So, here we have it. American Idol's 13th incarnation's top 20 contestants. After last night's so-so turn from the apparent best of the best girls, on Wednesday (Feb. 19), judges Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban hand picked the top 10 boys for this year's competition.
Like the girls, this crop of boys is a true mixed bag. There's the classic rockers, the indie rockers, the country dudes and your R&B stars. With such a diverse top class, how can they even compare? It's like putting apples against spaceships.
With all that in mind, let's look at the good, the bad and the passable from tonight's top 10 boys.
The Good:
Caleb Johnson: As always, American Idol started strongly with Caleb Johnson, who tackled the classic The Faces song "Stay With Me." The vocal was always going to be strong - with the growl of Chris Cornell and the swagger of Jack Black, Johnson was never a doubt for the top 10. Even better for him, he owned the stage. While many of the girls last night seemed nervous, I'm pretty sure Johnson was born on the Idol stage.
Sam Woolf: This was, far and away, the best song selection of the night. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Sam Woolf perfectly settled into the middle of his range for David Gray's '90s hit "Babylon." It didn't have the power of Caleb Johnson, but Woolf was able to show that a performance doesn't need a lot of flash and insane energy to shine. Throw in a few nicely controlled runs, and this was a win.
Dexter Roberts: Dexter Roberts is thoroughly and purely a country guy. Armed with an acoustic guitar, he tackled Craig Morgan's "This Ole Boy" because, well, he's a good ole boy. Once again, Roberts was relaxed and breezy while showing off the deepest Southern accent on Idol by far. Though the judges worry about him finding his way in the busy country world, he definitely seems like he'll find his niche with Idol.
CJ Harris: Mmm... Ray Lamontagne's "Shelter." With a great song choice under his belt, CJ Harris has few places to go but up on his live performance. With the right amount of rasp and rawness in his voice, Harris bordered on over-singing this normally subdued song, and while the judges took note of this, I thought it added another emotional element, bringing his performance over the brink.
Alex Preston: Like Sam Woolf, the alt-rockish Alex Preston picked a stellar song with Damien Rice's smokey "Volcano." With that delightfully unique, semi-Jason Mraz snarl voice, Preston nailed this song. He was super relaxed and at home on stage, making this performance as smooth as satin. It was nice to watch, and I hope America agrees.
The Bad:
Spencer Lloyd: I get it... he's a fan favorite. He's pretty to look at. Cool. Did he sing well tonight? Hell no. Spencer Lloyd performed The Fray's latest single "Love Don't Die" at the closing of the episode, and there were barely reached notes, squeaks, a bit of flatness... it was all over the place. He'll probably move to the top 13 regardless, and I will continue to be annoyed.
Emmanuel Zidor: As the judges noted, Emmanuel Zidor was way into his performance of The Emotions' "Best Of My Love," but he kind of forgot about the singing aspect. It was strained and stretched and all over the place, even though his hips were always in a forward motion. I guess someone has to go home, ya know?
The Meh:
George Lovett: In general, I think season 13 is a boys' world on American Idol, which is why it's surprising that there were so many flat performances tonight. And I will note that the good boys were better than the good girls. That in mind, the Frank Ocean-y George Lovett's take on Bruno Mars' "Grenade" was not one of those good performances. He could hold notes pretty well, but he was all over the place in a lot of moments and his voice had a noted warble to it, which is never a good thing. He sang too hard, and the resulting cracks in his voice just ruined the whole thing.
Malcolm Allen: I want to remember more about this performance, I really do. For a note, I'm writing this less than an hour after American Idol aired, and I had to strain to remember what Malcolm Allen even sang. It was Anthony Hamilton's "Comin' From Where I'm From," by the way, and in every sense of the word, it was OK. He had control and a solid enough voice, even though he flubbed a few notes. It's just in a night where Caleb Johnson stormed the stage and Sam Woolf and Alex Preston managed to quietly impress, there needed to be more than this.
Ben Briley: For a note, after the whole American vote thing, it's nice to know that Ben Briley found a spot in the top 10 guys. Equipped with an electric(!) guitar, he performed Warren Haynes' "Soulshine." The guitar solo was kickass, the vocals had some country grit to them, but it wasn't as rocking as Johnson or as purely, comfortably country as Dexter Roberts, but that doesn't mean this wasn't a solid turn. It just wasn't solid enough to be "good" tonight.
The top 10 means that Ethan Harris, Briston Maroney, Casey Thrasher, Maurice Townsend and Jordan Brisbane were sent packing without the chance to sing. Boo.
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