I’m working on a Top 24 guide–with pictures and everything! I’ll be posting a guide to The Top 12 guys and one for the Top 12 girls. Watch for both posts in the next couple of days.
In the meantime, for more on your Top 24, check out americanidol.com for the official Top 24 contestant page and videos.
Entertainment Weekly has handicapped 20 of the contestants into what they call the Power List. The betting odds-makers have also joined the fray. At the moment, Chris Sligh appears to have the edge.
Frankly, I think it’s useless to rank the contestants at this stage of the game. We’ve barely heard some of the them sing. And, until we see what they bring to the Idol stage, it’s hard to know who will stand out, and who has staying power. Last season, at the outset, Ace Young, Mandisa and Lisa Tucker were all considered front runners. And the press was all–Elliott who??? I won’t begin to develop strong opinions on the contestants chances until I see them perform in front of the judges. And then, my predictions will probably still be wrong. Heh.
Now, a few tidbits on the losers.
Something just ain’t right here. Shortly after Denise “crack baby” Jackson’s Minneapolis audition aired, the St. Paul Press ran a profile of the teen that included this statement, “Jackson will return to Los Angeles on Feb. 14 for the semifinals.” I found that really odd, because of course, the contestants sign a very strict confidentiality agreement. No way could Denise disclose that kind of information to the press.
Turns out, there’s a big controversy in Denise’s hometown around a so-called fundraiser held to raise money to send Denise back to Hollywood for the semi-finals:
Jackson,16, and her manager, Rafael Ragland, 28, were featured in several local TV, newspaper and radio reports on Thursday, rebutting a television news segment on Fox47 that aired an hour after Tuesday’s installment of “Idol.” The report focused on a brief concert Jackson gave on Jan. 30 at Cafe Montmartre, which was billed in a press release sent to several media outlets as a $5-a-head “fundraiser” for a trip Jackson would make to Hollywood for her second round of “American Idol” auditions on Feb. 4.
Making matters more complicated, Denise’s “manager” was under the impression that she was still in the running for a semi-final spot as late as January 31, ”She was waiting for a call back after the Hollywood audition, but when the call came, it wasn’t nice…They started snapping on her, saying she was scamming people for the trip to Hollywood.”
Ok, maybe Denise was keeping mum about her status, even to her “manager”. But, how could she even have a “manager” if she was still in the running as a contestant?
The Cafe Montmartre show was put together hastily by an outside promoter, Gary Davis, and the press release was sent out by Cafe Montmartre’s Bessie Cherry, who does booking for the club. Jackson and Ragland weren’t aware of the show until the day it occurred and hadn’t seen the press release, mention of Jackson’s incorrect Hollywood departure date of Feb. 4, or any mention of the concert being a “fundraiser,” Davis said.
Well, the cafe manager was given that information by somebody. So was the press, who believed she was heading back to Hollywood for the semi-finals. Yeah, something ain’t right.
Jory Steinberg, a preternaturally poised Canadian contestant, was considered by many a front-runner after her polished NYC audition. However, poor Jory fell victim to TPTB’s first SHOCKING SHOCKING boot of the season. She and 5 other girls were the first to audition on the first day of Hollywood. All 6 were cut right there and then, putting fear into the hearts, and throats, of the other female contestants looking on.
Jory tells the Toronto Sun:
“I don’t think it was about me specifically,” Steinberg told Sun Media yesterday from her home in Santa Monica, Calif. “I think we were sort of sacrificial lambs for that group and we were chosen to be sacrificial lambs to show people ‘this is how high the bar is going to be for Season 6, so if you don’t do this and this and this, you’re are going to be just like these people.’ “
Well, DUH.
Cowboy Matthew Buckstein, who was eliminated Wednesday from the Top 40, has come up with an idea to stretch his time in the spotlight. He plans to continue competing in the competition–from a karaoke bar in his hometown. Matthew explains on his My Space page:
I’ve decided to compete… as the lost contestant. “The lost Idol” is what I’m calling it.
Here’s how it’s gonna break down: Every week, I’m going to film myself singing down at the same Karaoke bar I’ve been going to for the past seven years; Denver’s Old Hole down on Leetsdale and Oneida. I’ll choose a song in accordance with the rules for that week and I’ll have one shot at it just like my once fellow contestants. No second takes, no fancy editing and even though it’s Karaoke, no words on the screen. If I screw it up, you get to see… just like it was live.
You’ll be able to see the video on YouTube and myspace video, and with your help, you can plaster is all over the web. But the voting… the voting will take place on my myspace music page at www.myspace.com/mattbuckstein. Every Tuesday after the live performance show of American Idol airs, I will put up my performance for that week up, along with a vote counter. All you have to do is click on the link to vote. Now just like the show, you can vote as many times as you like. And just like the show, I’ll leave the counter up for two hours after the show airs in each city. Vote as many times as you want until the counter comes down.
Now, I won’t have any judges to critique me so I’m going to rely on all of you for your feedback. I want you to leave comments on my myspace page about that week’s performance. HONEST OPINONS; good and bad. I wanna here them all (just please keep it clean, this is a family show). If the voting results and the feedback are good in comparison with the show, I’ll perform the next week. The first week the results aren’t sufficient… then I’m out. Simple.
A clever, fun idea, if you ask me. Good luck, Matt. I’m keeping an eye on you…
Finally, the Seattle-Post Intelligencer makes a point:
Weeks after the acerbic judge [Simon Cowell] told the world that Seattle has the shallowest talent pool “American Idol” has ever waded through, five singers who auditioned here made it to the talent competition’s semifinals.
