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« American Idol
Episode Recap: Top 12 Guys
The truth is, I wasn't really buying the hype about how talented this group of contestants was. But tonight's American Idol went a long way to convincing me. The Top 12 guys did an impressive job; not all were major league performances, but a few totally hit it out of the park. The theme was '60s songs, which I thought was sort of a questionable call on the part of the producers, but most of the boys handled their assignments well. It was also fun to see the judges harassing and teasing each other — finally, it feels like Idol! Including Ryan being back to his old form; he's already stirring up trouble with Simon and man-handling the contestants. It's nice to see that some things never change.
But of course it was all about the singers tonight, starting with...
David Hernandez, "In the Midnight Hour" — Good for him for wanting to "prove Simon wrong." I thought his vocals were darn good (except for the very end), but his performance skills could definitely use some work — as Simon said, he needs to loosen up.
Chikezie, "More Today Than Yesterday" — It's not easy being Eze, apparently. Chikezie has lost his last name — and some weight — since Hollywood week, but he's still got that winning smile, and I loved the orange suit. But alas, Chikezie was cheesy! OK, OK, I'm sorry, I'm stopping now. (Simon's calling him "Chacuzzi" — as in a whirlpool tub — is not my fault.) I'm a major fan, but he needs to learn to tone down the back-talk to the judges; it takes away from his likeability. Simon found it "hideous"; I wouldn't go that far, but definitely not his best.
David Cook, "Happy Together" — In the beginning, I really didn't think this performance was good at all. And I still didn't like it as much as the judges did, but I respect David's ability to make it his own. Plus, he's starting to rival Simon with the one liners, like, "It's nice to have people outside of your circle say, 'Hey, you don't suck.' "
Jason Yeager, "Moon River" — Yawn... this was such a sappy song choice that Jason would have had to really do something special with it to redeem the performance (which he didn't). But it did get Paula reminiscing in her odd, grammatically freeform way: "I have such sentimental value to that song; I did my first ballet recital to that song."
Robbie Carrico, "One" — This performance honest-to-goodness surprised me; in fact, it might have been my favorite of the night. There's a passion to his delivery and a purity to his voice that are both very appealing. As Simon said, "It's the only current performance."
David Archuleta, "Shop Around" — OK, maybe Robbie's performance tied with this one for me. David is so sweet and seems so genuine, but his maturity and his vocal sophistication are definitely beyond his years. Simon called it the best performance of the night, and said, "When you've got it, you've got it."
Danny Noriega, "Jailhouse Rock" — Danny sure knows how to put on a show, but the vocals were just so-so. Simon thought it was awful; "[it] was verging on grotesque." But Danny was so attitudey, he managed to evoke a smile out of Simon. To which Ryan said, "Careful, he might double-snap you back." Oh, dear.
Luke Menard, "Everybody's Talkin'" — This guy reminds me of a cross between Noah Wyle, Luke Perry and (I know this is going to sound odd, but trust me on this one) James Van Der Beek. The vocals were fine, but didn't have much of a wow factor, or as Simon put it, "No one's going to remember you."
Colton Berry, "Suspicious Minds" — He cracks me up, with his Teletubbies theme-song prescription for nerves. He managed to get Paula on her feet (though she later gave it only an OK assessment, calling it an "eager and fun attempt"), and I still think he's too theatrical. And, as usual, Simon had the best line: "I just think if people spent more time worrying about their voices than their hair..." To which Ryan responded, "That's called hopeless, that box cut you've got."
Garrett Haley, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" — Garrett seems like a nice kid, but the song was honestly pretty abysmal. I leave it to Simon to do the clarifying: "It was boring, your voice sounded a bit whiny, you look terrified, and it looks like you've been shut up in your bedroom for about a month — you look verging on haunted. You need some fresh air."
Jason Castro, "Daydream" — Playing the guitar was a risky choice, but it worked for him (again, until the end, when I thought he lost it). The judges positively adored him; Paula called him "a blend of every favorite color I know," and Simon said he thinks he "has it." Jason, meanwhile, seemed a bit thunderstruck by the whole thing.
