American Idol: 9 remaining

It's Dolly week! I have always been a big Dolly fan, but I don't have high hopes for tonight--Dolly's voice is so distinctive that it will be difficult to really do her justice. But I'm still excited because...Dolly! Yay! (All of the plastic surgery does make me sad, but what can you do?) Here we go:

Brooke White. "Jolene." Brooke should do well with Dolly songs. And she did. She sounded good--it wasn't something that would blow one away, but with Brooke I don't think she needs that. She's just a folksy singer, so she's not about the glory note or dancing around on stage. Unfortunately, at points she didn't seem to get the song--like when she smiled while asking Jolene not to take her man. But other than that, a solid performance.

David Cook. "Little Sparrow." I thought he was good, but not very exciting. And Paula is right--he does look better with the haircut.

Ramiele Mulabay. "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?" Wow, Ramiele is way shorter than Dolly. And Dolly is only five feet tall. At some point during this competition Ramiele has to become special, and she has yet to do that. Once again, she was difficult to hear while singing, and she just wasn't that exciting.

Jason Castro. "Travelin' Thru." Jason should do well with Dolly too. He was mellow, but he sounded really good and seemed natural with the song. So I liked it. Like Brooke and David, not very exciting, but good nonetheless.

Carly Smithson. "Here You Come Again." I am so glad that someone chose a really old school Dolly song. Unfortunately, I didn't love her on the highest notes, but other than that she sounded good. And she deserves some credit for the song choice.

David Archuleta. "Smoky Mountain Memories." Gobo wanted to use the computer for a minute while I was blogging, so I let him do so while David was singing. Why? Because no matter what David did, I knew I would feel the same way about his performance. I can't get past his lack of personality, the fact that he doesn't look or act like any 17 year old I have ever met, and he is just puppet-like. So, yeah, that's about it.

Kristy Lee Cook. "Coat of Many Colors." I don't know if Kristy's patriotic fans are going to like that she cares more about impressing Dolly than her mother. Somehow, I'm not surprised by Kristy's song choice here--singing about growing up poor and having all the other kids laugh at your coat of many colors is probably exactly what her fan base would go for. (Having said that, I think of this as another classic Dolly song, and I do like it.) Kristy's voice has been sounding a lot better lately--I'm not sure if she was nervous in the earlier episodes or she has gotten better training, but there's no question she has improved. Still, I don't think she is very special. And I hate the bare feet. Did the stylist decide that she shouldn't wear shoes because the narrator in the song is poor and can't afford them? I'm surprised they didn't make her wear, literally, a coat of many colors.

Syesha Mercado. "I Will Always Love You." This was a good choice and Syesha sounded really strong. I think the judges were unduly harsh--she held her own singing a really recognizable song.

Michael Johns. "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right." I think that this was Micheal's best performance to date. He sounded good and was a bit more exciting than the rest.

I'm disappointed the contestants didn't choose the Dolly songs of my youth. Where was "Islands in the Stream?" Where was "9 to 5?"

Best of the Night: Michael Johns, Syesha, Brooke.
Going home: Ramiele. Although I'll put in my weekly plug for getting rid of David A.