The Top 24 are here!

The Top 24 are finally here, and now it's time to post. I couldn't bring myself to care too much about the auditions since historically it has been a waste of time to get invested at all, but in a strange twist this year, we actually got to see a lot of good auditions, and even learned at least a little bit about most of the Top 24. This bodes well for more people this year. No more "I didn't get enough exposure so there is no way people are going to vote for me over the less talented hack that got a lot of air time because (he's cute, she and her father don't get along, I sold my ring to get here, my baby was born in line while I waited to audition, I sing in the Air Force/Army/Navy/Marine/Coast Guard/etc. band, Simon called me a muskrat, fill in other excuse here)."

On to my one liners on this year's Top 24 so far. I reserve the right to change my opinion soon and frequently until we really get to see more of them.

Alaina Whitaker--I don't remember you, so good luck.

Alexadrea Lushington--You are the runner up in the "Unexpected Extra Punctuation in Your Name" award.

Amanda Overmyer--This one could get old really fast.

Amy Jean Davis--She seemed quirky enough to be interesting for a while.

Asia'h Epperson--She wins the aforementioned "Unexpected Extra Punctuation in Your Name" award, and seems like a lock for Top 12 status.

Brooke White--She is talented and unique enough to make it a ways, but we need a stylist, STAT!

Carly Smithson--Definitely a front-runner at this point--can you say "Irish (American) Idol."

Chikezie Eze--He dropped off the map after his initial audition, but I'm glad to see Studdard Lite on the menu.

Colton David Berry--I'm not sure about the three name bit (a la Jon Peter Lewis), and I wonder if he'll recover from that whole Kyle deserves to be here fiasco.

Danny Norriega--I have nothing against effeminate guys, but honestly, this guy could be in the Top 12 Girls and we wouldn't bat an eye; this one is already old for me.

David Archuleta--If I were going out on a limb here, I'd say this guy could legitimately challenge for top 3 or 4 overall.

David Cook--His picture on the AI website is a little scary, but he has the stuff to hang around for a while.

David Hernandez--This guy can sing, but I don't know if he's got "Top 6 Guys" written all over him.

Garrett Haley--The Michael Bolton lookalike act won't help him, as well as the essentially absent coverage so far.

Jason Castro--We found the lead for that upcoming Milli Vanilli retrospective, but not a Top 12'er.

Jason Yeager--Who are you again?

Joanne Borgella--She is talented and refreshing, but I don't really need another Mandisa this year.

Kady Malloy--She has a great name for a pop star, but I don't remember her at all.

Kristy Lee Cook--If she can pull off something other than "Amazing Grace" she could be a competitive contestant.

Luke Menard--This guy looks like a boy bander, and he's another the producers have not spent much time plugging.

Michael Johns--The rest of the contestants are probably wishing this early potential Top 3'er had tried out for Australian Idol.

Ramiele Malubay--Is this girl the Philippines answer to Paula Abdul?

Robbie Carrico--A little Bo, a little Bucky, a little tight to make the Top 6 Guys.

Syesha Mercado--This girl has it all, and should make it to the final half or better.

So, my early Top 12 predictions based on virtually nothing but guesswork at this point are:

David Archuleta
David Cook
Michael Johns
Robbie Carrico
Chikezie Eze
Danny Norriega (think, Sanjaya)

Asia'h Epperson
Brooke White
Carly Smithson
Kristy Lee Cook
Ramiele Malubay
Joanne Borgella

And if I were a betting man, I'd put money on Michael Johns at this point, but as they say in the sporting world, "That's why they play the game."

Counting down to next Tuesday . . .

Top 20! - 10 Guys

I liked the subtle nod Ryan gave to Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson at the start of the show in which he emphasized (literally) how the AI judges had discovered her (even if they thought she wasn't good enough) - a sad attempt at damage control, but a good example of what we psych people call 'reframing'... ; )

I also fine-tuned my home stereo system this week, given the sucky audio I encountered last week. So far it sounds much better.

Phil Stacey - I agreed pretty much with Simon. Good, but not outstanding.

Jared Cotter - Sounded a little strained and unpolished to me. Paula picked up on him pushing the song. I didn't disagree with Simon's cabaret appraisal. About the same as last week. He may survive on looks for awhile.

AJ Tabaldo - Very smooth start, and adds some kick and owns it pretty well. Best so far tonight, but not huge.

Sanjaya Malakar - Let's hope he's found some fire. Not so much. Smooth and pleasant, but he needs some growl in his voice, especially with that song! Randy agreed. Paula remains the patron saint of diplomatic, positive feedback, and Simon remains intent on squashing her like a bug when she does that. Still, it wasn't bad, so maybe he'll last another week and finally show us something more impressive. I was the same way as a singer - too sweet, and not enough bite, though I did manage to make a lot of girls cry... ; )

Chris Sligh - Nice looking wife, and I'll bet he deserves her completely. The song is unknown to me, but he certainly kept me interested in it. I like his suit and sneakers. He gave me some chills, so that's the key for me. Very good, and I'm glad to hear the judges agree.

Nick Pedro - Smooth and smokey...about the same as last week, with a couple of tries at adding some pizazz. Unfortunately, those attempts took him off-key. Just okay for me. I think the judges liked it a little better than I did.

Blake Lewis - I can see he gets a lot of his strength and confidence from his parents. He let himself be himself in tonight's song choice. Once again he owned the stage, the song and the audience. Awesome! Randy agrees. Paula nails how smart he's being, and I agree. Simon's being tough, but I know where he's coming from - he's expressing his disappointment as though he's talking to the American Idol already. What's clear to me is how strongly the energy of his performance has affected the judges. Both last week and this week they are all over each other. Clearly they were strongly impacted and it manifests in energetic interactions. I've seen the same thing with mental health clients with powerful energies surrounding them - the entire treatment team becomes galvanized, and no one remains indifferent.

