American Idol: Top 36 Revealed

Hello friends! Well, we finally have our top 36! New twists this year. No elevator of doom. We have singoffs and the judges' mansion. It was as boring as it usually is though! At least we go live next week and I can write better blogs finally!

Notes below were taken in real-time while watching, with a few last minute changes (it's a busy blog night!!) After we found out who was in week 1, I had to change some picks, so it will be a miracle if I get this all right!

Here are the Top 36 (My Top 12 picks highlighted in Blue)

1. Anoop Desai - He still Rocks! (week 1)
2. Von Smith - The screamer. Yikes. Went against his parents' advice and picked his own song and made it in. Still not a fan. Will America be?
3. Alex Wagner Trugman - Singoff with Cody Sheldon - "Don't Let the Sun Go Down" He sang better than Cody, but still a weird dude!
4. Adam Lambert - Simon: "It's not good news........pause......It's great news." ugh...how corny and predictable was that? I'm a fan of Adam's, but we'll see if he wears on people with that high voice!
5. Taylor Vaifanua - 17 - Don't remember much about her except that she was in Danny Gokey's
6. Jasmine Murray - 16 - I'm sure she'll make it
7. Arianna Afsar
8. Casey Carlson - Only really heard her in the audition. I was going to take a random guess and pick her to make the top 12, but once I saw her competition in week 1, it's not looking good. Even for a wildcard! (week 1)
9. Megan Corkrey - I'm picking her instead of Casey.
10. Mishavonna Henson
11. Stevie Wright - (week 1)
12. Joanna Pacitti - Record Label girl, forgot all words in Hollywood. The FIX is in folks! Just seems like the producers want to cause controversy! I don't know if America is going to support her though! If they don't, the judges can always put her in with a wildcard.
    NOTE: After posting this blog, we have found out that Joanna Pacitti was disqualified and determined ineligible! Looks like my comments above weren't far off!
    
    She is being replaced with Felicia Barton who I can't say I remember! Therefore I will pick a new top 12er in Joanna's place and mark it in Bold Green!
13. Kendall Beard - Good Audition, bad Hollwood round. Can she rebound?
14. Kristin McNamara - Singoff with Jenn Korbee - "I Will Always Love You" Love Kara's comment "What is she wearing?!" Simon disagrees with the putting her through. I don't think either were that good. So we'll see how far she gets.
15. Alexis Grace - A little pink hair, so we have to put her in the top 12! (week 1)
16. Scott Macintyre - American will probably resonate with his story. He's a likable guy. And he's not too bad of a singer/piano player.
17. Lil Rounds - Since my track record of getting the top 12 predictions correct is pretty bad, I'll put her through!
18. Jesse Langseth - Singoff with Frankie Jordan - Sang a weird song. I was shocked. We didn't see much or at all of Jesse so I figured they'd go with Frankie. Guess we'll see her at least once more!
19. Allison Iraheta - sang "Because of You" and that sounded pretty awful. And she's 16. That's a bad combination in my book! They say she has raw, natural talent. I'll need to see more before really judging.
20. Danny Gokey - Still a fan! His buddy Jamar didn't make it. That last Hollywood performance did him in I think. (week 1)
21. Ricky Braddy - Who? (week 1)
22. Matt Giraud - Still a fan of this guy too!
23. Ju'Not Joyner
24. Jorge Nunez
25. Brent Keith - (week 1)
26. Stephen Fowler - They let him in even though he walked off the stage when he forgot the words. He must be pretty good! (week 1)
27. Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle) - WHAAAAAAT??????? Oh my. Look out for votefortheworst.com That's all I have to say!
28. Jackie Tohn - She's kinda nuts. And I was scared of Amanda Overmeyer part II. But her toned down performance of "I Hope You Dance" with guitar wasn't too bad! (week 1) She's a late top 12 pick for me now that Joanna is out. And she's a week 1, so she'll probably have to be brought back for wildcard day. And if that's the case, only her or Michael Sarver would probably make it with my current guesses. Good thing Sarver is a Bonus pick!
29. Tatiana Del Toro - Oh dear...this has to be a joke! One of these bozos (Norman) just might make that top 12! I'm going to hold onto hope that America will do the right thing though! She'll have some stiff competition to get through in week 1 though. (week 1)
30. Nathaniel Marshall - Singoff with Jackie Midkiff - we finally got his story. His mother is in Jail. Sings "Already There" Best I heard him sing, but he still is really annoying!
31. Jeanine Vailes - We've never seen her I don' t think.
32. Kai Kalama
33. Ann Marie Boscovich - I was told that she's pretty good by a few people. I guess I just missed it! I'll take the people's vote on this one! (week 1)
34. Kris Allen
35. Matt Breitzke - singoff with Michael Sarver - Well if you're taking notes during the show you know both are going to make it in! I like them both, but I think only one has a chance for the top 12.
36. Michael Sarver - singoff with Matt Breitzke - He has a tiny bit of an edge on Matty. After I found out he's in week 1 with the rest of the crew, I'm downgrading him to an Orange Guess (my bonus pick for the top 12) (week 1)