Michael Johns, "Light My Fire" — He's definitely got the Ace Young factor, if you know what I mean, but I honestly thought the vocals were kind of all over the place. I mean, if you weren't actually watching him, you probably wouldn't think much of him. But I do agree with Simon when that he has, ahem, "charisma." No doubt about that.
My prediction: It'll come down to Jason Yeager, Garrett Haley and Luke Menard for the bottom two.
What do you think? Who — if anyone — wowed you tonight? Who do you think will be the first ones to go home?
Check out all of Simon's best lines of the season in our Simon Says... the Most Quotable Things! blog.
For American Idol clips, visit our Online Video Guide.
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Feb 19, 2008 11:51 PM
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I'm out of touch with the world, based on your review and others I have read, which pretty much jived with yours!
Chikezie was super cheesy to me. Very boring, and sassing Simon is never a smart move.
Jason singing Moon River brought back all kinds of Andy Williams Christmas Special memories to me. I loved it, but it was not a good song choice for this contest.
Robbie Carrico massacred One. Yuck.
Danny Noriega brought some life to the competition, but his little pout during the critiques turnd me off, big time.
Luke is a hunk. He sings pretty. He can be on my television screen whenever he wants.
I actually thought Garrett did a great job, but I seem to be the only one.
Jason and Michael were good, but overrated, to me.
Little David Archuleta is not only unbearably cute, but has a very controlled, awesome voice. Can't wait to see what he does next.
It's nice that there is no obvious Sanjaya or Chicken Little in this group for the ratings.
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Feb 20, 2008 12:51 AM
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Jason Castro... where have they been hiding him. I could hear his song on the radio tomorrow... and those eyes, those cheekbones... Wow. I'm old enough to be his... big sister, but wow!
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Feb 20, 2008 12:53 AM
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Weirdly enough, I mostly agreed with Simon! I think most people in the viewing audience do, they would just word it differently. Its a knee jerk reaction to boo Simon, but he's actually right at the root of it all - he's just so blunt/rude about it.
Anyways, my pick for the top 6 (If I were in the US and able to vote!) would be:
David Cook - The hair is bad, but the voice and the performance were good.
Robbie Carico - Interested to see what else he can do.
Jason Castro - He surprised me - he got my foot tapping and I listened to the entire song without fastforwarding my dvr. And he's so cute and shy.
Michael Johns - he might get on my nerves later, but for now, he's good and entertaining and I'm interested to see what next.
Danny Noriega - he's just so FUN and he has completely grown on me - I thought is Elvis was entertaining - no I prob. wouldn't listen to him sing it on the radio, but it was enough to get me to vote for him, if I could.
David Hernandez - he really got me interested in Hollywood - tonight wasn't as good and he needs to loosen up, but I'd like to see more.
The others, as Simon said, were forgettable. I didn't even get through all of their performances (halfway through - gave them all a chance) but they were boring, didn't capture my attention and the reviewer was right, Chikezie got a bit too snappy and I wasn't impressed with the cockiness of Luke Menard. He WAS forgettable and his belief that the public would remember him for his "comfort" on stage? That's not why I go to concerts, I want to be entertained, not put to sleep.
Hopefully the girls are more "wow" tomorrow night, cause the guys were good, but there weren't any performances that would result in me telling my friends "holy cow you have to see this"
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Feb 20, 2008 1:29 AM
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Young david who was a wonderful young winning singer on Star Search a few years ago is fabulous with a Humongous Capital F. What charm, poise, and pure talent. How can anybody be that dumb to keep him off their top 6 list. I hope he makes it to the top 3 for the guys but his age may be a disadvantage as to what a top selling artist should look like but I couldn't care if he was 5 years old. The boy can SING!
