Semi-Finals: Top 12 Guys Perform

With the girls performances behind us, we finally get to see if the judges are correct by pimping out this season to be "a girl's season".  There were a few impressive performances, but all in all I was left uninspired.  I'm looking for some inspriation in tonight's guys performances.

One thing is for sure.... I wasn't inspired by Simon's hairy chest at the beginning of the show.  I think that Ryan was right when he told Simon he missed a button a two.  I also appreciated hearing Ellen comment that it sounds different in the studio than at home.  After all... she is representing US... the at home viewer.  It's cool to hear her viewpoint of things.  Thus far, 19 Entertainment, great job nabbing Ellen for the judges panel.  I think it was a strong decision.

So as if the guys weren't terrified enough, Simon starts off the night saying: "If you forget the words, your career is over."  No pressure guys. 

So let's get at it!

Todrick Hall- "Since You Been Gone": I was super impressed by his audition song.  Very creative.  Will that creativity transfer over to his performances on the live shows?  Well... you have to hand it to Todrick for taking a creative chance with an R&B, jam version of this poppy Kelly Clarkson gem.  This performance was a great way to start of the show.  He has piqued my interest in hearing more from him.  There were definitely some wobbly notes.... but he compensated with his showmanship.  He almost had a bit of Adam Lambert to him (in stage presence, not vocal chops).  You could tell his dance background just by his natural movements on stage... he's comfortable up there thanks to all of his years of dance background.  Simon's comments were a little too harsh.  Was it stupid?  Did he murder it?  I really don't think so.  It was a worthy attempt to show off some creativity that just wasn't quite executed as well as it could have been.  All in all... I think we will see Todrick next week.

Aaron Kelly- "Here Comes Goodbye": Aaron has been a little dorky so far... lacking the real star quality... although he is comfortable on stage.  BUT... he did forget his lyrics during Hollywood Week, so will the same happen to him once he hits the live stage.  Well... he remembered the lyrics... but thats about all I can say in his favor.  He is a combination of Chicken Little, David Archuleta and Billy Gilman (with no traces at all of Justin Beiber).  I felt this performance was a bit awkward, just as Simon said... but he's definitely going to be around next week.  The song choice was predictable and boring.  Rascal Flatts?  Another emotional male power ballad?!  We all saw that coming.  But he's not really playing that "creatively-twist-up-songs" card at this point in the game.  In fact, I don't know if he's the kind of contestant that will ever play that card (and in the recent years of David Cooks, Adam Lamberts and Kris Allens, its almost a necessity to be a successful Idol contestant).  The performance was pretty karaoke.  But decent karaoke.  For those of you that didn't know, Aaron was the winner of the "American Idol Experience" at Disney World in Orlando.  They gave some guaranteed audition spots to people wo made it through several levels of competition there.  It's cool to see that actually works (and makes me want to go to Orlando now to check it out).  But just as the people at Disney who probably voted him the champion, he's gonna have to count on the tween and soccer mom vote to make it very far on the show this year. 

Jermaine Sellers- "Get Here": We haven't learned too much about him so far, besides the borderline-diva behavior during Hollywood Week when he called out the band.  That was definitely a little shady.  If he's a smart guy, he will give his props to the band tonight.  This song choice initially seemed to me like it would be fitting... but I really didn't like this performance.  There were some pretty horrible notes in there.  The last note was flatter than a pancake.  Ellen was too nice when she said he tried too hard "a couple of times".  A COUPLE OF TIMES?  I think pretty much the whole song.  He gets and E for effort.  It was way too much.  Unfortunately for Jermaine, with his bad wrap from Hollywood Week and this performance combined, it could be a recipe for disaster.  I agree with Simon that he may have totally blown his opportunity.  Even though they brought the Hollywood Week music director on stage to show that they've kissed and made up, I think that the damage is already done for Jermaine.  Without much backstory, he needed to wow us like Kris Allen did during his first week last year (with little to no backstory). 

Tim Urban- "Apologize":  (Speaking of Kris Allen... lol...)  Here's the guy that we're all waiting with baited breath to hear.  He's the guy that filled in the last spot in the top 12 when Chris Golightly was disqualified for being under contract with a music label.  It was cool to see his whirlwind behind-the-scenes story.  I can't imagine the roller coaster of emotions of making it so far into Hollywood Week... getting cut... and then coming back.  As of right now, I feel like he has too much of a Kris Allen vibe going on.  The look, the voice, the wholesomeness.... its all a little too reminicent.  Will that be a blessing or a curse for him?  THEN... as if all that wasn't enough, he picks "Apologize" which Kris sang last season.  Once he started singing, it was easy to kabosh the comparisons.  His voice is not nearly as pure or mature as Kris's.  The high notes were ATROCIOUS.  His performance skills were totally weak.  He tried to look in the camera and make a connection, but it all seemed unnatural.  I agree with Simon that if he makes it through, it will be on looks alone.  I hope for the show's sake that he doesn't make it and that some better singers do make it through.   I scoff at the quote from him saying that he's "more unique" when he has his guitar.  You mean "more like Kris Allen", right? 

