popbytes on american idol top twelve!






hey everyone! so i sat down tonight to catch the start of the top twelve on american idol and i thought to jot down a few notes but as soon as i got started it turned out to be more than a couple of notes – i went ahead and covered each of the performances which ended up being a lot of work yet it did help me get familiar with everyone’s names – to be honest i haven’t been all that into the show this season but i’m trying! besides anytime diana ross is hanging around – i’m so there! so if your interested in idol then read on…



the kick-off begins with brandon rogers and oh my gosh – yuck – horrible – i hated it! he sang ‘you can’t hurry love’ from 1966 and lordy i wanted to hurry him right off the stage! master class teacher this week diana ross totally must have rolled her eyes! not the best way to kick-off the evening! it’s hard though to be the first person up at bat but i think he could’ve picked a better song more suited to his style…



(oh my word – did anyone else catch the catty bitch comments between ryan seacrest & simon cowell?!? ryan was all ‘stay out of my closet’ and then simon said ‘come out’!)



melinda doolittle – she so reminds me of gladys knight – she sang ‘home’ off the soundtrack from ‘the wiz’ (a total awesome movie!) oh man she nailed it and picked the perfect song for the competition – oh she rocks! plus she made paula abdul cry! (oh my gosh simon compared her to gladys knight – just like i did – we’re so in sync sometimes!)



chris sligh with ‘endless love’…he switched it up a bit and it immediately didn’t work for me…and it’s one of her best songs! he made it sound like a coldplay song – oh man it’s going more & more wrong – someone stop him – he fucking butchered this song and it’s total shame because he was one of my favorite guys – he gave the song such an odd wrong twist – it almost felt like a christian song!






gina glocksen is up at bat with ‘love child’ – she may be able to nail this with her cool style…ok it’s not the worst but i wouldn’t write home about it either – the tempo also seemed a little slower than it should have been – overall it was heavy on the boring side…the energy could have been pumped up way more but i do think it was a smart song choice for her more rock & roll vibe!



oh sweet little sanjaya malakar – i feel bad for him but he totally has to go home this week and i haven’t even seen his performance yet…here he goes with ‘ain’t no mountain high enough’ (at least he got some extra hug love & kind words from ms. ross) oh man i feel like they could toss a dress on him and it would turn into a ms. ross dragshow – and gosh he needs to stop his annoying swaying! again i do feel awful for him but gosh he really needs to leave the competition – it’s just too embarrassing to watch him up there!



next up is haley scarnato (she’d totally have to take a stage name or just be known as haley) who is going to be singing one of ms. ross’ best songs ever ‘missing you’ (i didn’t realize it was written with marvin gaye in mind) oh no – i think i may have to give her a big thumbs down – i can’t help compare it to the original and this is a horrible revisit to the song (plus she forgot the words!) she needs to go home soon too – yikes! i’m quite surprised with simon’s review – usually he’s spot on but i have to disagree with him on ms. scarnato…






here’s mr. baldy phil stacey – he does seem kind of sweet but his eyes are a bit buggy – but their color is gorgeous! maybe he should trim down his eyebrows a drop to lessen the bug out effect – the brows are a little overpowering! he’s up with ‘im gonna make you love me’ – i’m not impressed – in fact i’m finding him to be heading towards the creepy side – and this song also has an obsessive quality as well – he won’t be around for long…although the judges didn’t pan his performance – i’m not a fan of phil!



woo hoo! here comes my gal lakisha jones who is doing ‘god bless the child’ which ms. ross performed in the billie holiday biopic ‘the lady sings the blues’ – oh i hope she nails it and now we can call her kiki! i think she’s doing a superb job on vocals but i’m finding her song choice to be questionable – i think she could have picked something else and shined even more but she’s still one of my faves! i totally agree with simon that ‘kiki’ along with melinda doolittle are in a different and much better league than the rest!



here’s one of the two cute guys on the show…it’s blake lewis – i love his vibe but he might need to calm it down a bit too – he’s going to re-work ‘you keep me hanging on’ which ms. ross originally did with the supremes back in 1967! i don’t think it’s working at all – more energy is needed – this the second attempt of the evening to modernize a song and i think they both failed miserably – i do adore what he’s wearing – totally cute style – it just wasn’t his night but i’m sure he’ll stay this week! everyone needs to calm down with putting their own spin on things – i’m with simon – it simply didn’t work…






stephanie edwards is next and will be doing ‘love hangover’ – she’s a cutie and has a great vibe but i’m not sure what she’ll do with this song…i’m bored – anyone else in with me on this one? not terrible but definitely is landing in the middle of the pack tonight – she does have a great voice but for me it was simply ok…the up tempo part should’ve totally been worked in – that for sure would’ve helped her out tonight – she skipped the best part of the song!



the second cute guy of the evening is chris richardson – i’m torn between who is actually cuter but i think my vote goes to chris…he picked ‘the boss’ and i think he’s doing ok – he seems to be off on his vocals tonight but he’s got that sweet charm and cute personality – simon thought it was dreadful – he won’t go home this week though! he also needs to watch his serving of the whole justin timberlake vibe which appears to be quite in this season…



last tonight is miss jordin sparks (thank heavens the end is near! this two hours is starting to grow stale…remember i have trouble paying attention to anything for too long!) she picked ‘if we hold on together’ which probably won’t kick up my energy level…look she’s sitting down – she’s getting ready for the night to be done with too! this song was featured in the animated dinosaur flick ‘the land before time’ – it doesn’t ring a bell at all – she’s not horrible but she has got a little of the scream effect going on…and her vibrato needs to relax itself although don’t take my word on vocal criticism – i’m totally tone deaf – i couldn’t hit one note if i tried! the judges loved her and have put her up in the top three along with lakisha & melinda! i know a girl is going to be crowned the next idol this season…







phew! oh my gosh it’s finally all done – i don’t know if i can do or bear this each week but i will make sure to post a bit more on american idol in the coming weeks (i’ll probably do a ‘goodbye’ post each week dedicated to the booted contestant) i won’t be voting tonight – i’m not that inspired yet to vote at this stage of the competition – popbytes over & out for tonight – xxoo!

About MICHAEL KNUDSEN 5716 Articles
MK (Michael Knudsen) first started PopBytes back in September of 2003—while trying to make a website for his design portfolio, the site quickly turned into one of the premiere online destinations for all things pop culture! A native New Yorker, he currently resides in Los Angeles with his partner Ivan along with four dogs, four cats and two parrots. Follow him on Twitter @PopBytes.