We'll start with the judges since there has been so much made of who's new, who's leaving, and who's providing valuable input to our Idols.
First up, the Ellen-phant in the room. As strange as it sounded last summer when the announcement was made that our Paula was leaving TV's top rated show, it was even more shocking to hear that Ellen DeGeneres was going to slide into the seat left vacant by Paula and give advice to a group of up and coming singers. Ellen made her debut during Hollywood Week and has done a reasonably good job of helping guide this year's group of young people--my advice to her would be to stick to helping the kids hone their performance skill, something Ellen has mastered in nearly 30 years of performing on stage and TV.
The other news that rocked the Idol world was Simon Cowell's announcement that he is going to leave the show at the end of the season. After crowning the 9th American Idol, Simon is turning his attention to finding the next "It" guy or girl on his show "The X Factor"--the same show that spawned the likes of Leona Lewis in the UK. There have been many rumors about who will replace Simon (no one really can, right!). The list of rumored replacements includes Howard Stern (likely more a negotiating tool for the Shock Jock), Piers Morgan (the first Celebrity Apprentice and a current America's Got Talent judge), and Tommy Mottola (former Mr. Mariah Carey and Sony Exec). But for this season, we have Simon and that makes it worth watching.
Rounding out the judging table are Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. Randy has been a mainstay from the beginning and continues to provide advice that floats between the sweetness of Paula (and now Ellen) and the edgy of Simon. He still says things like "that just didn't work for me, Dawg" and "we got a hot one tonight!", so you pretty much know what you're going to get with Mr. Jackson. Kara, on the other hand, has taken a slightly different approach from her debut season last year. Besides having gotten married since we last saw her, she has developed a bit of a soft spot for some of the contestants--even going so far as to have a bit of a crush on one and crying after another sang a particularly moving song. Perhaps sitting so close to Paula last year rubbed off on our Miss Kara!
But enough about the judges, how about the contestants?! That's what you want to know about. So here goes...in no particular order, here are your Top 12 Idol Wannabes:
- Didi Benami (23) from Knoxville, TN. Didi has taken criticism from the judges when she ventures outside of her comfort zone which is more of a guitar strummin', coffee shop sound. Like most of the other contestants this year (and in years past), she is really going to struggle with song selection. She tried to go up tempo during an earlier round and the judges kicked her around so much, she looked like a soccer ball with tears. I don't expect her to win, but she could be around for awhile if she picks the right songs.
- Sioban Magnus (19) Cape Cod, MA. Sioban is one of the more "out there" contestants this year. Back in Cape Cod she makes her money as an apprentice glass blower and her personality might be considered just as unusual. She isn't afraid to take on big songs as was evidenced by her "slaying" an Aretha Franklin classic during an early round. As long as America can get past her obvious lack of "traditional" social skills, her singing can take her a long way in the show.
- Paige Miles (24) Naples, FL. Simon said Paige has the best voice of all of the girls, but she struggles with song selection. As Randy often says, "this girl can blow", but in Paige's case he may be talking about the result of her song selection. I don't anticipate a long stay on the Idol stage for Miss Paige, but...we'll just have to wait and see.
- Casey James (27) Fort Worth, TX. Casey, or has is better known, Kara's Crush! is the oldest contestant to make the Top 12 this season. When Casey auditioned in Denver, Kara was so taken with his look that she asked him to take off his shirt--I guess she is still smarting from the bikini girl incident that dominated Season 8. Anyway when Casey was allowed to sing, he generally nailed it. The only time he faltered was when he tried a bit too hard to be a rock star and focused too much on playing the electric guitar during his performance--hey, Casey, this is a singing contest, remember?! Regardless of any missteps he has taken or might take in the near future, Casey should be around until the end because he is one of the more talented singers--male or female...and he looks good, so the ladies will like him.
