American Idol – Hollywood Round Finals

Tatiana?! Really!?

If those words don’t make any sense to you, then you obviously haven’t seen both episodes of Idol this week.
Go ahead, go watch them if you haven’t.
I’ll wait.

Finished?

Are you as dumb-founded as I was to some of the judges’ decisions? I mean, I know when you break it down, this is still a reality show, but come on! I thought this show was supposed to be about talented singers, and not obviously sub-par singers who have a good shtick or are so annoying, they are put through just to get on fans’ nerves?

Now you can argue there have always been sub-par singers on Idol, and I’ll agree with you to a degree; none of them were ever through for such transparent reasons, none of which is singing talent. But we’ll get to that, soon enough.

So when I sat down to write this week’s blog, I found myself a bit lost for words. Not because the contestants were that bad, but in these final two Hollywood rounds, there really isn’t much singing involved for me to critique. This week is basically a week of “you made it” or “sorry you didn’t make it”, so how could I possibly write about that?


I decided the only solution was to take the Top 36 that was decided, and give my opinion on whether or not they deserved to be there, did this person appear out of no where, does he/she stand a chance, will they make to the Top 12, etc.

I’m also going to throw in a couple of people who didn’t make it, since it was surprising they weren't in the Top 36. That gives me a lot to cover, so lets get started right away, shall we?

TOP 36:

1) Adam Lambert - I don’t think he’s a bad singer, but man, does he cake on that eye liner or what?! I mean, it’s so over the top it borders on distracting. I like his slow-downed rendition of Cher’s “Believe” on night one, and I can what he bring to Season Eight. I think he stands a good chance of making to the Top 12.

2) Matt Giraud - I always kind of dug this guy. The dueling piano player has sort of a “fun Billy Joel” type of vibe to him. I thought he over did his song on night one, and thought he was in trouble, but apparently the judges loved it. I can see him in the Top 12 too.

3) Danny Gokey - Come on...really, did you have a doubt at all that Danny wasn’t going to make it through? The guy has been consistently good; so good I can see him sailing into not only the Top 12, but the Top TEN. (remember, only the top ten get to go on tour). Danny got in, but did his good buddy go through? Find out...........down the blog. Heh. (What? I can do what Seacrest does...can't I?)

4) Anoop Desai – I still can’t believe such a voice comes out of his body! But he makes it to Season Eight, and will hopefully wash away any left over “stink” that Sanjaya left a couple of seasons back.

5) Jorge Nunez – I suppose he sounds pretty good. He’s been constantly getting through each round, so no surprise he made it to the Top 36. Seems like a great guy, but I can’t get past his face; I want to trim those eyebrows so bad, it’s killing me.

6) Scott Macintyre - Like Danny before him, most people I talk to liked this guy from his audition round. Though he’s blind, Scott won the hearts of fans already, so watch him get pretty far. And kudos to Idol for not letting a petty thing like blindness deprive fans from hearing this guy’s great musical talents.

7) Kendall Beard - You’re going to find I’m gonna do this a lot on a few of the Top 36, and that is...huh? I don’t remember this girl at all, save for the one clip they keep showing from Hollywood week. Somehow she made to Season Eight. Not sure how far she’ll go since she’s obviously not that memorable.

8) Stevie Wright - I only remembered her because she was named after Stevie Nicks. I remember she sounded pretty good, but I don’t remember seeing much of her during Hollywood week. Glad she made it in, though I’m not sure she’s strong enough to make it to the finals.

9) Lil Rounds - Couldn’t possibly forget this mother of two with the big booming voice. I can see her making it to the Top 12, unless she seriously messes up before that.

10) Kristen McNamara – I only remembered her because she was in the center of the major drama group that imploded (with drama queen, Nathaniel). In the final yes/no interview, she had to sing for her life against out-of-the-blue contestant Jenn Korbee. Truth be told, Jenn was actually a lot better in my opinion. But the judges disagreed with me, so Kristen makes it to the Top 36.

11) Mishavonna Henson - Umm...who? All they mention about her is that she got eliminated last season on the second night of Hollywood week. Okay? And now we just see her again now? What happened to her during Hollywood week? We couldn’t catch a glimpse then?

12) Tatiana Del Toro - Dear Lord, do not get me started. I wouldn’t even know were to begin. This girl has been the Princess of Annoying almost from day one, and it only got progressively worse throughout the competition. By some miracle (because her voice, though not bad, isn’t that strong) she makes it to Season Eight. I predict since the voting process is in the fans’ hands now, she’ll be gone. (that is assuming that she doesn’t become VoteForTheWorst.com’s choice, which will prove harder to get rid of her.) That’s all I’m saying about this girl, because any more words wasted on her will cause me to gauge my ears out with a blunt spoon so I don’t ever have to hear her shrilly, high pitched laugh again.

13) Alexis Grace - Barely remembered her, but I did remember I liked her voice. Glad she made it.

