American Idol Math

What do you get when you add (1) former American Idol contestant + (1) current pop culture celebrity?

Well you get (1) current Top 20 American Idol contestant, naturally!

Pagesix.com seems to have liked my idea for comparing idols.

Hmmmm, anyone know a good lawyer?

Luke Menard vs. Dawson

Top 10 Men

I was working all day doing interviews for my staff. Then I get off of work and go straight to Barnes to work there as well. Then I get home at midnite, sit down in front of my TV and find out that TiVo screwed up and didn't tape Idol today. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Luckily, Rickey is on top of his game and had all the performances on his blog already so I was able to watch them there.

First and foremost, I fully support David Archuleta. That kid is DA BOMB! That was possibly the best performance I have ever heard of that song. The emotion and the vocals were AMAZING. I agree that it was one of the best performances on Idol EVER (take that Jordin Sparks!) This kid is flying right to the finale. It's so hard to see him losing now.

Which brings me to my second thought of the night. Go David Hernandez! I love this guy. I loved him during Hollywood week and was secretly hoping he'd do well, but I didnt want to admit that I liked him because I thought he'd go out in the first week like Rudy Cardenas did last season. But I think I can finally come out and say that I'm a David H. fan. I would love to see him continue to grow (much like Elliott Yamin did) and make it to Top 3 but I don't think that will happen.

As for the rest, YAWN! I thought the rest of the show was pretty boring. Michael Johns was horrible tonight. Such a bad song choice and he was flat the whole song. I thought it was awful. He just lost a lot of steam.

Jason Yeager just sounds like a Vegas lounge singer. He needs to go. Luke was alright but I don't think he'll make it much further.

Robbie Carrico wasn't rock at all and he needs to stop playing up the rocker thing.

Jacuzzi (Chikezie) was boring again. I'm over him.

I don't get the appeal of Jason Castro. I thought he was average last week and not better this week. I just don't get it.

David Cook was actually pretty good. He finally did look like the rocker star that he claims he is. At least it looked like a real concert.

Lastly, there was Danny Noriega. I hate, hate HATE the song that he sang. Ruben Studdard sang it in Season 2 and bored me with it then. I have yet to hear a version of it that is good. This was no better. In fact, Ruben's boring interpretation of the song sang circles around Danny. I think Danny might have a big scare tonight. We'll see what happens, but either way his stock dropped like a brick after the show was over. We'll see how the women do.

Top 10 Men - The Davids & The Rest

For me, tonight was all about the Davids. David Hernandez and David Archuleta were definitely the top 2 with David Cook still leaving enough room for improvement in the future. I've read that David H. is gay which makes me want to support him even more while David A. still impresses but I'm ready for the "aww shucks" routine needs to end (anyone remember Melinda Doolittle doing the same thing last year?).

I realized tonight that this is going to be an interesting season for me because I always comment each year that I want to watch a less experienced singer develop and there aren't too many of those contestants this year...

On the other side of the spectrum I put Jason Yeager and Robbie Carrico. Jason is out of his league (and not very good at dressing himself) and Robbie is getting "out rocked" by Michael Johns and David Cook. Votefortheworst.com is still backing Danny Noriega and he had enough improvement, I believe, to keep him in another week.

Poll: Boys vs. Girls

Top 12 Women

Let's get it started!

First up is Kristy Lee Cook - "Rescue Me" - she's more of a country singer so I'm curious to see if she'll be able to pull off the Carrie Underwood thing and navigate through the themes effectively. The song choice is good but her voice seems a little thin for the song. It's nice, but seems to lack some power that would really make the song soar. Like this it's just a good version of the song, but kinda boring. She's way hot though. Grade B

Joanne Borgella - wow, her voice doesn't sound that good tonight. I have to agree that i thought she'd have a more soulful voice. that could end up hurting her in the end as that what people are expecting to hear from her. She's missing a lot of the higher notes which could be from the flu that the girls are dealing with plus she's looking really nervous. I didn't get the ending to the song. She should have stopped after the chorus. Grade C+

Alaina Whitacker - Carrie's twin needs to give a good performance because she's got a lot of talented singers to compete against and she hasn't had a lot of air time. Hmm, good start. The lower notes were a little problem but by the time she kicked into the chorus she found her zone. I think she's going to be compared to Carrie a lot because she seems to have the same type of voice and seems to perform very similar to her. Good job though. Best of the first three we've seen. Grade B+

