Top 12 Guys Sing It On AI6

Welcome back to Idol World! After a boring, lowbrow, and ill-produced start to Season Six of American Idol, things finally kicked into gear Tuesday night with the Top 12 guys hitting the stage, singing for America's votes.
It's a nice and talented group of guys overall, but the cream of the crop was blatantly evident by the time the night was over. Here's hoping America will get it right with the votes this year by making sure the best six actually make it to the Top 12. We don't need any terrible casualties of dumb voting like we had last year (Gedeon McKinney, anyone?).

Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI6 Semi-Finals Round One: The Guys.

Rudy Cardenas "Free Ride"
Tammy: Rudy kicks off the season with a bang, bringing a lot of enthusiasm (and unfortunately, a lot of cheese) to a rather puzzling song choice. Simon rightly criticizes Rudy for being a bit bland. His voice and confidence can't be knocked, but there was definitely not a lot of originality to this performance.
Score: 7.5
Liza: I thought the whole thing was SO cheesy and Vegas lounge singer. Heck, not even Vegas, more like Reno. Seriously, Rudy's dance moves are embarrassing, and I was embarrassed for him when he did it during the otherwise awesome group beat-box song. I liked his energy, but I wasn't too impressed with the vocals. He had trouble hitting some of the high notes.
Score: 5.5
Destiny: I agree that Rudy kicked off the season with a bang. He came out commanding the stage. He sounded great (I didn’t hear any vocal problems, Liza), and I like his sense of humor. Unfortunately the song selection was way off, making all that good stuff of almost none effect. If he is lucky enough to come back next week he HAS to choose a song that shows that he is more than just a guy with a good voice.
Score: 8.0

Brandon Rogers "Rock With You"
Tammy: If only Brandon's voice was as pretty as he is. Brandon struggled to stay on pitch, and brought nothing interesting to the Idol stage. I predict his stay will be a short one.
Score: 6.9
Liza: Yes, he certainly is attractive, and I thought he brought the sexy in the opening part of the song. I loved how he mixed it up there, bringing something new and fresh to an otherwise tired song choice. But then he went back to the tired and true same ol' “Rock With You” and then seemed like a background singer once again. He needs to become more comfortable leading the way.
Score: 7.25
Destiny: I totally agree that he is attractive and that the beginning of the song was interesting. Unfortunately, it didn’t last, and Brandon displayed why no one should really touch a Michael Jackson song. If you can’t beat the original vocals whilst doing a signature song in the original arrangement, then don’t do it! I had really high hopes for Brandon, but this wasn’t great.
Score: 7.25

Sundance Head "Nights In White Satin"
Tammy: Sundance has steadily spiraled since his initial audition. Once considered a shoe-in for the Top 12, it is now doubtful, after this painful and uninspired performance, if he will even make it past the next elimination show.
Score: 6.0
Liza: I don't know WHAT Sundance was thinking with this song choice. It certainly isn't a song that will inspire the masses outside of what I suspect is his fanbase of older women. His pitchy singing didn't help much, either. I don't think I've ever seen someone fall so far so fast on this show.
Score: 5.75
Destiny: Yeah, remind me why he was a frontrunner? I honestly don’t know where that came from. Didn’t knock me out by any means.
Score: 6.0

Paul Kim "Careless Whisper"
Tammy: Paul does not start this song very well, bringing the 'smarm' initially, and struggling with his pitch so much that even when he reached the chorus the song still sounded unfamiliar. Not good. As he progressed, however, he seemed to relax a bit and settle into the song. But still will most likely end up falling into the category of 'also ran'.
Score: 7.0
Liza: You're far more generous than I, Tammy. I thought this was the worst performance of the night. I agree that the opening was smarmy, especially with that laugh that invoked memories of AJ Gil's boy bland performance of O-Town in Season 1. Paul's lower register in the opening verse was bad. He redeemed himself on the bridge but then he gagged on the high note.
Score: 4.0
Destiny: Yes, that opening verse was terrible! Tammy and the Idol judges were overly nice to him, because that was really weird and weak. He has one of the weakest ranges of a male singer I’ve ever seen on this show. He couldn’t hit the low notes or the high notes. That Randy dubbed him as one of the best voices of this whole season speaks volumes about Mr. Jackson. The best part of this performance was the adorably supportive Chris Richardson up in the rafters.
Score: 4.0

