I've changed my mind about Danny Norriega after watching his video again - it's not Sanjaya he reminds me of, it's a 14-year-old "Valley Girl." Watch it , you'll see!

Enjoyed seeing the top 24, I love some of them already and am looking forward to a good season, some real sweeties there!
Josiah is a real artist and has potential but he's isolated himself way too much. He needs to hook up with some mellow band and work things out that way.
It bothers me that some of these young people pin soo many of their dreams on AI, as if there's no other route up for them, as if 'that's it' for good if they get rejected or the assumption that one peaks at 25 and it's an inevitable downhill slide from there. Sadly wrongheaded and history has proved that over and over. They need to expand their imagination for possibilities a bit. The industry is harsh but because of that there's no room for any kind of defeatism.

Wow. The show just ended so I thought I'd think out loud on here . While it's all still "fresh". I thought all the guys had better-than-good voices tonight - as best I could tell, it was all a matter of how the voice fit into the performance and/or the song they picked. I really liked the "Moon River" dude (Jason Yeager), for example. Great vocals, hard song. Nice, nice, (too) nice! BUT all wrong for this contest, I had to conclude. Thank goodness others were worse. I can't imagine that Luke being around long (but he sings well, too). Both of them were just so sedative-like - and that don't get votes. Chikezie was another one. *Yawn!* Colton was entirely (in my untrained opinion) terrible no matter how one wags a stick at it. Danny Noriega was OK, counterbalanced by being cocky and annoying. But I know how this "game" works by now: that little gnat will be around for a while, no matter what he does . But the good ones were awesome, I thought, big time! Save the best for last, eh? That Aussie Michael was incredible - did The Doors/"Light My Fire" proud. And he looks like an Idol, too, doesn't he? He was great. Two of the Davids were very good: the first one (Hernandez) nailed it but I'm not sure he'll last too long. I like him plenty ... but he seems like a puzzle up there with a piece or two missing, or something. The 17-year old David? He's fantastic (and is as likable as a kid can be to boot). I can see him going Top 5 (albeit too soon to really predict). Then there was my favorite, my personal "Best In Show". Jason with the guitar. That performance was bloody perfect, or so I considered it. Unaffected, original, pure and just plain phenomenal! I can especially say so 'cause, at my house, I always hated that "What a Day For a Daydream" junky tune. Now? I really really like it ! He is the kind of singer I historically enjoy watching. He makes you feel 'comfortable' as he effortlessly goes about doing what he does. He isn't very "flashy", though (unremarkable, Simon might say). Too bad. He was exceptional this evening.

And I might wake up tomorrow remembering it all differently . But that's what was in my head at the moment...

I do agree. The standard is far far higher than last time.
Outstanding , to me, were, not necessarily in that order, David Archiletta; Michael Johns, Jason Castro, Luke Menard and David Cook. I really liked both Davids best and am hoping that one of them wins. I am completely irritated already by Danny(yuk). All in all I found myself agreeing with Simon most of the time, Amazing talent all round though.

I must agree also. The "talent" factor is there with almost every one of the contestants. America is going to vote based on their song choice and their "star quality."
My favorites at this point are David Archiletta, Michael Johns, and Jason Castro (who I really didn't remember at all from any of the audition shows, but enjoyed last night.) Like you, Gats, I like David Hernandez' voice, but his personality just doesn't seem to fit. He is very comfortable when performing, but during the interviews just seems kind of like a deer caught in the headlights.
Danny and Colton are my definite irritants, but their voices are good and there are enough 12 year old girls voting to keep them in for a while.
PS There should be a rule that no contestants be able to have the same first name so we don't get them all mixed up! My goodness, between the 3 Davids and 2 Jasons I get confused! Thank goodness the girls all have very distinctive names, although 5 of them begin with the letter A!

NOT what I expected last evening (but I'm not sure I'm right - apparently the judges, Cowell specifically , wasn't watching the same singers as I was, here and there). To me, it was a total reverse of last year at this time when the women seemed twice as good as the men. This trip the ladies seemed a bit pale in comparison to the guys, in my opinion. Their voices were *again* better-than-good all-around, but the performances seemed so generic, kinda flat more often than I was expecting. This was especially disturbing, to me, since most of them picked such cool songs to sing, too. "Tobacco Road"? "Where The Boys Are"? "Little Piece Of My Heart"? This is excellent material, eh? Syesha did great (w/ "Tobacco"), Asia'h did even better with "Piece/Heart". Personally, I think Miss Amy needs to pack up and get going to "Where The Boys Went", given that lackluster rendition last night. Quite a lovely girl, though. A little Patsy Cline/Angelina Jolie-ish, I thought. Kristy, Joanne (who really should do better/grow with it, if she gets a chance), Amy (the second one; she's good ... but could use a few vitamins or more coffee, by the looks of things - not very 'peppy' up there) were good enough. I didn't know WHAT to make of my nurse/biker fave. I just adore that girl, she's such a great breath of fresh air (reminds me of Gina a while back). And I'm guessing that song she sang was very true to its roots, probably a classic, very venerated. I didn't care for it- but, who cares? I cared for the singer and the delivery of it bunches. I hope she catches on, if she hasn't already. Brooke, a fave of mine going in, seemed just "OK" last night. Good enough to advance, quite certainly. Great personality on that one.
Best of the Night (in my humble opinion)? Carly came very close. That young lady can sing like a pro already - and she is spot on consistent about it. However, for myself, the 'Wednesday Night Prize' goes to Ramiele. That "little" star knows JUST what she's doing. She picked a GREAT arrangement, sent it to the audience doing everything right (every gesture was perfect, vocal AND physical). And they were definitely cool shoes as well [and I hope she was the one who had them on - the fashion details I never remember/pay attention to right].