Amanda Overmeyer - Whoa! I don't get this at all. You can't understand a thing that she's saying and can hardly hear her over the guitar. I don't get her Elvira hairdo. This whole thing is a hot mess! I had higher hopes for her. Grade D

Amy Davis - Here's another one that we didn't get a lot of airtime on before. It'll be interesting to see what she does. Her pictures floating around the internet are HOT though. She should definitely try to get into modeling if she hasn't already. She sounded good in Hollywood week but then is all over the place tonight. The song is boring and her voice is grating. This is not good at all. Grade D+

Brooke White - she has a really nice, pure voice but I think her voice might be a little on the weaker side compared to the rest. It'd be interesting to see how she does. Again, she's got a nice voice but it's not strong enough for this song. To borrow from Simon, it sounds like good karaoke. It's a nice rendition but not awesome. She needs to work on her showmanship as well. Grade B

Alexandrea Lushington - "Spinning Wheel". Ugh, what's up with everyone tonight. These are all such bland performances. finally, near the middle she picks it up and gives the song some life. However, she keeps missing some of the higher notes. also, after having Bo knock it out of the park during his season this is a bit of a let down. Grade B-

Kady Malloy - Does "Britney Spears" have a real voice? Let's find out. Whoa! She sounds great! Totally different from Britney. A little deeper than I was expecting. It was a quiet, sincere performance. It was really good. My favorite of the night so far. Grade A-

Asia'H Epperson - "Piece of My Heart" - FINALLY! Someone is singing well, having fun and picked a good song for their voice. Best one of the night by far. She was having fun and enjoying the moment. Grade A

Romiele Malubay - "You don't Have You Love" - i love this song! She's really holding back on her voice to make it more seductive. I like it though. Just waiting for her to belt out. She sounds great on this song and is emoting it very well. I really like it. Just became my favorite of the night. Grade A

Syesha Mercado - "Tobacco Road" - Syesha has a great voice, which she showed off at Hollywood Week. She continues to show it off this week. Great showmanship and has a powerful voice. Great ending. Grade B+

Carly Smithson - Here she comes, "the chosen one". First week and she already has the pimp spot. They're doing everything they can to make sure this girl wins. Let's see what she comes up with. OMG, this is such a boring song. But she sounds great and effortless. The judges are going to love it just to pimp her even more. I really thought she would have chosen something that would have showed off her voice a lot more. This really didn't do anything for her. Big disappointment. Grade B i actually completely agree with everything Simon is saying on this.

So there you have it. Overall, I think this show was a big disappointment. I guess the guys are better as a whole this season. My bottom 3 would be Amanda, Amy, and Joanne. However I don't think that Amanda will actually make it to the bottom so I would probably put in Alexandrea Lushington. Going home tomorrow will be Amanda and Joanne. I can't wait to see what happens.

Top 12 Men!

Here we are! Finally it all begins tonight. As I did last year, I will be blogging these as they are happening so you can get my initial reactions before the judges make their comments. We'll see if I am anywhere near them. Let's the games begin!
[ ryan ]: Jesse and I generally agree on our recaps (plus he usually gets his post up first) so I am only going to add a few comments here and there...

David Hernandez - I don't have David in my top 6 (he's actually #7 for me) so I'm kinda pulling for him to make it through. In Hollywood Week he showed off an awesome voice that blew me away. I'm hoping he does the same thing again tonight. He has a great voice tonight, once again very strong. I love the gospelly opener. However, he's so nervous that he's not letting himself get into the performance and it's coming across as very stiff. If he just relaxes a bit he'll be a lot better. Missed the last run but overall I really liked it. Grade B+
David surprised me and made my Top 6 tonight. Loved the opening acapella.

Chikezie - What's up with the 70s tux he's wearing? He looks like Dumb & Dumber. He has a nice voice but I think the song is going to be too boring. He doesn't really do anything unique with it. It's very "loungy". Yeah, i'm definitely bored with this whole thing. Wow, he's talking back for no real reason. Simon is right about his suit. It looks like Chikezie could be one of the first to go. Grade C
I'm with Jesse on this one; it's WAY to early to argue with Simon... especially when you're wrong and dressed in that awful suit.

