American Idol Season 8Wild Card Show Results

And here are the final 4 finalists. That's right, at the last minute (or so Simon Cowell said) they decided this year to have a Top 13 for the first time in the history of the show. Added tonight were:

Jasmine Murray
Megan Corkrey
Matt Giraud
Anoop Desai

Season 8 has officially become the worst year yet for "American Idol." The results of the Wild Card round were so obviously set up in advance, it was hard not to laugh out loud at the judges supposedly spontaneous comments. Instead of their critiques being accurate appraisals of the performances, they sounded like validations for decisions that had been made by the producers judges who knows how many days (weeks? months?) ago.

To begin with, everyone we knew said the three finalist seats would automatically go to Jasmine, Megan and Anoop. The producers judges had made it obvious in their remarks to these three after their group performances how much they liked them -- whether or not they sang well. And last night, the trio were far from the best singers. Ricky Braddy easily outsang Anoop, while like her or hate her (we tend to the latter), Tatiana Del Toro had the best female vocal of the evening. Yet the judges had to find ways to trash these interlopers, since they weren't preordained to go through. From Tatiana, they just wanted a final chance to get some drama. It was actually quite cruel, even for "Idol." They used and abused a mentally unstable person. Perhaps they were hoping another one of Paula's slavish devotees would commit suicide, this time right in front of her, on national TV. Now, wouldn't that have grabbed headlines?

As it was, they had to settle for the headline shocker of a Top 13. But how much of a shocker was it really? There have buzzes about that happening since January, when Fox reality chief Mike Darnell told TV Week in an exclusive interview, "There's a big surprise coming when we get to the Top 12, but I can't reveal it right now. It is something that will be talked about and is something I think that has some element of controversy surrounding it."

And, " ... it’s a long season and you want to keep as many surprises for the audience, for the press, for everybody, as you go along. Some controversies will pop out [Joanna Pacitti?]. But this is something that we sort of felt like, here’s one set of things we’re doing, we’re going to wait and give you the other set when we get to the final 12."

In the Jan. 18 interview, Darnell also said, "I think I have in my mind a Top 7 or 8."

Hmmm. It's almost as if "Idol" is proving what many of us have known believed for the longest time: that the show is entirely rigged and has nothing to do with "reality."

But Darnell, who strikes us as a burnt-out, inarticulate '80s drugger leaning hard on the Grecian Formula in this clip, got it wrong when he said, "It's not going to change what you think of American Idol [ha!] and we don't want to do that. This show is, you know, a phenomenon. It's American, it's apple pie. We're not changing the core of the show." Wrong! As cynical as we've always been about the "reality" of the show, it took this season to really turn us against it. We doubt anything they do for the finalist weeks can make us like it again.

Perhaps Entertainment Weekly's clever Michael Slezak said it best in this little ditty he wrote, sung to "Give Me One Reason." Kudos to you, Michael:

Give me one reason to stay tuned, and I'll watch the Wild Card show/
Give me one reason to stay tuned; quick, before my head explodes/
Yeah, since you screwed Felicia Barton/
You've got to make me change my mind

Kara, I got your number, you're a soulless corporate shill/
You gave props to Jasmine Murray, even though her voice is shrill/
Take your package artists, /
Back to where you came from,/
You are no Paula

Give me one reason to stay tuned, 'cause tonight's show really blew/
Give me one reason to stay tuned, Ju'Not Joyner where are you?/
Said I can't go on without Idol/
You've got to make me change my mind

I don't want no Tatiana, with her tears and crying fits/
I don't want no Tatiana, she's a mediocre ditz/
I just want some Mishavonna — how I love her voice to bits

Oh handsome Ricky Braddy, come and give us what we need/
And that redhead Jesse Langseth, well, she's a'ight I concede/
But if Matt Giraud sings Coldplay once again/
I suspect my ears will bleed

Give me one reason to stay tuned, 'cause this show has gone to poop/
Give me one reason to stay tuned, okay I'll tune in for Anoop/
I miss singers playing instruments/
You've got to make me change my mind

Here is the recap of Thursday's performances. All the numbers were preceded by a clip of each contestant paying obeisance and being obsequious to the judges for giving them another chance. It was all quite disgusting.

We knew Jesse Langseth was doomed when we saw she was up first. Although there is still something we like about her voice and open honesty, we were less than mesmerized by her performance of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good." Yes, she raised the heat in the room with her facial expressions, body movements and mini (she has a wowsa pair of legs), but this just wasn't a great competition song. Instead of showing her range, which she talked about in her clip, for us it had the opposite effect. Randy Jackson calls it an interesting song choice, but isn't sure she sang it that well; Kara DioGuardi says Jesse had some notes that were not on key, but likes her "swagger" (there's that word again. Gee, maybe Jesse didn't "dirty it up" enough like Alexis Grace learned to do for the judges, sigh) and, pointing to the video screen, tells her she's not like the little girls in those "packages" (there's that word again, too), more like Sasha Fierce (what analogy would Kara have used if Beyoncé hadn't come up with this one?); Paula Abdul is impressed with her tenacity and determination and tells Jesse she has a lot of soul, but then declares "I can already tell it's going to be a hard night," which is a euphemism for, "Gee, I really didn't expect to like you so much, because you're not gonna get picked"; Simon reiterates that putting her into the Wild Card round was totally last minute (is that meant to be a compliment?), says he's glad they did, tells her she has a good voice, but then raps her with the song and performance were indulgent. It was all about you. Paula and Kara "fight" back saying it should be about her, it's a sexy song. Simon answers, "No tonight it's us, believe it or not, because we are the ones who are going to be voting you in." Ha! Liar!

Watch video of Jesse Langseth singing "Tell Me Something Good"

Matt Giraud says in his clip he wants to return to the bluesy sound that the judges originally liked him for. Dressed in Justin Timberlake style, he does a really nice job with the Jackson 5's "Who's Loving You." It was soooo much better than his Coldplay fiasco. Kara tells him he can riff amazingly, that it was a little bit over the top at points, but it was a great vocal; Paula tells him this was in the right zone, that the song was a perfect pick and that he did an amazing job and that there's no doubt that America is loving you right now (a euphemism for "It's in the bag, Matt. You made it."); Simon tells him he was a billion times better than last week and it was a great choice of song, but that he hates what Matt's wearing. What's worse for Simon, is that he saw "bits of Taylor Hicks coming through," and we all know how Simon despises Taylor. The audience boos; Randy puts the lock on it by saying, "You made everyone ... scared that you're going to maybe [maybe, ha!] enter this competition and give them a run for the money. That's how to sing. That's what I want."

