Hello to all the readers out there!
So sorry it took so long to get this commentary set posted; I had to run out of town and lost track of everything in my life. It’s all-good though.
Last week, we said goodbye to four talented singers. Would Katelyn, Alex, Todrick and Lilly been good additions to this top twelve (or any top twelve)? Yes. However, I don’t think any of the four of them would have stood a genuine chance of winning the competition. Here’s why:
Todrick Hall simply couldn’t get his act together often enough. Sure, his rendition of “Somebody to Love” after his elimination was the best sing-out of any Idol eliminee just about ever, but Todrick had a consistency issue that was matched by a sense of arrogance. Todrick should go back to musical theater though; it was definitely his strongsuit. I would pay money to see him on Broadway.
Alex Lambert was just plain not ready. I love the second-best A-Lambert to ever grace the Idol stage, but Alex wasn’t up to par with himself, which was the biggest problem. Alex is the kind of contestant I’d like to see audition for The X-Factor, because an intensive six month period of vocal training and confidence boosting would make him a genuine musical threat.
As for the ladies, I saw Lilly Scott’s elimination coming (in fact, I predicted she would go home!). Lilly is definitely a great performer, and her voice is fantastic. However, in my eyes, Lilly was never the highlight of the night; she was never better than third or fourth best truthfully. That should have been enough to keep her in the competition, but voters don’t vote for the fourth best performer of the night, and Lilly’s fanbase was split between her, and people like Crystal, Siobhan, and Didi. Lacey Brown probably also picked up some of her votes!
Finally, as I stated so perfectly in my article last week (I’m modest, I know), “Katelyn Epperly‘s problem isn’t in her performance, it’s in a shaky voting group. I love Katelyn, and her rendition of “The Scientist” was the highlight of Week 2. However, something tells me that while people vote for Katelyn’s performances, they don’t necessarily vote for Katelyn. In that sense, Katelyn reminds me of Ayla Brown, who missed out on the top twelve just because of that; she had a weak performance in the final week, and people didn’t want to vote for it.” Sound familiar? I wish Katelyn all the best, because she is a terrific singer.
SO WHAT’S GOING DOWN THIS WEEK?
As usual, I will try to analyze and rank the contestants not by my personal favorites, but by how safe they are, or appear to be, in the competition. After looking at the group, I will then offer one short ranking list. I’m keeping in mind that the theme going into this week is Rolling Stones covers as well. Sound good? Let’s get cracking!
THE SUPER SAFE CONTESTANTS
Three weeks ago, I would have held spots in the top twelve for one, or maybe two people. This week, I have five names down that I think are untouchable for week one. Bear in mind of course, I am not ranking on a cumulative scale; I am ranking on a purely week-to-week basis.
It’s no surprise to anyone that I have Crystal Bowersox ranked in this group. Crystal is only one of two people in the competition to have three great weeks in the semifinals, and with so many ringing endorsements from Simon and the panel, she’s a lock to last up until the latter half of the finals. The other performer with three solid weeks under her belt is Simon’s favorite odd little thing, Siobhan Magnus. Siobhan may still have a personality-in-performance problem, but she is without fail one of the top ten female vocalists the show has ever seen, and she’s breaking barrier with some inspiringly creative numbers. I look forward to seeing what Siobhan has to sing more than anyone else week after week, and I know her fans will vote her through for that very reason.
Though his first week was rough, Michael Lynche is getting better and better with each week, so he’ll be around come Wednesday night. Though I wonder how well Mike will do with the Stones catalogue, Mike is riding into the top twelve with an immaculate Maxwell performance alongside him, and he’ll have enough momentum. Also riding into the top twelve on momentum will be Didi Benami, who did Fleetwood Mac proud with a stunning take on “Rhiannon”. Though her two performances before that were a bit middling, Didi made it through based on her overall body of work. If Didi struggles this week, her fans will pull her through.
Finally, Casey James is still in no place of worry, but he’s lost his frontrunner status for sure. I like Casey a lot, but as the weeks go by I question how creative and original of an artist he can be. Casey will have no problem with the Stones, though, so expect to see him in the top 11.
SORT OF SAFE CONTESTANTS
Casey isn’t the only guy who has lost his competitive edge in the competition though. Lee DeWyze laid the groundwork in the first week of the semifinals, but since then he has fallen into a terribly lame lull. Lee will do fine with the Stones, but he’s not completely safe solely because I don’t think he has a fan base to fall back on should his performance really fail. Similarly, Andrew Garcia has gone from fantastic frontrunner to always average. I would love to see Andrew shine again the competition, but he’s become something of a one-trick pony, and I think he may suffer during theme weeks like this one. His fans will keep him around for now, but since the audition process, so many other faces have made their mark in the competition.
Actually, a fourth male falling star on the Idol stage is Aaron Kelly, who is proving himself to be less and less appealing as the weeks go by. Three weeks into the competition, and Aaron still hasn’t had a moment of appeal to me. I rank Aaron here because I think the fans he found in the audition process are starting to turn their heads towards other competitors. Plus, with the song choices available to him this week, what on earth can/will Aaron sing that will make him a viable competitor again?
