And just like that, Group 1 of the Top 36 is no more. Kind of disappointing, isn't it? Unlike the past four seasons, this is the last we will see of most of the semifinalists that performed on Tuesday, save for the three that automatically advanced last night and of course whichever ones are lucky enough to be called back to perform as potential wildcard choices. With that in mind, is it safe to say that the Top 12 of Season 8 is off to a bang?
I think not.
Although Alexis Grace definitely was the strongest vocalist on Tuesday, she is lacking in star quality, which is something someone like Ann Marie Boskovich exuded. It's too bad that one performance pretty much dictates whether or not a contestant will advance the way this format is set up, whereas in years past all it took was for there to be two contestants that were worse than someone else for that person to stick around to try and improve their chances.
As for the way Ryan handled the reading of the results, it was very shoddy and disorganized. Really, Ryan, did anyone honestly think Danny didn't have the most votes of all 12 from that group? Did you not think it might be more exciting to announced Danny first, then announce Alexis and hold out on leaving it between Michael Sarver, Anoop Desai and Tatiana del Toro for the third ticket to the Top 12? Maybe it's just me, but I think that would have been much more watchable.
And people are complaining about Danny being insensitive to Tatiana right before the results were read. Honestly, what's he supposed to do, stand there and pretend to be nervous? Anyone who has been following this season from the beginning (or anyone with a computer) knew it was his for the taking, and so did he. On the contrary, however, the judges better yield on their incessant praise over him, because it could end up hurting him down the road (I mean you, Kara). At least Simon is there to hold down the fort.
On the positive side, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson sounded as good as always on their duet of "The Letter," even though I feel like I've seen that before. Hopefully there are more of those nice surprises than there are with the results, because if not, we're in for a long season.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, we're 2-3 in both the semifinals and the Top 12. Hopefully next week is more kind.
Showing posts with label ann marie boskovich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ann marie boskovich. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Analysis: Boring results show brings no surprises
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Poll of the week: Danny is top pick from Group 1
Danny Gokey has a lot to celebrate tonight. Not only did he make the Top 12 for the eighth season, but he was voted as IDOL LIVE's readers' favorite semifinalist from Group 1 of the Top 36.
He received 60 votes out of a total of 140, which was a whopping 42%. Anoop Desai was next, as he scored 27 votes (19%), and Ann Marie Boskovich was further behind with 17 votes (12%).
Tatiana del Toro was the only other semifinalist from the group to garner more than 10 votes, as she picked up 11 (7%).
In this week's poll of the week, IDOL LIVE readers are asked to choose their favorite semifinalist from Group 2. You will have exactly one week to vote.
Ann Marie Boskovich 17 (12%)
Ricky Braddy 5 (3%)
Casey Carlson 3 (2%)
Anoop Desai 27 (19%)
Stephen Fowler 0 (0%)
Danny Gokey 60 (42%)
Alexis Grace 4 (2%)
Brent Keith Smith 1 (0%)
Michael Sarver 5 (3%)
Jackie Tohn 5 (3%)
Tatiana del Toro 11 (7%)
Stevie Wright 2 (1%)
Total votes: 140
IDOL LIVE predix: Group 1 of Top 36
Only three will advance, and after last night's horrendous outing it could be argued that only one should be allowed to make the Top 12, with the other two being drawn from the latter two groups. But regardless of how things should work out in an ideal world, reality sets in and shows that there is really only one scenario that will play out tonight.
Read my predictions below.
The three lucky Top 12 members are:
>Danny Gokey
>Alexis Grace
>Anoop Desai
First of all, Danny is leaps and bounds ahead of his competition already, so singing last night was just a formality for him to get into the Top 12. He was not only the top male vote getter, he was the top vote getter period.
Alexis was the best of the worst among the girls last night, and that is the only reason she will make it in over an early favorite like Ann Marie Boskovich or Casey Carlson. They will try to make it interesting by placing Alexis and Tatiana del Toro side by side to make it more dramatic, but ultimately the spot belongs to Alexis.
As for the third spot out of Group 1, it has to be Anoop. Even though the judges gave him lukewarm praise last night, he has two things that do wonders for contestants on this show: 1) the likability factor and 2) a cool name. Michael Sarver is the only other semifinalist that could give him a run for his money, but I'm willing to bet he will be saved for the wildcard.
