Showing posts with label top 24. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top 24. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Flashback: Judd Harris's "Travelin' Band"

Idol's fourth season was virtually a wash thanks to the superstardom of Carrie Underwood, and it shows when you look at the crew that was left in the dust, especially in the semifinals. Judd Harris was one of those contestants who tried his best but fell short. Watch him perform Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band" during Top 24 week below:



The judges' generic, neither good nor bad comments didn't help Judd's cause, as he blended in with the rest of the 11 guys who performed that night. Despite a good vocal showing, the song choice was completely wrong, and thus Judd had to disappear into obscurity following his elimination.

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Monday, July 12, 2010

Flashback: Patrick Hall's "Come to My Window"

Patrick Hall began the semifinalist of Season 5 as one of the top contenders among the male contestants, but suffered from the infamous "cannon fodder" syndrome. That is, he was barely shown during the auditions through Hollywood week period. Still, Patrick received more positive feedback than negative for this performance of Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window" during Top 24 performance week. Watch it below:



Simon was right on the money when he said Patrick looked like he was anxious and like he was missing his piano. But he was also right about him having a nice voice. Although Patrick never had a chance to "go back to his roots" on the show, he at least proved to be one of a handful of semifinalists who should have gone further in the competition than they did.

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Janell Wheeler covers "American Boy" on YouTube

Despite being eliminated prematurely during Top 24 week, Janell Wheeler seems to be sticking with the music thing. This evening she uploaded her first acoustic performance since being eliminated onto her official YouTube account. Watch her perform Estelle's "American Boy" below:



Can Janell please replace Paige Miles or Tim Urban? If she had picked the right song in the semifinals, she just might be still in contention. Sadly, she will always be a prime example of the importance of song choice, especially early on in the season.

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Poll of the week: Andrew, Katie favorite Top 24 semifinalists among respective sexes

The two semifinalists that received the most votes in the most recent edition of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week coincidentally were also the two contestants that performed last on their respective performance nights.

Leading among the guys was Andrew Garcia with 22 votes (33%), while Katie Stevens helmed the girls' top spot with 18 votes (30%). They also seem to be the two front runners among their respective genders, so it should be interesting to see if their statuses are reflected in the voting here in the coming weeks.

Other strong finishes for the week for the guys were Casey James (14 votes, 21%) and Aaron Kelly (7 votes, 10%), while Crystal Bowersox (12 votes, 20%) and Didi Benami (11 votes, 18%) rounded out the Top 3 for the girls.

In the latest edition of the poll of the week series, readers are asked of who their favorite male and female Top 20 contestants are. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

Top 12 guys
Lee DeWyze 3 (4%)
Andrew Garcia 22 (33%)
Tyler Grady 4 (6%)
Casey James 14 (21%)
Todrick Hall 0 (0%)
Aaron Kelly 7 (10%)
Alex Lambert 4 (6%)
Michael Lynche 0 (0%)
Joe Munoz 3 (4%)
John Park 4 (6%)
Jermaine Sellers 1 (1%)
Timothy Urban 4 (6%)

Total votes: 66

Top 12 girls
Didi Benami 11 (18%)
Crystal Bowersox 12 (20%)
Lacey Brown 1 (1%)
Michelle Delamor 2 (3%)
Katelyn Epperly 2 (3%)
Siobhan Magnus 2 (3%)
Paige Miles 0 (0%)
Ashley Rodriguez 6 (10%)
Lilly Scott 4 (6%)
Katie Stevens 18 (30%)
Haeley Vaughn 0 (0%)
Janell Wheeler 2 (3%)

Total votes: 60

Running total for Season 9:
21st (tie) - Todrick Hall (0 votes)
21st (tie) - Paige Miles (0 votes)
21st (tie) - Michael Lynche (0 votes)
21st (tie) - Haeley Vaughn (0 votes)
19th (tie) - Lacey Brown (1 vote)
19th (tie) - Jermaine Sellers (1 vote)
15th (tie) - Janell Wheeler (2 votes)
15th (tie) - Siobhan Magnus (2 votes)
15th (tie) - Michelle Delamor (2 votes)
15th (tie) - Katelyn Epperly (2 votes)
13th (tie) - Lee DeWyze (3 votes)
13th (tie) - Joe Munoz (3 votes)
08th (tie) - Tyler Grady (4 votes)
08th (tie) - Tim Urban (4 votes)
08th (tie) - Lilly Scott (4 votes)
08th (tie) - John Park (4 votes)
08th (tie) - Alex Lambert (4 votes)
07th - Ashley Rodriguez (6 votes)
06th - Aaron Kelly (7 votes)
05th - Didi Benami (11 votes)
04th - Crystal Bowersox (12 votes)
03rd - Casey James (14 votes)
02nd - Katie Stevens (18 votes)
01st - Andrew Garcia (22 votes)

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IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 24 Results (2/25/10)

After two nights in a row of very average, underwhelming exhibitions of performances in a long time. Even though things weren't off to such a great start, some of the contestants show a good amount of promise, and so it will be interesting to see if tonight's boots are deserving or maybe cut a little prematurely.

