The theme week of the Top 10 is R&B and Soul with Usher. Hey it's actually a legitimate top of the game musical genius for a mentor, so maybe they will get some better advice than last week. So let's see who bends the soul into their own genre in an interesting way and who kills a Mary J. Blige song.
Siobhan - Street of Fire - It's funny that Usher of all people tells Siobhan to cut out the crazy clothes, but maybe it will sink in. The scream in this song was totally unnecessary and forced, which brought the performance down. Siobhan has a good voice and she is distinctive, but this was one of her weaker performances and she was off key for much of the song.
GRADE: D
Casey - Hold On I'm Coming - Someone must have told Casey a joke right before going on because he had the biggest grin on his face. Casey does what will probably be my favorite song choice of the night and jazzes it up with his guitar skills intro and a blues quartet. I think he will have a future in a rock band, maybe even more than David Cook. This performance not his best but very good.
GRADE: B
Mike - Ready For Love - Mike picks a soft quiet love song, what a shock. This is his wheelhouse, so he should knock it out of the park. This song choice bored me to tears even with the heavy strong note at the end. He needs to do more, although the performance was technically sound. Frontrunners are sticking around this week.
GRADE: B-
Didi - What Becomes of the Brokenhearted - Didi wears the most formal dress of the night and then lays a Siobhan scream (as much as she can) near the end of the song. I thought this was her strongest non-nervous performance but the song did not quite fit her. I think this will keep her around knowing who is coming up later, but minor improvements are not enough for a fringe contestant.
GRADE: C-
Tim - Sweet Love - Teflon Tim indeed, he is the proud worster contestant. When Tim tries to look through the camera and sings this chorus, he seems like a creepy head-lolled-to-the-side stalker. One of the lyrics to this song is I feel ashamed, and Simon should rip on that. Although I'm about to bust the Idol producers for not being able to keep a solid tape going. Tim gets past the FAIL on effort alone because this song was full of fail. He might go home this week.
GRADE: D
Andrew - Forever - Andrew takes a cheesy slow love song and makes it somewhat better, so kudos to that. Andrew does have a pretty good voice for the theme although I did not think so in the abstract. The performance was better than his last few, but it will not move him back into the frontrunners quite yet. This puts him back on the radar.
GRADE: B-
Katie - Chain of Fools - Katie is the girl who inevitably steps up and does Aretha, which shows how much she wants to stay in the competition or how delusional she is after being in the Bottom 3. As this performance went on, I saw the brilliance in the song choice. yes it was ballsy and yes she's not Aretha (who is?), but she was able to show off her strong voice the whole way through. This was a drastic improvement in my mind.
GRADE: B
Lee - Treat Her Like A Lady - Lee does the stereotypical take a soul song and put it right in his wheelhouse genre instead. This was not the most sparkling performance but it was good enough to be in the upper range tonight because he gave a good show by his standards. Judges loved it though so he's more than safe.
GRADE: B-
Crystal - Midnight Train to Georgia - So Crystal moves over to the piano, something we've only seen once this season and by Didi. Wow hard to remember that. The piano was kind of mediocre, but when Crystal stood up to do the second chorus she knocked it out. She has the most distinctive good voice in the competition, and this was another solid performance.
GRADE: B+
Aaron - Ain't No Sunshine - Aaron was supposed to add feeling and distinctiveness to the I Know I Know I Know I Know I Know I Know....line. And yet he found a way not to. This may have not been his strong suit, and he did not do much with it. He will barely avoid the bottom three in grades this week. He will not be in jeopardy but this is an overdone song and he did not knock it out.
GRADE: C-
TOP PERFORMER - Crystal
BOTTOM 3 - Didi, Tim, Siobhan
GOING HOME - Tim
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
American Idol 9 - The Cut To 10
Well today is all about cutting to the tour top 10. The loser in this round joins the likes of Amanda Overmyer, who also just missed out on the tour. However, this year we have some real baddies so it does not matter who goes home, as the tour will be full of suckiness. Miley Cyrus is just not that good a singer, all things considered. Which makes it even better for her to be a mentor on this season of all seasons.
No real surprises in the results. Katie instead of Didi in the bottom 3, but clearly Paige and Tim were the no-brainer bottom two. And I am now two for two in the finals thanks to America voting the worst singing girl in the top 11 home. Adios Paige, you have sucked it up ever since the shows went live.
