The Final 24- Elimination Night

Thursday night was elimination night for the 24 American Idol contestants. The American public spoke with over 24 million votes and, in true Idol fashion, there was a shocker.

The show opened with all the contestants performing a group version of “American Boy” by Estelle. I liked their performance as it is obviously much harder to tell when someone is pitchy when three or more people are singing at the same time. Afterwards, show host Ryan Seacrest asked the back row of ladies to stand up as he went through their names one by one, along with the judges’ comments from the previous night. Each was told to sit down because they were safe until he got to the last two, Katie Stevens and Janell Wheeler. It was Wheeler who was eliminated, though it was Stevens who carried a horrified look until she was pronounced safe.

Seacrest did the same scenario for the front row with Ashley Rodriguez being eliminated also. I was only a little surprised at Wheeler’s elimination and not at all surprised at the elimination of Ashley Rodriguez as she was one of the two I had chosen. I am disappointed to see 16-year-old Haeley Vaughn stay as I think she is way too pitchy and untrained for the final 24.

The male contestant eliminations were apparently not as easy to predict. Seacrest again had the back row stand up as he went through the names in the same fashion, telling each one they were safe. The final two left standing were Joe Munoz and Tim Urban, who was the last minute replacement for former contestant Chris Golightly. Urban gave a pretty lousy performance and was one of the two I picked to be sent home. Apparently, though, America felt differently as Joe Munoz was shockingly eliminated. The look of shock and disbelief on Urban’s face was priceless. He also seemed convinced he was going home.

The front row elimination was, like the ladies, not as shocking. The final two guys had two of the six worst performances from the previous night, Tyler Grady and Alex Lambert. Grady was the one eliminated and he seemed less positive about his time on American Idol than the other eliminated contestants saying “I feel like I didn’t really get much constructive criticism during Hollywood week…”

The Idol producers added a nice touch to the show by having previous Idol contestant Allison Iraheta perform her new single “Scars” and American Idol season 8 winner Kris Allen performed a nice rendition of The Beatles’ hit “Let it Be.”

The Final 24- The Guys

The final 12 male contestants of American Idol season 9 performed in Los Angeles Wednesday before the first round of voting. Several of the contestants came bearing a guitar and thus made it an acoustic night. Overall they performed better than the women and most seemed less nervous. Only two stood out though…Lee Dewyze of Chicago and Casey James of Fort Worth, Texas.

Dewyze gave what Simon Cowell called “the best performance bar none.” He performed Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars along with a guitar accompaniment and it was a fluid, strong rock performance. Casey James’ country twang vocals were just as strong when he took the stage and performed an acoustic version of Heaven by Bryan Adams. However, judge Kara DioGuardi’s fascination with James is distracting and disturbing. Add the fact that she got married seven months ago and it makes for an embarrassing situation.

Andrew Garcia of Moreno Valley, Calif., Joe Munoz of Huntington Park, Calif., and 16-year-old Aaron Kelly of Sonestown, Penn. also did relatively well. Garcia’s acoustic version of “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down” by Fall Out Boy wasn’t the right song choice for him, but all the judges like his voice, as do I. Cowell was disappointed that he didn’t take more of a risk with such a fantastic voice. Since he performed “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul so well in Hollywood the judges felt that this song choice caused him to fall short of that bar he had set.
Munoz has a great stage presence and the judges love how comfortable he is while performing. However, it was a safe song that didn’t release any star power. His voice reminded me of Elliot Yamin.
Kelly’s the youngest male of the final 12 and has one of the most powerful voices in the competition. I think his choice of Rascal Flatts was a good choice, but he lacks confidence. Judge Randy Jackson commented that he was pitchy on the chorus, which was something I had noticed as well. If these three gentlemen take some risks and make good song choices then I can definitely see them in the top 12.

Several others have to really step up if they do not want to be eliminated before the final 12. Todrick Hall of Arlington, Texas has a great stage presence and is a good dancer but he changed Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” so much that it was butchered and his vocals didn’t sound as smooth as they should have.
Tyler Grady of Nazereth, Penn. looks like a rip off of Jim Morrison. He can sing, but not as well as some of the others such as Dewyze and Garcia. So, add the fact that he lost the pitch when the chord went higher in the chorus and that Cowell says he’s too cliché and Grady is in danger of elimination.
Michael Lynche of Astoria, N.Y. is a likable guy with a lot of personality but he made a mistake by choosing Maroon 5 to sing. The performance ended up pitchy and not unique. The judges all like him but were disappointed because they believe he is better than that performance. I personally like him, but not his vocals.
Alex Lambert of North Richland Hills, Texas, a place I have been and like, did not impress me or the judges. His voice came off as if he were singing a bit through his nose instead of his diaphragm, although that may just be how his voice sounds. Regardless, I wasn’t a fan of his vocals and the judges were not fans of his performance. Cowell believes it was uncomfortable and he was too nervous. DioGuardi thinks he needs to believe in himself.

