American Idol Top 24 “Final Judgment”: Cocky Doesn’t Cut It
With an obvious movie plug for “Jumpers” which by the way I can’t wait to see, Hayden Christenson and Ryan Seacrest did a little “Jumper” intro for who was going to be in the Top 24 for American Idol. I loved it! They started off somewhere in Egypt and then “jumped” back to Hollywood for the results. Ryan then invited Hayden over to watch him host the Emmy’s on tape and Hayden “jumped” somewhere else. I’m so glad Ryan is such a great sport!
So, it was 7:30 a.m. and the “kids” were eating breakfast while Simon, Paula, and Randy were still deliberating over who the final 24 would be. It must be tough to pick just 12 guys and 12 girls.
The list was complete but Simon Cowell was not happy with some of the choices and was obviously irritated.
In the holding room the contestants must have had some serious nerves to wait to see if they would make it or not. The first contestant to “find out” was Ronald Hodge (who I kind of remembered from earlier shows) and it was a “no” for him. Too bad for Ronald. Then Nina Shaw (who I kind of remembered from earlier shows) didn’t make it either or a couple other girls I had never seen.
Then it was Carly Smithson’s turn. She had better make it! That girl can sing. She had to make it. That poor girl just sat there and bawled as Paula talked through the audition process and how she did and blah, blah, blah, and then finally told her she made it. Simon was like put her out of her misery and tell her already Paula! I agreed. As Carly cried her way in relief to the elevator Simon was like you tortured her Paula!! She really did.
Next was David Cook the rocker who Simon wasn’t crazy about but I’m sure the rest of us were! Oh yeah! He made it. Then Amanda Overmyer the rock and roll nurse made it too. Oh hooray. We need Amanda on the show, a true through and through for real rock girl.
Up next was darling David Archuleta who was only 16 years old with that amazing voice. But was he ready? Was he confident enough? Could he handle the pressure as a 16 year old? It was unanimous from the judges that David was put through into the Top 24. I was thrilled.
As we visited the holding room again I couldn’t help but imagine sitting down in that room waiting and waiting was absolute torture. Some of them had to sit there eight or more hours!! Thankfully for Kristy Lee Cook it was her turn. She was the gal who resorted back to Amazing Grace for her final audition to play it safe and do what she knew she could do. Kristy made it! She was most certainly a lovely lady but would she stand out? Would her vocals stand out enough? We’ll have to see come next week.
Then there was Brooke White the nanny who was called to face the judges next and she was already crying as she stepped off the elevator to meet with them. She was super emotional with anticipation and why wouldn’t she be. This would be the end of the road for her if she did not make it. Well, no fear here! Brooke made the cut. Good thing or she would have had to have been scraped off the floor.
Next up was Danny Noriega who was hoping his hair was pretty enough to make it through and of course he did. Why wouldn’t he with that great voice of his!! So did Jason Castro, Luke Menard, and Alexandrea Lushington. They were all people I sort of remembered. After they got the good news that they made it into the Top 24 it was Ramiele Malubay’s turn to face the music. Who could forget that itty bitty girl with the big power voice? Well, they didn’t waste anytime with her but sent her right on through. All those nerves for nothing!
Sadly more had to be cut and the incredibly cordial and polite cowboy didn’t make it but he had a great attitude. After shedding an imaginary tear I quickly forgot the loss and was eager to see if Michael Johns the Australian would make it to the live show. Yes! He made it! He rocked Hollywood week. All was right in the world once again.
Thankfully my favorites (you know, all the good ones they highlighted these past three weeks) were making it through. Would another one of my favorites Syesha Mercado make the cut? The beautiful lady who lost her voice during Hollywood week. I happen to know that her last audition should have sealed the deal for her for sure. She was nervous of course but Paula played a little game with her and was so cute. She asked her how to spell her first name? That would be S-Y-E-S-H-A. There was a YES in her first name. Woohooo. Syesha MADE it!!
As Syesha bounded away toward the elevator for a most jubilant trip back to the holding room it was now Robbie Carrico’s turn to find out his fate. With two rockers through would they want another one? Well, he definitely shone bright at Hollywood week. Simon told him that it wasn’t unanimous but he and Randy decided to put him through. Paula was like and me too Simon! He really did have all three of them behind him. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of him; he wasn’t really featured much on the show so far but he’s likeable and what we did see was good singing.
