AI7 Guys: The Final Cut

Last night was the final round of the "semifinals" for the guys... it was a trip back to the 1980s which will result in two more cuts before we have our 6 male Idol finalists for this season. 

It was pretty easy for me to cut the guys into just two groups tonight... so that's what I'll do... and provide pictures to boot!  (What's this "work" you speak of?")

These guys should safely move into the finals:

David C ("Hello")
Jason ("Hallelujah"/Jeff Buckley version)
David H ("It's All Coming Back To Me Now")
David A ("Another Day in Paradise")

Another very good night for the Davids!   I am a big fan of contestants surprising me and taking a song and making it the oft-desired but rarely well-executed "one's own"... and David Cook absolutely did that with a rocked out version of, what had been up to last night, a pretty darn treacly ballad by Lionel Richie.  If David Archuleta had a "moment" last week with Imagine, Jason certainly had a similar one this week... wisely ditching the guitar with a stirring take on Hallelujah.  Speaking of David Archuleta, while still the odds-on favorite to win the whole thing (or be the Final 3 or 4 "shocking" elimination), I knocked him down a peg or two for a bit of "same old, same old" and the "it has a important message" shtick. 

And alas, that brings us to the pride of Phoenix, the home of the country's most (in)famous all-nude male cabaret, David Hernandez.  We're still jones-ing on him and loved his big notes on what has to be the first male cover version of a Celine Dion song (granted it comes via Meatloaf).  If for some reason David does not survive tonight, I believe his checkered past won't be to blame... it will be because of the absolutely worst "bumper" of the night with David going on (at length!) about a photo shoot ruined by a... booger.  Walnut-sized!?!!  Ay!  I would have just lied and made up with something else!

Two of these guys should be going....

Michael ("Don't You Forget About Me")
Danny ("Tainted Love")
Chikezie ("All The Woman I Need")
Luke ("Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)")

Though I don't think it will be Aussie Michael... though I have to say I am not he has not been impressing me over these last couple of weeks.  I didn't like his Fleetwood Mac last week and I thought this week he was a bit shouty.  I agree with the judges that he hasn't quite hooked up to the right song (Light My Fire was the closest -- and was Randy confused when saying Michael was like Michael Hutchence of INXS when it was a Simple Minds song??).   

I totally get a kick out of Danny and I liked the arrangement and performance... but I am quite sure the feeling is not mutual with the rest of America... you won't get any argument from me that he is a bit "much."  (EW's Michael Slezak is similarly conflicted about Noriega enjoying the "copious amounts of sass and panache" but adding he "needs a humble pie launched directly at his face"... ha!)

While Luther Vandross did cover the song as well, I think Chikezie couldn't quite erase from many a mind (including mine) that it's a Whitney Houston song... compounding the ineffective gender re-bender-ing was that while it was a good vocal, it was not outstanding or particularly memorable (particularly compared to last week)... so I think that puts him in danger. 

And while he is still quite lovely to look at, it will be seriously wrong if Luke makes it to the final over pretty much any of the other guys.  Often ousted contestants have to sing some ominously appropriate lyric (think just last week.. Alexandrea "If you leave me now"... Alaina "My eyes are not the first to cry").... so Luke has pretty bad lyric karma... so just wake me up before he go goes!

Comments

[jen maiser]

I'm rooting for Chikezie and Luke to go. Loooooved David C's song. Wow. And I really like Jason too.

[Jeff]

Agreed. I'm finding that one thing I like about AI is being surprised by new interpretations (when they work). At first, I was like, "Hello"? Really? But David C rocked it. Same with "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"... at first I thought, oh no, is he really taking on Celine? But David H made it work. Oh, and at the line "there were things I'd never do again, but they just always seemed right," Thom and I just had to snicker. Heh.