Chris Richardson "I Don't Wanna Be"
Tammy: Chris looks like he belongs on stage. But his vocals were not up to par tonight. He has no need for a sleepless night, however, for no doubt an estrogen brigade will allow him to sail through the next few weeks. And I? Have no problem with this.
Score: 7.7
Liza: He brought the cute, but I really think he needs to find his own non-JT identity because he doesn't compare at all. And Chris certainly does not move as well as JT does. But I guess Chris got it from his rhythmically-challenged dad. haha. Vocally, I am not a fan of his voice. I find it to be really thin, and the tone grates on me, but props to him for hitting the falsetto note. By the way, when he said he works in the restaurant business, did anyone else think "busboy"?
Score: 6.75
Destiny: That’s funny, Liza! Hee! OK, onto the performance. Can we say star quality? I can’t keep my eyes off of him on or off the stage. While the song choice may not have been perfect fit for him, he owned it and gave a great performance. It was exciting. He is something to look forward to each week.
Score: 8.5

Nick Pedro "Now and Forever"
Tammy: A blah song choice makes for a blah performance. Nothing memorable here. The highlight of the song was Nick's falsetto, which seemed rather effortless. His vocals are rather nice, however, and given a more inspired song choice, Nick could no doubt fare much better.
Score: 7.4
Liza: I like this song, but it's way cheesy, even for this show. Nick's falsetto may have been effortless, but that was the only thing that Nick gave any effort towards. His posture was atrocious, his arm was hanging dead. It was a slacker-like performance that seemed incredibly lazy, and hence, boring. He has a nice voice, but if he doesn't seem to care, why should we?
Score: 6.25
Destiny: I didn’t take his posture and meekness as being slacker-like, but rather the result of his tremendous nerves. He needs to literally shake off his tension before the next time he hits the stage, because if he can get his body to project the easy, coolness of his voice he could be great. He has a really nice tone to his voice and the endearing appeal of Drew Lachey.
Score: 7.5

Blake Lewis "Somewhere Only We Know"
Tammy: Oooh. Bonus points for song choice! Aside from a bit of a struggle during chorus and a moment of 'deer in headlights' when it looked like Blake was going to blank on the words, Blake sounded surprisingly good tonight. Who knew that behind all the beat boxing, he could actually sing?
Score: 8.5
Liza: I seriously squealed at his song choice and was really excited as he started it off so well. Then he screwed up the words and almost pulled a Baylie Brown, and then he just gagged on the falsetto note. Oy.
Score: Went from a 9.0 down to a 7.0 in about 30 seconds flat.
Destiny: I loved this guy’s singing from his first audition and knew he would produce greatness if given the airtime to do so. He sounded sensational. Love that voice and love to have an artsy artist on Idol. And in regards to the beatboxing that the producers zeroed in on, Blake showed that that’s the way to use a gimmick (or pigeonhole) to your advantage on this show: when it counts, ditch the gimmick (or possible pigeonhole) and put forward great vocals in it’s place. Well done.
Score: 9.0

Sanjaya Malakar "Knocks Me Off My Feet"
Tammy: Sanjaya's performance seemed very amateur, and the fact that the boy is only seventeen was very evident. His voice is adequate, but beyond that, he simply hasn't developed enough to stay in the competition for any duration.
Score: 6.0
Liza: I thought Sanjaya gave one of the best vocals tonight. He has a very pleasant voice. However, his delivery is really corny and old-fashioned, and he should go home and put the smack-down on his sister for giving him that song.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: Sanjaya is a prince of easy listening. He sounded good, but he took his easy listening vibe a little too far. Too bad his sister couldn’t help him out in the song selection department. What were they thinking?
Score: 6.0

