AI 8 2/17/09 Semi-Final Round 1

This is American Idol and the semi-finals are finally here. America can now take control and push this competition forward.

We have a new set and the judges are sitting in a different configuration but the comments provided in the same order starting with Randy.

I am afraid we are going to end up with the mosh pit again and I will not be happy but we will have to wait for the final Top 12.

Let us buckle down and get to the meat of the show. Ryan has to get some hints from the judges. Randy tells them they have one shot; you need to blow us away. Kara tells them to fight their nerves, you cannot let them get to you, be yourself and go for it. Paula tells them this is their dream, you have a minute and a half to make magic. Simon was Simon, too funny!

The theme for tonight is hits from the Billboard 100. Let us pray the contestants remember song selection is everything.

Jackie Tohn

Jackie is up first and explains she wants this more than anything else. I have to mention the horrible background when she was singing it was very distracting. I was not impressed with her outfit although the belt was a bold choice. Jackie goes with “A Little Less Conversation” and the arrangement sucked. Jackie had some really horrible rough notes and her jerky movements were irritating. I will say she was having fun but she was trying to entertain more than blow us away with her vocal talent. This was not a memorable performance.

Randy – I was not blown away by the vocal but you can definitely entertain.

Kara – you can work a stage and you have a big personality but the vocals were not terrific.

Paula – you got me up dancing, I love you, and I remember you the most from the auditions. Your vocals were not perfect but perfect is boring. You are a true performer.

Simon – you have a good voice but you played the clown, it was gimmicky, you did not do yourself a favor, you were silly instead of good.

Ricky Braddy

Ricky’s parents should be shot for their “Braddy Bunch” t-shirts – give me a freaking break. The producers on the other hand have shortchanged Ricky because we have not heard or seen much of him. Ricky chooses “A Song for you” and he is great. I thought it was a great song choice, he had very good control of his voice, there was great tone, he really connected with the song, and I felt the emotions of the song. His enunciation was excellent. Ricky needs to work on some performance skills but his vocals were spot on. The great falsetto at the end was unbelievable.

Randy – Season 8 starts here, you have talent, unbelievable

Kara – you killed that, the arrangement, the riffs, your interpretation, you made it seem effortless

Paula – I am proud that American gets to see how talented you are, you deserve to go on

Simon – I am not jumping out of my chair like the others but it was good. My only issue is you do not have any star quality. You have a great voice but no charisma. You are a nice, shy guy.

Alexis Grace

Where has this contestant been hiding? Alexis went with “I Never Loved a Man” and she was hot. I loved her outfit including the killer shoes. The string of pearls was a great touch. Thankfully, she has toned down the hair, I liked the new style, and while it came close, the hair did not cover her one eye. I was impressed by her performance. Alexis can sing and she can sing well. The power she possesses, she sold the beauty and soul of the number. Alexis gave this a soulful, sultry, bluesy feeling. Totally awesome performance. She knows how to work the crowd.

Randy – you found the dirt, you found soul, you worked it out, and I love you

Kara – the genie is out of the bottle, you have come out of your shell; you are a new girl, great job!

Paula – For a 21 year old, no one would expect so much soul, passion and confidence, fantastic, wonderful

Simon – you are the best contestant by a mile, you have soul and self-confidence, you are the dark horse in this competition, this is like looking at Kelly Clarkson when we first sat up and took notice

Brent Keith

You have to love live television since the video for Brent did not work at first. Ryan handled the situation pretty well but the video rolls. Brent goes with “Hicktown”. Brent knows how to perform; he worked the crowd and has a decent vote. Given Brent was unable to win on Nashville Star I cannot really see him winning American Idol. This was a good performance with decent vocals but he does not stand out. While his good looks may win him some votes, it will not be enough.

Randy – I like what you did with it, new age but with an old country swagger, I liked it

Kara – I like you but this was a little safe, it was not rangey enough, you need to take more risks.

Paula – it was a safe song but I do see you as a country artist

Simon – you blew you shot, you have a nice voice, but it was not original enough, you made no impact, you blew a massive opportunity by being forgettable.

Brent you do not argue with the judges, it is the kiss of death. Learn from those who have gone before you.

Stevie Wright

Poor Stevie she was so out of her element. How nice she was only nine when the show started in 2002 and is now old enough to be here. The background for her song sucked as well. This has to be one of the worst performances ever. The beginning was so rough it was scary. It was the fingers down the chalkboard moment. There were times I could barely hear her and she was mumbling which is something I hate, lyrics are to be enunciated, it is a song not an instrumental piece. There was absolutely nothing redeemable about this performance. Stevie was never on pitch. This was a total let down. Her outfit was atrocious.

Randy – this was not good

Kara – you are trying to be young but you picked a song that does not fit you

Paula – I have to agree with Randy and Kara, this was not the right song, and it was in a low range

Simon – this was terrible, you were out of tune, really nervous, you have gained some experience but there is no chance of you making it through

Anoop Desai

Anoop goes with an interesting song choice “Angel of Mine”. I did not like his performance and the song was not very fun compared to the goal he had in his video introduction. His vocals started out rough but he worked it out by the end, the ending notes were great. Anoop can sing and he was selling the emotion but it was not a top 12 caliber performance.

Randy – interesting song choice, a little sharp, you didn’t settle in, not your best

Kara – it is a hard song, you did not nail the riffs but you have great potential, I believe you, you really connect with the song

Paula – America has connected with you (really?), you are showing a different side of yourself, sharp or not you have a Brian McKnight thing going on and you should be here for a while.

Simon – I think it was too grown-up and serious for you, you do have massive likeability.