So. Anybody out there see it all differently? Probably so . Mr. Cowell and I didn't "match up" but on two of them, if I remember it correctly.
But, if I had to guess, I'd think Chikezie, Luke, Amy (the first one) and Kristy are good bets to be sent on their merry way tonight. But, who knows? I STILL remember what happened to Sundance last year ...

I don't post here very often, but always enjoy reading your reviews, Gats! I must agree, Ramiele was the star last night. As she was singing I could already see her as the winner. Way too early to say that, I know, but it was just the feeling I got as I listened and watched.

I didn't like Carly as much as you did, though. Not so much her singing as the arrangement of the song and what seemed to me to be some rather odd phrasing.

Hmmm. Well, I got one right who I predicted would be sent home, at least . Better than my ususal being completely wrong, yes? Joanne was on thin ice, though, in my opinion only because she played it too safe. I thought she could have done well in the contest (but taking the danger-free route in proving oneself on "American Idol" is pretty much NOT the best idea). The thing I was honestly happy to see was the eviction of the two guys. I suspect it proves that (at least in this first round of voting) America might have honestly learned something from last year/Sanjaya. Imagine it? An American (predominately) audience actually learning from their 'oopses' *wink*? But I basically assumed the kids would vote to keep in the kids, en masse and with NO regards to anything but the "kid" part. And *yay!*! It didn't, and shouldn't have, happened that way this time. Colton was pretty godawful on Tuesday night. He needed to go, Ellen Degeneres/cute-as-a-button lookalike or not. And I admit it: I figured Garrett would just coast through because he looked 12 and sang well enough to make nifty retro haircuts affordable (pretty scary, too, I have to say ... that boy is from Ohio AND has the same 'do I had [mine was ala Peter Frampton ~ NO idea where his came from] thirty years ago). The parallels were strong enough that I was quite satisfied that he got voted off early (nobody cut ME much slack for my conditioner obsession and/or unoriginal appearance in 1978; life is tough and Mr. Garrett might as well learn as much early on ). But, really, I think the votes reflected that people were really watching/listening this week and voted based on merit of the contestant. Not the "demographics" of said contestants.

Whew. Season 6 and Sanjaya, then, might have just been a "hiccup"? Hopefully not a chronic habit...

Well we do had the dreadful Danny still...
I was happy with the leavers too. There are some sensational performers this time. It is going to get really interesting.

I agree! I was very pleased with the results, especially for the guys. I really thought we would have to endure Colton for at least a few weeks, too. I figured it might be Luke or the "Moon River" Jason, just because their performances were less remarkable than some of the others.
I was pretty happy with the girls, too! When the judges were commenting on Amy's looks, I was afraid she may end up being this season's "Haley," kept around only for that reason. And while Joanne's voice was pleasant, it wasn't very strong and she didn't seem to have much confidence.

I'm just pleased I don't have to endure Colton grinning like a loon while singing 'Suspicious Minds' again!
"Oh yes, I'm so thrilled and elated you don't trust me farther than you can spit! Whoo oo oo!"
Good grief, don't these kids pay any attention to the words coming out of their mouths?!

Sorry, just a big ole pet peeve of mine.

I almost forgot - what do you all think about the new practice of putting the cast off's families in the spotlight when they're getting voted off? I couldn't really tell where they were but I thought it a little wierd.