Chris Sligh "Typical"
Tammy: I can get behind anyone who can bring the snark. I think I was cheering for him before he even hit a note. Heh. Chris' voice has a quality that makes me think that he might be quite versatile in future weeks. Tonight's song choice did not really 'wow' me, but it was entertaining nonetheless.
Score: 8.4
Liza: I usually like the snark, but I thought Chris went too far with his towards Simon, who didn't even really slam him all that much. He really pissed Simon off, too, and while that may win Chris some votes, it may lose him some as well. Plus, you don't generally want to piss Simon off, seeing as how he's the most influential of the crew. But back to his performance, I thought he was engaging and brought good vocals. I just don't see him carrying a solo concert, though. He seems like more of a front-man.
Score: 8.0
Destiny: I enjoy Chris’ humor, too. But take it away, and his actual performance was nothing special. The vocals were weak and disconnected from the music, and the performance seemed to lack any real connection. I agree that he crossed the line with his unwarranted insults toward Simon. I think Chris is believing his own hype a bit too much- and so soon. Bad taste in my mouth.
Score: 6.5

Jared Cotter "Back at One"
Tammy: Jared chose the perfect song for his voice. He may not have added anything new to the song, but there's no need to 'make it his own' so early in the competition. Jared sounded good, and on a night filled with sub-par performances, 'good' is enough.
Score: 8.3
Liza: First off, I like Jared's attitude towards not being shown earlier. Unlike others in the past, he didn't whine about it, and instead chose to see it as having a clean slate. So good on him for that. And after that performance, I think his lack of airtime shouldn't hurt him too much. His vocals were really good, especially at the falsetto part, and he's hot to boot.
Score: 8.25
Destiny: Are you two serious? I think he totally needed “to make it his own,” and I wouldn’t characterize his vocals as “really good.” I thought he was weak and shaky on every line of the song. And as seen repeatedly over the course of the night, Jared proved again that one shouldn’t choose a signature song by an artist who you are similar to if you can’t be better than the original. It was weak and boring.
Score: 6.0

A.J. Tabaldo "Never Too Much"
Tammy: While lauded for his vocal abilities by the judges, A.J.'s performance was rather predictable, and his song choice did not aid him in showing the viewers how he can be a credible contemporary artist. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
Score: 7.3
Liza: A.J. puts a smile on my face. He has a good voice, he moves well and is comfortable on stage. He brought a sense of fun to the performance without the smarminess that Rudy had. It wasn't an earth-shattering performance, but I enjoyed it.
Score: 7.5
Destiny: He has a nice energy about him, but I agree that he’s nothing out of this world. At this point I can see why never made it to the semi-finals in his previous four attempts to get on the show. That being said, he’s not the worst I’ve ever seen on the show. He’s just not the best by a long shot.
Score: 6.5

Phil Stacey "I Could Not Ask For More"
Tammy: The opening bars of this performance were certainly...weird, but he recovered well and seemingly brought down the house with his dynamic vocals. It was just alright for me. I've heard this song sung better. You'll need more than glory notes to win me over, Phil Stacey!
Score: 7.9
Liza: Ha! I swear so many of these singers think that one glory note will magically win everyone over. But I guess when it fools Randy and Paula into thinking it was the best vocal performance, it's no wonder that they seem to try it. I thought that glory note was out of place, actually. But not as out of place as his faux rock god microphone antics on that Diane Warren song. Please.
Score: 7.75
Destiny: Phil started off weak and, as Tammy said, weird. But then he kicked it into gear. He has a really nice, original, strong voice that I’d like to hear tackle all kinds of songs. And he’s got a great personality. I like Phil. And since when are glory notes NOT the stuff of American Idol success?
Score: 8.8

Who Should Go:
Tammy: Sanjaya, Brandon
Liza: Paul, Rudy
Destiny: Paul, Sundance

Who Will Go:
Tammy: Sanjaya, Brandon
Liza: On the first show, there's always at least one that is wrong (i.e. Judd Harris and Patrick Hall). So I will say Nick and Rudy.
Destiny: Paul, Jared

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