Guys Night - The Best Talent Ever? Not Even Close!

:welcome1: Hey everyone! Well this is the real moment we have waited for during the long and tedious auditions, the actual start of the real show. I felt like I was listening to "B" sides most of the night to be perfectly frank.

Ryan Seacrest welcomes us with saying that people are saying this is the best talent ever but he could not be more wrong in my opinion. What I will give him is he looked great in his all black suit. Intro to the judges followed with the usual quips against Simon however each judge did get a chance to say what the contestants need to become successful. Randy says originality, Paula said song choice with Simon also saying originality and adding personality and singing well.

We also hear that now we can download the performances from ITunes. Not that I would want to but if you are interested here is your chance. Now on to the performances:

Being the first up is one of three Davids this season. David Hernandez was never heard in the original auditions but we did see him sing in Hollywood and then I was impressed. Before he sings "Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett we hear about his broken family and how hard life was growning up. It was a good vocal but had to agree with Simon that he looked tense and needed to loosen-up. However being first is always difficult. While I was not blown away, I will say he deserves another chance. My grade: B


Chikezie Eze commits what is sure to become a big mistake on his part by arguing too much with Simon. Before he sings we hear about his failing from last season when he was eliminated right away. He then gives us "More Today Than Yesterday" by Spiral Staircase in what I thought was off-key in the beginning but no mention of this from the judges which surprised me. For me it was just okay and I felt neither Paula or Randy was that gung ho either but Simon stated he hated it. One cute moment was when he pronounced his name jacuzzi instead of Chikezie but he did apologize for this. However, during Simon's comments about his outfit is when Chikezie starting arguing and that should not have been done I think this early in the competition. My grade: C


A better personality is shown next in the form of David Cook who performs "Happy Together" by the Turtles. He is a singer and bartender who was not quite sure what Simon meant during his original audition. Also expressing nerves during Hollywood week, he is glad to have this opportunity. What stuck out for me immediately during his song was the first few notes where I thought he sounded very much like Chris Daughtry. Then his actual voice came in and in a rock-kind of edge does a fair job with his song choice. I was not totally blown away but think he has a chance to go further in the competition. My grade: B+


:dream: Jason Yeager is another we have seen nothing of but right away I liked this guy who has a nice smile and personality. He is grateful for this chance to show his son that you can achieve your dream if you try hard enough. Singing Andy Williams "Moon River" he shows good tone and control but sadly while pleasant was something that would be great to go to sleep by in my opinion. Definitely a guy who could probably woo the older crowd I don't think he will be popular with the younger voters. I think the judges felt this also. I do hope he gets another chance however. My grade: B


Mister cool Robbie Carrico comes clean during his intro time by letting us know about his past professional career. I respect him for this. Singing "One" by 3 Dog Night he does impress the judges. While I thought he has good tone and nice stage presence I found him to be just okay and nothing spectacular. I am sure the girls will love this guy so his being eliminated this early will not happen I think. My grade: B


:surprised: I never in a million years would have guessed that our next contestant would be the best of the night for me. 17 year old David Archuleta is our Star Search kid who has the personality of a very goofy and happy-go-lucky teenager. Sounding much older than his years he gives a very good performance of "Shop Around" originally by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. Sure there were a pitch problem here and there but you just do not notice this that much because he is confident acting while performing and loved the whole maturity he displayed singing. My grade: A


:tsk: Danny Noreiga sounded like a sweet kid during his interviews but on this night he came off sounding like a spoiled brat I thought. Basically doing just a barely okay version of "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley, he does show us some stage presence but seemed to be looking down at the floor more than the audience. Randy and Paula thought it was okay but Simon calls it "hideous". When Ryan questions Danny about what happened Danny does agree it was probably song choice but then gets sarcastic to Simon and that look on his face made me want to slap him. My grade: C


:halo: Singing "Everybody's Talkin" originally by Harry Nilsson, Luke Menard I think will be most remembered for his good looks rather than his singing ability. He displays good control but his voice sounded almost too soft. Each of the judges were not impressed with Simon saying his performance is "forgettable". I hate to agree but have too in this case. He can sing but may not have made much of an impression on this first night. My grade: B-


Colton Berry is another student who is having a blast being on this show. I thought he was sweet and oh so innocent with some of his remarks like singing the Tele-Tubbies song when he gets nervous. He does a nice rendition of "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley but overall he just does not stand out. The judges like him but again are not blown away. My grade: B