Watch video of Matt Giraud singing "Who's Loving You"

Megan Corkrey proves once again that she's a very pretty girl who looks like Elaine Benes from "Seinfeld" when she tries to dance. She also proves that though she has a nice tone to her voice, she's not a very good singer. She unwisely chooses KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree," a song that Katharine McPhee just killed when she sang it. It only proved how weak Megan was in comparison. The producers judges have to be creative now, to convince us why they've already chosen her for the Top 12 when she just proved she doesn't belong there. Paula starts by telling her she looks beautiful, which as everybody knows is Paula's euphemism for "Your singing sucked." She also says, "You picked a song that fits your personality, so you picked the right song." It became laughable when she got to "And your real name's Joy, and you have a lot of joy up there," ending with "Overall, I think you picked the right song." Abdul never once mentions her singing. Ha! Simon, with a really robotic Muppet-like expression on his face says, "I've always liked you, and I still like you. I think you're terrific." Maybe we're watching too much "Lie to Me," but on terrific, his right eye blinked weirdly, indicating to us at least, that this was a bald-face lie. He then said, "What I like about you is that you are current, and sometimes this show can get a little karaoke. And I don't get that from you." As Randy would say, "Whaaaaaaat?" That's all you get from Megan. He adds, "It wasn't the best vocal we're ever going to hear, but it doesn't matter. It was terrific." This from the judge who always reminds everyone else that this is a singing competition, not a quirky or cute or nice competition. Randy agrees it wasn't the best vocal he ever heard, but it was the right song choice [not if she can't sing it, dude]; Kara locks it in with, "I think we need you because you give some variety to what's already up there [could she be any clearer that Megan's already been selected?] and I think America needs that choice. You're somebody different. ... And I hope you stay." They all mention she's quirky, but not one judge comments positively on the vocals. What a sham!

Watch video of Megan Corkrey singing "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"

Von Smith was like a deer in the headlights on Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." There were problems with the low register in the beginning, but it got much much better in the middle and soared by the end. But, of course, he was doomed before he started. Simon tells him the song didn't start well and that Von is beginning to become "a bit boring," too serious, too earnest; Randy agrees with Simon, but talks about the beautiful tone of Von's voice when he hit the middle notes, though he wasn't crazy about the song choice; Kara says the song got more than serious, it got BWAHAHAHA "dark." She then says Von has great vocal ability, that he has what it takes, but that he "hasn't dialed in yet." [whereas Megan could dial for the rest of her life and only get a busy signal] At this point, Von knows he's doomed and looks like he's going to cry any second. We felt really badly for him because it was all a lie, all a fix and had nothing to do with him. Paula tries to temper the negativity by telling him that when he focuses too much on the technical side of the song he doesn't let his real essence show, and when he does let it out "you soar, and take us all with you." She also tells him,"You have to count on the fact that you're a brilliant singer [but the producers don't want you]. You really are."

Watch video of Von Smith singing "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"

Jasmine Murray, a bright light at her audition but a disaster during the semifinals picks Christina Aguilera's "Reflection." Not only will Aguilera not lose sleep over this rendition, neither will Jordin Sparks (watch Jordin here) or Ayla Brown (here). Was it better than her last performance? Yup. Was it really good? No. Was it way too big for her voice? Absolutely. It had some moments, but just that. Nothing more. Randy tells her this was a big improvement, but that the song was too big for her and there were flat and sharp moments, but also some great bright spots. His biggest compliment was no compliment, "It was way better than the last time you sang." Kara says, "Actually, I didn't even know that you had that big of a voice [that's 'cause she doesn't]. "And now [now? now?] I'm starting to think she has a really big voice." Ha, Paula starts with, "You look lovely tonight and you picked a beautiful song." She continues, "There were some notes that fell off a little bit, but overall I felt you did a wonderful job." Lyin' Simon begins by telling Paula she's not giving Jasmine enough credit, starting a fake spat between the two. He then says, "That was pretty special compared to what we heard before." Yeah, well, mud is pretty special compared with turds. He then says, "It was a very, very brave song choice," but it sounded a little at times like a young girl trying to sound a little more grown up. And then came the tell: To a chorus of "yesses" from the other judges, Lyin' Simon says, "And I think you just put yourself back in the running."

Watch video of Jasmine Murray singing "Reflection"

Ricky Braddy did what he does best: He came, he sang, he conquered. Then he got shat on. Was Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" a surprising song choice, as all the judges kept reiterating? Yes? But did he pull it off? Unquestionably. That should only prove how talented he is, that he could pull off a song you'd never expect him to be able to. Plus, much to "Idol's" chagrin, he's an obvious crowd pleaser: There was a tremendous amount of shreiking and screaming before he even sang. Kara makes the stupidest statement ever, especially considering they're going to eliminate him in a few minutes: "Well, Ricky, you can sing your butt off. We knew that." She adds, tonight was about getting out there and showing us your personality. And you did that. Good job. [Er, yeah, so?] Paula agrees, saying, "I loved the way you loosened up ... You nailed it! You nailed it! And you had fun!" Simon and Randy, obviously elsewhere during the performance, didn't see it that way ['cause they weren't moving Ricky forward]. Simon tells Ricky he sounds good, but that when you're brought back at this stage of the competition you've absolutely have to say to us "You've got to put me into the competition because I'm a great vocalist, a great performer [HA! Like Megan and Jasmine just didn't?] He then calls Ricky's song and vocal karaoke, lightweight and clumsy. And the overt clue that Ricky was doomed in advance: "So I don't think you really made the impression you could have made there." Randy tells Ricky he thinks he really has a voice and can really blow, but the song wasn't quite the one for him. [Yeah, Randy, you just told Jasmine the same thing, and she's going through and without the vocal talent Ricky has.] Then he pulls a Simon and calls Ricky's song choice self-indulgent, a term Randy would never use. Sheesh.

