Satisfaction came with the last singer.

Barack Obama promised he would bring change to America, unfortunately for Idol fans that change meant a day delayed performance episode. So not only does this group of 12 get an extra week to rehearse their songs, they get a bonus day. Therefore, we could expect better singing than last week right? Several additional questions surround tonight’s episode. Will Adam be too theater? Will Jasmine continue her steady rise to the Top 5? Will Idol security recognize Jeanine and let her in the building? Will Matt perform well without a piano? Will Megan sing a contemporary song? Will Kai lose his voice this week? Will Norman make an appearance? Finally, can Idol possibly make it through an entire night without talking about Danny?

Ryan is dressed Friday casual tonight. He asks us where else we can find a welder, a font designer, and a comedian all on the verge of stardom…American Idol of course. Alexis, Michael, and Danny are in the audience. At least they let Alexis and Michael come with Danny. Randy says this group has an advantage because they could watch the contestants last week. Kara says they must do their best because there are no second chances. Really? Does that mean the Wild Card show has been cancelled? Just once I’d like one of the judges to say something useful during the friendly banter portion that always begins each episode. Paula hopes they picked the right song. Simon, sitting on the other end of the judges’ table says it’s too late for advice now. Barring a last second costume change, Norman has left the building. Adam, just like Danny last week, gets the pimp spot.

Jasmine Murray – Love Song

She is only 17, but comes across as much older. She watched last season with her mother, yet never pictured herself on the show. She survived Hollywood Week by never losing focus. She is singing a currently popular song that does not provide a ton of vocal range. This could be tricky. Anytime you sing a song people have heard recently on the radio they are going to compare you to the actual artist, so you better be perfect or original. She is having a little trouble with the lower notes at the beginning. She completely misses a note in the second verse. For the first time this season she looks her age. Megan is having a ball dancing on the balcony. The performance picks up some momentum in the second half, but she is trying too hard to interject emotion into a relatively tame song. She hits a really nice note at the end, but this is too little too late. What a waste. She has one of the best voices this season and she, like so many others before her, picked the wrong song. I cannot imagine Simon giving her rave reviews. Randy says there were some good and bad moments, but it was pitchy all the way throughout. He says she tried to make too much out of as simple melody. Kara says the song was all over the place and started too low. It was not best performance. Paula agrees with Paula and Kara. She thinks Jasmine went off pitch when she tried to sing around the melody. Simon is disappointed because he really likes her, but thinks she is a couple of years too early. He doesn’t think she is ready yet. Jasmine says she had a great time. She is a little surprised on the judges’ feedback. Randy isn’t sure she deserves a spot in the Top 12. Jasmine gives her best fake smile while Ryan gives her numbers. Why didn’t she go up to the red room? Her mother and friend are sitting in the audience, so she isn’t family less like some people last week. Maybe the red room is no more after Ann Marie’s near FCC fine worthy moment.

Matt Giraud – Viva La Vida

He was thrilled to finally play the piano in front of the judges during Hollywood Week. Unfortunately he has to make the Top 12 if he wants to repeat this surreal moment. Like Jasmine he is singing a currently popular song, but he wants to give the white boy rock song a soulful twist. Yeah, nothing bad could happen here right? If by soulful twist he means missing notes, not sustaining the notes he actually hits, and adding unnecessary riffs, then he is succeeding. This makes Jasmine look like Josh Groban. The very basic musical arrangement is not helping Matt. Halfway through the song he completely misses the falsetto note. Even if he could hit all the right notes, which is highly unlikely, this song would not work without Coldplay’s wall of sound. This is most likely the worst performance tonight; suddenly Jasmine looks pretty good. Matt what were you thinking? Every run seems unnecessary and indulgent. Maybe white boy rock sounds are supposed to be riff free. When he finishes his performance he looks equal parts disappointed and mad. When someone fails this miserably, you wonder if they were doing it well all week and then choked when the show went live. Kara starts off the comments saying he blew her away in Hollywood, but tonight she is not blown away. She wonders why he picked a song that doesn’t lend itself to soulful interpretation. Paula says Matt was one of her favorites and thinks his performance here was far better than his rehearsal. Good lord, that thing must have been really bad. Paula says she heard him bring what he brought to it – what? Simon goes a step further and says it was borderline horrible. He thinks the song choice was bad, and he performed it like a wannabe pop star. He likes his voice, but thinks he did the wrong thing. Randy, suddenly going last, says he is still pulling for Matt. He wants Matt to sing more difficult songs in the future. Matt says singing without the piano is a little different for him, but this is the type of song he wants to sing as an artist. Again, there is no red room appearance. Why don’t these contestants get the chance to show off their families in the red room? A conspiracy theorist might wonder if the red room interviews were there only to highlight the fact Danny’s wife was not in the red room.

Jeanine Vailes – This Love

Ryan reminds us Itunes has all of these songs available for download. For the first time we get to see a little of her personality. She also tripped out on the table when she earned her Top 36 acceptance. Oh geez, just like the first two she is singing a very recent song. While not as current as those, this is still a very recent, and stylized song. How will a girl sound singing a guy’s falsetto part? This could be another dangerous outing. She wastes no time going off pitch. She also quickly gets behind the melody. Is she really wearing jean shorts on stage? At least Meghan is enjoying it; she is dancing all out on the balcony. She still has not found the proper pitch. Adam looks pained as he listens. Wow, she totally misses a note leading into the bridge. This is possibly even worse than Matt. He was an early favorite, so the judges cut him some slack during their comments. Jeanine, a relative unknown, might be excoriated. Near the finish, she sings a very quiet riff instead of the lyrics; she is barely audible. Maybe she forgot the words and is trying to cover. One of her friends in the audience looks a little like Ugly Betty. Paula compliments Jeanine’s legs. Uh oh, anytime Paula leads off with your looks, you know she thinks you sang horribly. Paula then hands things off to Simon. He thinks it was terrible. He is dumbfounded with their song choices tonight. Simon says it was painful, a struggle, and completely the wrong song. He does however like her legs. Randy also likes the ‘hot’ legs. He loves the song, but thinks it was the wrong song for her; his favorite part was the end. Kara thinks the song was so overdone and struggles to find other body parts she likes on Jeanine. Everything about it was wrong she says. Kara slips in tonight’s first possible sexual comment about lips to Simon. Jeanine wanted to do more to prove that she belonged since she was under the radar. Randy says she needed to be in tune and Simon says she was better under the radar. Ryan also likes her legs. Right now Casey is wondering why she didn’t wear shorts when she sang. Not even Paula thinks Jeanine deserves a shot in the Top 12, neither does Kara. This is a first. Jeanine is playing the age card. Give me a chance because I’m old.

