Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Thanks to the good folks at Joe’s Place blog, we know what the American Idol guys will be singing in the semifinals and the order they’ll be singing in.

I shy away from the spoiler sites when they’re revealing who makes it through the early rounds of Idol. It sorta spoils the surprise of watching. For instance, to see whether Chris Medina and Jacee Bardeaux would make it.

But they come in very handy once the real performance shows start. Instead of scrambling to figure out what song the contestants are singing and the precise title — for example, is it “Put a Spell on You” or “I Put a Spell on You” — I can concentrate on watching the performances.

Anyway, check out the list below if you don’t mind knowing what they’ll sing ahead of time.

Poor Clint Gamboa gets to sing first, meaning everyone will forget anything short of a phenomenal performance by the time the show ends. Casey Abrams gets the coveted show-ending spot. I get the impression Idol is very high on Casey after the compliments he got from Randy Jackson on the Green Mile episode.

Nigel “Dizzyfeet” Lythgoe’s take, delivered via Twitter: “I think only 2 or 3 guys chose bad songs or more clearly, songs that didn’t suit them. There really is some great vocal talent in the show.”

Gotta say I love the song choices by James Durbin and Paul McDonald, especially the latter. He sounds a little like Rod Stewart anyway. He should slay “Maggie May.”

Gotta say I’m not looking forward to hearing young Robbie Rosen perform “Arms of an Angel.”

Gotta say I’m disappointed by the news that this episode is pre-taped rather than live. Perhaps that’s to ensure the show ends on time.

I’ll give Idol credit for this; they’re squeezing 12 performances (18-24 minutes of singing) into a 1:30 time slot instead of stretching it out to two hours as they’ve so often done in the past.

But pre-taping means editing, and I don’t trust Idol to play fair. After all, there’s absolutely no concern for fairness in the way some contestants are constantly featured while others are virtually ignored.

Will we see the one and only performance from each contestant? Or will an Idol favorite get a do-over?

I bring it up in part because one spoiler site is already reporting that the Jovany Barreto performance we’ll see isn’t his first.

Come show night, I’ll be blogging live and grading each performance as it happens. Feel free to follow along.

And, if you happen not to be near your PC or laptop, don’t let that stop you. The York Dispatch has a mobile ap you can download for free from iTunes. Once you get it, just scroll across the top bar to Entertainment. Idol Chatter will be one of the feed selections.

Between now and then, I’ll be posting blogs ranking the guys and the gals and telling you why Idol has once again managed to massacre the semifinal format.

Now, the song listing …

1. Clint Jun Gamboa – Superstition by Stevie Wonder
2. Jovany Barreto – I’ll Be by Edwin McCain –
3. Jordan Dorsey – OMG by Usher
4. Tim Halperin – Streetcorner Symphony (Come On Over) (Rob Thomas)
5. Brett Loewenstern – Light My Fire – Doors
6. James Durbin – You Got Another Thing Comin’ by Judas Priest
7. Robbie Rosen – Arms of an Angel by Sarah McLachlan
8. Scott McCreery – Letters From Home – John Michael Montgomery
9. Stefano Langone – Just The Way You Are – (Bruno Mars)
10. Paul McDonald – Maggie Mae by Rod Stewart
11. Jacob Lusk – House is Not a Home
12. Casey Abrams – I Put a Spell On You