Thursday, February 25, 2010

AI: The Good, The Bad & The UGLY!!!

American Idol Logo Pictures, Images and Photos


Here’s my breakdown of the past two nights performances…..and to borrow a line from a Clint Eastwood film…THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY!

Eddie Note: Contestants in CAPS and RED were my favs that I picked in the early auditions for the TOP 24….and some are already in trouble…YIKES!

TOP 12 GIRLS

THE GOOD

· CRYSTAL BOWERSOX- 24 years old, Elliston, OH……’Momma Sox’ did OK with “Hand in My Pocket”, very ‘Dylan-esque’ with her guitar and harmonica, but as Simon said, it was something you can see a thousand folks doing on You Tube every day. She’s SAFE, but needs to step it up on future shows.

· KATELYN EPPERLY- 19 years old, West Des Moines, IA….performed “Oh Darlin” by the Beatles and put her own soulful spin into it. I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was pretty good. She’s safe for another week.

· Paige Miles- 24 years old, Cypress, TX….First time I’ve seen this girl perform at all. She sang “All Right Now” by Free….great song choice, I love the song, but wasn’t all that crazy about her singing it. I’m not sure she’s as talented as the judges say she is, but she’s safe.

· JANELL WHEELER- 24 years old, Orlando, FL…Sang “What About Love” from Heart….big song and a tough song choice! I think she tried to put her own country rock twist to it, and it was OK, not great….but good enough to put my Wine Sales Rep through for another week!

· LILLY SCOTT- 20 years old, Littleton, CO…. Performed “Fixin A Hole” by the Beatles….it was AWESOME! BEST OF THE NIGHT! She’s original, genuine, and believable and it comes from her heart I really like this girl! And why are we just finding out now that she sang on street corners and lived out of her car for the past year!? This makes her even more incredible!

· Michelle Delamor- 22 years old, Miami, FL…..Never seen in the early auditions and very little face time in Hollywood, so this was the first time I’d seen her perform. She tackled a tough song by Alicia Keys performing “Fallen” and did it pretty well. She’s got the whole package going on and certainly looks impressive on camera and has good stage presence. She’s safe and should do well in this competition.

· Siobhan Magnus- 19 years old, Barnstable, MA……. Sang Chris Isaac's “Wicked Game”, which is a very haunting but sexy song. She starts out a bit too low, is a bit nasally too, but she gets better as she progresses through the song. She’s unique and quirky, a very now type, but also a little bit out there. She’s safe!

· DIDI BENAMI- 23 years old, Hollywood, CA….she sang “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson, and although it wasn’t a well known song to me or one I particularly liked, she did pretty well with it. This girl is so this year’s Megan Joy it’s not even funny! She’s safe and I hope she goes deep in the competition.

THE BAD

· ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ- 22 years old, Chelsea, MA…. Performed Leona Lewis’ “Happy” and it was NOT good! No originality and it was very pitchy. I was really looking forward to her knocking my socks off, and she just plain disappointed! She may be in trouble tonight.

· KATIE STEVENS- 17 years old, Middlebury, CT….. performed ”Feeling Good,” by Michael Buble’….and it was OK, but not a good song choice for her at all, too old and it was pitchy. She has a BIG voice for a 17 year old, so I hope she makes it through tonight.

THE UGLY

· Haeley Vaughn- 16 years old, Fort Collins, CO……takes a Beatles’ song “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and just tears it apart. I agreed with Simon, it was a complete and utter mess! You don’t take that song and try and put a country twist on it….time to go home tonight Haeley....Bye-Bye!

· LACEY BROWN- 24 years old, Amarillo, TX…..I said TOP 12 for this girl early on, and boy did she disappoint on Tuesday night! Wow….a horrendous rendition of ”Landslide,” by Fleetwood Mac. It was bad, just all over the place and very pitchy. She’s in trouble tonight and could be sent home early with Haeley.

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TOP 12 GUYS

THE GOOD

· AARON KELLY- 16 years old, Sonestown, PA….performed Rascal Flatts' "Here Comes Goodbye", and although he struggled with some high notes, and some pitchiness, he managed to pull it together. He’s safe.

· ANDREW GARCIA- 24 years old, Moreno Valley, CA….sang Fall Out Boy's "Sugar We're Going Down,", and I liked it more than the judges. I still think this kid is talented and will challenge for the Top Spot for the guys. He’s safe!