And there you have it, my predictions for tonight. They will probably be all wrong but at least I'm brave enough to take a stab at it and put my money where my mouth is.
About last night: Will the real Tatiana please stand up?
So there's no way to get around the fact that this was an extremely odd night. Not only was Group 1 supposed to be the best of the three groups, but it was supposed to be the best by a mile. There were so many promising semifinalists, and yet we were left with Tatiana being one of the best of the night. Yes, that Tatiana del Toro.
Jackie Tohn led off the night with a vocally rough but spunky performance of "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley, which showed she was more interested in appealing to voters than she was impressing the judges, but she still earned somewhat alright reviews. she might not make the Top 12, but at least she had fun.
Another "fun" performance came from Brent Keith, as his vocals were perfect for the kind of "hick" song he did (in spite of the intro package mishap), and he was able to smile some in an effort to make it believable. But most of the night was full of boring performances, as underwhelming performances from Stephen Fowler and Ann Marie Boskovich failed to excite anyone.
Anoop Desai's take on Monica's "Angel of Mine" was a pleasant surprise, even though Simon wasn't all that impressed. Besides the performance, Anoop showed he could carry himself as a class act when he handled Simon's rude questions without even raising a (bushy) eyebrow.
There were two main trainwrecks tonight, as Stevie Wright killed Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" relatively easily, while Casey Carlson's gender-swapping "Every Little Thing [S]he Does Is Magic" bombed faster than the audience could turn its heads away from her winking and facial expressions.
The night's lone showstopper was Danny Gokey, whose rendition of Mariah Carey's "Hero" was an interesting choice and beckoned back to David Cook's take on the aforementioned's "Always Be My Baby." He dealt with the over-pimpage from the first three judges fairly well, but Simon was thankfully there to bring things down to earth. And what was up with the random shot of Jamar in the audience? Talk about the producers trying to play with the audience's emotions.
Alexis Grace and Tatiana (color me surprised) were also bright spots of the night, as Tatiana left her drama queen alter ego for the less exciting robot she brought tonight. And Michael Sarver wasn't good but he was better than most, and apparently the judges really are pulling for him despite his lackluster performance of "I Don't Wanna Be."
As for who will be advancing out of this group, it seems that Danny is the sure bet, while Tatiana will duke it out with Alexis for the top female vote-getter, and then either Michael or Anoop will take the next highest vote recipient. Look for official IDOL LIVE predictions later on today.
As for what to do now, we recommend looking ahead to next week as fast as possible. Like, start now.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
IDOL LIVE predix: Top 12 of Season 8
Now that the Top 36 has been chosen and barring any other Joanna-like swaps, it seems like now would be a good time for IDOL LIVE to post predictions for the Top 12 of Season 8. Although the other two groups have yet to be revealed, it is safe to assume that anyone that does not advance on their first go-round would be a viable candidate for a wild card slot. So without further ado, here is how we think the Top 12 will materialize:
The Top 12 of American Idol: Season 8
Felicia Barton
Felicia has been on a wild ride for the past few days. She had no idea she would be named as a replacement following Wednesday night's ouster of future Top 12 contestant Joanna Pacitti, and so she will put more effort into her song choice, appearance, stage presence and showcasing her personality when TV time comes. Felicia has more buzz surrounding her than any other Top 36 contestant at the moment thanks to the hundreds of news articles, blog entries and other mentions in the media as part of the Joanna disqualification story. If she does not make it the first time, odds are pretty good she will be a wild card pick to keep the guys from completely dominating the Top 12 this season.
Ann Marie Boskovich
Not only did she get a great shot to display her winning personality during her odd audition experience (being asked by the judges to come back and audition after changing up her look and song choice), but she also was heavily featured throughout Hollywood Week. Add to that the fact that she's beautiful and has experience in the music industry and you've got yourself a spot in the Top 36. She will be the only girl to advance from Group 1.
