Where The Boys Are

Thanks first to the Fox voice over guy for the title for tonight’s post.

I felt that with American Idol going to a new set that I should do the same as well. I also wanted to make this blog a little more Idol centric and less generic. I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time. One constant from last season is that I'm writing this while the show is airing so that I can go to bed at a reasonable time. Hope you don't mind the stream of consciousness style.

Paula’s looking a bit shaggy tonight and after Ryan asks her about the singers she spends more time talking about Randy and Simon. After criticizing Simon for delivering “standard” advice Ryan compliments the judges on their Top 24 selections. I get the feeling the producers have been pounding on Ryan all summer and fall to make sure he frequently mentions how talented this year’s contestants are.

We learn why clips from Idol are being pulled off of You Tube. Apple is selling them on iTunes instead. So if you want to see clips then you’ll need your iPod or a DVR. Sorry about that.

It looks like we have another format change, because for the first time the Top 24 show has a theme. Tonight is 60’s night, which is good news for me since it means I’ll be able to recognize the songs. This proved helpful since no one announced the song names. God help me if they do a 00’s night. You’ll be on your own if that happens. The bad news is that we may not get any groovy mentors from the 60's unless they repeat this time during the Top 12 shows. Now that is a shame.

David Hernandez, “In the Midnight Hour”: They show his initial audition and now I remember that we did in fact see him. Simon revealed on the Chair Show that he voted against David, so of course he wants to prove Simon wrong. David starts the song as if it were a gospel tune, earning him points for originality. His voice is OK, not really distinguishable, but like his version of “Love the One You’re With” during Hollywood Week the original arrangement is working for him. He was probably hurt by being the first guy out, but he does have potential, especially if he keeps pulling out these surprising arrangements.

Chekezie, “More Today than Yesterday”: He’s now doing the Fantasia thing by going by his first name only. I’m not sure why since his full name is so easy (no pun intended) to remember, and at this stage in the competition Chekezie Eeze needs all the name recognition that he can get. Nice voice but it sounded like a lounge act. The apricot (at least I think it’s apricot) colored suit didn’t help. Neither did the bland arrangement. The original version is much more of a vocal challenge and he might have been better off trying that instead of trying to contemporize it. Paula is nothing but complimentary. Simon is nothing but critical. Randy is nothing but in the middle. The usual judge infighting ensues. Yes kids, school is back in session. Chekezie chimes in but Ryan unusually stays out of it.

David Cook, “Happy Together”: We see his audition with the Mohawk haircut that he’s since ditched. He claims to thrive when under pressure. Well we shall see about that. He oddly starts the song as a ballad but mercifully switches to the more traditional up-tempo arrangement. What happened to the rocker? There are signs of him here but he seems to have been buried underneath a wanna-be pop artist. I think David would be more distinctive if he let the rocker out of hiding. Paula of course thinks exactly the opposite as me, and to think 15 years ago I had a crush on her. Still, it was better than the first two guys.

Jason Yeager, “Moon River”: One of the dudes that we heard nothing from on any of the audition shows. We find out that he is a “singing server” and we get to meet his son. He seems like a pretty ordinary guy, which may explain why we didn’t see him on the audition shows. Jason is the first guy to sing a song straight, and right away he has pitch problems. He probably should have tried to change the arrangement. Randy gives Jason some good advice. Paula and Simon of course don’t. Paula instead talks about how her first ballet recital was to that song. Simon whines about how old-fashioned his performance was.

Robbie Carrico, “One Is the Loneliest Number”: He speaks for the first time and reveals that he toured with Britney back when she was sane. Unlike David Cook he actually looks and sounds like a rocker. Not a lot of bottom in his voice but he’s more or less on pitch. Didn’t blow me away but it was alright. Paula thinks it’s “the perfect song for you,” which confuses me yet again. Simon is intrigued by the enigma he presents. Is Robbie a rocker or a popper? No, I didn't mean that kind of popper. You people have such dirty minds.

David Archuleta, “You Better Shop Around”: Clearly one of Randy’s favorites. He has a decent vocal range for a 17 year old. It’s a little on the lounge singer side but his voice is too good for a bar. David can’t believe that the judges complimented him. He was all set to here them trash him, well maybe not Paula. I get the feeling he’ll be going far in this competition, whether he knows it or not.

Danny Noriega, “Jailhouse Rock”: Unemployed at 18 but he still has something going on. I’m afraid to identify what. Last year he got cut at Hollywood Week. Maybe it was the lip ring that he had then. He’s clearly excited about this performance, so much so that he’s racing ahead of the band. Those guys are earning their money trying to keep up. He’s also shouting most of it. For once I agree with Paula, he should have picked another song that better showed off his singing voice. Then she goes on about seeing colors in his voice, which is where her, I, sanity, and soberity part ways. I don’t know, he reminds me of Sanjaya Malakar for some reason. Randy compliments him for “doing his own thing.” Now I know why he reminds me of Sanjaya. I haven't checked Vote for the Worst yet but I get the feeling he's in the running for their pick.

