Check out the East Valley Tribune and eastvalleytribune.com on Monday for the sense-around story on the festivities.

So, on to the performances.

Tuesday the top 8 “Idols” chose “songs of inspiration” to sing on the program, and while some of tonight’s performances were inspirational, others were decidedly lacking in inspiration.

Brooke, the last performer of the evening, took on Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” (Brooke explained that King’s 1971 album masterpiece “Tapestry” was one of the reasons she got into music), and the tune was in Brooke’s comfort zone, as her own originals (Brooke released a solo record a couple of years ago) have a King-like singer/songwriter flavor.

Eschewing her own piano or guitar accompaniment for this performance, Brooke delivered a fine version of the song with sparse backing from the band, letting her strong vocals carry the tune.

While judge Randy Jackson told Brooke the vocal was not one of her best performances, saying it was “okay,” judge Paula Abdul liked the song, telling Brooke it was a “perfect way to end the night.” Cranky judge Simon Cowell said the performance was “nice” but said the version was “not original.”

Brooke, who was in the bottom 3 last week for the first time all season, would appear safe for another week, but at this stage of the game, where all eight contestants are excellent singers, it’s anyone’s guess on who will be ousted during Thursday’s elimination show.

Having rough nights Tuesday, according to the judges, were Michael Johns, whose vocal performance on Aerosmith’s “Dream On” was castigated by Jackson for “pitch problems” and Cowell told the singer that while the performance was “very good,” he doesn’t like it when Johns, whose stage mannerisms recall Doors singer Jim Morrison and the late fellow Aussie Michael Hutchence of INXS, gives off the “impersonation of a rock star.”

Carly Smithson also failed to connect with all three judges as her version of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” had even the normally positive Abdul telling the singer that she “didn’t feel the connection” with Smithson’s performance and Cowell told the singer that she “oversang” the song and “might be in a bit of trouble after tonight.”

The finest performances of the evening belonged to David Archuleta, whose take on Brit pop star Robbie Williams’ “Angels” had Jackson gushing as he told the diminutive Utah teenager that his performance was his “hottest moment of the whole season” and Cowell said that Archuleta’s voice was a bit “nasally” but that he should “sail through” to the next round.

Jason Castro also impressed all three judges with a laid back (can Castro perform any other way?) take on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” done up with the singer playing a ukulele a la late Hawaiian Israel Kmakawiwo Ole’s version

Perennial bottom three dweller Kristy Lee Cook continues to make positive strides with the judges, this week singing Martina McBride’s “Anyway,” prompting Cowell to tell the singer afterwards that she looked “like a star tonight.”

Tomorrow night is “Idol Gives Back,” so tune into Idol Speculation to get the scoop on the stars who performed at the fundraiser, and Thursday night is elimination night and we’ll be here afterwards to give you the lowdown on who survived into the top 7 and who got their pink slip.

Chris 

Hello Everybody”American Idol” now has eight contestants remaining, and it looked, for a little while anyway, as though Mesa’s Brooke White might be eliminated.

For the first time this season Brooke found herself in the bottom three, where she was joined by Ramiele Malubay and Kristy Lee Cook, who is seemingly making it a tradition of being on the elimination bubble every week.

As usual, there was a bunch of filler (we at “Idol Speculation” can’t wait until the results show goes down to thirty minutes), such as calls from “Idol” fans with boring, time-killing questions, a video feature of former “Idols”-gone-country Bucky Covington and Phil Stacey and season four rocker Bo Bice, all of whom now live in Nashville, and a group number (”9 to 5″).

It was, however, worthwhile to see last night’s guest mentor Dolly Parton, one of the greatest country singer/songwriters ever, perform the gospel-tinged “Jesus and Gravity” from her latest album, “Backwoods Barbie.”

One of the “Idol” faves, David Cook, who went to the hospital after the “Idol” performances last night for heart palpitations and high blood pressure, spoke about his ordeal and says he’s “cool…I’m not going anywhere.” 

So, to cut to the chase, as we at “Idol Speculation” like to do, an emotional Brooke was in the bottom three, but she was declared safe by host Ryan Seacrest, leaving Kristy Lee and Ramiele vying for the eighth spot.

And Kristy Lee survives once again as Ramiele Malubay, who looked a like a strong contender in the early weeks of the Top 12 but who faltered in the last couple of week, is sent home.

Tune into “American Idol” on Tuesday when the final eight contestants will perform, the visit the “Idol Speculation” blog to get the breakdown on all of the performances.

 Hello Everybody

Country legend Dolly Parton was in the “American Idol” house on Tuesday night as the remaining nine contestants, including Mesa’s Brooke White, crooned a bevy of the buxom blonde’s best known tunes.