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Feb 20, 2008 1:48 AM
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This season we've noticed that there are a lot of comments from the judges about 'marketability' and 'commercial'....do you think that because they really only have had 2 successful winners that they are worried of losing their credibility and are trying to pick someone good? I agree that Simon is usually always spot-on, just not the most tactful about it. I truly think he wants to help the kids succeed in the business and if that means being harsh, then they need to hear it. It still won't stop America from voting for their favorites, no matter how bad they are.
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Feb 20, 2008 2:20 AM
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Has anyone else noticed that they all like have the same name? It's getting pretty confusing trying to figure out which David is which if we are going by name alone. Anyway all that aside I enjoyed the men,I usually can take em or leave em but this season I was pleasantly surprised.
David, I think is the best male vocal and I thought he was good but then I forgot that he had performed by the end.
As soon as Chikezie came out in the loud retro suit, I knew that he was going to be cheesy as hell, and I was right. I fast forwarded his back talk, that's such a turn off when the contestants are overly combative with the judges.
I enjoyed David Cook, his version of that song was interesting.
I loved Robbie, he is so cute and he can sing, he didn't over sing the song, which is always nice.
I think David Archuleta is like the cutest contestant ever but am I the only one who thinks that he is not as great as the judges think he is? He has never blown me away, ever. Maybe it's just me.
I didn't think that Danny was that bad but I think he should have picked a better song to showcase his strong vocals. I voted for him based mostly on his personality, I loved how he snapped back at Simon.
Jason, Luke, Garrett, and Colton were all pretty boring either vocally, personality wise or both.
I loved, loved, loved Jason. I thought he was the only one that had a real singing identity. And it doesn't hurt that he is easy on the eyes and humble as well. Best performance of the night in my opinion.
Last but not least Michael. Michael didn't blow me away or anything but like Simon said he is consistently good.
Bottom Two: Jason Yeager and either Luke Menard for being boring and maybe Chikezie for his attitude.
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Feb 20, 2008 2:24 AM
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Tonight's theme was the 60's. But, Jailhouse Rock came out in 1957. How does that work?
I hate when people think they can sing Elvis. People tend to forget how full and rich his voice was. Too bad. It just shows their limitation. Hated both performers who tried to pull off Elvis tonight without the vocals to back them up. Hated the back talk to the judges that went with it too.
Liked Jason alot, was really surprised by him. He seemed natural and real and I couldn't help but smile.
Last guy didn't do it for me either. nice voice but wasn't buying it. sounded like a real lounge lizard.
Not sure they are the most talented group cause no one wowed me. but they aren't the worst.
Think Chikezie is going home. not sure who's joining him.
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Feb 20, 2008 2:59 AM
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I wasn't paying that much attention tonight's show. I was going back and forth to the news coverage on the primary's that took place here in WA. state. And I forgot to DVR AI and BB so I was going back and forth between AI, BB, and CNN.
Anyway, from what I did see was that Chikezie was good. I love his smile, he has cute baby face. But sassing the judges is a big "NO NO NO NO". However, his comment to Simon about his wardrobe was hysterical.
But like I said, I wasn't paying attention all that much tonight. Ill make sure Ill do it tomorrow.
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Feb 20, 2008 3:07 AM
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Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this year's crop of guys. I thought the guys last year were incredibly weak. And in Season 3.
Isn't it interesting to see the span of ages in this group? They really do go from "boys" to "men."
My absolute favorite was Jason Castro. I taped the show and found that he was the only one I wanted to go back and listen to (and watch) again. Like somebody else said, he has a vocal identity. I must have watched him about 10 times, and the more I listened, the more I thought he was like the male version of Colbie Calliat (sp?). Very down to earth and folksy with a wonderful little raspy quality to his voice the draws the listener in. It also doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous with a capital G, and very marketable. And he has a fabulously unassuming personality. But enough of my gushing. 
I thought David A was very good, and is so sweet, just like Jordan was last season. But I think he needs to mature a bit more to bring that tinge of "life experience" to his songs.
Danny Noriega is HILARIOUS, and Colton Barry is a charmer. Even though the Elvis songs didn't go over well, these two have terrific voices and make for entertaining television.