Watch video of Ricky Braddy singing "Superstition"

Next up is what the producers hope will be the flaming burnout named Tatiana Del Toro. For whatever bizarre reason she had in her lil' puddinhead, Tatiana decides to sing Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You" again. But this time, she blew the hell out of the song and sang it better than last time. Plus, she actually looked really nice. But she might as well have been wearing a target for the slings and arrows aimed in her direction. To begin with, when the camera panned to the judges' table while Tatiana was singing, it was clear they weren't even listening to her. In fact, Simon was playing his little torment games with Paula. When Tatiana stopped singing and they turned on the judges' mikes, the first thing we heard was Paula loudly saying to Simon, "Oh my god, stop that!" Paula starts the critiques, but Tatiana is talking more than Paula is, telling Abdul how much she loves her. Abdul is like the patron saint of the demented -- they all come seeking her out. But then, we guess it takes one to know one. Heh. Paula says she's not a fan of people who repeat songs, and that it started a little shaky, but then when Tatiana got into her "frikking" power voice, the judges all started looking and said, "Man, she can sing." Simon says, so what happens if you make it to the next round? You'll just sing the same song again? He then torments her over and over about why she's singing the same song and why she didn't pick another song. (Of course, 'cause the fix is in, five minutes later he doesn't ask Anoop the same questions after Anoop repeats his song.) Randy lies and says it started off really rough, adding there were some good moments and some not so good moments [as opposed to, hmmm, who? Megan? Who had only bad moments but will get chosen anyway?] Kara jumps in with, "It's like 'The Adventures of Tatiana,' I don't know what this is. Like today this is a new personality. Like who's this one? ... But at least she's not crying and holding her heart." Simon chimes in "She will, she will." [Enough already! We get it -- the real reason she's here is for the histrionics]. And, in fact, she does, when they tell her she hasn't made it.

Watch video of Tatiana Del Toro singing "Saving All My Love for You"

Last up is Anoop Desai, who may be the most popular contestant to not, yet, make the Top 12 13. He, like Tatiana, decides to sing a song he's done before: Bobby Brown's "My Perogative." And ya' know what? It's wasn't that great the first time, nor was it any better the second time. But who cares? What does that matter? It's all a game anyway. Simon tells Anoop he's like an enthusiastic dog (that's a compliment, right?), then says, "Again, not the best singer we're going to hear, but people like you. That's important." But Simon, as you've drummed into our heads, time and again, it's not a liking competition, it's a singing competition. Next came the evening's biggest tell of all: "I think one of the biggest jobs we have tonight is that we've got to 'cast' this next stage, you know, so we're not just going to put the good boring singers through, we've got to put some mediocre singers personality through, as well." Randy acknowledges that it's a song Anoop sang before, but lies and says it's better this time. "So I'm OK with people repeating songs, but you just got to slay it. And you slayed it." Not. Kara says, "This is the best you ever did it," adding that she wanted to get up and dance. Paula calls him a showman and tells him that he's "whipping out moves that are a little nasty there." She adds, "The truth is the producers everyone loved that performance." She does warn him "you need to be really careful in picking your songs" (Paula, do you know something we don't yet know? Like he'll be picking more songs? Ha!) and "For this one time I'm glad you went back and picked this song." Yeah, right.

Watch video of Anoop Desai singing "My Prerogative"

After that, the judges eliminated or put through the contestants.

Watch video of Wild Card judges' choices: Jasmine Murray, Ricky Braddy, Megan Corkrey, Tatiana Del Toro

Watch video of Wild Card judges' choices: Jesse Langseth, Von Smith, Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai

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© 2009

American Idol Season 8Top 36 Group 3 Results

The next three Season 8 finalists are:

Jorge Nuñez
Scott MacIntyre
Lil Rounds

These contestants will compete tomorrow night in the Wild Card show for one of the three remaining finalist spots:

Von Smith







Jasmine Murray







Ricky Braddy







Megan Corkrey







Tatiana del Toro







Matt Giraud







Jesse Langseth







Anoop Desai







We felt angry and frustrated after Wednesday's show. We really hate the format changes this season. In an attempt to boost flagging ratings, the producers are taking steps that are alienating core viewers, ultimating losing more viewers (and ratings) as the travesty they call Season 8 proceeds. The Wild Card round is a sham. Letting the producers judges pick both the eight who deserve another shot and then decide which three would get those spots, seems unfair to the viewers. Especially after the producers judges did such a bad job of selecting the semifinlists to begin with. We're losing interest and enthusiasm for a series that if it hadn't already jumped the shark before this year, definitely did so in 2009. Ugh!

Ryan Seacrest, wearing his serious clothes (a suit) tells us we'll not only learn who the next three finalists are tonight, but also the identities of the Wild Card candidates performing Thursday night. But first we must sit through yet another "how they got here" film recap of the contestants set to David Cook's "A Daily AntheM."

It's time for the Group 3 dance to Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold." Except the only ones standing and "dancing" are the girls, because Scott MacIntyre can't. We don't know whether to be happy or sad about this development. Maybe all future contestants should say they are visually impaired so we can get rid of the results night dance number -- though it is always good for a laugh. Oh, man, the tour's gonna be tons of fun if the whole thing has to be choregraphed planned around what Scott can or can't do. Goodbye catwalks. Needless to say, the number sucks even more than usual, because the contestants all look like they're trapped in some bizarre web, struggling to move while not really moving. The singing? Wow, We forgot to listen we were so focused on the non-dancing.

Watch video of the Group 3 "dance" to Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold"

Next up, highlights of Tuesday's performances. They've subtitled Jorge's Spanish remarks after his happy-teary breakdown. This season is getting stranger and stranger. Before we get the results, Seacrest does standard inane chatting with the contestants. We try to figure out who may have snagged the third-place spot based on who he talks to, but we're still in the dark. Nathaniel says kidding around with the judges the night before didn't bother him, while Jorge explains why a temperature of 78 degrees is freezing. Wanna feel freezing Jorge? Come to the East Coast in winter. Right now, 78 degrees sounds absolutely tropical to us! Felicia is good with her performance from Tuesday. Ju'Not tells us about his developing relationship with the show's medic -- today he received a shot for an asthma attack (on Tuesday he had a cortison shot for his voice). Doesn't he deserve a finalist seat just for all the medical problems? Guess not.

Watch video of the Group 3 contestants chatting with Ryan Seacrest

OK, it's time for the eliminations, and they're gonna happen really fast to make room for the Wild Card selections. Ryan calls Lil Rounds to the stage and, 1,2,3, she's a finalist. No drama (but, hey, who didn't know this was going to happen?) She reprises Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You," and it's not quite as good as Tuesday.