14) Jasmine Murray - My gut instinct was telling me she was gonna make it, and I was right. Great voice, and even better, great attitude. Friendly and talented will get you far.




15) Nathanial Marshall – Oh Lordie. The drama queen made it to the Top 36. I swear this boy cries at the drop of a hat, it’s really quite unusual. I mean, yes, it’s totally fine to be emotional. It is a good quality, but COME ON! If I’m yelling at the TV, telling you to “Man up!”, there is a serious issue here. If he doesn’t learn to control the waterworks, he is never going to make it into the Top 12. Even worse, he’ll turn off fans with his constant blubbering, and fans will respond by not voting. Careful Nate.

16) Joanna Pacitti - As of Wednesday night, we saw that she made it into Season Eight. But as of Thursday morning, I learned that she was disqualified for having prior recording contracts. Umm...isn’t this what I’ve been saying from the beginning? Wasn’t this the same problem with Carly Smithson from last season? What’s different now? Did producers finally give in to pressure from fans? Who knows, but since Joanna is DQ, relative unknown contestant Felicia Barton takes her place.

17) Nick Mitchell - Can someone tell me, how and why this joke is on Season Eight? He actually said, “My dream is to play a character as I sing a song.” Okay...this isn’t a variety show, though with the addition of Nick’s character “Norman Gentle”, it might as well be. Obviously a producer pick, this guy needs to be sent packing. He makes a mockery of the whole competition, and I find him downright irritating.

18) Anne Marie Boskovich - I remember her well, though I’m not sure she’s good enough to make it to the Top 12. Maybe she’ll change my mind when the live competition starts next week.

19) Ju'Not Joyner - I think the first time I saw him was night one of this week’s auditions. It wasn’t bad, very curious to see how far he gets.







20) Kai Kalama - The guy who takes care of his ailing mother. Couldn’t forget him. I’m surprised he made it to the Top 36, since he messed up a few times during Hollywood week. Glad to see him go through.

21) Michael Sarver - The oil rig guy makes it through to season eight! He might make it to the Top 12, since I think he’s better then the welder guy. (more on that later) I still think his head is too small for his body.

22) Von Smith - I am so on the fence about Von. He’s a decent singer, with a very good sound, but he over sings EVERYTHING. I mean anything I’ve heard Von sing so far, he completely over works it and it sounds terrible. Simon called him out once by saying his song was "self-indulgent nonsense." I hope Von learned his lesson, because it’s easy to slip off the fence to the wrong side.

23) Alex Wagner-Trugman – Wasn’t this the guy who taught himself to sing in his closet, and then got really sick because of mold? If it is, I do remember him. He has this geeky sort of charm to him. He had to sing for his life against Cody Sheldon, the kid who likes to make horror movies. Honestly, they could have taken either one, it wouldn’t have made much difference, both of them have about the same chances of winning and/or making to the Top 12: very slim.

24) Taylor Vaifanua - Huh? Who? Okay, no opinion, on account this is the first I’ve seen her.










25 - 30)














Arianna Afsar, Casey Carlson, Allison Iraheta, Ricky Braddy, Jeanine Vailes, Kris Allen – See #24.

31) Megan Corkrey – I remember this girl from the third week of auditions, and I remembered liking her sound. I’m glad she made it to the Top 36, because not only is she pretty, but she has a very nice voice.

32) Brent Keith – I remember him distinctly because he was the hottie country dude. Good voice though too.

33) Stephen Fowler – How he made it through, I’ll never know. He messed up big time by forgetting the words to his song…and yet somehow he made it through. Maybe Simon was kidding when he said “You forget the words, you’re out.”?

34) Jackie Tohn - Something still annoys me about this girl, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I have no idea. She’s a decent singer, and her voice reminds me of Melissa Ethridge.

35) Matt Breitzke – This is the welder dude with a very soulful voice. This family man could definitely belt out a good tune, though I don’t think his voice was as strong as Michael Sarver’s. (the oil rig guy)

36) Jesse Langseth – Never saw her before, but she had a sing off with Frankie Jordan, who I did remember. I thought she had a decent voice, though I’m not sure it’s strong enough to win.






The Eliminated:

Jamar Rogers – Danny Gokey’s best friend, didn’t make it. I have to say, I wasn’t surprised. He was never as good as Danny, and his version of "Hey There Delilah" was downright weird.

Leneshe Young – This was quite the shocker for me. I really liked this girl, but for some reason she didn’t make it. You remember her, she was the one who came from a homeless family, and sung an original song called “Nappy” at her audition.

So that’s it fellow fans!

We have our Top 36, and now the votes are in our hands. Only WE have the ability to keep or get rid of Tatiana now. (sorry, I still can’t believe she’s in)

Before I sign off this week, I remind you to please join as a follower, if you haven’t done so already. I need my numbers up!! Let me know you’re out there! (and I know you are too)

So do you like this Season’s Top 36? Who do you think should have made it, but didn’t? who stands out as your early favorite? Let your voice be heard!!
Until next week, AI fans!