Anoop Desai
Anoop has a lot of things going in his favor. First, he his genre is R&B/Soul, so he should be able to shore up a good amount of those fans. He also is very likable in a geeky way, and as Clay Aiken has shown, Idol viewers love geeky guys. Add to this the fact that he is the first Indian-American contestant to reach the semifinals (and the sweeping popularity of Slumdog Millionaire in this country at the moment), and it looks like Anoop has more than a great shot at making the coveted Top 12. He will receive the second-most votes from Group 1, which will earn him one of the three spots from the group.
Matt Giraud
Another soulful R&B crooner, Matt has been compared to Elliott Yamin for his singing style. He has not been featured as prominently as some of the other guys, but his solo in Hollywood Week won him a lot of praise and he definitely has originality written all over him. He should make it into the Top 12 on his first try no matter which group he ends up in. Oh, and Matt's from Michigan. When's the last time there's been a semifinalist from the mitten state, LaKisha Jones? Yeah, that's a good enough reason to put him through (especially since he's from Kalamazoo).
Danny Gokey
Danny is probably the surest of sure bets to make the Top 12. He has progressed beyond his "story" that initially drew the ire of many viewers, as the sob stories were out in full force during this season's auditions. Danny was featured heavily in Hollywood Week along with his friend Jamar, whose failing to make the Top 36 came as a shock to many and will undoubtedly earn Danny some votes. He can also sing really well and has a unique quality to his voice, which is never a negative characteristic for an Idol finalist. Danny will be the first one sent through to the Top 12, as he will receive the highest amount of votes come Tuesday.
Ju'Not Joyner
Since there has to be at least one black male finalist, it will go to Ju'Not, though it should have been reserved for his major competition, Stephen Fowler, as he would have been known as the eighth season's "comeback kid" after rebounding from his botched stab at David Cook's "The Time of My Life" in Hollywood Week. Ju'Not has received less airtime and has a weaker voice, but since he will not be stuck in the strongest group like Stephen, he will make it instead.
Adam Lambert
Despite his puzzling solo of Cher's "Believe" in the final round of Hollywood Week, Adam has a lot of buzz surrounding him. Add in an existing fan base and initial universal support from the judges (although something tells us Simon Cowell might not be on the Adam train for very long) and the whole "goth-lite" look and it seems that he will define a whole new style of music that will be performed on the show (maybe it will be called "Male Diva Goth Rock"?).
Scott MacIntyre
He may not be the strongest singer among the guys, but something just tells us Scott will squeak into the Top 12. Although it sounds harsh to say that the "pity vote" from the grandmas and others might help him out a bit on his Idol journey, it would be a disservice to deny this notion. He's a great musician, as he plays the piano wonderfully, which will help compensate for what he's lacking in vocals.
Kristen McNamara
Kristen will be this year's Carrie Underwood / Kellie Pickler / Kristy Lee Cook, as there's an unwritten rule that a female country singer needs to be in the Top 12. She will beat out the other blonde country girl, Kendall Beard, primarily because she has received the most screen time and was seen as the victim in her Hollywood Week group's meltdown. Plus, it's a necessity to have a finalist that for whatever reason irks Simon, so Kristen will be that finalist.
Jasmine Murray
Incorporating Jasmine in the Top 12 will kill two birds with one stone, as she will be the commercial cute teenager in addition to being one of the African-American female singers. It also doesn't hurt that she has an extremely radio-friendly voice, and her voice's chances at making it into a recording studio would only be helped if she were allowed to make it semi-far in the competition. Jasmine also seems to be a favorite of the producers, which is never a bad thing.
Lil Rounds
If you haven't been following Idol up to this point, you never would have known the amount of praise has been lobbed Lil's way by the judges. She's being hailed as "the next Fantasia," and not many people agreed with the judges' over enthusiastic reactions to her first Hollywood solo performance. Regardless, she will get a spot in the Top 12 one way or another. Just you wait and see.
Michael Sarver
Idol desperately wants a male country winner. Since they apparently inexplicably swapped his slot in the first group with Matt Breitzke, it is even more obvious because Michael would hardly have a shot if he were to remain in that ultra competitive group. Even if it means the judges will have to waste a wild card pick on him because he might not make it in on America's vote alone, they will do so without thinking twice in order to keep him in the mix. Although he won't win, the producers will do their best to present him in a favorable light.
What do you think? Is this the Top 12 of Season 8 or what? (All photos courtesy of AmericanIdol.com).
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