David Cook - "Happy Together" - I'm excited to see him because I think he has a good rocker voice. But I also think he's also trying too hard to be a rocker so it'll be interesting to see what he does. Oooh, I like the originality behind the song. I'm digging his voice but he's missing a lot of notes here and there. I'm not really buying that he's a rocker. He's more of a faux-rocker. Good performance though. Grade B-
Gave a little vibe of Constantine Maroulis (Season 4) with the close-to-the-mouth mic and sideways glances. But I think there is tremendous potential in him.

Jason Yeager - "Moon River" - Finally, we get to see this random person that has had no exposure but made it to the Top 24. I'm very curious to hear what he sounds like. Well, he has a nice voice but there's really nothing special behind it. The song isn't really doing anything to showcase his voice in any way. He seems to be singing it as if it's his last time on stage and wants to savior every second of it. That's good to see but didn't really make for a great performance. Overall it was just ok. Grade C+
Why does his son have a girl's haircut from the 60's?

Robbie Carrico - I really like this guy's voice. He's a lot more rocker than David Cook is, yet still has a pop quality to his voice. It'll be exciting to watch him navigate the theme weeks. Oooh, i'm loving this so far. This is a great song for his voice. I do think he needs a little more work on his stage presence but he sounds great all throughout the song. Best performance of the night so far. Grade B+
I was bored.

David Archuleta - "Better Shop Around" - ok, here we go. It's the first "chosen one" for this season. Let's see if he can handle the pressure. I'm not a big fan of the song choice for him but his voice sounds really strong. Plus, he's such a cute kid with a wide-eyed smile that it's really easy to get pulled into his performance. His run at the end was awesome! This kid is gonna light up the stage. Grade A
HAHA, his interaction with Ryan is priceless. He's such a shy, awkward kid that has a personality that's going to win everyone over.
Girls are going to go crazy for him. Sanjaya crazy. But this time it is deserved.

Danny Noriega - "Jailhouse Rock" - wow, his voice wasnt' what I was expecting it to sound like. It's actually for this song. He's getting a little off beat but holding it together nicely. I didn't care for his dancing or his ending to the song though. Not really what I expected from him. Grade B-
I didn't like Danny until tonight. The song seemed to get out of control with the tempo but I felt like Jesse that his voice sounded more pleasant and recordable tonight than in previous auditions. Is Danny American Idol's version of Christian from Project Runway ("hot" = "fierce")? Also, the EXTENDED arguing amongst the judges over Danny was very reminiscent of RJ Helton's experience in Season 1. When Paula kept talking about colors was that hinting at a rainbow? Then Ryan warned Danny that Simon might "double snap" back at him. C'mon guys, let's get above the stereotypes.

Luke Menard - wow, watching his audition I'm actually surprised he made it through. It didn't sound good at all. Now I'm even more curious to hear what he sounds like. Well he has a "higher" type voice which is cool but he's missing notes left and right. He sorta pulls it together on the chorus. It's a boring performance though. I don't think this is good at all. Nice falsetto at the end. We'll see if his looks save him tonight. Grade C-
Vanilla, sincere with hints of a good falsetto.

Colton Berry - "Suspicious Minds" - It'll be interesting to compare him to Daughtry who sang this in Season 5. I'm actually surprised. I really like this song on him. He has a tinge of the grunge in his voice to make him interesting. He looks very comfortable on the stage and seems to be having a lot of fun. Grade B
Sometimes it's a good thing to say you've watched American Idol from Season 1 (like Jesse and I) but for Colton I think it means that he tried to STUDY American Idol. He was mugging/posing for the camera way too much for me. This was Danny's Elvis minus the attitude.

Garrett Haley - "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" - Finally, we get to see the guy that has a total of 20secs on Idol so far this season. He's the biggest mystery of all this year. Let's see what he can do and why he was chosen. Wow, he has a high nasally voice. Not what I was expecting at all. It sounds very similar to EJ Day from Season 1. This is a boring performance. He's not doing anything at all. His voice goes pretty nasal at times and not really pleasant to listen to. I think the crowd reaction says it all, they're not responding to anything he's doing. Grade D
I don't see the comparisons that were made about Garrett, instead I see a hobbit who sings like a chipmunk. He is awkwardly positive but just very strange. Also, he said "I want to show myself to the world"... contestants have used that line before but it totally creeped me out when he said it
.

