Ramiele Mulubay's Stage Presence on American Idol is Lacking

At this stage of the competition, only the best are going to be able to survive elimination, and unfortunately, Ramiele Malubay wasn't able to pull through. During the auditions, she was one of my favorite performers, but although she has a strong, powerful voice, her presence on stage leaves something lacking.

In my opinion, she was always, talent-wise, somewhere in the bottom three with Chikezie, and Kristi Lee Cook. But while Kristi Cook has steadily improved over the course of the competition, picking better songs (except for the Beatles week fiasco, when I was sure she was a goner), Chikezie and Ramiele have faded next to the powerhouse singers like Carly Smithson and Michael Johns.

One thing that has helped (and hindered) her has been the "introduction" segments that inform the watchers about contestants' favorite activities, sports, former jobs, etc. I firmly believe (and I am getting off track here) that David Hernandez went home the week after the "former career" intro segment, when he said he used to work as a pizza boy. Perhaps he did, but all of America wanted to hear about his "other job", the one with the scandalous videos on YouTube. I think the nation could have forgiven his past, but couldn't forgive his glossing over it. Ramiele comes across as a cute, sweet girl, but not much else. I can't even remember at the moment anything she said in the video segments -- what her interest are, where she used to work, what she does for fun....although I do remember something about a hula dancer. Perhaps if she had taken some dance tips from Hernandez there would have been more of a buzz about her.

Despite these advantages, I don't think she has what it takes to be THE American Idol. Her voice isn't strong enough compared to Carly Smithson and Michael Johns, and her performances aren't unique like Jason Castro's and Brook White. She doesn't have the original style of David Cook, either. I had predicted that she would be one of the next ones eliminated, as the rest of her competitors have been boiled down to the best of the best.

Still, she had pulled through week after week, because, in my opinion, she has one of the stronger voices. Her song choices and performances could have used some work, but there is no question she is a great singer. Hopefully if she can overcome some of her shyness she can go on and have a successful career in music, which is entirely possible with her amount of talent. Unfortunately for her, there are just so many other good contestants this year -- David Archuleta with his soulful voice, Jason Castro with his happy smile, and David Cook with his original and solid performances. To win American Idol this year, it will take more than just a good voice, and decent performing ability. The winning contestant will need to take old songs and make them new again, and show emotion and vulnerability. He or she will need to connect to the audience not just through video segments and answering viewer questions, but through their music, which is much tougher than it sounds

And my prediction at this stage of the competition? David Cook. Every song he sings, no matter how old the original, sounds like it could be a modern hit on the radio. But we shall see...