THIS WEEK: 1/1
FINALS: 2/2
OVERALL: 6/14
No real surprises in the results. Katie instead of Didi in the bottom 3, but clearly Paige and Tim were the no-brainer bottom two. And I am now two for two in the finals thanks to America voting the worst singing girl in the top 11 home. Adios Paige, you have sucked it up ever since the shows went live.
THIS WEEK: 1/1
FINALS: 2/2
OVERALL: 6/14
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
American Idol 9 - Top 11
Will we finally lose a bad contestant this week? Or will all the baddies make the tour of the Top 10 finalists this summer? We shall see as the mentor is the most ridiculous in Idol history in all likelihood. Miley Cyrus. What exactly does she have for musical expertise, and she's younger most of the contestants. Ludicrous!
Lee - The Letter - This is an interesting song choice, because Lee has not shown off a guitar-free soulful side in this competition. This was a very entertaining performance to start the night and a good take on the song. By far his best performance in the competition. Kudos, this is impressive for someone who I thought might go home soon.
GRADE: B
Paige - Against All Odds - So Miley Cyrus tells you that you are pitchy, and you know you are pitchy, and then you come out and give such pitchyness that it looks like you don't really know you are pitchy. As Randy ended up saying, that was honestly terrible. She picks a god-awful song by an overrated artist that doesn't fit her voice. This should send her home.
GRADE: FAIL
Tim - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - The baseball slide across the stage was a nice touch, but clearly Time is forcing the angle a bit after telling us so in the video. Tim does not give a bad performance, but he almost goes too low in the chorus. He probably sounds much better than he is thanks to Paige. Wow to this guy making the tour.
GRADE: C-
Aaron - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - I don't like how he moves his mouth away from the microphone on the big notes and makes it a cutoff rather than hitting them. This came off as whiny and not a good fit because he was not quite as strong as the original and he changed nothing about the song. He's safe and let's hope the laryngitis and tonsilitis go away.
GRADE: C
Crystal - Me and Bobby McGee - Crystal goes back to the safety net or the sweet spot with a Joplin song this week. Her voice is basically set to be the next in the Joplin-Morseitte line of singers. This performance is safe, but the best of the finals so far and deserving of an A. Perfect performance really and the favorite continues to shine.
GRADE: A
Mike - When A Man Loves A Woman - Mike drops the Michael Bolton on us. Ouch. Nonetheless, the favorites are taking advantage of this chance to remind us where their wheelhouse is and what may carry them to the finals. In Mike's case, it will be the strong love songs, and he performs this very well. But the Bolton is a little heavy.
GRADE: B+
Andrew - Heard It Through The Grapevine - When Marvin Gaye sings this song he throws in falsettos and Andrew doesn't make the mistake of falling into those traps. It may make him look more safe, but he doesn't miss notes he can't hope to hit. The dancing without the guitar shows why he uses the guitar. To hide his active hands. The performance was solid but the movements drop this from a B.
GRADE: C+
Katie - Big Girls Don't Cry - It's cute that the older contestants are picking older legendary songs and the younguns are picking cheesy crap from their lifetimes. This song from Fergie annoys me on the radio because it is incredibly whiny. I'll give Katie credit for knowing her voice matches Fergie's on the verses, but she changes the chorus and makes it awful. Too contemporary and makes her pale in comparison to a crappy original.
GRADE: D+
Casey - The Power of Love - This would be our third favorite and the third favorite to go right into his wheelhouse with an upbeat rock song with a great guitar riff. I was mildly surprised that he skipped out on the guitar solo, and he was not quite as perfect as he has been in the past. Nevertheless, he's clearly safe.
GRADE: B-
Didi - You're No Good - Speaking of old-fashioned sounding songs, Didi dusts off this old record and does nothing with the arrangement. Didi was not full of uncomfortable vibrato tonight the whole way through, which indicates that she cannot control it when she's nervous. This performance was very forgettable. Yawn.
GRADE: D
Siobhan - Superstition - I love the fact that Siobhan wears the dorkiest glasses and is totally like a real life version of She's All That, and then she comes out on stage with such a different set of looks. Tonight the look is crazy, but whatever. Siobhan did not pick an overdramatic song like last week and she was a little shouty but this was the female version of Adam Lambert all over again.
