Semi-Finals: Group 1 Performances

We'll give this American Idol blogging thing another try in 2009. :-)

I'll be honest. After looking online and seeing all the singers that would be in group one, I was a little disgruntled because I really thought that Idol was stacking the deck with group one. It seemed like there were way too many good singers in this group, and to know that only three of them would for sure make it though with the new (old) format, it made me a little frustrated. Mostly because of the guys... I mean you're gonna put Danny, Anoop, Brent and Michael all in the same group??? Frustrating...

But then I actually watched the show.

And to say the least I was "underwhelmed". I thought so many people were going to be good... and honestly, my socks were never knocked off until Danny performed at the end (which was painfully predictable anyway).

Here's my take on everyone:

Jackie Tohn, "A Little Less Conversation"- Jackie needs to "tohn" it down a bit! That was bordering on crazy! It didn't showcase her voice at all... and the arrangement was just weird. We know from the auditions that she is quirky and weird, but she played up to that WAY too much.

Ricky Braddy, "A Song For You"- When he started singing, I was like "shooooot... this is going to be even more difficult because now HE's good too (note: this is before I watched the others). He actually had a really great voice, and as a vocalist he performed that well. Not as an entertainer. I couldn't agree with Simon more when he said that this guy was just a bit boring. He needs more personality and he'd be good to go.

Alexis Grace, (some Aretha song...)- To be honest, I dont remember the name of the song because halfway through we fast-forwarded (thank goodness for DVR). Then we watched the judges comments and they liked her. I dont' get it. I say "meh"....

Brent Keith, "Hicktown" OK... so I actually met this guy when I lived in Nashville, so I was secretly rooting for him (not so secret now). He was on Nashville Star back in the day... but now has a completely new look and I really like him. I wanted SO MUCH MORE out of his performance last night. It was like he was holding back a bit or something. When you pick a song like "Hicktown" you've got to be prepared to rock it out. I hope he gets a chance to come back in the Wild Card round and correct his mistakes.

Stevie Wright, (some Taylor Swift song...) I really wanted to like this girl a lot... in fact during her video package before her performance, i was getting myself all prepared to really like her. And then she bombed. Horrible HORRIBLE song choice.... and really bad singing of it. Again... thank you DVR for allowing me to fast-forward.

Anoop Desai, "Angel of Mine" I agree with the judges that anoop is one of the most likeable people this season, and I think that alone will get him through (in addition to the "Anoop Dogg" gimmick). I actually really liked this performance and I think it was a great song to choose. He could have done the upbeat thing like he's done in the past... but I actually thought it was one of the best song choices of the night. I hope to see him make it through.

Casey Carlson, "Everything Thing She/He Does is Magic" Bye-bye Casey. But just for you I'll give you a wink and an awkward shoulder move on your way out. (Is she related to Sarah Palin with those winks?)

Michael Sarver, "I Don't Wanna Be" Again... another guy I really wanted to like. He's super likeable... but I really thought he was super awkward and borderline cheesy with some of his facial experssions. He was trying way to hard, and he needs to be true to himself. I think just singing without the "extra-ness" he's good.

Ann Marie Boskovich, "Natural Woman" She is ANOTHER one that I REALLY wanted to like. I think she's super cute, and I totally remebered her audition where they asked her to come back with a makeover and she rocked it out. But this was a bad song choice for her. She's not soulful enough for a song like Natural Woman. I agree whole-heartedly with Kara when she said that Ann Marie needs to sing songs a`la Sara Barielles, etc. She did hit an awesome last note though. The last note saved her from a completely forgettable performance.

Steven Fowler, "Rock With You" I'm anti-Steven because I think its ridiculous he made it through forgetting his words twice when awesome people like Jamar didn't make it though... so I had judged him before he even started. But then he backed up my pre-judgement by performing a super awkward rendition of one of Michael Jackson's best songs. Bad song choice AGAIN.

Tatiana Del Toro, "Saving All My Love" I said to Rich before she even performed "with as bad as the girls have been tonight, it's leaving the door wide open for Tatiana".... and she walked right in that door. As annoying as this chick is, we all can't ignore that she actually has a voice. When she said she was singing Whitney, I knew she was going to do well. Sure there were some sour notes, but when she gets to the belting-out notes, she really hits them well. The judges were complaining about the more demure Tatiana, but I actually liked it. She FINALLY toned down the annoying-ness, which is what she needed to do all along. All things considered, I think Tatiana did exactly what she needed to to to have a chance at making it through... (not to mention that votefortheworst.com will be ALL over her this season, so she's got help there).

Danny Gokey, "Hero" He's awesome. Predictably awesome. There was no way he was not going to make the top 12. He's on a fast track to top 4 if not winning this thing, in my opnion. He's got the back-story... He's got the likability... and he's got the pipes. I guess my "rooting-for-the-underdogness" makes me want to root for someone else, because he's SO OBVIOUSLY the front-runner... but there is no denying how awesome Danny is.

Who I think SHOULD make it though: Danny, Tatiana & Anoop (as much as it kills me to say that about Tatiana... lol)

Who I think WILL make it though: Danny, Alexis, and Anoop (with a possilble suprise of Tatiana sneaking in for the girl slot)

Who I think should have a chance at Wild Card: Ricky, Brent, Michael and Ann Marie