American Idol First Cuts: Who’s Safe?

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American Idol – The Final 24

The first two nights of the American Idol broadcast didn’t pack quite the punch the judges had envisioned. All we heard about was how stacked with talent these final 24 contestants were, but save for a handful of performers, I came away largely unimpressed. The ladies went off the board as -150 favorites to take home the Season 9 honors before Tuesday night’s telecast, but I really feel that line will drastically fall come the open next week. I won’t get into critiquing each individual’s performance until the Final 12, but instead, I’ll separate this weekly article into the safe and on the bubble until we get down to the nitty gritty.

SAFE:

Janelle Wheeler – Though she proved not to have the powerful voice to get away with covering Heart’s “What About Love”, the 24-year old Orlando native will stick and hopefully pick a better song next week.

Lilly Scott – Lilly really separated herself from the bland acts that followed her with her distinctive Indie voice.

Katelyn Epperly – Simon’s gotta crush on her; enough said…

Haeley Vaughn – This youngster’s voice gets really annoying after awhile, but if she’s able to get more control of it, she might just make the Top 12. Very interesting act this one is.

Michelle Delamor – She took on way too big  a song with Alicia Keys “Falling”, but expect to see this professional singer move onto the next round with ease.

Didi Benami – The ladies favorite by no means blew us away, but she’s a looker and the American Idol betting public won’t vote her out just yet.

Siobahn Magnus – The quirky Siobahn made a believer of me, and I truly think she’s one of the best females in the competition. She sounds eerily reminiscent to Adam Lambert when she howls.

Crystal Bowersox – Loved her from her audition through Hollywood Week. Though her Alanis cover wasn’t earth shattering, Mrs. Bowersox has the goods to make a deep run in this competition.

Todrick Hall – Mr. Hall took a chance by making Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” his own, but I think the move paid off and the voting public will want to see more of what this cat can do.

Aaron Kelly – I came away impressed with this youngster’s voice, though he looked like he couldn’t wait to get off the stage during the performance. He’ll only get better as he gains confidence.

Joe Munoz – We didn’t get to see much of Joe, but I liked his stage presence and he did good enough to make it to next week.

Lee DeWyze – Though Lee’s take on Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars“ almost seemed like a completely different track, this kids in it to win it and you could tell when he said he never wanted the feeling of performing in front of a large audience to ever leave. That 35:1 ticket looks even better now!

Michael Lynche – Big Mike’s not the greatest singer of the bunch, but his personality and energy will carry him through multiple rounds of this competition.

Casey James – The kid from Kool was exactly that on Wednesday night covering Bryan Adams’ “Heaven”, and Kara’s “boy toy” will make a deep run this season.

Andrew Garcia – The competition favorite didn’t “Wow” me at all with his Fall Out Boy cover, but I want to see more of him and I’m sure the rest of America does to.

ON THE BUBBLE:

We didn’t get to see much of Paige Miles or John Park throughout Hollywood Week, but neither blew me away this week. Simon stated that Ashley Rodriguez has gone backwards since the judges first saw her initial audition; that’s not good for the 22-year old student but I believe she makes it through the initial cuts.

Lacey Brown was the last cut before the Final 24 a year ago, and her struggles with “Landslide” Tuesday night might just be enough to send her packing. Youngster Katie Stevens picked the absolute wrong song to close out Tuesday’s show, but I don’t believe she’ll get cut for it.

Jermaine Sellers pushed it out a little too much, which ultimately made his performance tough to listen to. Tim Urban did not make good on his second chance, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be the men’s first cut.

Tyler Grady came off as a rock star poser; he had the look and the stage presence, but the vocals just weren’t there. Still, his schtick might garner enough votes to stick. Alex “The Mullet” Lambert put forth what Simon called “the most uncomfortable performance of the night”, but I think this youngster gets another go round.

Overall, the debut of the Top 24 was a major disappointment. That said; it’s almost impossible to separate the bad from the truly bad to make some concrete predictions on what will transpire this evening. We’ll just have to leave it up to the voters and hope they make the right choices.

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