Also tonight we have performances from Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen, plus Kris helps us kick off "Idol Gives Back" when we see clips of his recent trip to Haiti.

Who do you think will say goodbye tonight?

Please feel free to add your input throughout the one-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.



Tonight's blogcast features the music of Bo Bice, Chris Richardson, Diana DeGarmo, Lisa Tucker and Ruben Studdard.

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IDOL LIVE predix: Top 24 Results

Well, it's almost hard to select only two girls and two guys for elimination based on the last two nights' performances. Apparently no one informed the semifinalists that we are in the live rounds of the show now, meaning they actually have to give viewers a reason to pick up the phone and dial their 866 number over and over again. To this point, no one, I repeat, no one has demonstrated this. With that said, looks for some of the more predictable outcomes to come true when tonight's results are revealed.

The first two girls to be eliminated are:

>Lacey Brown and Ashley Rodriguez

Lacey really needed to come out and wow the audience if she wanted a chance at moving on since we saw so little of her during Hollywood Week, and even though she did have the whole "so close but not close enough" edge that carried over from last season, she just isn't likable enough a personality to get by on just who she is when she's competing against bubbly characters like Haeley Vaughn or pretty girls like Janell Wheeler. Idol is not about finding the best singer, but the most marketable packaged artist, and Lacey lacks in this department greatly.

As for Ashley, she just plain blew it. Had she not gone for such a predictable song choice, things would be different, but she did a third-tier copycat performance of a song no one's even heard of before, and since she didn't even sing well, it's asking too much to send her through based on looks alone. I had high hopes more Ashley considering I pegged her as a Top 12 contestant, but it looks like things are over and out.

The first two guys to be eliminated are:

>Jermaine Sellers and John Park

These two are obviously not the worst guys in the competition, but they needed to stand out among the more "appealing" men and were obviously not taking the voting demographic into consideration when they selected their songs. I mean, c'mon Jermaine, "Get Here"? John, do little girls really care about "God Bless the Child"? No, they want to hear guys butcher more current songs like "Apologize." John's one saving grace could be his fun sense of humor, but with such a crowded field it shouldn't be expected to play a huge role in deciding his fate.

This is the first time I am making predictions about Season 9 results, so hopefully I start out on the right foot considering I correctly predicted Kris Allen's win prior to last season's finale.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

IDOL LIVE Blog - Top 12 Guys Perform (2/24/10)

After last night's live performance show kickoff by the Top 12 girls, it's time for their male counterparts to show America what they have to offer when they too take on songs that have grace Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Who will surprise? Who will falter? How did Ellen do in her first live showing?

Please feel free to add your two cents throughout the two-hour blogcast, with coverage starting just prior to 8 p.m. ET.



Tonight's blogcast features the music of Adam Lambert, Chris Sligh, Daughtry, David Archuleta, David Cook, Elliott Yamin, Jason Castro, Kris Allen and Michael Johns.

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Monday, February 22, 2010

Flashback: Celena Rae's "I Will Love Again"

On the eve of the live performances of Idol's ninth season, let's look back at the third female semifinalist to get the ax in the Top 24 of Season 4. In fact, Celena Rae's performance of Lara Fabian's "I Will Love Again" took place exactly five years ago tonight. Refresh your memories on the performance below:



As expected, lukewarm responses from the judges (especially Paula's kiss of death comment of "you look great") had a lot to do with cutting Celena's Idol stint short, not to mention her sub-par vocals and lack of memorability. Also, there's a reason why contestants shy away from singing "dancey" songs, and Celena's demonstration here is partly to blame (or thank) for that.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Poll of the week: Ellen seen as refreshing change

After taking a few months off from asking about new judge Ellen DeGeneres, I decided to ask IDOL LIVE readers what their thoughts on her are now that we've all seen her in (pre-taped) action for the latest edition of the poll of the week.

Not surprisingly, 13 people think she's great, good for a majority (54%) of all those who chose to partake in the poll. There were five loyal Paula Abdul fans and four people who think she's not bad but should "tone it down." This sounds about right based on what we've seen of her judging skills.

In the latest edition of the poll of the week series, readers are asked of who their favorite Top 24 contestant is. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

She's great 13 (54%)
She's good but needs to tone it down 4 (16%)
She's just aight, dawg 2 (8%)
She's not very good but can improve 0 (0%)
Please bring back Paula 5 (20%)

Total votes: 24

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Chris Golightly disqualified

Idol360.org is reporting original Top 24 contestant Chris Golightly was disqualified. Per a tweet from former Idol Hollywood contestant Samantha Musa:

Just got off the phone with Chris GoLightly. He was disqualified yesterday, after already being told he was in the top 24, over some bogus old contract. The contract expired, but they disqualified him for not telling them. He is talking to lawyers, but doubt thet can do anything.
Tim Urban has replaced him, as reflected in tonight's episode. The funny thing is hardly anyone has noticed he's missing from the roster.