GRADE: B-
TOP PERFORMER - Crystal
BOTTOM 3 - Paige, Tim, Didi
GOING HOME - Paige
Lee - The Letter - This is an interesting song choice, because Lee has not shown off a guitar-free soulful side in this competition. This was a very entertaining performance to start the night and a good take on the song. By far his best performance in the competition. Kudos, this is impressive for someone who I thought might go home soon.
GRADE: B
Paige - Against All Odds - So Miley Cyrus tells you that you are pitchy, and you know you are pitchy, and then you come out and give such pitchyness that it looks like you don't really know you are pitchy. As Randy ended up saying, that was honestly terrible. She picks a god-awful song by an overrated artist that doesn't fit her voice. This should send her home.
GRADE: FAIL
Tim - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - The baseball slide across the stage was a nice touch, but clearly Time is forcing the angle a bit after telling us so in the video. Tim does not give a bad performance, but he almost goes too low in the chorus. He probably sounds much better than he is thanks to Paige. Wow to this guy making the tour.
GRADE: C-
Aaron - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - I don't like how he moves his mouth away from the microphone on the big notes and makes it a cutoff rather than hitting them. This came off as whiny and not a good fit because he was not quite as strong as the original and he changed nothing about the song. He's safe and let's hope the laryngitis and tonsilitis go away.
GRADE: C
Crystal - Me and Bobby McGee - Crystal goes back to the safety net or the sweet spot with a Joplin song this week. Her voice is basically set to be the next in the Joplin-Morseitte line of singers. This performance is safe, but the best of the finals so far and deserving of an A. Perfect performance really and the favorite continues to shine.
GRADE: A
Mike - When A Man Loves A Woman - Mike drops the Michael Bolton on us. Ouch. Nonetheless, the favorites are taking advantage of this chance to remind us where their wheelhouse is and what may carry them to the finals. In Mike's case, it will be the strong love songs, and he performs this very well. But the Bolton is a little heavy.
GRADE: B+
Andrew - Heard It Through The Grapevine - When Marvin Gaye sings this song he throws in falsettos and Andrew doesn't make the mistake of falling into those traps. It may make him look more safe, but he doesn't miss notes he can't hope to hit. The dancing without the guitar shows why he uses the guitar. To hide his active hands. The performance was solid but the movements drop this from a B.
GRADE: C+
Katie - Big Girls Don't Cry - It's cute that the older contestants are picking older legendary songs and the younguns are picking cheesy crap from their lifetimes. This song from Fergie annoys me on the radio because it is incredibly whiny. I'll give Katie credit for knowing her voice matches Fergie's on the verses, but she changes the chorus and makes it awful. Too contemporary and makes her pale in comparison to a crappy original.
GRADE: D+
Casey - The Power of Love - This would be our third favorite and the third favorite to go right into his wheelhouse with an upbeat rock song with a great guitar riff. I was mildly surprised that he skipped out on the guitar solo, and he was not quite as perfect as he has been in the past. Nevertheless, he's clearly safe.
GRADE: B-
Didi - You're No Good - Speaking of old-fashioned sounding songs, Didi dusts off this old record and does nothing with the arrangement. Didi was not full of uncomfortable vibrato tonight the whole way through, which indicates that she cannot control it when she's nervous. This performance was very forgettable. Yawn.
GRADE: D
Siobhan - Superstition - I love the fact that Siobhan wears the dorkiest glasses and is totally like a real life version of She's All That, and then she comes out on stage with such a different set of looks. Tonight the look is crazy, but whatever. Siobhan did not pick an overdramatic song like last week and she was a little shouty but this was the female version of Adam Lambert all over again.
GRADE: B-
TOP PERFORMER - Crystal
BOTTOM 3 - Paige, Tim, Didi
GOING HOME - Paige
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
American Idol 9 - The Cut to 11
Well I'd speak more about tonight's episode, but I hit it right on the head. This never seems to happen this season, but I was dead on both with each of the bottom three and Lacey going home. No save, but no surprise other than the contestant picks a song of choice to sing for the save rather than the poor song that got them booted. David Cook is awesome, the rocker chic was OK, but the last star performer was terribad and god-awful. Ick if that's music now.
