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Tonight's episode of American Idol (days one and two from Hollywood), marked the beginning of the "more enjoyable" part of the yearly series for me. The singers are better, expectations have been raised, and the rivalries get intense. I can hardly wait for next week's group competition.
Before that, a number of the weaker contestants need to be weeded-out, and tonight we were able to catch (mainly-fleeting) glimpses of those who will make it no further.
Before beginning with my "breakdown" of the show, I have a few thoughts:
- Lots of people seem to be mentioning Clay Aiken by name this season. There must have been some 2-3 year lag of getting the people who admire Clay to finally come out for auditions. (I have heard few mentions of Kelly, Ruben, or Fantasia by name. Carrie's name is however mentioned once-in-a-while.)
- From this point on, the contestants should try to be a little more conscious of what they're saying on camera. The contestants are not only trying to get the judges' attention, they will eventually need America to fall in love with them. Nobody wants to put an egomaniac through!
So, here's what I have for the show. I have a few comments/ insights on a number of the contestants. It might get to the point where I simply end up name-dropping, due to the occasional rapid-fire of the contestants' appearances.
Day One
- Kellie Pickler was on early. Lovable, down-home, rags-to-possible-riches story. She sang well, was put through to the next round. Kellie will be good for ratings. She's already getting a huge push. America will really like her (if they don't already.)
- Patrick Hall appeared for the first time on this year's show. (As far as I could tell it was his first time.) He was mildly impressive.
- Two fellows who came off as a bit smarmy in the auditions, Ronnie Norman and Steven David, didn't make it through to the next stage. It was a little surprising that they let both of these guys go. (Ronnie seemed to be a reasonably good singer.) I'd think that either (or both) would be good for ratings. They'd each have a bit of that "bad guy" thing going on.
- Sixteen-year-old Lisa Tucker has a really nice stage voice. I am sure that I'll have more to say about her as this contest goes on.
- After Lisa, there were a few quick-fire rejections/ approvals. I don't quite remember which or who...
- Three more: Ashley, Kymyata, and Linelle were sent away.
- Memorable Paris Bennet made it through. They should just let her sit home until they get to the top twelve.
- Gray-haired everyman Taylor Hicks pleased everyone with his nice voice. I think that up to this point, I am rooting for Taylor. I can see this guy making it through to the final twenty-four, almost passing through, and then re-appearing in the wild-card round. That -to me- seems to be his destiny.
Day Two:
- Sore-throated Megan Zieger had excuses to spare once she finally made it on stage. The judges liked her well enough to send her on to the next day. Megan was guilty of doing something that I had mentioned at the beginning of this post. She said something like this on camera: "...people who aren't on the level of me are really singing well today." Now it is okay to think that, but it may be unwise to say something like that when one is trying to gain a favorable response from America.
- A girl named Melissa Lucas sounded really good. Impressive... Possibly more to come on her.
- The Brittenum Twins appear to be the poster-boys of "what not to say on camera if they want to get fans". They were really likeable until they started opining on the other contestants. These two made it through for now, but isn't their fate already known?
- Rapid-fire passes were given to Gina Glocksen, David Radford, Ace Young, and (slightly new look) Kevin Covais.
- The Simmons Twins seemed nice, clean-cut, and polite young men. Sadly, they were sent home.
- Cowpoke Garet Johnson brought his homespun lovability on stage to mixed results. It seems that he'll have at least one more chance to impress the judges. I have little doubt that America will love to support this nice little guy. (Honestly now: Were there any houses in which "Brokeback Mountain" references/ wisecracks were heard when this guy was on TV?)
- A few more of the good ones were shuffled through: bald step-dad Chris Daughty (good), Mandisa Hundley (I think that she was the "bigger stage" lady?), and Katharine McPhee (I liked her old hairstyle better. This year's Elizabeth Letendre or Jessica Sierra?)
- Finally "Strange" Dave had his say. He probably would have killed on "WB Superstar."
Whew! That's it for today. These Hollywood-round shows are always a buzz for me. Lots to say. As you can see by my notes below: It was a jam-packed hour.