Whew, what a mess. There are always surprises in these crazy semi-finals. Relatively unknowns will step up and some early favorites will fade away. But this week 1 is packed with talent, and I have more than 3 picks for the top 12 already! I'll need the help from the Judges in wildcard week to get it right. Then again, I reserve the right to change my mind on my picks over the next 3 weeks too! Well, I'm just rambling now. Bottom line, all of this means nothing as we head into LIVE TV next week. And the big question will be, as it the show will air live on February 17th, what local stations will stop broadcasting their analog signals (oh yes...the delay until June is only Optional). So if for some reason, you have Internet access, but are still watching TV via Antenna, you might want to go over a friend's house next Tuesday just in case!

Regardless, I'll be here to capture all of the glory of the first live show. See you then!

American Idol: Hollywood Round 3

Hello folks! We're progressing even closer towards LIVE IDOL. We just have to get through this week. And tonight we've seen even more promise for the top 36, and even top 12 (still mostly dominated by powerful male singers). But tonight just seems like a stepping stone to tomorrow's episode when we will reveal our top 36. We split the hopefuls into 4 rooms, had some drama with crazy Tatiana and Norman Gentle. And at the end of the day 3 of the rooms moved on to Round 4. We didn't get an official number but it's somewhere between 36 and 72 (split the difference maybe??) So since tomorrow night we will reveal our top 36 and try to pick our top 12 from that, I'm just going to do a quick highlighting of who is still alive and kicking.

Here goes:

