I’ve toyed with how to do this list. I’ve decided to do the Guys tonight, and the Girls tomorrow. 30 people in one post is a little long. I don’t want to lose your focus. Plus, now that we know some of the song choices, it’ll be a little bit easier to judge.
15) Bryant Tadeo- I don’t think Heaven is the way to get into the Top 10 guys, unless everyone else is just terrible. It’s a boring karaoke song that reeks of what Idol is trying to move away from. Plus, Elijah making the top 10 boys really does hurt Bryant a little bit, even if no one will admit it.
14) Vincent Powell- I’m sure he’s a very nice person, and the fact that he *might* have the pimp spot should change my mind a bit, but Vincent seems like fodder to me. I think there are better voices in the top boys, and Vincent’s song choice has left me wanting. Can Vincent REALLY knock out Burnell, Cortez, or David? I don’t think so.
13) Mathenee Treco- His song has been done to death on Idol, and Mathenee has a tendency to not know how to not go “over the top”. He’ll go too far, and do too much. I don’t expect Mathenee to make it past this week. A reserved performance would come across as boring, but a crazy performance will be told he did too much. He really can’t win, as unfair as that may be.
12) Gurpreet Singh Sarin- I’m becoming less convinced that the producers intend to let America decide on Gurpreet. After JDA’s mind boggling elimination last week, the producers seem to not want to let America vote on their controversial contestants, and GPS could fall victim to this curse.
11) David Willis- David has to overcome a lack of screentime and connect with viewers. That’s a long term problem. In the short term, he has to convince the judges that sending home one of their favorites is a necessary evil to keep him in the competition. I’ve heard he’s playing guitar, which is always a good thing on this show.
10) Lazaro Arbos- How the mighty have fallen. I can’t take his song choice seriously, and I think that if David is good, he’ll steal Lazaro’s spot. Sorry. I realize he’s had a ton of screentime, but his song choice seems like he’s trolling us or something. Plus, Charlie made it, and I can’t see BOTH Charlie and Lazaro in the top 10 boys.
9) Josh Holiday- Josh benefits from the elimination of Johnny Keyser last week. He’s now more unique. His song choice isn’t original, but is always a favorite when it is sung on the show. I think if he does it well, he could eek into the top 10 boys, but he has a long road to the top 5 boys.
8) Charlie Askew- Most of America heard a weak vocal performed by a terrified young boy. The judges heard something else, and that’s why Charlie stuck around. I think Charlie is already starting to overstay his welcome, and he’s likely going home in the top 10 boys, unless the judges drop a wild card on him.
7) Elijah Liu- He’s really current, but he drew mixed reviews from the Idol fanbases. Some people think he’s cute, others note his weak falsetto. He’s polarizing, like Stefano. Song choice is VERY key with Elijah, because if he chooses too big of a song, he could go home for delivering an awful vocal that even the fangirls can’t get past.
6) Cortez Shaw- I think his song choice this next week is really interesting. Very current. Just the type of thing he should be doing on the show. He’s got some competition though, and he’ll have to fight his way into the top 5.
5) Curtis Finch Jr- Lucky for Cortez, Curtis Finch Jr exists. I’m having a hard time figuring out if Curtis can get enough votes to get into the top 5. He’s really smug, and he’s obviously an asshole. Will people feel moved enough to vote for him? Everything I’ve heard basically praised him as the best vocal of his night, which gives him a slight edge. Anyone who remembers his comments during Hollywood Week, however, may have a different opinion. It’s easy to compliment someone for their voice. It’s a whole different monster to pick up the phone and dial a number for someone.
4) Nick Boddington- I don’t know what his song choice is, so it’s hard for me to put him up this far. But I’m gonna do it anyway. I think Nick earned a lot of goodwill in his last performance, and something tells me he’ll be at the piano this week.
3) Devin Velez- Made a lot of headway with his cover of Listen, attracting the spanish voting audience to him. Smart move. He’s a really talented vocalist, and at this point, I think he should have no problem convincing enough people to pick him and get him into the top 5.
2) Burnell Taylor- People still seem to love Burnell on Twitter. I saw a lot of posts during last nights show on Twitter of people complaining that Burnell wasn’t singing. He seems to have struck a chord with America. Providing that the producers put him through to the top 10, I’m confident that America will vote him into the top 5 boys.
1) Paul Jolley- As the last remaining male country singer, I’m going to put Paul at the top of this list. It’s temporary, but I feel like he’s got the most forward motion coming out of last weeks show. Need I remind you of the last 5 American Idol winners? I actually don’t think Paul will go farther than 6th or 7th in the long haul, but for right now, he seems like a favorite among the fans.
Join me tomorrow, when I rank the girls. I’m actually unsure if ANY of these boys are winners. I feel like this is Season 3 all over again when all the boys are just incredibly weak and the girls are amazing.
