I guess I will be the first to start the critique of this year's idol contestants. Last night was the Guys. As a group, this could be the worst group of guys in the show's history. Out of the 12 maybe two or three are even worthy to be considered. To me a good portion of them are extremely feminine. Very Broadway and Showtunish. Anyway here it goes.
TOP FOUR THAT SHOULD GO ON TO FINALS
1. Phil Stacey - He was the last singer of the night, and they clearly saved the best for last. Once Phil gets the nerves out, he will go pretty far. He is a little different (bald head, family), but most of all he has a mature voice that projects and stands out.
2. Jared Cotter - Another mature voice, and very confident about his act. Nice looking guy, that actually acts like a guy. I hope he doesn't fall into the Brian mcKnight "trap" because that will get old real quick. But the guy can sing.
3. Chris Sligh - He does not have the image, but he has the talent and the personality. He can be one of the best in the group man or woman. The best part about him is it seems he has room to grow, which could be danger to the other contestants.
4. Nick Pedro - I don't know the song he sang, but he sang it very well.
NEXT FOUR THAT HAVE WORK TO DO
Blake Lewis - "The Beat Boxer". I have not seen enough of him yet. I hope he does not fall into the beat box trap where he feels he has to to it with every song. Last night he resisted the temptation. But has potential.
Paul Kim - Careless Whisper is one of my favorite songs. This guy has a mountain to climb though. The whole bare feet thang can be overcome, but right or wrong he has stereotypes to overcome especially in some parts of the country. He will not win, but if he can find himself and stick with it, he can get to the finals.
A.J. Tabaldo - He sang another one of my favorites Luther Vandross' Never Too Much. But he needs to show some originallity. Like Simon said, he has seen that song sung like that before. One of the feminine guys I was speaking of. He will not make it out of this round.
Brandon Rodgers - "The Career Background Singer". he was rather boring, and it s clear that after one night, he is not ready to go up to the front. But he has two weeks left to convince me.
BOTTOM FOUR, IT IS TIME TO GO HOME
Rudy Cardinas - He sang "Free Ride". I will be giving him a free ride back to where he came from. he was terrible.
Sundance Head - This guy should not even have gotten this far. He was terrible in Hollywood, and he knows it. He was the last one to make it over another guy who I thought should be in this group. he is clearly not ready for the spot light.
Chris Richardson - He is so forgettable, that I forgot his performance last night. Oh Yeah, he is the Justin Timberlake wannabe. Has some talent, liked the song, but not enough room for two JT's, Time to go.
And lastly.....
Sanjay Malakar - He is way too young and inmature for this. He can sing. He too sang one of my favorite songs Stevie Wonder's Something About Your Love. But just him saying that he got his GED so that he never has to go to High School shows me that he is clearly rushing this process. He has to find some soul and energy to go along with his voice. Plus he is way to feminine for me. HE NEEDS TO MAN UP.
GOING HOME THIS WEEK PREDICTION......
Sanjay and Sundance.
On to the ladies.....man I hope it is better than last night
