Ugh. I hate this new format change. For those of you who aren’t completely clear, here’s a short rundown on how the semis will proceed:

The Top 36 are divided into 3 groups of 12. Group 1 Tuesday night. After the show, ya’ll will vote as usual. During Wednesday night’s results show, Ryan Seacrest will announce the 3 highest vote-getters–Top guy, Top girl and next highest of either sex–to advance to the Top 12. By Wed. of Week 3, America will have filled 9 of the Top 12 slots.

On Thursday of Week 3, a group of contestants, hand-picked by the producers,   (mostly from the Top 36 but not necessarily) will perform again for the judges. At the end of the episode, the judges will choose the last 3 contestants to round out the Top 12.

So much to hate about this set up. Instead of watching the same group of contestants grow week-by week during the semi’s we’ll see a different group of 12 each week. It’s an unwieldy and confusing system that favors those with lots of screentime over the unknowns. Contestants better give the performance of their lives, or they’re toast.

Plus, separate groups give the producers more latitude to manipulate the outcome: Sprinkle a few of the producer favorites in each group, make sure their songs are cleared and they get good performance spots, surround favs with cannon fodder, allow the judges to choose 3 of the Top 12 to make up for America’s “mistakes”.   Me no likey.

After the jump,   A rundown of Group 1 of the American Idol Season 8 Semi-final Round.

A pre-performance show prediction:   Danny Gokey and Anoop Desai move on to the Top 12 this week.   Either Anne Marie Boskovich or Jackie Tohn snag the Top girls spot.

• Alexis Grace -Profile – Nice girl.   If she performs well, she could get picked as a wild card
• Anne Marie Boskovich – Profile – She’s set to do well in this competition, she’s a likely candidate for the Top 12.
• Anoop Desai – Profile – Anoop Dawg is totally Top 12. Heh.
• Brent Keith – Profile – We haven’t seen much of Brent so far.   If he performs a straight up country tune tomorrow and performs it well, he could be a wildcard.
• Casey Carlson – Profile – Bikini pics notwithstanding, I think she’s toast.   She’s got a slim chance at the wildcard.
• Danny Gokey – Profile – Top 12. Slam Dunk.
• Jackie Tohn – Profile – Jackie’s a bit polarizing, which is a good thing.   If she performs well, she could move straight to the Top 12.
• Michael Sarver – Profile – I think the judges like this guy, so if he doesn’t make Top 12 this week, he could be a wild card.
• Ricky Braddy – Profile – Unless he comes out tomorrow night with an AMAZING performance, he has no chance.   He’s a casualty of the new format, unfortunately.
• Stephen Fowler – Profile -   This   guy could be dark horse if he performs really well.
• Stevie Wright – Profile – I’m thinking she’s toast–she’s got a unique voice, but hasn’t proven she’s got what it takes to advance. Like Ricky, she’s got to hit one out of the park.
• Tatiana Del Toro – Profile – VFTW nothwithstanding, Tatiana will not advance tomorrow, but she will be back   to annoy us via the wildcard round.   The producers are going to wring this one for every bit of   “entertainment” value.

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