Nick ‘Norman’ Mitchell – And I’m Telling you

As they go to commercial for Jeanine, there is still no Norman. Nick could feel Simon’s hatred during his audition. For Nick, tonight is the opening ceremony of the Olympics – maybe the Special Olympics. Oh boy, during the introduction he changed into Norman. I guess there was a phone booth off stage. He starts off lying on the stairs and knocks on the wood set for luck. The camera shows two people I’m guessing are his parents. His mother looks amused, but his father is furious. No doubt he wanted a boy that likes football more than Liza Manelli. They show Norman’s father again and he is finally smiling and clapping. Norman is changing up the lyrics and missing more than a few notes. He can definitely sing better. He caresses the Idol sign while again lying on the floor. Randy and Kara are laughing. He hits a huge note while kneeling on the stage and then surprises everyone by ending the song with a spoken word instead of a power note. This is easily the strangest performance in Idol history. Some place Sanjaya is watching thinking ‘hey even I’m better than this guy.’ Can you imagine him working with a mentor in the character of Norman? Sir Paul this is Norman he is singing Hey Jude. Yeah that would go over real well. He gets the biggest ovation so far. Even Simon is laughing. He hopes he is speaking for America when he says he is praying Norman does not advance to the next round. He thinks it was one of the most atrocious performances ever on an Idol stage. He calls it horrific comedy. Norman says it takes one to know one and then does the Karate Kid crane kick. Randy calls the performance entertaining and funny. Kara says at least we will remember him and enjoyed him. She correctly notices Norman and Simon both always wear the same shirt. Paula says America comes in all different shapes and sizes and thinks Norman is a true performer. However, she is not sure if Idol is the right stage for Norman’s antics. Ryan says he liked the performance in a different way than Simon, and Simon says he could believe that. Ladies and gentleman our second sexually laced comment tonight. Ryan is spending more time talking about Norman than Norman sang. Norman says his 5 rehearsals went better than tonight; he knows he missed some notes. Ryan actually says Norman probably doesn’t deserve a spot in the Top 12. I think this is the first time Ryan ever gave his own opinion regarding a contestant’s fate.

Allison Irahita – Alone

Ryan is sitting in the red room next to Allison, who is only 16. She says Idol school is a little different because she is in only one room instead of a school. However, she doesn’t really say that, instead she rambles on for about 40 seconds trying to say it; she needs some more work on her verbal skills in the one room Idol school. She is singing a song Carrie Underwood made her own. Good luck with that one. Nerves plagued her during her audition, but all four judges liked her. The judges think she might be a dark horse.
She sounds good on the lower notes that begin the song. But no one really cares about this part; we are all waiting to see how she does on the big notes. She looks much older than her age while she sings. Somewhat surprisingly, she sounds really good on the big part. Adam is rocking out in the balcony while she rocks out on stage. This is the first performance tonight where the performer has real energy and isn’t trying to force the song onto the audience. Sure she isn’t singing it as well as Carrie did, but she is giving the song her own vibe. This girl has a little rock star buried somewhere under the red hair; easily best of the night so far. She looks pretty happy with her performance. Randy says the show is funny tonight. He says she just blew it out the box with one of the hottest tonight. Kara says Allison is serious and doesn’t even realize how good she is; with the right song she could have a hit on the radio. Paula says each year a contestant can sing the telephone book and calls Allison the best of the night. She liked the way Allison worked the microphone. Simon disagrees with Randy’s comment saying Allison might be the best because he thinks she is clearly the best by a Simon mile. He thinks she was boring in her interview with Ryan, and then turned into a different person when she started singing. He says she was great. Allison’s mother is thrilled with her little girl. Allison’s interviewing skills are reminiscent of Jason Castro, but she has the better voice. Barring another girl singing really well, she just made the Top 12.


Kris Allen – Man in the Mirror

Simon worried about Kris’s confidence when he auditioned. The Idol producers are selling him as the shy and humble guy. He wants to show the judges he has confidence. He has to be pretty sure of himself to attempt a classic Michael Jackson song. I wonder if he’ll do the spin and drop to his knees during the chorus. This is a very risky song choice. I hope he has a decent arrangement. He starts off the song in his lower voice. He alters a few notes from the original. Unfortunately, he has the stage presence of a tranquilized elk. He sounds good on the chorus, but this is all a little boring. By the halfway mark he finally gets into the song and tries to make it his own. He hits a big note and then alters the melody in the next verse; he is almost, but not quite pulling this off. Kris is a good singer, but like almost everyone else tonight, this is just not the right song. Maybe he should have worn a white glove. This isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. Kara thinks the back half was way better than the first half, but neither was as good as Hollywood Week. She says he picked the wrong song that didn’t show her the things she loved about him. Paula disagrees, saying Kris nailed the song. She thinks he was confident and charming. Simon agrees with Paula. He says there are much better male singers, like Danny (sigh), but he appreciates Kris’s effort. He thinks maybe he put himself back in the running. Randy wasn’t sure if Kris could perform without a guitar, until tonight. Kris seems relieved his singing duties are over when he talks with Ryan.

Megan Corkrey – Put Your Records On

Ryan sells Itunes for the second time. Megan is struggling being away from her son, but she knows this is a great opportunity. She is also singing a recent song. Does anyone in this group besides Kris listen to music from before last year? She is doing an odd hip twist thing while she sings. She is wearing a summery white dress that completely clashes with her massive right arm tattoo. It’s half southern belle, half rock star. She has a unique sound. She is giving the song her own interpretation, adding accents to certain words. She is almost getting too far away from the microphone. Near the end of the song she really breaks out and hits some really nice notes. This is anything but a carbon copy of the original. She finishes the song with a very pretty in tune note. This is so stylized I don’t know if the judges, or the voters will like it, but I’m pretty sure I did. Geez, Megan’s mom looks younger than she does. Paula thinks she picked the right song. She calls her beautiful interesting, hip, relevant, and did everything right. She loved her. Simon says she is a funny little thing. He thinks it started off really well, but then over sang the second half. Megan thought she rocked that part. Simon hopes America votes for her because she stands out, but he wishes the vocals were a little better. If this plea has the same effect it did on Michael Starver, then Megan just made the Top 12. Randy thinks she has the Duffy and Amy Whinehouse vibe. He says she did a nice job. Kara thinks Megan could be a break out artist with the right song and video. Meghan teaches Ryan her twisting back and forth dance move.

Matt Breitzke – If You Could Only See

We get to see Matt welding – take that roughneck boy! He is doing this for his family because they mean more to him than anything. He picked his song because it encapsulates true love. Matt’s voice simply does not match his body. He sounds pretty good, and is not missing any notes. However, he is not adding anything original to the song. Compared to Meghan’s originality, this feels very karaoke. Matt is this week’s Michael Sarver. Nice guy with a good, but not great voice, that has almost no stage presence. This is more boring than brilliant; a classic ‘so what’ performance. Matt’s kid is in the audience with his wife. Simon really likes Matt, but he absolutely hated the song. He is frustrated with the boring song and thinks Matt did himself no favors. Randy likes the song but thinks it was too boring. He wanted more edge and energy. Kara says the song didn’t show off his abilities. Even though he sang it well, the song didn’t show off any side of him. Paula, speaking last this time, says he sang every note in tune, but the song did not celebrate Matt. Ryan asks him if he would still sing this song, and he says yes because he loves this song. Well, the good news is you can listen to this song all you want after tomorrow night, because you are going home.