THIS WEEK: 1/1
FINALS: 1/1
OVERALL: 5/13
THIS WEEK: 1/1
FINALS: 1/1
OVERALL: 5/13
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
American Idol 9 - Top 12
Let the finals begin! For this weird transition season between the Ellen years and the Simon and Paula years, American Idol hits their stride with the beginning of the stretch run. Only one goes home at a time now, which means there is room for a mistake, but only if you get bigger mistakes from someone else. Given the field, I will not be surprised to see some mediocrity leading right up until mid-May. Idol did the Beatles two years ago, and now they take on the other legendary band from the time The Rolling Stones. Let's see if they can ruin a rock legend!
Michael - Miss You - This is not a theme that favors Michael, but he throws some soul into this song and works with his falsetto to add some weird emphasis points. He ends up a bit out of breath with the fast pace at the end, but he hits some solid notes in the chorus. I think overall this is one of his weaker performances but not too bad. He's still better than half the field.
GRADE: C+
Didi - Play With Fire - Didi is looking sharp tonight, but she makes some serious faces to fit the words of the song and it makes her look incredibly overwrought and funny. This song was kind of a slow song to start with but she slows the pace a bit more I think. This turns into a serious ballad and the performance is good for her. If she keeps improving, she may have a chance to keep moving up the ladder.
GRADE: B
Casey - It's All Over Now - Casey is one of the few contestants who has the balls to do the Rolling Stones version of the song, and I don't think that's a mistake with this catalog. A solid performance and Casey can pull off the rocker look and vibe, plus he plays sweet guitar. This again was not his best but very good from a frontrunner. I do like the little bluesy feel towards the end of the song.
GRADE: B
Lacey - Ruby Tuesday - Lacey finally dings the fail outfit department, which is not a surprise honestly. Lacey has a weird kind of vibrato that comes off weak in this song. Plus racing through the last line of the chorus was the wrong choice for quirky. Lacey could be headed to the bottom three with this one.
GRADE: D
Andrew - Gimme Shelter - He dropped the guitar thankfully this week, which is a smart move. Mr. Garcia looks very sharp in the suit jacket and jeans. His glory note kind of faltered in the middle when I thought he would redeem the song. All in all this again was not terrible but not earth-shattering.
GRADE: C-
Katie - Wild Horses - The spotlight from behind is not a real good look for most people, including Katie. I don't know that she has any control over that though. She picked this song because the lyrics spoke to her...bullshit...she picked it because it is as melodramatic as the Stones get. This was a plain jane performance that was not terrible by any means but not moving her up either. I disagree with the judges, the changes to the song were not good.
GRADE: C-
Tim - Under My Thumb - Tim makes an interesting choice with a very jamaican sort of melody. I'm usually not a fan of reggae wannabes on Idol, but this was not too bad. Tim continues to improve but this was a very poor choice. However, he did not show off his vocals at all in a singing competition.
GRADE: D
Siobhan - Paint It Black - I am incredibly surprised by this song choice because anything on guitar hero is usually outside the realm of Idol. However, Siobhan makes the first verse a little dramatic, and the whole song goes from nasal to whiny. the screech at the end did not help, and I think this could put her in jeopardy no matter what the judges say. A good try but it kind of flopped. The judges lapped it up which is no surprise.
GRADE: D+
Lee - Beast of Burden - I think I realize why Lee is so unpalatable to me, and it's because he is a weaksauce version of Danny Gokey's voice. He kind of slurs through a lot of the liens and does not enunciate, making him sound poor. He did his thing and he did not make any terrible noises like other contestants, but he is the king of mediocrity.
GRADE: C
Paige - Honky Tonk Forever - Paige does not have a country voice or a rocker voice, and so this song comes off really cheesy from her. She sounds like a bad Mary J. Blige singing a country karaoke. She is squeaky and weak in places. I could not detect any real bad pitch, but I do not think this is what will bring her back from the brink.
GRADE: D
Aaron - Angie - Aaron picks a song right in his wheelhouse, at least as close as he can get. Aaron actually has good stage presence for his age, much better than The Archulator if we're comparing teen idols. This performance was just mediocre and safe. He's not going home, but he's not winning with these performances.
GRADE: C
Crystal - You Can't Always Get What You Want - Crystal put this song into her box, which is a Janis Joplin meets Alanis Morseitte (hence her song choices before the finals). She gave a good performance as usual but it doesn't send me shouting home for next week. We'll see what she does with a different theme.
GRADE: B
So we make it through week one and everyone moves toward the middle. Surprisingly, Casey moves back up to the leaderboard but Crystal and Mike are still right there. Kind of a hard call on who is going home, considering the only true flop of the night universally is the VFTW champion Tim. So we'll say they keep him around since the VFTW voting block is incredibly strong until the top 8.