· Casey James-27 years old, Fort Worth, TX…….the kid that Kara is just GA-GA over! He’s eye candy for the chicks, but he can sing too! He performs an acoustic version of “Heaven” by Bryan Adams, and just nailed it. Great song choice and performed well on stage. Maybe the BEST OF THE NIGHT!

· Lee DeWyze- 23 years old, Mount Prospect, IL…….Raspy voiced kid with talent who performed Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," and although a little pitchy, I thought it was one of the better performances on a night full of mediocre and really bad ones! He’s safe, and Simon loves this kid, so that’s a good thing!

· Tyler Grady- 20 years old, Nazareth, PA…..70’s PA boy from just up the road on Rte 22 near Allentown…..does his own take on the Guess Who's "American Woman", and started off promisingly with a super bluesy intro…..but then his performance got a bit clumsy on stage. Good enough to make it through another week though, but he’ll have to get better vocally.

THE BAD

· TODRICK HALL- 24 years old, Arlington, TX…. Did his re-configured version of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," and may have taken it just a bit too far. It was risky and unique, and that alone will probably save him for another week, but he could also be in the dreaded bottom 3 tonight.

· Michael Lynche- 26 years old, Astoria, NY….Big Mike performs his take on Maroon 5's "This Love", and it was OK, but certainly not great. I thought it was very ‘karaoke-like’ to say the least. He’ll probably make it through another week, but I just am not that impressed.

· JERMAINE SELLERS- 26 years old, Joliet, IL…..The church singer who performs “Get Here” by Oleta Adams. It was a train wreck and just a plain bad song choice! Cousin Greg, an Eddie Idol Wanna’ Be (EIWB) said TOP 10 in the early auditions for this kid, and I like him too, but he could be in trouble tonight.

THE UGLY

· Alex Lambert-19 years old, North Richland Hills, TX….Remember when I said “I’m sorry, but I’m not a big fan at all of this kid. Don’t think he’s TOP 24 worthy. Pack a light bag Alex, you’re no Adam Lambert! Well….after listening to him struggle through "Wonderful World" by James Morrison, I wanted to go outside and scream! It made my sore neck and back feel worse. This kid was terrified on stage! And what’s up with the mullet haircut? Bye-Bye Adam, you need to go home….and cut the hair!

· Tim Urban- 20 years old, Duncanville, TX……last minute call up by the shows producer to replace the DQ’d Chris Golightly….what a mistake! After listening to him try and sing “Apologize” by One Republic, Simon said it best, they made the right choice the first time and he should not be on the show! And what’s with this kids ‘Brady Bunch’ hair-style? CALLING CHRIS GOLIGHTLY! CALLING CHRIS GOLIGHTLY!

· John Park- 21 years old, Evanston, IL….. chose a jazz standard, Billie Holliday's "God Bless the Child"…..and God needs to bless me for having to watch and listen to him singing it! It was awful! This kid is not Top 24 worthy…..off with his head! Time to go home Johnnie boy. Find your Shania so she can teach you to sing better!

· Joe Munoz- 20 years old, Huntington Park, CA….Once again, another horrible performance from this Julio Eglasias wanna’ be! His version of Jason Mraz's "You and I Both" was bad, and I’m sure Jason Mraz was getting drunk somewhere after having listened to this kid perform. He may get all of Mexico to vote him through another week, but this kid is not Top 24 material!

Bottom Line…..As I said last week, there are no Adam Lambert’s in this group, maybe not even a Kris Allen! And after hearing the girls and guys all sing, and Simon agrees…the girls will rule this season! They have far deeper talent, and as I’ve said before and I’ll say it again here…..this year’s Season 9 winner will be a girl!

Idol Words of Advice……For those who play an instrument and take it on stage…..play the damn thing!! Don’t just hold it and look stupid! David Cook did this the best each time he took the stage, because he took an amplifier with him on stage and played the guitar. And another two words of advice….SONG CHOICE…..it’s all about the proper song choice contestants! This was a loud and clear message to all through the first round.

Fast Idol Facts… Tonight’s show airs 8-9 PM with the first results show, when two girls –and- two guys will be eliminated. For each of the next three weeks, two guys and two girls get eliminated until IDOL reaches the TOP 12 on Thursday, March 11th, then one contestant can be eliminated each week after that. Season 8 winner Kris Allen performs live on tonight’s show, as does last season’s TOP 10 contestant Allison Iraheta.

So…..what do you think of Idol’s Top 24 now? Who do you think did well? Who do you think should stay and be sent home? Who are your favorites after the first group of performances? Let’s here what you think!

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