Top 10 Guys Step Up
Their Game
The male semi-finalists of American Idol 6 stepped up their game this week after taking a pounding from the females last week. With a nice array of strong voices, the guys proved that, despite what Simon may have declared, it's still anybody's game.

We are pleased to have with us this week our first guest panelist of the season! One of our most loyal readers, sixteen-year-old Chris D. joins us from Niagara, Ontario Canada.
Following is the It's Destiny! panel's take on the AI6 Semi-Finals Round Two: The Guys.

Phil Stacey "Missing You"
Chris D.: It was nice to see him start a song off well for a change, and his vocals were relatively solid. However, I feel as though he relies too heavily on the second half of the song to showcase himself. Overall, a slight improvement over last week.
Score: 8.0
Tammy: Firstly, welcome aboard, Chris! As for Phil, I have to agree with you. Phil is so bland and forgettable in his performances that without the power notes, he would be nothing. Part of his problem is that he is seemingly devoid of any personality. That, and the fact that he somewhat resembles Gollum.
Score: 7.8
Liza: Ditto on the welcome! I can't really agree like Tammy did, though, because my TiVo failed to change the channel properly, so instead of Phil singing, I got Dateline NBC. Sigh. But I hear I'm the one who is difficult to please, so Phil's probably lucky I missed his entire performance.
Score: n/a
Destiny: I welcome you, too, Chris! Too bad we aren't seeing eye to eye on this one, though. I think it's insanity to think that there's nothing original about Phil's voice. It is so outstanding! That tone! He is so good! And, Tammy, how can you say he has no personality? I think he's one of the most personable contestants in the semi-finals! That being said, I loved this performance, both vocally and in terms of delivery. I would buy this recording and can hear it on the radio as we speak. I am totally impressed. By the way, be sure to catch John Waite's recent remake of this song with Alison Krauss. It's a goody! Turned out to be a great song choice for Phil, too. And did Phil mention before that he was in the military? Because I was surprised by that when he did his dedication tonight.
Score: 9.3

Jared Cotter "Let’s Get It On"
Chris D.: Firstly, that isn't a song anyone should be dedicating to their parents. heh. Performance-wise I found it quite forced, and the constipated facial expressions were problematic. Vocally it was off in spots, most notably the start.
Score: 7.0
Tammy: Jared seemed a bit uncomfortable performing this song. It seemed like a bit of an 'old' choice for him. I don't understand why so many of the boys tonight are straying from more contemporary songs. It's hard to sing this song and not seem a bit 'karaoke'.
Score: 7.1
Liza: Chris, I was thinking the same thing about the dedication to his parents. Ha! Other than the comedy bits, it was quite a bit of an ordinary performance. Jared didn't bring anything different to the song other than that face stroking thing that I think I saw in Evan Lysacek's long program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Jared has good range, though. He handles both the low and high notes well.
Score: 6.75
Destiny: I am totally shocked that Liza didn't love this, considering her mad crush on Jared! And here I am (the one ready to give this guy the boot last week) totally impressed by this performance. I thought it was a MAJOR improvement over last week. He sounded great. I'm surprised at the judges' low marks, as well as the low marks of my fellow panelists.
Score: 9.0

A.J. Tabaldo "Feeling Good"
Chris D.: One of the stronger performances of the night. My only complaint is that he needs to watch the hammish tendencies he has while performing.
Score: 8.5
Tammy: I found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed this performance. A.J.'s vocals were strong, and his absolute joy that he has while performing was positively radiating tonight. He still doesn't scream 'AI Winner! to me, but I could see him doing some musical theatre, and the audience being relatively entertained.
Score: 8.6
Liza: Touching a bit on what Chris said about the "hammish tendencies", I've noticed that A.J. likes to do the whole wave-your-hands-in-the-air-and-wave-'em-like-you-just-don't-care thing. He did that a lot during the women's performances last week. It's fine for watching the performances, but not so much for performing a song like this. Having said that, though, I think A.J. is one of the best singers, if not THE best singer amongst the men, and I think he's working his way into the Top 12. He's becoming one of my favorite guys this season.
Score: 8.5
Destiny: Chris, I think you hit the nail on the head with the term "hammish tendencies" to describe A.J.. It is a bit distracting and makes it hard to take him seriously. I thought he looked nervous and shifty-eyed during this song, too. But there's no denying that his vocals were really strong tonight.
Score: 8.5

