Full Article Text
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]
APRIL 5, 2009
HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO
COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE
Make HuffPost Your HomePage
Get Email Alerts
Twitter: Follow Us
BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More...
LOG IN | SIGN UP
Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted February 18, 2009 | 11:35 AM (EST)
BIO
Become a
Fan
Get EmailAlerts
Bloggers'Index
American Idol -- Top 36 Round
One
Read More: American Idol , Danny Gokey , Paula Abdul ,
Randy Jackson , Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , Tatiana Del Toro, Entertainment News
UPDATE: Hollywood Reporter says that
American Idol drew 25.1 million people for its
two hour broadcast, up a tad from last week.
Now I start to pay attention. Some people love
the goofy auditions. Some love the high drama ofHollywood Week(s). I really enjoy the show oncethe focus is on the singing and we actually get tovote. How much did America enjoy it? We won'tknow until Friday because the ratings are beingheld back for three days by Nielsen while 421
stations around the country convert to all digital.
This could seriously mess with the overnights and Nielsen wants to make sure it gets the numbersright.
So on to the Top 36, with a guarantee from me that 20+ million people were checking out Tatiana,
Danny and the rest. I listed Tatiana first, but the suggestion from Mediaweek's Marc Berman that
she will be the top female vote getter is too horrible to contemplate. For the next three weeks, we
get 12 contestants performing for 80 seconds each. The top male and female vote getter move on,
as does the next highest vote getter of them all. That makes nine in all with a Wild Card round
where the rest get to perform again and the judges select three more. So out of 100,000 auditions,
it's down to this. I suppose you could argue about the mix of people in each group but it seemed to
work out alright. I don't think more than three people gave a decent performance.
Jackie Tohn -- raspy rocker chick wearing some hot pants from the Seventies and singing Elvis
Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," a minor tune of his reworked and made famous via a Nikead. She sort of rapped a bit and growled a bit and I liked her Farrah Fawcett hair. But veryunmemorable. Bizarrely, Randy, Kara and Paula all said it was great...except for the singing. Huh?
Ricky Braddy -- One of a number of people being introduced to us practically for the first time.
Clearly a judge favorite and I dug the red velvet jacket, but he was draggy and a bit precious to me,
Be the First to
Submit
This Story to Digg
Get Breaking News Alerts
Share
Print
Comments
never spam
Popular Stories on HuffPost
Fashion Face-Off!
Michelle Obama And
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
Finally Meet In
France (VIDEO,
PHOTOS, POLL)
*Video, poll and slideshow
(to...
Levi Johnston TalksSafe Sex With Tyra
Banks (VIDEO)
***UPDATE*** 8:30pm:
People.com is reporting
that Sarah Palin hasissued...
Oscar de la RentaSlams Michelle
Obama's Buckingham
Outfit As MajorDesigners Feel
Ignored
While Michelle Obamahas made lesser...
Verena von Pfetten 7
Lessons To BeLearned From Carla
Bruni
So here's the thing.There's no shortage ofarticles dedicated to that
certain je ne...
Huff TV Arianna
Discusses MichelleObama's "Fantastic"
Madonna Jets Out Of Malawi
More in Entertainment: Farrah
Hospitalized... Madonna Tot's Dad
Found... Choreographer: Rapist?...
WATCH: SNL: Madonna And Angelina
In Weekend Update Adoption-Off
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]especially with the fluttering eyes and iffy falsetto. His parents were already sporting "The Braddy
Bunch" t-shirt and I couldn't help wondering if they made them for the show or have had them for
years. Randy, Kara and Paula all seemed wowed but Simon nailed it by calling him "a nice shy guy
with a very good voice."
Alexis Grace -- looking rather mature and dressed up, Grace sang Aretha's "Never Loved A Man"
and while she never owned it and was a tad dowdy looks-wise, all the judges loved her and Smon
trotted out the Kelly Clarkson reference, which was the first time Grace lost her reserve and
seemed overwhelmed. In the audience we get a glimpse of Neil Patrick Harris (a hell of a singer
himself) and Ted Danson. If only they would have a theme week devoted to Dr. Horrible.
Brent Keith -- sang "Hick Town" with some serious dimples on display. He wasn't great, but this
was the first time I felt like the performer knew who they were and what kind of artist they wanted
to be. Randy and Paula liked him, Kara was mixed and Simon thought no one would remember it.
