After last night's exciting and at the same time infuriating episode we get to hear from a select few failed semifinalists one last time that have been handpicked by the judges in the hopes of redeeming themselves in front of America. The blog begins at 8 p.m. ET.
This season was already going down the tubes, but the judges last night all but killed off its saving grace with their wild card selections. Sure, it was bad enough when the very competitive Group 3 had to let only three people into the Top 12 via America's votes, especially considering two spots were virtually reserved for screen time favorites Lil Rounds and Scott MacIntyre. Jorge Nunez making it over Ju'Not Joyner and Felicia Barton was nothing outrageous, but he will be a waste of a spot and will exit relatively early in the finals. But when the judges only chose one from the group, Von Smith, to compete in tonight's wild card, something went horribly wrong.
The judges' motives are so transparent it's not even a matter of to what degree their favoritism is lying in the shadows, it's just plain out there for everyone to see. They purposely chose three average to forgettable girls so that it does not look so bad when they go with Megan Corkrey. This is important because tonight's "sing for their lives" spectacle has no bearing on whom the four horsemen will choose, it's all for show and to give FOX another win on a night they normally would lose to the other networks (plus it's a killer lead-in to Hell's Kitchen).
While Tatiana del Toro's vocals are actually pretty good, she was brought back for the drama, pure and simple. And people fall for it, which is sad, but what can you do? The stranger picks are Jesse "don't you just love those drum claps?" Langseth and Jasmine "you better sing a Rihanna song" Murray, each of whom have no shot at being one of the three picks unless the producers pass a law requiring semi-gender equality, making it a 7-5 ratio rather than a more likely 8-4 ratio.
What is embarassing is that the judges did not see the point of bringing back Felicia and Kristen McNamara, each of whom are leagues better than the four girls that have a second shot tonight. This is further proof that all they are concerned about is having Megan make it, and for that reason they are just plain lost. Just the absolute wrong way to go about choosing wild card spots.
As for the guys, everyone they picked was deserving except Von, who should have ceded his spot to Ju'Not. It's surprising that there will be no black male in the Top 12 this season, but it worked in Season 5 so whatever.
No matter what happens, from here on out it's all about Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert and Lil. If these three are not the final three of Season 8, that would mean there had to have been a miracle of sorts because this season is more predictable than all the rest combined.
Hopefully there are no more angry analyses on here for this season. Something tells me that won't be the case, though.
IDOL LIVE's predictions are now 6-9 for the Top 36 and 5-9 for the Top 12. At least we're batting above .500 for now.
The consesus about last night is that there are two very much all-but-confirmed spots reserved for big names, and a free-for-all for the third spot in which a good seven contenders have at least a slim shot of landing the position of next highest vote-getter, with at least three that stand a very good chance of advancing.
Overall, Group 3 showed that when you get a couple weeks to watch and learn from others that sing for their lives, preparedness certainly plays dividends. It also helps to be very talented, which many of last nights contestants are.
Read my predictions below.
Surprising or not, these will be the latest Top 12 members:
>Lil Rounds
>Scott MacIntyre
>Ju'Not Joyner
Lil is a given. She has been guaranteed a spot in the Top 4 since she auditioned, so this was nothing but a cake walk. In fact, the judges should have given someone else the pimp spot just because it was pure overkill having Lil close out the night to a thunderous chorus of positive critiques. She was great and all, but she still has a ways to go to get positive comments, so the judges might as well hold off until she starts delivering consistently.
Scott is another given. He hasn't been a sure thing all season like Lil, but his great personality coupled with his good vocals (oh yea, and the fact that he's blind) is like a big apple pie with whipped cream on top for the regular voting bloc of this show. Scott was not the best male singer last night, but he was far from the worst. Look for him to go fairly far inside the Top 12.