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IDOL LIVE Chat: Top 24 Reveal (2/17/10)

After the slow-moving two-hour filler extravaganza known as last night's Hollywood Week episode, we will finally officially know the entire Top 24 roster at the end of tonight's one-hour episode.

The live chat will begin at 9 p.m. ET and will last one hour.




So far, we've seen Michael "Big Mike" Lynche, Katelyn Epperly, Lee DeWyze, Didi Benami, Todrick Hall, Casey James and Aaron Kelly advance to the semifinals. Who will round out the remaining 17 spots?

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

IDOL LIVE Chat: Hollywood Week pt. 3 (2/16/10)

Idol's producers are taking a bit of an unconventional approach to the final two episodes of the ninth season's Hollywood week. As previously mentioned, a few Top 24 contestants will be officially introduced in tonight's two-hour episode rather than tomorrow's "chair" episode that traditionally has been used to reveal the semifinalists. Therefore, you definitely do not want to miss out on this.

The live chat will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will last two hours.




Why do you think Idol is opting to spoil some of this season's contenders as opposed to doing the full reveal tomorrow? It seems a little odd on my part, but maybe they do know what they're doing. If anything, I'd guess it's a ratings ploy.

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Some Top 24 contestants will be unveiled tonight

Idol seems to be up to its old tricks of trying to boost ratings by razzle-dazzling viewers with gimmicks. Apparently, there will be some Top 24 contestants revealed tonight instead of unveiling them all in tomorrow's traditional "chair" episode. Per the press release:

On Tuesday evening, the remaining contestants will take the stage to perform their final solo number in front of Simon, Ellen, Kara and Randy in hopes of singing their way into the Top 24. Following these performances, the judges will deliberate, and for the first time in IDOL history, will announce some of the Top 24 semifinalists.

This seems like a strange idea, even for this show. Why would anyone be excited to watch tomorrow's two-hour episode when we will most likely see the front runners receive their spots in the Top 24 tonight? Who knows, but odds are it will work out for the show in the short term. Getting viewers to stick around in the next few weeks is a different matter, though.

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Monday, February 8, 2010

Flashback: Danny Noriega's "Jailhouse Rock"

Danny Noriega made quite the splash on Idol's seventh season with his heavy reliance on breathy vocals and sassy attitude. During Top 24 week, Danny was able to get the crowd on its feet with his rendition of Jailhouse Rock, but he couldn't excite the judges beyond faint praise from Paula and Randy and a tongue-lashing from Simon. Refresh your memory on the performance below:



This segment was much better remembered for the major squabble between Simon and Paula and the infamous "some people weren't likin' it" (complete with head snap) moment than for the performance itself, and that's probably fine with Danny. Regardless of how he sang the song, this will always be one of the most memorable moments of that season.

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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Poll of the week: readers most looking forward to Ellen's addition

In the latest edition of IDOL LIVE's poll of the week, fans seemed to be most excited with the fact that Ellen DeGeneres will be joining Simon, Kara and Randy during the Hollywood rounds.

Ellen pulled in 19 votes, good for 41% of all votes cast. In second place, readers decided the fact that the show will be returning to the Top 24 semifinal format after last year's disastrous Top 36 change. The choice nabbed 13 votes (28%). No other option had a notable result, as they all hovered around 8-4%.

In this week's edition of the poll of the week, fans are asked whether Simon Cowell's departure after this season will mean the end of Idol. Voting will be open for exactly one week.

Return of the Top 24 format 13 (28%)
Addition of Ellen as judge 19 (41%)
Good chances a girl will win 4 (8%)
Possibly Simon's last season 2 (4%)
No more "Paula blabbing" 3 (6%)
New song themes 3 (6%)
Seeing if Kara's songwriting skillz improved 2 (4%)

Total votes: 46

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Predictable boots make for an uneventful 'Idol'

This season's Idol crew lost four of their own last night, with three of them being completely predictable. Only 18-year-old Colton Berry's departure could be considered somewhat of a remote jolt, but compared to seasons past it should not have come as a shock. Berry's "Suspicious Minds" could not even measure up to season 5's Chris Daughtry, which also resulted in his boot.

As for Amy Davis, Garrett Haley and Joanne Borgella, none of them delivered showstoppers, with Davis being the universally-agreed upon dud of the bunch.

On another note, MSNBC.com's Craig Berman picked up on an interesting trend - the fact that the ages of contestants is a factor in how long they last on Idol, but it is different depending on their sex. Berman said:

"The need to sing well every night and pick songs that aren’t exceptionally dull was the night’s big theme, but the results also conformed to a larger trend that’s been a constant in previous seasons. Older men and younger women tend to be the ones who stick around to the end, while younger men and older women have a harder time sticking around."
If you think about, this most definitely holds true. How old were the winners when they all won? Kelly was 20, Ruben 25, Fantasia 19, Carrie 21, Taylor 29 and Jordin 17. Just goes to show Carly Smithson might not make it as far as most assume, though Michael Johns should be encouraged by this

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