Simon also got off the funniest line when Paula named some former Idols who recorded country
music as an example of the success Brent could have and Simon responded with "What HAS
happened to Bucky Convington?" As always, he is seen as mean for being blunt when in fact it wasPaula who was silly for touting Bucky as a success story. I think country fans could support Brentbut unfortunately two much more popular male singers performed tonight.
Stevie Wright -- 17 year old sweetie who sang Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" very poorly.
All the judges panned her, with Randy, Kara and Paula all saying, "Who are you?" instead of just
saying a performance was bad, they repeatedly spent the night telling performers they should havestuck with the type of song they wowed them with during auditions. (Was Stevie really supposed tokeep dragging out old soul classics like "At Last" every week? The truth is that you have to sing allsorts of genres to win on Idol, so anyone showing versatility has a big advantage. And if Wright haddone a good job, they would have praised her for showing another side of her personality. Simonalmost made her cry by saying she would be going home.
Anoop Desai -- sang "Angel Of Mine," a tune I don't even know. It was too serious an the judges
were all mixed, saying they liked him but not the song. Still, Simon said he had "massive likability"
and thanks to all the airtime he enjoyed, I bet Anoop has enough of a fan base to make it through.
Casey Carlson -- sang "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by the Police. Tons of hair on
display and the band sounded especially tinny in the background, prompting Simon to make one of
numerous derogatory comments about the arrangements and the band's performance. Everyone
hated it but I hated it when the judges acted as if no one should ever sing a Police tune. "Nobodydoes those songs" insisted Kara. By the way, this is really Kara's first chance to shine and shehasn't. I thought she fit in smoothly during the auditions, but I'm waiting for her to offer up onefresh insight that none of the others had. So far, she's either gushing too much or seeming to echoRandy. There's only so much you can say about an 80 second performance, so that's not a lack ofimagination on her part. But if you've got a new judge, you want to hear them SAY something newand different. Otherwise, why are they there?
Michael Sarver -- dragged out that Gavin DeGraw tune and to my mind made Brent look good.
All his attempts to get gritty or rock out fell flat.Ann Marie Boskovich -- more Aretha, this time "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman."
She's one of the ringers, a demo singer and she looked great in a blue dress. I felt like the judges
were harder on her because of her pro background, which is appropriate in my book: she shouldhave the experience to shine more at this early stage. Simon's comment - that if they were lookingfor the "best hotel singer in California" -- was especially apt and cruel.
Stephen Fowler -- butchered Michael Jackson's "Rock With You," especially on the big high
notes, which strangely was the one part of his awful performance the judges complimented. Agai,
kara insisted that "'Rock With You' is the kiss of death. It belongs to one artist. Michael Jackson."Unless of course you sing it well, in which case it would have been a great performance.
Tatiana Del Toro -- a nice pretty outift that wasn't too dressy (often the mistake women make
when singing something like a Whitney Houston ballad), Tatiana was relatively demure, sure, butexactly how kooky could she behave when standing onstage and singing "Saving All My Love ForYou?" Really, what did the judges expect her to do? Her dramatic pose at the end was priceless, aswas her response to the question 'who are you?' "I fit everywhere," said Tatiana. "It's world music.It's all genres." Yes, book her on a reality show pronto. No, do not put her through for not totally
Style On CBS'
"Washington
Unplugged"
Arianna was on CBS'
"Washington...
Alex Leo The "Real
Housewives Of New
York City" Flowchart
Of Hate
I'm a little embarrassed tolove this show as much
as...
"BRUNO" TRAILER!
Calamity, AfricanBabies, Chase
Scenes And More
(NSFW VIDEO)
IT'S HERE! The trailer forthis July's Sacha BaronCohen...
NATO Leaders FocusOn Afghanistan, But
Most Reject Obama's
Plea For Troops(SLIDESHOW)
STRASBOURG, France— On the eve of the
NATO...
First Lady Fashion At
Friday's NATO
Concert (PHOTOS)
Another night, another
fashion opportunity for
NATO leaders and their
spouses! See...
Diana Palin, SarahPalin's Sister-In-Law,Arrested For
Breaking Into Home
ANCHORAGE, Alaska —Police say Alaska Gov....
John Oliver Explains
The Real Reason You
Never Touch The
Queen (VIDEO)
Obama Teases
Reporter From India
During Press
Conference (VIDEO)
Obama held a conference
packed with press from
around the world on
Thursday. He called...