- Tim Urban (20) Duncanville, TX. This year's mystery man. Tim didn't originally make it out of Hollywood Week as he was sent home in favor of another boy who was invited to the Top 12 boys (Top 24 overall), but due to some fluke about which I don't have the details, Tim was invited back to the Idol stage and by some stroke of luck is part of the Top 12. The guy has absolutely zero charisma and stage presence, is only a marginal singer, and hasn't wowed the judges often, but America voted him into the Top 12 and now it's up to him to prove me wrong (like Kris Allen did last year). But I expect Tim's luck to run out in the first few shows--unless the "vote for the worst" folks have their say.
- Lee Dewyze (23) Mount Prospect, IL. Lee is one of my favorite contestants this year. He has serious raw singing talent and whether he wins Idol or not will find himself on the radio by next year. Simon agreed with me saying Lee has the best voice of all of the boys this year. Lee reminds me a lot of Elliot Yamin from Season 5 (?). When he sings it seems to be so effortless. I look for Lee to be around until the end.
- Crystal Bowersox (24) Elliston, OH. Crystal is the early favorite to win the Idol crown this season. She has received rave reviews from the judges and the voters just love her. Her presence has been so important this season that Fox switched the order of performances a full night to accomodate a brief hospital stay for Crystal--the boys performed on Tuesday and the girls Wednesday one week giving Crystal the opportunity to continue her run on the show...and it was well-deserved because so far she has been the most consistent of all of the performers.
- Michael Lynche (26) St. Petersburg, FL. The new father and resident strong man, Michael Lynche has quickly made his mark as an overall talent on the show. Called "Big Mike" by the elfen Ryan Seacrest, Michael brought Kara to tears with his performance last week of "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush. The only thing Big Mike needs to avoid is overconfidence. He can sing, work the stage, and entertain the viewers and audience alike, but he has an air of "of course" about him that could rub people wrong. Like Crystal and Lee before him, I expect to see a lot of Big Mike this season.
- Lacey Brown (24) Amarillo, TX. Lacey was "this close" to making to the Top 36 last year, but instead the judges selected Megan Joy (she of the many tatoos and crazy/jazz singing voice). That rejection lead Lacey to try one more time and this year it paid off nicely for her. The judges have been a bit hot and cold with her, but her last performance solidified her selection in their eyes. I'm not sold on her because I'm not convinced she's sold on herself. When pressed on the type of artist she is, she says she isn't just one kind of artist which is another way of saying she doesn't know.
- Aaron Kelly (16) Sonestown, PA. This season's youngest contestant, Aason is also this year's "feel good" story. Aaron has been raised by his aunt since he was very young. Apparently his parents didn't offer a very good living environment for him, so he went to his aunt who he calls "mom". It is a really sweet story and one that is reflected in his singing. He tends to lean toward the Country lane when given the opportunity and has delivered some moving performances of some big cross-over hits. Aaron could be around for a while provided he gains a bit more confidence in himself.
- Andrew Garcia (24) Moreno Valley, CA. Andrew's story definitely rivals that of Aaron--his parents were in gangs and he grew up in a very difficult environment. Andrew is also a father of a young child and trying to give his family a better life than he had. To help achieve that goal, Andrew hit an early home run during Hollywood Week with an awesome acoustic take on Paula Abdul's "Straight Up". Unfortunately, Andrew has spent the better part of the rest of the show up until now trying to replicate that lighting in a bottle moment. I'm pulling for him, but, again, song selection is going to be the key to his staying power on the Idol stage.
- Katie Stevens (17) Middlebury, CT. Katie is the youngest girl to make the Top 12 and has really struggled to be a 17 year old on the show. Her voice gives her the ability to sing older songs, but her experience doesn't make them that believable. If Katie can get past--you guessed it!--song selection, she could last a few extra weeks. She is really a middle of the pack kind of contestant and probably lucky to have made it this far in the contest. She is very likable, cute, and has a strong voice.
And that is who America selected to sing for your votes starting with tonight's show when the Idols will channel their inner Mick Jagger and sing hits from the Rolling Stones.
Tune in later to see who did well, who stumbled, and who is in danger of going home.
Until then, I will continue watching TV so you won't have to!
Charlie
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