The “American Idols Live!” tour hit town this weekend like the well-oiled machine that it is. The three-hour show moved at a brisk pace — and a few of the performers made a bigger impact than they did while on the show.

Chikezie (he’s since dropped his last name) may have been at the bottom of the top 10 on the spring season of Fox’s “American Idol,” but you would have never known it from his performance Saturday night. His energy and joy were infectious on Ray Charles/Donny Hathaway’s “I Believe to My Soul,” and he had the crowd on its feet dancing with him to John Legend’s “So High.”

By contrast, Ramielle Malubay’s performance was completely forgettable. She’s got a great, big voice but needs to work on her stage presence. Maroon 5’s “If I Never See Your Face Again” was an odd choice for her. She did, however, display some vocal fireworks on Taylor Dayne’s “Love Will Lead You Back.”

Michael Johns, meanwhile, burned like a supernova during a melody of Queen songs, a blues arrangement of Dolly Patron’s “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right,” and Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” He dedicated the latter to the Cubs, indicating it was his dream they win the World Series.

Kristy Lee Cook was all country, as one would expect. She showed a little bit of good-natured sass on Carolyn Dawn Johnson’s “Tryin’ to Squeeze the Love Outta You” and Kerry Harvick’s “Cowgirls,” but her girl-next-door rendition of “God Bless the U.S.A.” still felt like it belonged at a country fair, not in an arena tour.

Carly Smithson gave a fairly predictable performance of Evanescence’s “Wake Me Up Inside,” but sang Heart’s “Crazy” far better than she did on the show. She also showed more warmth and personality on Cyndi Lauper’s “Drove All Night” and just may very well be one of those performers who are better live than on TV.

Brooke White and Jason Castro seem to have taken to heart the judges’ mantra of picking the right song. White was her usual goofy, eccentric self as she accompanied herself on piano (barefoot, no less) on the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” and declared “snaps are the new clap” before working her way through the sing-song of Feist’s “1,2,3,4.” Castro reprised the ukulele version of “Over the Rainbow” and the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Daydream” captured him in all his mellowness.

After being told by the judges this season that she was too Broadway, Syesha Mercado finished her three-song set with Beyonce’s “Listen” from “Dreamgirls.” It’s hard to hear her perform that song and not read anything into those lyrics. Suffice to say, Mercado has found her own voice. It’s powerful and it almost succeeded in making us forget there were two other Davids coming on after her.

In the battle of the Davids, I give this round to Archuleta — based solely on the volume of shrieks and screams as he reprised “Stand by Me/Beautiful Girls” and out-Grobaned Josh Groban on “When You Say You Love Me.” Pop stardom is all but assured for him.

Cook had a decent set with his rock versions of “Hello” by Lionel Richie and “Billie Jean,” by Michael Jackson, but he’s a rocker that doesn’t easily fit into the “American Idol” mold of pop music. He was better on rock covers of “My Hero” (Foo Fighters) and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith) than he was on the dull, clichéd and sappy coronation ballad “Time of My Life.” Here’s hoping his debut album, due out in the fall, has more of the former than the latter.

Source: Suntimes.com