That ties Seattle with the number of contestants in the top 24 who originated from New York and Los Angeles. Only Memphis, Tenn., did better in the numbers game, sending six through. Birmingham, Ala., San Antonio and Minneapolis squeezed in one each.
I’m not the least bit surprised. I figured poor Seattle really wasn’t as talent-free as portrayed–just another victim to the whims of reality show scriptwriters attempting to create a compelling story line.
thanks lisab
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You continue to be the go-to place for all my Idol news, mj. Thanks for doing all the heavy lifting and letting us benefit from your work!
Jory is wise.
Matt Buckstein is pretty surprisingly wise too. I guess after they saddled him with Brokeback Idol last year, he figured everything was fair game this year.
Anyone else wanna place bets on how long it takes the Idol TPTB to shut him down?
The judges biggest failure this year was their failure to incorporate a diversity of musical styles into the top 24.
A big reason that Chris Sligh, Lakisha Jones and Sanjaya Malakar stand out from the crowd (in addition to the fact that they are all really good) is that they are DIFFERENT, both musically and style-wise.
Where is Chris Richardson in this picture?
jasy - wow - you are right - I counted only 23 people in that picture. Huh - wonder where he was? Maybe he is behind Jason Sundance Head…
When I counted just the girls — I got 13 — until I realized that Sanjanya was the extra girl — whoops. I went back and recounted over again - and I still can’t find the twelfth guy - and it appears to be Chris Richardson missing.
That’s a good question, I only count 23 people in the picture.
mj, as usual, you are an excellent source for info but many people fail to comment on your ’spot on’ analysis (for the life of me, I can’t remember how to make that plural) What we constantly witness, in all these little discrepancies, is Idol’s unfailing ability to say one thing and do another, to make rules that they alone can break, to sacrifice good singers to ‘make a point’ and to keep us second guessing the motives, thought processes and sanity of the producers. Manipulation at it’s finest. And to quote a favorite blogger of mine…I love this cheesy show!
He’s between Sanjaya and Phil at the top.
Who’s missing then? Am I counting wrong? (I thought that might be him, Lisa B, but truthfully, I didn’t pay that much attention to what he looked like)
ETA: It looks like Jared Cotter is the one missing.
Rudy is the one between Sanjaya and Phil, not Chris, right?
Jared is up top beside Paul.
Rudy is at the bottom of the pic.
I don’t think that’s Jared, I think that’s AJ.
Ok, we need some identifiers on these pics. I thought the guy in front was AJ.
LOL
There’s a guy hidden behind Sundance.
You’re right Lisa. Good eyes.!
It’s a rubbish photo, what was the photographer on?
Pssst - Lisa B - Daily chat is open.
Hey - I mentioned him maybe being behind Sundance first…. grumble, grumble — no one listens to me. Hurumph.
But you are right - the photographer sucked to not notice Sundance moving in front of other guy. Sheesh.
Hmmm…I figured either:
1. Chris dropped his contact.
2. Sundance said “Hey Chris you dropped your contact.”
or
3. Chris realized he didn’t want to be associated with the show.
Let the conspiracies begin :)
On Chris hiding…when we were having our house built years ago, we took a lot of pictures. One of the construction works always ducked his head or turned his back…we later found out he was wanted by the police! Chris will HAVE to show his face again, sooner or later.
Sorry Pamster! And I still think it’s Jared that’s missing, not Chris (but what do I know?)
It’s just sad that TPTB didn’t notice that the picture didn’t show ALL of the final 24 contestants. Typical. It showed those they considered worthy - who cares about the rest.
Can’t wait for tomorrow!!
It’s just sad that TPTB didn’t notice that the picture didn’t show ALL of the final 24 contestants. Typical. It showed those they considered worthy - who cares about the rest.
—-
LOL! so they consider 23 worthy, but one not worthy? it’s hard to take a picture of 24 people all looking at the camera, smiling and not having people with their eyes half closed, mouth half open, i’m not surprised one picture slipped through their grasp
So the first semifinal performance shows are taped, not live? If they tape the guys today, will there be spoilers later tonight for song choices? Girls tape tomorrow, then a live results show Thursday night, I guess?
When does the show go live for the performance shows? Are all the semifinal performance shows taped, or just the first pair?
I so hope that someone will blow us all away tomorrow or Wednesday. From what little we have been allowed to see, there is talent among them. I suppose so early in the season, most will play it safe and not do anything too daring, but I can hope for the one that makes you mouth drop open and say, wow, now that’s what I’m talking about.
Cheers to the hope of a fantastic opening to the new season!
hey all- notice that the AI site has now changed the pic to one with Chris smiling (not sneezing- or whatever he was doing in the other pic)? Also- he is the ONE person from the photo shoot who isn’t wearing same clothes in the group shot as his solo pics… what happened during the photo shoot that made him change from a blue tee to a white (or vice versa)… inquiring minds want to know. *I* want to know!
some colours show up better on camera, atleast when i was in a grease production we had to wear a dark red colour because the pictures were taken in black and white, now i know these aren’t, but its similar
This week’s performance shows are taped.
I know everybody is saying that Chris S will win. And he probably will.
He will get to the Top 3 at least, no doubt about it.
But….. I still think Brandon Rogers will have a shot at the crown. I just have this feeling.
Ok I will admit it, I like Brandon., I hope he does get a tiny chance to be on the finals.
maracaibo, I really like Brandon a lot also. He reminds me somewhat of Smokey Robinson and I think Lakisha is awesome. She has a powerful voice and yet seems to control it much better than Mandisa did last year.
I really hope they or somebody wows us this week.It seems some are getting very testy about talking about season 5 but so far this group hasn’t given us “something to talk about,” in the words of Bonnie Raitt.