Brandon Rogers - Pitchy and timid, to start, and the song wasn't played fast enough. I understand the dedication and intent to express feeling, but I agree somewhat with Simon that it's still a competition, and this wasn't up to par.

Chris Richardson - A good example of a dedicated song with feeling and some pop to it. Simon's point is made, and Paula has nowhere to hide except humor. Up there with Blake's performance, though I liked Blake a little better.

I must say I'm liking the pace of the show much better tonight.

Sundance Head - He makes a good attempt at bringing it and not sucking. I admire his efforts, but I don't think it was as impressive as Randy and Paula. Like Simon, I feel like, "let's not get carried away".

Tops: Blake Lewis, Chris Sligh, Chris Richardson, AJ Tabaldo.

Bottoms: Brandon Rogers, Jared Cotter, and, for me, if I'm honest, Sundance Head.

I'm expecting much better from the girls...

...John

Top 24 Becomes Top 20

Urgh. First week boots are rough. No shockers, but you still feel badly for the ones getting the boot. They've packed more clothes than one week's worth! Darn it. And then to make them sing when they're crying?!

And my, they're mixing it up!

1. They're adding cheesy group numbers to the top 24, 20, and 16. Yippee.

2. They're announcing the mentors already--it's about time they do that.

3. They're adding stupid anti-Tivo quiz contests. I predict a class action lawsuit for carpal tunnel syndrome from texting AI numbers so much. What's wrong with an email?! Why cell phones? We don't have cell phones. We're being discriminated against!

So, "Sowing the Seeds of Love," J-Lo, Diana Ross, Tony Bennett and more. You know that AI just can't keep up with the rumor mill online so they may as well tell us. I love theme weeks! :)

So, Paul and Rudy. No big shockers (other than Sundance not joining one of them). I think Rudy just picked a boring song. Paul just sounded awful. Sundance is being featured on "Vote for the Worst.com" - stupid website.

Amy and Nicole. Again, no big shockers there (except that Antonella is STILL in the competition--have mercy, what pictures will seep to the world wide web next?!).

Nicole's from a town about 15 minutes down the road. I still don't know what she was singing. "Alleyayayeeewoowoo?" And apparently someone didn't want the girls joining her on stage to dance. Did you guys catch that?

Antonella and Sundance, your days are numbered.

I'm happy that Nick is still there ("by the grace ah Gahd"). He could be my cousin. I'm being totally serious.

FANTASIA! I love her! I always have! She is SO SO SO SO SO fun to watch. She has such passion. I don't care if she screeches now and then. THAT WAS AWESOME. Ryan's sure to feel like a schmuck when he figures out that he cut off QUINCY JONES HIMSELF. Talk about TBSITKU. He was about to tell us about "The Color Purple!" She was amazing and I'm very excited for her! Go Fantasia!

Okay and what the heck is with Ryan's new sign off? Bring back "Seacrest Out." "I've been Ryan Seacrest?" Who's he going to be next?

Blah, Blah, Blah, Elimination, Blah, Shock and Awe, Blah . . .

In keeping with the feeling I've been having all week--Did I really need to sit through an hour of that? I'm starting to think Fox wants to dumb me down so I will no longer be smarter than a 5th grader. They already think Antonella Barba is on that level--did you catch it last night when she was talking in the Popular Cola Beverage Red Room and they flashed up the 5th grade apple? Classic. But I digress . . .

When Ryan told the final 6 guys "we have to hurry" I was wondering what the slowdown was before. He successfully reviewed judges comments for 6 contestants, eliminated poor Rudy Cardenas, caused Sanjaya Malakar to go into hyperventilating fits, got another pedicure, picked his teeth, applied additional product to his hair, and insult Simon's shirt all in the space of about 75 seconds. That's 12 seconds or so per contestant. 24 total contestants times 12 seconds each, plus 240 more for Fantasia (great performance by the way, just awesome!), then add 2 tenths of a second for the legendary music icon Quincy Jones plus another minute and a half for each of the four eliminated contestants and you get, um . . . 14.8 minutes. We can actually ignore Q's .2 seconds since we made up for it by running the credits over Rudy's swan song.

First, here are my impressions on the eliminated:

AMY KREBS: Ho hum. No shock here. Unfortunately she has enough talent to continue on here, but her lack of airtime up until now along with her lackluster performance last night did her in.

NICOLE TRANQUILLO: It would have been next week anyway. Her performance last night was definitely in the "what the hell was that" category. That's the official name of the Gwen Stefani week, by the way.

PAUL KIM: Another predictable one. He really didn't pull it off last night. On the upside, he sounded much better tonight overall. And shoes wouldn't have mattered one bit.

RUDY CARDENAS: I feel a little bad for this guy because he has a really good voice, and given another shot I'm sure he'd wow us with a better song. But, second chances only come around once in a while (unless you're Sundance!) and I knew the bullseye was begging for bad karma.


Here are my memorable moments from tonight:

If this really is about the performances, Sundance Head and Antonella Barba should be going home right now. I know Sundance had a great audition, but I have seen nothing so far that warrants his still being in the competition. He is talented. He seems like a nice guy. But I can't say he was good enough to stick around. I honestly hope he "brings it" next week, because I think I'd like his style. Antonella is reaping the benefits of airtime and thinned voting in the early weeks. She's got a lot of work to do to make it past next week.

How in the world do you cut off Quincy Jones mid sentence. Ryan was obviously looking for a simple "thumbs up" to his asinine question, but the man wanted to say something. When a musician with 70 Grammys--not nominations, but actual stupid-looking statuettes they give to the one who wins--and who has arranged music for musicians such as Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ray Charles, and who has produced countless classic albums . . . when he wants to say something, you let him say it! Especially on a music show. Bet there's not going to be a Quincy Jones night too soon. Don't worry, we do get Bee-Gees night again!

