American Idol 8 Top 36 Round Three The Winners

SEO TEXT: Article Content for Search Engines

Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_171676.html [4/5/2009 12:09:34 PM] APRIL 5, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Make HuffPost Your HomePage Get Email Alerts Twitter: Follow Us BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More... LOG IN | SIGN UP Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted March 4, 2009 | 01:58 AM (EST) BIO Become a Fan Get EmailAlerts Bloggers'Index American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! Read More: American Idol , Lil Rounds , Paula Abdul , Pop Music , Reality TV, Simon Cowell , Von Smith , Entertainment News UPDATE: So America voted three more of the Top 36 contestants into the final 12: Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre and Jorge Nunez, giving me aperfect sweep in predictions this week. I hit 7 ofthe 9 people who made it into the Top 12. (Here'sMichael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly's initial reaction .) Lil and Jorge did their thing but Scott's reprise of "Mandolin Wind" was even worse thanTuesdays. I really don't think he'll last long. Iliked the way they handled the announcements.They got clear winner Lil Rounds out of the wayquickly and neatly (not to mention without pairing her off with someone who would then know for certain they were doomed). Then batchesof people got dismissed. Pairing Nathaniel and Kristen was perfect and you could see his face fellwhen Ryan didn't begin the announcement by suggesting one of them would go through. Andfacing off Ju'Not and Jorge was great since that had genuine suspense. Naming the Wild Card team was suspenseful as well, with each person being named seeming to sprint out of that upstairs holding room towards the stage. I was thrilled to see Von Smith benamed first since I think that was a show of support. And surely the only thing unanimous aboutputting Tatiana through was that the producers would be pleased. The eight in order of beingnamed were: Von Smith, Jasmine Murray, Ricky Braddy, Megan Corkrey, Tatiana Del Toro, MattGiraud, Jesse Langseth and Anoop Desai. Their performances should sway the judges a tad, butsight unseen I'd expect Anoop and Jesse to get through. Something about Jesse being a last minutesubstitution bodes well for her. And the third pick really should swivel on how they do, but I'mrooting for Von Smith to have another strong performance. Actually, we already have six guys inthe final 12. There's no way they'll choose three girls from the Wild Card but it's equally unlikelythe producers will let them have eight guys and four women. That gives Jasmine and Megan aserious leg up (please, not Tatiana unless she suddenly mellows and sings well, of course).Nonetheless, I'll stick with my two guys and one gal. Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg Get Breaking News Alerts Share Print Comments never spam Popular Stories on HuffPost Fashion Face-Off! Michelle Obama And Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Finally Meet In France (VIDEO, PHOTOS, POLL) *Video, poll and slideshow (to... Levi Johnston TalksSafe Sex With Tyra Banks (VIDEO) ***UPDATE*** 8:30pm: People.com is reporting that Sarah Palin hasissued... Bonnie Fuller Michelle Obama's Lost Her Mind! 3 Reasons She's Suddenly AFashion Disaster Touching the Queenwasn't the only... Verena von Pfetten 7 Lessons To BeLearned From Carla Bruni So here's the thing.There's no shortage of articles dedicated to thatcertain je ne... Huff TV Arianna Discusses MichelleObama's "Fantastic" Style On CBS' Madonna Jets Out Of Malawi More in Entertainment: Farrah Hospitalized... Madonna Tot's Dad Found... Choreographer: Rapist?... WATCH: SNL: Madonna And Angelina In Weekend Update Adoption-Off Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_171676.html [4/5/2009 12:09:34 PM]The ratings are in and the Wednesday show reached 22.5 million people. According to the Hollywood Reporter, that's down 15% from last week and the lowest Wednesday rating for Idol in 6 years. But keep it in perspective: American Idol is the #1 show in the country. Thursday is notkind to Idol ratings-wise but the live decision of who goes forward from the Wild Card round could help. Naturally, the beginning of the Top 12 will help kick up ratings a notch next week. So who do you think is most likely to jump from the Wild Card round to the Final 12? ORIGINAL POST: The third round of the top 36 performed on Tuesday and to me the men clearly outshone the women, who were generally dreadful or (even worse) forgettable. Remember, you only need one man and one woman and one wild card. The ratings were strong of course. According to Marc Berman of Mediaweek (who bizarrely thinks Nathaniel Marshall will be brought back for the Wild card), Idol scored a 13.8 rating, which means roughly 25 million people were watching. Here's the AP summary and an early response from Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak, who thought eight out of 12 had a shot at strong voting. And here is his full recap. And Ken Levine weighs in with his scathing rundown of the contestants. 