1. Adam Lambert - 26 - Rocking Theater Guy. I thought he has been great in the Hollywood rounds and tonight I finally remembered him from the auditions. He sounds very Broadway. But he's too good to not let through. And he might just be able to break through that Broadway mold with his talent. Although, his aspirations to take twists on songs you wouldn't expect sounds very David Cook copy cat'ish. Although, I don't think even Cook would've tried to remake a Cher song. He stuck with Mariah Carey tunes exclusively! I can see this guy as a top 12'er but there's some stiff competition.
2. Matt Giraud - 26 - Dueling Piano guy. Well, finally seeing this guy behind the piano sold it for me. He is AWESOME! His rendition of "Georgia" and his skils on the ebony and ivory (or plastic in this case) are fantastic. Definitely a new one to watch, and I may be rooting for him!
3. Jamar Rogers - 26 - Danny Gokey's friend took a step down in my book this week. Not that he's been fantastic all the way through, but his version of "Hey There Delilah" left something to be desired. What was with the short notes in some spots? Did he think that sounded good? Apparently the judges did too! Oh well, top 36'er most likely, but he may be parting ways with his buddy before the top 12.
4. Danny Gokey - 28 - Still awesome. Interesting choice of doing "I hope you Dance" (or maybe it's just called "Dance"?), but it would seem they only had so many songs to choose from. And he nailed it, and got Paula to start making her googly eyes and stand-up/arm raised poses and dreaming of watermelons and strawberries and everything under the rainbow! Danny has been the favorite for me so far, and I think Matt Giraud just pulled up to even keel for me. Let's see how this pans out!
5. Anoop Desai - 21 - Man, I like this guy too! He likes pulling out the old school jams, Boys II Men, Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" and he knocks them out of the park. This guy HAS to be a top 12'er too. I'll be disappointed if he isn't.
6. Jorge Nunez - 20 - Didn't see a lot of this dude, but i think Idol is pimpin him to stick around for a bit. We'll see. (I struck a nerve with an anonymous commenter when I said he was better than Anthony "Sergei" Federov on Jon Secada's "Angel" so since I struck that nerve, expect me to give this guy even more compliments just for the heck of it! Because if there's one guy from the past that I don't mind continuing to make fun of...it's ol' Sergei!)
7. Scott Macintyre - 23 - We finally got to see the partially blind Scott in his comfort zone playing piano and rocking out to Daughtry's "Home." (well...maybe not rocking) He sounded good and I'm sure he's a shoo-in for the top 36 (maybe even top 12), but I can't say his voice or piano skills were as polished as Matt Giraud. But it's tough to compare the 2 since one is blind and the other is not. It makes me look shallow to even try! So, for now I will continue to support Scott! (and also because he sang Billy Joel in his audition!)
8. Kendall Beard - 23 - didn't see much of her but she sang Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" I have in my notes that she auditioned in Puerto Rico but she's from Texas and my reaction to the snippet was "...eh..."
9. Stevie Wright - 16 - Did Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" and sounded okay. Not much heard again.
10. Lil Rounds -23 - one word in my notes for her version of Alicia Key's "If I Ain't Got You" ...."ugh"... She's a top 12'er and I already hate her.
11. Kristin McNamara - 22 - butchered Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" but it's okay, she survived the drama from Group night so she gets a pass from the judges! She will probably be a top 36er that no one votes for.
12. Misharonna Hensa - 18 - Season 7 Hollywood Girl continues her dream for one more day. We'll see if she continues. I didn't hear much either way to be able to judge her. I don't even know if I spelled her name wrong. But her first name sure looks like "My Sharona!"
13. Tatiana Del Toro - 23 - I've had enough of this girl. But the judges haven't apparently. I guess she can carry a tune, but she does it in an annoying way, and her personality is a "-23" on a scale from 1-10.
14. Alexis Grace - 20 - Didn't see much but she did a decent rendition of "Before He Cheats"
15. Kenny Huffpaur - 16 - Weird rendition of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"
16. Jasmine Murray - 16 - okay version of Jordin Spark's "Tattoo" but she's been good up until now, so she gets a pass. But remember, she's only 16! Any sign of weakness is a bad one!
17. Nathaniel Marshall - The male counterpart to Tatiana. Get rid of this guy. He keeps singing girl songs like Rhianna's "Disturbia." Oooh he tried to butch it up with the guitar. Didn't work man. Why don't you put that music back in your skin!? (I mean seriously, who says that???)
18. Joanna Pacitti - 23 - If she continues to progress towards that top 12, she will continue to be criticized even more for having a previous record deal (even Kara recognizing her during the audition!). It will be interesting to see if the masses will vote for her knowing her prior experience. Or if the masses won't care, or don't remember! Oh and she forgot her lyrics but continues on.
19. Casey Carlson - 20 - Forgot lyrics, but continues on.
20. Stephen Fowler - 26 - Sang David Cook's "Time of My Life" but pretty much forgets ALL of the words. He plays piano though and is a decent singer. We'll see what happens tomorrow!
21. Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle) - Seriously, they let him through again? If they send him to the live rounds, they better watch out! Vote for the Worst will have a field day with him!
22. Ann Marie Boscovich - 22 - Didn't hear much.
23. Ju'Not Joyner - 26 - Interesting take on "Hey There Delilah." I kinda dug it.
24. Kai Kalana - 26 - Lost his voice, but got through.
25. Michael Sarver - 27 - Oil guy is still sounding good and moving on. Looks like he'll be singing for his life tomorrow night.

Others who we saw make it in but not really featured:

Arianna somebody, Frankie "I think I'm Amy Winehouse", Matt Breitzke (Baldy), T.K. Hatch, Jackie Tohn, etc....

Farewell to:

• India - rapper girl
• Leneshe - Slumdog Natti-airre
• Jason Castro's Brother - Michael?? Eh who cares he's gone!

So I wonder if it's safe to say the 25 we saw featured will be in the top 36 or if they're going to throw some unknowns at us? I know I've developed some favorites already so we'll see if any twists come with tomorrow's new format to unveil the top 36. I'm also not sure if we have to stick to the same rules as we have been sticking to since season 4. Ever since then, we've had 6 guys and 6 girls in the top 12. But they ensured this would happen by splitting the girls and guys up in the semi-finals. It appears we will be returning to season 1-3 format where all spots are up for grabs. And if that's the case, get ready for 11 guys and ugh...Lil Rounds! I know I know...I exaggerate, but probably not by much!

I think I've blabbed on enough for tonight. Tomorrow's blog will be short and sweet (hopefully!). It's a 2 hour episode, but I will list the Top 36 and pick my top 12 and then we'll move on to bigger and better (or potentially worse) things! See you tomorrow!

American Idol: Hollywood Round 2

Okay, so we got through the group round. As always, it provided for much entertainment. Lots of drama, catfights (not just with the ladies!), and some decent performances. As I'm only concerned about finding the talent and not recapping the episode, there's not too much to write about. So let's check out the groups and see what happened!

