American Idol – Top 36, Group 1

I have a confession to make. I’m an American Idol junkie. Yes, I know it’s trash television, that it’s probably rotting my brain, that it represents much of what is wrong with our country, and that my watching it means the terrorists have already won.

But I’m completely hooked.

I blame the wife. For five seasons I refused to be part of it. Then she convinced me to watch, and I was hooked within a couple of episodes.

I haven’t blogged on it because I usually don’t watch the episodes until several days after they air (due to the wife’s work schedule). Last night, however, we watched both the Tuesday night competition and the Wednesday night results show. So, here are my thoughts on the three that moved on…

Alexis Grace
I Never Loved a Man

Each time I see Alexis perform, I like her more. The shy little girl has clearly come out of shell and shown that she has a huge voice. “I Never Loved a Man” is a really big song and she nailed it. Best performance of the night by far.

Michael Sarver
I Don’t Want to Be

I really like Michael. He seems like a great guy and has a fantastic voice.

I really, really didn’t like his performance. It didn’t match him in any way, and was frankly boring. He needs to stick to the soulful songs.

I’m glad he made it to the Top Twelve, but I don’t see him lasting there once they start competing.

Danny Gokey
Hero

Even though the memorial for his wife is getting a bit old (yes, it’s tragic, but AI is milking it too much), and the man-crush on BFF Jamar Rogers is a bit bizarre, I enjoy watching Danny perform. He has a fantastic voice and a great stage presence. Of everyone we’ve seen so far, he’s the most polished and ready to record.

His greatest negative is that we really haven’t seen him grow and improve yet. Usually, those that make it to the last few weeks show improvement as the show goes one.

Danny performances have been completely consistent. They’ve also been very good, mind you, but I’m not sure they’re good enough for him to win if he doesn’t progress in some way.

Before I run, I do have a couple of comments about American Idol Drama Queen Tatiana Del Toro…

This woman is clearly a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Between the constant drama and total focus on herself, she also rather annoying.

But she can sing.

When she said she was going to perform “Saving All My Love for You”, I knew we were about to find out just how good she actually is. It’s a huge song that will destroy someone whose voice isn’t big enough.

While she had some pitch problems, she held it all together are really did quite well. She’s got real talent.

Too bad she’s annoying as hell.