Joe Munoz- "You & I Both": Who the heck is this guy?  Did they feature him at all during the auditions?  I certainly don't remember.  He's got to make a big impression tonight to make up for his lack of coverage.  Well first of all, I do have to say that he has a nice smile!  I think that will appeal to the young girls... especially because he's a young guy.  For some reason I like the lilttle latin scatting vibe he put on this song.  I think if he would have just been a bit more confident and pushed those vocal stylings, he could have left a stronger impression.  But, for chooosing a Jason Mraz song, it actually didn't sound like Jason Mraz (which can easily happen on this show).  It was unique... but I just don't know if the vocals were on point quite enough to make it as effective as it could have been.  He seemed nervous, which you can't blame him for.  I agree with Simon that Joe doesn't seem like a guy who could become a mulit-million selling recording artist.  Of the guys so far though, he has made me want to hear more from him.  Not quite enough to pick up the phone and vote incessantly... but enough to hope we see him next week.  I guess it will just depend if the following singers will make us forget about this possibly forgettable performance. 

Tyler Grady- "American Woman": I do have to say that Tyler's audition is one of the most memorable.  For me it was memorable because when he walked in I just knew that he was one of those gimmicky guys that was trying to pull off a fake persona... but then after he began to sing, my whole thoughts on him were turned around!  He ended up being quite a good singer.  Will this contintue into the semis?  Well he starts off American Woman with a bluesy vibe and I think that he's gonna switch it up completely from the original version.  But then those familiar beats of the original version kick in.  The vocals were PAINFUL!  I don't care what kind of character or persona you are trying to represent... at this point in the competition you need to be able to sing a whole song without your voice cracking or hitting sharp/flat notes.  The promise that I was hoping to see with him all diminished after this performance.  Randy hit it right on target when he said it was "style over substance".  I think Tyler will probably still be around after this week... but does he deserve it?  I'm not quite sure.

(At this point in the show, can I just say that the judges were right saying its a girls year?  I'm definitley uninspired by the guys performances as of now)

Lee Dewyze- "Chasing Cars":  Lee is someone we know little about.  The little I know about him I don't like him so far.  The singing was rough in Hollywood Week in my opinion.  In terms of personality, he comes off as an arrogant frat guy. He's like that guy that drunkenly makes an ass out himself in public and thinks he's the funniest guy on the planet.  OK... enough of me bashing the personality of someone I don't actually know... LOL... :-)  On to the singing.  Chasing Cars is one of my favorite songs.  Truth is, it is a very simple and easy song to sing... so already Lee isn't pushing himself too much.  I didn't hate it.  It could have been worse. The raspiness of his voices makes him interesting, but I still just don't think he has the chops.  There was a lot of pitchiness.  One thing I do have to say after watching the whole performance and the judges comments is that my thoughts on Lee's personality have somewhat changed.  He does seem endearing now at this point.  I think eyes say a lot about someone... and his eyes were really showing how much he wants this and how much he cares.  He was listening to the judge's comments intensely as if he was taking every word as a recommendation (which is something the others should do).  You could tell on his face that he was 100% in the moment and wanting to be the best he could.  So... for what its worth, he's kind of won me over in personality aspect.  The singing aspect?  Meh.  Not loving it as much as Simon.  It will be enough to keep him around though.   

John Park- "God Bless the Child": The most memorable thing about John Park so far is Shania Twain telling him he had a "nice bottom end"... LOL.  I love that they played this moment over again and that John played it up... especially the marriage proposal.  So cute and funny.  :-)  I would love to hear Shania's reaction to this!  So.... the first verse of this song was pretty horrific.  His bottom end wasn't quite as nice this time around.  It got better once he took the mic off the stand and got into it a little bit.... but it still was just a little on the rough side.  This was a terrible song choice for him.  The song didn't showcase his voice.  When the judges use the critique that it sounds like "a cruise ship singer"... I think this is a perfect example of that.  It is a singer that is just singing a karaoke version of a standard.  It was nice at the end to see that he picked the song because it has sentimental meaning to him.  I just didn't see the emotion.  Hopefully he'll be around next week to show off something more, because I really want to like him.

