American Idol – Week One - First 12 Compete

Wow, talk about getting off to a rocky start. Besides maybe 4 contestants who stood out, everyone else was either “blah” or just downright awful.

So it begins my fellow Idol fans; the live shows. I have to admit, I kind of like the new approach to building the Top 12.

In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s the gist of it: the entire Top 36 are split into 3 groups of 12, mixed both boys and girls. Week one, (this week), the first 12 contestants compete. Of those 12, depending on fan’s votes, the top guy with the most votes and the top girl with the most votes will automatically get into the Top 12. The final “runner up”, which could be a girl or boy, will be the third person chosen for the Top 12. This means that 9 people will be eliminated tonight.

This continues for the next 2 weeks, as the next 2 sets of 12 performers compete and the fans vote, which will give us our Top 9. The 4th and final week, will be the famous “wild card” round, which if I remember correctly, the judges choose their pick? Not sure how that’s gonna work with 4 judges, but I guess the wild card round will be explained better as we get closer to it.

I think this is a great enhancement to the show’s formula. In a way, it gives fans more control as to who’s in their Top 12. We can also get to our Top 12 a lot faster, and we can start to see stand outs.

Before I go on to the performances, please, I’m imploring my readers, join the blog as a follower! I can’t submit my blog until I have a certain number of followers/readers. I know you guys read it! I see your comments!

Anyway, enough begging. Time to get to the meat of the blog; the performances. I broke down my assessments with 4 categories after each critique, based on their chances of making into the Top 12, based on last night’s performances; NO CHANCE, SLIM, GOOD, EXCELLENT.

Let’s begin:

1) Jackie Tohn – sung "A Little Less Conversation" – Ugh, she still annoys me. And her outfit was so distracting; I almost glazed over listening to her sing. Sneakers and spandex pants? Really? Yikes. Add to that her rather manic performance, and it isn’t a really great start to the show. I mean, what’s wrong with Randy, Kara and Paula? Is Simon the only one who saw what I saw? The others pretty much said the vocals were okay, but they were entertained. Simon said it best when he told Jackie she “played the clown”. I couldn’t agree more, since at this point in the competition, you need to impress fans with your voice, not a gimmick. Chances: SLIM

2) Ricky Braddy - sung "A Song For You" - This guy had the unfortunate luck of being one of those contestants who had little or no exposure during the Hollywood rounds. So he’s coming into this completely new to the audience. I have to admit it was good, and I agree with the judges he deserves a chance to prove himself. His voice has a subtle power to it that can sneak up on you. He reminds me a bit of Elliot Yamen. But Simon did point out he lacks a certain “star quality”. While I agree with Simon, I don’t think that’s Ricky’s fault. If he would have gotten more exposure, perhaps he wouldn’t be lacking so much. That being said though, Simon is right, it probably will be his downfall. Chances: SLIM


3) Alexis Grace - sung "Never Loved a Man" - Wow, this girl really impressed me. I find myself agreeing with Simon a lot tonight, and it was proven beyond a doubt when Simon said something I had thought of during Alexis’ performance: she reminds me of Kelly Clarkson. It was that slow build to a powerful note, and she proved she had the chops to handle this classic song. The judges kept talking about how she came out of her shell, etc. I think her pure singing voice and likability will get her through to the Top 12. Chances: EXCELLENT



4) Brent Keith - sung "Hicktown” - I have to admit, he’s not too hard on the eyes. But due to this relatively unknown song (unless you’re a huge country fan), I’m afraid poor Brent may not get by. I understand about staying true to your roots, and wanting to sing a song that would define you as an artist. But let’s be real here, who is actually going to remember Brent’s performance? He sounded good, and I can’t definitely see him doing well in the country category. (in fact, he already competed in Nashville Star, so he’s already had a shot at fame). Chances: SLIM

5) Stevie Wright – sung "You Belong to Me” - If I can quote Randy, “It was not good dude.” I see where Stevie’s logic came from; sing a song from a young hip artist. Problem is, her voice could not handle it. This was a completely wrong choice of song for Stevie. Yes, it was a Taylor Swift song, but I don’t think that actually helped her. It was pitchy and all over the place. I dug Stevie at first, but this performance brought her down a few notches. Simon ended the review by saying Stevie had zero chance of advancing. I tend to agree.
Chances: NO CHANCE