Jessie Langseth – Bette Davis Eyes

She is another single mom. These Idol contestants aren’t too big on birth control. Her struggles in Hollywood Week add fuel to her competitive fire. She is singing a song from the early 80s, which is so far the oldest song tonight. She starts the song using the microphone stand and singing in her lower register. She sounds good, finishing off the phrases with strong notes. She is picking up energy as she goes deeper into the song. Halfway through she takes the mic off the stand and moves around the stage. She isn’t really adding anything to the original, but she sounds pretty good. She has a sultry sound. Randy thinks it was an ok performance of a cool song, but he wasn’t blown out the box. He wanted something more exciting. Jessie asked him what he was looking for, and he says he wanted to see more range in her vocals. Kara likes her look and performance. She thinks she had some issues with a few notes, but had some really nice moments. Paula is captivated by Jessie; she likes her phrasing and coolness. Simon disagrees with Paula. He thinks Jessie if forgettable. Simon thinks she was too cool for school and isn’t sure if anyone will vote for her. Jessie is thrilled Randy answered her question.

Kai Kalama – What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

Like Kris, Kai needed to work on his confidence after his initial audition. He is going old school with a 60s song. If he can draw on those emotions he might give a great performance. He sounds pretty good, but his facial expressions look like a guy trying too hard to be entertaining. He has a few pitch problems, particularly at the end of phrases. Thankfully, he is adding a little of himself to the original, but not very much. He hits a nice note near the end and finishes strong. Kara asks Kai how it went and he says he felt like he did his best and had a lot of fun. She thinks he had some pitch issues, but gave it his all. She felt the song was a little too old fashioned. Paula thinks he sounded really good, except when he fell off pitch. If he works hard, she thinks he can do well. Simon says the performance was corny and viewable at any wedding across America. He thinks there was nothing memorable about the performance and suggests he becomes a back up singer. Randy says the performance was just too safe and not what he is looking for. Kai tells Ryan he is a contemporary guy even though he sings older songs.

Mishavonna Henson – Drops of Jupiter

Cut from Hollywood Week last season, she has spent the last year perfecting her art. She is singing a song from a male singer, just like Jeanine; hopefully her outing goes a little better. She promises not to let America down. From the very beginning, she changes up the original version; this is a more laid back arrangement. She sounds ok on the early part but this is flirting with boring. The song picks up a little steam halfway through, but its still in the ‘so what’ territory. She is trying her best to add some enthusiasm to an almost lost cause. Like Matt, she is singing well, but still manages to put people to sleep. This is becoming one of the most sub par Idol nights ever. Ok this is pretty boring and ‘so what,’ but maybe she can salvage things with a big power note to finish the song. Or maybe not; the last note was off pitch. You have the entire list of songs ever on Billboard at you disposal, and you choose Drops of Jupiter…sigh. Paula is a fan of her voice, but doesn’t understand the song choice. She thinks she sang it well. Simon says she is too serious, but something left him really cold about the performance. He thinks she acts like a 50 year old. He wanted her to act younger. Randy agrees with Simon that she acts too old. Kara likes the song, but wants her to loosen up a little. All the judges agree she sings well, but is really boring. Mishavonna promises if she gets through we’ll see the crazy. Sorry Mish, I don’t believe you, since you already broke your earlier promise that you wouldn’t let us down.

Adam Lambert - Satisfaction

He has been doing musical theater since he was 10 years old. During Hollywood Week Kara enlightened him that he wasn’t really connecting with the songs. He knows he has to make the songs more internal. He is going old school singing a Stones song. This song is going to feel odd with the canned music the contestants are using in this round. The first verse is extremely slow and nearly music free, and then it goes into its normal tempo. He has the most stage presence and he is adding a lot of himself to the original, adding a lot of higher notes and runs. He has a bluesy syncopated patch in the middle. Put a guitar next to Adam and a live band behind him and he could bring the house down. Unlike the other contestants tonight, his riffs feel organic and unforced. He goes all out on the final note. I’m sure Simon will find him indulgent, but I love it. Finally someone is willing to take a huge chance and not play things safe. All due respect to Danny, but this is the best of the season. Paula gives him a standing ovation. She doesn’t even have words to express how much she thinks she is watching an Adam Lambert concert. She says he is in a league of his own leaving the others in the rear view mirror. Simon thinks parts were excruciating bad, but loved other parts. Excruciatingly bad? Really? Simon saved some of his harshest comments for the night’s best performance. He predicts people will either love it or hate it, but thinks he’ll get through. Randy loved it. He thinks Adam is one of the most current artists they’ve ever had on the show. He cautions Adam to not over do things, but calls it the bomb. Kara calls his vocal technique and ability outrageous. She says he has crazy range. Adam tells Ryan he loves the Twilight books and movies. Congrats Adam, that just earned you the texts of millions of teenage girls. Adam is the first contestant this season to leave me with a ‘what will he do next’ feeling. I know some people might be scared by his over the top vocals, but this is a rock song – screaming is not only appreciated, it’s required! More than any other contestant Adam has the ‘wow’ factor. If they have an 80s hair bands theme night this season Adam is going to kill.

Final Thoughts

Jasmine still sounds like she picked a too safe song. Matt G. still sounds like a guy that should be playing piano and not singing. Jeanine still has great legs. Nick is still Norman. Allison is still Carrie-light. Kris is still full of unrealized potential. Megan is still fascinating. Matt B. is still a bar singer not worthy of the Top 12. Jessie is still sultry, but capable of much more. Kai is still boring but pleasant. Mishavonna is still forgettable. Adam is still the best tonight. Tonight was a reverse of last week; a few good performances wrapped in bad ones. Adam is guaranteed a spot in the Top 12. On the female side things get a little more complicated. Allison had the night’s best female vocals, the judges liked her, and she has really bright red hair. Therefore I think she makes the Top 12. The final spot, reserved for the next highest vote getter, is far more complicated. Jasmine and Matt G. were both early season favorites that under whelmed. Megan was quirky and interesting. Mishavonna and Kai were technically sound, yet boring. Norman was, well Norman was very special. Several people could win the coveted third sport, but I’m guessing it will be Megan. We know her back-story, she is a single mom, and she is very likeable. As much as I enjoy Norman’s antics, I hope he does not reach the Top 12. If he does, it might mark the beginning of the end for American Idol.

Say It Ain't So Anoop

Idol, unlike Dancing with the Stars usually makes its results shows relatively entertaining, but this is nothing more than 3 minutes of suspense crammed into an hour of television. With this new format, I wonder if they will have a cheesy yet awesome group number. If they do have group numbers, is the third group of 12 already working on their number? If they are already practicing they might actually be able to add in a little choreography greater in difficulty than the arm swaying we normally see. Last night Idol had 24,000,000 votes, more than 10,000,000 more at this time last year. The producers changed the format this season in large part to make the early rounds incredibly important; get in the top 3 or else. The new format certainly caused increased voting. Behind Ryan are three of the standard uncomfortable looking Idol stools. Randy was pleased with last night, but thinks several people faltered and lost their spots. Kara says a few people disappointed her, and then actually names everyone that did. This might be an Idol first. Simon usually will not list off several names of people that he did not like. Instead he’ll talk in generalities, or say ‘the other contestants.’ Randy would not list names because he cannot remember them; there is a reason he calls everyone ‘dog.’ And Paula is just too nice to call out the performance challenged individuals. Ryan makes the night’s first sexually related joke about what goes on after the show. Idol gets away with more loosely veiled sex talk than any show with the possible exception of Meet the Press. They show a clip package of how all the Idols reached this point in the show and Ricky gets more airtime than he had all season prior to last night. Here comes the first group number.

