semi-finals, round two...

Be great but not Wonder-full

Ten remain.  Only eight will stick around for another week. 

Hopefully the guys (and the ladies tomorrow) learned some very valuable lessons from last week's semi-disaster.  No karaoke.  Lay off the ballads.  And please, please, for the love of music, no more Stevie Wonder.  Leave it for theme night.  (And now that I think of it, no Stevie Wonder night either.  How about Roger Whittaker night instead.)

It's only the second round, and I know that I like this semi-final format much better than the previous rounds of unknowns.  [Forgive me, having a flashback of last year's second group.  Roman brothers.  Camile Velasco and Matt Rogers outvoting Lisa Leuschner.  Breathe.  Breathe.  One.  Two.  Three.   There.  I'm better now.] We'll go into tonight with an idea and anticipation of what we'll hear and a better chance to form a true opinion.

Yes.  Definitely better than a one night stand then not hearing from them for weeks.

Several of the guys caught a break last week, escaping elimination early and given an opportunity to undo what damage they might done.  Judd was most certainly not the worst of last week, so there are a few of the men who owe him.  Big time.

David Brown, your early exposure during the audition episodes probably kept you in the game, because your performance was disappointing, even though I must admit, listening to just the audio, it was much better than I remember last Monday.  Take a lesson from Mario -- it's more than just singing.  It's performing. 

Joseph Murena, please don't sing a ballad.  The most interesting thing about your voice also screams when the video is stripped away.  You sound exactly like Cher.  I didn't catch it at first, and it wasn't until I was blog jogging and stumbled upon a discussion.  Listen to the audio, and decide for yourself.  (If you really really want to hearthat song again...)  Steer clear of the ballad.  Move your feet.  Choose a song that will force the audience to move in their chairs.  This is your last chance.

Travis Tucker, no more Stevie Wonder.  You have a smile that lasts until Tuesday.  Play with the audience.  Flirt with them.  Buy them dinner if you have to.  The clock is ticking for you, if you turn in one more mediocre performance.

Nikko Smith.  Do I have to repeat the Stevie thing?  Of the four, your vocals were the best last week, but to survive you're going to have to give us more than just vocals. 

These four might be in the most precarious position.  Any one of the four could have been ejected last week, and it would have come as no shock or disappointment.  They're the ones who will have to be better than good and hope for some weaker offerings to have a shot at singing in week three.

The others are pretty safe, either via vocal fan bases or the judges' praise.  Bo, Anwar and Mario pretty much have to deliver as well or better than they did in round one.  Anthony has enough of a following to survive through this round, but he will have to pick up his game a lot to make it through the long haul.  Constantine is in the same position.  He has enough fans to fly through this week but, even though I thought his vocals were a lot better than he was given credit, he will have to face the rocker quota problem.  But at this point in the game, having heard the other performances, it would not surprise me in the least to see the voters put through both him and Bo into the final six.

And that leaves Scott.  Again, listening to the vocal, without the video, Scott arguably had the best pure vocal performance.  His challenge remains style and his perceived anti-social tendencies.  I am curious how much of that is leftover assumption based on those Hollywood group performances and how much of it is real.  Nonetheless, he remains the antithesis of an American Idol.  A big-league underdog.

And people love an underdog.  Scott will be fine this week.

Okay, here goes.  My pre-show prediction.

Say goodnight Joseph and Travis.

Now we'll see.