Mostly nice looking guys, but some of the girls were just plain.
The woman who sounded sort of like Janis Joplin was cut! Damn…I thought she was good.
Man…I liked Marisa a lot more than Antonella. And some of the guys they kept didn’t sound all that great. Of course, I will bear in mind that we were shown only snippets.
I think Gina could make it, as well as Chris S.
I was thinking Donny Osmond myself. The hair and the teeth.
I never got that Jasmine from S3 was terrified. In fact, I got rather a princessy attitude from her.
I hate when they do the either/or. I said last night that Sundance is getting blatant favoritism, and then they had to pit him against Tommy. I will also join y’all in the Antonella hate; I liked Marissa better too. And I will give Tommy props for flipping off the camera.
Very few people this time who hadn’t been spotlighted before. And I think Melinda Doolittle will be the first woman I fully root for.
Now, as far as spoilers, it’s been said that Ashlyn Carr was cut because she’d been arrested once and Jesus Bin Laden because he wouldn’t change his look. But last night, it appears that they were cut on merit. Also, we didn’t even see Jenry Belafonte’s fate. For all I know, he failed to show up (though I’m sure that’s not the case.)
And shame about Tami. But she took it well. Unlike SOME people.
I think this is the first time you and I pretty much agree on the whole list. I couldn’t help but smile when Simon told Chris he didn’t have a good voice. Robert Fripp (of King Crimson) once said the same thing to Reginald Dwight (now Elton John). 
Sanjaya reminds me of Gene Simmons’ son, Nick .
Chris Sligh is definitely my favorite as of now. I love a contestant who, when interviewed, can give us something more than a “wha?” and a deer in the headlights look. Plus, the guy can sing.
Count me in on the Salmonella … er, Antonella hatred. I think what’s happening is that I hate her friend who got cut and I’m taking it out on her. I also vow right here and now to never, ever vote for the guy who quit last year (Nicholas?). Tommy and about 1,000 other guys deserved it more than he did.
I admit to being a little surprised that Blake made it through. I honestly haven’t heard the guy sing more than two notes. As the judges told him, this is a singing competition, and personally I don’t give a crap about his beatboxing. If that’s what he wants to do he should go start an a capella group or something.
I’m majorly bummed that Tami didn’t make it.
How could they not pick Tami Gosnell? She’s got a spark of true musical talent that goes beyond just her singing.
This is the first year I decided to watch American Idol, and I’m already seriously annoyed. They booted the only truly unique female of the bunch, and kept a whole bunch of completely forgettable, interchangeable pretty girls with technically good voices that sound identical. Reinforcing once again my main criticism of American Idol - it’s all about image and commercial appeal. Artistic merit, aside from technical ability? Not so much. An artist with real opinions on what the music should be just gets in the way of the pop-star manufacturing machine. I mean, Tami could wind up disagreeing with the hired music writers and fashion coach!
This show is designed to crank out Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake clones. Janis Joplin? Thanks, but no thanks.
That is, in fact, what the show was designed to do. However, that goal has always seemed to backfire on them. I know you said this is your first year watching, but if you look back you’ll see that the past winners have not been the stereotypical pop idols. Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Taylor Hicks certainly don’t fit that mold. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood came closer. Have you heard of Bo Bice who was the runner-up in Carrie Underwood’s season? He was definitely much closer to Janis Joplin than Justin Timberlake. The producers may want to shove a pop idol down our throats, but the people who vote have generally told them they want otherwise.
Chris doesn’t fit the mold either. Neither does Lakisha. There may be some other reason that Tami was eliminated. Maybe she just plain didn’t do well in Hollywood. Everybody has bad streaks from time to time. Maybe she had an ill-timed one.
When it came down to the pairs, I would’ve picked the ones the judges let go. I can’t believe the let Marisa go. Her voice was beautiful! But I like Antonella, she has potential.
And I can’t believe they let Sundance through. He’s my pick for irrational hate. The other guy was good, very smooth.
My favorites at this point are Antonella and Sanjay (he’s got a charisma). And I’ve got to cheer on the Korean guy too, but I’m not sure how good he really is.
I got a really cynical vibe out of that final 2x2 elimination. I could picture the producers saying, “OK, we’ve got two big guys, and two skinny brunettes. The voters will get confused if we leave either pair in so…One of each has to go!”
My favorites so far are Chris (love the offbeat sense of humor) and Paul (total cutie and first Asian candidate in…ever?) None of the girls are really standing out to me yet.
I think that in the first couple of seasons, they were more focused on trying to find and bottle the next modular boy band Timberlake or Christina Aguilara pop tart type of winner (does anyone remember Guarini?). The voters over the years have tended to somewhat sabotage those designs, though and more unorthodox types have gotten deep or even won. It seems to me that Simon is a little looser in his standards than he used to be, especially when it comes to looks. There was a time when he almost saw fatness or geekiness as being an automatic disqualifier. He was hesitant to pass Clay Aiken through his initial audition, despite his undeniably phenomenal voice, because “you don’t LOOK like the American Idol.”
Money talks for Simon, though, and I think he’s seen that “looks” he feared might not be commercial have paid off well for him.
He seems to really like the backup singer, by the way (Melinda?). He’s been very encouraging to her, and kissed her on the cheek. I think he likes her humility.
Although we all probably know this already, AmericanIdol.com has been updated with info about the 24 semi-finalists – I’m guessing mostly for the benefit of those of us in the audience (ME!) who are all like, “… Who?” about half these people.
As we all expect, Chris’s interview is very funny.
The only alternative to a Final Two Deathmatch, though, would be: Male #12 comes down the elevator, gets off & celebrates. Ryan then points to the remaining males in the room…“ok, you & you, in the chairs in the back row – you can go home.” Not exactly dramatic.
Did we ever hear BeatBox Guy actually sing?
I can’t believe Sundance got a pass all the way through Hollywood, just based on his audition. That must’ve been one *helluva * audition.
It was really good. Rich and strong. He’s fallen apart since then! I was really surprised they let that girl Alaina (I don’t want to sit down) through; I thought she sounded terrible on the clip they showed, although she’s cute.
Leslie Hunt looks vaguely psychotic. Melinda Doolittle is the backup singer, right? She and Chris and Sanjaya are my faves.
Me too, she seemed to have such a defeatist attitude.
Chris Sligh is married. That surprised me for some reason. I guess I thought he was kind of young but his AI page says he’s 28. Go figure.
My favorite answer in the Q&A’s was Sanjaya’s answer to the question “If you couldn’t sing, what talent would you most like to have?” Sanjaya’s answer: “Singing.”
This year it seems as if they cut waaaay down on the big-headed contestants and instead went for those with a much more humble attitude. The cynic in me thinks this is because the humble ones are more easily handled post season.
And why no word on Sexy McJailbait. Did he just not show up in Hollywood?
Who is this Tami Gosnell person? I’ve watched all the episodes this season and her name doesn’t stand out. Can anyone identify her for me?