American Idle

Now that group one led by Danny Gokey has come and either sang their way into the Top 12 or went home (for now, anyway) the fact of the matter is, who out of the group still has a shot during the WildCard round?

Umm-kay…first things first. Stephen Fowler and Stevie Wright have about as much of a chance of being a WildCard as Ricky Braddy (above photo) does being straight. That said, anything is possible and Sanjaya is living proof. There is a very good reason why Sanjaya hasn’t put out one album and that’s because he can’t sing.

Fortunately for us, there are WildCard hopefuls, pros included, who can.

Anoop Desai will obviously be a strong candidate to make it into the WildCard round, because he lost out on the opportunity to make the Top 12 by only 20,000 votes. Not having Anoop Dog in the WildCard would be not only surprising, but also irritating. Anoop obviously deserves a shot at winning American Idol 8 and there are those out there who still believe he can.

Another one who will likely be selected based on her notoriety is Tatiana Del Toro (second photo), whose nauseating laugh made me want to kill myself. I know other Americans feel the same, but the truth is we’ll probably hear from her again. I wished I had a gun. And in case you didn’t know, Del Toro is also an accomplished actress. Oh, God, no.

The judges may have been down on Ann Marie Boskovich and Jackie Tohn (third photo), but to me they are just as much of a threat as Alexis Grace, the only girl from group one selected for the Top 12. Both Boskovich and Tohn have labored in the musical hells of Nashville and Hollywood, finding that Idol may actually be their ticket to a music career. Tohn may have looked like an 80’s hooker last night, but if she makes it on as a WildCard, watch out. She’s got the musical chops; you just didn’t see them last night. So what if they’re pros already, you know? LOL

Ricky Braddy would be another logical choice for the WildCard round, since he is already developing a massive following from his dance, which is a hit on YouTube. Braddy can also sing and if it weren’t for the fact that America hardly knew him at all before he hit the stage this week, Braddy might have given Sarver a run for his money, too.

And don’t count out Casey Carlson (bottom photo), the eminently likeable brunette from Minnesota who probably raised the blood pressures of about half of America’s hard working men. Even though she’s ticketed for a career in something other than music, the chance for people to see Carlson butchering another song in anything is cause for celebration. Look for a potential country album from her, though.

Speaking of country, another country pro who might make it on the WildCard round is Brent Keith (Smith), a singer who is already a country artist; he’s just one who fell on some hard times after getting a tour sponsored by Wal-Mart. Heh. The problem for him is he told America what he did was just a business. Oof! Hopefully that comment didn’t kill his chances for a comeback.

Well, the new bizarre voting process on American Idol 8 has officially begun and nine people got kicked to the curb. For now. In the first three rounds three singers out of 12 will be chosen for the Top 12 — and then it’s anyone’s guess what happens in the WildCard round, which will take place during the fourth week of the competition. In that round another three singers will be chosen, comprising your Top 12, America.

What we do know, however, is that the first three singers have been chosen from the first group and they are (in order) Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver and Danny Gokey.

First things first. Grace is a good singer, uses the vibrato too often, but got the Kelly Clarkson tag from Simon during last night’s performance, which guaranteed her a spot in the Top 12. If it were any other year that tag would have earned Grace a ticket home. But Clarkson is about as hot as the sun right now and so voters had no choice but to vote the tiny mother from Memphis in.

America then selected Michael Sarver, the oil roughneck from Texas for the Top 12. While I don’t disagree with the choice, I do think the better singer was left out (and it wasn’t Anoop Desai; it was Brent Keith but that’s what a bad song choice will do). Speaking of Anoop Dog, the d-oh-double-gee lost out on his Top 12 spot to Sarver by a measly 20,000 votes.

Expect to see both Brent Keith and Anoop Dog in the WildCard round. The other possibility is Ricky Braddy.