Luke Menard, “Everybody’s Talking at Me”: Another one unseen in the auditions. He apparently auditioned last year with an almost completely different look and was rejected. This year Luke has an actor face that should get him some votes, though I’m not sure which actor he reminds me of. He’s got a nice tone, and holds the last high note pretty steady, which is hard for an amateur. All three judges pan his performance. Paula talks about how much better his auditions were, which of course we didn’t see. Simon found it to be forgettable, and there is some truth to it. Given that this is the first time we’ve been allowed to see Luke this is not a good thing.

Colton Berry, “Suspicious Minds”: Colton was the last guy in the Top 24 and is not the Colton we saw at the Philly auditions. He thinks he looks like Ellen. Ryan can’t see it but now that he mentioned it I think Colton’s right. Hopefully he doesn’t sound like Ellen too. He showed some spirit but it was very pitchy. These kids don’t seem to realize how much of a range Elvis had and how difficult it is to match his vocals. Paula again plays up auditions that we never got to see. Doesn’t she watch this show? Simon and Ryan then get into a lengthy discussion about what a “recording artist” is supposed to sound like, which Ryan ends by insulting Simon’s haircut.

Garrett Haley, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”: Ryan brings up that we didn’t see him much at the auditions, and to try and comfort Garrett Ryan claims that it was the same with Kelly Clarkson. Yeah, but in Season 1 the producers didn’t know how much of a ratings bonanza the losers would be so it’s a whole different thing here. We’ll see if Paula talks about his auditions. Ryan, clearly now on a roll, brings up his resemblance to Leif Garrett. Is he reading my blog? Garrett auditioned during his vacation in San Diego. Most tourists go to the beach or the zoo instead (it is a really nice zoo, I recommend it). Garrett does the 70’s version of the song even though it’s 60’s night. I don’t know, he doesn’t seem to have the voice for ballads. He’s not hideous but it’s not all that great either. Perhaps he should try a Leif Garrett or Peter Frampton song instead. Simon claims Garrett looks like he hasn’t been outdoors in a month, sending Paula into yet another tizzy. Ryan seems to understand though. Funny, Ryan never tries to interpret Paula’s rantings.

Jason Castro, “What a Day for a Daydream”: Apparently a favorite of the judges though perhaps not the producers since we haven’t see him until now. David is the first to play an instrument, answering my question about whether or not this format change would continue. Good song choice for him, one of the better pairings of the night. It was pitchy in spots but his voice fit the song very well. Paula, with a tear in her eye, again reminds us of the auditions we never saw. He was the best of the unknowns tonight.

Michael Johns, “Light My Fire”: The ringer gets the coveted closer slot. He moved from L.A. to Georgia during the auditions I guess. His voice has a lot of passion and emotion, which is the only way anybody can do this song. He missed a couple of notes but he scored on the rest. The Rock and Roll Nurse is probably sitting in the audience thinking she needs to pick another song. I still don’t like him but he’s got too good a voice to pick against him.

The Final Score: A whopping 13 digs at Paula; she was a gold mine tonight to be sure. Only 3 digs at Simon, 2 at Randy, and 6 at Ryan. Mr. Seacrest is fair game now that they’re doing live shows. 2 digs at the Idol producers. 3 references to former Idol contestants, including 1 Kelly Clarkson reference (2 if you count the odd commercial for flavored water that she was in). No Chris Daughtry reference though, but with 4 rockers on the show they’re still time for that. 3 references to 70’s teen idols and 1 reference to a 90’s teen idol. And colors, lots of colors…

The Three Stars of the Night: Jason Castro, Robbie Carrico, and I hate to say it, Michael Johns. David Archuleta did well also.

Idol Looks Back: Will return next week to most of these same stations. Check your local listings.

The Fearless Prediction: It’s always hard to predict the results of the first show since I have so little to go on. No one really stood out as being awful, despite what Simon said, so I’ll look to the no names that didn’t get any face time during the auditions. There’s a wide variety to choose from since only Jason Castro from that group stood out. Jason Yeager was perhaps the most forgettable of the lot so I think he’ll be one of the two to go. Luke Menard and Garrett Haley didn’t do well but their looks may buy them another week, so I’ll go with Colton Berry as the second departure, though I’ll hedge my bets by saying that it wouldn’t surprise me if either of those other guys go.