TOP PERFORMER - Casey
BOTTOM 3 - Paige, Tim, Lacey
GOING HOME - Lacey
Michael - Miss You - This is not a theme that favors Michael, but he throws some soul into this song and works with his falsetto to add some weird emphasis points. He ends up a bit out of breath with the fast pace at the end, but he hits some solid notes in the chorus. I think overall this is one of his weaker performances but not too bad. He's still better than half the field.
GRADE: C+
Didi - Play With Fire - Didi is looking sharp tonight, but she makes some serious faces to fit the words of the song and it makes her look incredibly overwrought and funny. This song was kind of a slow song to start with but she slows the pace a bit more I think. This turns into a serious ballad and the performance is good for her. If she keeps improving, she may have a chance to keep moving up the ladder.
GRADE: B
Casey - It's All Over Now - Casey is one of the few contestants who has the balls to do the Rolling Stones version of the song, and I don't think that's a mistake with this catalog. A solid performance and Casey can pull off the rocker look and vibe, plus he plays sweet guitar. This again was not his best but very good from a frontrunner. I do like the little bluesy feel towards the end of the song.
GRADE: B
Lacey - Ruby Tuesday - Lacey finally dings the fail outfit department, which is not a surprise honestly. Lacey has a weird kind of vibrato that comes off weak in this song. Plus racing through the last line of the chorus was the wrong choice for quirky. Lacey could be headed to the bottom three with this one.
GRADE: D
Andrew - Gimme Shelter - He dropped the guitar thankfully this week, which is a smart move. Mr. Garcia looks very sharp in the suit jacket and jeans. His glory note kind of faltered in the middle when I thought he would redeem the song. All in all this again was not terrible but not earth-shattering.
GRADE: C-
Katie - Wild Horses - The spotlight from behind is not a real good look for most people, including Katie. I don't know that she has any control over that though. She picked this song because the lyrics spoke to her...bullshit...she picked it because it is as melodramatic as the Stones get. This was a plain jane performance that was not terrible by any means but not moving her up either. I disagree with the judges, the changes to the song were not good.
GRADE: C-
Tim - Under My Thumb - Tim makes an interesting choice with a very jamaican sort of melody. I'm usually not a fan of reggae wannabes on Idol, but this was not too bad. Tim continues to improve but this was a very poor choice. However, he did not show off his vocals at all in a singing competition.
GRADE: D
Siobhan - Paint It Black - I am incredibly surprised by this song choice because anything on guitar hero is usually outside the realm of Idol. However, Siobhan makes the first verse a little dramatic, and the whole song goes from nasal to whiny. the screech at the end did not help, and I think this could put her in jeopardy no matter what the judges say. A good try but it kind of flopped. The judges lapped it up which is no surprise.
GRADE: D+
Lee - Beast of Burden - I think I realize why Lee is so unpalatable to me, and it's because he is a weaksauce version of Danny Gokey's voice. He kind of slurs through a lot of the liens and does not enunciate, making him sound poor. He did his thing and he did not make any terrible noises like other contestants, but he is the king of mediocrity.
GRADE: C
Paige - Honky Tonk Forever - Paige does not have a country voice or a rocker voice, and so this song comes off really cheesy from her. She sounds like a bad Mary J. Blige singing a country karaoke. She is squeaky and weak in places. I could not detect any real bad pitch, but I do not think this is what will bring her back from the brink.
GRADE: D
Aaron - Angie - Aaron picks a song right in his wheelhouse, at least as close as he can get. Aaron actually has good stage presence for his age, much better than The Archulator if we're comparing teen idols. This performance was just mediocre and safe. He's not going home, but he's not winning with these performances.
GRADE: C
Crystal - You Can't Always Get What You Want - Crystal put this song into her box, which is a Janis Joplin meets Alanis Morseitte (hence her song choices before the finals). She gave a good performance as usual but it doesn't send me shouting home for next week. We'll see what she does with a different theme.
GRADE: B
So we make it through week one and everyone moves toward the middle. Surprisingly, Casey moves back up to the leaderboard but Crystal and Mike are still right there. Kind of a hard call on who is going home, considering the only true flop of the night universally is the VFTW champion Tim. So we'll say they keep him around since the VFTW voting block is incredibly strong until the top 8.