Fortunately for the above gentlemen, there were three that were so awful I don’t know how they got on the show. Jermaine Sellers of Joliet, Ill sang a non-memorable song off key while trying to use as much of his vocal range as possible. Not good at all. Tim Urban of Duncanville, Texas sang “Too Late to Apologize” by OneRepublic and was completely off key on the high notes of the chorus. He had originally been cut but got called to join the final 24 when original member Chris Golightly was disqualified for falsifying information. The first thing Cowell said to Urban after his performance was that they were right to cut him and his voice is not good enough to win. I agree and would not be surprised at all if he is eliminated on Thursday. However, John Park of Evanston, Ill. gave by far the worst performance of any contestant in this round in my opinion. His diction was horrible and the vocals were flat and sleepy. Cowell accused him of trying to be a copycat Michael Buble and DioGuardi agreed with Cowell. Jackson claimed the performance made him feel old. DeGeneres said she liked the performance but she basically has liked all the performances. I guess that’s what we get for Idol putting someone outside the music business in a judges chair.

I vote for Tim Urban and John Park to be eliminated on Thursday, but it’s possible Urban may garner enough votes and Sellers, Grady or Lambert may go instead.

American Idol Final 24- The Ladies

The final 12 female contestants of American Idol season 9 took the stage Tuesday night for their first performance of the competition. This was their first impression on the voting audience; a chance to wow them and the judges. Unfortunately, the judges were not amazed, nor was I.

While Janell Wheeler of Orlando, Fla. and Siobhan Magnus of Cape Cod, Mass. delivered lackluster performances, they should not be in danger of being cut on Thursday’s elimination show. Judge Randy Jackson felt Magnus took too long to open up during her performance and could have done better. However, the judges did agree her tone was good. Wheeler’s nervousness showed through in addition to falling flat on the chorus. Three out of four judges agreed she chose the wrong song to produce a stellar performance, yet Jackson, DioGuardi, and DeGeneres like her voice. I personally was not a fan of either and, based on last night’s performances, can see them being eliminated before the final 12.

Katelyn Epperly of West Des Moines, Iowa, Katie Stevens of Middlebury, Conn., and Michelle Delamor of Miami all gave solid, but safe or predictable performances. Though Epperly brought her own style to the song, judge Simon Cowell thought it was messy. Stevens sang a powerful song with few mistakes, but, according to the judges, it was way too mature of a song to be done by a 17-year-old. Delamor gave a strong rendition of Alicia Keys’ Fallin, but it was a song they expected her to sing and thought it was too safe to make a good first impression. I would like to see Delamor and Stevens make it to the final 12, but they need to produce a solid performance outside of their comfort zone for that to happen. Expect all three to make it to the next round.

Lilly Scott of Denver, Didi Benami of Knoxville, Tenn., and Crystal Bowersox of Elliston, Ohio were the three best performers of the night. Scott has a unique voice and unique look. I think judge Randy Jackson described her best when he said she is “a real indie artist.” Her performance embodied who she is, but it lacked starpower. Benami’s jazz vocals are stunning, but, again, no star power. Judge Ellen Degeneres said she was a bit low key and I agree. However, I do think that she has the potential to step up and be the final female competitior. Bowersox played the guitar and harmonica during a great rendition of Alanis Morissette’s Hand in My Pocket. Judge Simon Cowell admitted he likes her, though he believes she resembles every other musician on a street corner. I rarely disagree with Cowell (hence the reason I am a fan of his insight and honesty) but, on this statement, I do. Bowersox knows her talent and her voice and appears to want to perform more than anything else. Her voice is not as unique as a few others in the competition, but it is definitely more unique than those on a street corner, at least in my opinion.

Unfortunately for Paige Miles of Naples, Fla., Ashley Rodriguez of Chelsea, Mass., Lacey Brown of Amarillo, Texas, and Haeley Vaughn of Fort Collins, Colo., two of them will most likely be going home on Thursday. All four performances not only failed to wow the judges and myself, but there were pitch and timing mistakes and all four women made poor song choices. Cowell thought Miles’ performance looked like that of a wedding singer and Rodriguez’s performance was clumsy. Vaughn, the youngest of the group, did not hit her high notes and, I believe had the worst performance of the night. Brown disappointed me as I liked her vocals and style during the auditions but then she delivered a lousy performance of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. She sounded more like Billy Corgan’s (Smashing Pumpkins) version than that of Stevie Nicks. The judges seemed to agree with me that her falsetto was off and she can do better.

My vote is for Ashley Rodriguez and Haeley Vaughn to go home, but we will see what America thinks on Thursday.