Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Profiles of Idol’s 12 male semifinalists follow.

Check back next week. I’ll be blogging live during the performance shows and grading each contestant.

Between now and then, I hope to bring you more on the top 24.

Aaron Kelly: We met Aaron in the “Road to Hollywood” segment and learned that his family moved around a lot when he was young and his dad had trouble keeping a job. Social services nearly stepped in and took him from his biological parents. At that point, his aunt and uncle decided to raise him. Aaron sang “The Climb” during his audition (in a version I liked more than Miley’s). If you’re looking for a Pa. contestant to root for, this might be your guy. He’s from Sonestown (Sullivan County, west of Scranton and east of Williamsport). The 16-year-old been singing since he was 9, is a veteran of Idol Camp and earned a right to audition by winning at Disney World’s Idol Experience last
year. Links: Go here to
watch his audition again. Music has disappeared from his MySpace. He’s mostly a country singer, and you can find several videos of him singing on YouTube, including this rendition of “Broken Road” from last year. Impression: He’ll have appeal to the younger
female voters who carry so much weight on Idol. But he’d better start remembering his words. An interesting question: Will he stray from his country roots when the voting begins, to broaden his appeal?

Alex Lambert: A 19-year-old from North Richland Hills, Texas, Alex sang and played guitar with a band called Hands That Hurt prior to Idol. And judging from photos and videos of the band performing, prefers to wear sunglasses all the time. On MySpace, he classifies his music as acoustic / crunk / indie. Besides sounds like, he writes: “a dream you wish you could have.” He has six brothers, but he’s apparently no relation to season eight runner-up Adam Lambert. He told Idol his mom had been pushing him to try out for two years and that he thinks his unique voice and stage presence will set him apart. Link: Go here to watch Hands That Hurt cover “I’m Yours.” Several other videos of the band are on YouTube as well. Impression: I really liked Alex’s performance on the final day of Hollywood, and the YouTube videos show he’s had lots of experience singing cover songs. But the judges seem to think he’s been inconsistent.

Andrew Garcia: He’s the 23-year-old from Moreno Valley, Calif., who had a featured role in the Los Angeles audition show — the guy who wants a better life for his young son after watching his parents struggle and hearing how they were involved with gangs in their earlier days. Remember? We met his parents, too, and his dad broke down crying over the prospects for a brighter future for his son. According to his MySpace, Andrew has performed at several benefit concerts in California and his music sounds like “my heart.” Head to YouTube and you can find several videos of Andrew singing. He got rave reviews from all four judges in his audition, then repeated the feat with an acoustic version of the old Paula Abdul song, “Straight Up” on the opening day of Hollywood. His reason for auditioning was pretty simple. He calls Idol “the best opportunity out there.” Link: Go here for a Michael Jackson tribute video and here to watch his audition. Impression: I’ve been impressed every time he’s performed so far. Throw out backstories and all the other stuff that
shouldn’t matter, and he’s been the most impressive male performer so far.

Casey James: This 27-year-old from the Fort Worth, Texas, area is the guy that took down his hair, then peeled off his shirt at the request of Kara DioGuardi, who seemed more interested in his look than his sound. But he’s apparently been playing music for a good while. According to his Facebook page, he has fronted a number of bands in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and is working on forming his own band with his brother. Why did he audition for Idol. Well, his mother pushed him to do it. Besides, why not? “She kind of pointed out the fact that it’s a freebie chance, kind of like playing the lottery, but without even having to pay. Despite his roots, he isn’t a country music performer. In fact, he told Idol he once played a show in front of a country and folk type audience. He expected to be booed off the stage. But he says the crowd loved it. Link: Go here to see Casey’s Idol audition.
Impression: Hey, even I admit he’s a good looking guy, but if Kara keeps carrying on, I’m going to wind up rooting against the guy on that basis alone. During Hollywood Week, viewers learned that this guy is a pretty darn good singer.

Jermaine Sellers: Head to my MySpace, and you can read a complete saga of this 26-year-old’s experience in the music business. Sounds like it includes two record deals as an R&B artist with nothing to show for it. Plus a stint performing with the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. (Please, no one tell Simon. I can hear the critiques already).
Then he tried out for the first season of BET’s Sunday Best, eventually finishing third. At one point, he was apparently also planning his own show on BET. He’s 26 now, from Joliet, Illinois, and is singing gospel music. In fact, he released a five-track gospel EP in December that’s available on iTunes. He survived Team Phoenix on group night (see Colin Benward), afterward proclaiming he’s not meant to perform in a group. Links: Go here to watch Jermaine’s audition; here to hear his gospel music. Impression: That MySpace is filled with excuses and finger-pointing about why Jermaine isn’t already a star. Well, Jermaine, here’s your chance at stardom.
John Park: This is the guy Shania Twain went absolutely gaga over during the Chicago auditions, when he sang “More Than You’ll Ever Know.” He’s a
junior at Northwestern University, where he performed as part of an a cappella group, Purple Haze. The group released a pop CD, “Mosaic,” in August that’s available on iTunes. But John, 21, of Evanston, Ill., says his most memorable performance came as a senior in high school, when he was asked to sing the national anthem in front of an audience of about 2,000. He also told Idol his parents were very against him pursuing a career in music, preferring instead that he go to college and graduate to a real job. He thinks his “low, sultry” sound will help
set him apart. Links: Go here to watch Shania go gaga again; go here to watch him sing “Falling
Slowly.”
Impression: Shania’s been replaced with Ellen, so John lost his biggest fan on the judging panel. And, except for some reaction shots, we haven’t seen him since his audition.

