Patman

What will be interesting, though, is when contestants are getting booted off, in whose direction do their fanbase's votes go towards. I would think as more girls leave in the first 4 weeks of the top 12, I would think Brooke and Carly will get those votes, moreso than the guys (David C., Michael, and Jason), which could push them past the guys in the late rounds for a second place finish against Archuleta.

SleepyW

Looks like girl hotness doesn't guarantee a pass anymore on AI. Kady, IMO, was the hottest girl in the group, and Kristi is #2 in hotness and she's near the bottom. And in that poll, Chikezie doesn't have a last name - WTF?

Daytripper

I didn't want this turning into TOO much of a freak show. Like last year with Sanjaya. So I'm glad Nancy Noriega is gone.

Daytripper

Sure, everyone knew/knows both are gay. But Danny was over the top flamboyant.

mphtrilogy

My March Madness Predictions:

1) David Archuleta: Finals ** Winner **
2) Brooke White: Finals
3) Michael Johns: Final 4
4) Ramiele Malubay: Sleeper Surprising Final 4
5) David Cook: Booted at 5
6) Jason Castro, Booted at 6
7) Syesha Mercado she makes it to 7.. needs a show stopper soon to extend her stay.. ** deep sleeper wildcard **
8) Carly Smithson, Booted at 8 .. Shocker
9) Amanda Overmyer, Vote for the Worst gets her to week 9
10) David Hernandez, Booted at 10.. lap dancing collateral damage
11) Kristi Lee Cook, Booted at 11, barring a country girl song run and maximum cleavage wich could extend her stay and flip flop her with Syesha
12) Chikezie: Booted next week, it was an honor just to be nominated

Lastblade

I am impressed that Fox can stretch the results show out to an hour.

DVD Josh

At least you got 1 right.

davidh777

Chikezie stopped using his last name when he made the top 24

brainee

Anyone else notice the awkward pause by Ryan when reading out the names of the final 12. He paced it so Chikezie would have a last name, then must have remember at the last second and there's just silence

TwineTime

It was an awkward pause because they just removed the audio of Ryan saying Eze. They just reused the same footage and audio from the end of the Top 24 selection episode, when he still had a last name.

PerryD

One problem of Danny getting voted out is that he won't be on the tour. He's a guaranteed draw of millions of pre-teen girls, just like Sanjaya was last year. Even if he was the first to go on the top-12, I'm sure he would have gotten an enthusiastic reception during his portion of the tour.

Charlie Goose

Happily surprised that Danny was eliminated. Same with Asia'h.

I don't want to sound like a shill, but this is probably the best top 12 the show has ever had. And maybe the most obnoxious, but we can't have everything can we?

rkndkn

He would have had to make the Top 10 to go on tour, but yes, he would have been a big draw.

nightwing82

I think David Archuleta will win but he has no appeal on top 40 radio. Maybe they can market him to Radio Disney.

SexualPudding

LOL @ Nancy Noriega.

creekdipper

Danny is a perfect draw for the preteen girls. He's cute, he's "safe", and he will listen to them (unlike their goofy real-life boyfriends). How could life get any better for them?

Someone queried why Simon seemed to have it in for Kady. Perhaps she rejected his offer to come by his suite for some late-night coaching and inspection of her "lung capacity".

Although I couldn't stand Luke's singing (and song choice...what more dated material could you pick than Wham! Perfect choice for an 'oldies' revue, which is Luke's forte), I did like his good-natured acceptance of his fate. Maybe he realized that he was in over his head or maybe he's just a good guy, but he seemed genuinely just "glad to be here" and didn't appear to be crushed or have hard feelings. Judging from Thurs. night alone, he has a good attitude about the whole thing.

Regarding Amanda's dispirited demeanor, it is puzzling...almost as if her disastrous performance last week & all the public criticism has broken her spirit & she just wants to tank it, strap on her Harley & doo-rag, and pull a Then Came Bronson. Hope that her DUI offense was just a result of too much partying one night; otherwise, someone needs to be looking out for her. She seems almost depressed after her performances (although, having to tape those "solo dancing" segments could depress anyone over 12).

We like trying to see which contestants are liked by the others (judging from their reactions when they don't know the camera is on them...although a smart contestant would know that they're potentially "on" any time they're out there). Seemed that the guys didn't have a lot of love for Michael Johns when he joined the Stool Crowd (and he didn't even look back at Danny & Chikeze when he got the good news and left them). Sometimes it seems that the other guys kind of shun Little David (although it has sometimes come after the judges have slobbered over him).

Seems that Carly has tried to take a Big Sister approach to the younger contestants (she even hugged Amanda when the latter dejectedly joined the other "winners"). Whether it's real or feigned, it will get some votes.

Are there any good AI exposes that reveal the dirt behind the smiles?

Goldberg74

From now on David Archuleta will be called "Giggles".

Ranger

Is next week supposed to be the 90s? What about after that?

spoon81

No, next week is the songs of Lennon/McCartney, followed by "theme" nights, probably with the mentors.

Patman

Anyone heard these Kady Malloy tracks on a myspace fan page:

http://www.myspace.com/kadymalloyfans

I find her singing listenable for the pop/easy listening genre, and none feature any vocal pyrotechnics that would dampen her overall performance of the songs.

What I am hating about AI for female contestants is that they all seem to think they need to showcase that big-time diva voice (a la Celine, Whitney, Mariah, etc), but if they could just convince the girls that the world wouldn't end if they didn't have the pipes for the songs that need the huge vocals, and just let them feel comfortable singing to their own strengths, we'd get better performances out of them. At least Brooke White understands her limitations and finds songs that fit her vocal range and stylings.

Listening the cuts by Kady reinforces my hope that the gals step back and find the smaller, more "safe" song (Simon be damned) that allow them to connect with the song on a more emotional level without fearing that the added anxiety that they won't be able to pull off the huge long notes, which affects the rest of their performance.

das Monkey

From that interview (and her parting comments), it's obvious she didn't get it. Everything Simon said about her was not only completely accurate but the primary reason she didn't advance in the show. His opinion is more important, simply because he's the only person on that show actually telling people what they did wrong and how to get better. Sure, he's a dick about it, but he's spot on nearly every time. It's the contestants who listen to Simon and make small adjustments to their performance while retaining their own personality who go far.

And Simon's right there with you, Patman. Almost every time someone tries to go all super-diva on the stage, he tears them apart. The easiest way to earn his scorn is to perform a Celine or Whitney song without drastically changing the arrangement. In fact, he's proven very forgiving of vocal imperfections if the performance was believable emotionally (probably because he knows he can fix the notes in the studio, but not the personality).

I think it's just youth. Most of these girls are at the age where they think they know everything and probably grew up watching American Idol and perceiving Simon as the asshole instead of the only one on that show with a clue. They're more likely to gravitate to the sycophantic praise of Paula than the harsh honesty of Simon. And maybe that's a good thing to weed those people out. The winner of this competition will face a lot more Simons than Paulas (until s/he goes to rehab).

das

rabbit77

you guys write so well about such banality... Das and Patman, do you have any articles out there I can read not related to tv shows?

jpdude

Words can't even describe how much i loathe Chikezie, I hope he's sent packing next week. I was really cheering for Danny, who was a MUCH better vocalist.

I wonder if there's any hope of a wildcard show this season? That would be awesome! I wish they'd bring back Josiah Lemming.