Click here for my latest article
From this point, American Idol begins to get increasingly interesting. For some reason, it seems that the "Hollywood" round has been cut shorter than usual this year. (Maybe it polled low or something. Too bad, it is one of my favorite parts.) If the number of nights that the Hollywood Round wasn't cut short, they must have decided to go with a one hour show. Too bad, I'll take as much of Hollywood as I can get.
So here's how the show went:
Day 1: 58 out of 114 women made it to the group portion of the competition.
Day 2: 34 out of an unspecified number of men made it. Groups were formed, and practice began at the hotel.
Day 3: Groups performed. 36 out of 92 contestants were eliminated.
Day 4: Final performances, and eliminations to a "top 40".
Next time the judges will cut the group down to a final 24, on which the public will have the opportunity to vote.
Tonight's show was fun to watch. I always enjoy the posturing and bickering in the group round. Doing all of that in an hour however, seemed a bit rushed.
Looking back over the course of the show, there were two performers who somehow stood out. Both of these performers drew my eye whenever they were on camera, and their cause was aided by proficient singing. Keeping this in mind, two of my early favorites include: Chris Sligh and Antonella Barba.
Chris Sligh has a of charisma that is somehow noticable on camera. His good audition, coupled with strong subsequent performance gives him the potential to accumulate a number of voters. He didn't exactly get a lot of "face time" on tonight's episode, but he was able to stand out nonetheless.
Antonella Barba is stunningly beautiful on TV. She overshadows anyone who shares a scene with her. I'd imagine that Ryan Seacrest would be able to "hold his own" with her on camera, but it would be hard with others. As far as I know she sings alright too.
I assume that tomorrow's episode will feature a segment on the "final song", the interview room, and possibly make-or-break performances. That's just my guess, as my DVR cut out just as they were going to that. I guess that I'll see for myself tomorrow night. (I changed the settings to record a bit longer from now on.)