Watch video of Lil Round becoming a finalist and singing "Be Without You"

Ryan is now going to whip through an entire row of the bleachers. He asks Arianna Afsar, Taylor Vaifanua, Alex Wagner-Trugman, Kendall Beard and Scott MacIntyre to stand in place. Ryan says one of this group will become a finalist. If you're in this row and not Scott, you know you're screwed.

Watch video of Scott MacIntyre becoming a finalist, Part 1

One by one, they are dispatched by Ryan, until it's down to *no drama* Kendall and Scott. OMG, what a shock! Scott is the next finalist. We are not happy, but knew it was coming. The season's decline continues for us as Scott sings "Mandolin Rain" again.

Watch video of Kendall Beard being eliminated and Scott MacIntyre becoming a finalist and singing "Mandolin Rain"

Like a host on speed, Ryan is ready to eliminate more contestants, this time in couples. He tells Nathaniel Marshall and Kristen McNamara to stand in place. Kristen seems to have problems understanding this, and starts walking. Ryan stops her. She says she's nervous. She should be. The game is over for both on them. Ryan walks to the opposite side of the top row, and when he asks Von Smith and Felicia Barton to stand, we guess they already know what's coming. They, too, are eliminated.

Watch video of Nathaniel Marshall, Kristen McNamara, Von Smith and Felicia Barton being eliminated

To no one's shock, Jorge Nuñez and Ju'Not Joyner are left. Ryan brings them to the stage and says one of them will get the third finalist spot of the night, right ... and acts as if we'll find out after the commercial break, then says, "now." The two are caught off-guard sure they're going into a commercial break. The one going through is Jorge, who'll have to wait until the end of the show to sing again.

Watch video of Ju'Not Joyner being eliminated and Jorge Nuñez becoming a finalist

It's time for the judges to announce the eight Wild Card choices from the remaining semifinalists sitting in the Red Room holding pen. Simon Cowell tells us this method is [not]fair, how Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson would not have gotten through if there had not been a Wild Card system. He also says that one of these picks could win the competition and that the producers judges even changed one of their choices during the last commercial break. And if that's true, how strongly do they feel about any of these picks?

What Simon doesn't say is that if there had not been a Wild Card system in place at the time, it is highly unlikely Aiken and Hudson would have been eliminated in the first place.

The judges take turns announcing the picks, begininning with Randy, followed by Kara, Paula and Simon. And no matter what they say, or do, at this point we're convinced that the producers judges already know who their final three choices are to complete the Top 12. After the selections, almost as an afterthought, Jorge finally gets to sing.

Watch video of the Wild Card selections of Von Smith, Jasmine Murray, Ricky Braddy, Megan Corkrey

Watch video of the Wild Card selections of Tatiana Del Toro, Matt Giraud, Jesse Langseth, Anoop Desai

Next week, the finals begin.

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© 2009

American Idol Season 8Top 36 Group 1 Results

The first three Season 8 finalists are:

Michael Sarver
Alexis Grace
Danny Gokey

Ryan Seacrest tells us 24 million votes were cast Tuesday night, 10 million more than the same week in 2008. It is impossible to concieve that anyone would even care enough to vote after watching Tuesday's fiasco. We'll chalk it up to the revised format where the Top 3 survive instead of the bottom four are eliminated. Still ... 10 million more votes with nearly 4 million fewer viewers than in 2008 (Tuesday's show averaged 25.10 million viewers and a 9.5 rating/23 share from 8-10 p.m., whereas in 2008 it averaged 29.0 million viewers with a 11.3 rating/27 share)? Have the "Idol" producers found a new way to cook the numbers?

When asked by Seacrest, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi have the temerity to pronounce Tuesday night's show good. If there was any doubt left (and there wasn't), now we know for sure that they're facile liars.

We are subjected to a recap of the "Idol" journey so far. (Do we not know these lame clips by heart by now?) And though we thought the singing torture ended after the performances on Tuesday, we were wrong. We failed to recall that the group songs begin on results nights of the semis. Needless to say, when you have only about four out of 12 who sound acceptable singing solo, putting all 12 voices together was like the cats yowling on the fence at midnight. Ugh! They "sang" and "danced" (possibly even worse than the "singing") to Jason Mraz' "I’m Yours." Anyone else getting sick of this song? And, not to be cruel, but how is blind Scott McIntyre supposed to do the group choreography when he performs in two weeks? Just asking ...

Watch video of Group 1 singing and dancing to "I'm Yours"

But wait! There's more! Bad singing that is. We have to view the prerequisite "highlights" clip from Tuesday's show, or in this case, the lowlights clip. It's times like this that we owe gratitude to the inventors of TiVO, DVRs, VCRs and any other device that has a fast-forward mode.

Before the voting results begin, Ryan chats with Group 1. We begin to understand why Jackie Tohn, whose singing left something to be desired on Tuesday, made the cut to the Top 36. She's animated, funny, spontaneous and totally comfortable onstage. When Ryan asks her to rate her Tuesday performance, she asks, "Like on a school report card, or like in the Olympics?" She then gives herself a 91, which she says equates to a B+/A-. Ryan asks Anoop Desai what the atmosphere is like among the contestants. Anoop tries to bluff his way through, saying he can speak for most of them and that they're relaxed knowing they've done the best they could do and now they're waiting to see if America has found them worthy. Ryan turns on the pressure: "You're relaxed?" Anoop begins to squirm. "Your results are in, Anoop. The nation has voted." More squirming and mumbling. "And they've decided that you, Anoop ..." Ryan pauses, then says, "So tell the truth right now, live on national television." Anoop folds, "I am ... the most nervous I've ever been." Ryan, getting what he wanted, taps Anoop on the shoulder and says, "God bless you." It was funny. For better or worse, Ryan was born to be host of "American Idol." He is very good at his job.

Next Ryan turns to Tatiana Del Toro, asking her a couple of times if she is alright. Seeing Tatiana acting relatively normal on live TV, it's really getting annoying just how much the producers are trying to prod her over the edge, making us wonder how much of a head case she really is, and how much was made to look like one through creative editing on the taped segments of the show. Ryan asks Tatiana if that is Paula Abdul's ring she's wearing (Paula gave Tatiana a "star" ring from her jewelry line at the judges' mansion after Tatiana said she tried to buy one but it was sold out). Tatiana says yes, then drifts into a Tatiana world conversation with Paula, until Ryan snaps her back to live TV to ask her about the plea she made to viewers the night before to keep her dream going. He tries, but the girl is sounding too normal and he can't get her to break. Hmmmm. He moves on to Stevie Wright. Maybe he can get some tears and drama from her. She obviously knows she's doomed after her train wreck of a performance the night before. Even Kara called her out on it (along with Casey and Stephen) earlier on tonight's show. Seacrest asks her what she and mother discussed after the show. Stevie reiterates what she said after her performance Tuesday: It's kinda confusing when the judges tell you to choose younger songs more of her age, then criticize her Taylor Swift song choice. Sadly for the producers, they strikeout on drama. Time for the results.