A real babe in the woods is next as we finally get some airtime from Garrett Haley who seems like a nice kid. He sings one of my favorite songs by Neil Sedaka called "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" but is sounds almost child-like. The judges find it boring with Simon giving extra references to the fact that this kid needs fresh air like he has been couped up in his room too long. Overall this was pleasant but no spark at all. My grade: C


: Jason Castro is the only contestant who actually uses a guitar to perform "Daydream" originally by The Lovin Spoonful. A nice guy it seems who does a nice version of the song but I felt like he was trying to find the right key as it came off sounding uneven to me. I was stunned that Simon called it terrific. The other judges were not blown away but in all honesty I do think the potential for this guy to do better is there. My grade: B-


Last of our contestants is Michael Johns who does a good job singing "Light My Fire" by The Doors. The judges are blown away by his performance however I think he changed the range of the notes too often. Not to take away from the fact that yes indeed this guy can sing and if I am fair he was probably the second best of the night. My grade: B+


:noidea: So there you have the first night of the competition. Did anyone truly knock my socks off well to be honest no but one did show new interest for me and that is David Archuleta who I think will be one of the stand-outs during this show.

Who do I think should be voted off? Danny Noriega, Chikezie Eze or Garrett Haley. Who might be in trouble? I would say possibly Jason Yeager and just maybe Luke Menard. At this point it could be any of them with a few exceptions. I just think there were too many just okay performances to make an accurate guess.

Tomorrow are the girls and hopefully they will do better. So in bidding you all a good night, I look forward to your comments on how you felt about the guys.

Hmm...I think if they don't step it up, the guys might get lost this season.
~tyg

Boy you said that right, NOT EVEN CLOSE>.. Wow they sure built this season up and what a let down, Now for me the one I liked so far that is, is David Henderze. I did like him, and oh was he ever nervous. But I think he out of all of them showed that he is serious about this, I don't know maybe it was his manerizam or something, He was glad he was there and I believed that what he sang came from his heart.

David A was good I will admitt to that but theres something about him that kind of bothers me not sure what, maybe because his constance suprized reaaction reminds me of the way Melinda was last season. I have no doubt that he'll go far but don't think he has what it takes to win. I think he'll wear out before the season is over.

I was a bit dissapointed with Chekize, I liked him in auditions real well but thought last night he kind of let the ball drop. JMO.

Danny N. Well not sure about this one, He's cute, young but I think if he keeps up this attitude toward Simon he won't get to far, but he does have a good voice even though I didn't care for his Jail House Rock. I'm told he's gay which makes no difference to me at all and some are saying (from the AI board) that his action will lose him votes, I watched him and I might be going blind with old age or something because I didn't think he acted any different than the rest, they say something about his body language, anyone know what they are talking about.

Ok so Ididn't get to see all of them because some one had the NERVE to CALL ME... to bad it was an out of town call and I could not just let it ring, which I would have. I have it taped and will go back and watch the rest later today..

Thanks CC for the great recap. It is a usual wonderful and you sure make sure and cover the whole night..

One question, Do these judges EVERY say anything different. Randy and his "It's the BOMB" and ANOTHER HOT ONE TONIGHT" Some of the phrases. Are getting old...

Great review CC!!

Best ever? I don't think so. I missed Danny's performance because my hubby called. Hasn't he learned over the last few years that he shouldn't call me during AI? Men.

Anyway...I found myself bored wtih some of them.

I think David H. got screwed by being the first up and his nerves showed. I liked his performance though and hope to see him next week. i think he's safe this week.

I was a little disappointed in Chikezie. I really liked him in auditions and thought his performance was just okay. I'm not sure if he'll stick around another week, but I hope he does so he gets a chance to sing once again.

David Cook. I'm not sure if I like him too much. For some odd reason i felt his facial expressions were creepy at least to me. My decision on him is nothing yet. I think he'll stick around though.

Jason Y. One of the guys we've heard nothing from before last night, and I found myself bored with his performance. he was smiling an awful lot and I'm not sure why I noticed that so much, but maybe it was because I was bored with his performance. I think he may be one of the guys leaving tonight.

Robbie. I just have to say that I love Robbie. I think he did a great job. Not sure if he's really a rocker type guy, but not really sure if he's a boy band guy either. he's somewhere in between if there is an in between. LOL

David A. Now I don't think his vocals were as great as they were in Hollywood, but he's just so adorable and yes I want to adopt him. He's got a great personality but you can tell he is young. 17. I'm sure they'll keep telling us that like they told us that last season with Jordin. I think he'll make it really far, but don't think he'll win the whole thing.

