American Idol 2012

Exactly.

 

Reviving this thread only because of what might have been the greatest exchange in AI history:

Heejun Han: "I'm really sweating this."

Ryan Seacrest: "What are you sweating?"

Heejun Han: "Mostly water."

 

When I saw the thread had been updated, I knew exactly why. That was phenomenal. Just phenomenal. Thank god he made it through.

 

"Can I get some water?"

Kid, you're drowning already.

 

I don't know why everyone is so up in arms about Jeremy Lin ... for me, Heejun Han is the top Asian on the market right now. Everything that comes out of that kid's mouth is hysterical, and he's got some serious chops. Not sure just how far he'll make it, but he's very entertaining.

He reaction to getting into the top 24 last night seemed as genuine as I've ever seen.

 

I didn't think the Bruno Mars-like kid, Neco Starr, should have been cut last night. Thought he was the type of talent that would at least reach the tour.

Fully expect Shannon Magrane to breeze through tonight. And I think Adam Brock will get the thumbs-up in the cliffhanger.

 

Well, it’s Top-24 time so I think in honor of that I’m going to revive my geeky (but, you have to admit, kind of fun) over-analysis of the show. Please note, I write these as I watch the show, before judge’s comments. Hopefully this will spark some more conversation in this thread. So, here we go …

Reed Grimm- “Moves Like Jagger”- I know we like to say that contestants should take a song and make it their own but this rendition of this song, which no one within ear shot of a radio last summer could escape, kind of fell flat for me. Reed right now seems like more of a novelty act than an actual Idol contender. Sure, he can scat and that’s great it this was American Idol: the search for the next Scatman John. But it’s not. And I thought it was pretty boring. Also, his facial expressions while on the drums make me want him gone pronto. He looks like I imagine I look when on the toilet after a hard Taco Bell session. 4/10.

Adam Brock- “Think”- Like the song choice for Adam, especially given his “White Chocolate” line. Really brought out his soulful side but, again, kind of meh on the overall presentation. It didn’t really capture my attention the way I thought it would. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing what else he had to offer and I feel he’d be the perfect candidate to show growth as the season went on. 5/10.

Deandre Brackensick“Reasons”- First off, I hate this guy’s look. Love his voice and he was pretty good in the top-40 cutdown last week. If he’s going to go anywhere, though, he needs to cut that ridiculous hair. He looks like a homeless Kenny G. As for the performance, I kind of liked it. That high note he hit took some serious balls and I found myself vibing to it so, really, what else can you ask? Kind of like what I imagine Prince sounded like before his balls dropped. 5/10.

Colton Dixon- “Decode”- As soon as I heard the song choice, I said “This is going to be good”. Love this song. It wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be, probably because to do this song justice, you need the slow build and you need to rock out. I feel like he held back on the latter portion. The piano arrangement was nice but we’ve seen that from him before and, tonight, he looks like a poor man’s James Durbin … without the energy and enthusiasm. Oh, and one other note, his hairstyle also blows. 5/10.

Jeremy Rosado “Gravity”- Hated the song choice because it nearly put me to sleep but Jeremy was on point. He showed a great range here and definitely defied his “fat guy” look with that sensitive performance. I like this kid. He seems genuinely nice and it would be interesting to see what he does if given the chance to move on. Could be a real popular pick with America. 6/10.

Aaron Marcellus “Never can say goodbye” – I don’t know why but I really like this guy. He’s becoming one of my favorites, especially on the guy’s side. He’s got a good look and he’s obviously extremely talented. Tonight, he got the crowd rocking a bit and showed a nice range with that long note at the end. Best of the night up to this point. 7/10.

Chase Likens-“Storm Warning”- GREAT song choice. This kid sounded a little too karaoke for me but the song really brought out his personality and made him LOOK like he knew what he was doing up there. While a lot of these other contestants have it musically, I think they lack a stage presence. Chase is the opposite. He’s got the entertainment aspect of it down and with a little seasoning could surprise a lot of people. 6/10

Creighton Fraker- “True Colors”- I wanted to hate this kid so bad when he debuted during the auditions but he won me over musically. Love the way he’s gradually changed his look too. He looks IDOL ready and, more importantly, sounds IDOL ready. He’s not great. Not yet. But he’s someone I could see getting through to the top 13 and getting better each week. The performance tonight was solid. Not his best but a strong number. Really nice to see him do something unexpected. 6/10.

Phillip Phillips “In the Air tonight”- Love this kid. He’s one of my favorites but this was just not good. He took one of the greatest songs of the 80s (I know it was recorded in 1979 but still) and took the heart out of it. I’ll give him credit, his performance of the chorus was awesome but the verse itself was WAY TOO SLOW. Really took me out of it and I love this song. I have three unique versions of it on my iPod. This was just too inconsistent. 5/10.