Ryan is obviously rusty a bit. How many times did he tell Paul Kim he was the first contestant voted off American Idol this year. I felt bad for Shoeless Joe. "Paul, you're the first one off. Oh, and here's what the judges said (like you care now) . . . . So you have hardly any votes, and very few loyal fans, so you don't have enough votes, so you are the first contestant voted off. Did I mention how you are first this year?" Ouch, Ryan. That's cold!

I liked how they gave us a sneak peak at the upcoming weeks. Tony Bennett night--good. British Invasion--intriguing. Diana Ross night--not so much. I'll wait 'til each week arrives to give my final verdict.

So, it is officially on now. I'm hoping the guys figure out how this thing works next week, because I'm going to get really tired of the same old preshow banter. "Girls are the best this year, blah, blah." True or not, without a little more parity it's going to get boring. Only 4 more days and we're at it again! What a great time of year!

P.S. I'm really on a Quincy Jones kick now, so I'm going to share three albums/compilations you should definitely check out. Just look at who's sings on the albums and you'll be impressed. And Bono does a pretty good job with his jazz tune!


Back on the Block
Q's Jook Joint
Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones

OK, rant off now.

Predictions - Sound Off!

Okay, the votes are in and we find out tonight! Who do you think is getting the boot (as opposed to who you'd like to see ousted)? Post in the comments!

Here are mine:

Girls: Antonella and Amy Krebs
Guys: Sundance Head and hmmm, Rudy or Paul Kim, Rudy or Paul Kim. I'm gonna say Rudy since he sang first. Sundance and Rudy

Top 12 Guys

Top 12 Guys

Let's begin, shall we?

Rudy Cardenas- Oh, it sucks to be first. And wearing a bullseye on your shirt? That just doesn't necessarily send the "on the mark" message. Concentric circles. Several of them. Where might the arrow land? Oh, poor Rudy. Urgh, but I feel for him. What's he saying? Freedom? Free ride? Oh wait, fee ride? So it does cost? Feline? What? I have no idea. What's with the Clay Aiken hip action?

Well the judges are at it. First contestant and Simon's already interrupting. Though I do have to say that it's more than a little stupid to diss Simon in your pre-performance interview. Simon was already chomping at the bit. You could tell the way he rubbed his stretched lips with his finger as if it were chapstick itself. And then when Ryan asks and Rudy responds with "I had fun. I had a good time." Oh Rudy. That's usually a farewell speech. At least you won't be alone. Perhaps a barefoot companion will join you. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Is Ryan wearing lifts in his shoes??

Brandon Rogers- So long as Magistra is going to Studio 60 this, he can be Simon and Leslie can be Harriet. Aww, how balanced is that? This man is good with the camera. Of course we already knew that from Hollywood. He wants to "Rock Witch You." I'm not sure what that means. It was a little too low energy for me. It's like he'd taken a sedative. Or maybe I had. White belt. White shoes. He's not supposed to be wearing white, right? Labor Day or something? Someone wasn't talking to these boys before they hit the stage. No one told him that only half his shirt was tucked in. Or half wasn't tucked in. I'm not sure which is right. There was such a mix tonight. This wasn't nearly as bad as the flipped up polo collar. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.

It's not ever good when Paula starts breaking out the "hopefully people will remember your previous performances" speech. I mean, we JUST started. He'll be safe if just for his connections in the industry. Simon's chatty tonight, isn't he! But at least it's constructive.

Sundance Head- Unfortunately, I'm bored with him already. "Nights in White Satin?" Brave song, don't you think? And those hideous backgrounds. I think that WAS white satin! This was more than karaoke for me, dawg. This was worse than Nick Andopolis singing "Lady L" on "Freaks and Geeks" (and I *love* that scene). Oh, it was off. Badly. And he's wearing white shoes, too! I bet the girls put them all up to these things. Oh yeah, wear white shoes. Oooh ooh and a white belt. Chicks think that's hot. Oh, flip your collar up. But just on one side. Yeah, that's right. The girls will go crazy and like totally vote for you. And Sundance Head totally loves YOW, though I have no idea who that is. Perhaps his wife is Asian. He's sporting a mohawk, too, in case you missed it. In the back. Totally distracting profile. Like a chick's (as in a baby chicken this time) butt behind his head. It was rough, dude. And off.

The judges were on opposite sides of the criticism spectrum with Randy on the left and Simon on the right. Like this:

"Bring back the blues, Dawg!" -------------------(British pouty accent) "I didn't like you tonight!"

So, I'm not wowed yet. And a favorite alum is going to be on the show with exciting news?! Is Clay going to formally announce that he's out of the closet? Maybe Corey Clark will show up to say that Paula is the mother of his baby to promote his new single, "I'm a Big Daddy and Paula's the Momma and if you didn't believe me before, hear me now because I'm here to say that she called me on my cell phone and I have a bottle of pills with a label I made, I mean, with her name on it." Maybe Jennifer Hudson will show up to tell Simon to kiss her Golden Globe behind. Oh sweet justice.

Paul Kim- "Careless Whisper?" Careless song choice. Pitchy doesn't begin to explain those sounds. He might have to put on his shoes to catch that bus. That was the worst so far. On the bright side, maybe Sundance and Rudy will be safe.

The judges have got to be cringing. After all, they're the ones who've chosen this group. They say it's up to America, but see, we would've kept Marisa and Jenry and that Brokeback Mountain cowboy. Yes, America judges the judges tonight, too. And we say, "Bad, judges. Bad." Bleh.