First up is Casey Carlson. She tells Ryan that she thinks she should have picked a different song, but she had the time of her life and feels great. We wish we had the guy from "Lie to Me" on the show for that comment; her face so betrayed her words (see photo). And, Sweetie, to paraphrase Simon, song choice was the least of your problems. You were off-key and never should have made the Top 36. Plus pulling faces and posturing made it 10 times worse. Needless to say, Casey does not make the Top 12. Nor does Stephen Fowler. Ryan calls him to the stage, shakes his hand, then totally embarrasses him by Stephen his hand is soaking wet. Thanks, Seacrest. Fowler says that he may have picked the wrong song, but he wanted to show another side of himself, though perhaps he should have stuck with what got him there.

Alexis Grace is next. Her outfit, complete with fedora looks really cute. She's either a great self-stylist or has been given good advice. The red lipstick is toned down, and we notice she has a yellow tongue from throat lozenges, but it's so much better than last year's green tongues. When she is declared Season 8's first finalist, Ryan tells her you may be the next American Idol. She says, "I know." No modesty there. Her dad, who looks like a '60s hippie, complete with long flowing hair and tinted granny glasses, breaks down in tears. Alexis reprises "Never Loved a Man," and, strangely, we like it better than Tuesday night's rendition.

Watch video of Ryan chatting with contestants, Casey Carlson and Stephen Fowler being eliminated and Alexis Grace becoming a finalist

Ryan starts calling duos up on the stage, beginning with Ricky Braddy and Jackie Tohn. Something odd happened at this point. As they approached Ryan, Jackie motioned to Ricky to change places with her so he would be standing closer to Ryan, as she said something to him, as if she already knew the order of things (and the results?) to come. Ryan tells Jackie, "Simon thought you played the clown too much and blew it. After watching it back, what did you think?"
Jackie: "Oh, I didn't think I blew it at all."
Ryan: "Would you have done the same thing all over again."
Jackie: "Oh, absolutely."
Ryan: "So you disagree with Simon?"
Jackie: "Oh, a 100 percent."
Ryan: "Simon, any reaction to that?"
Simon: "We'll see."
Ryan eliminates Ricky, then tells Jackie, "After the nationwide vote, Simon wins. You're not in the Top 12."

Then it's Anoop and Michael Sarver's turn. Ryan chats with them briefly, asking Sarver how he feels. He says, "My heart is pounding out of my chest. All that goes through my head is 'tomorrow's another day if not, and tomorrow's really another day if I, you know [make it].' " Seacrest then turns to Anoop and asks him if he is still nervous. "Yeah man, yeah," he says, to a titter of audience laughter. Seacrest then ends only Michael's agony. He's made it, but Anoop's been cut. Michael sings "I Don't Wanna Be," and we don't wanna be hearing it again. After Michael performs, Ryan says that only 20,000 votes separated Michael and Anoop.

Watch video of Ricky Braddy, Jackie Tohn and Anoop Desai being eliminated and Michael Sarver becoming a finalist

They're baaaack. Yes, it's time for an "Idol" promotional. In this case the opening of The American Idol Experience at Disney World. We see a short video of last week's ceremonies, which included, count 'em, all seven "Idol" winners appearing together for the first time. Then there is a glimpse of David Cook and Carrie Underwood dueting on "Go Your Own Way."

Watch video of the Disney World American Idol Experience ceremonies

Seacrest then calls down the next two contestants. Two people approach the stage, but who are they? Oh. It's a stunt. It's really Season 7 finalists Carly Smithson and Michael Johns making a guest appearance to sing "The Letter." Hate to say it, these two were much better in concert. The Disneyworld video was better than this. Carly was shrill and shouting, and Michael was, well, just bad. Waste of time.

Watch video of Carly Smithson and Michael John singing "The Letter"

Seacrest makes really short work with the next three real contestants, who aren't even invited down to the stage. Anne Marie Boskovich, Brent Keith and Stevie Wright are all asked to stand in place and are eliminated. Guess that means they don't even stand a chance of a wild-card callback.

All this leads up to what the producers hope will be the real drama of the night: Tatiana and Danny Gokey are called down to the stage. The face-off. But there was no drama here. Everyone knew Danny was a lock. That was the only sure thing Wednesday night. So we assume the producers were hoping for the big Tatiana meltdown. But that didn't happen, either. We're kept on hold for the obvious results with a commercial break.

Watch video of Anne Marie Boskovich, Brent Keith and Stevie Wright being eliminated and the Tatiana Del Toro and Danny Gokey face-off

We're back, and still having no luck getting Tatiana to have a breakdown, Ryan, almost reluctantly, decides to give us the results. It's *shock* Danny, who, we must note, was wearing the most butt-ugly pair of eyeglass frames we've ever seen on a guy. Is this going to be his style statement? Different (or no) frames every week? Also, has anyone else noticed that Danny looks alot like Robert Downey Jr.'s younger, geekier brother? Back to the action: You know how most contestants feel sorry for the loser standing by their side when they are chosen? They try to be a bit restrained with their joy? Not Danny. We see that he is just as self-absorbed as Tatiana is, whooping it up and ignoring her for a full 10 seconds, before realizing he ought to go over, put his arm around her and make believe he cares. Yuck. We're beginning to like him less and less. What's worse, we see one of his friends pull out a card as he is announced a finalist. As Danny sings "Hero," his friend shamelessly flashes the photo of Danny and his dead wife. Talk about literally playing the dead wife card. Enough already!Watch video of Tatiana Del Toto being eliminated and Danny Gokey becoming a finalist and singing "Hero"

Group 2 next week is: Megan Corkrey, Kris Allen, Mishavonna Henson, Matt Breitzke, Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud, Jasmine Murray, Kai Kalama, Jesse Langseth, Adam Lambert, Jeanine Vailes and Nick Mitchell

Watch video of Group 2 dance

The show will air on Wednesday and Thursday next week, instead of Tuesday and Wednesday.

And if we had to guess, we'd choose Ricky Braddy, Jackie Tohn and Anoop Desai as being wild-card choices.