Terrifying Horse And
Rider Fall During
English Race
(SLIDESHOW)
A harrowing horse fall atthe John Smith's FoxHunters' Chase...
Jim Cramer DeclaresThe Depression"Over" (VIDEO)
On Thursday's episode of"Mad Money" host Jim
Cramer declared that the
depression...
Scientists Find
Rocket Fuel
Chemical In Infant
Formula
ATLANTA — Traces of a
chemical used in rocket
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]
Michelle Obama's Clothing
Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts
Richard Poplawski, Gunman'Lying In Wait,' Kills 3Pittsburgh Police Officers
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden?
John Demjanjuk, Ohio ManAccused Of Being NaziGuard, Avoids Deportation
Comments 2 Pending Comments 0
Reality Star Jade
Goody Buried In
Lavish...
Robert De Niro
Nanny Sues For
$40,000
Demi Moore's
Twitter-Based
Suicide Intervention
Anti-Chris Brown
Song Hits Radios
sucking.
Danny Gokey -- sang Mariah Carey's "Hero," a song I don't like in the least. My friend Aaron
warned me that the jduges whooped it up as if Danny had just delivered the knockout performance
of all time and indeed Randy, Kara and Paula were over the top in their praise. On the other hand,Danny was in fact 100 times better than everyone else tonight. I wasn't listening for sharp notes orchecking out facial tics or how he moved on stage. I was watching a genuine performance. If thesong had been great, I would have liked it even more. But he definitely has a MichaelMcDonald/Taylor Hicks raspy soul thing going on.
So my prediction is that Danny Gokey will be the top male, Alexis Grace the top female and Anoop
will slide in thanks to a strong Desi vote and his massive airtime. Who was your favorite and who
do you think will get through. You can read Ken Levine's rundown here or savor Entertainment
Weekly's Michael Slezak here. And if you miss Melinda Doolittle, her first solo album has received
some strong reviews and you can catch up with Melinda here.
More in Entertainment...
HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now
Ads by Google
How 2 Build Solar Panels?
We Tested 9 Kits... Just 2 Worked! Slash Your
Home Energy Bills by 90%
How2BuildSolarPanels.com
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being
approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
View Comments: Newest
First Expand All
stubbygray See Profile I'm a Fan of stubbygray permalink
Umm.... I said this to Simon last night (yelling at the tv): Bucky Covington has done really, really well for
himself. Since his days on Idol, he's enjoyed three consecutive top 10 singles from his first CD and is
Women's
Rights
Michelle
Obama
Europe
Newspapers
Cars
War Wire
Video
Financial
Crisis
Barack
Obama
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES
»
Books by this author
A cabin of one's own: New
England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine)
by Michael Giltz
Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein. In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine)
by Michael Giltzfuel were found in
samples of...
HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
This Blogger's Books from
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]
HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE
ARCHIVE
Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us
Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type
Comments are closed for this entry
working on his second CD. He's a regular on GAC and the country music world has embraced him
wholeheartedly. He'll be playing music for a living for the rest of his career.
Simon always downplays the success that non-winners experience as a result of their exposure on the
show. Every year, on the show at least, he pretends that there is only one "winner" even though the
show has launched many careers. I can understand that he wants the contestants to be competing, outto win it all. And, of course, in order for the show to remain relevant (and profitable) America must keep
caring enough to vote. If the show lauded the success of every 8th place contestant, like Bucky, then
what would be the point of voting?
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thanks for the Bucky update. I see he also has a brief role in the Hannah Montana featurefilm opening in April. Simon aside, I disagree with your take on the show's attitude towards
the success of non-winners. It is a HUGE part of the show's appeal that numerous people in
the final 12 get a genuine shot at success and make the most of it. Clay Aiken, JenniferHudson, Daughtry -- the list of people that didn't win but have validated the show's ability tofind and promote talent is growing constantly. Heck, they even used a Daughtry song to saygoodbye to contestants. They're no fools: the bigger the stars these people become, the more
the show is proven a success on every level. That's why they're all invited back regularly and
made a fuss over.
You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in or
Ads by Google
How 2 Build Solar Panels?
We Tested 9 Kits... Just 2 Worked! Slash Your
Home Energy Bills by 90%
How2BuildSolarPanels.com
Favorite
Flag as abusive Posted 01:36 PM on 02/18/2009
Favorite
Flag as abusive Posted 02:27 PM on 02/18/2009
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]
APRIL 5, 2009
HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO
COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE
Make HuffPost Your HomePage
Get Email Alerts
Twitter: Follow Us
BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More...