Eben Franckewitz “Set Fire to the Rain”- I f**king hate this kid. I know it’s unfair and it’s nothing to do with him but I’ve strongly hated this kid since his pretentious audition. And I ESPECIALLY hate this song. But, for some reason, I kind of liked this. It was very early N’Syncish and he’s clearly of that cut given his age but this was, to me, his best performance so far. I actually enjoyed it. 6/10.

Heejun Han “Angels”- I don’t know how I feel about this guy musically but he’s easily the guy I look most forward to seeing every week. He’s absolutely hilarious. Tonight, I thought he started off a touch weak but, man, did he get better as the song went on. This guy is no William Hung. He can definitely bring it and he belongs here. Just a beautiful performance, one I wouldn’t mind hearing a studio version of. 7/10

Joshua Ledet“You Pulled Me Through”- This kid had me hooked when he sang during group night. His turn in the song “Hit em up style” {

} song was, by far, my favorite performance heading into tonight. I had never heard this particular song before but did a great job with it. I was a little skeptical of the song choice when he started but, man, did he get better as it went on and he ABSOLUTELY killed it at the end. Damn good performance. Like Jacob from last year but a lot more tolerable. 8/10.

Jermaine Jones “Dance with my father”- I was a little upset when they announced they were bringing someone back but I’m happy it was him. This guy was awesome, although a bit boring in the earlier rounds. And he’s way too sensitive but, sh*t, he nailed it tonight. Just a fantastic performance and one that really hit the right notes at the right point. The chorus was absolutely dead on. This guy has a gift. Don’t know how far he’ll be able to go but I want to see him get there. 8/10.

Random Notes: 1- Someone needs to tell Ryan Seacrest to lay off the fake tan. He looked AWFUL. 2- This ‘Season 1-1 crap spouted by Randy needs to go. It’s ALMOST worse than the ‘In it to win it’ crap last year. 3- The stage this year looks amateurish. I liked last year’s MUCH better.

Lines of the night: 1. “There was NO NIPPLE!”; 2. “She likes to sing and dance but she’s not very good”. 3. “I love you. I want to punch you!”

My Rankings:
1. Jermaine Jones
2. Joshua Ledet
3. Aaron Marcellus
4. Heejun Han
5. Chase Likens
6. Eben Franckewitz
7. Creighton Fraker
8. Phillip Phillips
9. Jeremy Rosado
10. Colton Dixon
11. Adam Brock
12. Deandre Beackensick
13. Reed Grimm

Overall impression: Tonight’s show was kind of bland. Not a lot of stand out moments. But they made up for it by saving the two best for last. Can’t wait for tomorrow. The girls have all been pretty solid and I want to see what they’ll do with their chance.

 

I dozed in and out of last night's proceedings. That's not a real good sign.

 

I'll hope to catch up tonight. Haven't even started it yet.

 

Very boring night. My "notes":

1. The last two (Joshua and Jermaine) were the best by far. But Jermaine might be the most fragile 6-foot-5, 300-pound man since that Miami Dolphins D-tackle that Nick Saban made cry a few years ago.

2. I think Philip and Deandre advance, just because the voters (12-14-year-old girls) think they're dreamy. Be interesting to see how far they get on that alone.

3. However, I don't think Eben's Beiber-ish qualities can save him after that dog performance. Maybe in 2-3 years, but he's not ready now.

4. I like Adam and his performance was fine, but I don't think he'll last very long. Unless some Taylor Hicks-esque grass-roots voting goes on, he doesn't have a chance.

5. Heejun's easily the most interesting guy on the show and he's got a great voice, but the way he doesn't enunciate bothers me. Yeah, I know there's a slight language barrier there (though he was apparently born and raised in NYC). But he needs to clean up his diction or he's going to keep sounding like the warm-up act at a Hong Kong harbor burlesque club.

 

I agree that Heejun is the most entertaining character on the show, and he does have the pipes. He's very smooth in spite of his accent coming out on occasion.

Josh Ledet is my early frontrunner to be the last man standing. Just love this guy, and I don't think there's a song he can't sing well. Adam Brock is also near the top ... he just belts.

Hate the kid from Cincinnati ... just awful. Really though "Mr. Steal Your Girl" should have been here in place of him, but I don't think it'll be long before we never see him again.

As far as elimination next week, it's gotta be Chase Likens. His performance was far from memorable, and he doesn't have the pure "country" voice to be a country star, a la Scotty McCreary.

 

Actually, won't half of these guys be gone after Thursday?