Jason Castro - Here's another one that we have no idea what he sounds like. I can't wait to hear him. Hm, I like the vibe of the song that he's giving off. It's cool to see him perform with his guitar but I hope it doesn't become a crutch for him. He has an interesting voice; there's a little grit, a little pop. It's all kinda like Jack Johnson/Ryan Cabrera. Overall it's ok. It'll be interesting to see what he does next week. Grade B-
Jason Mraz-ish and I LOVED IT. So likable and beautiful eyes. I hope he gains some confidence so he will stay for a long time.

Michael Johns - "Light My Fire" - Michael is my 2nd favorite of the guys (after David A) so I am really excited to see what he can do. Well it's a good song choice for him. He definitely has the rocker thing down and he looks comfortable on the stage. However I didn't care for some of the vocals. Not sure what it is but it didn't really click all the way for me. But he was one of the better performances of the night. He's another one that I am curious to see how he changes it up throughout the themes. Grade A-
First I need to stop drooling because damn he is sexy to me! But I was proud that I was able to listen with an unbiased ear. I wasn't crazy about the vocal but his stage presence is undeniable and I hope he doesn't do as much of the rocker stuff and instead lets us hear some more singing. Or maybe I just want him to sing me a love song.

So that does it for the first night of the season. As promised, a very strong group this year. It's definitely going to be really tough. Some guys sailed through to next week (David A. and Michael) and some are going to have a really tough time.

I think the bottom 3 for tomorrow are: Garrett, Luke and Jason Yeager. I was going to put Chikezie in there but I think he'll squeak by. Then again, Luke's look might pull him up high enough that he'll move out and bump Chikezie down. In any event, I think the two going home are Garrett and Jason Yeager. Both suffered from no show time during the auditions to having subpar performances tonight. They really needed to have an amazing performance tonight to win some votes but it didn't work out for either of them.
I'd like to see Chikezie go for his attitude but at least that made him stick out. So I agree that Garrett and Luke are the first to go home.

Now on to the women! Bring it on.

American Idol On iTunes!

I've never seen any content get all three banner spaces on the homepage of the iTunes Store. I think they figured out that selling performances on the American Idol website was a good idea but could be better facilitated through iTunes. Between this new revenue stream (plus increased exposure) and the heightened level of talent this is going to be a FANTASTIC season!

American Idol continues to enhance the immediacy factor with a new deal with iTunes to sell audio tracks from contestant performances for 99 cents the day after they're aired, starting with tomorrow's inaugural semifinals. Not only that, starting March 12 (the finals), you can get videos of the performances for $1.99. You can also preorder performances from your favorite contestants and they'll be automatically delivered the day after the show.

Jesse's Top 12

So here it is, my choices for Season 7's Top 12. This was actually a little harder than I thought it was going to be. For me, the women are the stronger group this year. I actually really like about 9 of the 12 so it was hard for me to narrow down my Top 6. But I ended up choosing (in alphabetical order):

1) Asia'H Epperson
2) Carly Smithson
3) Kady Malloy
4) Kristy Lee Cook
5) Ramiele Malubay
6) Syesha Mercado

I also liked Brooke White, Joanne Borgella and Alexandrea Lushington. However, I think Alexandrea will crack under the pressure. I think Joanne and Brooke will be the final two that don't make it in. Both are very talented but I just have a feeling that they won't be as strong as the Top 6. Out of my 6, the one that I'm the least confidant on is Kady. If you remember, she's the one that mimicked Britney Spears and others during her inital audition. I just wonder if she's actually found her own voice or will she start mimicking others during the semi-finals. If she does get cut then I'll bump Brooke into her spot.

The guys were a little easier for me to choose. However, having not seen 4 of them at all yet it makes it a little difficult to predict what's going to happen. For my Top 6 I chose:

1) David Archuleta
2) David Cook
3) Jason Yeager
4) Luke Menard
5) Michael Johns
6) Robbie Carrico

I picked two wildcards this time, Jason and Luke. I think Luke is a pretty safe pick because he's the best looking guy of the bunch. Looking like Orlando Bloom will definitely help him. I also heard a clip of him on YouTube and he's got a good voice. Jason is a total wildcard for me but they did show him getting very emotional after he found out he made it. This could being in the Elliott Yamin votes for people that like a really nice guy and want to see him do well. I could see David Hernandez or Danny Noriega sneaking into his spot if he doesn't make it in. (Sorry Garrett Haley, you're the sacrificial lamb this season. No one has even seen you on screen so it looks like you're the first to go).

