They tell us this week is the end of the semi-finals. By Wednesday night we will have 12 still standing on stage, preparing to begin the true competition. I'm still holding out hope for a twist which will allow us to keep the top 12, not just the top six guys and top six women, but I'm not holding my breath.
Monday the men take the stage. And two will be sent packing.
Who deserves to stay? Who should leave?
Bo Bice will stay. He has evolved the furthest the fastest, going from split-decision selection to the judges' favorite. And a fan favorite. Are you a Bo fan? Then you're a member of the Bice Squad. Or a Bo Peep. And the Bo Peeps are a determined group.
Mario Vazquez will remain. He's got Justin's look and style. And that look carried Justin to the finale on the strength of young girls with strong dialing hands. I'm waiting for the evening that he stands and delivers a strong vocal performance without the reliance on show. But he will continue.
Anwar Robinson will stick around. He's got the backing of the NEA, the PTA, teachers and middle schoolers all across the country. Plus he's just too handsome not to. His performances thus far have been great, but I still think he's holding back, waiting for that one night when he lets it all go. And when that happens, panties all across the country are gonna be flying.
Anthony Fedorov will stay. The comparisons to Clay Aiken will continue, and Claymates everywhere will insist there is no similarity, but will be hitting redial in record numbers. Certainly the story of his childhood is compelling, but he can only ride that so far before he's going to have to appeal to the voters with his vocal chords instead of his interviews.
These four are locks, which begs the question: Which two will join them?
Travis Tucker rebounded from a horribly boring performance to hang in there another week. Vocally, his was not the best, even compared to the dismissed Joe Murena, but when Simon remarked that Travis is a born showman, he was right. But will that showmanship be enough to carry him past vocally-superior performers. The fact that he was left standing last Wednesday alongside David and Joe, indicates that he might have been the third-lowest vote getter. I think he was. And I think he's doomed.
Nikko Smith. I have his dad's rookie card. It's encased in a plastic sleeve in my safe deposit box. But I digress. Nikko has turned in two solid, if somewhat forgettable, performances. He needs to keep the hat off, put on a pair of jeans and let it all go this week. With this group of rockers and showmen, a ballad can either be a nice break or a snoozer. But, whatever he chooses, he really needs to make it memorable, because he's being overshadowed by this group.
Constantine Maroulis. No screaming, Constantine. Please. You have the good fortune to have such unwavering support among your female fans, who will vote for you regardless. Your misfortune is that many of your male fans have shifted their allegience to the better rock vocalist. Bo has proven he has pure vocal ability, and Constantine has proven he has stage presence, but his vocals have been somewhat less. He needs to select a song which will showcase his voice to prove to the doubters that he's more than a rocker on nickel-beer night.
And Scott Savol. I always seem to leave Scott for last. I am a huge Scott fan. I adore his voice, and I'm a sucker for the unconventional longshot. I think Scott, like Anwar, is sandbagging. Despite what Simon and Paula said last week, I think Randy is right that Scott's performances have not lived up to his audition promise. I want to see him in a dark suit. Or in jeans and a long tee, ala Ruben. And I want him to drown out the backup singers and the band. Both of his performances thus far have been dominated by them. I want to hear a glory note. I doubt that panties will be flying when he decides to sing his lights out, but many of his doubters may just sit up and take notice. After all, when they're on the radio, it don't matter what they look like.
I'm taking a deep breath. I'm eenie, meenie, minee, moeing.
Who will be leaving? Travis and Nikko.
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