1. Von Smith -- The night got off to a great start with Von Smith, who really impressed me with his restrained but fresh performance of Marvin Gaye's "You're All I Need To Get By," one of aseries of classic duets Gaye recorded with Tammi Terrell. Von Smith is a theater boy overshadoweda tad by the more Rent -ish Adam Lambert, not to mention Smith's own over-singing in Hollywood Week. Despite being given the deadly first slot (when the number of people who haven't tuned inyet ranks in the millions, making it harder to garner votes), he did a great job despite the MiamiVice -styled jacket and t-shirt look. He got better and better and really won me over. Simon compared him to Clay Aiken and Von fumbled a tad in responding but finally said the right thingabout Clay being hugely successful and that it was a compliment. Duh! And next time, Vonseriously needs to cover Rick Astley because that's who he really looks like. If he'd performedtowards the end, Von would have a MUCH better shot of getting through. (Check out the ratingsbreakdown at Mediaweek which I linked to above. The ratings went from 12.2 at 8 p.m. to 13.5 at8:30 p.m. to 14.8 from 9 to 10 p.m. That's a huge gap in audience and the fewer people that watchyou perform, the fewer that are likely to vote.) I felt so bad for him, he's the first person I've votedfor this season. (I usually don't bother until the final 12.) All four judges were strongly enthusiasticabout his vocals but that seemed forgotten by the end of the show. 2. Taylor Vaifanua -- Singing "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, Taylor seemed to lose track of the tempo and never found it again. She was a little better on the chorus but had a really bad last note to end on. Not good. Kara began the first in a series of encomiums to the singers, saying ofTaylor, "You've had a voice from the moment we met you. You've got talent." But she wonderedwhat Taylor was really like. "What's it like to go shopping with Taylor?" she said. With Paulahaving done her homework and relating current performances to Hollywood Week (which were taped months ago, remember), Kara has stepped in to provide loopy comments. But Taylor was almost in tears from the moment she ended the song. She knew. 3. Alex Wagner-Trugman -- The somewhat dorky college student tackled Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," one of his gems from a resurgence in the 80s (though talking about a resurgence for an artist who has delivered consistently for four decades is silly). Alexstarted off great, but soon devolved into an almost ludicrous attempt to sound soulful a la joeCocker. He was actually doing it for a bar or two when he wasn't trying and then suddenly itseemed as if he were possessed by the soul of John Belushi as one of the Blues Brothers. When hesang "Rolling like thunder under the covers" I giggled. That can't be good. Too bad because withrestraint and practice he could be solid. Simon nailed it as usual by saying he was like "a littlehamster trying to be a tiger." 4. Arianna Afsar -- The 17 year old sang ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" in a train wreck of a misguided performance right down to the very rough last note. A shot of her parents looking miserable said it all. To her credit, despite having to hear friendly but harsh critiques, Ariannaremained composed. It's appropriate to sing ABBA since they made their breakthrough on the songcontest Eurovision with the unstoppable "Waterloo." This tune, their last Top 10 hit in a whirlwind9 years of chart dominance, also includes the Idol-appropriate line "The judge will decide." Theydid. 5. Ju'not Joyner -- Sang the Illinois band Plain White T's memorable "Hey There Delilah" in a slowed-down somewhat soulful version that I thought was ok but which the judges and my friend "Washington Unplugged" Arianna was on CBS' "Washington... Alex Leo The "Real Housewives Of New York City" Flowchart Of Hate I'm a little embarrassed tolove this show as much as... Oscar de la Renta Slams Michelle Obama's BuckinghamOutfit As Major Designers Feel Ignored While Michelle Obamahas made lesser... "BRUNO" TRAILER! Calamity, African Babies, Chase Scenes And More (NSFW VIDEO) IT'S HERE! The trailer for this July's Sacha Baron Cohen... NATO Leaders Focus On Afghanistan, But Most Reject Obama's Plea For Troops (SLIDESHOW) STRASBOURG, France — On the eve of the NATO... Diana Palin, SarahPalin's Sister-In-Law,Arrested For Breaking Into Home ANCHORAGE, Alaska —Police say Alaska Gov.... John Oliver Explains The Real Reason You Never Touch The Queen (VIDEO) Obama