The 'Idol' Top 24, Part 2: Straight Up

Let's skip all the opening mishegas and get to the second half of the Top 24. (I will say that the subtitle I just used was originally the subtitle for my aborted Hollywood Week post. Sorry for being slightly lazy in that respect. :) )

• Lilly Scott (20, from Denver, CO): Her deliciously jazzy take on "Lullaby of Birdland" (prior to which she even cited Ella Fitzgerald as the artist :) ) during Day 1 of Hollywood calmed the part of my heart ravaged by scatting extraordinaire Jennifer Hirsh's ouster, and her off-kilter, sunny personality makes me all kinds of happy, but her peformance of a Hall & Oates number was way too pushy, strained, and devoid of life. It was a troubling sign of Lilly potentially thinking she needs to be someone else to be able to succeed...but I hope that wasn't it. She's one of my clear favorites moving into the semifinals, and I hope she brings her striking individuality and vocal consistency to the table, not any preconceptions about what she should or shouldn't be. Viva la Lilly!
• Michael Lynche (26, from Astoria, NY): Thankfully, the disqualification rumors swirling about the Internets ("DEAR INTERNET..." Sorry, but I saw the opportunity for a Conan O'Brien reference and I jumped on it :) ) were apparently false, and this lovable new father (congratulations to his wife! but did Fox REALLY need cameras in the delivery room??) is safe and sound in the Top 24. True, his final performance, a smooth but bland version of "I'm Yours" (still better than Jason Mrubbish's version, though...sorry, but it's true), was...well, bland. But his previous vocal outings were top-notch, and I don't know, I just think he's cool. Got a problem with that?
• Haeley Vaughn (16, from Fort Collins, CO): She's giving me a major Jasmine Murray vibe...in that she's young, charming and pleasant, and has a serviceable voice...but she also doesn't hold up very well in a live setting, became an "Idol" semifinalist a bit too early, and is somewhat doomed with the voters. Her ambition to become a pop-country star is really admirable, and her personality is excellent...but her performances to date (not even her spunky, twangy audition of "Last Name") have most certainly not been.
• Lee DeWyze (23, from Mount Prospect, IL): The little I've heard of his voice has been unimpressive and a bit too scratchy for my taste (his "Ain't No Sunshine," for example, paled in comparison to both Bill Withers' iconic original and Kris Allen's revelatory rendition last season). I'm not foreseeing great things for Lee...but who knows, he could surprise me. Or end up like the trainwreck that Danny Gokey (AKA The Screamer Who Must Be Named) was. For his sake, hopefully it's the first scenario.
• Paige Miles (24, from Houston, TX): All I know about her is that she inexplicably reminds me of Mercedes from "Glee" (a show I don't even watch), and Simon likes her enough to have told her that she's better than she knows. That's a pretty good compliment. Hopefully she has a voice and personality to match, however, because no screen time prior to the semifinals = she pretty much needs something akin to the performance of her life on Tuesday simply to stay in the game.
• Andrew Garcia (24, from Moreno Valley, CA): Normally when I'm offended (a figurative term, I don't truly take offense to much of anything) related to a contestant, it's bad news. Not so for Andrew Garcia...what bugs me is all the stupid recaps/"Idol" articles comparing him to The Screamer Who Must Not Be Named (ha! found a way to repeat that moniker! It's Danny Gokey if you weren't pay attention earlier). He is NOT like that contemptible contestant from last season. He's much better. No obnoxious rasp, no grating personality, no penchant for choosing maudlin inspirational numbers...instead, here in Andrew we have a killer voice, combined with a deliciously experimental artistic sensibility. His triple whammy of excellent performances...a smooth "Sunday Morning, a radically brilliant guitarified cover of a PAULA ABDUL song, and an absolutely soaring "Chasing Pavements" (he chose an Adele song! he chose an Adele song!)...has me sold on his talent and creativity. Keep up the good work, and I think I shall give you my vote.
• Didi Benami (23, from Los Angeles): I was blown away by her beautiful audition of "Hey Jude" (what's with the lack of love, Simon?), and thought her performance of the DioGuardi-penned "Terrified" was the bees' knees...but I oddly thought her final Hollywood Week solo, the Sarah McLachlan weeper (and a song I love) "Angel," was 1-800-A Bit Ungainly. Still, 2 delicious performances out of 3 isn't so bad, and she's definitely one of my favorites. Hopefully her tendency to emotionally let herself loose (it still doesn't bother me, I have to say...after all, her friend died, give her a dang break) won't sour too many "Idol" voters, however.
• Joe Munoz (20, from Huntington Park, CA): A near complete lack of any previous screen time, and his name's unfortunate similarity to last season's cheery, but also bombastic and doomed Jorge Nunez just may combine to dash any hope this young gun has of getting very far in "Idol," much less taking the crown at the end.
• Katie Stevens (17, from Middlebury, CT): Younger than me? A powerhouse voice? A composed and vibrant, yet unique and none-too-perky personality? Nope, folks, I'm not talking about the beloved Allison Iraheta (buy her CD, dang it! NOW!) from last season, I'm referring to the talented Katie Stevens, season 9 Top 24 member. Sure, her musical stylings are miles away from Ms. Iraheta...Allison was a rocker, Katie is a belter...but I see a lot of similarities in their trajectories, and Katie has rarely missed a note (figuratively and literally) in her run so far. Her voice is a whirlwind thing of beauty, and she sings with the confidence of an artist twice her age. Allison got fourth. Could Katie go farther? I sure as heck hope so.
• Alex Lambert (19, from North Richland Hills, TX): I don't really dig Alex (though he's miles less frustrating and obnoxious than last season's Lambert model, the notoriously controversial Adam). He's bland, middling, and he showed a bit of a bratty personality when sparring with Mary Powers (oh, that woman...) during Group Day. Will I shed even a figurative tear if he's a victim of the 2 first cuts from the Top 12 men? Not in the slightest.
• Katelyn Epperly (19, from West Des Moines, IA): I enjoyed her audition of Duffy's "Syrup and Honey" (partly because it's a song by Duffy, who I love)...but otherwise, I've found little to latch onto with Katelyn so far. I'm looking forward to what she brings out on Tuesday, however, and I think she'll do well. At this point, however, I'm somewhat undecided.
• Jermaine Sellers (27, from Joliet, IL): I admittedly had to turn to YouTube to examine Jermaine's previous body of work on "Idol"...for some reason, I haven't seen hide nor hair of him while watching this season (though I realized that I did indeed hear a bit from him in the Group Round, see below). His audition made "If God Was One of Us" a thing of beauty rather than annoyance (I know it has an inspirational message, but did Joan Osborne have to convey it so clumsily?), but his stay in the trainwreck 'Phoenix' during the Group Rounds left him considerably worse for the wear...he was indeed spot-on by pointing out that the weak harmonies would take away from the verse of "Carry On, My Wayward Son," but his shouting at the end of their performance was the very opposite of spot-on, and his offhand comment afterwards that "I know I'm not meant to be in no group" was a bit too diva-esque for my taste. So my opinion on Jermaine is rather mixed, and I'm waiting to see what he's got up his sleeve on Wednesday to make a judgment.

So there you are. My thoughts on Idol's Top 24. Are you excited for the semifinals finally starting on Tuesday and Wednesday? I sure as heck am...after all, I'll take singing over drama any day. And even better, this season I don't have anyone to hate so far...which is always a wonderful thing. Although I'm going to have to juggle to get both episodes watched this week...I'll be there to recap them (finally!). See you then, and for now, adios!