Big Mike Lynche "This Love"- It's easy to say that Big Mike is the most likable of all the Top 24 so far.  We fell in love with him during Hollywood Week when his daughter was born.  Would this likability be transferred into this performance?  I think so!  I think this was the best performance of the night so far.  His voice really lends itself well to Maroon 5.  He has this great pop/neo-soul vibe about him.  If I have any negative critique about the performance, I would say it almost seemed too easy and safe for him.  The music seemed all in his range and he had a sense of ease throughout the performance.  I would like to see him push himself a bit more in the future.  I agree with Kara that if there had been better performances up to this point we may have listened with a more critical ear.... but because the show has pretty much been crap so far, Big Mike sounded amazing.  There's no way this guy will go home just yet though.  I think he will sail through to be part of the top 6 guys.  He's just got that overall charisma and charm that will draw people in to vote.

Alex Lambert- "Wonderful World": So... the plastic 80's sunglasses, the mullet, the sense of entitlement.  So far I am liking very little about Alex.  I would like to hope that he could win me over... but its going to take a lot.  Let's see.  Wonderful World is a GREAT song... by James Morrison who is a great artist that not many people know about.  The song actually fits Alex's voice pretty well (although the James version is much better!).  I think he was halfway right with this performance, but it still wasn't quite there. He definitely didn't seem comfortable on stage.  He didn't 100% believe in himself.  It was actually quite laughable when he gave the camera that "come hither, teen girls" look on the last note.  He was trying... I'll give him that.  But it was still awkward.  Ellen proved to us why I love her with the banana reference, saying that he is like a banana that is just not quite ripe... and you really want to eat it, but you know it would be better if you let it sit around and get ripe.  I think she's right!  Alex could be really good.... but we have to let him sit around on the kitchen counter for a few more days. 

Casey James- "Heaven": I am so on the fence about Casey up to this point.  I mean, people seem to think he has this sexy vibe about him, but I really don't see it.  Maybe its because I don't really like guys with long hair... but I don't buy it.  I've enjoyed the bluesy guitar in Hollywood Week... but I don't understand how commentators thus far have already named his one of the front runners.  I don't see the star quality.... but maybe we will tonight.  Let's see.  Well, off the bat I have to say that he was smart to do the bar stool with guitar and starting the song off with just him and no band.  That made this performance a bit more memorable.  What wasn't memorable was the vocal.  It was atually quite rough in spots.  When he's in a normal, easy tone of voice, sure he sounds good.  But at any point that he went up for a high note, it sounded like he was shrilling!  Yikes!  Two more points for Ellen for saying she felt bad for Casey for the distraction happening at the judges table, and that it wasn't fair... because it wasn't!  Hello Randy, Kara and Simon???!! During performance time, the show is NOT about you.  I kinda felt bad for Casey because you could tell he was almost starting to crack up laughing... and the song was not that kinda song.  But anyway.... in the grand scheme of things, there is no way that Casey would be going home tonight, so I guess I should just relax. 

Andrew Garcia- "Sugar, We're Goin' Down": OK... let's be real.  There's a reason this guy has tonight's "pimp spot".  He is easily the most talented guy so far.  His vocals during his audition and Hollywood Week have blown the other guys out of the water.  I certainly hope that he will rock it tonight so that he can make up for this HOT MESS of a show.  The song choice was interesting and unexpected... which I think are two adjectives that we will continue to use to describe him throughout the season.  I don't think that the performance was as bad as the judges seemed to think it was.  I think they gave him a hard critique to push him.  It would have been easy to say he was "the best of the night" and leave it at that... because really he was.  But I think they wanted to give him a critique he could work with.  I think we've got some great things to


OK... so ranking these performances is TOUGH.  There were no great ones, a couple good ones, and a lot of "meh" ones.  But here's my stab at a ranking:
1. Andrew Garcia
2. Big Mike Lynche
3. Lee Dewyze
4. Todrick Hall
5. Joe Munoz
6. Alex Lambert
7. John Park
8. Aaron Kelly
9. Casey James
10. Tyler Grady
11. Tim Urban
12. Jermaine Sellers

And now for my predictions:  The predictions are a predicament, to be honest.  I feel pretty safe saying that Jermaine Sellers is one of the two going home.  The second spot is a bit more difficult. 

It should be Tim Urban.  Simon even said himself that they made the right decision initially to not include him in the top 24.  The vocals were some of the worst of the night.  Unfortunately, what should happen and what will happen are two different things. 

I think it is more likely that someone like Joe Munoz goes home.  Although I personally had him ranked #5 out of 12, I don't think he left a memorable impression after tonight... and people have to remember you in order to vote for you.  With hardly no backstory at all, the public has nothing else to remember him by.  I hate playing the race card (but I'm going to...) I am secretly hoping that the latin community might save him and give him another chance.  I really would like to see more. 

There are other people deserving of going home in my opinion... like Tyler Grady.  That performance was really really not good.  What Tyler has that Joe is lacking... is backstory and pre-arranged fanbase.  Thanks top Idol featuring Tyler so much, I think he'll be (unfairly) safe.

So... the final verdict:  Leaving tonight will be Jermaine Sellers and Joe Munoz. 

What are your thoughts?  Please comment!