Tonight the last of the top 36 American Idol performers competed to determine which 3 the audience vote will send through to the final 12. Although I think that the women are generally stronger than the men in this competition, tonight I thought the men were better. No one really blew me away. They are listed in worst to best order.
12 Taylor Vaifanua sang Alicia Keys' "If I Got You". Off-pitch, forgettable, boring. The judges agreed.
11 Arianna Afsar sang "The Winner Takes All" by Abba (a lot of a's there), a horrible song choice. The judges though she was dreary. She has a big voice but I thought she lacked vocal control. All in all, a bad performance.
10 Alex Wagner-Trugman sang one of my favorite songs, "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" by Elton John. I secretly love his dorky charm and enjoyed his performance, as did the judges. But I have to admit that he was amateurish and unpolished compared to the other performers.
9 Nathaniel Marshall sang "I Would Do Anything for Love". He isn't a bad singer, but he is ruined by his crazy image. He'll never make it as a performer without a complete make-over, and maybe not even then.
8 Von Smith sang "All You Need to Get By" by Marvin Gaye. The judges thought it was his best performance so far. I liked his energy, but thought he was shouty. He also makes annoying facial expressions.
7 Felicia Barton sang "No One" by Alicia Keys. She was eliminated from the final 36, rated #37, but brought back when another contestant was disqualified. I though her performance was annoying and self indulgent. The judges loved her. I don't think she has a chance of coming back.
6 Kendall Beard, a country singer, sang "This One's for the Girls" by Martina McBride. To me she sounded shrill, and the judges were not impressed with her vocals. But she is pretty and seems likable.
5 Jorge Nunez sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John. The judges loved him. I thought he was smarmy and tries too hard. I am going out on a limb to say that he won't be voted in. However, he is handsome with big brown puppy dog eyes. I don't want to underestimate his audience appeal.
4 Ju'not Joyner sang "Hey There,Delilah" by Plain White Ts, a pretty song. I loved him. He was sweet, soulful, and restrained. I predict that he will not win the audience vote, but I really hope that he will be a wild card.
3 Kristen McNamara sang "Give Me One Reason" by Tracy Chapman. She gave a strong, bluesy performance. The judges liked her, but did not like her song choice. I thought it was a good song for her. She does have image problems, though and badly needs a stylist. I would like to see how she develops as a performer.
2 Scott McIntyre sang "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby. He has a sweet voice and has depth to his singing. The judges loved his passion. His being blind will not work against him.
1 Lil Rounds sang "Be Without You" by Mary K. Blige to the great praise of the judges. She is a strong authoritative singer, but, to me, not unique; just another R&B performer. But she was the best girl singer tonight.
weeks, you can win a newly released American Idol CD if you correctly guess which contestant is voted off the show that week. In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by drawing. CDs include David Cook, David Archuleta, and as part of the grand prize, Kelly Clarkson's new release in a deluxe version with bonus tracks and a DVD.
In addition to the deluxe Kelly Clarkson CD, the grand prize winner will get a three DVD set of The Best and Worst of American Idol and, Dwag, a t shirt featuring the sayings of judge Randy Jackson. The grand prize goes to the person who made the most correct elimination picks (or through drawing if there is a tie).
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