Teases Reporter From India During Press Conference (VIDEO) Obama held a conference packed with press from around the world on Thursday. He called... Terrifying Horse And Rider Fall During English Race (SLIDESHOW) A harrowing horse fall atthe John Smith's FoxHunters' Chase... Jim Cramer DeclaresThe Depression"Over" (VIDEO) On Thursday's episode of"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer declared that the depression... Scientists Find Rocket Fuel Chemical In Infant Formula ATLANTA — Traces of aMichael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_171676.html [4/5/2009 12:09:34 PM]Aaron all liked more than me. Sporting a cross AND a pair of handcuffs, Joyner also reached out to multiple niches with this r&b take on a tune everyone knows. The judges were all polite but not truly enthusiastic. Kara however said "I know you got ridiculous pipes," and Ju'not later said he was so nervous he got a cortizone shot right in the butt, which can't help voting much. 6. Kristen McNamara -- She and Nathaniel had the nerve to imply that their hysterics during Hollywood Week were all the fault of their group nemesis. Isn't it a bit late to still be throwing darts at someone who didn't make it through? Kristen sang Tracey Chapman's "Give Me OneReason," an easy mid-tempo tune that is the biggest hit of that engaging artist's career. It peaked at#3 for FIVE weeks in 1996, so there must have been some crazy logjam at #1 and #2 that summer.And since the hateful "Macarena" was #1 for fourteen weeks, we know which song to blame forkeeping her from going higher. Kristen insisted "my strength is my voice," a curiously obviousclaim for someone in a singing competition to make. She left me completely cold, even as Iappreciated her vaguely Dusty Springfield attempt to go for some southern soul. I just didn't buy itat all. But the women judges liked her (Kara said, "You are a great singer!") and the men didn't. 7. Nathaniel Marshall -- He good-naturedly admits being "tagged" with the label of drama queen, when it would have been much more fun to have him embrace actually BEING a dramaqueen. He sang Meat Loaf's hilariously contradictory song "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won'tDo That)." It was by far the biggest pop hit of Meat Loaf's career, staying at #1 for five weeks. (Hisbig album Bat Out Of Hell exploded because of relentless touring and AM rock radio stations morethan hit singles.) Nathaniel's performance was unfortunately bad for good (that's a Jim Steinmanreference btw). His look was very Flashdance , with spikey hair and a blue headband Simon described as very Olivia Newton John -- not winning any points for cleverness since everyone athome already shouted that out. More importantly, his vocals were dreadful; just thin and weak. Hedid however have the best post-performance banter with the judges, though I think we're far fromSanjaya territory here. 8. Felicia Barton -- A last minute substitute, Felicia sang Alicia Key's "No One," an uninspired song choice that she delivered fairly adroitly until she fell apart on the chorus and began oversinging until she really lost it on one of her big notes. Kara put it far too politely by saying, "You had a few problems with some of those notes." She looked great, though. At this point, I'm thinking Von Smith looks like the star of the evening, but the back end of the show is loaded with people who make an impression. 9. Scott MacIntyre -- Scott's the visually impaired guy the judges insist they LOVE when he sits down and sings at the piano. Personally, he's left me unimpressed most of the time but tons of airtime and a heartwarming story make him perfect Idol material for the Top 12. Scott sings Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Wind," the nice tune following his breakout hit "The Way It Is." I thought hewas very so-so, running out of breath at times and flat. I never relaxed the entire time he wassinging. Randy was a tad mixed but Kara declared "You move mountains" and Simon gave him ahuge endorsement by insisting Scott should sail through. I don't hear it yet. 10. Kendall Beard -- This pretty gal tackled Martina McBride's "This One's For The Girls," the last of six songs to scrape into the Top 40 (a good claim to fame for a country gal). Kendall did indeed look good (the first thing Paula praised) but she was rough, bad on the chorus andultimately rather piercing. It was a terrible song choice because it exposed the weakness of hervoice. The judges were polite but mixed. 