[ 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.
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