Michael, Anoop, and Brent start off the singing and they do not even try to harmonize. Danny, Stephen and Ricky take up the next part of the song and sound better by a Simon mile. Everyone joins in now. Casey, Ann Marie, and Tatiana are next up (they like groups of threes tonight) and much like the first group they do not sound good. Casey is still flailing around like a salmon trapped on a rock on its march upstream. Alexis, Stevie, and Jackie take over and sound about the same. When everyone sings they sound pretty decent. Idol attempts intricate chorography as the contestants form two circles, one inside the other, both moving. What do they think this is, So You Think You Can Dance? Maybe I shouldn’t be thinking about this, but what happens when Scott McIntyre is out there trying to dance and move around. Will he bring the cane on stage? Will he have a Seeing Eye dog helping? Will someone hold his arm the entire time, or maybe he’ll play the piano during the number so he has a reason not to move. Since he is such a hard worker he’ll probably do all the movement of the other Idol contestants, except even better. Amazingly, at the end of the number everyone keeps their arms in the ‘big finish’ position held over their heads. Good ol’ Bucky could never master holding his pose. He would always bring his band down the second he was done singing. Sometimes he would realize his mistake and put his hand back up; we miss you Bucky.

Back from commercial the Idols are seated on the couches while we get the video recap. Casey says she has had a lot of fun and doesn’t want it to end. She then pauses for a second and then her face turns ashen and she realizes the dream is already over. The recap does not bode well for Brent, who is grouped with Stephen, Casey, and Stevie. Ryan says Tatiana turned the night around. Ryan, did you forget she went second to last? Gee do you think they’ll put Danny in the pimp spot even in the recap? Of course! Ryan asks Jackie how she ranked herself last night. She gives herself a 91. Anoop says everyone is pretty relaxed until he finally admits he is very nervous. Tatiana has the crazy look back in her eyes. Stevie still cannot fathom the judges not liking her singing a song that embraces her youth. Casey is the first contestant to join Ryan at center stage. She says she has been better, but she agrees with the judges that she picked the wrong song. Randy still thinks she picked the wrong song and then didn’t perform it well. Casey is eliminated. This is about as shocking as finding an Illinois governor in prison. Stephen and his sweat soaked hands are next. Kara doesn’t think he did enough to stay in the competition. Like Casey, he is not in the Top 12. Alexis, who is so small she makes Ryan look like Yao Ming, is next. Paula says Alexis came out of her shell last night and her reward is a berth in the Top 12. Hippyneck dad is crying in the red room. Alexis has to sing the song again. Now pressure free, she might be even better this time. Her fellow contestants, who have to be dying inside, are surprisingly really into this performance. We never saw Alexis sit on her stool. Since it’s about 4 feet off the group I wonder if they had a little ladder at her disposal. Jackie and Ricky form the first twosome of the evening. Ricky is not in the Top 12 and neither is Jackie.

Anoop and Michael join Ryan. Wow Anoop is way taller than Michael, so I guess Michael is a mini roughneck. Uh oh, Michael gets in over Anoop. Anoop handles his rejection with elegance giving Michael a huge hug. Michael is overcome with emotion, but he has to sing again. I wonder if he will stop switching the microphone from hand to hand after Paula’s criticism. This is his first chance to show he can learn from his mistakes; he keeps the microphone in this right hand from start to finish. Turns out Anoop lost by only 20,000 votes. 24,000,000 cast and only 20,000 votes separated Anoop and Michael. Would it be wrong to make a joke about call centers in India right now? I mean really, couldn’t he have found some relatives to pick up the phone and text. A motivated 13-year-old female can send 20,000 texts in 2 hours. Heck, if every woman Wilt slept with voted Anoop would be safe. Maybe he can pull a Norm Coleman and demand a recount. I am saddened Noop-dog missed the cut, but in many ways it’s his own fault. People need motivation to dial and text, and a crappy song choice can sap the energy out of voters’ fingers. Michael sang a crowd-pleasing favorite, but he did not sing it as well as Bo or Elliott. If there are multiple Idol contestants that have performed the same song significantly better than you, do you really belong in the Top 12? People voted for Michael because of Simon’s plea to give him a second chance, not because he is one of the twelve best-undiscovered singers in America. Shame on you Simon; after lecturing America for 7 years that this is a singing competition and not a personality contest, he places personality over singing.

Ryan reveals the new Idol Experience at Disney World. All seven Idol winners came together for the first time and David and Carrie performed a duet. Ryan asks the next two contestants to come on stage and it’s Michael and Carly from Season 7. Right now there are people new to Idol that didn’t watch last season completely confused. “Hey who are these two, I don’t remember them singing last night.” They are singing the same song they sang on last season’s finale. Couldn’t they have learned a new song by now? Practice does make perfect though. Hey Idol group number participants, this is what harmonies sound like. Anoop, devastated from his elimination is visible behind Michael and Carly clapping his hands with about as much enthusiasm as a dead man walking.

Ryan has Brent, Ann Marie, and Stevie stand up, but he makes them stay in front of the couch. When you don’t even get the chance to walk down to be next to Ryan, you know you might be in some trouble. All three are eliminated, leaving only Danny and Tatiana. They make their way to center stage next to Ryan. Tatiana is on the verge of a melt down. Since Danny is guaranteed his spot in the Top 12, I think Idol is just freaking out the Danny fans hoping some of them are gullible enough o believe Tatiana could garner more votes than their favorite widow. This sense of fear will force them to vote for Danny every week for the reason of the season preventing an early eliminated. Danny’s glasses might be a bit too cool for such a down to earth guy. He advances and Tatiana becomes the first contestant to fall apart. Michael is singing along in the background. Oh boy. The camera just showed someone holding up a picture of Danny and his deceased wife. Seriously? Look, everyone feels horrible for Danny’s loss, but this is a singing competition, not a contest for the most tragic back-story. Sure, a lot of this is Idol trying to give him a storyline, but Danny is complicit. Last season David Cook’s brother was battling cancer, but the general public never heard his story. Cook wanted America’s votes because he was the best, not from sympathy. If Danny’s sob story continues as a major storyline some voters are going to face widow fatigue and vote for another contestant. Danny is adding a little more feeling tonight. Like Alexis, freed from the pressure of Tuesday night, he improves his performance.

The first result night brought only one major surprise. Anoop’s inability to join the Top 12 severely diminishes Ricky’s ability to earn a Wild Card entry; sadly one of them will probably be left behind. Idol is almost like a drama for the people that watch faithfully. The contestants are all characters with their own histories, and the Idol producers love dramatic histories. In the first three contestants in the Top 12 they have an all around good guy grieving widow, an all around good guy roughneck desperately trying to support his family, and an all around good girl young mother sacrificing time with her child to improve the lives. The only thing that might make them happier is if they could somehow get Captain Chesley Sully Sullenberger into the Top 12.

Get those texting fingers ready because Idol has officially begun!