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© 2009

American Idol Season 8Top 36 Group 1

Oy! If these are the the best and the brighest that Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul could find after a search of more than 100,000 contestants, all we can say is that Cowell should add a question mark to the title of his series "America's Got Talent," and the answer would be: "no."

Prior to Tuesday, it was bad enough that no one Season 8 auditioner shown out like a beacon in the crowd (though, to be sure, they were a few favorites whose names were already circulating: Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai). But we could excuse that if only because we hadn't yet seen anyone sing a full song (or at least 1 min. 20 sec. of a song). But Tuesday night was the Big Reveal of what we were already beginning to fear: This season most probably will suck.

To begin with, we hate that the producers have reverted to the old way of picking the finalists. We begin with far too many semifinalists (36) who are initially divided into three groups of 12. Each week, the top three vote-getters go immediately to the finals. But it's really not the top three. It's the top guy vote-getter, the top girl vote-getter and the third highest vote-getter, male or female. Nine finalists are chosen this way. On Thursday of Week 3, the judges each present a list of three "wild card" contestants who have thus far failed to make the finals. They perform again, and at the end of the episode, the judges will choose the last three to complete the Top 12.

This gives each contestant just one shot (or perhaps two if the judges choose them for the wild-card round) to perform, eliminating some who might have potential to develop. Think about how different David Cook was from the beginning of the semis to his championship. Remember, it was still during the semifinals that he sang "Hello," one of his most outstanding numbers. What if he had been booted after his first semifinal performance, "Happy Together"? "Hello" came a mere two weeks later.

We also don't think the judges should be picking anything more at this point. After all, their (or, more likely, the show's producers) careful deliberations already forced Tatiana Nicole Del Toro, Nate Marshall, Nick Mitchell and Von Smith down our throats. What if Tatiana is (hopefully) booted tonight and they pick her for the wild-card round? Who wants that? Or they pick the 12 contestants that the public liked least, instead of the 12 highest-scoring also-rans?

DialIdol results for Tuesday night predict that Danny Gokey is the only safe singer. The highest scoring female by their statistics is Alexis Grace, and the third highest overall scorer is Michael Sarver. Other than Alexis, America hated the remaining women pretty equally. Any of the five could have placed second. As for the guys, the only one definitely dead and gone by DialIdol results is Stephen Fowler. They have Anoop Desai, Ricky Braddy and Brent Keith in a dead heat. That kind of stinks, as Ricky Braddy was a real standout, but his lack of face time in previous episodes obviously hurt him Tuesday night. We're also surprised that Michael placed in front of Anoop, a judges' favorite and previous audience favorite. Although Anoop was not at the top of his game Tuesday night, he was certainly better than Sarver.

Here's how it came down, contestant by contestant:

Jackie Tohn kicked off the show with Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation." Although we admit to a soft spot for our homie, to paraphrase Simon, if we're being honest, this was a crappy song choice that did nothing to showcase her raspy voice. And to paraphrase Randy on her outfit: "Whaaaat?" Those shiny stretchy nylon leggings were to die for, as in didn't they bury them back in the '80s? Though Tohn did look kinda cute overall, jumping around in her polka dot strapless top, wide red belt and matching kicks. If nothing else, she certainly stood out. But if this is her final performance, will we never find out the meaning behind the black-and-white cameo pin she wears for every performance? The singing, well, it was bleh. Though Tohn was so confident and full of energy, posturing all over the stage, that the judges (except Simon) all but forgave her mediocre singing. We're certain one of them will choose her as a wild-card contestant. But Simon wasn't having with any of it, saying, "I think that you actually played the clown tonight. I thought the performance was ungainly, I thought the song was a bit gimmicky ... so I don't think that you did yourself any favors tonight. I don't think the public is going to like that very much and I think that you may have blown this great opportunity by doing something silly, rather than good." BTW, he didn't like her outfit, either.

Watch video of Jackie Tohn singing "A Little Less Conversation"

Regardless of the endless praise that the final performer received, the best performance of the evening, as far as we were concerned, went to Ricky Braddy, who sang Leon Russell's "A Song for You." His parents were wearing T-shirts that read: "I'm in the Braddy Bunch." Cute. Unfortunately, Ricky is shy and doesn't have much of a personality. In addition, he's received so little face time, the audience knows nothing about him and this is going to hurt him badly. We can only hope that one of the judges picks him for a wild-card position. On the up side, he lost his glasses -- and with them part of his geeky appearance -- for the performance. Randy told him he was unbelievable, beautiful tone, nice voice, "the way to jump it off." Kara said, "You killed that. That was amazing. Your riffs, your interpretation. It was effortless. You have an incredible gift." Paula gave Ricky a standing O and said, "With so many contestants that are involved, you weren't featured in the past three weeks and I'm so proud that America gets to see how talented you are, because, make no mistake, you deserve to go very far in this competition." Yea! Agreed! Simon added, "Very, very good. I'm not jumping out of my chair like you three are." He then accurately added, "My only issue with you is, that I don't think at the moment that you have any star quality. Because you have a great voice, but I don't think you have the self-belief or the charisma right now to be what we would be looking for this year. At the moment, I think you're a nice shy guy with a very good voice. And you've got to start believing in yourself, a bit." Paula jumped in with, "Take lessons from him," pointing to Simon, to which Cowell retorted, "Why not?"

Watch video of Ricky Braddy singing "A Song For You"

We suppose we have to give the best female vocal to Alexis Grace (or at least put her in a tie with Anne Marie Boskovich), but none of the women really knocked us out. Although the judges thought Grace's performance of Aretha Franklin's "Never Loved a Man" was soulful, we were left unmoved. It was a good, strong, yet strangely unstirring vocal. And we hate to be critical of her appearance, but if you're going to wear a short, short lacy slip dress, you shouldn't be knocked kneed. As Simon would say, "Sorry." We actually like the pink highlights in her blonde hair. But the jury is still out on her RED lipstick. Can't decide whether we loved it or hated it, but it certainly made you look at her mouth. Randy said, "You worked it out, I'm loving you right now. Whaaaat?" (are we going to have to hear whaaaat all season, dawg?) Kara said Alexis is a new girl since her audition and that Kara loves it, adding "great job." Paula couldn't get her thoughts together in a cohesive sentence and decided to keep rambling just to annoy Simon. But she did tell Alexis that she has "that quiet confidence that she loves" and that she was wonderful, beautiful and fantastic. Simon said of the three singers so far, she was the best (we disagree), and told her she actually does have soul (wrong). He also told her she might be "a little dark horse in this competition" and that she reminds him of Kelly Clarkson (no way!) eight years before in the same position, and that she's "the one to watch." With all the winking he did at her, it's clear that Cowell really likes her. Whatever.

