American Idol: Week 1

Ok, y'all. I've been keeping a secret, and it has begun to weigh heavily upon me.


I love American Idol.

Did you catch that? Lo Gung and I watch it, every week. We look forward to it. We debate the merits of the various contestants. We even have a contest with his family, guessing who will continue on to the next week!

So, in the spirit of Keeping It Real, I'm going to give you my opinions on last night's episode, and my predictions. These will be pretty brief! I scribbled them down, in the dark, on Post-It notes, while feeding Siu Jeun. Oh, and I usually agree with Simon. Sorry.

1) Jackie Thon (Little Less Conversation): Really fun performance - she definitely knows how to work a stage! The outfit...oh my goodness, girl - what was going ON?! The vocals weren't the best, but she was definitely fun to listen to.

2) Ricky Braddy (A Song for You): This is an unknown! He didn't get a lot of air time during the first few weeks of Idol. The judges are right - he's a shy guy with a great voice. I don't know if the voice will be enough to keep him on for another week!

3) Alexis Grace (Never Loved a Man): Um, first off - did anyone else think her face could double for Dolly Parton last night? Seriously - those eye lashes??! And that dress. *sigh* It looked like undergarments. Not cute. She did a great blue-sy number, but I don't think it's right for her voice. Hmm...the song choice does make her stand out though, so maybe that's enough. She did sing the song well, I just wish she had a gruffer voice. (I think I'm still just pining for Melinda Doolittle. It's been two years...but nobody can compare!)

4) Brent Keith (some country song - Lo Gung took over here and didn't write the title): The judges said it was too safe, and forgettable, but I agree with Brent - country music fans are going to eat it up! He's stinkin' ADORABLE...and that's a hard thing to ignore.

5) Stevie Wright (again, no title - it was a new song, though): Wow. Oh, Stevie...I really wanted to like you. From the crazy (too) low notes in the beginning, to the weird phrasing...you were just nervous, girl. Just plain nervous. BUT, if you know you're gonna be nervous...don't pick a song that skirts around the very bottom of your lowest notes - you won't be able to get them into your voice. It was just weird, but I'm proud of her for getting up there and doing her best. I loved her in the auditions, and her low voice was my favorite part about her! This just got too low, and was just really bad.

6) Anoop Desai (Angel of Mine): I have the feeling people were just being narcissistic tonight! Seriously, they're singing songs they really want to sing, but NOT showing who they ARE! 'noop Dog, I love your voice...but that was a weird song choice. Oh, and when I see him sing, I keep thinking about this movie I saw last year...about a boy from India who goes on an (American Idol Type) show and goes on to do really well. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

7) Casey Carlson (Every Little Thing): Girlfriend is CUTE! That being said, it was a poor song choice. Repetitive, and (hello!) - it's the Police! Police, Dave Matthews, Michael Jackson, Celine, Whitney...some things you just don't touch. Maybe not so much with those last two, but...the Police? Seriously? Songs like that only work if you're in the band - they're just too recognizable. Unless you're going to completely change the genre of the song (which often works really well!), just leave them alone. I really liked her, though.

8) Michael Sarver (Anything Other): Oh, Michael - it's just not fair that only three people are going through tonight! I LOVE Michael - I love how cute he is, I love how well he sings, I love how he looks like he's really enjoying himself. Unfortunately, his singing is fairly forgettable. The song's been done, it is a crowd pleaser...but I don't know if it will get him votes. If he does get voted through, it will be for those dimples!

9) Ann Marie Boskovitch (Natural Woman): Ann Marie gave some of the best female vocals of the night, I thought. My only issue with her is that, on her close-ups, she seriously looked (and sounded) like she was much, MUCH older than she actually is. Her make up is old fashioned, and her mannerisms while she's singing are equally old fashioned. She needs to "dirty up" a little bit. She's a CUTE girl. I'm not saying she needs to wear shorter skirts or show more cleavage - I'm just saying her look is a little pageant, a little plain. Pull your hair off your face, get a little more color and interest in your clothes, and lighten up on the bronzer a little bit. She was one of Lo Gung's favorites, so I hope she continues on to the next round!

10) Steven Fowler (Rock With You): Whoo boy. I didn't get it at all! The shirt, the weird disco lighting, the crazy keyboard...it's like I said before, if you're going to tackle one of these Crazy Famous Artists, you've got to CHANGE IT UP. By arranging the song to sound like Michael's version, and even keeping it with a weird 70's theme, he almost guarantees that he's going to come off like a karaoke singer! And he did. So sad - he's got a better voice than that.

11)Tatiana Del Toro (Saving all My Love For You): Best female vocals of the night. What was that? Did you hear something? Tatiana, sweetie - you've got the vocals, but you don't have the personality. Her singing well annoyed me more than anything else last night, because everybody wants to dislike her. She makes me feel guilty like that! Loved the dress, loved the look, thought the vocals were really good. That being said, where does she fit in the Music World? I'm not positive she fits into Mainstream American Music. I think she hit it on the head - she's an International Music singer. I think she'll be really popular with the Latin Americans, but I'm not sure how relevant she is to Pop, Country, Rock, R&B...the genres popular in America right now. Sure, it's great to say that you are "everything", but that's not how it works - she needs to pick a genre and SELL IT.

12) Danny Gokey (Hero): Danny, you saved the day! Danny's the whole package - heartwarming story, a great friend cheering him on in the audience (doin' it for the team!), cute as a button, confident stage presence, vocals equal to the songs he chooses. Danny, you're going far in this competition!

Here's my picks to go on:
Danny Gokey
Alexis Grace
Anoop Desai

Did you watch last night? What did you think?