So there we have it. We'll see how many I get right (or if I change my mind after actually seeing everyone sing). I can't wait for the actual competition to begin!

[ ryan ]'s Favorites... So Far

In no particular order:

• Michael Johns
• Asia'h Epperson
• Carly Smithson
• David Archuleta

Top 24 Shocker!

So the big news today isn't who made the Top 24, it's actually who DIDN'T make it; Josiah Leming. Reading various posts and blogs around the net, it seems like a lot of people really wanted him to make and he was the front runner in their minds. Then you get the other side of people who thought he was a whiny brat and were very happy to see he didn't make it. I have my theory as to why he wasn't invited to be part of the Top 24. I think that Josiah has become a very polarizing figure. As we've already noticed on various boards, people either love him or hate him. He's basically the Sanjaya of this year. I think they really wanted to get away from "characters" and really focus on talent this year to avoid the whole Sanjaya fiasco that happened last year. They knew that if they kept him in all of the focus would be about him for the season instead of trying to get back to what Idol used to be. Keeping him out of the Top 24 was a smart move IMO.

FINALLY! We're back!

I haven't written anything about Season 7 yet because I wasn't all that inspired during the auditions. Not because we didn't have talent, but because I get sick and tired of watching wannabes mug the camera just to say they've been on tv. It gets old very fast. However, while sitting through 4 weeks of auditions I saw some people that I really liked and some that I hated. But I wanted to wait until Hollywood Week before I finally weighed in on the competition this year.

So now that Hollywood week has wrapped and we have seen what has been promised as the best Top 24 of all time, I have to see that I completely agree with them. After watching tonight I am so excited for the competition to get under way. There were some definite standout performances and there were people that weren't even shown (where was Farmer John Drew Poppelreiter? I really hope he makes it because I was some eye candy and a true male country singer.)

After watching tonight's episode I have some initial favorites. We'll see how they do once they start the competition next. But for now, I'm pulling for:

1. David Archuleta
2. Michael Johns
3. Carly Hennessy
4. Kristy Lee Cook and, if they make it...
5. Drew Poppelreiter
6. Robbie Carrico
   

Come on America, don't screw this one up and give us another Sanjaya. We have the potential of having a phenominal show this year and I would love to see a truly competitive season.

Melinda Doolittle on iTunes!

Finally! Melinda Doolittle lands on the iTunes Store with her first single, "My Funny Valentine". Although I was hoping for an original song (she performed this during the Top 24 on American Idol), at this point I'll take anything.

Also, guess who left a review about the song:

Melinda Doolittle is easily the finest singer in the 6 seasons of American Idol. I can say that handily as someone who was there and watched her majesty week in and week out. The girl can sang! My Funny Valentine was the performance that first blew me away. It is only appropriate that should be her first single. Her voice is an instrument and like any instrumentalist, when they play their instrument correctly and with soul, the results are magical. This single is simply a prophecy of the magic that is to come from Mindy-Doo.

-Chris Sligh

American Idol Theme Park Attraction

If anyone plans to be in Florida later on this year, please check out Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios for an American Idol attraction:

Disney guests able to audition, perform on stage in competition, get judged by theme park producers and vote for their favorite performers in a "live interactive entertainment setting with all the glitz and glamour of the distinctive 'American Idol' set."

Finalists throughout the day will compete at the end of the day to be crowned winner and as a prize will get priority audition spot at an up-coming Idol audition city. Some Disney guests will even be asked to judge!

Read more about here.

Ferras... The New Daniel Powter

The new "Exit Song" has been announced for this season of American Idol and the execs at Fox are definitely trying to stay current with their sound choice. I think this guy sounds like a mixture of Jon McLaughlin and Ryan Cabrera.

Regardless, he's here and going to be pimped out endlessly so you better get used to hearing the song. Here's the song mixed in with interviews from and about Ferras.