TOP PERFORMER - Casey
BOTTOM 3 - Paige, Tim, Lacey
GOING HOME - Lacey
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Handicapping the "Top" 12 in American Idol 9
Well we've taken out lumps in the predictions and we've collated all the grades together thus far. Let's see who should be lasting much longer, and who is lucky to still be here (a bunch). From worst to my pick for champion, here's the handicapped Top 12 of American Idol 9.
12. Tim - F/D/C
Can't fault a former reject for making the most of his opportunity, and he has been improving. However, he was left out for a reason and is only really riding on his likeability plus VFTW, which is a strong voting block that may have him around another month.
11. Didi - D/F/C
Didi and Todrick were the two I thought were going home going into the Top 16, but both rocked and it saved Didi. However, she's been consistently bad and boring and probably is a favorite to go home in the first week of the finals.
10. Lee - C/D/D
The judges say he's got the best voice in the guys, but I'm not buying it. Have they heard Michael? This guy is so overrated and should be headed home before the tour unless he improves drastically.
9. Paige - C/C/F
Hovering around mediocre until last week, Paige is not impressing despite her clear vocal chops. But this is not a potential contest, it's a singing contest. And she's not doing well in that department.
8. Katie - B/C/D
Another person who should have gone home because she's not improving. However, someone will get a long reprieve and I feel like jamming the fact that's she's 16 down our throats will make people vote for her.
7. Lacey - C/D/C
Yes the girls are clearly better as they fight for the bottom six spots again in the top 12. Lacey may go a lot sooner than this assuming the no talent buttclowns beneath her on the list get some pity votes like they have so far.
6. Andrew - B/B/C
Another guy who may go home a little earlier than I put him on the list, but he's in the middle because he was the early leader of the pack and perhaps can recapture the magic. He should be safe for a little while longer, but once we get down to 7-8 he will need to be on his game every week and I do not think he can be. Minimal chance of a winner here, but that's better than the last six. (1%)
5. Siobhan - B/B/B
The girl with the nosering and the interesting faces should land right here. She is clearly better than the bottom six on this list, but does not compare to the top 4. So if fate has any justice, she will end up here in all likelihood as a good outside the box contestant. Very very outside shot she makes it to the top. (3%)
4. Aaron - B/D/C
Let's face it, this kid is Archuleta. I don't like him, but he's one of four people with a real shot to take home the crown. Just like Kris Allen and David Archuleta knocked out truly talented artists out, Aaron has the tweentard favorite feel and that could pump him to the final 2 and maybe the championship. However, he is the least deserving of the top 4. (10%)
3. Casey - A/B/B
Now we get to the interesting trio of true frontrunners. I've been a little too generous in looking back on these grades, although Casey has had the best performance of anybody still here. Nevertheless, Casey is kind of fading a bit compared to the other two and I just think he's a bit too rocker and a bit too slick to ride the heels of David Cook. He is probably the most marketable of the lot, but I'll give him a 20% chance of win.
2. Michael - B/B/B
Now I suspect this will likely be the favorite of most of America, but when has the favorite going into the semifinals or finals ever actually won? Second place is usually where the Archulators and Glamberts end up. So we'll play it safe and say while he's probably a 80% chance for the finals, he is less likely to win (25%).
1. Crystal - C/B/B
I've graded her harshly, and I do not like her look. However, she was clearly head and shoulders above the girls, which has helped her stand out while the top guys have been fighting for attention. I think this will give her the boost she needs to be our most likely winner, although there's no doubt the three better-looking contestants beneath her could drop her as low as fourth. (40%)
So there you go. It will not work out this way, but I suspect the top 4 is pretty solid to be 3/4 right at a minimum. Lots of slackers in this top 12.
12. Tim - F/D/C
Can't fault a former reject for making the most of his opportunity, and he has been improving. However, he was left out for a reason and is only really riding on his likeability plus VFTW, which is a strong voting block that may have him around another month.
11. Didi - D/F/C
Didi and Todrick were the two I thought were going home going into the Top 16, but both rocked and it saved Didi. However, she's been consistently bad and boring and probably is a favorite to go home in the first week of the finals.
10. Lee - C/D/D
The judges say he's got the best voice in the guys, but I'm not buying it. Have they heard Michael? This guy is so overrated and should be headed home before the tour unless he improves drastically.
