American Idol - Terry's Take on the Top 24

Well, I must say that after another beginning to the season with the judges touting best talent ever....I was disappointed. Not one single person blew me away. There were some good and a couple of really good but mostly mediocre to subpar performances. For me, a very disappointing beginning to the "real" portion of the show.

• David Hernandez - Began strong and I like his voice but he weakened in the second half and fell apart at the end. And, he definitely needs to work on stage presence. Still, I think his potential will keep him safe...for this week.
• Chikezie Eze - Went from likeable (auditions rounds) to insufferable (last night) in the blink of an arrogant eye. Too bad. Had potential to stick around for a while but he'll either be voted off by the Simon lovers (such as myself) this week or in the very near future. Plus, I didn't care for his arrangement and his vocals wavered from bad to really good. But that wavering is a problem. His arrogance is his biggest problem. Ugh! Another poser. Pretends to be all sweet and charming and turns out to be an ego driven jerk.
• David Cook - Dude, seriously, enough with the stupid hair. It's not helping the rocker image you want so badly to portray. I like this dudes personality so I was rooting for him but he failed to live up to my support. Bad song choice. It didn't fit his voice at all. But, interestingly depsite the less than stellar singing part he did have stage presence.
• Jason Yeager - Hi, Jason. We hardly knew ya. I wrote down "way too Broadway" but I knew that wasn't quite what I wanted to say. Then Simon nailed it when he said it was a "cruise ship performance." That is exactly what I felt. And he was pitchy and boring. So long one of the men that saw no screen time up till this point.
• Robbie Carrico - Nice melodic, though not powerful, voice. Good boy band singer but not suere he's meant to be a stand alone star. And, please rethink the bandana. You, sir, are no Brett Michaels.
• David Archuleta - I love this kid. He's either the greatest actor living today or he's genuinely a nice kid (and I am not, yet, so jaded as to believe that he's acting). I am rooting for him big time. Have been ever since his audition screen time. But, I have to differ from the judges and some of my fellow Idol pool memebers who loved his performance. I was hugely disappointed with his song choice. Yes, he oozed charisma and charm while on stage but the singing was just okay at best. He needs to push himself and sing songs that show his great (and I do think he has potential to be great) voice. Still, I have no doubt that he will be around in this competition for a long time. And, if it's even possible, I now love this kid even more after seeing his oh so genuine reaction of surprise and glee to the praise heaped upon him by the judges. I want to adopt him, too (who cares if he's 17....he looks 10!).
• Danny Noriega - He shouted it too much and too often and then got defensive...although, not to Chikezie's level. I think he's not long for this show with the mediocre performance and defiant attitude. What a queen! And definitely in contention for going home this week.
• Luke Menard - Good voice and I love this song. But, he needs to project. Could anyone in the live audience even hear him? I had to turn my volume up to hear any of the nuances. I liked it okay but I won't be surprised it others (enough to send him home this week) found it far too understated.
• Colton Berry - Cracked me up when he said he looked like Ellen. I wouldn't have put that together but I did as soon as he put it out there. Gave me a good chuckle. Suspicious Minds is one of my favorite Elvis songs and although he in no way came up to Elvis' level he had a nice voice, I liked his arrangement and he had good stage presence. He'll be around next week.
• Garrett Haley - Garrett/Leif/Peter(Frampton) made a very bad song choice. Barely decent vocals (nice tone but weak) with zero stage presence. Unless you count looking like a deer caught in the headlights captivating. However, I will give him one thing. He has great hair! Boy, he's making this tough. Who's going home?....him or Luke. At the moment I'm leaning towards Luke just because I think this guy will get tons of teeny bopper girl votes (bases on look alone....becuase they sure won't be for this performance).
• Jason Castro - What a day for ray of sunshine (whistle in your mind's eye)....Another guy who got no screen time till this point...and what a pleasant surprise. Based on looks alone I was expecting either a hard ass or a Reggae rebel. He seems like a truly nice guy and has no problem displaying his sensitive side. I became an instant fan. Can't say I was blown way because the song just doesn't lend itself for that. But, I was semi-blown away by such a nice surprise. Okay, I'm on the band-wagon. Hope this kid goes far.
• Michael Johns - Okay but disappointing. I was hoping he'd come out with a Daughtry-esque type of performance but he played it safe with another go with Jim Morrison's "Light My Fire" (The Doors). Don't get me wrong. It wasn't bad. In fact, it was quite good. Though, no where near Jim Morrison's. But, disappointing nonetheless.
  

I still say it's a battle between Michael Johns and David Archuletta for best of the boys (and possibly for the whole shebang), buuuuuut Jason Castro has stuck his foot in the door and is peeking in.

As for the ladies...

• Kristy Lee Cook - Despite shaking that hot bod she didn't come close to owning that stage. And the song was a bad song choice. Not terrible but not very good either. However, did I mention that hot bod? The looks alone will see her through week 1.
• JoAnne Borgella - Good karaoke. Liked both the original and the group version from "My Best Friend's Wedding" MUCH better. And, she was suprisingly pitchy. A very bad start (and perhaps a quick end) to her time on Idol.
• Alaina Whitaker - (funny side shot of the guys with half clapping and moving on beat and the other half hopelessly lost) One of the younger of the girls yet showed a comfort level beyond her years and sang pretty darn well. Very well.
• Amanda Overmeyer - First of all, I hate her hair. Hate it! I love David Cook's stupid hair by comparison. What is she doing? Lilly Munster was 30 years agon! And, it makes her head look gi-normous!! Ugh!! But, despite the horrendous du she moved beyond Janis and I loved it!
• Amy Davis - Pitchy and zero presence. Very pretty when not overly made up but could she have been any more boring? And yet another bad song choice. When are these people going to get it!? (obvously never since this has been going on for 7 seasons now) My one and only gurantee of who will be going home.
• Brooke White - I liked it. The song fit her voice and despite showing a bit of nerves at first grew more relaxed and confident and sang quite well and showed some stage presence. And, for such a wholesome (is she from Planet 9 of the Puritan star system?) good girl, she was looking HOT!
• Alexandrea Lushington - Her vocals were uneven and though she tried (in vain) to command the stage it came across as forced and a bit high school level for me. I didn't buy it. It wouldn't surprise me if she was one of the two sent packing.
• Kady Malloy - Love her voice but didn't care for the arrangement. And she was so freaking robotic. the song is a heartfelt reach out but she sang with out expressing much, if any, emotion. Needs to learn to emote and connect to her audience or despite the really good vocals won't be long for this competition.
• Asia'h Epperson - Loved it. Took Janis and made it her own. Still not blown away but definitely impressed.
• Ramielle Malubay - Wow. Hot looks and such a big voice in such a petite (and hot...did mention she's hot?) package. She should go far. Best of the night.
• Syesha Mercado - Really good voice with an updated take on "Tobacco Road." Still not blown away (Ramielle came the closest) but she's a contender among the women.
• Carly Smithson - She's not very attractive (to me) but boy oh boy does she have a good singing voice. She took a boring song and made me interested. Nice.
  

Did anyone watch the show to the very end? Wow! The girls all gathered/hudled together for a group hug. All that is except for Carly. Either she chose to stand alone or was (or felt) ostricized enough to stand as an island amoung states on a continent. Maybe it was nothing but a fluke. But, could her previous shot at stardom have caused a chasm between her and the other female contestants? Inquiring minds want to know.