Next 3 Top 12 Contestants...

Let’s welcome to the Top 12

Alison Irehata – Sang an idol staple, “ALONE”. 16 but doesn’t look or sound it so she escaped the wrath of Simon. Looked a lot better in the results show than she did during her performance, so someone must have got to her to get her ready for the Top 12. Interesting choice…unsure about her long term prospects but with how weak the girls are so far, who knows.

Kris Allen – Sang “MAN IN THE MIRROR”. He sang ok, but it was nothing special. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t expect him to move on at all but I guess I’m wrong here. Teen / Female vote? I am completely unsure as why Idol picked him first in the results show, as if anyone didn’t know who the third person was.

Adam Lambert – As with Gokey last week, they gave the last spot to the strongest (in terms of fanbase) competitor which I think makes a lot of sense. (Giving the last spot to a weaker competitor might almost guarantee two slots, one for Adam and one for the next strongest competitor. This way, it allows everyone else to be on a more level playing field.) Adam was ok, singing “Satisfaction” but he is still really dramatic in his singing in a show tune kind of way, and he was a lot less interesting this week than prior weeks. He might not be able to shake that.

Not a good show for the second week in a row. I would think Megan would move on (she is personable, pretty, and not awful like some of the other people), maybe Kai (I thought he was ok and he has a nice fanbase) and maybe Matt (who Simon tried to make a victim of song choice and Matt, like many contestants before him, argued instead of taking the way out).

Then we had Jasmine, Janine and Mishavonna who all massacred their songs. Someone has to go to the wildcard, right? (Note: are Hollywood casualties allowed back or only Top 36 losers?) And finally Nick (Norman) who I have mixed feelings about. What his performance awful? No, it was very entertaining. But it was a comedy piece. Where he lost me was when he kept doing the jokes during the judge’s comments. If this was a one-time desperate attempt to get through, I can understand that. But it wasn’t. It was going to be what he did every week apparently in his performances. If that is the case, no thanks. I have never watched Idol and wished for more comedy. See ya Nick….

Two more weeks for 6 more contestants. I’m envisioning seeing a lot of Adam and Danny in everyone’s top 5’s, but it’s still early.

JUAN

Top 36 Group 2 Thoughts...

SLIGHTLY better show if we are grading on a curve...

Ok, first things first - Nick. I am kind of torn here. He was probably the most entertaining performance of the night and he should get kudos for that. But when he kept the shtick going during the judge's comments and such, he lost me. If this was a desparate attempt to get into the top 12, i'm there - i even applaud it. If this is what you are always going to do, then no - go away. It's not a comedy show and this will get old very fast - honestly it will get old by the next performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj7ycHi3TA4

I thought Adam was good (he sang satisfaction) but it was really indulgent, once again over the top theatric (i'm beginning to doubt he can get past that) but unlike a lot of people tonight, he sang really well. So i say he makes it...

As for first girl, i'd say Megan makes it. She's cute, she got pimped by Simon, and her performance was good (there were no moments where you cringed which was better than almost any other performance.) So i think she's first girl..

As far as the other spot, it's a tossup to me. I'd think Alison might be the choice because of her ALONE performance, it's an idol favorite song, it was a solid performance, and the judges liked it, albeit more than I did. If i had to pick, i'd take her.

There were some themes tonight....bad song choices, and forgettable vocals. I always complain no one picks more modern songs, and today we got massacre's of Coldplay and Sara Barelle's so maybe I should shut up and stop complaining.

Very, Very forgetable season so far. They badly need a dark horse to have some sort of moment next week to put some life back into this.

JUAN

Last Season at this point...

Last season at this point we had Top 10 Men and Women (top 20 altogether). The highlights / lowlights were...

-Top 20 performed. We lose Alaina Whitaker, Jason Yeager, Robbie Carrico and Alexandrea (Asia'h) Lushington. What, who? Exactly...
-The show was awful. Totally awful. From the top 24 we always have 8-10 people who are good. From 36 we STILL have 8-10 really good people. The thing this year that is better is we only have to hear the crappy people once instead of over and over.
-Alaina was one of the "interchangeable blondes that got to sing too many times" that Simon mentioned the new format was designed to prevent.
-Best moment of the week was Aliana tearfully saying "i can't perform" so the other girls started to sing the song, upon she then grabbed the mike and was totally fine. What a trooper! (or what an actress....)
-Best person at this point was clearly David Archuletta. He looked like he was going to have a great chance to win at this point.