6) Anoop Desai - sung "Angel of Mine” - I still can’t believe what a soulful voice this guy has. The stink of Sanjaya can finally be washed away. He played it a bit too safe for my tastes, but the judges gave him somewhat positive feedback. I think Anoop has a good shot at being the third person to get through to the Top 12, but not the top vote-getting guy. I think he needs to break out and impress the audience like he did during his first audition and Hollywood week. Chances: GOOD

7) Casey Carlson - sung "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" - Wow. This bordered on excruciating. It was every kind of horrible you could think of. It was so karaoke, it hurt me. I love the Police, and to take on such a great song at this level of the competition is suicide. She was off-key, her pitch was all over the place, and it came off corny and annoying. On top of that, she changes the words to "Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic." Come on, Casey. You mess with a classic, and on top of that you change the words? Simon was right when he said you pretty much just threw away your once chance.
Chances: NO CHANCE

8) Michael Sarver - sung "I Don't Want to Be" - Dear Lord, can we PLEASE tell Idol producers that this Gavin DeGraw song is no longer a choice for any contestant? I am sooo tired of this song being sung on this show, it makes me almost cringe. Michael did a pretty decent job with it, but I think the song was too big for him. I thought it was a very bad song choice. Randy pointed out how Michael has more of a soulful voice, and this song just didn’t fit. I really agree, though Simon did point out that Michael is such a nice guy, he might get by strictly on his personality. Fans just like him. Based on that, his shot is pretty good at being the third contestant in. Chances: GOOD

9) Ann Marie Boskovich - sung "Natural Woman" - I’m on the fence about Ann Marie. It was a pretty solid performance, but in the end it wasn’t memorable enough for me. She didn’t really stand out, though her voice sounded great. I think she just picked a rather boring song, and it didn’t really showcase her voice as it should have. While I don’t think it was a bad performance per se, I just don’t think it was strong enough to make it to the Top 12. Chances: SLIM

10) Stephen Fowler – sung "Rock With You" - The infamous contestant who forgot the words to his song and walked off the stage during the final Hollywood rounds. How he made it to the Top 36, I’ll never know. I have to agree with Paula (what? There’s a first time for everything.) When she said that Stephen should have sung the song he forgot the words to during Hollywood week. It would have been almost redeeming to both him and the audience. He chose to sing a Michael Jackson song, which is a huge risk. It didn’t work in my opinion. While the vocals were pretty decent, and his voice was good, it was just so forgettable and so sub-par, that audiences would forget by the next performer who Stephen was and what he sung. Chances: SLIM

11) Tatiana Del Toro - sung "Saving All My Love For You" – Oh my goodness, does Simon call it like he sees it or what? At the end of Tatiana’s performance, he called her a "complete and utter drama queen". Thank you, Simon. You couldn’t be more right. I almost choked on my tea when he followed up by saying that she is “desperate to be famous”. And this is what annoys me about Tatiana. She reeks of desperation. When she said she was singing a Whitney Houston song, I instantly thought, “suicide – you don’t touch the divas”. Putting my dislike of her aside for a sec, it was actually not as bad as I was expecting it to be. If only Tatiana would tone down the crazy, and let her voice carry her, she could actually get pretty far. There were parts of the song were I realized, for all her drama, this girl does have a good voice. And I would have said her chances were good, until we get to the post-performance interview. Just before Ryan gave out her number, she blurts out “please vote for me, this is my dream, my passion…” blah blah blah. Tatiana, did you see anyone else border on begging fans like you did? Add that to the crazy drama we witnessed from her up to this point, and her chances pretty much went out the window. Chances: NO CHANCE

12) Danny Gokey - sung "Hero" - Danny is a front-runner, and I admit, maybe the word of mouth about Danny may put some undue pressure on him. But seriously? He still sounds amazing, and one of the most memorable voices and performances of the evening. I mean, taking on Mariah Carey? Remember, I said you can’t touch the divas. But Danny pulled it off. Now I will agree with Simon, it wasn’t as mind blowing as the other three judges made it out to be. I’m a fan of Danny’s, so to be fair, it wasn’t his best performance. But was it good enough to get into the Top 12? Most definitely. Chances: EXCELLENT

So there you are, my readers. First week is done, and we find out tonight who moves into the Top 12. Nine people are eliminated tonight, but I have a feeling we’ll see a few of them back for “wild card” week.

My prediction?
Guy with the most votes, going to the Top 12: Danny Gokey
Girl with the most votes, going to the Top 12: Alexis Grace
Runner-up going to the Top 12: Michael Sarver or Anoop Desai

What do you guys think? Who was your favorite? Who was the worst? Who deserves another shot? The live performances have begin so let’s hear from you!

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Until next week readers!