American Idol - Season 9 - Week 1 (The Guys)

Ok, so maybe this morning I'll be able to write this review of the guys in under 30 minutes - it shouldn't be hard, since not many were worth writing about. In fact, I am tempted to say we should just pick the top 12 now and move on with it. Because I don't know if we even had 3 guys tonight who I thought were really good.

I like Simon's threat tonight - "If you lose it tonight, or forget the words, your career is over..." Wow, talk about self importance! Easy there Mr. Cowell.

Anyway, here are the guys...

Todrick Hall - The dancer/singer kicks it off with a bizarre cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone"...wow, don't like this at all. I agree with the judges - he changes it TOO much...so much that you can't even recognize it. And you know, I normally wouldn't care if he changed it so much IF it was good (the end result). This wasn't. I still think this guy can sing, but he didn't do it tonight. He was all over the place. The judges didn't like it either. To save some time, I'm not going to comment on individual judge comments (well, maybe a few). Anyway, overall bad grades for Todrick. I think he'll be back next week, though, and expect him to bounce back.

Aaron Kelly - The 16 year old sounds very nervous tonight (a trend that will continue). Upon a second listen, it wasn't as bad as I first found it. But again, I am not wild about the Rascall Flatts song he sings. He does have some good moments, but to me it's not consistently good. I think he has a built in fan base and he'll be back. The judges like him - Simon in particular said it was a good performance, but that Aaron needs to build up his confidence. All of the judges say that - believe in yourself, Aaron!

Jermaine Sellers - This is the guy who was accused of being a "diva" - in other words, he threw the band under the bus during Hollywood week. Tonight he sings "Get Here" by Oleta Adams (isn't that an 80's song??). I was bored to tears with this - didn't care for it (are you sensing a trend?). Like Aaron, he has a few moments here and there, but I thought it was a little over the top. The judges didn't really care for it - Simon said something to the affect that it was a song that some 80 year old person would request at a bar. Where does he come up with this stuff? I can see Jermaine in danger this week. Just a hunch.

Tim Urban - Or, Dirk Diggler as I'm going to call him. I'm serious - look it up. Anyway, this kid was sent home, and then was called back when a contestant was booted for some reason which they didn't go into. He sings "Apologize" by One Republic, and the thing I remember is that Kris Allen sang this, and sang it well. When Tim slowly walks onto the stage, the first thing you notice is very little stage presence. Then he starts singing, and you really he has an OK voice (and that's being generous, in my opinion), but his falsetto is weak. I feel like I'm watching some high school production of American Idol tonight! Anyway, the judges don't like Dirk much either - in fact, they're pretty vicious on the kid, and I all I have to say is - YOU PICKED HIM TO COME BACK!! Simon said they absolutely made the right decision initially in not bringing him through. I feel bad for the Boogie Nights star - you can see him tearing up a little. Just repeat to yourself Tim, "I'm a Star! I'm A GREAT BIG SHINING STAR!!"

Joe Munoz - Didn't hear much of Joe prior to tonight...wow, he sang Man in the Mirror...who didn't sing that song in Hollywood? He sings a Jason Mraz song, and I really don't like it. He's got a weird vibrating effect when he sings - what's that called? Whatever it is, I don't like it at all. Surprisingly, the judges say he's good. Really??? To me he sounded very nervous, although they said he's very comfortable out there. At least Simon said it was forgettable (although he says he's got potential to be a star...)

Tyler Grady - The guy who should be the lead singer of The Hives comes out and does "American Woman" by the Guess Who. This is a 70's song and Idol goes out of their way to point out how "70's" Tyler is. Yeah, he looks the part...but....well, I wasn't blown away at the vocal. And I thought this is the type of song you can really get into. I completely 100% agree with the judges - this was more style over substance. I was extremely disappointed. He has surprisingly little energy out there. Completely overrated, IMHO.