And take note, y'all. Whenever Randy breaks out with "Paul Kim, Paul Kim, Paul Kim" or any other nomenclature three times in a row, it's not a good sign. That and when he starts off with a question like "What's going down, Dawg?" That's when you cringe because you know he's going to slam them nicely or not. And he did both tonight with Paul Kim, Paul Kim, Paul Kim. Not that we didn't already know that was oh. so. bad. Ugh. Maybe it'll be a girl idol after all! Eek, and Paula's asking how he's doing, too. Not good. More reminders from Pauler to recall earlier auditions. Yeah, I don't think so. Who knows. He IS representing Asians as he said in his audition interview. Maybe there's a big voting contingency. Look what they did for Jasmine Trias. And look at that, Ryan's shoeless. And a metro. Some things just don't shock anyone. Ryan IS wearing lifts! I knew it!

Oh and Paul? We don't call you. It's an automated machine.

Chris Richardson- The word "punk" comes to mind when I look at him. Something in his eyes scream "I have a mug shot" and you just know the editors at The Smoking Gun are working overtime looking for an expose. That was a disturbing performance on so many levels. I take issue with the WHOLE thing. That's TWO Elliott songs now. TWO. Elliott Yamin is the master and this clown is trying to imitate him and no one has called him on it. Well, *I'm* calling him on it. They read the boards. Hey, Chris. You're not Elliott. Just because you're from Virginia and have now sung TWO songs that he has in the same exact freaking style as Elliott no less, that does not make you Elliott. No. No, no, no. Justin Timberlake? No. Elliott? NO! "I don't wanna be" indeed. And Elliott dances better, too. The whole performance was just wrong. It was nasaly and wrong. I'm mad because he's imitating (poorly) MY BOY ELLIOTT. No. I will give him that his falsetto was better than Paul Kim's, but unfortunately that's not saying much tonight. Those are the SAME FREAKING MOVES as Elliott's! No. Best so far tonight, but no, no, no, no, no. Whaaaaaaaaaa. I miss Elliott.

Okay, the judges. What the HELL?!?! That is NOT a new arrangement. That is the very SAME arrangement Elliott did less than a year ago! What is WRONG with them?! That's ELLIOTT'S! Stupid idiots. Chris is probably safer than anyone else so far tonight, much due to the judges' -albeit misguided- words, but I don't like him. I'm mad. "I don't like you tonight."

Nick Pedro- "I Will Be Your Man." Oh, Nick. I have high hopes for you. Cute boy, dimples, and reminds me of every guy I've ever known in my high school. Our school played Nick's school, for crying out loud (though that would've been while I was in graduate school, ahem). He is one of my early favorites with his smokey tone. It was off and a bit pitchy, but I like his falsetto and I hope hope hope he sticks around. Not my favorite tonight, but I like him. Dude, don't do the arms! They just told Sundance not to do the arms. What are you doing?

It's always good when Simon likes what Randy and Paula don't. Go Simon. Hope to see you next week ("by the grace o' gahd"), Nick. Yes, vote for Pedro.

I so wish the first week of the top 24 and the first week of the top 12 would be no-vote weeks so they can get used to the stage and band and people watching and get good feedback and THEN start the competition. But I'm warm and fuzzy that way.

Blake Lewis- He's cute!! I love his John Mayer and John Peter Lewis -like style. Woohoo! I love his voice! "Somewhere Only We Know" Yes, indeed. I love this song. Most challenging song so far. He was a bit off, but you gotta cut him some slack. Nice song. I like him a lot!! I'm happy to say this is my first official TOP 12 prediction of the season.

I don't like when people knock on Paula. She often hits the nail on the head like she did tonight with Blake. He does have a "contemporary vibe," she's right. Cool vest, cute boy, I like him. His own style. I agree with Simon (gasp!)--best so far! And I think he's wise not to beatbox. It makes him all the more likeable to not be annoying. He's a wise boy. Go Blake! I think I may already be getting attached.

Sanjaya Malakar- Look at that girly hair! What will the stylists do with him? Great smile. And he always kisses his sister and I LOVE that. It takes a real man to do that. It was a little old fashioned (which isn't ever good right after the judges have told people that old-fashioned is bad and contemporary is good, but what are you going to do, John Mayer your Stevie song?). It was a good, safe performance. Nice job, not great.

Ah, first week and we're already hearing about the "Best Singer in the Known Universe" (hereafter to be referred to as BSITKU), but we knew that was coming, too, didn't we? And geez, Simon was harsh! Poor kid.

Chris Sligh- He's great. Excellent even. He's substance over style in many ways--voice, talent, stage presence, humor, performance. Great job. "Don't wanna be the typical." Love it.

I hate stupid judge banter taking up valuable feedback time. And did Simon just call him a teletubby?! I predict that Simon will eat his words after he watches that back on TV. Which always sucks because it's post voting. But I'm so sure he'll do it, that I'm repeating my prediction. In italics. I predict that Simon will eat his words after he watches that back on TV. You watch.

I think I've figured out another dream job. Therapist for the Idols! Did Simon just call Chris a Teletubby?!?!? And SIMON is the guy behind that show?! Well, that wasn't in his book! Chris is a serious performer and I believe that he is probably quickly tiring or being called funny and entertaining.

Jared Cotter- Cute boy. Reminds me in some ways of my brother-in-law (Greg). Oooh, and he broke out some Brian McKnight. Dreamy. My first chills of the evening. Oh Yikes. Until he went off like that. But he's good. Um, Idols? It's cheesy when you say "thank you" into the mic after you sing. It's not a bar. You're on TV now.

Judges said something. I don't remember and it's not in my notes. Ryan keeps his distance from the tall guy.