Parton was the first celebrity vocal coach of season 7 and, as Dolly is too nice a person to out and out criticize any of the “Idol” singers, she had plenty nice to say about all of them.

The first singer of the evening was our own Brooke White, and Dolly said in the contestant’s preview that the singer has a “warm, sweet way about her - there’s an honesty about Brooke that I really liked.”

Brooke, backed by percussion and fiddle, played acoustic guitar on Parton’s “Jolene,” a tune so popular it was even covered by garage rock duo The White Stripes, and Brooke’s version got a rave from judge Paula Abdul, who praised the singer as “consistent - you are Brooke White.”

Judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell were less enthusiastic, however, with Jackson telling the singer she had some “pitch problems” and that she “rushed the music,” and Cowell told White that what was lacking in her performance was “any emotion - it was like you were busking your way through.”

Once again, though, due to some rough performances by her cohorts, White should make it through to the Top 8 when the results show airs on Wednesday.

Country music has traditionally given “Idol” contestants of the past fits, and this year was no exception as rough performances were given by Ramiele Malubay, whose version of “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” had Cowell telling the singer she was “forgettable,” and for the second straight week Jason Castro - who was in the bottom three last Wednesday - struggled this week with “Travelin Through,” a tune he performed like all the rest of the songs he’s done in recent weeks, with a laid-back beach bum Jack Johnson vibe.

Syesha Mercado has been in the bottom three a couple of times (surprising to me - I think she has a great voice) and could wind up there again after her version of “I Will Always Love You,” a tune that nobody can sing as well as a prime Whitney Houston, failed to live up to (duh) Houston’s version.

A few of the better performances on Tuesday were given by: Michael Johns, whose bluesy take on “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” was the best performance, according to all three of the judges, of the night; David Archuleta, who is back after few spotty weeks, tonight sang the pretty country ballad “Smokey Mountain Memories,” which Cowell told the singer was “absolutely on the money;” and David Cook, who left his Creed-style crooning behind (thank heavens) this week to deliver a nice take on the Parton ballad “Little Sparrow,” which Jackson called “another hot performance.”

Tune into the “American Idol” results show tomorrow night, then tune into the Idol Speculation blog to get the goods on who made the Top 8 and which contestant went home.   

Hello Everybody
If you’re a regular to the Idol Speculation blog, you know how much we feel tortured by the hour long “American Idol” elimination show, where we wait 50 minutes or so for about ten seconds of drama.

We could do without the weekly group number (tonight the “Idols” performed Maxine Nightingale’s 1976 No. 2 disco/pop smash “Right Back Where We Started From”), the guest performance (this week by season 2 “Idol” alum Kimberly Locke, who hasn’t been heard from since, well, since she was eliminated from season 2), and the obligatory Ford commercial featuring the “Idol” contestants.

The only useful segment during the elimination show is the recaps of the “Idol” performances of the night before, to refresh us as to who was awesome and who was awful, but that could take about 10 minutes at the most.

But we digress - here at Idol Speculation we give you the goods on who landed in the bottom three, then who were the final two standing, and then who, ultimately, was canned.

Firstly, Brooke White, the Mesa native who we’re following on the Idol Speculation blog, has made it through to next week. Her performance (of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”) was not deemed by judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell to be one of her better efforts, but nonetheless Brooke has coasted into the top nine.

In the bottom three tonight were Chikezie (who we predicted on our last post would be in trouble after singing Luther Vandross’ R&B ballad “If Only For One Night”), but the next two were kind of a surprise to us.

We figured Ramiele Malubay and Carly Smithson would probably be the other two in the bottom three, but, and it’s not the first time our predictions have gone awry, we were wrong.

Syesha Mercado, who gave her best performance to date with Gladys Knight and The Pips’ “If I Were Your Woman,” wound up in the bottom three, as did Jason Castro, whose “sensitive dude with an acoustic guitar” routine is apparently wearing thin with voters (Castro took a mellow turn on Sting’s “Fragile” Tuesday).

Castro, after telling host Ryan Seacrest that he knew something was up because he’d never been out to hear his fate that late on an elimination show, was then told he was safe, leaving Chikezie and Syesha on the hot seat.

And then “Idol” went to a suspense building commercial break, per usual.

Then, when we came back, Chikezie got sacked.

After a couple of inspired performances the last two weeks, where he sang some up-tempo tunes and let his affable personality shine, Chikezie went back to a soft, moody ballad on Tuesday - crooning in a style that had gotten him some bad judge reviews a few weeks ago, but this time it cost the singer a spot in the top nine.

The next time we see Chikezie will be on the “American Idol” summer tour, when the top 10 hit the road for a “Donny and Marie” styled variety show.

“American Idol” returns on Tuesday, then afterwards tune into the Idol Speculation blog to get the goods on all of the performances.

Chris