11. Jorge Nunez -- The Puerto Rican tackled a more familiar Elton John chestnut, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" (#2 for two weeks back in 1973, with a couple of Beach Boys and Toni Tennille on backup vocals). And it was pure Idol -- he sang the song very closely to the original (which most viewers prefer -- they like you to sing the songs they love the way they're used tohearing them) and had a handful of big notes to wow 'em with. Then he closed the deal with asweet chat with the judges (Kara said, "You were born to sing!"), tearing up over their praise andthen breaking into Spanish towards the end. Audiences will eat it up and obviously he should getthe Latino vote. I didn't see this one coming at all. 12. Lil Rounds -- And the show closed on a strong note with Mary J. Blige -- I mean Lil Rounds PERFORMING Blige right down to the flattish moments that seem so "real" from Blige. Rounds was very professional and smooth, though she does need to avoid Blige for a while. Kara sunk to alow by saying "Let me tell you, girl" in an "urban" tone and even doing the head-bobbing thing. But Cars Afghanistan Video Financial Crisis Barack Obama David Axelrod WarrenBuffett ClimateChange Foreign Policy MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » Books by this author A cabin of one's own: New England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine) by Michael Giltz Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein. In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine) by Michael Giltzchemical used in rocket fuel were found insamples of... HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES This Blogger's Books from Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_171676.html [4/5/2009 12:09:34 PM] Michelle Obama's Clothing Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts Richard Poplawski, Gunman'Lying In Wait,' Kills 3Pittsburgh Police Officers Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden? John Demjanjuk, Ohio ManAccused Of Being NaziGuard, Avoids Deportation Comments 14 Pending Comments 0 Reality Star Jade Goody Buried In Lavish... Robert De Niro Nanny Sues For $40,000 Demi Moore's Twitter-Based Suicide Intervention Anti-Chris Brown Song Hits Radios I'm probably just jealous because I always wanted to be a judge and I've lost my chance for years to come. So Lil Rounds is a lock for the women and the other two slots belong to the men. My heart is with Von Smith but the judges' overwhelming support for Scott MacIntyre and Jorge Nunez make themthe front-runners I believe. I hope I'm wrong again, just like I was with Kris Allen, but that firstslot is a killer. So who did you like and who do you see getting through to the final 12? More in Entertainment... HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now Ads by Google Watch Idol Performances Watch The Idol Performances Free! It's Easy w/the Free Videos Toolbar Videos.alottoolbars.com Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to View Comments: Newest First Expand All Ohsnap See Profile I'm a Fan of Ohsnap permalink All my faves are guys. Lambert, Gokey, and Nunez. Still don't know what Ricky did in a former life to tick off Simon? He should be top 13, too. But that would be too many white guys for Idol, apparently.*sigh* Steamboater See Profile I'm a Fan of Steamboater permalink One of the wild cards should have been Jackie Tohn; she's terrific and knows how to put a song overand very well too. Scott is there simply as a sympathy vote; he won't make it. Lil Rounds is magnificentbut she sounds like so many of the others, cloned Arethas, whether make or female. Jorge is good buthe hasn't got that star power. My bet is it will come down to Lil Rounds and Adam Lambert in the end,that is if Lambert can do away with the cheesy gold chains and Las Vegas kitchy look. The two of them Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:05 AM on 03/07/2009Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_171676.html [4/5/2009 12:09:34 PM] are the most professional and are really polished, Lambert maybe too much so, but then TATIANA'S BACK! Drama for the sake of drama. Funny though because I like her voice; it's throaty and sexy but everything else about her is such a turnoff. If she can find who she is and stick to bluesy adult types ofsongs and not try and do everything all at once, she might surprise everyone and come up a winner. piquet See Profile I'm a Fan of piquet permalink "Scott is there simply as a sympathy vote"...totally agree DCDan See Profile I'm a Fan of DCDan permalink Hey Michael. As always, loved the post. I also found Kara's faux "downness" with the "sista" unseemly. I can't stand that nonsense. Patronizing and phony. There's a lot of *un*-phony, slightly veiled racism on the show which seemingly goes unnoticed. There's a recurring pattern throughout the seasons of telling contestants what they should and should not do, not-so-subtly based on race. Like when Randy J tells Jasmine T "I didn't expect youto do that" (meaning, a *white* pop hit). "You should stick to doing things like Rhianna." Why? Because she's black? Ridiculous. Happens the other way too. To white contestants, who do surprisingly well with R&B