A.J. Tabaldo- Fifth time's a charm? Do I do? Everyone remember Mario Vasquez singing "All My Love?" Okay, really. Someone couldn't have told A.J. that his collar was up on the polo shirt?? Holy flashbacks to grade school! Nice falsetto. He's cute. Cute dance moves. Good job. I'd like to see him continue. Could no one tell him to pick either up or down on that collar?? I'm totally distracted by it. He's gonna cringe on the replay.

Phil Stacey- I knew he didn't miss his baby's birth on purpose! He clarified that because people read the boards, I tell you. They do. So may I say, "Hey, Chris. You're not Elliott. Just because you're from Virginia and have now sung TWO songs that he has in the same exact freaking style as Elliott no less, that does not make you Elliott. No. No, no, no. Justin Timberlake? No. Elliott? NO!" I'm sorry, we were talking about Phil. Back to Phil. Too much make up. Who put on his rouge? I bet it was the same chick that untucked Brandon and "fixed" A.J.'s collar. Cute wife. Shaky start, better once he got going. Nice job.

My top favorites tonight? Blake Lewis and Chris Sligh. By a mile. Yay! I have favorites! Let the games begin!! Not that I'm voting. No. I'm blogging. But I'm doing my part.

The two boys going home? Someone hand Paul Kim his shoes and joining him will be either Sundance Head or Rudy (Feline? Free Ride? Fee Ride?) Cardenas.

One Down . . .

So class, the word for tonight is "underwhelmed." I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed in the quality of performances tonight, but I can also understand how nervous these guys must have been. It must be tough to be the first ones to perform on Little Big Stage. But I was looking for something more interesting than the pathetic homophobic banter between Ryan and Simon.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: They could have done this in an hour thirty, tops. That would have moved up the first "pitchy" comment by at least a minute fifteen or so. "Sing well." Thank you Simon for your sage advice. There was a lot of "numbering for dummies" tonight. Everyone gave the requisite fingering for their individual phone numbers, although no one was as "creative" as Corey Clark was in Season 2. Remember his math lessons--we learned that 2+2, 1+3, and 3+1 all equal 4. Jared, being number 10, deftly realized that the only humanly possible way to show 10 fingers at once with two hands is to drop the microphone (or place it somewhere, ahem, inappropriate a la Kellie Pickler last year) so he made sure to sing a numerically oriented song and get his fingering out of the way early. The Randy Formula is still the same--say the contestant's name + ask a question = poor opinion. Watch and learn! And why didn't Ryan thank Simon at the end, too? Oh, he was being funny! OK, I missed that the first time through.

Now, on to the performances. As always, since I don't feel like looking things up, I will title the songs in a way that makes sense to me (I get them right sometimes). And to avoid needless repetition, all contestants are assumed to have been "pitchy" tonight unless otherwise noted.

RUDY CARDENAS ("Free Ride"): Upbeat, yes. High energy, yes. Memorable, no. I thought it was a fair performance, but like Simon said, we've seen it all before.

BRANDON ROGERS ("Rock With You"): His performance was totally safe. He seemed a bit uncomfortable as the front man, as well. He can sing, and I know we'll see a lot better things from him in weeks to come. His actual vocals were pretty good, though. I thought he was one of the better ones as far as pitch went tonight.

SUNDANCE HEAD ("Nights in White Satin"): This is one of those songs I only know because of all of those compilation 8-tracks I saw advertised as a kid (Is that Freedom Rock? Then turn it up man!). Since his audition was the one performance the judges have really liked up until now, wouldn't it stand to reason that Sundance would go back to that style. I guess not, since he didn't. I loved his audition but have not seen a reason to keep him around at this point either.

PAUL KIM ("Careless Whisper"): Mr. Kim has a good voice and he has the potential to do really well, but tonight was just "aight" for me. He looked kind of like he ate one too many bananas and now he really has to go but can't. I liked the syncopated section he did in the middle, but the rest was off. He should make a deal with Simon, though: put on shoes if he wears something other than that old black t-shirt he loves. Like that's ever going to happen.

CHRIS RICHARDSON ("I Don't Wanna Be"): First of all, judges, Elliott did the exact same arrangement last year in the finals and was a lot better. Chris did a good job tonight, thought. I think it's pretty obvious he's trying to continue giving the Justin Timberlake vibe. Take a look at Justin's performance at the Grammys this year and you'll see a similar gray suit, tie, tennis shoes outfit.

NICK PEDRO ("I Will Be Your Man"): I like Nick, but I think he's still shaking off that lyric fiasco two years ago. With a little more confidence we'll see much better things from him. Overall I liked it, though.

BLAKE LEWIS ("Somewhere Only We Know" or "Somewhere something something da da dum"): I think I speak for most of the A.I.-viewing public when I say this performance was the one I really wanted to see tonight. Would he beatbox? Can he sing? Can he keep the mohawk going? Blake's performance was probably my favorite tonight. When he started singing I got flashbacks to Jon Peter Lewis (ooh, I just noticed that!) and I agree that his performance came off as very contemporary. I'm looking forward to seeing what else he can do.

SANJAYA MALAKAR ("Some All-Universe Stevie Song No One Should Ever Sing"): I really like Sanjaya, and I know he'll be around for a while since he is this year's young love. Teenie-boppers and grandmas will keep him around longer than his talent dictates. I think he has potential to legitimately do very well if he can start to stand on his own two feet and do the A.I. thing for himself. Tonight was not a strong performance but we all know he can do better.

CHRIS SLIGH ("Typical" or "Now or Never" or ???): Chris did well, but not as well as I had hoped. He's got a good fan base to keep him running for a while, plus he's pretty funny. Who knew Simon and the Teletubbies had such a tight relationship? I think he was the one with the triangle and purse.