Sanjaya Malakar "Steppin’ Out With My Baby"
Chris D.: YIKES! that was awkward. He seemed terrified, and I swear I wrote Randy's high school talent show comment before he said it. He's in desperate need of a more modern song choice (and one a bit more challenging) because he appears to be irrelevant to today's music scene. Tonight he gave a rather feeble impression and the last couple notes were ROUGH. Oy!
Score: 5.0
Tammy: I'm convinced that the only reason he squeaked through last week was because of his purdy hair, and given that he's decided to hide it beneath the chapeau this week, I think we can bid poor Sanjaya adieu. It's unfortunate, because he does have a good voice, but the boy has absolutely no confidence or stage presence while performing, and seemed to be pleading with his eyes for the audience to take pity on him and release him from his misery already.
Score: 5.3
Liza: Well, that whole dead grandpa thing will definitely get him some "awwww" votes. If people were awake long enough to hear it, that is. Sanjaya has a good voice, but he's SO dull. All you had to do was look at the audience while he was singing; that told the whole story. Release him from HIS misery? How about OUR misery?!
Score: 5.0
Destiny: Welcome to the mellow zone, folks. Geesh. His tone is nice, but he is so laid back! I don’t think he’d have any reaction if you shook him. There is an element of a young Michael Jackson to Sanjaya, but he's missing some natural performance skills that I don't think he can be taught.
Score: 5.5

Chris Sligh "Trouble"
Chris D.: He still seems to be battling some minor tempo issues, and I didn't care for the beginning with the slurred, faux-twang. Overall he showed a greater connection with the song than last week, and he was vocally competent
Score: 8.0
Tammy: Heh. I liked the beginning better than the rest of it. As the song progressed, I found myself drifting off. While I do like his tone, I still have no idea what Chris imagines himself to be as an artist, and haven't been too keen on these song choices.
Score: 8.3
Liza: I think Chris has been doing a good job on song choices, but maybe that's just me being happy with hearing contemporary songs. I thought he gave a good performance, save for the dinosaur stomping near the end.
Score: 8.25
Destiny: I agree that Chris is "vocally competent", but that's the problem. There is nothing special or great about his voice, it's just OK. This is a great song, but Chris' performance of it didn't compare to the original or to Taylor Hick's version from last season. It was good, not anywhere near great.
Score: 7.5

Nick Pedro "Fever"
Chris D.: I like the tone of his voice and appreciate that he picked a song that would highlight that. I didn't hear the "pitchy" that Randy did. However, there is a charisma issue which hindered the overall presentation.
Score: 7.4
Tammy: Does Nick really think he's going to set our world on fire singing 'Fever' while decked out in office attire? And this song has been done to death! Gah, he should almost get kicked off as punishment for such stupidity. Of course, something tells me I might get my wish, as Nick really isn't making the most of the Idol opportunity that he fought so hard for.
Score: 7.2
Liza: Oh great, another jazzy club song. I'm totally the opposite from Chris. I hated Nick's tone on this song, and I did think there were some pitch issues, unless he was deliberately switching keys. Nick's voice sounded so weak and thin on this song, and I agree with Simon about the charisma (and on the compliments to the drummer).
Score: 6.0
Destiny: I, on the other hand, am with our guest panelist Chris. Nick's tone was beautiful on this one. I wouldn't have thought that this song would be a good choice for Nick, but it certainly was. I thought it brought out the jazz artist in Nick. I liked it a lot.
Score: 8.9

Blake Lewis "Virtual Insanity"
Chris D.: Dude seriously impressed me with the sick moves and the scatting. It's a nice change to see someone with an artistic flare on AI. I think Simon's rather pointless critique was more of an attempt to spur on voters.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: This guy is just oozing talent and charisma. The segue between his singing and uh..'entendre-ing?' was seamless, and he seemed to gather more and more momentum as the song progressed, which gave him the crowd in the palm of his hand by the end. I wasn't crazy on the falsetto tacked on at the end, but rest of the performance was virtually flawless and so professional.
Score: 9.5
Liza: Blake has terrific taste in music. I just wish his singing was on par with his song choices. He's good, but after I get so excited about the song he is singing, the singing doesn't quite live up. Unlike Tammy, I actually liked the ending. I'm really surprised Simon didn't like him more since Blake is so down with the British music. I don't think he's
picked a non-Brit song yet.
Score: 8.5
Destiny: I, too, love to see someone with an artistic flare on AI. Bring it! I am not familiar with this song, but Blake sounded awesome doing it. He's in a different league than most of the other contestants in that he brings the total package to the stage every time we see him. Combined with his unique tone and stylings, he makes it easy to visualize him as a success in the music industry post-Idol.
Score: 9.2