Jose Munoz: I can’t seem to find any Jose Munoz music online. Anyone know is there is any? If
so, comment below. Meanwhile, Jose says he sings in both English and Spanish and would like to get the chance to try the latter on Idol. He plays guitar and thinks he could learn any instrument by ear. He recalls not wanting to sing in school back in seventh grade, but a teacher threatened to fail him if he didn’t. Now, naturally, he’d like to make a career of it. He thinks his tolerant, laid-back attitude will help him in the competition. “I just let things happen and cope with it,” he says. He auditioned in season eight and didn’t make it and says that provided
him with extra motivation. Link: Go here to watch
Jose’s Idol video interview. Impression: Who? I mean, have we seen him sing for a single minute on this year’s show. A total unknown who’d better come up with something great in the opening round of the semis.

Lee DeWyze: This guy hasn’t been featured much — not like John Park, for instance — but he might be one of the stronger male contestants in
season nine. We finally met him in the “Road to Hollywood” episode, when he performed “Ain’t No Sunshine.” More impressively, he’s released two full CDs as leader of the Lee DeWyze band — “So I’m Told” in 2007 and “Slumberland” last year. Both are available on iTunes, so you can head there and hear snippets of lots of this guy’s songs. Much of his music is acoustic in flavor. He told Idol he accompanied a buddy to the auditions. What sets him apart? “I totally know this is what I’m supposed to do,” Lee said in his video interview. “There is no
backup plan.” Links: Go here to watch Lee’s audition; go here to watch him perform “Predicament,” one of the songs off “So I’m Told.” Impression: He seems to be cut from the Kris Allen mold, which means Idol viewers already identify with his type of music. Or did Kris win because of his looks and the anti-Adam Lambert
contingent?

Michael Lynche: We’ve seen a lot of this 26-year-old from Astoria, N.Y. He looks like a defensive tackle, but was dubbed “a
singing teddy bear” after wowing judges with a ballad (“Unchained Melody”) in his audition. Then his wife gave birth to their first child while he was preparing for group night on Idol. Don’t be fooled by Idol’s blue bar, labeling Michael a personal trainer. I’m sure he is. But he’s also a serious musician. On MySpace, his music is labeled as R&B, hip-hop and blues and he’s described as “a new hop artist best described as a cross between Gnarls Barkley, Outcast and R. Kelly … His high-energy sound is called the “Dirty Blues” where gritty southern
soul meets dirty south hip-hop.” Links: Go here to watch Michael’s audition again. Go
here to sample his music.
Impression: He’s gotten more than his share of airtime. But, stripped of the childbirth drama, is he that special as a singer? We’ll find out next week.

Timothy Urban: I don’t recall seeing this guy in any of the audition episodes, but he has one of the best voices I’ve heard among the male contestants. Just check out a song called “Lullaby” on his MySpace page. He classifies his music as Christian / acoustic / alternative, so it might not surprise anyone that he reveals in his Idol video that he’s 20 and has never “touched alcohol.” He already won a local Idol-like competition and says one of his jobs is singing in front of people at a hotel and restaurant. Apparently, he writes much of his own music. In his Idol video, this 20-year-old from Duncanville, Texas, says friends and family have been bugging him to try out for Idol for years. This year, he decided to give it a shot since auditions were being held in Dallas. And look what happened. Link: Go here to listen to five songs on Tim’s MySpace.
Inexplicably, his music is still there. Most of the other semifinalists have had to take theirs down.
Impression: Something’s up with this selection. At the end of last night’s show, only 11 contestants had heard yes from the judges. Meaning something happened to one of the male contestants. Hmm. That said, this guy really does have a great voice. Check him out.

Todrick Hall:
You remember Todrick. He’s the personable young man who entertained judges with a song he wrote about auditioning for Idol in a pair of $300 jeans — “Simon’s face looking so unimpressed,” etc. This 24-year-old from Arlington, Texas, has been performing since age 9 and has compiled a pretty impressive resume, including a Broadway debut in “The Color Purple.” He also wrote and produced a contemporary version of the Wizard of Oz, which he brags about on MySpace, but which left a sour taste in lots of folks’ mouths. He told Idol he’s one of the show’s biggest fans, that he’s never missed an episode and that, in fact, he won’t take a job if it means he can’t
watch the show. And he’s discussed the impact the show can have with another “Color Purple” cast member, Ms. Fantasia Barrino. Todrick was also a member of that very whiny Destiny’s Wild quarter on group day in Hollywood. Link: Go here to watch several videos of Todrick performing. Impression: Has lots of explaining to do about “Oz, the Musical” and all those disgruntled customers. After all, he claims to have created and produced the show.

Tyler Grady: Here’s another Pa. contestant you could root for on season nine of Idol. The 20-year-old from Nazareth (think Easton/Allentown area) showed up at the Idol audition with both arms in casts after falling out of a tree, but it didn’t affect his singing of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” Frankly, I’m far more impressed with his performance as lead vocalist for a group called Wailing Waters. They have a three-song EP available on iTunes. The group plays original music and has won three battle of the band competitions, according to its MySpace. This year marked his third season auditioning, and he told Idol he was “hellbent on getting to Hollywood.” Auditioning for the show, he said, had sort of become a tradition “for my mother and I.” Link: Go here to listen to four Wailing Waters songs. “Runaround Rodeo” is particularly good. Impression: Displays a very good voice on the Wailing Waters music. But he’s another contestant who will have to be mighty impressive in the semifinals to overcome a lack of airtime since his audition all the way back in the season nine premiere.