I think Garrett is a sweetheart with a pretty voice, but I think the best he can hope for at this point is to gain some valuable experience while on the show. He's too green to get very far with the level of competition he has this year.
David Hernandez has a strong voice, but lacks charisma. Luke Menard doesn't have as strong a voice as David's, and he also lacks charisma.
Jason Yeager should have chosen a different song. All I could think about when he attempted "Moon River" was how Anwar Robinson sang that song in Season 4 and hit it out of the park, his vocals were so powerful and impeccable.
David Cook has potential. I wasn't expecting his version of "Happy Together" to be as good as he made it. But I think he's in competition with Robbie Carrico and Michael Johns for that leader-of-the-band niche. Robbie was ok, but I wasn't wowwed. And I feel like Michael needs to get away from such iconic songs because I keep thinking more about the song and it's original singer, than of him. And I personally think he was off-key on his version of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Did I forget anyone? If I di--Oh yeah! Chikezie. He was NOT GOOD. Not nearly as good as the rest. Total cruise ship performance . . . in 1984! And I think he forgot the Golden Rule of AI . . . don't start sassing the judges until the audience knows and is comfortable with you! It came off badly.
I think we'll be seeing Chekezie and Jason Yeager going home. Luke really needs to redeem himself after that totally somnolent performance because he's next on my list!
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Feb 20, 2008 3:45 AM
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Although David A has a good voice, there's something about him that I don't like. It could be the way he has that scrunchy, anime look on his face...I'm not sure. Jason C, Jason Y, Luke and Garrett were the 4 who previously had not been shown singing so they all had an uphill battle. Jason Y was one of the Top 4 last night and barring a meltdown should cruise into the Top 6 guys. Garrett was ok, but he needs some work. Jason C and Luke were two of the worst and will be vying for an exit. Wouldn't it have been better to have had Kyle (the geeky, wannabe politician,) and Josiah in the Top 12 instead of these two who showed me absolutely no reason why they made it when Kyle and Josiah didn't? Heck, I'd rather have the farmer dude over Garrett for that matter. The Top 3 were Jason C, Michael and Robbie. They all can sing and they all have "it." I'd say David A was in the Top 4, the final 2 spots for Top 6 are still open. Luke, Jason C, Chickezie and maybe Garrett will be the bottom 4. The bottom 2...Jason Y and Chickezie.
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Feb 20, 2008 6:36 AM
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I agree with all of your comments, but I think that Luke really resembles Hugh Jackman more than any of the other guys that you mentioned. What do you think?
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Feb 20, 2008 8:16 AM
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zoot -there are three commercially successful past winners, not two. Carrie, Kelly and Daughtry. Others would probably argue that Clay and Fantasia are doing pretty good as well. Not a bad track record when you compare it to other talent based reality shows - Where are the winners of Rock Star? (which I LOVED, btw)
Anyway, I thought the dreadlock guy was a wonderful surprise, Michael was great and the youngest David (how many David's are there on this show, anyway?) seems adorable and has a fabulous voice - and I do not usually like the young one's. The others were ok but no stand outs. Thankfully there's no Sanjaya in the crowd but there's no Chris Daughtry or Bo either.
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Feb 20, 2008 8:27 AM
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Anyone else notice that Carly was nowhere to be found amongst the top 12 girls last nite? Anything to that? I know there's been a bit of controversy about her. And Kristy left early for what it's worth.
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Feb 20, 2008 8:30 AM
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I thought they were ALL boring. The only one that really stood out to me was Jason Castro--with his beautiful eyes, cool looking dreds, and his Jason Mraz flair with the song choice. 8 of them were so-so, 2 I fast forwarded through (Jason Yeager and Luke Menard) and the only other one besides Jason Castro that I liked was David Archeluta--but he has a weird thing going on with his breathing and I always feel like I need to get him some oxygen after he's done singing or something.
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Feb 20, 2008 8:54 AM
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