Lee Dewyze - I remember this guy briefly during Hollywood week, and wasn't that impressed. I heard a glimpse of what he COULD be, but I wasn't sure if he could continue that through onto the top 24. I was surprised he made it. So what does this power vocalist choose to sing? SNOW PATROL. Yes, that's right, he picks "Chasing Cars". Which was played on Grey's Anatomy about 250 times. To quote Randy, "Check this out..." At first, I wasn't wild about this. He had some cringe inducing moments for me. BUT, just like during Hollywood week, I hear SOMETHING there, and I think he will get better. I also think that he's way more genuine than someone like Tyler Grady. The judges like Lee, but didn't like the song choice. They actually brought up David Cook's name, and I don't think we're anywhere near there at this point. But at least he's on track - similar type of artist. Simon did like the performance, though. Thinks he'll do well. Then Lee proceeds to eat the guitar pick for some reason. Randy keeps yelling "KINGS OF LEON!" Kara wants him to do some Bad Company. Lee says he never wants to lose this feeling. Quick, someone call Hallmark!

John Park - John talks about his love of Shania Twain, and that he would marry her if he could. OK...so he sings "God Bless the Child". He starts off pretty horrible, picks it up in the middle, and finishes up somewhere in the middle. I really don't care for that song, though. And Simon nailed it - NO EMOTION at all. That's what it was. See, this song was so boring I hardly have anything to write about.

Michael Lynche - BIG MIKE. He sings "This Love", and I could have sworn I heard him singing this before, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, he plays the guitar, but I don't know what the purpose was, because it doesn't look like he's really playing anything. I like Mike - if he wasn't tied to that guitar, I think it would be a more effective. He also sounds like he's rushing through it, but I like his performance. Didn't blow me away, but tonight, it's one of the better ones. That's not saying much! But he should be happy with his performance. The judges like his energy. But Simon didn't care for it.

Alex Lambert - I barely remember this guy at all, but I do remember him fighting with that Mary Powers girl (which they show in the package). THIS Lambert looks like Hannah Montana's brother on her TV show. He sings James Morrisson's "Wonderful World". Holy moly - he looks terrified out there. A very wooden performance. I wasn't even wild about his vocals, although they sound better the second time listening to it. I like when he sings, "Me.....eeeeee....." I am telling you - that's Jason Earles, right? Ellen makes a comment about him rockin' the mullet (see, Billy Ray connection). Judges didn't like the performance, but they like his voice.

Casey James - This is the dude that Kara is in love with. I always thought that was amusing, but it obscures the fact that this guy is a REALLY good singer, in my opinion. I think his looks tend to get in the way, so to speak. He sings "Heaven" by Bryan Adams, and I think it's easily the best performance of the night. He has some pitchy-ness at times, BUT overall, he's got a very nice tone to his voice. And I'm amazed that he didn't crack up while Kara was waving her arms back and forth during his performance. She goes goo goo ga ga over him while giving her review - she really does have the hots for this guy! And she reminds us she's married... Ellen says that she heard Kara undressing Casey with her eyes. LOL. I will say this about Kara - she is way more attractive this year...either that, or maybe I'm just noticing. Or maybe it was the bikini from last year. Anyway, they'd make a good looking couple, that Kara and Casey! Seriously, they all liked him and assure him he has no problem getting votes (and Kara's number).

Andrew Garcia - This is the guy who sang "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, and I'll never forget that performance. It was great, and before the night began, I thought they were saving the best two guys for last. Andrew sings "Sugar We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy. He does this acoustically - which is what he did with "Straight Up". That worked - I don't know if this did or not, because I really don't know this song. I liked it OK, but mostly because I like Andrew's voice and think he'll go far. Tonight the guys were not very good, and along with Casey, I think Andrew clearly was near the top (like I predicted). The judges didn't like it - but it's not the first time I disagreed with them. I think AG will be around for a while.

So there you have it...Andrew, Casey and perhaps Michael and Lee were the top performers in my eye. The rest? Blech...So I had 7 good girl performances, and 4 good guy performances...that's 11. Can we just go with that and start the weekly coed performances? :^)

OK, I'm going to sleep now...I have no clue who is going home, but I'll pick 2 of these 3: Jermaine, Joe or John will go home. We'll find out in a few hours... :^)