Luke. Now this man is sexy. I was hoping he'd do a better job than he did. They said how they loved him in his auditions, he had great range. I want to see his auditions!!!! I hope he sticks around another week to show us what he's got. I'm afraid he might just be one that gets the boot early. I hope I'm wrong.

Colton. Well he looks like Ellen. I liked the song. His vocals were good, and I'm just not sure if I like him or not. Neither here nor there with him for me. I think he'll be around for another week.

Garrett. To me Garrett was boring. He was nervous like i'm sure they all were, but i don't even remember it much. I'm afraid he might be leaving tonight.

Jason C. Finally somebody took advantage of playing an instrument. Risky choice for a first performance and he pulled it off. I love Jason too. I loved how he did that song. I think I love his blue eyes the most though. LOL He was original and a little pitchy at times, but he worked it out and I know he'll be around next week. (i'm starting to use the words the judges use. Ewwww! LOL)

Michael. I loved when he sang Bohemian Rhapsody in Hollywood. This was a good performance by him, but not as good in my opinion as his Hollywood audition. He'll make it far. The judges loved it, of course, but I didn't like it as much as them. I think I'm trying hard not to like him.

All in all i've picked a few favorites. Robbie and Jason C. for now. I want a few to stick around so I can hear more from them.

I'm excited to hear the ladies tonight. But, for some reason I think this year a guy will win. Probably becasue we need another guy to win this soon LOL

I have no idea how true any of this is but I just read it on another forum and thought it was interesting so thought I'd let you decide if there is any truth to ANY or ALL of this..



backgrounds on some of the contestants in the top 50:

-Carly Hennessy - auditioned for season 5, but failed to make it far because of an expired visa, she's from Ireland, released an album that sold 300 copies.
-Michael Johns - lead singer of a band called The Rising, who was supposed to release an album in '03 but he left the band
-Kristy Lee Cook - signed to Arista in '01, caused some controversy when she was snapped signing with the Confederate flag in her room, almost had Britney Spears in her video
-Lorena Pinot - toured with Miami Sound Machine (Gloria Estefan's old band)
-Jason Castro - was in that Cheyenne show on MTV
-Robbie Carrico - the frontman of that 90s pop group Boyz N Girlz United, was one of Britney's first boy toys and opened for her and LFO, now fronts a Daughtry-esque band
-Syesha Mercado - was on the AI rip-off show The One and is the daughter of a Motown producer
-Shaun Barrowes - an established songwriter/producer for Sony/Universal Records, his website states that he's done work for Madonna, Beyonce, ZZ Top, Gwen Stefani, Joe BLEEPer, and others
-Joanne Borgella - plus sized model who won Mo'Niques Fat Chance back in '05 and has sung backup for Patti LaBelle, Mary Mary, and Bo Bice. She's also appeared on the Tyra Banks Show and Good Morning America.
-Samantha Sidley - performed alongside Katharine McPhee when both were attending the Berkeley College of Music
-Amy Davis - sang with a band with members of Survivor (you know, "Eye of the Tiger" and appeared on Nashville Star
-David Archuleta - winner on Star Search, appeared on Jenny Jones and the Early Show, toured with a co. of 'Les Miserables', sang for the first season finalists of AI (including Clarkson), and was barraged by record execs connected to the show
-Brooke White opened for Phil Vassar
-Jermaine Paul - possibly the biggest plant of all, Paul has allegedly dropped out. he's already signed to J Records, nominated for a Grammy for a duet with Alicia Keys on her second album, and appeared on a remix to Kanye West's "Gold Digger" as part of his group Focus. his website has been gone lately. hmmm..

everyone for your comments. To answer a few of the postings let me start with Angie.

I was not blown away with Robbie but do like Jason Castro. Also just a side note to you I did do a re-cap on your site.

Sandi, you are right about the rumors you have heard and this makes this night of the guys even more disappointing I think as I expected better.

Overall, have to agree with tyg that the guys need to step it up if they expect to out-do the girls.


Be back later with the re-cap of girls night.

Ya know I read that list of those that have former experience and some of them are known to the record companys, Which to me says a lot, No record company knows me :( Anyway, I was thinking just who unfair this is to those that have NO previouse experience, I mean there were a couple I didn't see on that list Asia'h and David H being two of them, How can they compete with the others that have more experience. Just an idle thought but shouldn't this be a bit more fair. See it goes back to that thought I had early on about TPTB KNOWING who they want in the final and making sure they are there. Ok Don't with my thinking... :)