Hello,
After 6 audition cities here's my Top 25. This list will probably jump around all over the place as we get closer to the Top 24 being announced. Some of these singers are flash in the pans, some may do better after a few performances. This Top 25 comes from 61 partial auditions that have been shown. But by my count 156 people have gone through to Hollywood. Other than maybe a brief glimpse 95 people haven't had any screen time where they sing. In other words, this list will be in constant flux until Hollywood week at least.
Why did I pick a Top 25? ew.com weekly's Michael Slezak, who has got perhaps the greatest job in the world, only has a Top 20 list. Slacker! My rankings differ quite a bit from his.
First let me start with a couple of people that did not make my list but I think can do well in this competition.
Jermaine Purifoy, I liked his performance but he sang "Smile". I think that's one of the most boring songs of all-time.
Keith Semple, he sang the cheesy 80's Bryan Adams song "Heaven". Simon said "no" to him and Semple handled the rejection with class. The other three judges sent him through. I think he could be very good or very bad.
My top 25 (until at least the next auditions):
25) Amadeo Diricco: He sang the great Blues legend Muddy Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man". Extra points for singing such a great and relatively unknown song. I like his voice as well.
24) John Park: He was the one that Shania Twain fell all over herself over. He sang Blood, Sweat and Tears "I Love You More Than You Know". Another obscure but very good song. I thought he was good, but I'm skeptical he can be the next American Idol.
23) Andrew Garcia: Michael Slezak is one of the many people who thinks he actually improved on Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning". I think he'll be lucky to make the Top 24 but I wouldn't say it's impossible for him. He seems like a likable guy.
22) Katie Stevens: She sang Etta James "At Last" and did a good job with it. I like the sound of her voice. (Recover soon Miss James.) She could potentially go Top 12, but I don't think she will win the whole thing. She's only 16, people that young tend to wash out.
21) Miriam Lemouni: I liked her in spite of her singing an overwrought Miley Cyrus song. I like Lemouni's voice much more than Cyrus' voice. Please Miriam pick someone else's songs besides Cyrus' from now on.
20) Antonio Wheeler (Skii Bo Ski): He sang the Temptations "I Heard It Through The Grapevine". I liked his singing of that and I also liked his self-confidence. He made me chuckle several times during his audition. Is he going to win the whole thing? No! Is he going to provide a lot of laughs? Hopefully.
19) Noel Reese: She sang Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". I love her voice. She does have a couple of downsides though. She's yet another youngster and I hope she got with a stylist once she got to Hollywood.
18) Janell Wheeler: She sang the Animals "House of the Rising Sun". I did not have this song on my iTunes so I bought it after she sang it. This song about a house of prostitution is an all-time classic, just a very powerful song. I think she could make the Top 12 but is a very long shot to winning the whole thing. (Of course I thought the same thing about Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.)
17) Jim Ranger: He sang his own original composition, "Drive". A song I like a lot. He seems like a very likable guy. I hate to write this but I just don't see him going far in this competition. I hope I'm wrong about that.
16) Benjamin Bright: He sang Stevie Wonder's "All My Lovin". I really, really like his voice. I think he has the potential to go a long way.
15) Claire Fuller: I couldn't identify the song she sang, but I really like her as well. I think she could challenge for the whole title. It doesn't hurt that she's a complete babe.
14) Jennifer Hirsh: She sang "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead". This is the song from "The Wizard of Oz". I thought it was an odd choice of song, but I liked her voice. The voice is much more important. Amazingly enough napster.com has 103 different versions of "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead". I love Ella Fitzgerald's jazzy version.
13) Bosa Mora: He added a lot of soul to the George Strait song "You Look So Good In Love". The judges seemed to be mixed on him, but I liked him. It will be interesting to see how far he goes. I ranked him 5/5 but I have begin to rethink that a bit. Out of all the people I scored with 5 or 4.5 he's the last.
12) Angela Martin, the seemingly cursed contestant. Two years ago she got to Hollywood after her father died. Last year she made the Top 50, but had to return home. There was a warrant out for her arrest, she had to go take care of a speeding ticket. This year her Mom is missing. She sang the Mary J. Blige song "Just Fine". I like her voice and how she started out this song. But as the song went on, her performance went downhill. I think she could be this year's Lil Rounds.
11) Kimberly Carver: Another contestant that sang an original composition. I really, really like and think she has a lot of potential to do well in this competition.
10) Seth Rollins: I loved, loved his awesome version of Frank Sinatra's "Someone To Watch Over Me". I absolutely love his voice and hope he goes a long ways. I just have the feeling he's going to break down along the way and not live up to his potential.
9) Tasha Layton: She sang the Joss Stone song, "Baby, Baby, Baby". She's a personal assistant by day and a minister by night. She has a lot of potential and I think she should make it into the Top 12. Another contestant that won't be hurt by the fact that she's a babe.
8) Katelyn Epperly: She sang Duffy's "Syrup and Honey". I don't remember a lot about her, that could be a problem. She needs to break out in Hollywood week.
7) Leah Laurenti: She sang Ella Fitzgerald's "Blue Skies". Another one who is a bit forgettable and needs to break out in Hollywood week.
6) General Larry Platt: Yeah I know he didn't make it to Hollywood, but he's one of my favorites from the auditions. I absolutely loved his "Pants On The Ground". Maybe he can try out for "X Factor", it has no age limit.
5) Jermaine Sellers: I loved his version of Joan Osborne's "One of Us". Joan Osborne is one of the most underappreiciated singers currently working. I think he has better long term chances that Mallory, but I like Mallory more.
4) Mallory Haley. Again another person that's probably too young to win the whole thing. As Kara Disregardia would say, she's "a package artist". She tore it up on Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart".
3) Ashley Rodriguez: She sang a fantastic version of the great Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You". She's got the babe/ great singer combination going on as well. She could challenge for the title.
2) Todrick Hall: He sang his own original composition which I'm calling the "AI" song. I really liked his voice, his personality and his great song. Who knows how much if any the controversy he's going to hurt him. I expect he has a good shot of making it to the Top 5 or 6 at least.
1) Luke Shaffer: I really like, like him and think he has a great chance of becoming the next American Idol. I absolutely the song he sang, Secondhand Serenade's "Fall For You". For a song I have never heard of, I thought he sng that song very well.
Quick reviews: Jay Reatard recently passed away which is bringing his music some notoriety. Many people considered him an up and comer in the music business before his death. I don't quite get the love.
Another band I've heard a lot about is The Hold Steady. Another band I just don't get. I don't think their singer or their songs are that good. I don't see them getting much more popular than they are now.
Then there is a Randy Jackson recommended band, Paper Tongues. All I could find was an ep on Napster. Randy Jackson comes off a lot more intelligent in this Time feature called Short List. I wish he would show more of that intelligence on "AI". They are okay, definitely better than Jay Reatard or The Hold Steady.
Now I'm listening to Cascada who I absolutely love. Thanks to a terrible contestant on "American Idol" last season for bringing her to my attention. I love her, she rules. I'm really digging hot dance music from people like her and Lady Gaga. I love Cascada's dancetastic version of Roxette's "How Do You Do?"
themusicaddict
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