LOG IN | SIGN UP
Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted February 18, 2009 | 11:35 AM (EST)
BIO
Become a
Fan
Get EmailAlerts
Bloggers'Index
American Idol -- Top 36 Round
One
Read More: American Idol , Danny Gokey , Paula Abdul ,
Randy Jackson , Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , Tatiana Del Toro, Entertainment News
UPDATE: Hollywood Reporter says that
American Idol drew 25.1 million people for its
two hour broadcast, up a tad from last week.
Now I start to pay attention. Some people love
the goofy auditions. Some love the high drama ofHollywood Week(s). I really enjoy the show oncethe focus is on the singing and we actually get tovote. How much did America enjoy it? We won'tknow until Friday because the ratings are beingheld back for three days by Nielsen while 421
stations around the country convert to all digital.
This could seriously mess with the overnights and Nielsen wants to make sure it gets the numbersright.
So on to the Top 36, with a guarantee from me that 20+ million people were checking out Tatiana,
Danny and the rest. I listed Tatiana first, but the suggestion from Mediaweek's Marc Berman that
she will be the top female vote getter is too horrible to contemplate. For the next three weeks, we
get 12 contestants performing for 80 seconds each. The top male and female vote getter move on,
as does the next highest vote getter of them all. That makes nine in all with a Wild Card round
where the rest get to perform again and the judges select three more. So out of 100,000 auditions,
it's down to this. I suppose you could argue about the mix of people in each group but it seemed to
work out alright. I don't think more than three people gave a decent performance.
Jackie Tohn -- raspy rocker chick wearing some hot pants from the Seventies and singing Elvis
Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," a minor tune of his reworked and made famous via a Nikead. She sort of rapped a bit and growled a bit and I liked her Farrah Fawcett hair. But veryunmemorable. Bizarrely, Randy, Kara and Paula all said it was great...except for the singing. Huh?
Ricky Braddy -- One of a number of people being introduced to us practically for the first time.
Clearly a judge favorite and I dug the red velvet jacket, but he was draggy and a bit precious to me,
Be the First to
Submit
This Story to Digg
Get Breaking News Alerts
Share
Comments
never spam
Popular Stories on HuffPost
Fashion Face-Off!
Michelle Obama And
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
Finally Meet In
France (VIDEO,
PHOTOS, POLL)
*Video, poll and slideshow
(to...
Levi Johnston TalksSafe Sex With Tyra
Banks (VIDEO)
***UPDATE*** 8:30pm:
People.com is reporting
that Sarah Palin hasissued...
Oscar de la RentaSlams Michelle
Obama's Buckingham
Outfit As MajorDesigners Feel
Ignored
While Michelle Obamahas made lesser...
Verena von Pfetten 7
Lessons To BeLearned From Carla
Bruni
So here's the thing.There's no shortage ofarticles dedicated to that
certain je ne...
Huff TV Arianna
Discusses MichelleObama's "Fantastic"
Madonna Jets Out Of Malawi
More in Entertainment: Farrah
Hospitalized... Madonna Tot's Dad
Found... Choreographer: Rapist?...
WATCH: SNL: Madonna And Angelina
In Weekend Update Adoption-Off
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]especially with the fluttering eyes and iffy falsetto. His parents were already sporting "The Braddy
Bunch" t-shirt and I couldn't help wondering if they made them for the show or have had them for
years. Randy, Kara and Paula all seemed wowed but Simon nailed it by calling him "a nice shy guy
with a very good voice."
Alexis Grace -- looking rather mature and dressed up, Grace sang Aretha's "Never Loved A Man"
and while she never owned it and was a tad dowdy looks-wise, all the judges loved her and Smon
trotted out the Kelly Clarkson reference, which was the first time Grace lost her reserve and
seemed overwhelmed. In the audience we get a glimpse of Neil Patrick Harris (a hell of a singer
himself) and Ted Danson. If only they would have a theme week devoted to Dr. Horrible.
Brent Keith -- sang "Hick Town" with some serious dimples on display. He wasn't great, but this
was the first time I felt like the performer knew who they were and what kind of artist they wanted
to be. Randy and Paula liked him, Kara was mixed and Simon thought no one would remember it.
