AI: Top 12 Guys
Howdy all!
As you know - the Top 12 guys performed last night...and per my usual, I thought you might like to hear what I thought *hahahaha* I don't have my nifty Dreamweaver here to help me cheat with HTML table coding, and since I'm too lazy to go snatch it from my other post, I'll just post the pictures (which are courtesy of American Idol) on top of the little paragraph of commentary. Just a note - again the ones in red are the ones I really want to stay in the competition at this point.
1. Rudy Cardenas “Free Ride” (Edgar Winter Group/Rascal Flatts)
By the end of this performance, I was thinking that he sounded kind of like the lead singer of Journey…kinda cheesy. The thing is this - Steve Perry makes the cheese work for him in the songs that need it, and manages not to sound completely corny when it’s not called for. That would be why I like him, and not so much Rudy. I mean, he was okay. He can sing. I just wasn’t really grooving with the sound of his voice. So right now…I don’t really feel either way about him staying or going, but if I had to choose, I would probably pick go.
2. Brandon Rogers “Rock With You” (Michael Jackson)
Awww…yay! I love this song a lot because I listened to MJ like a crazed kid of the 70s/80s did…you know, back when MJ was black *heh* so it was really good to hear it. Additionally, it was really good to hear him do it. This song fits his voice well, and that made it very clear why he chose it - comfort. I think he did well enough to keep him in the running and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
3. Sundance Head “Nights In White Satin” (Moody Blues)
*sighs* I love him. He was smooth and solid and great when he tried out, and I was right there with Simon when he said that he would be surprised if he wasn’t in the finals. But since then - I’ve had problems. He was rough from what we saw during Hollywood, and I believe he only got through on the strength of his audition. He’s not gotten better. It was whiny at best, and he could have done A LOT better than this. He needs to get back to basics so I can love him again!
4. Paul Kim “Careless Whisper” (Wham!)
I was so excited when he came on stage. I loved the fact that what you get is definitely more than meets the eye with this guy. But I was worried when he started. It was shaky - and the two things that I had a problem with in his performance were his attempts to do the low, kinda softer notes in the beginning, and his “falsetto”. They were not good. Those alone told me he should have done something different. However, the strong, power notes were great, and I’m hoping that will carry him through to next week.
5. Chris Richardson “I Don’t Wanna Be” (Gavin DeGraw)
Oh. My. Gawd. NO. First of all, his voice was kind of whiny through the entire performance. Secondly (and most importantly) - the Elliott rip off. I was kind of amused by the similarities (white boy with some soul, crew cut, from VA) in the beginning but this was too much. Elliott did this song last year with A LOT more flavor and Chris came nowhere near duplicating how great of a performance that was. I was pretty insulted (although I think only Elliott fans will be) so I really want him gone. He is my second pick for leaving Thursday night.
6. Nick Pedro “Now & Forever” (Richard Marx)
Well, I’m not sure how I feel about the raspy thing that he falls into when he is trying to do that soft, slow thing, but his falsetto was good and he ended well. I’m not feeling strongly with regard to him being in the Top 12, but I would like to see what he has to bring to the table next week.
7. Blake Lewis “Somewhere Only We Know” (Keane)
I think that the majority of the things we have seen from him on the show have included his beat box thing, which has been wonderful. However, because it is a singing competition, I was hoping for more of the singing I heard when he first auditioned…and I got it. It was an interesting song (I say that for every song I’ve never heard!) and as a whole, I enjoyed the performance. His vocals were smooth and he was relaxed - as if he knew he was where he belonged. That was cool :)
8. Sanjaya Malakar “Knocks Me Off My Feet” (Stevie Wonder)
This kid is so sweet! I just want to squeeze him! And when he first auditioned (with another Stevie song) I thought he was a shoe-in for the Top 12. Last night, he didn’t deliver the kind of power performance we fell in love with. He started off shaky and really only started to get better after he got some audible feedback. I’m hoping that America does a collective assessment of him and keeps him in for another week. If he can manage to up and retain his confidence, he’ll do better.
9. Chris Sligh “Typical” (Mute Math)
The only thing that I wrote down in my notes for him is “DUDE. SRSLY? LOVE. :)”…and I thought that I would expand on it later, but I’m not sure how. Basically, there is nothing that I can find fault with in this case. Not only is he funny and not only can he take on Simon (I was dying over the Il Divo comment, but didn’t get the Teletubbies reference) but he sings REALLY well. The other thing I love (which I think I mentioned before) is that he isn’t typical, which makes this performance even better. I think he’s sailing through, and he deserves to.
10. Jared Cotter “Back At One” (Brian McKnight)
Brian McKnight has a huge and beautiful voice and in his wake are big shoes to fill. I gave him credit right off the bat for even putting his feet near those shoes. I think he did an admirable job of it and added his own flavor, which is always nice. He started to do a falsetto once and recognized that it wasn’t going to work so he stopped - good choice. The second time he hit it at the right angle and he did VERY well. I want to see where his next stop will be next week.
11. AJ Tabaldo “Never Too Much” (Luther Vandross)
This was thin ice for me…because it’s Luther and this is my FAVORITE Luther song in the world. You can’t do this and mess it up without me wanting to come after you *heh* and he did good enough. He didn’t come anywhere close to the man himself (who could?) but I think between being good vocally and the performance that accompanied it, he should go through at least another week
12. Phil Stacey “I Could Not Ask For More” (Edwin McCain)
Although I have adored this guy from day one, I was worried when he started. He should not try to do soft and mellow, kind of like Paul (see number 4). It just does not work for him. But when he hit his stride with the power notes, just like Paul - it was magic. BEAUTIFUL. I need him to stay in this competition for sure!
