American Idol Season 10 - AI 2.0, Top 12 Guys Perform

Another American Idol season has started, and although initially I worried how the show could survive without Simon, I see now that totally different judges makes for a sort of AI 2.0, and it works. Steven Tyler is surprisingly animated and hilarious, while Jennifer Lopez fits well into the sympathetic Paula gap, albeit with a bias in favor of the more attractive contestants. I've also thought for a long while that the age range should be extended, but I thought up, not down. Sure, 15-year-old could have the ability to win, but they'd still have it when they're 16 or 18. But I guess we live in a youth culture, so people over 28 are corpses, and the sooner you start making money off the younger people, the more money you'll make before they're---ugh---30! Or even older! (Let's pretend we don't know how old Fergie or Gwen Stefani are. ) The 15-year-olds don't make much of a difference, really, except in making adult viewers feel ancient. Another year younger, so what. It was 24-year-old Ashthon who claimed to never have heard a Beatles song. I guess she doesn't get out much.

I think the producers could have done better with a lot more information on how the show was going to go, though. The extra rounds in the auditions were odd and didn't make a lot of sense. And cutting 24 to 10 in one shot, with only one show apart from auditions, is bizarre. It also seems a poor choice to send them onto the main stage for this huge cut---they should have done it before or after, since past seasons have shown a sharp decline when they shift to the big stage.

So I didn't know only 5 contestants would make it through from each group of guys/girls until I watched the "12 guys perform" episode---after voting had closed. It would have been helpful if they had informed the viewers about that earlier. I saw every audition episode, and there was not one word. I guess they decided it was better to not actually use the show to relate crucial information about it. Or maybe they thought it would be a nice surprise for loyal viewers to watch the competition grandly finalize 24 contestants, only to then get rid of more than half of them in one fell swoop. I, for one, say "Thanks, AI! You're dumbasses." Also, you could have done a lot more with the update to the opening credits sequence, but thank you for at least changing it a little.

Going into the top 12 guys show, I was disappointed at some of the selections, but the top picks were all in there, so I guess it wasn't as bad as it could be. Also, there weren't that many stellar guys this year. At least not in comparison to the girls. I think it's definitely a ladies' year. But I ranked the guys as I liked them pre-performance (and later, post).

1) Brett Loewenstern
2) Casey Abrams
3) Tim Halperin
4) Robbie Rosen
5) Clint Jun Gamboa (but he still seemed like a less-friendly person, so I don't know how that'll go over)
6) Jovany Barretto
7) James Durbin (who would be much more impressive if he didn't keep doing the Adam Lambert-imitative shrieks)
8) Jacob Lusk (who's only this low because his voice, while incredible, is not for popular music as he's been using it)
9) Paul McDonald
10) Scotty McCreery (only for lack of breadth, so his ranking could change drastically IF he has the capability to adapt)
11) Stefano Langano
12) Jordan Dorsey (who was a total waste to include in the top 12)

Clint Jun Gamboa chose the wrong song in "Superstition," which did little to showcase his voice other than in the "hey"s. He had too much vibrato, and unfortunately for him, looks like a humorous, nonsexy cross between an anime cartoon character and Joel Gosselin.

Jovany Barreto looks like late '80s/early '90s cheese. There's not much he could do about it, I suppose, since he's got that Stallone-y sort of look, except with itsy-bitsy features. His performance of "I'll Be" sounded weak and thin. This was also not the best choice: it does show off his voice a little, but it doesn't showcase anything unique or display special talent. Very hotel/cruise singer.

The judges, except for Randy, are plain lying, blowing smoke up their asses. Either that or Jennifer Lopez has poor taste, which is likely.

Jordan Dorsey never struck me as particularly good, even in his audition. But he had the looks and enough ability to do a sort of throwback crooner angle. So "OMG," which is arguable as a song anyway, was the worst possible choice for him. There was very little singing, mostly just uncomfortable chant-talking, and the few parts that were singing were all off key. It was awful. Really bad. And then worst of all, he admits he knew it was a mistake! He knew 7 people were getting cut, but he still chose to do a song that wasn't him, where he'd have to dance and act like a "jumpy jumpy" singer, even though he isn't. STUPID. 'I worked so hard to get here, now I can finally really screw it up! Hurray!' I don't know if I've ever seen an AI performance this bad. It was like a random civilian dancer from a 1985 episode of American Bandstand got up and tried to be DeBarge meets Rick James.

Tim Halperin was one of my favorites, but I think this was a horrible song choice, and again it sounded so thin---I don't know if it's the sound, mixing, or what. But even the faraway sound doesn't excuse this crap choice of a song. "Streetcorner Symphony" (what a laugh as a title) is one of those songs for people who can't sing to choose at karaoke. I agree with the judges that it didn't showcase him at all.

I'm a little confused. If these people really wanted to make it to American Idol, didn't they think about what songs they'd like to sing, practice, and try them out in front of small audiences? Even if you don't know exactly what they'll let you use, bet on Billboard #1s or songs previously sung on AI. So far nobody has chosen a song that makes sense to me.