Brandon Rogers "Time After Time"
Chris D.: "Time after Time" is a great song that has the potential to be very moving. Even though he was going for the emotional impact, I feel it fell short and the vocals were just okay. Nothing special. meh
Score: 6.9
Tammy: Agreeance. Boring from beginning to end. It doesn't matter if he 'feels' the song if it puts everyone to sleep! Brandon has absolutely no 'it' factor. Did I say boring already? Because it was. Boring.
Score: 6.8
Liza: Ooo "Time After Time". I got the emotions with his dedication, but unfortunately, he wasn't as moving with his actual singing. I feel he's still in backup singer mode, and if he is lucky enough to stay this week, he will be gone very shortly if he doesn't step it up! Sigh. He is wasting away his potential.
Score: 6.5
Destiny: I don't get how I can be on a totally different wavelength than you all. I find Brandon so mesmerizing! I thought he sounded great during this song, and I thought it was a great understated performance. I do agree, however, that to play the Idol game, one must turn in some glory notes on an almost weekly basis. I'm sad that no one is feeling what I'm feeling about Brandon because he's one of the tops in my book.
Score: 8.7

Chris Richardson "Geek In The Pink"
Chris D.: The bouncing stage mannerisms continue to grate and the whole schtick is a bit too JT for my liking. That being said, it was one of the best of the evening.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: I will forgive the bouncing as Chris automatically gets some bonus points for choosing a Mraz song (although Randy deeming the version 'better than the original' will no doubt result in some irate fangirls shaking their fists and shrieking 'OMG wHaTevErs!!'). I may have been said fangirl. Heh. Still, Chris continues to market himself well to the audience, and knows exactly who he wants to be (even if it is a JT clone). He brought energy, fun, and tackled with aplomb what is a pretty difficult song.
Score: 9.0
Liza: I am sadly not so familiar with the original, so I can't agree or disagree with Randy about whether or not it was better than Jason Mraz's version, but yeah, props on the song choice. It was a very good fit for him. Chris got drowned out a bit by the band, though, and I have a feeling his white-boy hip-hop moves are going to grate over the course of the season.
Score: 8.75
Destiny: I don't find Chris' stage mannerisms to be grating at all. I love seeing the energy and performance level he continually turns in. He is so much fun to watch. And his voice and phrasing are so pleasing to my ear. Loved it.
Score: 9.2

Sundance Head "Mustang Sally"
Chris D.: I for one appreciate his different song choices and I thought he did a great job on this. A huge improvement over the Moody Blues debacle that was last week.
Score: 9.0
Tammy: I think Milli Vanilli would have been an improvement over last week. Except that I hate Mustang Sally with the burning passion of a thousand suns, so I was not so much feeling this particular song choice either. I was amused by the stonefaced man in front of the backup singers who seemed to be there against his will. As for Sundance, it was certainly a better vocal performance and showed more energy, but the whole thing was a bit contrived and cheesy for my liking.
Score: 8.0
Liza: Heh! I agree with Tammy. It was much better than his previous songs, but that isn't saying much at all. Even though it was his best in a long time, I didn't think it was all that Paula made it out to be. I don't find Sundance's voice to be all that great. He screamed a bit too much, and I don't think his voice is really all that colorful. Charisma is lacking from this dude, too.
Score: 7.5
Destiny: Yes, he sounded good. Yes, it was an improvement over last week. But I wouldn't categorize anything Sundance has done as "hot." I just don't get what's so special about him. He seems like a nice guy, but there's no star quality there for me. And I really don't get why the judges go so crazy over him. Do they really want a guy like this to win? I don't see him selling the millions of records of their dreams.
Score: 7.0

Who Should Be Eliminated:
Chris D.: Sanjaya, Brandon/Jared
Tammy: Sanjaya, Brandon
Liza: Sanjaya, Nick
Destiny: Sanjaya, Sundance

Who Will Be Eliminated:
Chris D.: Jared, A.J.
Tammy: Nick, Brandon
Liza: Nick, Jared
Destiny: Brandon, Nick

Calling All Fans!
Want to be like our first guest panelist, Chris D.? We want to hear from you this season. Each week we will feature a different reader as a guest panelist to give us their take on American Idol. If you're interested in being a guest panelist, please use the "Contact Us" form to write in and give us your information. Be sure to include your name, age, and where you're from. If chosen, we will contact you with further details.

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