Guest Blogger Angela: American Idol - The Top 12 Guys

I should have known from Ryan Seacrest’s awkward opening lines that this episode of American Idol was going to be a train wreck. “THIS… is – Simon, stop talking.” THAT… was a bad omen. Ryan and the judges’ cattiness was at an all time high, and the majority of guys’ performances were so disastrous that I had trouble ranking them. It was varying degrees of bad with a few mildly bright spots in the second hour. In general I was extremely underwhelmed. And then there was Casey James. *sigh*

1. Casey James – “Heaven” – I admit that I’m totally biased here. I LOVE this song (I’ve said for years that Idol should do a Bryan Adams theme week) and I think Casey’s really cute (but the AI stylists shouldn’t touch his hair ever again), so the combination of the two was kind of overwhelming. He had me at, “Oh, thinking about our younger years.” Like Kara, I’m smitten! Vocally the performance wasn’t amazing, but none of the guys were. The song definitely suited him and I love that he played the guitar; actually I wish the whole performance was acoustic without the backing band. I feel bad for him that the judges were gushing about his looks so much, but I can’t really blame them. I’m eager to download this performance from iTunes to see if I like it as much without the visual.
2. Andrew Garcia – “Sugar We’re Going Down” – I like the original up-tempo version of this song better than Andrew’s stripped down acoustic rendition, but he did a good job making the song his own (a talent he had already shown this season) and he sounded good at the same time.
3. Michael Lynche – “This Love” – I’m not sure why he used the guitar on this song because it didn’t add anything to the performance, but he chose a good song and sang it decently. He’s very likeable, both in his voice and his personality.
4. Tyler Grady – “American Woman” – This was a strong performance even though he hit a few off notes. Personally I’m not into the 70’s vibe, but he knows who he is and seems confident. I like his personality but would like to see him sing something more contemporary for a change. I don’t know if he could pull it off.
5. Joe Munoz – “You and I Both” – Jose was the first guy to not butcher a song. He didn’t show much vocal range but performed the song well and was better than I expected.
6. Lee Dewyze – “Chasing Cars” – He gave some personality to a song that I dislike immensely. The vocals were a little nasally, but I liked the arrangement. In general I like him and want to hear more from him.
7. John Park – “God Bless the Child” – He had a bad start but the second half was stronger than the first. He voice has potential, but he did too many runs. I wish he chose a song that showed off his fun personality more. He should choose songs based on what he can sing well rather than on a sentimental connection.
8. Jermaine Sellers – “Get Here” – I didn’t like the changes he made to the melody. He oversang it yet was still overpowered by the backup singers in the second half. I like his low, full voice much better than his falsetto.
9. Todrick Hall – “Since You’ve Been Gone” – This was an odd but brave song choice. His voice sounded good but he totally ruined the melody of a great song. Despite the horrible arrangement, he has great stage presence, which should be expected from someone with his theater background, and he’s very attractive, so that will get him the votes this week.
10. Aaron Kelly –“Here Comes Goodbye” – He was flat at the beginning but got better at the bridge. He seems like a kid performing at a school talent show and has absolutely no stage presence.
11. Tim Urban – “Apologize” – It was nice to see how everything went down with him being invited back, but this performance wasn’t good. His falsetto is way too weak for this song. As Simon and Ellen suggested, the sympathetic/adorable factor might get him votes when his voice doesn’t.
12. Alex Lambert – “Wonderful World” – I didn’t know where to rank this because I like Alex’s voice in general, but the performance was all over the place. Some lines in the middle were good, but most of it was a mess. He was really awkward on stage too. Ellen’s banana analogy was right on.

If I had my way, I’d cut 4 guys this week: Alex, Tim, Aaron, and John. They didn’t impress me or bring anything to the table that I’d want to see in concert. Jermaine and Todrick had rough performances this week, but I’ve liked them in the past so I want them both to get another chance. Jose surprised me; maybe he’ll be a dark horse this season. However, the standouts are Casey, Andrew, Michael, and Tyler (who also happen to be four of my favorites from the auditions). They’re all different and interesting, and at this point they’re the guys’ best hope for a win. As most of the guys proved this week, it’s probably the girls’ year.

- Angela Pasquinelli