I thought that seemed a little extreme (aka unnecessary), too. Gosh, it's bad enough to be [for lack of a better word] 'shamed' by getting voted off and then being watched as it happens by a scattered few billion people. Heck, just for fun, let's haul the family and friends up there just to spread the awkwardness around?! And, really, these youngsters signed up for this gig - their kinfolk didn't. But, then, I think it's a little coarse to make them sing themselves off just short minutes after having a media-heavy pie thrown squarely in their faces, too. I'd agree that there's more victory than defeat in this thing just getting far enough to be voted off to begin with ... but it seems a little intrusive, all this ritual surrounding essentially "getting the proverbial boot". Seems to me a graceful nod, a quick "Thank you for the opportunity, I did my best!" speech would suffice. I'm sure, at the time it happens, none of the cast-offs want to celebrate the moment. Or maybe some do? Sometimes, I still try to get my head around that Warhol/"fifteen minutes of fame" mentality. Still can't really figure that particular mindset out, though...
I saw Joanne being interviewed yesterday after her oust on Thursday night. Good Heavens - she was acting as if the whole experience somehow put her on par with Aretha Franklin, or something . I found it very odd.

Y'know? Sometimes there's just not enough right words to say. I kinda feel like that at the moment. I was taking notes (can you imagine - what a geeky audience member I am ) to help me remember the guys as they went tonight. I had Jason Castro noted as "most disappointing follow-up performance". So great last week. Dry popcorn with no salt this week (but I maintain hope for the dude). Danny Noriega is now on my "unthinkable at all costs" list. How dare the little thumping brat do that to a Carpenters tune? The reviews from the judges were mixed. Here. Let me break any supposed tie, OK? He sucks . 'Nuff said. "Most Improved" was gonna be Chikezie (he was awesome tonight) until the map changed. I had planned to give the "Best of Show" to David Hernandez, but had to amend that, so he gets Chiki's prize by a whisker. I have major high hopes for Hernandez. His "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" was nearly flawless (and he knew it, you could just tell he did). He needs to get that confidence going with momentum. He's got a great voice (but usually looks unsure of being aware of that as he uses it). Great job there. The others guys were spatterings of OK and slightly-better-than-OK.

Now ... all that said? This kid was good from the start, that was clear. He seems nice, sympatico, touchably human and gifted. I think I'd like to add more to David Archuleta's descriptives, though, after tonight. That was a classic "American Idol" moment if ever there was one ... only bested (but not by much) by my fave Fantasia doing "Summertime" some years ago. It was everything right, and then some ~ don't you think? That young man did the seemingly impossible! He managed to make a John Lennon signature anthem his very own! The song choice was risky, and it paid off. That arrangement of it could not have been better placed. The prescence on stage suited the delivery to a freakin' tee! If you ask me (barring some weird backlash where everybody watching assumes he's too good to need the votes, and he comes in last after the tallying - which has been known, I suspect, to have happened in the past), that chap is an American Idol already. Send the other 19 home (after thanking them kindly, of course). Honestly, after "Imagine" this evening, it'd take a miracle for anyone to be better that Archuleta was tonight. These things get twisted as votes roll in/performances vary with the theme du jour etc., I know. But, whether he actually WINS the big prize some weeks from now or not, it seems unavoidable (for me, anyway) to think he hasn't won big time already.

How's that for an endless "gush". Sorry (couldn't help it). But I thought that last song was unforgettable. And I know those don't happen very often. It was a good show up until the last ten minutes tonight. It was about then that it became a "great" show. Indeed.

Wow - last night was sure different from last week. Jason Castro and Michael Johns were both disappointing and probably in some danger of leaving soon. I liked both of them last week.

Everybody that is kind of "in the middle" was still there for me. Chikezie was much improved from last week, though. And you know how I feel about Danny...

I think my favorites have to be all three Davids! I loved David Hernandez during Hollywood week, but last week he was kind of strange and I almost wrote him off. He was DEFINITELY back this week - loved him. I also like David Cook. AND he's a "word nerd!" We should invite him to FunTrivia!
What can I say about David Archuleta? He was just flawless - absolutely couldn't have improved.

I really must say the girls totally "underwhelmed" me tonight. No great stand-outs.

Agreed, cinnamOn. I developed this theory while watching last night. Somebody gathered them all together and said: "Here's the deal. Since none of our names are David, let's do the following. We'll just do well enough to (kinda) remind the judges why we impressed them enough to get this far. At that point, we'll immediately do no better than just that much. Also, we'll pick every weird song available to us, especially those that make entirely NO sense whatsover. Here. You take a song that is supposed to be sung by a man. And c'mere you! You take this one. A Chicago tune that no one has heard since 1976 . While we're issuing assignments? Brooke, you just sit there and channel Carly Simon (and remind the audience of Jenny singing in that bar in "Forrest Gump" ~ but, OK, you can keep you clothes on...). Amanda? Why, yes, I believe we can rustle up some surplus old Halloween make-up ." Good Lord, it was pretty terrible last night! I can only think of two, maybe three, that looked as if they'd truly considered their song choices at all! And there really is any number of ALL types of tunes out there from the 1970's (whether they are legally permitted to use them or not - the selections must have been endless, in the 'pickable' list). The guys picked really well. The girls? Not so much.