• Group: White Chocolate (India Morrison, Justin Williams, Kris Allen, Matt Giraurd) - They all sounded good together, India threw in a little rap. Whatever. I'm sure they're all decent, but nothing really stood out to me.
• Nick Mitchell (Norman) and Jorge Nunez live to see another day but we didn't hear anything from them. Unfortunately the guy I tagged as the second coming of David "The Artichoke" Archuleta is already eliminated. I'm sure nicknames will come to me for someone though!
• Alex Wagner Trugman and Anne Marie Boskovich are in from their group. Again, not really seeing anything eye opening from them yet. The Pink Hair tradition for a top 12 finalist will continue to not exist since season 3 as Emily Hughes did not make the cut. So much for my "she will rebound from round 1" prediction!
• Clearly again, Team Danny Gokey is topping anything else we're hearing. And he continues to get on my good side by singing my favorite Queen song "Somebody to Love." I'll even continue to give props to his buddy Jamar who is a nice sidekick for now. They even made 16 year old Taylor Vaifuna look good. Not so sure about Girl #4 who never was given a name, but she at least makes it through this round. How awful is that by the producers to not even give this girl her 15 minutes with a name?!
• We saw 4 featured in different groups that stood out - Jeremy Michael Sarver (still a fan of the oil guy!), Adam Lambert (The Rock with the high voice and high note. I kinda dig him too!, Matt Breitzke (Baldy. I always have to support the bald folk! Dude can sang! ), and Jesse Langseth (I don't remember her from the auditions and she was okay.)
• Team Diva - woo lots of drama in this one. Bikini Girl made her last stand and took down some casualties with her including Rose Flack (even though she was really out of her league). What was up with the camera crew invading Bikini Girl's hotel room without permission? At least Simon finally put an end t0 his support which you could clearly tell was a joke for him from day 1. Jasmine Murray was the only one from Team Diva to continue on and she sounded really good on Duffy's "Mercy" (and how about Idol getting current with the music?! A sign of things to come?) And yes, Jasmine is still 16 so I'm worried about her holding up. But she's continuing to impress me.
• Then there was Team Tatiana with even more drama than Team Diva. Tatiana Del Toro is just an awful person to try and take in. The laugh, the insane'ism (yep insane enough for a made up word!). Her team even referred to her as Satan! She tried to change groups into another drama team and then came back. Anyway she and Muna Hiluf - 16 continue on in the competition. I thought both sounded awful. Group member 3 and 4 made it through too but weren't named.
• Team Compromise - This group probably had the most drama. Nancy Wilson, Kristin McNamara and Nathaniel "the music is in my skin!" Marhsall. The 3 ladies (whoops!) together could've powered the entire city of Los Angeles with their combined animosity. Kristin was the beginning of the drama when she tried to welcome in Tatiana and then when she wanted to take a break. Apparently, she really didn't need to rehearse because she did just fine getting through on her own! How about that high note she hit? Pretty nuts. Not sure if she'll stick around forever though. And I sure hope Nathaniel isn't sticking around long. I cannot take much more of him. Then again, if he does...he might just be my nickname candidate. So many possibilities! But it turned out to be Nancy Wilson who was the one to be shown the door. She did seem to be the one causing the most drama. Well, besides all of Nathaniel's waterworks.

From the previews we also see that Anoop and Scott McEntyre are still alive and well. Looks like the instruments will come into play in Round 3. And then we might be back to the "4 Rooms" elimination next Wednesday instead of the "Elevator of Doom" that has been a staple for the past few seasons. Good times. Well, hope you enjoyed my quick blurb on the night and I'll see you next week for the last week of pre-taped episodes!

American Idol: Hollywood Round 1

Hello everyone! Welcome to the Hollywood rounds! Is it better than the auditions? I'd say just a smidge so far. There wasn't much to get excited about in Round 1. But with the group performances drama coming up tomorrow, maybe we'll get some more excitement. For now, we got some snippets of the people that made it through round 1. Out of 147 that made it to Hollywood, we still have 104 going into Round 2.

The kids, for the first time, performed in the Kodak Theater for the Hollywood rounds (where the finale will take place) They claimed to have a twist this year with giving them all stylists this early in the game. Also Vocal Coach seminars. My favorite was when they showed people taking Barry Manilow's notes down with such determination. Yeah, because THAT'S going to make you win the competition. I'm sorry, you either have the gift or you don't! The only thing you can do is fine tune your skills throughout the process!

It's not only the stylists coming in early this year. They've even started the shameless promotion of FORD a few weeks early this year.