Unlike the first two spots, the third and final Top 12 space as (allegedly) decided by America is extremely difficult to pinpoint. Many people would tell you who they want to go through, but they are not really thinking about who will go through when all factors are taken into consideration. Jorge Nunez seems like a good fit, but just because he lost his accent and Paula and Kara wanted to squeeze him last night does not mean he will get through, even in the face of a great, surprising performance.
Felicia Barton is also a favorite to take the third slot, but she will have to wait for Thursday for news that she made it into the Top 12. The producers want America to get an extra glance at her for them to decide whether or not they actually like her, since the judges obviously like her and she has received virtually no air time up until now. Nathaniel Marshall and Kristen McNamara are good guesses as well, but just as they started together in Hollywood Week, they will finish together outside the Top 12.
So that leaves Ju'Not, who was on top of his game when he slowed down "Hey There Delilah" and made it an entirely different song. More shots of his son during his pre-performance package and an awkward joke about getting a shot for his asthma will all combine in a perfect storm of happiness for Ju'Not, which will sort of come as a surprise to most of the audience after thinking Jorge will be the third choice of the night. If they really want to maximize suspense tonight, the producers will have Felicia, Ju'Not and Jorge stand together at the end of the show and read the results with all of them vying for the spot, but most likely they will save Lil's obvious victory for last. Thanks for keeping it interesting.
Of course, I reserve the right to be wrong on the third spot. Not the first two, though. Those are 100% guaranteed or you can ask for a refund. Right now I am 4-6 after last week's predictions so a clean sweep tonight would be much appreciated.
Who really thought Nick Mitchell would take the "final" spot last night over Adam Lambert? Do the producers think the audience is that stupid, that it would be more susprised that Adam made it over Nick than it would Kris Allen making it over Matt Giraud or Megan Corkrey?
Although the show did improve format-wise this week (i.e. the elimination of the parent/loved ones segment), it failed to capitalize on what would have made for a more interesting final reveal for the third spot. I wouldn't be surprised if a third of the audience just stopped watching after Kris was handed the second spot in the Top 12, as everyone and their mother knew Adam would make it since it was crystal clear he got the Gokey treatment on Wednesday.
Even Allison Iraheta's Top 12 spot could be spotted a mile away, so the whole hour was kind of useless in the whole results department, which is kind of a problem. And did we really have to see that montage set to "What a Wonderful World" again? If that doesn't scream "filler," I don't know what does.
And then there was the 12 semifinalists' pre-recorded sounding rendition of Ne-Yo's "Closer." If the performance is any indication of how this season will turn out, it gives the notion that it will be a guy-dominated season much more support, as the six girls sang about a total of three and a half lines.
Despite these blemishes, the show was otherwise pretty entertaining. Simon and Paula got into their normal spats, and Kara even engaged Simon head on, which I suspect we will begin to see more of as the season goes on.
The highlight of the show, however, was Brooke White's return to the Idol stage to perform her new single, "Hold Up My Heart." Brooke was refreshing both vocally and personality-wise, as her advice to the semifinalists of not "googling yourself" beckoned back to the same quirky Brooke that audiences fell in love with last season.
So far this Top 12 is a mixed bag. It's definitely strong on diversity of singing style and personality but it's short on diversity overall, which makes me think Lil Rounds is all but guaranteed a spot and Ju'Not Joyner could also be a great bet next week.
Possible wild card selections from this bunch are most likely Matt G. and Megan, but it's doubtful the judges would waste a few other spots on semifinalists from this group with the exception of Jasmine Murray, whom they all seem to like because she's "very commercial." Expect the majority of the picks to come from Group 3.
As for IDOL LIVE's predictions, we're 4-6 in the semifinals and 3-6 in the Top 12, so it's not looking all that great so far.
Join us tonight as we find out the next batch of two guys and a girl that will advance through to the Top 12 (cause you just know it will be two guys and one girl again. For real). Tonight's results show will be the first of two Thursday night results shows, as it will begin at 8 p.m. ET and, as usual, will last one hour. Make sure you tune in to hear Brooke White's new single, "Hold Up My Heart," which she will be performing tonight.