JARED COTTER ("Back At One"): This is one of those performances that didn't go really well, but where you can tell the guy can sing. Give him another week and I think we'll be a bit more impressed. I haven't heard anyone pull off a Bryan McKnight song since Rickey Smith, Season 2, and even he had a rough go at it.

A.J. TABALDO ("All My Love"): OK, this guy is thrilled to be on the A.I. stage. After 5 tries the guy could have come to center stage, kissed the floor, and then cried for a minute and a half and I'd still give him at least one more week. He had the most energy of the night and seemed the most excited of any of the guys to be there. He did well overall and deserves one more week.

PHIL STACEY ("I Could Not Ask For More"): It's sort of weird to think a lot of the same things as the judges, but I thought the same thing. Rough start. Hit the chorus--wow! He brought the feeling. His notes went into tune and stayed there. And he had a strong finish. More useless banter. I love you guys. Blah blah blah. Good start. One of the two best tonight.


MY QUICK HITS

RUDY: Bullseye's a bad idea in an elimination-type show.

BRANDON: When you really realize that you are now the star, we'll be amazed!

SUNDANCE: For you the dance is over. Time to ride into the sunset. (Oh, that was awful!)

PAUL: More fiber and a bit more water.

CHRIS R.: Be yourself, not Justin or Elliott.

NICK: You made it this year. Fuhgettabou last year.

BLAKE: OK, you can sing, too!

SANJAYA: Show us that you're more than this year's "Chicken Little."

CHRIS S.: You can do a bit better. I mean, c'mon, you have a My Space page!

JARED: Polish it up and get original and I think I'll really enjoy your style.

A.J.: We need another good "initialed" contestant in the finals.

PHIL: They told you in your auditions you have a weak start, and you did it again tonight. Fix it!


Based on tonight's performances . . .

MY TOP 3: Blake, Phil, Chris S?
MY BOTTOM 3: Sundance, Rudy, Sanjaya
GOING HOME FOR A SHAVE AND A HAIRCUT: Sundance, Rudy

It's way too early to write off the guys, nerves and all, but I have high hopes for the girls tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to hearing some of these people we know next to nothing about. Five hours a week for a while. It's on!

Top 24! - 12 Guys

Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a fun ride, methinks...

Rudy Cardenas - pre-performance: very handsome and smooth voice and personality. Energetic performance, but the smooth factor goes a little too far for me for most of the song, in that his voice seems to have no edges. Words and notes slide into one another, indistinctly, somewhat similar to his relatively smooth, featureless good looks. The audience loved him much more than Randy. I agree with Simon in that the performance lacked distinction, and think he's hearing the same thing I am. I can see Paula defending him, as I think he has much more appeal to the ladies than the guys, but I don't think his smoothness is enough.

Brandon Rogers - I love this guy's smokey crooning, nice personality, and good looks. His song choice was good in combining his crooning with some rocking. The song started out well, became somewhat predictable and not as good as the original, and ended well. Again, in parts, his voice and performance lacked distinction.

Sundance Head - Affable fellow. Bad song choice. 'Nights in White Satin' is one of my favorite songs, and very hard to sing without being pitchy, which he was. It also requires tremendous control and very precise, rhythmic phrasing, which he didn't do. The judges agreed. The worst so far.

Paul Kim - another nice, husky voice. I don't think the barefoot fetish will take him very far. He also chose a song which requires precise, rhythmic phrasing, and, though he got better at it, he didn't do the song justice. Songs like this require the voice to be partly a rhythm instrument. He was completely off-key in the falsetto part. I don't think his voice is adequately trained for the necessary breadth of this competition. Unless he surprises me, he'll be an early cut. He and Sundance are tied for last for tonight.

Chris Richardson - pre-performance: seems strong. I don't know the song he chose, but I didn't like the song, at least the way he sung it. His stage presence was strong, and he was on key, but there was something off about the way his voice blended with the background music. Simon picked up on that - "your voice sounded small". I've noticed this in earlier years, and I've wondered about who's mixing the sound, and felt that I could have improved on it considerably. Like Rudy, his appeal to the ladies outweighed his talents.

Nick Pedro - another smokey voice with a promising audition, good looks, and strong personality. Nice song choice, but somewhat safe in the crooning genre. Overall, very enjoyable, but again, lacking somewhat in 'edge' and distinction. Simon said it well. But, I expect him back. He's another one that will go some distance on sex appeal.

Blake Lewis - I'm curious to see his hair tonight, and whether he can handle a normal song. He CAN! Very relaxed and connected! He gives me chills, which is not common for most male singers. The hair is suitably toned down. I thought the last third of the song was somewhat weak, compared to how well he started out, but it wasn't so bad that it put me off him. Definitely my favorite so far. Simon agrees with me, again. I'm beginning to put aside my objections to Simon's personality quirks when I recognize his real skills as a judge - at least tonight.

Sanjaya Malakar - His song is unknown to me, but he held my attention on it. It was in the "somewhat safe crooning" category, but his performance was very nice - just not exceptional. If I knew the song better, I might find myself agreeing with Simon. Since it was a Stevie Wonder song, chances are I've heard it, but just didn't recognize it from this performance, which may be why Simon is saying what he's saying. I think Sanjaya will last awhile, again, due to sex appeal and some clear talent and heart, but I think his lack of training will limit his abilities with harder songs. It's uncertain he'll make the top 12. It's almost like he's still representing his sister more than himself. He needs some fire in his belly - the Eye of the Tiger.

Chris Sligh - I don't know the song, and it's not my favorite genre, but the boy's got TALENT! Golden Vocal Chords, and tremendous connection with the song and the audience. Again with the chills! I loved how he responded to Simon, who I think is in error on this one. Frankly, I think Simon resents just how good Chris is, because he doesn't fit in to Simon's image of what an idol should look like. Chris actually owned the song and the stage a little better than Blake, but Blake has unbearable cuteness working for him, so I'll say they're tied for now.

