American Idol 2012 - Live Semifinalist Round - The Men Perform

iOk, I know I've been missing in action, but I actually have a good excuse:  My darling daughter dropped my laptop (which contained all of my blog info) and broke it.  It is now in the repair shop, and I hope to have it back soon.

So, we are skipping the rest of the auditions and going straight to the first week of the live shows.  On Tuesday evening, the Top 12 men performed.  Actually, there were 13, because the judges brought one male contestant back, but we will get to that later.

First up was wacky dude, Reed Grimm, who sang the popular song "Moves Like Jagger."  He sang a jazzy version of it, which totally made this modern song sound rather old-fashioned.  Strangely enough, I kinda dug it, man.

Adam Brock was next, and sang "Think."  Though it was an Aretha Franklin song, he sang it with masculinity and incredible soul.

Deandre Brackensick, aka Milli (or was it Vanilli?) sang "Reasons" by Earth, Wind & Fire.  His falsetto, hip swaying, and gorgeous hair will turn this young guy into a lady-killer.  And a superstar! 

Much ado has been made about Colton Dixon.  First of all, his Vanilla Ice 'do gets on my last nerve.  Then he said that everyone was used to seeing him at the piano, but tonight he was going to shock people.  Ready for the shocker?  He started out at the piano, and then he STOOD UP!  OMG!  Shocking stuff right there.  The singing (he sang "Decode) was decent, and the judges kept saying that he's a "relevant artist."  I say, "Meh."

Next up was Jeremy Rosado singing, "Gravity."  He has such a silky voice, but showed very little power.  He did a nice job, though.

Aaron Marcellus sang "Never Can Say Goodbye" by the Jackson 5.  The judges loved him, but he didn't really blow my britches off.  I think he would fit it well with an R&B group like Boys 2 Men.  But solo R&B artists are a dime a dozen, and he doesn't really stand out amongst the big dogs.

Chase Likens is a country performer who sang "Storm Warning."  He didn't show a lot of range with this song, but with his unique look, he's very appealing as a performer.

The next singer was Creighton Fraker.  This dude is so dorky!  He sang "True Colors," and managed to sound even more girly than Cyndi Lauper.  He reminds me of my goofy uncle when he tries to sing Patti Labelle at karaoke night.  I probably should mention that I think "True Colors" is one of the most boring and over-rated songs of all time.  It makes me want to hit myself in the head with a hammer everytime I hear it.  Sorry, Creighton, but I'm not a fan.

Now, this next guy....I'm a big fan!  Phillip Phillips sang "In the Air," but did it with a smokey, bluesy vibe.  I liked the chorus much better than the verse because he stayed truer to the melody.  But I can't wait to hear more from this fellow.  He's a true original!

Eben Franckewitz sang "Set Fire to the Rain."  His rendition was nowhere near as good as Adele's.  He didn't hit all his notes, but good try, kiddo.  You did show great confidence.  Get rid of the Justin Beiber hairdo and that snazzy blazer, and you might be a bit more appealing.

Next was Heejun Han, who cracks me up everytime he is interviewed.  He sang "Angels," and I felt like he was holding back a bit at first.  However, when he let loose, it was beautiful.  I agree with the judges that his vocal range wasn't fully expressed with this song.  Step it up, Heejun!  I want you around longer, because you make me smile!

The last of the original Top 12 was Joshua Ledet, who sang, "You Pulled Me Through."  Josh took us to church, and then brought us back home and fed us Sunday dinner.  It was a bit gospel-ly for American Idol, but there's no denying that the boy sang the shit out of that song!








And lastly, the guy that the judges brought back was:

Jermaine Jones!  Awwww, I love this big ole fella!  He sang "Dance With My Father."  Ahhhhh, not many people can jam some Luther, but Jermaine did it with style.  I coulda done without the ginormous purple plaid bow tie, though.





I'm gonna do a separate post for the ladies, so I will go ahead and give you the results for the men now.  The top 5 guys were:

But wait!  It's not over yet!  Each judge gets 1 wild card choice, so they asked the following guys to sing again:  Jeremy Rosado, Deandre Brackensick, and Reed Grimm.  Jennifer chose Jeremy, and Steven chose Deandre. 

You'll have to wait for the results from the ladies to see who Randy picked.