American Idol - The Boys Show Some Dedication

Well, the boys did raise their game this week, although they are still not worthy to lick Lakisha's Payless pumps.

Phil Stacey - "Missing You"

Coolia: Dedicated to the Navy (aka, grab the patriot vote). Phil bores me. This is a pretty easy song and he does okay with it, but he's no John Waite.
Terry: Didn't care much for the original and liked this one even less. He's better than this song.
Nerdia: Love the song, of course and John Waite gives it a life. This got better at the end but no cigar.

Jared Cotter - "Let's Get It On"

Coolia: Inappropriately dedicated to his parents. Jared is a damn attractive boy, and that should keep him around another week. Good energy, too.
Terry: Pales in comparison to the original. Speaking of original...I expect that they either somehow improve on the original or at least put their own stamp or originality into it.
Nerdia: Better than last week, for sure.

AJ Tabaldo - "Feelin' Good"

Coolia: This was kinda good, but I still would have to call him "Eh" J. Care factor zero.
Terry: He has an very R&B voice and this bluesy rendition didn't fit as well. Not bad but not great.
Nerdia: Showtuney.

Sanjaya Malakar - "Steppin' Out"

Coolia: His outfit recalled Michael Jackson in the "Smooth Criminal" era, and that's not something I want to recall. Mediocre job, but he will survive based on his teen dream appeal and his touching dedication to his grandpa.
Terry: You'd better hope those teeny-bopper girls are dialing till their fingers bleed. Oh this was just so wrong, wrong, WRONG! Is this kid a mutton head? They told him last week that the song he chose was too old for him so he follows that up this week with an even older song iwth an older style!?
Nerdia: The Michael Jackson loving kids will save him this week. I didn't hate it.

Chris Sligh - "Trouble"

Coolia: Dedicated to his wife, and I'm shocked by her hotness. Maybe all those sitcoms with the fat guy/cute wife actually do reflect reality. Chris has a really nice tone to his voice, but he picks an awkward song that Taylor did last year, and neither of them did it well.
Terry: Why can't my fat nice guy funny ass find a hot babe like that!? (he must be hung like a horse) Not great but the best of the night to this point. Had never heard this song before but he made me want to hear the rest of it.
Nerdia: She looked hot in the video, but plain live. Still, a bizarro couple indeed. It was good...but I'm still annoyed by his arrogance last week.

Nick Pedro - "Fever"

Coolia: Nick dedicates this song to his girlfriend. His version is pretty ordinary, and this song is really overdone on Idol. As the judges pointed out, you really need to add some drama/camp when performing this tune, and Nick was bland.
Terry: He fit the song and style and the song and the style fit him (although he could have dressed cooler but that's just picking hairs). The question now is will America embrace the song and style?
Nerdia: Bored by the song....bored by him.


Blake Lewis - "Virtual Insanity"

Coolia: How cute is Blake, even with that stupid hat! I love that he did Jamiroquai and added his "vocal entendres" to it.
Terry: Good vocals, real nice flow and scat, and a truly great beat boxer (a nearly lost art). I really dug it and love this guy. Not as good as the original overall but good and had some real originality to it.
Nerdia: I love this guy. He's a real original.


Brandon Rogers - "Time After Time"

Coolia: Oh, Brandon, I hope your heartfelt tribute to your Grandma touches enough voters' hearts to save you, because your too-subtle rendition of a low-difficulty-level song and arguing with the judges surely won't.
Terry: I appreciated the sentiment behind the song choice but it was a bad song choice. It did not fit his vocals at all. Not terrible but not very good. A decent lounge act type of performance.
Nerdia: I am sooo, so utterly so dissapointed by you Brandon. You didn't listen last week. You aren't selling it. Have you seen the show? Are you an idiot? Don't argue with the judges, dipwad. That's my lost $25 talking, not me.


Chris Richardson - "Geek in the Pink"

Coolia: Another grandma dedication, complete with some cute photos. Chris picked a difficult song and did a nice job with it. It was fun but I was surprised the judges gushed so much.
Terry: Good. Real good. But, at some point sooner rather than later, I'd very much like to see and hear Chris R and not Justin Timberlake Part 2. Still, one of the better of the night.
Nerdia: I just don't feel this guy. Seems bland like Wonder Bread to me.

Sundance Head - "Mustang Sally"

Coolia: Sundance is back! Perfect song choice, and a touching dedication to his infant son. He showed a lot of vocal power, although I still wonder if the world needs another Taylor right now.
Terry: His best yet. I wasn't blown away. More like relieived to have finally heard what I heard back at his audition. Song fit his voice and he did well with it. Crying over missing his son will add to his vote totals. Not sure how the song fit the dedication to the son...but, whatever.
Nerdia: What's the fuss about over this guy. I was completely underwhelmed. His video explained his poor performances of late: he wants to go home to be with his new kid.

Final Thoughts and Predictions

Coolia: Definite improvement over next week, but still not up to the girls' level. I think Nick and Phil are going home.
Terry: Overall, much better than last week. MUCH better. And, I LOVED that Simon called them (picking on Brandon but he lobbed the bomb to them all) out on their so blatantly trying to win votes with their sentiments instead of their performances. Loved it!! I think Sanjaya and Brandon are going home.
Nerdia: I think AJ and Nick should go home. Much better than last week but it will be good to weed some of this dead weight out and get down to the real talent.