Idol Finals Kick Off

With the top 12 guys. David H. started off the night singing In the Midnight Hour. I haven't been crazy about this guy. I think he's good, but not as good as he thinks he is. He puts too much flourish into his vocals when he should just be singing. Fortunately, he sings well enough; he'll make it through. Chikezie worried me right off when he dropped the last name. I liked him in the auditions, but the one-name thing seems a bit pretentious for a reality show contestant. Got a little more worried during the pre-performance clip when he almost blurted that he was glad the judges recognized his talent. Seemed a bit arrogant. He recovered and said "hard work" instead of "talent." He worried me more when he started singing More Today than Yesterday, not a good song choice or performance. The icing on the cake came when he started snipping at Simon and getting a bit of attitude. Really turned me off. David C. followed with Happy Together. I haven't been a big fan of this David from the beginning - not sure why, something just rubs me the wrong way - but he did a good job in this round. Good song choice, good performance. Jason Y. then performed Moon River. I absolutely agree with Simon (as I usually do) that he was forgettable and not at all contemporary. Robbie sang One (by Three Dog Night, I believe?). Rocked it out! Easily the best performance of the night at this point. David A. sang Smokey Robinson's Shop Around. I think he had trouble hitting the low notes in the beginning because his voice hasn't changed yet. Overall, though, another good performance. But again... Randy. Dawg. It's American Idol, not 17 Year-Old Idol. I don't want to hear it. Just comment on their performance, not their performance relative to their age. Thought he would hyperventilate whilest talking to Ryan, though. Danny I-look-like-Jessica-Alba's-twin-brother Noriega then performed Jailhouse Rock. I actually agree with what Paula was trying to say here. I think he chose a relatively easy song that just allowed him to run around on stage and ham it up. I don't think it was grotesque, but I don't think it was a great singing performance. I think he's this year's Sanjaya. Let's just hope he doesn't try the faux-hawk. Luke sang a relatively forgettable rendition of Everybody's Talkin'. But given his resemblance to a cross between Hugh Jackman and Orlando Bloom, I think he'll get by this week on looks. Again, I agree with Simon regarding Colton's performance of Suspicious Minds. Not as bad as the other Elvis song, but not very memorable or relevant. Garrett struggled through Breaking Up Is Hard to Do on Valium. Paula was right when she told him he shouldn't be afraid to work with Ricky Minor to change things up. Simon was right that Garrett looked a bit washed out and haunted. He looks like he hasn't been out of his mom's basement in about 12 years. Jason C. brought the house down with What a Day for a Daydream. Hands down the best performance of the night. Chrissy and I don't care for the dreds, but he looked incredibly comfortable on stage - at least while he was singing. He seems a bit like one of those shy people who blossoms when performing, then draws back into his shell during an interview. Johnny Depp seems like that. Michael finished the night with Light My Fire. If it weren't for coming right after Jason C., Michael would have had the best performance of the night. He looks so comfortable on stage and on the mic, it's almost not fair to the other contestants. Then again, so was Chris Daughtry. If Michael continues how he has been, he'll cruise his Aussie ass to the top 5. My prediction is that Garrett and Jason Y. will go home on Thursday. We'll see how the ladies do tonight.