Everyone was so good right out of the gate that I was wondering if I had turned into an old softy like the judges. I was about to throw up my hands and just say that they are all terrific, and good luck to them, but then Jeremy was a little weak, Chase was really weak, Creighton was inconsistent, and Phil-Phil and Eben were terrible. I’m not thrilled that they weren’t all terrific, but I’m relieved.
Oh, and when I say terrific I don’t mean “moment” terrific. They were in tune and entertaining, and they showed some good chops, but I don’t know that any of them were particularly memorable. We need to know them better before we will get emotional about ’em. Here are my quick takes:
Reed Grimm- By merit he was one of the best, but will he be one of the most popular? He’s probably going to get one of the wild cards if he doesn’t get the votes, but it would be better for his long term future to have some voters in his pocket.
Adam Brock- He sounded fantastic on almost all of his song, but the Idol edit at the end only showed the small portion of the song when he sounded merely decent. Another brutal edit for Phat Gokey? Are they trying to tell us something?
Deandre Brackensick- His falsetto was strangely weak by his normal standards, but he saved it with the huge high note and the long full voice note at the end.
Colton Dixon- Colton did Colton, and the high falsetto note and the end coupled with the sweet piano intro should make him stand out in the voters’ eyes.
Jeremy Rosado- Sweet, emotional performance and his incredibly flattering video could get him through, but he was kinda weak, especially compared to what had come before him.
Aaron Sanders- He might have been the best of the night, but did anyone notice? He didn’t miss a single note, and he hit some really cool ones. He was a pro’s pro up there.
Chase Likens- That wasn’t even good drunk karaoke. If Chase gets voted through we will know that the southern voters are in full control of the show.
Creighton Fraker- 90% brilliant; 10% weird, shouty and juuuust a little bit out of tune. I like the guy, but he’s a huge long shot to stay on the show. He looks like the bastard love child of Justin Timberlake and Buddy Hackett, huh? HUH? Ah…. Never mind.
Phil Phillips- That was the draggiest bag of wet garbage that I’ve seen on the show in awhile; just a horrible song choice by a guy who needs the perfect song to sound good. Phil-Phil’s voters will probably save him anyway.
Eben Franckewitz- No pizzazz, and he was out of tune for most of the song. Another terrible song choice.
Heejun Han- Mediocre performance, but Heejun is a mediocre singer. It won’t matter. He’s gonna get a bajillion votes.
Joshua Ledet- Man, does he have a voice….. I wasn’t impressed with him tonight, though. I smelled some Jacob Lusk in there, and he missed some notes just like Jacob always did. I never did figure out where the melody was. I’m sure he’s fine, though, and moving on. For now.
Jermaine Jones- The spoiler was right about the returnee. The judges didn’t seem thrilled about his chances, but he was really good. If he doesn’t advance, at least he left on his shield.
Safe to in Danger:
Heejun
Joshua
Deandre
Colton
Phil-Phil
Adam
Reed
Jermaine
Jeremy
Chase
Eben
Aaron
Creighton
I would be shocked if we actually got the best five.Americahas always been notoriously dense about who the best singers are, and the speed dialers are moronically insane about their favorites; usually cute southern boys. We are going to get a couple of the weakest singers in the finals, and they are going to have huge voting blocs. Phil or Heejun could win the whole thing. Is that your idea of a great singer?