But anyway, not much to really highlight here. I'm going to try and categorize the good, the potential, and the people i dislike. We'll see how that changes throughout the competition:

The Good

• Danny Gokey - 28 - This is the guy whose wife passed away. While I don't like him using that story to make the world feel bad for him, I'm convinced it's the Idol producers that are milking it. And I can't help but like this guy. He did a great job with the snippet of "Kiss from a Rose" that we heard. So far, he has been the only person that has made me take notice when he sings. And thinking back to the audition blogs, he's the only one that I even noted as "someone to watch." So let's keep watching!
• Jamar Rogers - 26 - Danny's buddy. I'm sure they're going to keep this 1-2 punch going for a while. He did a pretty darn good rendition of "California Dreamin." Didn't really see enough of him, but you can tell the dude can sing.
• David Osmond - 28 - Well, he's an Osmond. It's in his genes. They're going to keep him around too. But we really didn't hear much tonight.
• Anoop Desai - I'm liking this dude too. He's got some pipes!
• Stephen Fowler - - The guy that did the Stevie tune that made Randy say "dawwg...WHAAAT????" He was good too, but I don't remember seeing him in the auditions. I won't hold that against him yet.
• Scott McEntyre - Didn't hear one note from the blind guy tonight. But I'm sure he's still a favorite.
• Jasmine Murray - 16 - I remember just dismissing her because she was 16. Well, she is still 16, but I can't deny that she sounded good in her snippet. Of course maybe I just liked the performance because she sang a Kelly Clarkson song and didn't do an awful job on it! I'm sure she'll disappoint soon enough!
  

Jury is still Out

• Nathaniel Marshall - 18 - This is the dude with the crazy piercings that sang the unknown song and started crying about music being in his skin! Whaaaat? Why did they let him through? I guess they like his voice. We'll see.
• Rose Flack - 17 - I know the girl is an orphan, but I still don't know why they let her through. She can't really sing well! And it was showing in hollywood. I can't remember if she sang "Dock of the Bay" in her audition but she definitely did it tonight. They let her continue, but I don't see her lasting very long. Still a likable person though.
• Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle) -27 - this dude is one bizarre guy and he loves putting on the Norman Gentle act. But no one can deny that he can actually sing. They just need to know when to pull the plug on him if he keeps up the charade. We don't want another Sanjaya situation on our hands! I do have this feeling though that the guy can play it serious. It's just a risky move!
• Jorge Nunez - He sang Jon Secada's "Angel." I remember him from the San Juan auditions. He really did a great job on it. Almost made me forget of Anthony Federov singing the tune, thankfully. But when he's not singing, he just seems like a weird guy. I'm not sold on him quite yet.
• Frankie Jordan - She continued but we didn't hear her sing.
• Jackie Tohn - 28 - Crazy rocker girl or Amanda Overmeyer Part 2. I just don't know with her. I'm sure she's better than Amanda but right now she sounds the same as her to me. The judges say she's really good. I need to hear her more in her element with her guitar and some backing music. Stay tuned!
• Jeremy Michael Sarver - Oil Guy - I thought he sounded good. He probably should be in the "good" section, but I'm too lazy to move my notes so he'll stay here!
• Emily Wynne-Hughes - Crazy color hair girl that sang No Doubt's "Excuse Me Mr." even though she didn't rehearse it. She's being granted a 2nd chance and will probably wow the judges, but for now we'll leave her here.
  
  

No Thanks

• Lil Rounds - 23 - I'm still not sold on this person and I don't think I ever will be. I hate when the judges all get behind these "POWER VOCALISTS" like they're sent here from heaven to entertain us with their heavenly voices. Kara giving the standing O and talking like Randy with the "That was Hot" nonsense. And come on, she did the biggest "no no" in the book. Sing the most overplayed song in movie history "I Will Always Love You" - the Whitney Houston version. (Okay maybe Celine's "My Heart Will Go On" has it beat but they're both equally annoying!) Worst thing about it? She really didn't sound good. But it doesn't matter. She has top 12 written all over her and there's nothing we can do about it.
• Von Smith - This guy just overdid it and I don't think he's going to have what it takes going forward. He may find a way to make it to the Top 36, but who will vote for him? Yikes.
• Katrina Darrell -21 - Bikini Girl - I'll admit that I laughed at them keeping this thing going from the audition. Girls judges hate her, the Guy judges sympathize with her. But Come on! This is so obviously staged! She isn't a good singer, and hopefully in the end Simon and Randy will redeem themselves for the sake of the competition.
  

Obviously there are tons of other decent contestants that we probably didn't see featured tonight. There were some people that we saw continue to round 2 but there were no performance clips. I just was too lazy to include them! I'm sure we'll get to them over the next 3 Hollywood rounds! But for now, that's what I have! Group Competition tomorrow folks! See you then!