America Idol goes through several phases before it reaches the Top 36. First comes the Candid Camera beginnings where we get to laugh at regular people acting like fools. Then the show does its best Big Brother impersonation during Hollywood week; drama is more important than the actual singing. Although enjoyable and still a ratings winner, Idol does not really take flight until America gets the right to vote (this must be what women felt like in 1919).

Ryan looks like a cross between Mr. Rogers and a frat boy with a collared shirt sticking through his v-neck sweater. I miss ‘I bought my cool tee shirt at a vintage clothing store’ Ryan; is it possible Ryan finally looks like a full grown adult this season? Tonight the show is completely live. I wonder if they are ready for a live show so early in the season before they figure out what they are doing. Ryan says the addition of Kara to the judging panel makes the 4-person desk look like the View. Funny joke Ryan, but since there are no male hosts on the View did you just say Simon and Randy look like dudettes? I guess Randy looks more like a girl than Star Jones. Kara looks super exciting to be on a show that will not be cancelled after two episodes. Do you think she stays up at night wondering why the “One” was not the one? She tells Ryan she is a little nervous, but like the contestants, she has to push the nerves aside and just “go for it.” Kara says she has been under the table, but before Randy and Simon make a sexually laced joke Ryan quickly segues to Paula. Paula sounds coherent tonight. Perhaps she found the right combinations of blue and red pills this season. Simon compliments Ryan’s Simonesque haircut and asks him if he has ever seen the movie Single White Female. I’m actually a little surprised with Simon’s movie reference; I can’t picture him sitting back and watching that movie. The contestants must select their songs from Billboard 100 hits since the beginning of time. So basically they can pick any song ever (at least the ones with cheap licensing fees). Ryan explains the new selection process for Season 8 and introduces the contestants. There are some interesting fashion choices, especially Jackie, who is also the first to sing.

Jackie Tohn – Little Less Conversation

She is an entertainer for a living. Ok here is a tip. If you are on a singing show, and they ask what you do, say you are a singer. She says she doesn’t think she has ever wanted anything as badly in her life, then quickly realizes how stupid that sounds and clarifies that she has NEVER wanted anything this badly. Her goal tonight is to get Ms. Abdul up on her feet. Jackie is going to win the award for most stupid comments in any introduction package. Her goal is not to sing or perform the best, no instead it’s to get the crazy judge who stands up for just about anything, to stand up. Way to set lofty expectations for yourself Jackie. Her song choice is very risky. If not done right this song can be extremely cheesy. She is wearing the worst fashion mistakes from the 50s and the 80s. Leather pants and a 'nurse print' shoulder less top do not exactly scream ‘singing superstar.’ The song’s beginning is a little sultry; maybe she will do the song as a sexual tease like Fever. After the first verse she counts in the band and the effect is under whelming. This is a karaokesque arrangement. This might sound decent with an electric guitar complimenting her voice, but instead she just gets an extremely boring organ player. Henceforth Jackie will be known as Pen girl. She has a lot of fun with the song, and changes up the style a few times adding a little gruffness, but this is not at all what I expected from Jackie. Are they not letting contestants use their instruments in this round? She does achieve her get Paula to dance goal. However, this performance is more silly good; her best ability might be her complete ease on stage. She doesn’t miss any notes, but there are so few pitch modulations in this song such an accomplishment is expected. Randy says although he wasn’t blown away, she was all good on the entertainment side. Kara tells her she can work a stage with her big personality, but agrees with Randy the vocals weren’t her best. Jackie says she wore her leather pants in honor of Randy’s Journey days. Paula has always loved Jackie and thinks she is a true performer, albeit not perfect tonight. Simon thinks her voice is good. However, he says she played the clown tonight, which brings about the first loud boos of Season 8. He predicts the voters will not like her very much tonight and fears she has blown her opportunity. Jackie’s parents are in the red room with Ryan and are extremely proud. Ryan is sitting next to Jackie’s dad. He leaves no room for Jackie to sit down and she has to tell her father to move over. Jackie feels great about her performance; she wanted to show she is a rocking entertainer instead of being a Dreamgirl. She pulls a Tatiania and gets in a little bit of a second song. If she advances to the Top 12 tomorrow night, she will do so based on her personality, not her singing.

Rickey Braddy – A Song For You

Of the still top secret contestants, Ricky has the most early buzz. He sits down with Ryan and recounts his evolution from a chicken finger cooking kinda guy into the next American Idol. He seems nice, but a little boring during his introduction. During his audition, which apparently took place in Dick Cheney’s old secret bunker, Randy said he had one of the best voices of any contestant. We finally hear him sing a little of his Hollywood final round solo; I guess Idol could not find 8 seconds in their 4 hours of programming last week to squeeze this in. He has a very nice voice with excellent tone quality. He could be Clay and Elliott’s love child. He sounds fantastic on the higher notes and pretty good on the lower ones. If he had any early exposure he could be as big a front-runner as Danny. Although his vocals are nearly perfect, the performance does tread a little too closely into boring territory. Will people pick up their phones and dial and text repeatedly for a technically proficient song devoid of showmanship? Randy says this is the start of Season 8 right here. He calls his tone unbelievable. Kara, who is way too close to the microphone says he killed the song. She is really impressed he handled such a hard song so effortlessly. Paula reminds him that he has received no screen time so far, but says he deserves to go very far on Idol. Simon isn’t jumping out of his chair. He thinks Rickey has a great voice, but is lacking the necessary charisma to win American Idol. He wants Rickey to have more confidence on stage. This is not surprising since his parents, Clay and Elliott, both struggled early on with stage prescence and confidence. Ricky says it was amazing singing with the best band in the world. All due respect to Ricky Minor and the band, but Mr. Braddy needs to listen to a little more music. His parents are wearing custom made “I’m in the Braddy Bunch” tee shirts. I feel a lawsuit in their near future. Ricky was in an impossible position tonight. If he picks a fast song to get the crowd energized, he probably cannot show off his vocal range. So instead he picks a difficult, vocally demanding song that bores Simon and probably some potential voters. He deserves a spot in the Top 12, but he is a longshot.

Alexis – Never Loved a Man

Ryan gives his first itunes commercial of Season 8! Alexis took the judges advice to heart and changed her image and her hair color. She has successfully ‘dirtied up’ her look. She is brave enough to tackle an Aretha song; nothing bad can happen when a petite white girl tries to cover an all time great right? She is wearing a simple black dress – Jackie take notes. She is putting a lot of spice into this song; her personality is shining through. Normally when someone sings an Aretha song they sound like someone trying to sing an Aretha song. Alexis’s performance is much more organic and original. She makes the song her own. She managed to do what neither Jackie nor Ricky could; she combined excellent vocals with a great performance. I can see a little Kelly Clarkson in Alexis. If she ever really figures out what she is doing she could advance into the last few Idol rounds. Randy says she ‘done found the dirt and soul. He is loving her right now after she worked it out. Kara says the genie is out of the bottle. She loves the ‘new girl’ that stepped out of her shell. Paula is amazed that so much soul, passion, and confidence comes out of such a cute petite girl. Simon says she is the best of the night by a mile. He believes she proved his point with Ricky; confidence on stage is essential. He compares her to Kelly Clarkson and says she is one to watch. Alexis’s dad and his girlfriend are sitting with Ryan. Her dad is half redneck and half hippy - hippyneck. Alexis feels like she is in a dream after such great judges’ comments.