It seems like all the contestants in this middle category are ones who are losing some sparkle, but Lacey Brown stands as the one contestant in this group who is on her way up. Lacey’s performances have gone from beastly to beautiful in a mere three weeks, and I think that she’ll keep improving as the weeks go on. Plus, I feel like Lacey has a quite devoted group of followers, so she’ll find some support if she struggles with the upcoming theme.
CONTESTANTS IN TROUBLE
The problem with Lacey Brown is that while she is improving in the competition, she started at a quite a low level. The same problem rings true for Tim Urban, only worse. Tim has delivered some of his best in the past two weeks, but that’s equivalent to saying that you go to Applebee’s every week and one week they gave you the best steak they’ve ever given you. Tim may be reaching his maximum, but he can NEVER be compared to Crystal Bowersox, for example. I think that as the weeks go by, Tim will continue to skate on thin ice simply because he will be out of his depth. I’m sure he has a good fan base though.
The only contestant who I can’t put a finger on is Paige Miles. On one hand, Paige may have received some of the highest votes last week since, as I mentioned, she is not fighting a soul for votes. However, on the other hand, she may have totally JUST JUST made it in to the top twelve. A Top 12 performance may solidify my thoughts either way, but without a very credible semifinals performance, I worry for poor Paige.
The contestant who is MOST in trouble this week is young Katie Stevens. Katie has done some great things since she’s been in the competition; she’s proven that she doesn’t have a spectacular voice, she doesn’t have a dynamite personality, and she doesn’t know how to pick songs that suit her. The fact that Katie was standing next to Lilly at the end of last week will only add to the disdain that some voters have for this contestant who should have waited three years to audition. Not to mention, the upcoming theme week doesn’t seem to do her any favors on paper.
So we’ve looked at all the contestants still fighting for the American Idol title. Based on all the thoughts above, they rank as follows going into the coming week:
First – Crystal Bowersox
Second – Siobhan Magnus
Third – Michael Lynche
Fourth – Didi Benami
Fifth – Casey James
Sixth – Lee DeWyze
Seventh – Andrew Garcia
Eighth – Aaron Kelly
Ninth – Lacey Brown
Tenth – Tim Urban
Eleventh – Paige Miles
Twelfth – Katie Stevens
While in some other weeks my final gut reaction doesn’t completely mirror the rankings I offer, this week, I would expect to see a bottom three of Tim, Paige, and Katie, with the Connecticut teen singing us out Wednesday night. Let’s watch and see what happens!
I now tweet live updates during the performance shows. Follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com/MattChisling – Ellen DeGenres just started following me!!
I agree with 96% of your list. I would exchange Didi and Lee in their respective spots. I would also say in your bottom 6, they seem to be interchangeable and any one of them could go home. I still say Paige Miles making the top 12 was one of the greatest upsets in Idol history…I think she must be on the bottom of any list, with Urban right behind. I think Katie did better on her first week than she received from judges, and I think she has some real pipes if she can ever get off the ground.
Love it Matthew! Also, the real question I think remains: Who the hell is Paige Miles?
Good list. I mostly agree, except I think Lee should be above Didi. I almost think he has a very good chance of being the last man (not person, but man) standing in the competition. Lee could have a potentially gigantic fanbase of all of America’s women swooning over him. He’s really the only mildly attractive male contestant this season, (of course there’s tim urban, but he’s more of the teenage girl market) and women are even more powerful voters than teenage girls because they don’t have a bedtime. Plus he’s got mad potential for growth throughout the competition which is something that everyone always likes to see, and he seems to have finally conquered the nerves.
Also on an interesting subject- Paige Miles. I unforunately believe she is going to be around until at least top 7. She’s the only black female, which is a big demographic. So I think we’ll see a repeat of the unforunate Lil Rounds situation last year.
Crystal and Siobhan without a doubt reside at the top of the list, though, and rightfully so.
I agree with just about all of it except Didi. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I would put her way down the list with Paige and Katie. I guess others are seeing things in her I don’t.
I agree mostly except I would also rank Lee higher-maybe 4 or 5. When it comes to favorites, for me he’s #1 and I actually think he has quite a strong fanbase. But other than that, I think you have a good list.
I really do not feel that Didi (also known as Brooke White) has much to bring to the table. Does she really have the fan base that you say she has? If so, who is it? I sincerely don’t know anyone who likes her. I agree with those who think that Lee should be ranked higher – his style is so marketable (Simon’s sticking point), and he has a contemporary sound.
the ranking is right on.
i do believe a lot of people like Didi, if she didn’t have a relatively larger fanbase than most of the other contestants, she would have been voted off after judges’ slamming two weeks in a row.
Siobhan and Lee are the top two for me. They both have very interesting voices and i think they are marketable and current. Casey is a very talented musician and i think he has a career waiting for him. however, the rest of the contestants are tepid at best. this season has been very boring, to date. i hope lee can really become friends with the camera. he is good looking and he sounds terrific.