Brett Loewenstern goes with another NUTCASE song choice in "Light My Fire." Do you really want to compete with Jim Morrison? Anyone? This was way weird. He was extremely feminine while singing a song famous for its über-masculine sex god male singer. But he did show off his vocals once he got going. Still, he gave such a drag queen/woman style to the delivery, it's uncomfortable and unappealing. And he needs to get more comfortable with himself. He looked like the person trying to convince himself he's cool rather than someone relaxed and confident. If it weren't for those issues, he'd be in first, but you often can't go on voice alone in Idol.

James Durbin has Tourette's and Asperger's and is extremely gifted, so I can excuse his aping of Adam Lambert for now. He's definitely a rock singer, and he made no concessions choosing "Another Thing Coming." Wow. Incredible. Truly exceptional. The best tonight by far. He looked and acted like this performance was exactly what he should be doing, even though other times I've felt like he was too put on.

Robbie Rosen returns us to the totally weird song choices. "Angel" is difficult for anyone to sing, because Sarah McLachlan is just about guaranteed to beat you. The timing also seemed off, although I think he was trying to play with it. He definitely played with the melody, to his detriment. It didn't add to the song, and he didn't show off his voice except a little falsetto trilliness. It was okay, but not as good as everything else he's done. I totally disagree with Jennifer Lopez's preference of Robbie's choices over the original! Perhaps this laps of judgment in sound is why Miss Lo hasn't been hitting the hits in recent years?

I very much agree with Randy. It seems that he's the only one who is a) conscious b) able to hear or c) comfortable being honest.

Scotty McCreery is another extremely gifted young gentleman, but so far only for country singing, so I don't see how he could win this competition unless he shows more. This isn't Nashville Star. But they should bring that back, because it was awesome, and I'm not really even a country fan. I think Scotty should still easily win a recording contract from his participation here. He's cute and hilarious in his country-ness, and is kind of '80s-country in his style with "Letters from Home." It's really terrific, but I just don't know about the pop fit.

It's weird how much I find myself agreeing with Randy. I think they used to have to play certain roles as judges with the old setup, because I often used to disagree with him, and suddenly he seems like the sharp, discerning judge, with just the right criticism.

Stefano Langone has the third of the rare fitting song choices, "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars. His voice usually sounds thin, so the thinness tonight is just about equal to usual. But somehow that adds up to him sounding better., mostly. He's off on the 3rd-to-last "are," but otherwise this performance made him seem better than Tim, which he's not.

Paul McDonald is like Michael McDonald crossed with Kenny Loggins and now, Rod Stewart. The sound system (or the way he holds/moves his mike?) prevents his voice from coming through. But his voice was already too idiosyncratic, his musical inclinations too mature for the core AI audience. I love "Maggie May," but I'm not the AI core. But at least Paul was smart enough to pick a song he knew well: he sang this one at his audition in Nashville. He looks palsied now that we see him dancing with free rein, but hey, Taylor Hicks made it. Paul's smile makes me a little uncomfortable, like he's crazy or pervy or something. And he reminds me of someone. It's driving me nuts. Is it . . .

Bernie Coulson?

Jacob Lusk has a tough row to hoe to be "pop." And again, I guess thanks to tonight's sound people, he's echoey and hard to hear except at the starts and ends of notes. "A House is Not A Home" isn't a song that's going to grab people, even though he's talented. Like Scotty, he should garner enough attention to easily do what he does after (losing on) AI. Unless something totally new is going on---and it does seem a little new, in some show choices, but the audience is likely the same---he's too operatic and avant-garde for the AI audience.

Casey Abrams. By the time he starts, I'm scared, because my top choices are falling flat, and hard. But Casey delivers. In his promo, he said he wanted to change the AI mold, which is what I thought as soon as I saw him audition. I'm hoping the audience (voters) go for it, because he's awesome, and knows exactly what he's doing with music, in every way. He's a genius. Unfortunately, I wouldn't say the AI audience is. So I don't know how he'll go over. Or "I Put A Spell on You," even though it's classic and he's totally going Eric Burdon on it. In fact, he's so good that I don't even know if the general population could appreciate him enough to be popular. He might go right over their ears. Maybe. Maybe enough people understand good music now? If so, I'm unaware. But maybe. If not, he could release his stuff small and go the producer route to make money. It seems the place for a lot of incredible musicians is producer, because only other musicians can fully appreciate their talent, skill, and knowledge.


Tonight's ranking, based on vocals only (since the night was such a lame one), and based only on tonight, since this was the big chance:

1) James Durbin & Casey Abrams
2) Jacob Lusk
3) Paul McDonald
4) Scotty Mcreery
5) Brett Loewenstern
6) Clint Jun Gamboa
7) Jovany Barreto
8) Stefano Langone
9) Tim Halperin
10) Robbie Rosen
11) Jordan Dorsey

Who I want to stay, based on everything (auditions & tonight): James, Casey, Brett, Tim, Scotty, Clint.

Who I'd bet on as a sure thing: James, Casey.

Who should go most: Jordan. He was so bad he should go a few times, plus three.