Brent Keith - Hicktown

We have our first ‘live shows sometimes have big mistakes’ moment when instead of seeing Brent’s introduction we see a still picture of Stevie. Whoops. Ryan now has to fill a couple minutes of airtime and walks Brent down the stairs. He is about to do a mini interview when the clip is finally ready to air. Brent remembers how uncomfortable he was when Kara and Paula went under the table. Brent is ready to show us he is a good rocking country boy. He picked a fun upbeat song, which is probably his best style. The song is devoid of any chances to show off his voice. It is pleasant and fun, but this is the classic ‘so what’ performance. I fear every karaoke bar in America has someone singing in it this week that can match Brent’s singing. I am not familiar with this song, but I am pretty sure he isn’t radically altering the melody, which leaves us with a straight cover. Randy is happy Brent returned to his country roots. He thinks he combines old and new country and then makes some rambling comment about being at a chili cook off. Kara thinks Brent can do better by picking a soulful rangy song. She wants him to take more risks. Paula wants America to remember his auditions instead of this safe song choice. She can see him matching the success of Josh Gracin and Bucky Covington. Simon seems perplexed Bucky has found country music success. Simon thinks Brent’s song is forgettable and lacking impact. He thinks this was a blown opportunity, but Brent is happy with his performance because that is the type of music he wants to sing. Brent may be in serious trouble. He is joined in the red room with his wife. Unfortunately for him, the best way to advance to the Top 12 is a dead wife.

Stevie – You Belong With Me

Being the youngest contestant cannot be easy, especially when you auditioned with a song from 50 years prior. The judges have consistently told Stevie to stop singing like an 80 year old. Her goal tonight is to act young and bubbly. I think this is the first Taylor Swift song in Idol history. Taylor does not have the best voice, but she overcomes her shortcomings with a fantastic stage presence, but an Idol contestant without such skills could be in serious trouble. Stevie starts off the song totally off pitch. She looks like she is on her way to school. Seriously Alexis needs to sit down with the girls and explain how to dress properly. Wow, this is officially our first train wreck of Season 8. She cannot find the right pitch throughout the song, missing several notes badly. Her movements look more like nervous energy than ‘feeling the music.’ A fake smile is all Stevie can muster when she looks at the judges after the song. She has to know her dreams of making the Top 12 tomorrow night are officially over. Randy says, ‘yo alright yo alright Stevie man, yo wow wow wow.” Anytime Randy says more than one yo and wow, you know the contestant had some issues. He thinks she is a better singer than this performance; if she did this in the earlier rounds she wouldn’t have advanced so far. Kara thinks she picked a song that has nothing to do with her own life. She wanted a song that had something to do with Stevie as an artist. Paula thinks the song was too low and just not the right song. Simon thinks the other judges are too polite and calls the performance terrible. The crowd gives him a few quiet boos. Simon says at least she got to sing in front of 25 million people and get some experience, but he predicts she has no chance to advance further. Every contestant in the red room hugs Stevie. There is usually a direct correlation between hugs and how badly you sang. The worst you were, the more hugs you get on your way to the red couch. At least she has her mom and dad there to hug her as well. Ryan learns from his ‘sitting so close to the relative the contestant cannot sit down’ mistake from earlier and stands as he greets Stevie. Anoop, who is up next, is sitting next to Ryan looking very awkward. Stevie’s mom is confused. First the judges tell her to act younger, so she does, and then they don’t like the song choice. Let me explain Mrs. Wright. When they said sing a younger song, they did not say sing it like crap. Understand now? Ryan senses Stevie is about to burst into tears and goes right into the commercial break without asking her about her performance. Barring an invite to the Wild Card round, Stevie is done with American Idol.

Anoop – Angel of Mine

Anoop says he wants to bring energy to the stage. His goal is to sing all the songs he loves but hasn't heard in previous Idol seasons. And he starts his voting eligible run by singing a really slow ballad? How does this bring out the energy Anoop? What went through Anoop’s mind? Hey I’ve got great comments from the judges so far, have a ton of airtime already, a large group of fans, so the first chance they can vote for me I think I’ll do a boring song unlike any I’ve done so far that will confuse my adoring public. He sounds pretty good after a not so great start to the song. He is doing a fairly decent David Archuleta impersonation. Heck put three other guys around him and we have a new boy band. He ends on a nice little riff, but this is not what I was expecting from Anoop. During Hollywood week he pranced around the stage full of spunk, and now he is reaching his inner Archie. Paula is standing and pointing at Anoop. Randy likes that Anoop has a dog nickname as well. He is a huge fan of Anoop, but he thinks the entire song was a little sharp. This is not Anoop’s best. Kara agrees with Randy and isn’t sure Anoop nailed the riffs. She still likes him and believes he has great believability and potential. Paula says the best part about Anoop is his connection with America. She saw a little Brian McKnight in him tonight and hopes he will be here for awhile. Simon asks Anoop why he sang this song and Anoop says it was the first song that got him into R&B. Simon thinks it was a little too grown up and serious for Anoop. Noop-dog says the song is all about thanks. Simon wants the voters to forget about this song and remember what we all liked about him in the earlier rounds. Simon, despite his ability to destroy contestants, can be nice when he really likes a contestant (see Jackie) like Anoop. Ryan stands up and moves over so Anoop can sit down; he is finally getting the hang of couch seating. Anoop admits he might have been sharp but credits the band for making him and all the other contestants sound so good.

Casey Carlson – Every Little Thing

Before the break we learn Casey is going to sing a Police song. Someone call the cops we might have a murder by numbers situation; depending on the song, this could be extremely dangerous. Back from the commercial Ryan does his second itunes advertisement tonight. Idol inserts so many commercials into the show I wonder why they don’t just do it NASCAR style. Have all the contestants wear jumpsuits with patches all over their body from Coke, itunes, Ford, and all the other sponsors. Casey is from Minnesota and likes to wear hats while she works. To her credit she has never mention her bikini modeling and always wears church appropriate clothing; she wants to succeed on her singing ability, not her looks. Jordin Sparks is her favorite Idol... oh no she picked the worst possible song - Every Little Thing by the Police. This song derailed Chris Sligh a few seasons back and is very difficult to sing without sounding cheesy. Hopefully for her she is doing the slower version. Nope, she is doing the fast arrangement. From the very beginning this song choice is a mistake. She is missing pitches and phrasing the song awkwardly. But I think I understand her plan. She is making extremely weird movements with her face and eyes and hands, which is her attempt to distract us from her awful signing. She looks like Elaine dancing in Seinfeld. I’ve seen people in epileptic seizures move with more rhythm. This is shocking, because when I think white girls from Minnesota I automatically think of rhythm. This is our first high school talent show moment tonight. Every time she reaches the end of a verse she butchers the final note. Near the song’s end she hits a few nice notes demonstrating she can actually sing, but this is by far the night’s worst performance. Randy says it was kinda weird for him and completely wrong for her; it was karaokesque. The dog was lost. Kara says everything about that was wrong, leading to her and Randy singing that statement to the tune of the song. She wonders why Casey went near a Police song instead of a girly anthem. She also noticed the weird dancing. Unfortunately as a pretty girl, no one has ever let Casey know she dances like an animated cartoon character. Paula, as she often does when a pretty girl sounds horrible, immediately compliments her looks. She says the phrasing was weird and on such an iconic song she needed more. Simon asks her how things went tonight and she says she had fun. Simon is again being a little nice. He says she picked a horrible song that doesn’t tell us what type of artist she wants to be, but he didn’t mind the dancing and winking. Before Casey can hug the other contestants her mother embraces her with comforting reassurance. Ryan asks Casey in hindsight if she picked the right song. She says all the advice she was given about the song was dead on. So someone did tell her to pick a different song. Ryan forgets the new format of this season and Ryan hopes she gets another shot next week. Next week? You mean the Wild Card Ryan.