Casey Carlson

Give me a freaking break, Casey chooses “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” what is this girl thinking. This has to be one of the stupidest song choices in a long time. I was digging the outfit but her hairdo was just plain dumb. The arrangement of this song was very strange and she had horrible pitch problems. The whole picking songs and then having to change the pronouns caused her to be very tentative. There was not a single note, which was good. This was a total train wreck from beginning to end. Please put me out of my misery quickly. What was up with the strange facial expressions? She could not even win a karaoke contest.

Randy – this was not good, it was weird, completely wrong, strangely karaoke

Kara – “everything about that was wrong”, you picked a Police song, no one touches the Police, you needed a girl anthem, the entire performance was overdone, I had high hopes for you but you fell flat

Paula – guys think you are hot and that is part of the package (but you still have to sing) but the performance did not help. Your phrasing was off, it did not work, and the song was too out of your reach

Simon – the singing was horrible and you could not have picked a worse song, you did not show what kind of an artist you could be, I hated the whole thing including the arrangement, it was terrible karaoke

Michael Sarver

Michael is a likeable guy but I do not think he is really right for the competition. Michael chooses “I Don’t Wanna Be” and hopes to encourage others to be themselves. Poor Michael attempted some dancing but just looked ridiculous. Overall, he has a decent voice but the beginning was rough and it was awhile before he pulled it together. Michael could go far on Nashville Star.

Randy – you can definitely sing, it started out pitchy and the first verse was weird I wish you would have done something with soul

Kara – the song is a great crowd pleaser but this was not your best performance, you are likeable

Paula – you did a real good job and showed a different side of yourself, the way you switched the mike from hand to hand was very distracting but you did Gavin proud

Simon – this is tricky, I like you but it was not the best vocal, if you make it through it is because people like you

Anne Marie Boskovich

I totally did not like Anne’s outfit, it was not attractive on her. She also performed in front of another stupid background. Anne goes with “Natural Woman”. I did not like this performance at all it was way overdone. Her voice was decent but she was not in control and she was trying way too hard. This was barely good karaoke.

Randy – not the right song choice, it fell flat

Kara – this song is so big, it felt a bit old fashioned, and you should have sung a Sara Bareilles number

Paula – you were better tonight than in your auditions, you played it safe

Simon – if we were looking for the best hotel/cabaret singer you could be in the running, the simple truth is your voice is not good enough, you were very, very old-fashioned, you may have ruined your one chance

Stephen Fowler

These contestants clearly are not paying attention, song choice is everything and Stephen goes with “Rock with Me”. The entire performance was off key. What was up with the strange phrasing? The background singers sounded better than Stephen did. Everything little thing about this performance (if Kara can use it so can I) did not work, it was rough, it was cheesy, and his expressions were crazy – he looked like he had constipation and his voice cracked at the high note. I was not rocking to his vocals. This was scary.

Randy – this was a horrible song choice, you were pitchy, and you were right under the notes

Kara – I liked you better when you forgot your lyrics at the piano, you were playing from the heart, and this song did not let you connect

Paula – you remembered the lyrics, you should have performed the David Cook song this week, this song was the kiss of death (oh my god, this came out of Paula), it was disappointing

Simon – the performance was pointless, the arrangement was bad, you are going to watch the performance later and realize you made a huge mistake it was corny

Histrionic Hyena (HH) aka Tatiana Del Toro

I am so past being able to be open-minded about this contestant but her video introduction sent me over the edge. At least I did not have to hear her laugh but the almost tearing up was just too obvious of a ploy. The whole I have had to fight every step of the way to get here and she is not going to let anyone get in the way of her dream. Apparently, HH does not know I am an enemy and I intend to crush her dream where American Idol is concerned. Heaven help us she is going with a Whitney Houston song, you cannot out diva the divas you freaking drama queen. “Saving All My Love for You” was atrocious. HH has a horrible lower register; I could barely hear her at the beginning. HH seemed pretty nervous and was very stiff on stage. What was up with the horrible dress? There were a couple of good notes but overall this performance was just plain bad!

Randy – there were some good moments but you did not pull it all together

Kara – you are like a roller coaster ride, I am not sure I like this reserved persona; you have not shown us where you would fit in this industry

Paula – you are the most talked about contestant this season, good bad or indifferent, there were some pitchy moments the demure Tatiana confuses me

Simon – you are a huge drama queen and all you want is fame, you are desperate to be famous, the demure thing does not work, you need to be crazy again

Danny Gokey

Danny’s performance was the high point of the evening. He does pick some bizarre songs and “Hero” by Mariah Carey is one of them but somehow he pulls the rabbit out of the hat. I suspect being a choir director helps because the arrangement was very good for his voice. I actually got chills during his vocals and I have to admit it brought tears to my eyes. If you package it right I will buy it. This was a killer performance, he showed great control of his voice, the way he moved from his lower register to the upper register was flawless and the ending note brilliant. Hands down the best performance of the night.

Randy – you are the redeemer of the night, it was blazing hot

Kara – you are the hero, this was incredible, great

Paula – I have two words – sold-out arenas.

Simon – it was good but it was not as fantastic as the other three have indicated, you are a very good singer and I like you

Well folks I had a slow night in voting. I managed only 725 votes. Danny got 374, Alexis got 157, Ricky got 125, Brent got 27, Stevie Wright 5, Anoop 17, Casey Carlson 5, Michael Sarver 5, Anne Marie 5 and Stephen Fowler 5. HH received zero!

It will be an interesting results show.

My predictions are Danny and Alexis as the top vote getters and while I believe, Ricky should be the third I think Anoop will actually get in. Here is hoping they bring Ricky back for the wild card episode.

HH is going down and she better not be brought back for the wild card show.

I am sure it will be nail biter of a results show tonight but at least I can look forward to Michael Johns and Carly Smithson performing a duet. They sounded great together during the Idol Tour last summer.

Until tomorrow…