American Idol - The Top 12 Men

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Well, I think many of you that have been following my American Idol commentary since the season began know I've been rooting pretty big for the ladies in the competition. Well, tonight it was the guys turns to show me and America just what they have, and let me tell you I was truly impressed by the male singers in this year's competition. The top twelve men came out tonight, and they did well. A few had their problems, and Simon had no problem pointing those out to them when needed. I actually found myself agreeing with Simon some, but I think he was too harsh with others.

Tonight though we saw performances of songs from everyone to Barry Manilow to Bon Jovi and George Michael. Music from the 50s all the way to the 90s and beyond made for ride range of performances and vocals from our men. In my mind, the men actually stepped up a bit more tonight than the ladies did last night even. This competition is anyone's game at this point. Let's talk about tonight's performances.

The show opened up with Patrick Hall. He rocked out a bit, and this was a step out of his music style for him. The judges caught onto that right away, and they told him to stick to what he is. I agree. I love the song he chose, but it wasn't the song for him. Next up, we had David Radford. This one is the Rat Pack style crooner, and he also jumped out of his style a bit with his song choice. The judges were definitely not feeling the performance, and neither was I. Paula did like him, but Randy and Simon didn't. Third, we had country rocker Bucky Covington. He came out and he wow'ed both me and the judges. He did really well, and I haven't really seen him much up to this point in the competition, but tonight really made me take notice of him. He's also very real as Ryan mentioned, and that makes him very likeable and accessible to the American Public.

Now let's talk about some performances that weren't all that great in my mind tonight. They were good performances, but possibly not American Idol material. I actually found myself agreeing with Simon on some points. I think he went too far with some of his critiques, but I agreed with the points he made. The three that stand out in my mind as "just okay" are Will Makar, Jose Penala, Kevin Covais and Bobby Bennett. These three just didn't hit a homerun for me. I actually found myself looking away and not wanting to watch them perform. Their voices just weren't strong enough in my mind tonight.

The performances that stood out to me as excellent tonight were Chris Daughtry, Gedeon McKinney, Elliot Yamin, Ace Young, and Taylor Hicks. I am almost positive we will see these five continue on to next week's round. Chris happened to pick one of my favorite songs of all time, and I am a die hard Bon Jovi fan, and he did really well. He isn't Jon Bon Jovi, but he made the song his. Ace did the same with his performance of George Michael. Another tough song for anyone because George's voice is quite distinctive. As for Taylor Hicks, I really am starting to love this guy. I heard some songs off his recently self-released CD, and he is really making me take notice of him.

There were a couple of things I noticed about tonight's show. I also noticed it last night. We have a wide range of performers here, but we have a lot of very young ones. These teens, if they don't make it here, we will see again. I have no doubt of that in my mind. Another thing I noticed tonight is the judges aren't really matching up. Two will go one way, and Simon will go another. Ryan even jumped in tonight with one of the singers, Bobby Bennett, and he tried to help the guy out. Simon wasn't having it though.

Tomorrow night, we will lose four contestants - two men and two ladies. Who do you think will stay on pass tomorrow night America? Check below for a list of songs performed on tonight's show, all available for download via iTunes.

Patrick Hall: Come to my window - Melissa Etherdige
David Radford: Crazy Little Thing Called Love - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Bucky Covington: Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Will Makar: I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
Jose Penala: Reasons - Earth, Wind & Fire
Chris Daughtry: Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Kevin Covais: One Last Cry - Brian McKnight
Gedeon McKinney: Shout - Isley Brothers
Elliot Yamin: If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
Bobby Bennett: Copacabana - Barry Manilow
Ace Young: Father Figure - George Michael
Taylor Hicks: Levon - Elton John

For another person's perspective on the American Idol competition, check out my all new Blog of the Week on my sidebar, The Dramedy of Life. She has some more thoughts on this year's competition so definitely check her out!