Jared Cotter - Very good looking, and his audition of Cupid rocked in Hollywood. Somewhat safe song choice, and he sings it tolerably well. I do hear occasional pitch problems, and he brought nothing new to the song. Simon's "unadventurous" was accurate. He'll go a ways on talent and sex appeal.

AJ Tabaldo - Solid performance, but a little safe. He connected well with the song and the audience, and I'd place him up there with Chris Sligh and Blake Lewis, but he didn't give me chills. Nonetheless, it was a very engaging performance.

Phil Stacey - His Hollywood audition of 'Really Love a Woman' was outstanding. I'm hopeful. He starts out somewhat muffled and weak, but BRINGS IT! Massive Chills! Definitely the best tonight! Randy agrees completely. Awesome job for a first song! Simon seems to have acquired a mood which tinted his judgments following his tiff with Chris Sligh.

Favorites: Phil Stacey is top dawg. Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, and AJ Tabaldo, not in any order.

Most cuttable: Paul Kim and Sundance Head, in that order.

Peace...

...John

FIVE hours of AI this week!!

WOOHOO! I. Am. So. Excited. FIVE hours of GOOD American Idol! GOOD American Idol. Hopefully GREAT American Idol! We don't even know the top 24 that well, so we're open to those WOW moments (like when Clay auditioned and sang his wild card song "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" or when MY BOY ELLIOTT YAMIN sang "Moody's Mood For Love" or when Nikko sang "Georgia"). I'm SO excited!!

I'm amazed how many people on the web already have very clear favorites (Melinda Doolittle, Sanjaya Malakar, Chris Sligh, Sundance Head, etc.), but what's fun about this is that of course we have our eyes on these people, but it's the ones you don't know so well that often surprise and wow us, too! I. Am. So. Excited. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The top 12 guys perform on Tuesday. The top 12 girls perform on Wednesday. Results show Thursday. I'm a big fan of this show. The word "fan" is short for "fanatic." The word "fanatic" is defined as "a person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause." (http://www.answers.com/fanatic&r=67). I think that means I'm crazy. I'm okay with that.

At last! The real fun begins . . . right now!

The Top 24! I don't know if I'm more excited about knowing who they are or simply knowing that we're DONE with STUPID auditions. I think it's the latter. So, people I'm sad didn't make it:

Bernard Williams. Darn it. What the heck?! Everyone looked shocked over that.

Matt Buckstein (the cowboy). Dang it, I like him and I like his voice. He should try again. Look at that one guy who got in after FIVE tries!

Tami Gosnell (female rocker girl reminds me of Bo Bice)

Marisa something (the one who almost threw up in the elevator)--she has a BEAUTIFUL voice and it really makes you wonder what the judges are thinking.

Not too sad about that cocky guy at the end (Thomas), mostly because he's arrogant. But I do love his smokey tone. Oh well.

There were some VERY good singers who didn't make it through and it's true (and not just cliche) that they shouldn't give up or let a show like American Idol (as much as I LOVE this show) affect their view of themselves. AI is unfortunately often more style over substance. That part I don't like. And they're often wrong, so you do hope those booted keep on keepin' on. I seem to remember thinking that about the guy who was wondering how he was going to tell him mom.

VERY interesting top 24!

I'm not used to watching many of them sing. Some of them sounded off to me in those clips. Some of them seem to have voices that don't match their look (though again could be because we're not used to them given that they haven't had much air time what with all the Big Bird and orgasmic cowgirl auditions). And I'm having a difficult time looking at some of them when they sing, too -- odd facial expressions and stuff. But, I AM EXCITED! Excited Stacy is here. I hate auditions (have I mentioned that in any of my previous posts?) and I *love* the competition. Let it begin!

Early favorites of mine (and these are very subject to change as we get to know them all):

Sanjaya Malakar. He's cute, sweet, not very powerful, but so so likeable. He KISSED his sister and that scores big points in my book.

Melinda Doolitte. She's unaffected and I think that's part of what Simon likes about her and I think it's cute how much he builds her up.

Brandon Rogers sure is comfortable with the camera already. I guess it's all that back up singing. I like his voice.

Gina Glocksen. Fun, likeable, smokey nice voice.

Phil Stacy. Cute, nice voice.

Chris Sligh. C'mon, who doesn't like him? He's great. Love his voice.

Jordin Sparks. That would so be me in the elevator bursting at the seams and yelling excitedly and hardly STANDING that very, very long elevator ride one floor down. She's cute. I like her and her voice a lot.

A.J. Tabaldo. I think it's great that the guy hasn't given up. FIVE times he's tried out for American Idol. FIVE times. I admire that kind of persistence and tenacity.

Nick Pedro. That's my hometown boy, so I'm totally rooting for him. I like his voice, he's cute, and he's SO Boston.

Lakisha Jones. Class act. I have liked her from the get go. She's this year's Mandisa, only more in tune. I REALLY like her and obviously Simon does, too. He called her "sweetheart" like 6 times. She and Melinda are clearly favorites of his.

Some of the others who didn't get a lot of camera time sure sounded good on those clips and of course I'm open to really liking them, too. I'm excited to hear everyone every week.

Some other notes:

It was like dirty old man torture for Simon to have those 2 beautiful girls sitting on the final 2 chairs. He stuck that dirty old man pencil in his mouth and turned away. It was just too much.

I wonder if they feel stupid letting Robyn Troup go (they booted her in Hollywood) after seeing her (very good) grammy moment with Justin Timberlake. Duh.

I like Paul Kim's barefoot gimmick, but not if he just made it up. If he just made it up, it's lame. I'm a little curious to see how far his underwear carries him, too.