Watch video of Alexis Grace singing "Never Loved a Man"

It was a bad night for former "Nashville Star" contestant Brent Keith, who tried to stay true to his roots with Jason Aldean's "Hicktown." First, instead of playing his video, they put up Stevie Wright's by mistake. Next, Ryan Seacrest, trying to cover the blunder, says, well, let's go downstairs and have you perform. But by the time they get to the stage, of course, they've qued up the right video. When Keith finally did sing, we thought it was a pleasant performance, though nothing that we were going to remember the next day. Yet, we were put off when he had to defend his song choice to all the judges except Randy. All night the judges told contestants, "We don't know who you are as an artist with that song choice," yet when someone is definitive about the kind of music he wants to record, he gets dumped on as well. Whaaat? (sorry). We previously thought Keith's good looks and country genre would keep him in the running, but between his DialIdol score and the judges' apathy, we now believe this was his final appearance. And that he seemed pissed at the judges' comments probably didn't garner him any extra votes. Randy said he was a "new edge to country, with the old country swagger. I liked you man, I liked you. I think you'll make a very good country artist." However, Kara told him he was too safe, that she previously thought he had a lot of soul and that his song choice wasn't rangy enough for her, ending with "I think you have more in you than what we saw tonight. You're a cute guy, you've got a lot going for you and I wish you'd taken more risks." Paula agreed it was a safe song, but said she could definitely see him as a country artist, "I mean, look what's happened to Josh Gracin, look what's happened to Bucky Covington ..." to which Simon said, "What has happened to Bucky Covington?" Ha, ha funny Simon, but fact is, Bucky had a number of country hits on his first CD (possibly more than Gracin has had) and is about to release the second. Cowell continued, "You're a nice guy, you've got quite a nice voice and you did something that was not safe, it was forgettable ... so I think you may have just blown a massive opportunity by being forgettable. Sorry."

Watch video of Brent Keith singing "Hicktown"

There were two train wrecks Tuesday night and Stevie Wright, singing Taylor Swift's "You Belong to Me," was the first one. Because the judges had told her that her audition song, "At Last," was too old for her, Stevie tried to keep things young. She looked cute, but that's as far as it got. At first, her voice was so low you could barely hear it (she obviously has no lower range), then when the song picked up, she was off key, pitchy and couldn't hit the big notes. It was pitifully bad karaoke and brought back bad memories of Antonella Barba. You really had to feel sorry for the kid. But she does have a great smile and is very telegenic. Randy said, "It was not hot for me. I wasn't feeling that at all." Kara said, "We wanted you to be young, but you really picked a song that had nothing to do with you. I think you have an identity crisis going on." Yeah, OK, whatever. Paula agreed, "It was just not the right song for you. The low range was too low for you, and it wasn't the Stevie Wright we fell in love with." Simon, however, spared nothing and just put it out there: "They're being quite polite. I mean, Stevie it was terrible. The song is OK, you were out of tune, you looked really nervous, out of your depth. I mean the good news is, you've got some experience from this, I guess. But there is zero chance of you making it through to the next round, after that." Kara got upset, saying, "We don't have to kill her now, do we?" And Paula and Kara jumped in with "America votes," to which Cowell answered, "Yes, but they listen to me" (not on the David Cook finale, Simon, ha!).

Watch video of Stevie Wright singing "You Belong to Me"

We expected big things from Anoop Desai, and he didn't entirely disappoint with Monica's "Angel of Mine." It was a sensitive and soulful rendition, though we'd rank him No. 3 of the six guys singing Tuesday. The one thing Anoop does have is truckloads of charisma and likability, and even at this early stage he's dressing right for the show. We thought he looked so much better than that gangly youth in shorts we saw in his audition video. Randy said, "I got mad love for you, but the whole song for me was a little sharp ... it never quite settled. But I'm still a huge fan, baby." And, yes, he did say, "Yeaaaaah, whaaaat," again. Kara said, "I'm not sure you had the riffs or capability to kinda nail it [the song], the way it needs to be nailed. But I think there's a lot of great potential with you. And I like you. I believe you when you're up there. I feel like you're connected to what you're singing about." Paula told him, "America has connected with you in a large way already." (We thought so, too, until we saw the DialIdol numbers.) She also told him that he has a Brian McKnight feel to his voice and that she believes in him. Simon, inexplicably, told him of the song choice, "I thought it was a little too grown-up for you, in a way. ... it was just a bit too serious for you." But if he doesn't make it through on Wednesday, we'd put money on his being a wild-card choice.

Watch video of Anoop Desai singing "Angel of Mine"

Casey Carlson singing "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by the Police made Chris Sligh look like a genius. Bad isn't bad enough to describe just how awful she was. We never liked her audition and wondered why the judges put her through (c'mon, being cute is never enough), and we were proven right. How to describe? Well, aside from horribly flat and off-key vocals, she was pulling faces, winking and making weird and awkward "dance" moves that were so reminiscent of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Elaine Benes on "Seinfeld" that we started laughing and saying "buh-bye" about 10 seconds into her performance. Yikes! But when the judges began telling her the same things, her little pretty elfin face became all pouty and she looked like she was about to cry, which made Simon not nearly as cruel as he could have been. He started by asking her how she thought she did. She told him she had had fun. He then said, "I've got to find something positive here. You look good." (Actually her boots with the dress were wrong, wrong, wrong.) "Because the singing was just atrocious, to be honest with you. And you could not have chosen a worse song." He also said it was karaoke and that she got one massive opportunity and threw it away. And, yes, that was being nice, because Carlson's performance was like one of those awful auditions when Cowell says, "That was a joke, right?"

