AMERICAN IDOL - TOP 12 GUYS TAKE THE STAGE!

The competition has begun and no doubt the contestants were very nervous, but some seemed to handle the “nerves” better than others. Here is my take, as well as some comments from the Judges, on the top 12 guy performers:

Rudy Cardenas – Free Ride – He has a good voice and was very upbeat, but I have to agree with Simon, in the respect that he is not unique and there is no defining quality to his voice. My pet peeve? If I’m listening to a song, I want to hear the lyrics as best as I can and Rudy didn’t do a good job of enunciating.

Brandon Rogers – Rock With You – I was hoping for more and just wasn’t impressed. He was pitchy in spots and I think maybe with a different song, he’ll do better. Simon said he’s better than his song choice and shouldn’t play it safe and do the predictable.

Sundance Head – Nights in White Satin – He can sing. There’s no doubt about it, but the nerves have him right now, as it was in every note he sang,. He just wasn’t as good as he was in the auditions. The Judges felt he was pitchy and definitely picked the wrong song. He was “bluesy” and great in the auditions and needs to find his way back to that soulful sound.

Paul Kim – Careless Whisper – He too was pitchy in spots and it seems the Randy was more impressed with him than I was ….personally. Randy believes he has one of the better voices in the competition but…wrong song choice. Paul sings with his shoes off and stated he will do this throughout the competition. After singing, Simon wants him to put his shoes back on. He felt Paul did a 3rd rate version of George Michael and there was no “wow” factor.

Chris Richardson – I Don’t Want To Be Anyone Other Than Me – Let’s face it….the top 24 can all sing, but this song and his rendition just didn’t do anything for me. I felt he was straning his voice and trying too hard and once again, was not as impressive as in the Auditions. Randy surprised me. He said that Chris brought a “different flavor” to the competition – Not the best song he could have sung. Paula liked him and Simon felt his vocal was below standard.

Nick Pedro – Now and Forever – I was impressed with him at the Auditions when he sang “Fly Me To The Moon”, which also happens to be one of my alltime favorite songs. His voice quality is like velvet and he touched me with his song choice tonight. However, Randy thought he was boring. Simon didn’t think his performance was bad, he just feels that Nick lost his sparkle. Simon believes he will definitely be back next week and so do I!

Blake Lewis – Somewhere Only We Know – I think he sang a beautiful rendition of this song, His vocals were right on. Simon said he was the first performer who sang like he was in the year 2007 and it was the best performance so far tonight.

Sanjaya Malakar - Knocks Me Off My Feet - As he said himself….he is the youngest contestant, though that should have no bearing, as we’ve seen in past AI shows, but he doesn’t have the experience of performing, like some of the other contestants have and it shows. It wasn’t a memorable performance. He needs to project more and display more personality if he wants to have a shot.

Chris Sligh – Typical – There is absolutely nothing typical about this guy. He is without a doubt, a complete natural and a definite pick for one of the top spots in my book. He is so comfortable and relaxed on stage, or at least he appears to be and that’s what’s important. Phenominal, is my word of choice for him and his performance. Randy is a “Chris” fan, Paula liked it….and Simon was a bit torn, whatever that was suppose to mean, because he couldn’t put it into words. When Ryan got into the “mix”, tensions were apparent between Simon and himself.. When asked a question about song choice by Ryan, Chris mentioned that he shouldn’t be judged because he didn’t sing Devoe or the Telletubbies and Simon stated, he could always pick the latter. Yes, the remark was uncalled for and it was definitely a “not nice Simon” moment. It went so far, as to Ryan just thanking Paula and Randy at the end of the show.

Jared Cotter – Back At One – Wow…..Him I like a lot! He has an incredibly smooth, polished quality to his voice with awesome range . The Judges and I locked horns on this one! Randsy didn’t like the ending, but thought the rest of the performance was okay, Paula wants to see more originality and Simon thought he was a bit nasally. Where was I??? lol The fact that needs to take more risks? That I agree with, but goes for all the other contestants as well.

AJ Tabaldo – Oh My Love – There was nothing about his performance that impressed me, though he too obviously, has a good voice. Randy said that vocally he was good, but Simon felt it was a “theme park” performance and very predictable. He has to be a bit more daring and yes, Simon stated that AJ was better than he originally thought.

Phil Stacey – I Could Not Ask For More- He is a powerful Singer who emotes so much energy and personality with his songs. His range is incredible and pitch is right on. I loved his performance! Randy stated he was the best vocal of the night and Simon thought he was just okay.

I thought Paula was too “wishy washy” in her comments and criticisms of the performances. She seemed to be riding the fence all night, not actually giving negative or positive feedback of her own and I was thinking……Why is she even there tonight?...totally disappointed.

My top choices so far:

Chris Sligh
Phil Stacey
With definite leaning toward
Nick Pedro
Jared Cotter

This is how I feel, at this moment in time and remember……Shayna’s thoughts are subject to change:)