Let the games begin. WOOHOO!!

Finally! We Found the Talent!!!

So a show that I actually liked watching. It's always rough to watch this particular show since everyone is a bundle of nerves (except Tommy Daniels, but more on him later). I'm glad to finally have our Top 24 so we can leave the bad auditions behind. Phew!

On to my "Top 10 Things You Should Know: Final Elimination Edition."

10. The judges are really tricky tonight. Look out for distracting banter, double negatives, and a lot of "I'm sorry . . . you'll be seeing so much/more/a lot of us from now on."

9. Arrogance apparently does not pay. Honestly, I thought Sundance Head was out--we've been seeing so much of his poor performances in Hollywood, but I wonder what his final day was like. I wonder if his increasing humility throughout the week gave him the edge over the cocky attitude Tommy Daniels brought.

8. The stage is pretty cold each week, so you may want to find some shoes, Paul Kim.

7. Chris Sligh, you look more like Weird Al than Christina, but funny is good. Oh, and you can sing, too!

6. Blake Lewis must be hiding some talent besides being a human drum machine, because all I've heard from him so far is a bunch of noise. That group of four was pretty good, though so I bet he can sing a bit, too.

5. This year is a good one for backup singers. Congrats to Melissa Dolittle and Brandon Rogers. I bet we see a bunch of them before this season is over.

4. There always needs to be at least one person to bring in the votes from the tweeners and the little old ladies. Sanjaya Malakar should fit the bill nicely. He's an upgrade from last year's hanging chad, Kevin Covais.

3. This year is also the year for repeat offenders. Gina Glockson (try number two), Nick Pedro (also numero dos), and A.J. Tabaldo (holy crap! FIVE TIMES!!!) Hopefully he didn't have to go through Hollywood Hell Week that many times. Although, that's a lot of frequent flier miles!

2. Reminders from past seasons: Fantasia, in (Stephanie Edwards). Mandisa, in (Lakisha Jones). Ruben, out ("Little Ruben"--I forgot his real name).

1. The judges are really nice this week, even when they boot you. Next week, Simon turns nasty. Look out! Reality check is on the way!

Here is my final, pre-24 haiku. Enjoy!

Oh! Hallelujah!
Finally we have talent
Next week should be great!

It's really too early to have any favorites or make any marginally accurate predictions, but I'll share a few random thoughts. The girls seem stronger at this point from top to bottom, but that can change quite quickly. The guys seem to have more "wild cards," especially when you consider the group includes Sundance Head, Chris Sligh, the Human Beatbox, Shoeless Paul Kim, and a 16 year-old named Sanjaya. It should be quite an interesting set of shows next week!

The Final Cut - Top 24!

Here we go...

Sanjaya Malakar will be a popular contestant throughout the show, methinks.

Tall Anna couldn't believe she wasn't chosen.

Tami Gosnell didn't make it...not too surprising.

Melinda Dolittle made it through. I'm glad. I like her talent. The other backup singer, Brandon Rogers, made it too.

Ryan Seacrest's outfit let me know that it's alright to wear your shirt untucked beneath your sweater, even when it's longer than the sweater. Maybe that's only true if you're wearing a sports coat over the sweater which is longer than everything else?

AJ Tabaldo was impressive, and made it. I like him.

Haley Scarnato made it.

Phil Stacey, he guy who missed his daughter's birth, got through. Good.

Chris Sligh made it. Let's see how long he lasts.

Rudy Cardenas made it. I'm surprised.

Paul McCartney wasn't selected.*

Paul Kim made it.

Jordin Sparks made it.

Tatiana McConnico got the boot.

Leslie Hunt made it, and looks interesting.

Nicholas Pedro made it with his husky voice. I tend to think he won't last, but we'll see.

Alaina Alexander made it, but I think her Hollywood audition was pitchy.

Chris Richardson made it, but I didn't like his audition, either.

Sabrina Sloan made it, but I wasn't impressed with her talent, either.

Lakisha Jones sounded great in her Hollywood audition, and I'm glad she made it.

I really don't understand why they have to mess with their minds by saying stuff like, "I'm sorry ............pause and tone pregnant with doom and gloom).............. but it looks like you'll have to be seeing a lot more of us".

Nicole Tranquillo made it, and looks interesting.

The guy that sang Cupid made it...very good.

Amy Krebs (?) made it.

Antonella Barba made it, while Marisa didn't. Awww.

Thomas Daniels didn't make it, while Sundance Head did, in spite of turning red while he sang, to Simon's disapproval. I was actually a little surprised.

I'll have to go back and correct the names when the post the top 24 on the AI site.

Not a bad show. Next week will be the real beginning, for me.

See you then!...

...John


*Just seeing if you're really paying attention.

I'm IN!!! You're Out!

OK , so one of the highlights of tonight's performances was the two cousins, the untalented, unemployed Hulk, and his talented cousin Bruce "Akron" Banner. The news is officially saying already that Akron has been cut for a previous arrest for a small amount of narcotics. Sorry Akron, you were excellent and appearently AI doesn't think musos know what narcotics are. Truly a sad shame to do this to someone for a mistake they made in their past.

This comes after earlier reports that another golden ticket holder Thomas Daniels was reported to have a hit and run on his record.

Those of you bored with people being arrested might want to try searching MySpace.com for auditioners personal and music spaces, I was able to find a bunch in a few minutes, my favorite was Chris Sligh. Later as we get to Hollywood I will post my list of people I think will make the top 24, so far Chris Sligh is in there, so is Sundance Head, Brandon Rogers, Rudy Cardenas and Sanjay Malakar...the ladies don't get left out either. I think Antonella (the bff duet girl), Haley and Jordin are going to make it to the top 24.