Although it seems relatively easy to pick two of the advancees that will finally be able to call themselves finalists upon hearing Ryan's card-reading tonight, the last spot is a bit tricky. There were many performers last night that were equally as bad, so it pretty much comes down to who is the most likable of the bunch (what else is new).
Read my predictions below.
The three newest members of the Top 12 are:
>Adam Lambert
>Allison Iraheta
>Matt Giraud
So Adam will get by the same way Danny did, though to be sure Danny could have made it through on his own had he not had the overpimpage. Adam probably would not have (at least not the top male vote-getter) but he would have been a wildcard pick anyway, so they might aw well let him in the top 12 now.
Allison gets in from the praise her "Alone" garnered from the judges, plus the fact that she was the best female performer last night (read: performer, not singer).
And then Matt Giraud's solid fanbase should technically carry him through despite his awkward showing last night, though Anoop looked to be in the same position last week and we all know how that turned out. Hopefully that doesn't mean Matt Breitzke makes it in over the better Matt.
I think these predictions will in fact be solid. I am currently 2-3 after last week's predictions so I need a perfect score this week.
Join us tonight as we blog during the second installment of the Top 36's showcase when the 12 semifinalists from Group 2 take the stage and try their hand at singing songs from Billboard's Top 10 catalog. The blogcast will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will last two hours.
Although they are almost always fake nowadays unless they appear on the net 30 minutes prior to showtime, a list of possible song choices for the twelve semifinalists of Group 2 has been making the rounds since last night. What makes this list a little more convincing is that it seems to fit in with the few hints that found their way onto JoesPlace's blog. See the list below:
Kris Allen, "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
Matt Breitzke, "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton
Megan Corkrey, "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor
Matt Giraud, "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay
Mishavonna Henson, "With or Without You" by U2
Allison Iraheta, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler
Kai Kalama, "Lean on Me" by Club Nouveau
Adam Lambert, "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen
Jesse Langseth, "You Needed Me" by Anne Murray
Nick Mitchell, "Crying" by Roy Orbison
Jasmine Murray, "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
Jeanine Vailles, "Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dayne
*IF* these are indeed true, it looks like this will be a half very boring, half very exciting performance episode. One thing for sure is that Jeanine will be toast if she sings that song (but she pretty much already is, so it probably won't make a difference).
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.
Join us tonight as we witness which three lucky semifinalists get an automatic go-ahead to the coveted Top 12, while nine hopefuls temporarily have their dreams dashed (at least until the Wildcard is announced). The blogcast will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will last one hour.
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.
Join us tonight as we blog during the first round of the Top 36 contestants' performances, as the 12 semifinalists from Group 1 will take the stage and sing songs that have graced Billboard's Top 10 chart. The blogcast will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will last two hours.
Now that news of Joanna Pacitti's abrupt ouster from the Top 36 of Season 8 is making the rounds, it is a good time to take a step back and digest what this all means for the competition.
It was only yesterday that many (including IDOL LIVE) believed Joanna was not only a shoe-in for the Top 12, but also that she was your next American Idol. She had all the qualifications necessary to validate her as a credible champ, combining beauty, youth, a unique name, a great voice (taking Hollywood Week out of consideration), previous recording and performing experience, friends in the industry and so on and so forth. So how could things turn sour?
Before recycling the same old "omg she was a plant ya see!?" argument, it's important to realize this was never a problem with the producers. They very blatantly stressed her past brushes with the music industry over the course of the show at every possible chance, something they neglected to do last season with Carly Smithson (showing that they did in fact learn their lesson this time around), so that was surely not the problem here. Instead, it was the rumblings that were generated by Star magazine that Joanna knew a few 19 execs, specifically Roger Widynowski and Michelle Young, whom she shared an apartment building with, that was the final nail in her coffin after months of reports on her platny past.