Nothing special. Hopefully this year is better...

JUAN

First 3 Finalists Chosen!!!

We have our first three finalists. Let’s welcome to the top 12…

Alexis Grace

Let the hyperbole begin, Simon compared her to an early in the competition Kelly Clarkson. I think that’s a bit of a stretch but she was far and away the best girl of the night, and I think she has the potential to do really well.

Michael Sarver

A bunch of people have already told me “this should have been Anoop” or “this should have been Ricky” which I don’t think bodes well for Michael being a real threat to win the whole thing. I thought he was pretty forgettable, and got through mainly on name recognition from Hollywood and Auditions. With this being the only time you will see him prior to Top 12, he needs to really be good the first Top 12 show.

Danny Gokey

We all knew Danny would make it but there is a bit of a backlash starting as he really needs to not mention his wife anymore. Maybe a harsh thing to say, but he sang an inspirational song because of her, showed a picture of her, etc. And then when he got picked, he did everything but shove Tatiana off the stage before realizing he should embrace her to not look mean. I still think he’s a strong candidate but I’m not as sold as I was prior.

The problem with the first few rounds (where we whittle it to the top 12) is that out of 36 people, they really only have 7 or 8 really good ones who will move on to the top 12, another few who are decent and a lot of people who just aren’t as good. This week was the week of the “not as good” with only Ricky and Anoop really being worthy of being brought back for a wild card round. A lot of the other contestants were truly awful, I thought Casey Carlson was a good chance to be Top 12 when I first saw her and she bombed horribly and she was probably only the 3rd or 4th worst on the show. The wildcard made for a strange dynamic, with Ryan announcing “Anoop, you are leaving us tonight” and Anoop not caring because he must think that as the next closest runner up, he has to be in the wild card round. Strange, strange dynamic. Tatiana was strange too, because we already had Michael and Anoop announced as being 20k votes apart, and Alexis already going through. So you had to believe (with Tatiana and Danny the last two to choose from) that Danny had to have less votes than BOTH Michael and Anoop, and that Alexis also had more votes than him. Get what I’m saying? Doesn’t seem likely at all…

Terrible, terrible week with Stephen Fowler and Stevie Wright giving us two of the most awful performance ever and Tatiana being just creepy, like she got hold of some of Paula’s meds. I didn’t think she could be any worse but she was; creepy quiet Tatiana is even more annoying than loud Tatiana. It HAS to get better. The only redeeming thing this week is no one awful got through.

3 more next week, with the shows bumped back a day to Wed and Thur (I am assuming the president must be speaking on Tuesday).

JUAN

Week 1 Top 12!!!

We have our first Top 12! Exciting. The list of performers is...

Anne Marie Boskovich -
Ricky Braddy -
Casey Carlson -
Tatiana Del Toro -
Anoop Desai -
Stephen Fowler-
Danny Gokey -
Alexis Grace -
Brent Keith -
Michael Sarver -
Jackie Tohn -
Stevie Wright -

I'll edit with my thoughts later...

JUAN

Top 36 Revealed - Joanna out!

We have our top 36! The entire list is here.
http://www.americanidol.com/top_36/
Notice the lack of Joanna Pacitti. She has been replaced by Felicia Barton. Joanna was this year’s Carly Smithson, the person everyone complained as being a ringer, havng too much experience, etc. Well, the complaints can stop because she is gone. I have heard she still has contractual ties to some company but it’s all speculation at this point. If it doesn’t come out figure it’s something boring, if it’s legal problems, something scandolous, we’ll know.
Four weeks to our top 12 and pool time. New people have been trickling in – feel free as always to pass it on. This is another good link for the Top 36.
http://www.joesplaceblog.com/2009/01/30/the-top-36-of-american-idol-8/
It has audition links, their myspaces, etc. – all kinds of stuff.

