Jermaine Sellers and John Park, two singers from Illinois, were sent home with the lowest votes out of the male contestants on American Idol Thursday night. I know the judges accused him of pushing too hard while he was singing, but I wanted to see Jermaine perform another week. He has a good voice and I love his geek chic; without a doubt Jermaine is a more interesting contestant that Tim Urban, who somehow remains on the show. Mount Prospect native Lee DeWyze, who performs again with the guys on Wednesday night, has received positive feedback for his last two semifinal performances of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" and Hinder's "Lips of an Angel." In addition to having a rich growl to his voice, DeWyze also has unique song choices. I don't even care much about the pitch problems noted by the judges because he actually feels the lyrics of the songs when he sings. I was especially impressed by his acoustic guitar interpretation of "Chasing Cars." As a viewer I can't stand when contestants choose to sing songs that have already been covered on the show in previous seasons.
A unique song choice and heartfelt interpretation of that song definitely makes a contestant stand out. I admit that because we didn't see much of Siobhan Magnus during auditions and Hollywood Week I was not interested in her when the judges announced their Top 24 picks. However, after Siobhan sang Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" in week 1 of the semifinals I was hooked. What an awesome song choice! Her powerful voice and quirky, unpredictable sound bites in her interviews have made her a fan favorite very quickly. As for my other favorites, I'm still sticking with Andrew Garcia and Didi Benami, even though they have had trouble living up to previous performances. Despite being hospitalized last Tuesday, Crystal Bowersox returned Wednesday night and gave one of the night's best performances. And although the boy is so nervous he doesn't have hardly any stage presence, I find myself rooting for Alex Lambert. I really enjoy the natural soul he has to his voice and it is refreshing to see a contestant who is without Hollywood-airs and still rough around the edges. I just love an underdog.
Tomorrow night the Top 8 girls perform, and the Top 8 guys perform Wednesday night. On Thursday we'll finally be down to the Top 12.
