Idol Thoughts

As we head into Idol Gives Back tonight and look forward to the final few weeks of Idol this season I want to take some time to quickly assess who we have left and how I feel about this season.

First, there is still no clear front runner this season. Also, this is probably the first season where the front runner has changed from week to week. Before the season even started everyone was claiming that Carly was going to be the one to beat. Then in Hollywood Week David A. and Michael had some fantastic clips that were shown on TV and suddenly they became the ones to watch out for. When the Top 24 first sang, Jason Castro came out of nowhere to claim the #2 status and launched himself into front runner status. Then in Top 20 week, David A. sang "Imagine" and claimed the sole spot as the person to beat. In the Top 16 David C. blew everyone away with his rendition of "Hello" and suddenly he became someone to keep an eye on. Jason sang "Hallelujah" and went from dark horse to lead stallion. Meanwhile, David H. was very quickly improving and starting to show that he could make it inot the Top 5. Brooke had two great performances and was suddenly on everyone's radar as a contender as well. Carly was still in the mix but was losing ground and Michael had yet to live up the potential he showed in Hollywood Week.

As we headed into the Top 12 all eyes were on David A., David C., Carly, Jason and Michael. Suddenly David A. faltered by forgetting his lyrics and having a sub-par performance. David C. performed well, as did Carly and Jason. Michael was very quickly losing ground. Out of nowhere, Chikezie had an amazing performance that blew everyone away and suddenly he came became someone to keep an eye on. Inexplicably, we lost David H. that week (who had one of the better voices in the competition) and that just showed how talented this season is.

Top 11 came around and David A. had a better week but it still wasn't living up to the potential he showed during the semi-finals. Everyone was starting to question if he peaked too soon. David C. was quickly forging himself into the new front runner. Jason suddenly stumbled and people finally started realizing that he's very limited as a vocalist. Carly stumbled as well. In fact, just about everyone stumbled this week.

During Top 10 David A. fell even further by picking a song that didn't fit him at all (or did he? The rumor is that his dad picked the song for him). By now everyone is wondering whether David will make it to the end or not. David C. pulled out "Billie Jean" and blew the competition away again. At this point, David C. is the person to beat. Carly came back as well. Michael finally lived up to his hype/potential with his Queen tribute and threw his name into the front-runner hat. Brooke and Jason also had good weeks, keeping them on the list as well.

Top 9 saw the return of David A., whose performance of "Smoky Mountain Memories" quickly launched him back to the front of the pack. David C. had an ok performance but was passed up by Carly and Michael. Brooke and Jason had decent performances.

So there you have it. In my opinion there are 6 people that are jockeying for the #1 position. From week to week the lead changes. All 6 are very talented, but what's great about it is that they're all so different. We have two "Coffeehouse Idols" (Brooke and Jason), two rockers (David C. and Michael) and two straight out singers (David A. and Carly). It's anyone's game right now. Here is the order I think they'll end up in.

David A. - he has such a mature voice for someone his age. He's been performing for so long that he's a pro at it now. However, he's really only shined on ballads. Is he more of a balladeer than a versatile singer? When he's sung faster songs he's shown that he has some breathing issues and can't sustain the notes throughout a phrase. He also has problems hitting some of the lower notes in songs (for examples of both, listing to "Shop Around" from Top 24). He'll need to show that he can tackle a fast song (and sing it well) in order to win.

David C. - he has shown that he's a master at picking the right song for him. He has gotten creative with his choices so it leaves the audience surprised. However, now everyone has caught onto the fact that he looks for obscure covers from alternative bands. If that's the case, are we really going to be blown away each week? That doesn't show as much versatility as we'd like to see. Chris Daughtry played it better by switching up the obscure covers (Ring of Fire) with the straight up renditions (Wonderful World). You have to keep everyone guessing.

Carly - she is a fantastic vocalist; probably the most pure voice in the competition. In order to win, she needs to start looking like she's enjoying what she's doing. Right now, she looks like she is desperate and that's turning people off. She needs to not talk about how much she wants it and just focus on how fun it is to perform and be on stage.

Michael - now that he is starting to live up to his potential he needs to really focus on his song selections because I'm afraid that one wrong move and he'll tumble back down the ladder. It took so long for him to finally have the performance that everyone was waiting for that we're afraid he'll never get back to that status if he falters. David C. seems to have stolen the rocker status away from him so he really needs to stay focused and win it back in order to win it all.

Brooke - is so different because she takes the quiet approach to all of her songs. She likes to strip everything down and really focus on the emotion behind everything. While this is her positive, I also think it's going to be her downfall. Once we get to the top 6 or so, it's going to be the "loud" singers vs. Brooke's sunny side. I don't think she'll win that battle. If she wants to win then she's going to have to step out of her box a little and perform in a way that no one will expect. Unfortunately, I don't think her voice will lend her to that so it's going to be a tough battle for her.

Jason - like Brooke, his take on songs is vastly different from what we're used to from previous males on the show. His laid back vibe (and bright blue eyes) seems to be winning people over. However, unlike just about everyone else on the show, Jason has no experience singing in front of people so this whole thing is just a wild ride for him. He will very quickly be out of his depth with the remaining talent. In order to win he's going to have to pull off some very unique things that no one would expect from him. Also, like Brooke, I don't think he has a strong enough voice to really move outside his coffeehouse vibe. However, if he can keep pulling off songs like "Hallelujah" he may be able to stay around longer than anyone thought.

Syesha - she has a beautiful, clear voice but for some reason no one is getting behind her. I think it's her personal intros before each performance. People are put off by her "look at how great I am attitude" and aren't voting for her. Unless she has the performance of a lifetime week after week I don't see her going too much further in the competition.

Kristy Lee - she actually has a very pretty voice to listen to. She also has a very pretty face to look at. However, she can't seem to have a nice performance to watch. Week after week, she's just bland. However, she's played the game very smartly. By pulling out "God Bless the USA" she knew that middle-America would eat that up and keep her in for country week (knowing that country is her specialty genre and that would keep her in for another week). And now that she's made it to Idol Gives Back it's almost a given that she'll sing "Amazing Grace" (which she has sung several times throughout auditions [and sounds fantastic on]) and middle-America could possibly vote her through again. It's crazy how one song (God Bless the USA) has vaulted her 3 weeks ahead. Unfortunately, I think Kristy Lee has played her trump card and she's got nothing left. I don't think she'll have an "america" song for each of the remaining weeks to keep her in so her days are numbered.

I am looking forward to tonight and very excited to see how the rest of the season plays out. It's going to be really fun watching them claw and sing their way to the #1 spot. All are deserving and I think that the final 2 will be the most talented since Carrie/Bo back in season 4.