Watch video of Casey Carlson singing "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"

The fact that everyone seems to love Michael Sarver is serving him much better than his voice did on Gavin DeGraw's "I Don’t Wanna Be." All we kept thinking was, "When Bo Bice sang that song he just killed it. Michael Sarver is justing killing the song." In fact, we like Bo's version even better than DeGraw's. Paula mentioned in her critique that Elliott Yamin and Chris Richardson also sang "I Don't Wanna Be." We don't even remember those renditions. Sarver's, too, will be quickly forgotten. That he placed third overall on DialIdol must attest to his likability and Everyman status (he works as a rouhgneck on an oil rig) and that people relate to what he says about how doing well on the show will help change his family's lives. He's OK looking, but not gorgeous. (For some reason, he brings to mind a Siberian husky dog.) But the judges love him even with his imperfections. Randy told him, "It started out a little rough pitch-wise, the first verse was a little weird ... I might like you a little better on a soul thing. I'm not sure if it was the wrong song choice for you; I just don't think that you performed it that well." Kara added, "I don't think that was your best performance, you've got more in you. What I like is that you're singing something that's true to you ... You're likable because you are who you are and you connect with the audience." On the other hand, Paula told him he did "a real good job." (Not). Simon said, "We put you here primarily because we like you, you know. You're a good, honest guy, hard-working, who needs a break. I'm not going to lie to you and say this was the best vocal I've ever heard, because it wasn't. We've heard a lot worse tonight. So I think if you get through, it's because people like you ... But with you in particular, I hope America does pick up the phone and give you another shot." Apparently people do listen to what Simon sez.

Watch video of Michael Sarver singing "I Don’t Wanna Be"

We really loved Anne Marie Boskovich during her audition and we found her interpretation of Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" interesting. It wasn't great, but it was no worse than Alexis Grace's turn with another Aretha Franklin song. The judges weren't as enamored with her as we were. Randy thought the song wasn't the right choice for her, saying that others had sung the song on the show and really slayed it, but that Anne Marie fell subpar below that. Kara said, "It's feels a bit old-fashioned. It doesn't feel young," and that she would rather hear something that was a little more fun and girly. Anne Marie answered, "I think that's not as good as a classic," which elicited some whoas from Randy, but then Simon and he said, "I like that." Paula told her that she thought she did better than what they had heard from her before, adding, "I think you played it safer during your earlier auditions and this time you came out and gave it your all." Simon compared her to a hotel singer, saying, "The simple truth is, your voice is not good enough for that song. So it just destroyed you, in my opinion."

Watch video of Anne Marie Boskovich singing "Natural Woman"

Stephen Fowler was even more destroyed by his choice of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You." Mostly known for receiving a second chance after forgetting his lyrics during Hollywood Week, Fowler needed a strong comeback and this wasn't it. We've previously really liked his voice, but "Rock With You" did nothing to showcase it. In fact, we kind of agreed with Paula who said he should have resung David Cook's "Time of My Life," just to prove he remembered the lyrics. Plus that song suited his voice much better. Randy thought Fowler's song choice was all wrong: "Dawg, it's not even in the right place for you man. It's not the right song for you to be singing." He also noted that other than the high notes it was pitchy. Kara said he was more connected to the David Cook song at the piano and that this song didn't give him any room to interpret. Paula told him, "Singing "Rock With You" is like the kiss of death. It belongs to one artist, and that's Michael Jackson. I'm a little disappointed" Simon said, "I actually wish you had forgotten the lyrics, because it was such a pointless performance. ... The whole thing was just atrocious. The last 10 seconds were OK, Stephen, but you're going to watch this back and realize that you've made a huge mistake here, because actually, you know what it was? It was corny. And you're not a corny person. You're not."

Watch video of Stephen Fowler singing "Rock With You"

The performance everyone was waiting for dreading was that of Tatiana Del Toro. Her appearance singing Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You" was a lot more subdued than expected -- though there was this very dramatic pose at the end -- and the judges (read: producers) seemed really disappointed by the lack of drama, even encouraging her to do her incredibly annoying laugh. If putting her in the semis isn't a setup, then what is? Her vocal performance was adequate with some really nice parts. If she was normal and more consistent vocally, she would have the possibility of being a sensation. But she's not and she isn't. She'll always be one of the jokes of Season 8. Randy told her she had some moments when he said to himself, "You know what? She actually can sing" (well if you thought she couldn't, why did she make it to the semis???) He added, "You didn't pull it all together -- that second verse the melody was very weird -- but there were moments. Tatiana, there were moments." Kara was questioning, "Who are you in the industry? Where do you fit? Is she a character or is she an artist? I don't know." Paula noted that Tatiana was the most talked about contestant on the show, adding, "You know what they say, good, bad or indifferent, at least they're talking about you. This demure Tatiana, I'm not used to. But I will say, especially your closing note, was beautiful. You had beautiful moments and then you had pitchy moments, but I don't know who you are today. Are you crazy? You know we miss the crazy." Simon said, "Tatiana, you are a complete and utter drama queen. Right? You are. I've never met anyone in my life, probably with the exception of Paula, who's wanted fame more than anyone else. ... You are desperate to be famous. ... To get back to your singing for a moment, actually, surprisingly, it was bad at all. It was better than I expected." He then encouraged her to "lose this weird thing," the demure thing, because "it's actually making me a little bit nervous. Do the weird laughing."

Tatiana Del Toro - "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston
Watch video of Tatiana Del Toro singing "Saving All My Love for You"

Last up, in the "pimp" spot was Danny Gokey. He also chose a song by a diva, in his case, "Hero," by Mariah Carey. As we expected, it was a very nice performance. Danny's got a great idea going for him: perform songs by female singers, because it's then hard to compare you with the original artist, plus it sounds like you've changed the song up. He did it with "Hero," and previously during Hollywood Week with Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance." And it works well for him. Without the exception of Simon, the judges went WILD. Too wild. It was very good, but not that good. OMG, at the end of the song they were standing, screaming, woo-hooing, raising their arms. Get a life. It didn't even approach LaKisha's Jones' performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" during her first semifinal week, nor Melinda Doolittle's "Sweet Sweet Baby (Since You’ve Been Gone)" the same week. Randy said, "The redeemer of the night, right here, Danny Gokey, that was blazing hot." Kara shouted, "Danny, you are the hero, man. That was incredible. You give us all hope. You were great!" Paula chimed in with, "Danny, you are stellar, and I have two words with a hyphen: sold-out arenas." Simon, trying to keep it real, said, "It wasn't fantastic, it was good. You know, the end part was great, the beginning was OK , the arrangement was a bit heavy-handed. You are a very, very good singer. I like you. I'm just not buying the hype [pointing to the other three judges] right now. It's too much," as he rolled his eyes. Thank you, Simon. You are correct.

Watch video of Danny Gokey singing "Hero"

Tonight, the first three finalists are announced.

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© 2009