American Idol: Top 8 Men

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Last night we saw the women in the competition take the stage on American Idol. Tonight was the men's turn, and it was an okay show. Then men did okay. We had a few stand-out performances, but nothing all that wow impressive in my mind. the judges seem to be more on tonight, but once again Paula raised my eyebrow once or twice with her behavior. Let's talk about tonight's performances.

Gedeon McKinney opened tonight's program with his performance of a classic love song. Every time I see Gedeon take the stage, I find it hard to believe he is only seventeen years old. He has a great voice that works well with the classics. He did good tonight, and I am personally picky when someone sings that song because it is one of my all-time favorites.

Next, we have Chris Daughtry. He has amazed me week after week, and this week was no exception. He has a great rock voice, and I'd buy his CD for sure when he releases one. I think we'll see Chris make it past this competition. Fuel has already approached him to take over their lead singing position if this American Idol gig doesn't work out. Chris is going places. That is for sure.

Next up was Kevin Covais. I think Kevin is just adorable, but I wasn't all that impressed with this week's performance. The same for Will Makar. I wouldn't be too surprised if these were the two that went home this week. Bucky came in and performed between these two, and he did his country thing. He is great each and every week, but I think I agree with Simon. I'm not sure if Bucky is American Idol material.

Taylor Hicks, Elliot Yamin and Ace Young closed out the night. Taylor and Elliot never fail to put in good performances, and they did so again tonight. However, tonight is the first night I found myself not enjoying Ace's performance. Randy and Paula loved him, but I found myself cringing for the first time tonight. Perhaps, I just don't like falsetto.

Tomorrow night, we will know who our top twelve in this year's competition. In my mind though, it is getting pretty clear who our final two will be. I think this competition will end up being between Chris and Mandisa. They have clearly dominated this competition, and I think they will continue to do so. Check back tomorrow night for my thoughts on this week's eliminations. Here are the songs performed on this week's show available for download via iTunes:

Gedeon McKinney: When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
Chris Daughtry: Broken - Seether
Kevin Covais: Vincent - Don McLean
Bucky Covington: Wave on Wave - Pat Green
Will Makar: How sweet it is - James Taylor
Taylor Hicks: Takin' it to the streets - Doobie Brothers
Elliot Yamin: Heaven - Bryan Adams
Ace Young: Butterflies - Michael Jackson