Michael Sarver – I Don’t Wanna Be

Maybe he should just go by the stage name Roughneck, which could be his name in the porn industry. He is singing a now Idol standard performed by Elliot, Bo, and Chris Richardson. He sounds ok, but adds a weird riff at the end of the first verse. For some reason he is constantly moving the microphone from his left hand to his right and then back again. He is switching it every few seconds. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone do that so often. Much like Brent earlier tonight, this is a typical bar band performance. He adds nothing new to the song and he doesn’t sing it as well as Gavin, so why should anyone care? He omits the falsetto note near the end. So he had one chance to show off his range, and he either could not, or did not. Randy heard a few pitch problems. He wanted a more soulful song. Kara says the song is great, but also doesn’t think he gave his best performance. Paula thinks he did a real good job and showed a different side of himself. She did find the constant microphone shifting a little distracting. Simon says this is a tricky one because Michael is so likeable and needs a break. He hopes America picks up the phone and gives Michael another shot. What? Am I really hearing this come from Simon? The guy who for years reminds the other judges that this is a singing competition now wants people to vote based only on likeability? Joining Michael in the red room is his not dead wife. Ok note to married contestants – tell your wives to stay at home because it makes Danny’s story more and more tragic. Based on his singing tonight, Michael should not advance, but based on his likeability he just might.

Ann Marie – Natural Woman

She is a waitress and demo singer looking for her inner star. Uh oh, like Alexis, she is daring to go where few return – the land of Aretha. After Kelly Clarkson’s amazing performance, this song should have been officially retired from Idol. Ann Marie is lightly knocking on the door when instead she should be crashing through with a battering ram. She looks nervous and shy on stage. Her vocals are decent, but timid; her voice is just not thick enough to pull this off. Near the end of the song she finally adds a little of herself to the song and ends on a huge note. If she sang the entire song like this maybe it would work, but she didn’t. Randy gives her more than one yo, and says this is not the right song choice. He thinks she fell below some previous Idol versions of this classic song. Kara says to sing this song you have to kill it. She wants her to sing something more current, like Love Song. Ann Marie says ‘you mean something not as good.” So I guess Sara Barellis is not making an appearance on Idol this season. Nice job Ann Marie. Paula thinks Ann Marie has improved since Hollywood week by taking a big risk tonight. Simon compares her to the best hotel singer in California. He does not think her voice is good enough for the song. He says it was old fashioned and irrelevant. Casey gives Ann Marie a huge ‘hey you were better than me hug.’ Ann Marie gets to the couch and lands with a thud, to which she says, “I sat on the hard part.” Ryan tries not to laugh at her unintentional innuendo. To complicate matters she next says, “I just sat on a big piece of wood and it hurt.” Ryan is dumbfounded and holding back laughter. Instead of asking her about her performance, he quickly goes to break before Idol gets a massive FCC fine.

Stephen Fowler – Rock With You

This season’s most famous lyric forgetter promises he knows all the words tonight. He had never been so upset with himself when he forgot his lyrics during Hollywood week. Uh oh, he is singing a classic Michael Jackson song. He is off pitch already in the first verse. This is a pretty cheestastic musical arrangement. He sounds pretty decent, but his few additional riffs in the song feel out of place. His voice struggles a few times on the higher notes, but those notes are his best chance to show off his voice. He finishes the song on a whimper. Randy is confused again. He does not understand why Stephen picked this ‘joint.’ He thinks he was underneath most of the notes. Kara wishes he sang with the piano (are they even allowed to in this round). Stephen says he still isn’t comfortable singing without his instrument. Paula is glad he remembered the lyrics tonight, but thinks he could have done better by singing the song he forgot in Hollywood. She thinks this song belongs to Michael and only Michael. Simon wishes Stephen forgot the lyrics tonight. In a ‘you are obviously going home’ moment, NO ONE in the crowd boos. Not a single person disagrees with Simon. Ouch! Simon calls out the awful musical arrangement. He thinks the last 10 seconds of the song were decent, but the rest was corny. At least Stephen isn’t flaunting his wife in front of Danny, but regardless, he is packing his bags and going home tomorrow night.

Tatitanic - Saving All My Love

She is relatively sane in her introduction video. She is stupidly singing a Whitney song (will these people ever learn)? She is subtle at the song’s start, which is a little surprising. When her voice gets big she actually sounds really good. Near the end of the chorus she encounters a few pitch problems. This is another bad musical arrangement with an organ playing random notes. Sure she is missing a few notes, but overall this is a far better performance than I could have expected. She hits a very pretty note near the end, but short changed the lyrics to pull it off. The crowd begrudgingly gives her a standing ovation. Randy was ready for this to be rough, but he heard some ‘you can actually sing’ moments. There were “moments.” Kara says Tatitanic is like a roller coaster. She doesn’t know where Tat fits in the music industry. Tatitanic says she fits in everywhere. Paula thinks Tatiana is the most talked about Idol contestant this season. Despite a few pitchy moments, she thinks Tatiana (she isn’t a disaster tonight) was pretty good. All the judges are confused and want the crazy Tatiana back. Simon calls her a drama queen that wants fame more than anyone else. Tatiana says she is just trying to market herself professionally. He is surprised she wasn’t bad at all, but wants her to return to her crazy self. Simon wants her to do the weird laugh and then all the judges do their best Tatiana laugh impersonation; very rude, but also very funny. Ryan asks her what is the real Tatiana. She says she is a multi faceted woman. After Ryan finishes with her she interrupts Ryan so she can say, “Thank you America, please vote this is my dream and its up to you to keep it alive, so thank you.” Someone off camera, I think Randy says, “there you go” as the crazy Tatiana returns for a brief moment.