By five o’clock that night there were still contestants waiting. The judges sent through Garrett Haley (I remember the hair), Kady Malloy (I remember the name), and hooray for Chikezie Eze. I hadn’t seen much of him since the audition city but I’m glad to see him make the final cut. Then Amy Davis (huh), Alaina Whitaker (who), and Jason Yeager (what) made it. Who they heck are they? I love how Idol doesn’t give everyone the same air time! That could be a problem for them. However, Jason Yeager’s reaction was just…I hate to use the word, but precious. He was so excited and then he wanted to cry and he was just so full of joy. It totally made me want to see more of him.
So on and on the clock ticked and finally we got to see Asia’h Epperson. She should make it! Would she make it? Would the loss of her father be something that could hold her back? I think not. She really was the whole package. Well of course she made the Top 24! There were no surprises there. Then it was David Hernandez’s turn. He made it through but it wasn’t unanimous?? What? Why wasn’t it unanimous? He was wonderful. He got a no from one of the judges. I wonder who didn’t want him. Simon? Oh yes, it was Simon. Simon told him to work a heck of a lot harder if he wanted a chance at winning. I wonder why? Is he too boy band for Simon? They edit the show so obviously Simon saw something “weak” in him.
With the day almost over only a couple people were left in the holding room and one of those people was Josiah Leming, an early favorite in my opinion. He thought he was going to be put through but he didn’t know for sure. His gut feeling was yes but man, what did they decide for him? Let’s review. He was groovy at the city auditions. The judges sent him through not sure what to think of his British accent when he sang. Then he wowed during Hollywood week for his first audition but did more than a nose dive, I mean he crashed and burned with no wreckage left in his final audition. Randy pointed out that Hollywood week was bumpy for him and then told him that he did not make it. He needed more consistency and needed to find out who he was. Wow. I almost couldn’t believe that they didn’t send him through. Almost. America likes the humble (remember Simon found him overconfident) and Josiah was just too young and emotionally not mature enough. He cried at everything which I found endearing…to an extent. Don’t get me wrong. I totally would have voted for him every week. I totally dug his style. But, I think it was a unanimous vote to NOT send him through. Well, it was a no go for Josiah. I hope he is okay.
Finally they had the final two guys and the final two gals. Colton Berry (good voice and great hair guy) and Kyle Ensley (super nice resident politician with kind of a glee club voice) were pitted against each other. Who out of those two would they pick? Simon thought a lot of people would like Kyle but Colton had the more trained voice. It wasn’t a unanimous decision and it was very difficult for them to choose. Kyle’s road ended for him (really, I thought for sure he would make it) but Colton got the last male spot on the show. Simon wholeheartedly disagreed with the decision (no offense Colton) to send Colton through because Kyle had something special and people would have really enjoyed him. So, Colton had to sit there and endure that but hopefully it will spur him on to more greatness. Well, maybe Kyle is just meant to be president someday, not bear the American Idol crown. Sniff, sniff. I really hoped Kyle would make it!
The final two gals were Cardin McKinney (she moved to Tennessee to pursue her dreams) and JoAnne Borgella (the plus sized model). I was never too impressed with Cardin except I totally dug her name. JoAnne really should make it out of the two based on performance alone. She was the better singer. Hooray for JoAnne!! She did make it! Now they can all go back home and go to sleep. Even the ones that got cut would have to agree sleeping in their own bed (or car) would be a little slice of heaven after four days of brutal auditions.
I can’t wait until next week. It’s hard to pick so early on who is going to do well and who will not. We’ve seen in past seasons some that were so good in auditions just blow it with song choice and nerves when they hit the live show. But, I would have to say I have my eye on David Archuleta, Michael Johns, Robbie Carrico, David Hernandez (Simon, I don’t get why you didn’t like him), Danny Noriega, and Jason Yeager because of his response for making the cut. For the ladies, whew. Okay, it is way harder to just pick a few gals but my TOP FOUR are Amanda Overmyer, Asia’h Epperson, Syesha Mercado, and Carly Smithson. I also like Brooke White (the nanny) and also Alexandrea Lushington. She certainly has got it going on in vocals and style from what I can remember from her city audition.
But, the true test will be in less than one week when they take the big Idol stage for the first time to perform in front of millions of us. They will have to lay it all out there for the world to see and be secure and hope that America loves them enough to pick up their phone and vote. No matter how good they perform next week at least four of them are saying goodbye to their American Idol dreams. They could all do their best, be the most amazing ever, not forget one note and be perfectly in tune. They could all dress right, look right, perform right, and be right. But the fact of the matter is that no matter if everyone puts there best foot forward people are going to have to lose. Because as we all know…there can only be one American Idol.
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