Simon also got off the funniest line when Paula named some former Idols who recorded country
music as an example of the success Brent could have and Simon responded with "What HAS
happened to Bucky Convington?" As always, he is seen as mean for being blunt when in fact it wasPaula who was silly for touting Bucky as a success story. I think country fans could support Brentbut unfortunately two much more popular male singers performed tonight.
Stevie Wright -- 17 year old sweetie who sang Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" very poorly.
All the judges panned her, with Randy, Kara and Paula all saying, "Who are you?" instead of just
saying a performance was bad, they repeatedly spent the night telling performers they should havestuck with the type of song they wowed them with during auditions. (Was Stevie really supposed tokeep dragging out old soul classics like "At Last" every week? The truth is that you have to sing allsorts of genres to win on Idol, so anyone showing versatility has a big advantage. And if Wright haddone a good job, they would have praised her for showing another side of her personality. Simonalmost made her cry by saying she would be going home.
Anoop Desai -- sang "Angel Of Mine," a tune I don't even know. It was too serious an the judges
were all mixed, saying they liked him but not the song. Still, Simon said he had "massive likability"
and thanks to all the airtime he enjoyed, I bet Anoop has enough of a fan base to make it through.
Casey Carlson -- sang "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by the Police. Tons of hair on
display and the band sounded especially tinny in the background, prompting Simon to make one of
numerous derogatory comments about the arrangements and the band's performance. Everyone
hated it but I hated it when the judges acted as if no one should ever sing a Police tune. "Nobodydoes those songs" insisted Kara. By the way, this is really Kara's first chance to shine and shehasn't. I thought she fit in smoothly during the auditions, but I'm waiting for her to offer up onefresh insight that none of the others had. So far, she's either gushing too much or seeming to echoRandy. There's only so much you can say about an 80 second performance, so that's not a lack ofimagination on her part. But if you've got a new judge, you want to hear them SAY something newand different. Otherwise, why are they there?
Michael Sarver -- dragged out that Gavin DeGraw tune and to my mind made Brent look good.
All his attempts to get gritty or rock out fell flat.Ann Marie Boskovich -- more Aretha, this time "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman."
She's one of the ringers, a demo singer and she looked great in a blue dress. I felt like the judges
were harder on her because of her pro background, which is appropriate in my book: she shouldhave the experience to shine more at this early stage. Simon's comment - that if they were lookingfor the "best hotel singer in California" -- was especially apt and cruel.
Stephen Fowler -- butchered Michael Jackson's "Rock With You," especially on the big high
notes, which strangely was the one part of his awful performance the judges complimented. Agai,
kara insisted that "'Rock With You' is the kiss of death. It belongs to one artist. Michael Jackson."Unless of course you sing it well, in which case it would have been a great performance.
Tatiana Del Toro -- a nice pretty outift that wasn't too dressy (often the mistake women make
when singing something like a Whitney Houston ballad), Tatiana was relatively demure, sure, butexactly how kooky could she behave when standing onstage and singing "Saving All My Love ForYou?" Really, what did the judges expect her to do? Her dramatic pose at the end was priceless, aswas her response to the question 'who are you?' "I fit everywhere," said Tatiana. "It's world music.It's all genres." Yes, book her on a reality show pronto. No, do not put her through for not totally
Style On CBS'
"Washington
Unplugged"
Arianna was on CBS'
"Washington...
Alex Leo The "Real
Housewives Of New
York City" Flowchart
Of Hate
I'm a little embarrassed tolove this show as much
as...
"BRUNO" TRAILER!
Calamity, AfricanBabies, Chase
Scenes And More
(NSFW VIDEO)
IT'S HERE! The trailer forthis July's Sacha BaronCohen...
NATO Leaders FocusOn Afghanistan, But
Most Reject Obama's
Plea For Troops(SLIDESHOW)
STRASBOURG, France— On the eve of the
NATO...
First Lady Fashion At
Friday's NATO
Concert (PHOTOS)
Another night, another
fashion opportunity for
NATO leaders and their
spouses! See...
Diana Palin, SarahPalin's Sister-In-Law,Arrested For
Breaking Into Home
ANCHORAGE, Alaska —Police say Alaska Gov....
John Oliver Explains
The Real Reason You
Never Touch The
Queen (VIDEO)
Obama Teases
Reporter From India
During Press
Conference (VIDEO)
Obama held a conference
packed with press from
around the world on
Thursday. He called...
