Finally, after a lengthy and painstaking journey in the crazy American Idol journey, the American public will soon be allowed to vote for their favorites starting next week. I have begun to loathe the audition rounds because they are drawn out rediculously long. I honestly believe they could have two or three weeks of audition episodes, then two weeks featuring Hollywood week, then start the Top 24 competition. But that's just my opinion and I know there are several people out there who enjoy the auditions and the bad singers more than the competition-portion of the show itself. So far, I don't really have my eye on a clear favorite to win this year's American Idol title. A strong contender at this stage is Andrew Garcia, who performed an amazing rendition of Paula Abdul's big 1980's hit "Straight Up" in his first performance during Hollywood week. Unlike the past few years, this year features a strong contingent of girls. It'll be interesting to see if a girl prevails this year afterall. At this stage of the game, things can quickly change.
I was also happy to hear earlier in the winter when it was announced that the show was going back to its more traditional Top 24 format as opposed to last season's Top 36. So many talented individuals were cut too soon last year. For everyone involved during season eight's semi-finals, it was a one-and-done process. All everyone got was one performance and if they did enough to impress the American voting public, they advanced to the Top 12 (which became the Top 13 after the wildcard show). That means there'll be no wildcard, in which the judges pick the last three contestants, and there'll likely be no judge's save this year. To be honest, the judge's save was not used at the right time during last season's competition. Ultimately, they used the save on Matt Girad, who pretty much was already past his prime on the show. The judges should've used the save on Alexis Grace right off the bat. But I can see why they waited to use the save and not use it on Alexis so early on. But the gimmick of the save is just that, a gimmick. It's better off being just a one-season thing because although it produced a nice moment last season, the surprise of a shocking elimination helps make American Idol what it is. And maybe we'll have a return to that this season.
Other contestants who I like at the top of my head include Crystal Bowersox. And what a cool last name, by the way. She's very bluesy, soulful, and does an impressive job playing the harmonica and guitar. She really stood out during Hollywood week. I also really liked Didi Benami and her performances during Hollywood week. She's basically performing for her best friend who tragically died way too young. At this stage for the girls, there are a lot of blondes and many of them play the guitar. So it's kind of difficult to keep track of who's who. However, once we get to the semi-final performances, I think it'll be quite easy to pick them all out. Right now all we're basing our opinion on these contestants are from short snippets of their auditions and during Hollywood week. As for the guys, I've already mentioned Andrew Garcia as being a front-runner. A couple of the other guys who may be strong contenders are Casey James and Aaron Kelly. I am sure Casey is going to have a big following because he took off his shirt to bare his chest to America during his audition. And he's not a bad singer, either. He actually proved to be quite impressive, especially with his guitar-playing skills. Now as for Aaron, he'll likely get the tween and young teenage girl vote because he's only 16. So far I haven't been completely blown away by his singing, and he did have difficulty remembering some of the words of a song during Hollywood week. But he's definitely had some strong moments and I'd be shocked if he didn't make the Top 12.
So there you have it; a short preview of the upcoming American Idol season. Who knows, this season may prove to be the strongest yet. However, for me, nothing can beat the excitement I felt during season seven, when David Cook beat David Archuleta for the title. We may experience something along those very same lines this season - except it's two girls vying for the title of American Idol. This may be the most wide-open field of contestants we've ever had for the show heading into the Top 24. Even last year, Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert were front-runners heading into the Top 36, and look how far they went. Really, only Andrew Garcia is the only one whom I consider a front-runner. You never know how this season will play out. After all, that's why American Idol is the most popular show in America. It's truly unpredictable!
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