9. Paige - C/C/F
Hovering around mediocre until last week, Paige is not impressing despite her clear vocal chops. But this is not a potential contest, it's a singing contest. And she's not doing well in that department.
8. Katie - B/C/D
Another person who should have gone home because she's not improving. However, someone will get a long reprieve and I feel like jamming the fact that's she's 16 down our throats will make people vote for her.
7. Lacey - C/D/C
Yes the girls are clearly better as they fight for the bottom six spots again in the top 12. Lacey may go a lot sooner than this assuming the no talent buttclowns beneath her on the list get some pity votes like they have so far.
6. Andrew - B/B/C
Another guy who may go home a little earlier than I put him on the list, but he's in the middle because he was the early leader of the pack and perhaps can recapture the magic. He should be safe for a little while longer, but once we get down to 7-8 he will need to be on his game every week and I do not think he can be. Minimal chance of a winner here, but that's better than the last six. (1%)
5. Siobhan - B/B/B
The girl with the nosering and the interesting faces should land right here. She is clearly better than the bottom six on this list, but does not compare to the top 4. So if fate has any justice, she will end up here in all likelihood as a good outside the box contestant. Very very outside shot she makes it to the top. (3%)
4. Aaron - B/D/C
Let's face it, this kid is Archuleta. I don't like him, but he's one of four people with a real shot to take home the crown. Just like Kris Allen and David Archuleta knocked out truly talented artists out, Aaron has the tweentard favorite feel and that could pump him to the final 2 and maybe the championship. However, he is the least deserving of the top 4. (10%)
3. Casey - A/B/B
Now we get to the interesting trio of true frontrunners. I've been a little too generous in looking back on these grades, although Casey has had the best performance of anybody still here. Nevertheless, Casey is kind of fading a bit compared to the other two and I just think he's a bit too rocker and a bit too slick to ride the heels of David Cook. He is probably the most marketable of the lot, but I'll give him a 20% chance of win.
2. Michael - B/B/B
Now I suspect this will likely be the favorite of most of America, but when has the favorite going into the semifinals or finals ever actually won? Second place is usually where the Archulators and Glamberts end up. So we'll play it safe and say while he's probably a 80% chance for the finals, he is less likely to win (25%).
1. Crystal - C/B/B
I've graded her harshly, and I do not like her look. However, she was clearly head and shoulders above the girls, which has helped her stand out while the top guys have been fighting for attention. I think this will give her the boost she needs to be our most likely winner, although there's no doubt the three better-looking contestants beneath her could drop her as low as fourth. (40%)
So there you go. It will not work out this way, but I suspect the top 4 is pretty solid to be 3/4 right at a minimum. Lots of slackers in this top 12.
American Idol 9 - The Cut To 12
The vicious cuts come and go. And what do we have here, but both worsters are through. Paige going through was a huge shock as I thought she's sucked ever since she stepped into Hollywood. So we lose Katelyn, which is not a massive loss but still surprising. I was hoping my Lee pick proved America follows good logic, but unfortunately Todrick (who got one of only two A grades in the entire semifinals this week) goes home. Casey James was the other who got an A, so watch out now.
In the second half of the show, no surprises as Alex and Katie made their way out the door. I loved when after THREE WEEKS of major exposure, apparently we haven't seen all The Mullet can do. Ahh, goodbye Mullet. We'll miss you, but not much. OH WAIT...no no no, I wrote that last line too early. As America shocked even more than saving Paige by saving Katie. Are you serious America? Is this who you want to listen to every week? Good lord, we have at least six-eight weeks left of getting rid of chaff, and that's if everything goes right. Adieu creepy homeless chick and todrick the dancer, you did not deserve your fate.
THIS WEEK: 1/4
SEMIFINALS: 4/12
OVERALL: 4/12
In the second half of the show, no surprises as Alex and Katie made their way out the door. I loved when after THREE WEEKS of major exposure, apparently we haven't seen all The Mullet can do. Ahh, goodbye Mullet. We'll miss you, but not much. OH WAIT...no no no, I wrote that last line too early. As America shocked even more than saving Paige by saving Katie. Are you serious America? Is this who you want to listen to every week? Good lord, we have at least six-eight weeks left of getting rid of chaff, and that's if everything goes right. Adieu creepy homeless chick and todrick the dancer, you did not deserve your fate.
THIS WEEK: 1/4
SEMIFINALS: 4/12
OVERALL: 4/12
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