Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So Idol asked the 14 contestants who advanced last night who would be most excited by the news.

Heejun Han said it would be his mom, and then related the story of his call home.

In typical Heejun style.  Which means it’s a funny story. If you haven’t heard about it, go here.

Meanwhile, we begin tonight’s show with the fate of Adam Brock hanging in the balance.

Which could be pointed to as another example of how Idol bungled last night’s show.

I mean, using Adam Brock as the big cliffhanger? Really?

Heejun would have been a wiser choice.  Or Phillip Phillips.  Or Reed “Just Call Me Mr. Drama” Grimm.

But Adam Brock?

Look, the guy who calls himself “white chocolate” has an interesting story.  Doing this for his wife and young child.  Carrying his granddad’s hanky in his pocket during each performance as a good luck charm.

But Adam is 27, looks more like 35 and can’t count words (“it boils down to three words,” he says, “I have to sing”).

And here’s how it’s going to go if he makes the semifinals.

Tons of young girls are going to vote for Colton Dixon and Phillip.  Lots of fans are going to vote for Heejun just because he makes great TV.  Hopefully, lots of folks will vote for Joshua Ledet because he has a great voice.  And lots of fans are going to vote for Eben Franckewitz and David Leathers Jr. because they’re very young and very cute.

And Adam Brock will be gone in a heartbeat.

I might be wrong, Adam fans.  But I don’t think so.

Other than Adam, let’s recap where we are.

Among the girls …

Made the semifinals (8):  Jen Hirsh, Haley Johnsen, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Chelsea Sorrell, Baylie Brown, Jessica Sanchez, Brielle Von Hugel

Failed to advance (3):  Lauren Gray, Blaire Seiber, Naomi Gillies

Fate still undetermined (9):  Ariel Sprague, Aubrey Cleland, Hallie Day, Hollie Cavanagh, Lati Lee, Shannon Magrane, Shelby Tweten, Skylar Laine, Wendy Taylor

Among the guys …

Made the semifinals (6):  Creighton Fraker, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm, Heejun Han, Phillip Phillips, Colton Dixon,

Failed to advance (5):  Neco Starr, Clayton Farhat, River St. James, Caleb Johnson, Richie Lawson,

Fate still undetermined (11): Aaron Marcellus, Adam Brock, Adam Decker, Chase Likens, Cortez Shaw, David Leathers Jr., Deandre Brackensick, Eben Franckewitz, Jeremy Rosado, Jermaine Jones, Scott Dangerfield.

First up, Adam Brock, of course.  And he makes it into the top 24.  And he falls to the stage.  Perhaps that explains the cliffhanger. Just five more spots left for the guys.  Judges’ rating: OK choice, but it won’t matter in a week.

Jeremy Rosado:  Ryan points out that he’s been hanging out with the other young contestants — Eben, David and Ariel.  Hey, and he hit some incredible notes in that final Vegas performance.  That might have been the best I’ve heard him sing in this competition.  Jennifer applauds Jeremy on the way he cheered on all the other contestants while they peformed.  And he’s heading to the top 24 as well.  Just four more spots left for the guys.  Judges’ rating: Good choice based on that Vegas performance.

Shannon Magrane:  I keep saying it, but I’ll say it again, I think Shannon is more impressive than either of the teens who made last year’s finals.  Looks like she absolutely nailed that song in the Vegas finals.  And Shannon advances.  Judges’ rating: Wonderful choice.

Scott Dangerfield:  Considering his high-profile audition last year, I can’t believe he didn’t get more screen time than he has.  I mean, the only time we saw him sing was in the Vegas group performance.  Judges’ rating: Incomplete.  I didn’t hear him sing enough to judge.

I think we just saw Adam Decker, Wendy Taylor and Aubrey Cleland get eliminated.  I thought Wendy sounded great on the rare occasion when we heard her sing.  I’m pretty sure Aubrey’s name wasn’t mentioned one time on this show.

Skylar Laine:  She’s clearly thinking the same thing I was: How many country gals does Idol want in the finals. They’ve already got Chelsea Sorrell and Baylie Brown.  And Skylar’s performance wasn’t the best.  Steven encourages her to put a little rock and roll in her country.  And she’ll get the chance.  She makes the top 24.  Judges’ rating:  Just OK.

Hallie Day, Chase Likens and Aaron Marcellus are also in the top 24.  Chase is a mystery man.  We haven’t heard nearly enough from Hallie either.

Deandre Brackensick:  This guy is in the top 40 for the second straight year.  And in the last 2 minutes, we heard him sing more than we have through the entire season to date.  I really suspected that meant he wouldn’t advance.  But he certainly showed the voice to stay with that Vegas performance.  And he’s in.  Another spot for the guys nabbed.  Judges’ rating:  Fine.

Jermaine Jones:  He’s the gentle giant who performed so wonderfully alongside Richie Lawson in the Vegas group performance.  He didn’t sound quite as good in that final Vegas performance, but I still think he should get a shot at the top 24.  But, if you’ve been counting, well, spots for guys are nearly gone. He didn’t make it.  Judges’ rating: Not good. He’s was one of the more likeable ones.

Shelby Tweten, Ariel Sprague and Hollie Cavanagh:  Only one is going through.  Ariel has sounded great.  We haven’t heard much from Shelby since her audition. Hollie was fabulous in a Vegas performance we didn’t see.  And she sounds really good here in this Vegas performance, too.  Hollie advances.  But why in the world is she an unknown at this point in the competition. Judges’ rating: Very good.

David Leathers Jr.,  Eben Franckewitz:  So, only one of the two advances.  I’m pretty darn sure this spot is going to David.  Both sounded OK, not great, and very young in their final Vegas performances. Of course, it’s tough to judge when you’re hearing about 20 seconds of their songs.  Wow, gotta say, I’m really surprised by that decision.  Eban advances; David goes home.  Judges’ rating: Neutral.

And, get this gimmick, Idol is adding a 13th guy to the competition. It will be Jermaine Jones, Richie Lawson, David Leathers Jr. or Johnny Keyser.

And we won’t find out who gets the spot until Tuesday.

 Here’s my prediction on who gets the spot.