Next week we have our first Top 12.
-Ann Marie Boskovich: This was the girl during auditions that they sent out to “find herself” and she then came back and shined. Not sure how she will do at all.
-Ricky Braddy: I’m not sure who this was…I doubt that is good for his chances.
-Casey Carlson: Actually a bikini model (as opposed to a moron wearing a bikini). One of my early favorites, I’m curious how she does.
-Tatiana Del Toro: The annoying screaming girl (I’m alive!!) that I will complain about incessenantly if she gets by this week.
-Anoop Desai: The guys Simon said initially looks like he belonged working in Silicon Valley. I think he has a chance although it might have to be in the wild card.
-Stephen Fowler: Played the piano, was in the NY auditions. Not very memorable.
-Danny Gokey: The widower. One would have to think he has a strong chance to ge tthrough, he’s an early favorite.
-Alexis Grace: The girl Simon disagreed highly with her being chosen (probably not a good start).
-Brent Keith: From Ohio, Countryish sounding – very good voice. Could do well.
-Michael Sarver: From Phoenix audition, works on the oil rig. Also could do well.
-Jackie Tohn: Judges loved her at first, not as much as she went through. Has the voice to get through in a weak female field this week.
-Stevie Wright: I barely remember her, again not a great sign.

So the rules are as follows (unless they have changed, it’s not like Idols has a rules site) – Top Male and Female Votegetter, as well as next highest vote total go through. Losers may make it to the wild card round, but at the judges discretion. I have my best guess no one has sang yet Top three pick above (basically who I woild like to go through) but we’ll all see next week!

BTW, I really like how they have us so much of Hollywood week. It was nice to see some people’s journeys all the way through, but there are always a few people (Genesis?) who come across as such filler as they didn’t show her audition, performances, nothing. (I remember her saying her name and wondering who she was.) I think if you get past the first day of Hollywood and you have not even been shown for 2 minutes, that’s just awful. Clearly there are some people they don’t show because they are nto getting through, but it feels way too contrived if someone doesn’t even get a minute of airtime over a period of weeks. I didn’t like the 2 hour show last night too much, too much contrived drama (you either get picked or not here, it’s not a competition, regardless of the singoff. The judge’s chairs were great though.

Excellent start to the season, hopefully the Top 12 that get through are one of the best ever.

Hollywood Week

That was pretty good..we had fighting, we had psycho's, we had resolution to storylines, we had people like Genesis who we never heard sing ALL season ("Hi I'm Genesis")


Day 1 was the individual acappella performance. You sang, you got voted in or out, no arguing, no debating. If you had shined prior or you showed promise, you were clearly given more leeway.

Day 2 was group day. The night had the typical fighting, with people being much too forgiving at times (If people want to quit, let them, and make the person explain to the judge why they don't have a team. But no one ever does that...)

Day 3 was the solo performanace that get you kept or cut. The "which room will be cut" had no drama this year, as most of the people you knew would be cut, are all in the same room.

The highlights for me...
-The chaos of pre group day practice. Bikini girl finished her 15 minutes of fame, being injured, crying in her room, killing her group (and getting the girls who were phased by her kicked out) and posing on the way out the door (as well as being a total b*tch on the way out). There were other messes, but this was the best. Tatiana Nicole Del Toro gets special mention too. WOW, pyscho. And she is 24...when i read that i was blown away. Mentally, she is like 15.
-Enough good talent / stories that we can easily have a superlative Top 12. Adam Lambert, the musical singer who looks like a Jonas Brother, Arianna Afsar (so reminds me of Jordin Sparks personality wise), Casey Carlson, Jasmine Murray, Joanna Pacitti (the girl everyone will whine is a pro), Daniel Gokey (the widower), Lil Rounds (great name), etc. We have (real) bikini models, broadway singers, and people who hang off oil wells sodering. Good stuff.

The top 36 is revealed today! (or spoiled right here)

http://www.joesplaceblog.com/2009/01/30/the-top-36-of-american-idol-8/

This looks like it's really going to be a fun season. I hope they spend some time explaining the new voting rules, as well as tell us which 12 we will see next week.

JUAN