Terrifying Horse And
Rider Fall During
English Race
(SLIDESHOW)
A harrowing horse fall atthe John Smith's FoxHunters' Chase...
Jim Cramer DeclaresThe Depression"Over" (VIDEO)
On Thursday's episode of"Mad Money" host Jim
Cramer declared that the
depression...
Scientists Find
Rocket Fuel
Chemical In Infant
Formula
ATLANTA — Traces of a
chemical used in rocket
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]
Michelle Obama's Clothing
Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts
Richard Poplawski, Gunman'Lying In Wait,' Kills 3Pittsburgh Police Officers
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden?
John Demjanjuk, Ohio ManAccused Of Being NaziGuard, Avoids Deportation
Comments 2 Pending Comments 0
Reality Star Jade
Goody Buried In
Lavish...
Robert De Niro
Nanny Sues For
$40,000
Demi Moore's
Twitter-Based
Suicide Intervention
Anti-Chris Brown
Song Hits Radios
sucking.
Danny Gokey -- sang Mariah Carey's "Hero," a song I don't like in the least. My friend Aaron
warned me that the jduges whooped it up as if Danny had just delivered the knockout performance
of all time and indeed Randy, Kara and Paula were over the top in their praise. On the other hand,Danny was in fact 100 times better than everyone else tonight. I wasn't listening for sharp notes orchecking out facial tics or how he moved on stage. I was watching a genuine performance. If thesong had been great, I would have liked it even more. But he definitely has a MichaelMcDonald/Taylor Hicks raspy soul thing going on.
So my prediction is that Danny Gokey will be the top male, Alexis Grace the top female and Anoop
will slide in thanks to a strong Desi vote and his massive airtime. Who was your favorite and who
do you think will get through. You can read Ken Levine's rundown here or savor Entertainment
Weekly's Michael Slezak here. And if you miss Melinda Doolittle, her first solo album has received
some strong reviews and you can catch up with Melinda here.
More in Entertainment...
HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now
Ads by Google
How 2 Build Solar Panels?
We Tested 9 Kits... Just 2 Worked! Slash Your
Home Energy Bills by 90%
How2BuildSolarPanels.com
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being
approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
View Comments: Newest
First Expand All
stubbygray See Profile I'm a Fan of stubbygray permalink
Umm.... I said this to Simon last night (yelling at the tv): Bucky Covington has done really, really well for
himself. Since his days on Idol, he's enjoyed three consecutive top 10 singles from his first CD and is
Women's
Rights
Michelle
Obama
Europe
Newspapers
Cars
War Wire
Video
Financial
Crisis
Barack
Obama
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES
»
Books by this author
A cabin of one's own: New
England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine)
by Michael Giltz
Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein. In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine)
by Michael Giltzfuel were found in
samples of...
HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
This Blogger's Books from
Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round One
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_167895.html [4/5/2009 12:22:16 PM]
HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE
ARCHIVE
Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us
Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type
Comments are closed for this entry
working on his second CD. He's a regular on GAC and the country music world has embraced him
wholeheartedly. He'll be playing music for a living for the rest of his career.
Simon always downplays the success that non-winners experience as a result of their exposure on the
show. Every year, on the show at least, he pretends that there is only one "winner" even though the
show has launched many careers. I can understand that he wants the contestants to be competing, outto win it all. And, of course, in order for the show to remain relevant (and profitable) America must keep
caring enough to vote. If the show lauded the success of every 8th place contestant, like Bucky, then
what would be the point of voting?
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thanks for the Bucky update. I see he also has a brief role in the Hannah Montana featurefilm opening in April. Simon aside, I disagree with your take on the show's attitude towards
the success of non-winners. It is a HUGE part of the show's appeal that numerous people in
the final 12 get a genuine shot at success and make the most of it. Clay Aiken, JenniferHudson, Daughtry -- the list of people that didn't win but have validated the show's ability tofind and promote talent is growing constantly. Heck, they even used a Daughtry song to saygoodbye to contestants. They're no fools: the bigger the stars these people become, the more
the show is proven a success on every level. That's why they're all invited back regularly and
made a fuss over.
You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in or
Ads by Google
How 2 Build Solar Panels?
We Tested 9 Kits... Just 2 Worked! Slash Your
Home Energy Bills by 90%
How2BuildSolarPanels.com
Favorite
Flag as abusive Posted 01:36 PM on 02/18/2009
Favorite
Flag as abusive Posted 02:27 PM on 02/18/2009