The Clark Brothers Shine Their Light, Nearly Blind Brooke White

Last night’s American Idol saw the long-awaited exit of Ramiele Malubay, but it was also notable for many other reasons–Bucky Covington telling the country that you didn’t really need to win the show in order to have success (perhaps a ploy to make David Cook feel better about his inevitable loss to the overhyped teen dream David Archuleta), Dolly Parton awkwardly telling Simon that he was welcome back at Dollywood anytime, the Ford commercial forcing the top nine Idols to rap “It’s Tricky,” the Ramiele sandwich at show’s end. But I was most excited about the return of The Clark Brothers, the pinup-ready bluegrass trio who won 19 Entertainment’s little-watched The Next Great American Band and who I was convinced were going to be nothing more than glorified hand models within the Idol universe this season.

The Clarks went back to the well they drank from on TNGAB, perhaps figuring that so few people watched that show that a repeat performance would be OK. Here’s their kinda-manic “This Little Light Of Mine”:

It started off a little weak and the guitars could have all been better-amplified, and it continued the “praise the Lord and pass the mic” theme of the evening, but overall it sounded OK (and it got people at least a little interested in them). But did anyone notice the reaction shots from the remaining contestants and Ryan? I know it must be hard to keep a straight face up on those couches, but the facial expressions coming from stage left were somewhat distracting from the performance:

“This would never work on my morning show,” he was thinking.

And then there was Brooke White:

Is she confused because, like R-rated movies, she’s never seen live bluegrass before, or is she confused because she’s … you know … a little hot and bothered by the brothers’ bringing together love for the Lord and some fast finger-picking? It’s so hard to tell!

The Clark Brothers [MySpace]