Boys are back

Top 10 guys up on American Idol; starts out congratulating Jennifer Hudson, twice. Not sure he wants to set up the comparison at this point. Sanjaya comes out with a fedora, Randy's spotting Chinese on his shirt and tells them not to be bad again--this should be an interesting night.

Oh no; they're supposed to dedicate their performance to someone who inspires them; mixing sentiment with song selection never works out. Phil Stacey up first, they show some clips of him with his Naval unit--interesting that he didn't weat the uniform at the audition stage. Sleek white with black leather pants look; he's definitely boosted his game, nice, mellow voice on Since You've Been Gone. Kindof boring for me, all synthesizers and almost a smooth jazz feel, but it fits him pretty well. Yowls near the end; good stage presence, sporting a cross over his dogtags. Randy liked him, Paula too. Simon says you're popular and a nice guy, but a completely unoriginal voice.

Back, a very smooth-looking Jared Cotter in a open-shirt suit next to Ryan (with sneaks). Talks to Sundance, says after singing last week his peeps are telling him not to be so bad. Cotter gets an extended video segment it seems like; whoah, starts out with a nice Marvin Gaye song, Let's Get it On, what a voice, slow and soulful and totally controlled. A bit off-key, timing seems a little off at times and voice is a bit thin; but nice performance, some passion. Randy's laughing, says he liked it even with the pitchiness; they're all joking around, Paula says that's the kind of song you don't have to push, pun intended, which turns into giggles; Simon says nice try, but a bit like the Love Boat. To which Jared responds, smilingly, that would've been a great Love Boat, man.

A.J. Tabaldo, sweet guy; black vest/green shirt/jeans. A very interesting performance, it's like something someone in drag could do on Broadway--kindof a strange song choice, he vamps it up too. A bit amateurish, vocal quality isn't great in my view but I was listening the whole time. Randy says it was a lot better than last week, showed off some skills; Paula says very nice, you have a really good voice. Simon says that was nearly very good, you made yourself stand out, looked strangely comfortable doing that. Heh heh.

Sanjaya Malakar next, with an earring no less--man, this really is a new generation. Good energy in the air, Ryan says; he dedicates the song to his grandfather. Super-cute baby pictures, says he inherited his wedding ring, wears it for support. Burgundy shirt, dress pants--you can tell he's pretty nervous, rushing a bit. Stepping Out; voice is thin, doesn't fill the room at all. Oh, poor Sanjaya, the crowd is almost totally silent--it's a bit amateurish. Toward the end, he pushes it out a bit; some whistling on his mike, though. Randy says it was like a bad high school talent show, didn't work for him at all, very weak; Paula says you were in pitch, but odd song choice. Simon says it was a like ghastly family performance--weak and a bit weird, no impact, bad song choice. Asked why he picked it, he says he sang it as a classic song to dedicate to his grandfather; he'll stick around, has a big fan base, but at some point he's gonna have to do something, and get past his nerves.

Chris Sligh, who apparently is married--he says most people have no idea how he coerced her to marry him; it's a good side of him. Sportcoat and jeans, lotsof poofy hair; doing Trouble. It's good--nice compelling quality to his voice, not much in the way of performance but it's appropriate for the song, very soulful and obviously heartfelt. Goes over to her near the end, energetic ending, it's all good. Randy liked it, nice big voice; Paula liked it too, a bit pitchy and timing a bit off. Simon says tonight, you're a very good singer.

Nick Pedro, continues the odd trend of the guys highlighting that they're not single; sheesh, don't these people know who votes? Fever; in sportcoat, turquoise shirt and dress pants--nice vocal tone comes back, good choice. A bit lacking in energy to start; earnest and pretty relaxed, they catch Simon snapping his fingers. Pretty professional I'd say, not nuts about the song itself. Why's everyone picking these old songs? Randy says nice, you went back to your cool, smoky vibe; pitchy and a bit rushing, but good; Paula loves his tone, just go for it. Simon says it was good, lacked charisma for the song, you look like you just came straight from the office; fix your charisma issue.

Blake Lewis, who actually dresses his age, like some skateboarding guy. Gosh, this night is dragging... nothing so amazing yet. Good kid, sincere dedication to his folks. Nice song choice, Virtual Insanity, he's a bit breathless, but it all feels real. Does some beat boxing halfway through, interesting dance moves. Very comfortable with the crowd. Randy likes it, Paula too; Simon doesn't--first part was copycat, off the video; second part was good, third part wasn't good, no originality, very disappointed. There's a big fuss over whether it was original or not, it's just ridiculous.

Brandon Rogers, who picked his song on the basis of its words saying exactly what he wants to to his grandmother... sheesh, sweet but not a great strategy. Pink shirt, jeans; Time After Time; I really like the song, so enjoy his singing, but it's just pretty straight-forward. Nice vocal tone; a bit lacking in energy because of the song--just nothing remarkable. Randy says it did nothing for you vocally, though; Brandon responds to Randy right away, odd. Paula says she liked it, no need to oversing, beautiful voice; Simon says it's a singing competition, Randy's right, you have got to come out and wow us with all your talent, you didn't. He wishes his dad's a happy birthday--Simon makes fun of it, says it's his mum's birthday in November, then adds he loves puppies; he's totally right, I mean, grab us, wow us--if all you wanna do is use this as a platform to say or do whatever, or express yourself--I guess you'll be fine with not winning.

Chris Richardson, dressed like a normal kid, says he's doing Geek in the Pink. He does the same energetic bobbing as last week, but I like it; totally fits who he is, even if he keeps jerking his head around. Swallows his words toward the end, running out of breath. Randy really likes it; Paula too, especially that he dedicated for his grandmother. Paula somehow finds a paper valentine which she sticks on Simon; he says best tonight, by a mile.

Close with Sundance Head, who's got a newborn son, Levi. Gosh, what an old group of guys this year; tears up when talking about how he's missing stuff with his son, just wants him to have a good shot at life. Whoah, a ton of energy, Mustang Sally; pajama-like shirt, jeans. Is really busting out with the voice tonight; the song itself is only okay for me, but he really puts his all into it, even a little JPL-style-dancing. Randy loves it, that was hot; Paula says great range, that was like the best vocal we ever heard (whaaaat?!) Simon likes it, glad that you're back; but let's not get nuts, easy song to sing, but you can do better.

They close with an extended commercial for Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader; sheesh.

It's hard for me to pick who I think is going home--unlike most weeks, I don't think the ones I liked least will go--Sanjaya's a likeable guy and has a big fan club, Sundance has support and did well according to the judges. I guess I'll pick Brandon and Nick, on the basis of both not seeming to have much of a fan base--AJ wouldn't surprise me either, anyone else would.

As for the guys overall, I think Sanjaya, Chris Sligh, Blake, and Sundance are locks to make the finals; with Jared likely to get the other slot. Which leaves everyone else trying to knock it out of the park next week to get that last spot.

Chris Sligh
Chris Richardson
Blake Lewis
Jared Cotter
Phil Stacey
Nick Pedro
Brandon Rogers
A.J. Tabaldo
Sundance Head
Sanjaya Malakar