Danny “my wife is dead” Gokey - Hero

The chosen one is finally here. Wow Danny’s wife passed away, I had no idea. I wish Idol told me this earlier in the season. He is a music director of a church and seems to be hinting at his faith, but never comes out and proselytizes. He has the David Archuleta hand of emotion in full effect. His somewhat rough voice is a departure from every other contestant. He probably has the most unique sounding voice this season. Paula is a fan as she jumps up for no reason in the song’s second verse. His transition to the bridge is a little awkward, but that might be more the song’s arrangement than his singing. Danny sounds good, but a few times the song sounds as if it will swallow his somewhat limited vocal range. This is a really good performance, but I am guessing the judges will laud it with undue praise as though he just had an ‘Idol moment.’ I can already hear Paula and Kara screaming. Jamar is in the audience; he doesn’t look happy. Randy says Danny was blazing hot and redeemed the night. Kara calls him a hero and says he gives them all hope. Paula predicts sold-out arenas for Danny. Simon thinks the performance was good, but not fantastic. He is not yet buying the Danny hype. At least he admits that they do hype contestants; that might be a first. Danny says he pictured people coming out of rough situations while he was singing. Gee do you think he’ll be safe this week?

Final Thoughts

During the recaps, Jackie still looks silly. Ricky sounds better than Danny. Alexis is still impressive. Brent still belongs in a country bar not on Idol. Stevie is still a train wreck. Anoop is still too boring. Casey is a plane crashing into two trains colliding during an earthquake. Michael is still hoping people vote based on personality. Ann Marie is still singing a song that is too big. Stephen is still making a big mistake. Tatianna is still sounding pretty darn good. Danny is still over hyped. Ryan implores the voters to call and text for their favorite contestants. After an outstanding start, the show hit a massive lull in the middle and then finished pretty strong. Several contestants picked the absolute worst songs tonight. I wonder if the other contestants in the later rounds still have the chance to change their song choice. If so, then going in the first group makes singing much more difficult, especially for the younger less experienced contestants. Danny is clearly advancing, and based on tonight’s singing, Alexis should be tagging along. The final spot in the Top 12 could go to a few different people. Michael, Tatianna, and Anoop should all be in the running, but in the end I think Noop-dog gets the golden ticket. Jackie, Michael, Ricky, and Tatianna all have a decent chance at a wild card invite in a few weeks.

What happens when America's favorite show alters its format to more closely resemble the way they did things four seasons prior? Well, we are about to find out. America has more power than ever to select the top 12 finalist. Idol used to entrust the voters with only the 24 best-undiscovered singers, but now it’s 36. There are of course the requisite random people we've never actually heard sing. Sometimes these people are Bo Bice, but all too often they are Garrett Haley.

One possibly interesting outcome from the modified selection process is the near elimination of the gender equity requirements previously seen in the Top 12. Although the top male and female vote getters advance from the three groups of 12, the third highest vote getter also advance regardless of gender. Assuming the Wild Card round is gender neutral, as in previous seasons, the Top 12 could have as few as 3 females or males. However, the invisible hand of Idol fate will most assuredly ensure a more balanced outcome.

The Best

What will happen during the first week of competition? A simple one-name prediction – DANNY! A Danny video introduction sans the story of his deceased wife is almost inconceivable. Perhaps the only concern for Danny is the over hype factor that plagued former contestants like Melinda Doolittle, Justin Guarini, and the chosen one David Archuleta. After 5 or 6 weeks America finally discovers Idol is trying to lead it in a certain direction and rebels. Sure Danny is likeable and his back-story is inspiring, but how much until the voters say enough already. Will loveable but eliminated Jamar Rogers (I’m predicting he will return Carmen Rasmusen style for the Wild Card) be sitting in the audience with the “Danny’s family and friends” written under his pierced face? Just once I’d like the camera to show a group in the audience that looks apoplectic with a caption under them reading, “Danny’s mortal enemies.” Since Danny is already in the Top 12, who else will be joining America’s favorite widower?

The Guys

Unfortunately for the other guys, they must come in no lower than third to keep their dreams alive. Such a lofty position automatically eliminates Brent Keith and Michael Sarver. Both are likeable and talented, but they should cancel each other out. Brent is the more polished performer, Michael has the better back-story, and either could be this season’s Phil Stacey in the old format. At least one of them will be back for the Wild Card. For many Idol fans, Stephen Fowler is the cocky guy that butchered the David Cook song; probably not the memory you want going into the first voting round. Based on his limited exposure, he has a good voice and playing the piano should earn him some bonus points, but he just doesn’t have the ‘it’ factor (not unlike previous contestant Brandon Rogers). Ricky Braddy is a wild card, literally. Perhaps his solo songs came with too high a licensing fee, but why not show a moment of his group performance? Paula is telling everyone who will listen how much she loves Ricky, but remember, she does not have the best track record with her early favorites (see Corey Clark). Even if Ricky is the next Elvis, the chances of him overcoming his anonymity in one performance to rise into the top three is unlikely. However, based on the Paula love, he is guaranteed a Wild Card spot. The last guy is also the most likely recipient of the coveted third place trophy – Anoop. He sings like he is the 5th member of Boyz II Men and has a goofy loveable charm to his presentation. America loves extremely talented, yet humble contestants, he has been featured numerous times in the early rounds, and he wrote a thesis on barbeque; combined these equal Top 12.

The Girls

By implementing its own version of Title IX, Idol guarantees Danny a female companion. All six female contestants have received both Audition and Hollywood airtime. In fact, these are some of the most well known females. Because Idol is taking the top vote getter, it makes the predicting a little easier. Someone like Casey or TaTianic (I’ve incorporated Titanic into Tatiana because she is also disaster) would survive if the bottom person was eliminated, but neither can amass the most votes. Tatitanic and Casey both fit into established Idol stereotypes: the annoying diva and the hot girl. People vote for the annoying diva in large part to annoy the judges, especially Simon (the annoying diva can also be a guy – Scott Savol) and they vote for the hot girl, well, because she is hot. However, these two stereotypes can advance only so far. Casey further hurt her chances when her bikini pictures were discovered on the Internet. There is nothing that annoys some girls more than when a good-looking girl embraces her inner hotness (insert meows here). Unlike the original ‘bikini-girl’, Casey has not flaunted her hotness on the show, but that will not stop some girls from holding a text-inhibiting grudge. TaTitanic could parlay a brilliant singing performance with the ‘keep her around because she is good entertainment votes’ and shock the world, but this is unlikely.

The other four girls could all reasonably end up in the Top 12. Ann Marie and Stevie are so far the same girl; attractive, talented, and maybe a little bit boring while they sing. The same voter that likes one should also like the other, which splits the vote and prevents either from advancing. Alexis is a little more complicated. She is this season’s Jennifer Hudson, if Jennifer was a foot shorter, white, and had pink hair. When Jennifer graced the Idol stage she had a massive voice, but no idea who she was as an artist and no ability to control her gift. She was like a rookie pitcher with a 98mph fastball and little accuracy. During every two-minute performance (the Circle of Life notwithstanding) Jennifer had moments of greatness juxtaposed with a few ‘oh geez’ notes. Alexis also has a big voice, but seemingly no idea how to harness it’s potential. I think she will pick a song that is too big for her and scream her way right out of this round; like Jennifer Hudson, she might return during the Wild Card. Therefore, your top female vote getter is Jackie Tohn. She is talented, likeable, attractive, and most importantly, knows who she is as an artist. She should be the most comfortable female on stage and leave the voters with the biggest smile on their collective face. The judges have been fans and should give her positive comments, unless of course she comes out singing a Whitney Houston song.

Advancing to the Top 12
Danny Gokey
Anoop Desai
Jackie Tohn