The biggest "sad" for me is that last night probably put the brakes on Amanda. She wasn't good/right for this contest, that was clear. And (if I might say so with slight boldness) I don't believe she's a die-hard bibliophile, either . I suspect she likes to read, etc. But *um* she loked about as comfortable portraying a book nerd as Marilyn Manson might at a Baptist revival. As for the other likely gal to-go tonight? Dunno. Probably a blonde one. Any will do (but I think Brooke'll stay). The guys going? Jason (Doobie Brothers misfire) Yaeger [I think that's his last name] is a likely. The other one might be Luke - who did much better, but is just too *I-don't-know* WASP-y. Or something. If Amerca had any sense they'd let all the fellows stay and send Danny Noriega home twice...

Quote:

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If Amerca had any sense they'd let all the fellows stay and send Danny Noriega home twice...

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Lol!! Yes! yes!

Lol! Gatsby, I really enjoy reading your reviews. They're so funny

We are one week behind over here, so yesterday they showed the 12 guys singing and tonight we'll get to watch the girls.

Little David Archuleta surely is great and he seems to be such a nice kid. I also like Michael Johns. I hope Danny Noriega goes home soon...

Thanks, minkpenny ! Gosh, it must be kind of a bummer to read all the news about the show when they haven't even aired yet where you are. Hopefully none of our gabbing ruins your fun there?

But - some NON-time sensitive "Idol" scoop just was reported on the news here. First, the big rumor is that all (or many?) of the guys in the Top 20 make no secret that they literally HATE David Archuleta now. All nothing more than jealousy (he's gotten a WHOLE lot of attention, especially in the last couple of days). I guess the other fellows, though, are giving him a mighty hard way to go (but, again, I have a hunch that's more speculation than documented fact...). They are 'human', however, so I wouldn't be surpised. The big babies . THEN it is reported that Robbie either has hair implants or wears a 'wig'. Um ... who cares? Considering that Michael Jackson can change his entire face, possibly his visible gender (and, I reckon, even the race he was born being) cosmetically and manage to forge a musical career of some sort, I don't think a little fake hair ought to rankle up too many sensibilities. The BIG news though? *Sigh* It seems it's been discovered that Amanda was arrested for a DUI in 2006 . That's NOT a good thing, in any stretch of it, and would really be a problem were she to stick around after this week. Unfortunately, I don't think she'll have to worry about it after tonight, anyway, since she's likely to come up short on votes after last night. Scandals or no scandals.

Strange, though. The media's really all over "American Idol" early this season. I'm not exactly sure that's a good thing. The show is fun, but surely the news out in the world has more importance attached to it...

Oh, my! What now, I wonder? Amanda didn't get the boot ? I dunno ... while it's all ugly sounding, I doubt if a DUI would be considered enough of an infraction these days to get her taken off the show. Unless she signed something clearly stating that something of that nature had never happened in her past. I really (still) don't think she stands a chance in [*well, you know*] of getting very far in the contest, anyway. In fact, this little "skeleton" will probably get her MORE attention, popularly, than she would have without it coming up. And, lucky for him?, looks like Robbie's "hair situation" is no longer hot-button . I'm kinda thinking he got sent home mostly because he copped a (rather snippy, and poorly timed) attitude with Cowell. Fake follicles are fine. Dissing the bigshots? Well, that is just plain unforgivable .

Jeesh. I felt all sorry for that girl last night who was sent packing. So emotional, poor thing! Am I the only one who noticed, though, that after all those staunch refusals she ultimately grabbed that microphone and belted out that "Grease" song a whole heckuva lot better than she had the night before? Given that quick 'recovery', I reckon she gets points for "trouper-hood". Or something?

Well. Here's an interesting (and wildly speculative, I think it fair to say ) *article*. Based on it, though, it looks like we FT-ers are calling the contest pretty well so far. Whew, too, that Castro was still sitting "up" there on this list. After last week? I had my doubts .

It seems this week's theme is (what else?) "80's Tunes". I read something about a guest star - so I can't report if alleged guest will influence the theme any further than just the decade-in-general. Lots of varying kinds of music back then, though, to pick from. Let's see, however, how painfully wrong some of them get in choosing which song to sing, eh ?

We are pretty close, aren't we? Robbie's hair thing and Amanda's DUI are looking pretty lame compared to the things published this week about David Hernandez, Danny Noriega, and Ramiele. Wondering if it will affect anything tonight...

Hernandez a stripper ? Well, no wonder he looks so uncomfortable half the time. Too many clothes on ! Stripper, schnipper, though ... who really cares? If they can hand out a Best Screenplay Oscar to a former "exotic dancer", what's the big deal about giving the Idol stage once in a while to a dude who serves/served up your Bud Lite wearing a G-string, eh?
But, still, I can almost hear the eyebrows arching across the land as I sit here...