joints, i.e., Paula's infamous "You're a funky little white boy!" comment to Elliott Y. Why? Because he doesn't look, sing or move like Pat Boone? White performers are, generally speaking, inherently unsoulful? Prejudice is prejudice, even if it's framed in a positive light. Side note. Not to seem like a hater but, as a journalist, I know you appreciate accuracy. Don't mean to call you out but "Don't Let the Sun Go Down ..." was recorded and released in 1974. Perhaps "1973"was just a typo. Look forward to next week's post. Actually, more than I look forward to the show. Itamar See Profile I'm a Fan of Itamar permalink Lil Rounds is one of the best dianecarol See Profile I'm a Fan of dianecarol permalink All of the 36 singers have been just fair so far. I can't get excited yet over this year's crop. Maybe whenI hear them a few more times. However, I just hate Kara, and when she spoke in what you describedas an 'urban' tone, I cringed. She adds nothing. I want crazy Paula back! Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Agreed, LiberalBuzz See Profile I'm a Fan of LiberalBuzz permalink Ya know Michael, the singers are all starting to run together.As I remembered over the last severalseasons I am beginning to see no difference. It's as though they are all coming from the same cookiecutter. The vocals all sound the same, the facial expressions are the same, and on and on. I'm quickly losing interest. I want to hear something DIFFERENT. Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink I hear ya. I think by the time it shakes out to the final 12 that people will start to shine. With so many to sift through, they haven't had a lot of chances to actually perform. InMyOpinion BayArea See Profile I'm a Fan of InMyOpinion BayArea permalink I agree that Lil was good...but not great, or "brilliant". She way oversang the song...and in some partswas just plain bad. This takes me back to David Archulleta forgetting the words to his songs and thejudges not saying one word about it. It's clear that Lil is a producer favorite so they clearly can't sayanything negative about her. It's just totally unfair to the other contestants. Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:21 AM on 03/05/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:33 PM on 03/05/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:42 AM on 03/05/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:15 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:02 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:51 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:27 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:59 PM on 03/04/2009Michael Giltz: American Idol -- Top 36 Round Three: The Winners! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem----top_b_171676.html [4/5/2009 12:09:34 PM] HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE ARCHIVE Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type See Michael Giltz's Profile See Michael Giltz's Profile As for the others last night, Von was by far my favorite! And that actually shocked me. I hadn't liked him at all before, but I found myself rewinding to watch his performance again. He's the first contestant I picked up the phone to vote for this season. I also really liked Jorge. I hope the judges undeserved glowing review of Scott doesn't prevent Jorge from making the top 12. My prediction: Lil, Von and Jorge (but probably Scott) Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Thanks for reading. Sounds like we were in sync last night on our favorites. Bulbul See Profile I'm a Fan of Bulbul permalink Sorry, I beg to disagree. Lil was good but being loud does not make good music !I did like Mandolin rain by Scott, of course this is the first time I heard him. Rest are either loud or offkey..... Michael Giltz - Huffpost Blogger I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink Thx for reading. If you mean you disagree because you liked Scott,well you're certainly not alone. The judges agree with you. Bulbul See Profile I'm a Fan of Bulbul permalink Not really, of course I have to admit , I love the song. But I am not partial to Scott, Ireally thought he sang well. We shall see who makes it..... You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in or Ads by Google Watch Idol Performances Watch The Idol Performances Free! It's Easy w/the Free Videos Toolbar Videos.alottoolbars.com Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:11 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:27 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:03 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:28 PM on 03/04/2009 Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:32 PM on 03/04/2009

American Idol 8 Top 36 Round Three The Winners

📄 American Idol 8 Top 36 Round Three The Winners

SEO TEXT: Article Content for Search Engines