American Idol Recap: Top 24

(Sorry this is a little late, but this diva was caught up in a bunch of drama this week and missed half of the first episode- thank God for YouTube- so I had to play catch up. I hope you enjoy this week and hopefully next week will be better)

The auditions are finally over on American Idol and this week the real competition began. The results for both the guys and girls were decidedly mixed, but there were a couple of standouts.

The Boys
1. David Hernandez "The Midnight Hour"
I originally wrote down "no personality" and it's probably no coincidence that I can't even recall what he looks like two days later.

2. Chikezie "I'll Be Loving You More Today Than Yesterday"
He looks like a pimp with that ridiculous orange suit. His performance was rather blah and super corny. I completely agree with everything Simon said.

3. David Cook "Happy Together"
David made this song very modern sounding and he has a great voice. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the way he picked up the microphone stand and used it as a pugil stick which was a tad over the top.

4. Jason Yeager "Moon River"
Supremely corny and probably the worst song choice for his voice (his voice is fine but entirely too vanilla to carry the simple melody of "Moon River" and make it interesting).

5. Robbie Carrico "One is the Loneliest Number"
This former boy band member claims he's a rocker now, but this song was really a pop version of what rock is- it's like Britney doing the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" without the camp.



6. David Archuleta "Shop Around"
I love this kid! He's so dorkalicious he makes Seth Cohen look cool. I love his reaction to finding out about making the Top 24 ("What a feeling!") in the above video and, to top it all off, he's actually quite a fine singer. Sure, he's a little nervous and hesitant at parts of the song but once he gets over that, he'll be fantastic. Without a doubt, he's my favorite of the three little homosexuals this year (Colton and Danny being the others).

7. Danny Noriega "Jailhouse Rock"
He's Quirky and he wants you to know that. Danny reminds me of my arch-nemesis Christian on Project Runway, but he comes off as less annoying so far. We'll see what happens in the next weeks. Anyways, he's halfway decent and, listening to him speak, you do not expect that voice to come out of him.

8. Luke Menard "Everybody's Talking"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

9. Colton Berry "Suspicious Minds"
He's lively, energetic and a nice singer, but you can obviously tell he has a background in theater (not that that's a bad thing).

10. Garrett Haley "Breaking Up is Hard to Do"
Garrett's voice is annoying as hell and does he honestly believe that teased out 80's hair gives him personality? Because it doesn't.

11. Jason Castro "What a Day For a Daydream"
I can't even concentrate on Jason's singing, because I everytime I see him all I notice are his dreadlocks. I can't stand dreadlocks because they're fucking dirty and disgusting.

12. Michael Johns "Light My Fire"
This was the perfect song choice for him and, as if that accent wasn't helping him enough, he'll be sure to go far.

The Women
1. Kristy Lee Cook "Rescue Me"
Stereotypical skinny white blonde girl with a so-so voice and a boring and repetitive performance.

2. Joanne Borgella "I Say a Little Prayer"
Although it could have stood some improvement, I didn't think it was as bad as what the judges (mostly Simon) were saying.

3. Alaina Whitaker "I Love You More Today"
This girl is so adorable (her interview before her performance was fun) and, as if that wasn't enough, she can also sing. I loved her slow build to the chorus and she held my interest the whole time.

4. Amanda Overmyer "Baby, Please Don't Go"
I like Amanda and this performance, but I just can't see 12 year old girls voting for her into the finale. She won't appeal to the young crowd, who'll just be confused because the closest they get to rock is Avril Lavigne.

5. Amy Davis "Where the Boys Are"
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

6. Brooke White "Happy Together"
I really like Brooke and think she has a really great voice, but her song was not right for her at all. Sure, she's a very happy person, but her voice is so husky and dark that it didn't fit with the light poppiness of "Happy Together." It was still a good performance, though.

7. Alexandrea Lushington "Spinning Wheel"
I loved her attitude towards Ryan, her great sense of fashion (sans suspenders) and, most of all, her extremely one-of-a-kind take on this song.

8. Kady Malloy "A Groovy Kind of Love"
She has great potential if she would just let herself go.

9. Asia'h Epperson "Piece of My Heart"
I really dislike Asia'h, not because of her voice (which is fine and dandy), but because of the story about her father dying before her audition that she pimps out on every show. It's so shameless that, for me, it overshadows her talent.

10. Ramiele Malubay "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"
I completely disagree with the judges on this one. Ramiele sang this like English was her second language and it was kind of boring in the beginning. I don't understand where all the praise came from.

11. Syesha Mercado "Tobacco Road"
YES! PRAISE GOD, SOMEONE BROUGHT A VOICE!

12. Carly Smithson "Shadow of Your Smile"
Although Randy was a little overexaggerative (The best of the Top 24? Really?), I did think it was a fine performance. I thought it was a little forced, but once I found out she had bronchitis, I quickly understood and forgave her.

The Best: David A., Michael, Syesha, Alaina

Who's Going Home: Jason Y., Luke, Joanne (it pains me to say it, but few can survive the harsh criticism she got last night), Amy

Who Went Home: Garrett, Colton, Amy, Joanne (2/4, not bad)

Thoughts: I agree completely with Garrett and Amy because they were plain awful, but I think Joanne deserved a second chance and there were at least two other guys who were worse than Colton.