American Idol 8 - final reduction week 1

For anyone who has followed this blog - which is probably really nobody since it hasn't exactly gone anywhere - you already know that I kinda disappeared last year around the same time as my car was totaled. I needed to step back a bit and readjust my life.

But now I'm back. Yay me. No promises about how consistent this blog will be, but it's good for me to write and this is the ultimate in non-threatening environments for me to get back in the groove, so here goes.

Tonight is the first of the 'live audience' elimination nights that will whittle the current cast of 36 down to a more manageable 12. It will be handled differently this year - the top vote-getting girl and the top vote-getting guy will be through along with the next top vote-getter. I think that means there's a possibility it won't be an evenly split field this year. Interesting.

The final 3 contestants will come from a final "wild card" week with those who will get one last chance to perform presumably being picked by the judging panel.

Another change this year is the addition of Kara Dioguardi to the judging panel. Kara has been a nice addition already, bringing a voice of reason and professionalism to the audition process and keeping Simon from making Paula any more crazy than she already is.

Anyway - on to the show.

A Little Less Conversation
Jackie Tohn
Ummm.... this is an odd choice. She definitely has some talent and she's very comfortable on stage, but I hated the song, the style, the clothing choice, and pretty much everything else about her performance. It would have been fine for an off, off, off, off Broadway review, but I wouldn't spend a plug nickel buying her album if that was the single.

A Song For You
Ricky Braddy
He may not be much to look at, but dude, Ricky got some chops!! His voice is clear and powerful, his range is awesome. Definitely worth my vote.

Never Loved a Man
Alexis Grace
I love the pink hair. Seriously. Unfortunately she needs some stage presence. I don't think this was the right song choice for our darling Alexis. I hope it's good enough to at least get her a shot at a wild-card spot because I don't know if this will be enough for the guaranteed spot. Maybe I'm missing something though - the judges are falling all themselves to compliment her.

Hicktown
Brent Kieth
He has a nice voice. He's nice to look at. I'm not at all into country music so the song choice doesn't do a thing for me. My bias aside, I'm not sure at all that he was good enough to be in the top 3 tonight. Maybe he should have tried out for the Idol clone on CMT.

You Belong With Me
Stevie Wright
I've liked Stevie from the get go. I think she's adorable. But she's nervous on stage. She missed her entrance and she suddenly sounds like the 17-year-old wannabe that she really is. She's better than this. Maybe they'll give her a shot at the wild-card show because there's not chance of her going through tonight.

Angel of Mine
Anoop Desai
He has a pretty voice, but the performance was dull, flat and boring. Bad pitch. He would have done better with a more upbeat song. He's going home tonight. No shot even at the wildcard after that performance.

Every Little Thing (S)he Does is Magic
Casey Carlson
It's the Bubble Tea girl! It's a completely emasculated version of one of my favorite songs ever. If this was the gong show I'd be going for the big goofy mallet right now. Bye bye, bubble tea girl. Very classy response to Simon though... "I had fun."

I Don't Wanna Be
Michael Sarver
It's the oil rig guy! *deep sigh* I think this time the song was a pretty good choice. Unfortunately the performance was ... awkward. Not good pitch. Not good stage presence. I think Michael is going home.

Natural Woman
Ann Marie Boskovich
Not a bad performance. Not karaoke, but maybe like the demo vocal on a decent karaoke CD. So she's OK, but I don't think she's star material. I am uninspired by Ann Marie as an artist.

Rock With You
Stephen Fowler
Solo night was a disaster for him - he ended up walking off stage. He did much better tonight. But I'm going to channel my friend Mike for a moment and point out that Stephen ain't no MJ. This performance was nothing special. Stephen did not rock with me.

I'm Saving All My Love for You
Tatiana Del Toro
Tatiana can sing. Everything else about her like fingernails on a blackboard. But the performance itself was one of the strongest for the girls this evening - even despite a couple of rough notes. Her voice is really very good. It would not surprise me if between the legit votes she gets and the "vote for the worst" contingent she ends up as the top girl of the evening.

Hero
Danny Gokey
Danny might have been my favorite overall from the audition process. And He's my favorite overall tonight. Perfect song choice for his style. He got to show some soft moments as well as some huge vocal moments.

So I think we had a good start to the "real" idol season tonight. We saw some good and some not-so-good performances.

My guesses for who ends up in the top 12 are:
Danny Gokey
Ricky Braddy
Tatiana Del Toro

My guesses for who ends up on the wildcard show are:
Alexis Grace
Michael Sarver
Anoop Desai (maybe)