American Idol Top 10

Most likely I will have to stop watching the recording at some point after midnight so I can go to work tomorrow and stuff, and then I will have to edit this post afterwards to include the rest of it. I just watched the GOP debate and much of the post-game coverage, and I can talk about more on Saturday, but time is short to watch American Idol so I am going to try to see as much as I can.

Who should have advanced as Wildcards as well as who I predicted: Sonika Vaid, MacKenzie Bourg, Gianna Isabella, Lee Jean, Tristan McIntosh, Jenn Blosil

Who advanced: Sonika Vaid, MacKenzie Bourg, Gianna Isabella, Lee Jean, Trisan McIntosh, Avalon Young

So, I was correct on five out of six. Avalon got a spot instead of Jenn though. Go figure, since last night's Jenn performance was probably the only one she would ever do that I would not dislike.

1. Olivia Rox- "Unconditionally"

Going to try to be extra brief. She sounded pretty good on parts and definitely did a credible job on a pop ballad, but her lower register seemed a bit shaky.

2. Gianna Isabella- "Listen"

Another pop power ballad. Gianna has again exceeded my expectations. She can really sing and gave a strong performance, full of emotion. She seems to really want this, but I still wonder if her personality might be off-putting to some. Her style is very reminiscent of the first few Idol seasons back last decade. J Lo thought it was "shaky."

3. Lee Jean- "Skinny Love"

His name and the word "skinny" might make people think about denim even more. This is like the most white person song ever, but that seems to be Lee's thing musically. I thought it was a bit boring, but I still can recognize his burgeoning talent. His musical style, like some other guys in recent seasons, may have a hard time translating as "big" or "dramatic" on stage though. Chris Medina will probably randomly gain a bunch of Twitter followers now today. Lee is about to throw up over a guy who did not even make the semi-finals.

4.  Avalon Young- "Stitches"

I have a feeling the judges will have loved this. It was more of a mixed bag for me. I thought she sounded good and had a nice arrangement on the verses but her voice on the chorus is like too squeaky or something.

5. Dalton Rappatoni- "Hey There Delilah"

He is a decent entertainer with a good voice, but he comes across as manufactured and about 7 years behind the times in terms of his look and all that. He is likely to be around in the competition for a while and people will give him credit for the way he rearranges all his songs, but at the end of each one, his shtick seems to be that he will just non nonchalantly say the last word.

6. Tristan McIntosh- "Nothin' Like You"

I am starting to get a bit tired and I do not know this song. She is talented, but needs more experience. Olivia and Gianna are close to the same age and seem more seasoned. On this song, it seemed like Tristan had a hard time keeping up with the pace and thus did not pronounce or sing many words as clearly as she could have.

7. MacKenzie Bourg- "I See Fire"

This was more of that Ed Sheerhan hipster stuff I am not into, but I thought he sounded pretty good and is very much a front-runner at this point.

8. La'Porsha Renae- "Diamonds"

Very good performance. While she kind of was putting on an accent, I liked her version better than Rihanna's. She has a component to her voice and performing that is distinct from anyone else this season and that might have her go far. Guest judge Kelly Clarkson again endorses La'Porsha for the win.

9. Sonika Vaid- "Bring Me To Life"

Whoa, some  people went for it tonight. I give her major credit for trying something different than just another ballad and I think she made it work. Her voice is very powerful and I think the degree of difficulty for her song was good deal higher than La'Porsha's.

10. Trent Harmon- "Like I Can"

This is looking like a pretty strong Top 10 based on tonight. I do not know this song and I continue to find Trent hard to categorize, but he is very interesting as a singer, probably because he seems very unique in this competition. There is something about his voice and the way he hits high notes that reminds me of Mark Slaughter from Slaughter perhaps. I would like to hear Trent try some Hair Metal.

Rankings:

10. Tristan McIntosh
9.   Lee Jean
8.   Avalon Young
7.   Dalton Rappatoni
6.   Olivia Rox
5.  MacKenzie Bourg
4.  Gianna Isabella
3.  Trent Harmon
2.  La'Porsha Renae
1.   Sonika Vaid

Somebody has to go home, which seems almost unfortunate. I cannot remember the last time I would have said that about 10 people in the competition. I really do not know what is going to happen, but since the competition was so strong, I will say that it will be Tristan who will be deemed just not quite ready for prime time, even though that might bum my parents out a bit.

Wait, double elimination? Wow, they are rushing through this final season. I think it would have to be either Avalon or Gianna who might get cut. Possibly Lee, just based on average performance. I will say that Avalon will join Tristan in going home.