AI:7 - 12 Groovy Guys
The best talent yet?
Time to prove it. Finally.
da Dawg, da Wack-job, & da Ego — Judges in the hizzouse. Snarky banter between Ryan & Simon? What a shockingly new thing… *sigh*
I really, really, really wish Ryan wouldn’t try and bait the contestants into talking smack about Simon.
Ryan, Randy, & Paula sniping at Simon is already old, tired, and just plain wrong, and we’ve got a loooooong way to go. Almost every time that one (or more) of the three gang up on Simon, they look & sound foolish, because Simon is usually correct in what he’s said.
Time for the boys to get their sing on…
David Hernandez (24 - Glendale, AZ) “In The Midnight Hour” - Way too much reverb effect. Instead of the “wicked, wicked Wilson Pickett” we get wonder bread. Not bad, but fluffy & lacking substance. Forgettable, which could really be a bad thing at this stage of the competition.
Chikezie (22 - Inglewood, CA) “More Today Than Yesterday” - Our first entrant in the “I’m famous enough to only go by a single name now…” derby. Can’t say I like or agree with it. Sharp suit. Ok vocals, but he sounded a bit sharp and shallow (if that’s a musically valid observation/criticism) to me. Blah. Not that great, I don’t think. Randy had to work too hard to avoid being critical. Talked back to Simon (”Hold up, playa!”) - never a good idea, even if you do it well. And he didn’t.
David Cook (25 - Blue Springs, MO) “Happy Together” - Lost the fauxhawk? Good! A nice twist on a pretty iconic song. He avoided sounding karaoke, and didn’t fall in the trap of sounding “too 60’s-ish”. Very nicely done. I like this guy, and I think he’s going to make it to the finals.
Jason Yaeger (28 - Grand Prairie, TX) “Moon River” - A nice story, though it’s really out of the ordinary these days to see a guy that age with a kid that age. What an old-fashioned performance, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Crooning like that is a ticket to a quick exit from the competition. Utterly forgettable and lacking in vote-generating appeal. Dude could be in great danger. This “dependable old dog” might just get put down this week…
Robbie Carrico (26 - Melbourne, FL) “One” - Boy/Girl Band? Eeech… He doesn’t do a whole lot for me, particularly wrt to his image — he strikes me as being a little to Constantine/Poseur-ish for my taste. I tend to agree with Simon, in that I’m not convinced by the “authenticity” claim made by Paula. That said, he did a pretty darned good job in delivering the song vocally. I don’t think he’s in any danger this week.
David Archuleta (17 - Murray, UT) “Shop Around” - Coming in, I had our Junior Star-Search winner pegged for the finals. I still think that’s the case; however, his performance tonight did nothing to make me like him more. The song was over-arranged & over-produced to within an inch of it’s life, as is too often the case for certain types of songs from the 60’s (sort of like when/how Pat Boone got famous, which I know was in the 50’s, but work with me, ok?). It was ok/good, but I wouldn’t go as far as the judges did. He’s über likable, and could build a serious “chicken-little” fan-base, but with honest-to-God, able-to-win-the-contest talent to back it up. Formidable.
Danny Noriega (18 - Azusa, CA) “Jailhouse Rock” - This season’s Sanjaya, albeit with a little more vocal talent (and a lot more waifish gayness — please, no more head-shakes, ok, cupcake?). Singing the King? I think not. That had drag-queen attitude, but not bad-ass, Elvis attitude. Simon was right - it was “grotesque”. It sucked! I want him off my TV, but I don’t think it’ll happen anytime before the finals. He’ll build a fan-base. And while I’ll be able to intellectually identify it, I’ll never “get” it.
Luke Menard (29 - Crawfordsville, IN) “Everybody’s Talkin’” - Nice guy, nice story. His voice actually matched the song pretty well. I’m not sure that I liked it all that much, mind you, but they were well-matched. He could build a fan-base, based on his looks/attitude/image (although the wife could hinder loyalty from the ladies…), but he could just as easily wash out quickly. Wow, Paula was actually reasonably accurate in invoking the Kenny Loggins comparison.
Colton Berry (18 - Staunton, VA) “Suspicious Minds” - Ellen Degeneres? (He actually looks a little more like James Spader’s sister to me…) Theatre background? Teletubbies theme song? Strikes 1, 2, & 3. I couldn’t stand watching him perform our second Elvis song of the night, as the Night at the Roxbury head-bobbing was way over the top. That said, I didn’t mind listening to it. He sounded ok, and because of that I think he’ll be around at least another week.
Garrett Haley (17 - Elida, OH) “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” - Our Leif Garrett lookalike bombed with the failed attempt at a callback to the Ellen Degeneres joke. What a horribly slow, boring, & forgettable arrangement of a bouncy little Neil Sedaka pop ditty. I didn’t even recognize it until he hit the chorus, and that’s not a good thing. He actually has a reasonably pure voice, and there’s probably a niche out there for him, especially in garnering the teenybopper vote. I wouldn’t be hurt if he leaves sooner rather than later, though…
Jason Castro (20 - Rockwall, TX) “Daydream” - Dreadlocks, eh? Meh. He’s interesting, if nothing else. He took a chance, both with the song choice and by playing the guitar. I don’t think he hit a home run, but I’d say it was a solid single that he hustled & stretched into a double. His personality shone through & carried the performance. There’s a genuineness about him that’s very appealing, and that bodes well for him.
Michael Johns (29 - Buckhead, GA & Australia) “Light My Fire” - Bringing things home in the money slot is our Aussie heartthrob. Singing The Doors was an inspired choice, given his looks & charisma (read: similar to Jim Morrison). That said, he was quite rough in the middle of the song, but not enough to hurt himself at all. He’s safe through well into the finals.
Once again, Ryan is pimping the vote by imploring folks to not let their favorites fall by the wayside. I really wish that someone would tell him to tell folks to vote for the best instead. They don’t mean the same thing.
At Risk: Hernandez, Chikezie, Yaeger, Noriega, Menard, Berry, & Haley
Who Should Go: Chikezie & Noriega
Who Will Go: Hernandez & Yaeger
Tomorrow: The Girls get their 60’s on…
-ghp
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Rob and Jenny let me watch the first 6 contestants—I’m making strides. The rest is on tape. Of the ones I saw, I liked David Cook and Robbie C. Jennifer actually seemed to enjoy what she watched…especially being able to make snarky comments. She sides with Simon (so do I most of the time). I am going to draw her to the right side and she and I will overpower Rob! I agree about the obnoxious habit of Ryan trying to goad the contestants to talk back to Simon. Unacceptable.
I miss having Jill at home…she was my AI buddy (Rob put up with it because he was outnumbered!). I talked to her today and her first comment was “It’s not a very attractive group of boys this year!” “I hope they improve” (with stylists, etc.) Oh to be young…back in the day…we won’t go there!
Can’t wait for the girls…
big sis