And it was great to see Danny Gokey get the final spot in the Top 12, even though it did cause me to have to watch Tatiana Del Toro throw a hissy fit and bawl for several minutes on national TV. Seriously, I could have gone without watching that!

Unfortunately, you’ll probably see Tatiana and her dumb large ass back at the WildCard, too. Ann Marie Boskovich is also a WildCard possibility.

So now that the judges have whittled through the first group and America has voted, what do you think of Grace, Sarver and Gokey? And which of the other singers has a legitimate shot at the WildCard?

So Michael Castro is gone…and Norman Gentle is still here. Wow. It was probably inevitable since Michael Castro, the brother of Jason wasn’t really that great a singer compared to the bonafide ringers they have competing on Idol 8.

Thinking about the fact that Castro actually outlasted an Osmond, though, has to be something that the rooster-tailed brother of the white Bob Marley will remember.  

On what had to be one of the truly stranger nights on American Idol 8 to date, Norman Gentle (uh, Nick Mitchell in the above photo) stole the show by actually singing great even though he used his alter ago.

That said, Mr. Gentle, or Mitchell, or whatever he is this week is becoming a force of nature during Idol 8. At first I thought this guy was a joke but now he is proving me — and every other Idol follower — to be dead wrong in our assumptions. He may be the next Weird Al.

And that reminds me: assuming — as my mom always said — makes an ass out of you and me — and so Mr. Gentle will now have a place on my site from here on out.

And don’t look now, but Michael Sarver, the oil rig roughneck is carving himself a place on the Idol mantle and could be the runaway shocker of the season. The other shocker is that Casey Carlson (second from top photo) yet again survived despite singing okay. It wasn’t a shocker at all, however, that ringer Adam Lambert made it. Same with Scott McIntyre, who despite the fact he’s 99 percent blind, is also a ringer. Ditto for Joanna Pacitti.

Some surprise people who made it were Tatiana Del Toro, that raging hormonal bull from Puerto Rico who basically can’t shut up or stop doing it up for the cameras. I doubt that Del Toro ever hated a camera, but she might hate the media once her run comes to an end, which, hopefully, will be very soon. I don’t honestly know if I can take much more of her.

So…tomorrow we will have a Top 36! It’s about time. And don’t forget to sign up for my new betting pool. I know you have opinions on who you think is gonna win. Soooo…do something about it! Tell me which ringer is gonna make it all the way to the end.

They got about 15 seconds to sing the song they picked on the stage of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood this evening, but it was enough for some of the stronger singers to get through to tomorrow night’s Group Round.

Danny Gokey (below photo) had a great audition in Kansas City and he needed just a few seconds to cement his place in the Top 104 going into tomorrow night’s Group phase. Same with Lil Rounds (above photo), who sang Whitney’s classic “I Will Always Love You” and in that short time span, still tore the roof off the theater. Man can that girl sang! Video also above.

As for David Osmond, he had better bring the noise tomorrow or else he might be going home early. It Didn’t even look like he was trying out there. If somebody can tell me what was going on I would appreciate it. I’ve been a fan of his from day one, but his rendition was weak.

And word to the wise: do not change your song before you go up and sing it. Emily Wynne-Hughes did that and if not for some sympathetic judges — and the fact she’s basically a pro — she would have been sent packing.

Other new faces making the cut on day one of H-Wood Week were Jeremy Michael Sarver, who is a roughneck from Texas and can sing like an angel. The chances of him making it past Hell Week, though, are pretty slim. This field is loaded with talent, perhaps more than before.

Another newcomer to keep an eye on is Jackie Tohn, who is a ringer but seems to have a unique voice, a la Amanda Overmyer. And then there was Nick Mitchell, or Norman Gentle. The boy can sing, but can we please get rid of the outfit?

 And Von Smith was put on notice too, so expect more from him tomorrow.

One other good note was that Rose Flack barely survived the cut, as her group was whisked away to the next round. And Anoop Desai’s solo was shorter than most, but good enough to get through. Same with Scott McIntyre.