But the producers certainly know what they're doing in this isntance, as they've had a while to mull exactly how to carry out this cut. Why else was Joanna hardly shown during Hollywood Week? Because they did not want to waste precious screen time on someone they knew very well would not be part of the show once the important voting rounds began.
In fact, this is pure genius on their part. Now Joanna will get the public's sympathy for coming "so close, yet so far away" once again (following her elimination from the Broadway revival of Annie as a little girl and her failed record deals with MCA and Geffen), which will prop her up to be signed by a label under the Sony-BMG umbrella, and 19 will be able to manage her successfully thanks to the renewed wind that will be blown in her sails.
The scandal will also be a boon for Idol, as many who were upset at the fact that the judges allowed Joanna to advance so far will now be satisfied, providing a more focused and content audience that will only have to deal with Tatiana and Nick as distractions. Add to this the fact that every time Idol creates or suffers a scandal, ratings jump.
This will also benefit Idol in that Felicia Barton will be seen as an underdog, and if she fails to make it through to the Top 12 on her first try, you can bet your bottom dollar that she will be included in the wild card round. And to make things even more interesting, she will be chosen as one of the judges' picks to the Top 12 (again barring the fact that she does not make it into the Top 12 on her own). This will keep the dark horse dreams alive and will be an interesting storyline throughout the season.
To many, Felicia seems like an odd pick to succeed Joanna. But she was in fact the logical choice to replaced Joanna with, as she shares a few qualities with the latter including similarlity in age and appearance (to an extent) and a personable demeanor. She has also attained a healthy amount of online buzz despite the lack of screen time she has received up until this point, which the producers must have taken note of. And the fact that her raspy vocals are something so different than the vocals of a cookie-cutter contestant makes her that much more interesting. And then there's the whole "Joanna was a shoe-in for the Top 12" idea, which opens up a spot that was all but guaranteed for her and will now allow another "favorite" to make the cut.
It will surely be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few weeks, but just don't think that this is the last we'll see of Joanna Pacitti and that Felicia will be nothing more than a placeholder. That would be a mistake to the greatest degree.
Well, that was fast. Joanna Pacitti, who was shown making the Top 36 in last night's episode, has been disqualified from the competition. Felicia Barton has been named as her replacement. As reported by Michael Slezak of EW.com:
Specifically, Star magazine reported that Pacitti lived for a time in the same apartment building as 19's Michelle Young and Roger Widynowski, even referring to the former exec as her "best friend"; 19, of course, is the production company behind Idol.
Join us tonight as we blog during the two-hour episode of the Top 36 reveal beginning at 8 p.m. ET, also known as the "elevator episode" or the "green mile episode." Now we will see exactly why a few of the Top 50 contestants did not make the final cut (I'm talking about you, Felicia Barton!)
The entire Top 36 has leaked courtesy of JoesPlace. Here ya go:
Kris Allen
Arianna Ayesha Afsar
Michael (Bartul?)
Kendall Beard
Ann Marie Boskovich
Ricky Braddy
Matt Breitzke
Casey Carlson
Megan Corkrey
Tatiana Del Toro
Anoop Desai
Stephen Fowler
Matt Giraud
Danny Gokey
Alexis Grace
Mishavonna Henson
Allison Iraheta
Junot Joyner
Kai Kalama
Brent Keith
Adam Lambert
Jessica Langseth
Scott MacIntyre
Nate McGee
Kristen McNamara
Jasmine Murray
Jorge Nunez
Joanna Pacitti
Lil Rounds
Von Smith
Jackie Tohn
Taylor Vaifanua
Jeanine Vailes
Alexander Wagner-Trugman
Nick Western
Stevie Wright
Surprisingly, Felicia Barton, Angela Martin and Deanna Brown are missing among other people that were originally expected to make it. Very solid list, but still some major snubs.