Comment away!
As you know - the Top 12 guys performed last night...and per my usual, I thought you might like to hear what I thought *hahahaha* I don't have my nifty Dreamweaver here to help me cheat with HTML table coding, and since I'm too lazy to go snatch it from my other post, I'll just post the pictures (which are courtesy of American Idol) on top of the little paragraph of commentary. Just a note - again the ones in red are the ones I really want to stay in the competition at this point.
1. Rudy Cardenas “Free Ride” (Edgar Winter Group/Rascal Flatts)
By the end of this performance, I was thinking that he sounded kind of like the lead singer of Journey…kinda cheesy. The thing is this - Steve Perry makes the cheese work for him in the songs that need it, and manages not to sound completely corny when it’s not called for. That would be why I like him, and not so much Rudy. I mean, he was okay. He can sing. I just wasn’t really grooving with the sound of his voice. So right now…I don’t really feel either way about him staying or going, but if I had to choose, I would probably pick go.
2. Brandon Rogers “Rock With You” (Michael Jackson)
Awww…yay! I love this song a lot because I listened to MJ like a crazed kid of the 70s/80s did…you know, back when MJ was black *heh* so it was really good to hear it. Additionally, it was really good to hear him do it. This song fits his voice well, and that made it very clear why he chose it - comfort. I think he did well enough to keep him in the running and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
3. Sundance Head “Nights In White Satin” (Moody Blues)
*sighs* I love him. He was smooth and solid and great when he tried out, and I was right there with Simon when he said that he would be surprised if he wasn’t in the finals. But since then - I’ve had problems. He was rough from what we saw during Hollywood, and I believe he only got through on the strength of his audition. He’s not gotten better. It was whiny at best, and he could have done A LOT better than this. He needs to get back to basics so I can love him again!
4. Paul Kim “Careless Whisper” (Wham!)
I was so excited when he came on stage. I loved the fact that what you get is definitely more than meets the eye with this guy. But I was worried when he started. It was shaky - and the two things that I had a problem with in his performance were his attempts to do the low, kinda softer notes in the beginning, and his “falsetto”. They were not good. Those alone told me he should have done something different. However, the strong, power notes were great, and I’m hoping that will carry him through to next week.
5. Chris Richardson “I Don’t Wanna Be” (Gavin DeGraw)
Oh. My. Gawd. NO. First of all, his voice was kind of whiny through the entire performance. Secondly (and most importantly) - the Elliott rip off. I was kind of amused by the similarities (white boy with some soul, crew cut, from VA) in the beginning but this was too much. Elliott did this song last year with A LOT more flavor and Chris came nowhere near duplicating how great of a performance that was. I was pretty insulted (although I think only Elliott fans will be) so I really want him gone. He is my second pick for leaving Thursday night.
6. Nick Pedro “Now & Forever” (Richard Marx)
Well, I’m not sure how I feel about the raspy thing that he falls into when he is trying to do that soft, slow thing, but his falsetto was good and he ended well. I’m not feeling strongly with regard to him being in the Top 12, but I would like to see what he has to bring to the table next week.
7. Blake Lewis “Somewhere Only We Know” (Keane)
I think that the majority of the things we have seen from him on the show have included his beat box thing, which has been wonderful. However, because it is a singing competition, I was hoping for more of the singing I heard when he first auditioned…and I got it. It was an interesting song (I say that for every song I’ve never heard!) and as a whole, I enjoyed the performance. His vocals were smooth and he was relaxed - as if he knew he was where he belonged. That was cool :)
8. Sanjaya Malakar “Knocks Me Off My Feet” (Stevie Wonder)
This kid is so sweet! I just want to squeeze him! And when he first auditioned (with another Stevie song) I thought he was a shoe-in for the Top 12. Last night, he didn’t deliver the kind of power performance we fell in love with. He started off shaky and really only started to get better after he got some audible feedback. I’m hoping that America does a collective assessment of him and keeps him in for another week. If he can manage to up and retain his confidence, he’ll do better.
9. Chris Sligh “Typical” (Mute Math)
The only thing that I wrote down in my notes for him is “DUDE. SRSLY? LOVE. :)”…and I thought that I would expand on it later, but I’m not sure how. Basically, there is nothing that I can find fault with in this case. Not only is he funny and not only can he take on Simon (I was dying over the Il Divo comment, but didn’t get the Teletubbies reference) but he sings REALLY well. The other thing I love (which I think I mentioned before) is that he isn’t typical, which makes this performance even better. I think he’s sailing through, and he deserves to.
10. Jared Cotter “Back At One” (Brian McKnight)
Brian McKnight has a huge and beautiful voice and in his wake are big shoes to fill. I gave him credit right off the bat for even putting his feet near those shoes. I think he did an admirable job of it and added his own flavor, which is always nice. He started to do a falsetto once and recognized that it wasn’t going to work so he stopped - good choice. The second time he hit it at the right angle and he did VERY well. I want to see where his next stop will be next week.
11. AJ Tabaldo “Never Too Much” (Luther Vandross)
This was thin ice for me…because it’s Luther and this is my FAVORITE Luther song in the world. You can’t do this and mess it up without me wanting to come after you *heh* and he did good enough. He didn’t come anywhere close to the man himself (who could?) but I think between being good vocally and the performance that accompanied it, he should go through at least another week
12. Phil Stacey “I Could Not Ask For More” (Edwin McCain)
Although I have adored this guy from day one, I was worried when he started. He should not try to do soft and mellow, kind of like Paul (see number 4). It just does not work for him. But when he hit his stride with the power notes, just like Paul - it was magic. BEAUTIFUL. I need him to stay in this competition for sure!
Comment away!