American Idol Semifinal I: A Loaded Bunch

Welcome to the first night of American Idol blogging for 2009, season 8. Semifinals is simple Billboard Top 100 songs, so pretty much anything goes.

Jackie Tohn - "Little Less Less Conversation" - Sounds like her voice has gone downhill since the auditions, as she chose too deep an Elvis song. The black spandex hotpants are hurtful to look at with that top too. It's as if she wants to keep the opener interesting. The busting out an almost rap midway through the song was misplaced. She missed the ball on this one. Judges were too kind, but Simon did not hold back.
GRADE: D

Ricky Braddy - "A Song For You" - Song choice may fit his voice very well, but I think it is a disaster in a heavy cut 25% move on format. He was boring and faceless before, and this is not much better. At least we found out he's a bravado crooner, as Kelley would say. Classy outfit though, which is a plus. He's just a little too weird, but who knows...maybe a wild card. Judges loved it like Archuleta.
GRADE: C+

Alexis Grace - "Never Loved A Man" - This was one of my secondary frontrunners coming into the semifinals. She picked a huge Aretha song, and it was a bit much for her. She does have the talent to be good, but it's risky picking Aretha on a semifinal night. The little black dress fits her new "dirty it up" personality, and she's a decent performer. I think she's in trouble if there are other good female contestants tonight. Which is a disappointment, honestly. The judges made a darkhorse Kelly Clarkson reference...she's not that good yet.
GRADE: B-

Brent Keith - "Hick Town" - I never know how I feel about people who pick songs with group choruses...kind of covers the voice and Brent's is not great, even for country. This was an indulgent blathery that doesn't speak to the right voters. He should look into the CMT Idol show because he's OK, but not great. He has his style and he dresses appropriately, but buh-bye.
GRADE: C-

Stevie Wright - "You Belong With Me" - Definitely playing the teen vote here, which will help her. She sings and looks like the oldest seventeen year old I've ever seen. She's got the Hannah Montana vibe and my a slip in as a wildcard, but it would be very undeserved. She needs some seasoning as she's not taking the appropriate amount of risks with that song. She's as good as gone.
GRADE: D

Anoop Desai - "Angel of Mine" - A Monica song, eh? Another contestant picks the classy suit jacket and jeans style. It's like David Cook all over again lol. He kind of missed the middle bridging notes in my opinion, but he picked a song that shows off his voice. He actually did a pretty good job and will be in the mix on a night of solid guy contestants. Maybe I should've joined the country in picking this guy to my top 12.
GRADE: B-

Casey Carlson - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" - Unfortunately, the slower parts of the song are where you can stand out on this Sting song, but Casey punts. The chorus is OK but forgettable. The outfit is also just mediocre. Awful song choice. All in all, a very forgettable and mediocre performance. Adios and adieu.
GRADE: FAIL

Michael Sarver - "I Don't Wanna Be" - I liked the song choice of Gavin DeGraw in theory, but he clearly picked a song that he loves as opposed to one that will move him forward. It's painful to see him go, but he drew a tough group of guys to compete against in night 1. Maybe America will surprise me, but the facial expressions and the voice were too funny tonight. Even the high notes were not there, a chance to shine. Too bad.
GRADE: D+

Ann Marie Boskovich - "Natural Woman" - I was hesitant when I heard the song choice, but she actually put a good spin on it. Definitely best outfit of the night on the woman side, just because she was willing to to not wear black or something ridiculous. Facial expressions were the only downside, as they were a bit much. However, I think this may be enough to get her through. Judges were a little rough, and Ann dished back which is worth some points. Priceless moment on the "oh I sat on the hard part" and Secreast rushing to commercial.
GRADE: B-

Stephen Fowler - "Rock With You" - The smile was cheesy for a Michael Jackson love song, but he has a very smooth voice. Nothing outlandish about the outfits...oh where oh where have the Brooke Whites gone. Oh wait I forgot the beginning of the show. Don't know how I felt about the long hold note in the middle, but he did not miss anything by my take. I think he's got a real chance to overcome his glitch in Hollywood Week. Wow the judges disagree with me.
GRADE: B-

Tatiana Nicol Del Toro - "I'm Saving All My Love For You" - Sadly she came out with the Kristy Lee Cook look on her face, the confident I don't give a crap about my national reputation, I'm going to do what I want. A terrible dress, but that was expected from the drama queen of 2009. What's funny is she did not punt the Whitney song and would probably be sailing into the top 12 if it were not for the antics during auditions and Hollywood Week. I cannot believe it but I'm grading her higher than I ever expected.
GRADE: C+

Danny Gokey - "Hero" - Mariah Carey is risky, but hey baby...might as well roll the dice when nobody else is. He has a voice like Seal, and I think he actually will excel on his song choices alone. I'll be surprised if he shoots himself in the foot, and the money slot will be as good as gold for this frontrunner. Very solid performance that "redeemed the night" as Randy said.
GRADE: A-

So overall what did we learn? The most talented season ever brings a bunch more people who do not understand this is the harshest round of the competition cut-wise before the top 3. You have to bring your A game, and nobody really did. Fortunately for the frontrunners, they did not get passed by others stepping up. This is actually a very tough prediction, but here we go:

WELCOME TO THE TOP 12: Alexis Grace, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey

WILD CARD POSSIBILITIES: Michael Sarver, Stephen Fowler

BUH-BYES: Jackie Tohn, Ricky Braddy, Brent Keith, Stevie Wright, Casey Carlson, Tatiana Nicol Del Toro, Ann Marie Boskovich