Digital Brainwaves

American Idol 8 – Top 36 group one

Feb 18, 2009 That's Hot

The competition is on! The first live battle of American Idol 8 is upon us. Twelve of the top 36 sing tonight. I’m blogging late tonight, but will attempt to get votes in before the east coast voting closes; either way, I’ll note who I did vote/would have voted for.

• Dude…  comparing the Idol judges to “The View”? You’d diss the judges like that?
• Top girl, guy, and next highest vote-getter will go on tonight, and for the following two weeks; final three will be chosen on a wild card show the next week.
  1. Jackie Tohn (28, New York, NY) – “A Little Less Conversation” – Jackie literally brought the house down in her first audition. I’m less impressed with her rendition of the Elvis Presley song. In several parts at the beginning, I thought she was behind and racing to catch up, getting the rest of her lyrics in before the next line, and she seemed to finsh off by nearly yelling instead of singing.  It’s okay, but I’m not blown away.
• She’s quick with the comebacks for the judges, which can either help you or hurt you. I think it’ll help her in this case.
  2. Ricky Braddy (26, Elizabeth City, NC) – “A Song For You” – It’s hard sometimes to come through strongly with a ballad, but Ricky gets it done here. He’s got a great voice, though I’m worried he may not stand out enough in the crowd to make the top three. Randy seems to like it, though.
• Kara needs to keep her mouth a bit a way from the microphone; she overdrove it commenting on Ricky’s performance.
  3. Alexis Grace (21, Memphis, TN) – “Never Loved a Man” – Alexis looks like her hair’s blowing sideways in the wind, but it’s cute. As her performance starts, I’m thinking the same thing I thought about Ricky — she doesn’t seem like she’s gonna stand out. A good performance overall; just hope it’s good enough.
• Are they doing any pair of songs tonight without putting in a commercial break?
  4. Brent Keith (29, Blanchester, OH) – “Hicktown” – I can tell Brent has a voice, and I like a good rockin’ song, but I don’t think this performance is as good as the others we’ve heard so far tonight. I agree with Kara; we didn’t hear enough from him tonight.
  5. Stevie Wright (17, Phelan, CA) – “You Belong With Me” – Stevie is extremely nervous to start, sings almost under her breath, and doesn’t really improve. She sounds flat, and rather karaoke-ish. Not a good showing.
  6. Anoop Desai (22, Chapel Hill, NC) – “Angel of Mine” – Anoop said he wanted to sing with energy every week, but chose an R&B ballad, so I’m not sure about his song choice. Overall, though, not a bad performance.
  7. Casey Carlson (20, Minneapolis, MN) – “Every Little Thing (S)he Does Is Magic” – I like this song. Casey sings it rather pitchy, though. Not the best song for her, and like Randy said, pretty karaoke.
  8. Michael Sarver (27, Jasper, TX) – “I Don’t Wanna Be” – The roughneck sings Gavin DeGraw, and I want to like him, but while he does add some embellishment, this sounds also a little to karaoke, though not to the extent that Casey did.
• Kara’s working for me as a judge… she’s a good balance to Randy and Simon, while not sounding as mushy and unwilling to hurt someone’s feelings as Paula. There have been rumors (and I have no information to know whether they’re true) that she’s being groomed as a replacement for Paula, and if she does, she’d do well.
  9. Ann Marie Boskovich (22, Nashville, TN) – “Natural Woman” – I like songs into which the performers have added “a little twist,” and she sings it strong. Great ending note… I think this one’s gonna be one to watch, despite the comments by the judges. I do agree with one of Kara’s points — I’d like to hear her sing “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles
  10. Stephen Fowler (26, Cleveland, OH) – “Rock With You” – Stephen almost failed out during Hollywood Week, and gets his chance to redeem himself here. His pitch doesn’t do himself any favors, as he sings the bulk of the song flat, to the point that the backup singers sounded excessively sharp by comparison. He goes for broke with a long note toward the end, but I doubt it will be enough.
  11. Tatiana Del Toro (24, San Juan, PR) – “Saving All My Love For You” – Tatiana has a voice, but she’s too quiet to start out. As the song progresses, she gets at little better, but she’s gotta be more confident with herself in a live performance. One front-on camera shot points out part of the problem — she doesn’t carry the microphone directly in front of her; instead, it’s actually off to the side, which is hurting how the mic picks up her voice. It probably sounds better in the studio audience than it does on TV. Like Kara says, she’s pretty reserved tonight — I’d like to hear her express herself more, and put more energy into it.
  12. Danny Gokey (28, Milwaukee, WI) – “Hero” – Mariah Carey is one of those artists whose songs you just don’t dare screw up. Danny does a good job with it, but at first I was worried he wouldn’t live up to the original, but he improved in the bridge section. Good performance.

I voted for: Jackie (1), Ricky (2), Alexis (3), Anoop (6), Ann Marie (9) and Tatiana (11). I tried to vote for Danny (12), but in watching Idol via DVR delay, did not get my text in in time.
Prediction
Moving on tonight: Anoop, Tatiana, Danny

See you tomorrow night for the results (after poker night, and either before or after “Lost” — I’m not sure yet )!