I'm coming out of my American Idol closet

I am a huge American Idol fan. I thoroughly enjoy getting caught up in all of the drama of the competition. I love watching the show, debriefing the show, reading other people's thoughts on the show and then downloading the performances off of iTunes. I always pick a favorite and am fiercely loyal all the way until they inevitably get voted off, at which point I have to go through a mourning period. It was particularly hard the year the Constantine Maroulis got voted off extremely prematurely. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to continue to watch.

So this year I'm going to be adding my own 2 cents to my blog about the competition the way that many other bloggers do. I'm going to tread lightly here, because my natural tendency is to get a little bit snarky about the ones that I do not like, and I really don't want to put too much negativity on my blog. That's not what I'm here for. But I am going to keep it real, people.

Speaking of keeping it real, tonight was dreadful. When I first heard they had rearranged the elimination for the preliminary rounds, cutting all but 3 people out of 12, I was horrified. I felt certain that there would be no way to narrow it down to that few in only one night. I was wrong.

Jackie (who's last name I didn't write down)- "A Little Less Conversation"- Ummm....I had trouble getting past the spandex pants and the gigantic sneakers. I was really not a fan of her outfit and it made it hard for me to take her seriously. I think she can sing (better than most of the other people on the show, it turns out), but I did not love this performance.

Ricky Braddy "A Song for You"- This guy can sing. Hands down, without a doubt. He is good. But I was kind of bored. I kind of agreed with Simon that while he did everything right technically, he didn't seem to really exude the star power I need to get me on board. I'm hoping he has another chance to prove me wrong, though, because he can definitely sing.

Alexis Grace "Never Loved a Man"- I love her pink hair. If I was a 20-something blond-haired pixie-of-a-thing, I would totally be running out and getting some pink put in my hair. LOVE it. And I loved her performance. She's great. I have nothing else to say.

Brent Keith "Hick Town"- His energy didn't seem to match the song. I wanted to like him, and he seemed like a nice guy, but I think we're going to be saying good-bye to him tonight. His only hope is the snarky remark he made to Simon at the end. Those have been known to inspire people to vote.

Stevie Wright "You Belong with Me"- She had no business being on that stage and I don't say that to be mean. The poor thing. I just wanted to hug her. She is darling and I love that her name is Stevie. I'm sure that in her school talent show she is the best singer and when she sings at church I'm sure they love her. She should not have been on American Idol and I'm not sure what the judges were thinking. They have likely scarred this poor girl for life by putting her through this.

Anoop Desai "Angel of Mine"- I want to start this critique by first defending Brian McKnight. Really, Paula?!?! You compared Anoop to Brian McKnight?! I appreciate that you always want to find something positive to say about each contestant, but you don't need to throw perfectly fantastic singers under the bus to do it. Anoop may be good. He sounded like there could be potential there. I couldn't get over the whole "boy band" vibe I was getting, though. I'll be happy to give him another chance, but tonight, I wasn't impressed.

Casey Carlson "Every Little Thing (s)He Does is Magic"- Poor thing. I'm pretty sure she thought she was at the Miss Teen USA pageant. Too much winking and silliness. Not enough of a voice. She is absolutely darling and I wish her well. But we will not be seeing her again.

Michael Sarver "I Don't Wanna Be"- This guy is so darn like able it's easy to overlook his imperfect singing, which wasn't all that imperfect, actually. I don't think he is going to win the votes tonight, but he stands a good chance at getting a wild card spot and I'm glad for it.

Ann Marie Boskovich "Natural Woman"- I think her nerves ruined this one for her. And her song choice. It did make her seem old. But she can sing, and I'd like to see her get another chance. Not likely, though.

Stephen Fowler "Rock with You"- I like him. I like his voice. I did not like him singing this song. It sounded a lot like something I could hear in an elevator. And I want to be clear.....I LOVE old school Michael Jackson. Something about this arrangement and his energy just didn't do it for me. He's another one that could possibly receive a wild card, however.

Tatiano Del Toro "Saving All My Love for You"- OK, seriously....here is where I am going to have to bite my tongue. She is not a horrible singer. That is all I will say.

***It is at this point in the broadcast that they reminded all of us that the performances we were listening to tonight could all be downloaded on iTunes for our future listening pleasure. Not going to happen, tonight, people.***

Last but not least.....(drum roll, please.....)

Danny Gokey "Hero"- I'm not sure if he was really, really good or just really, really good compared to everyone else. Time will tell. Suffice it to say, he was the favorite tonight.

So to sum up, my picks are:
Girl- Alexis Grace
Boy-Danny Gokey
3rd spot- either Ricky Braddy or Michael Sarver, but for opposite reasons. If Ricky gets through, it's on his awesome voice and OK personality. If Michael gets through, it's for his awesome personality and OK voice.

So there you have it. My first official AI post. It's not looking like a promising season so far, but I'll be hanging in there. How about you?