Matheny Treco– I liked him last year before he lost his voice; he sounds fine now, and he picked a cool song to sing… it’s death to go first, though, and while he had plenty of nice moments in the song, the song as a gestalt didn’t seem to flow together like it needed to, if he is going to survive the cut. Part of it is that he was maybe 50 percent at getting ahead of all the rapid-fire phrases. He has a good, but not great voice, and he has very good, but not quite great range. I root for him, but I’m not optimistic.
Turbanator– I liked the song choice…. other than Nick, Turbs is maybe the closest thing the show has to a rock singer. It’s sad; doubly sad because Turbs didn’t exactly blow his song up. He had some really rough moments, and the way he started the song felt pretentious once I realized that it wasn’t a signature part of the song itself. I’ve felt like Turbs was a lock all the way, but then again he probably won’t be one of the top five singers tonight so you never know. My guess is that he’s still fairly safe.
Vincent Powell- The first half of his song was vintage soul, really, really well done. The second half was a bunch of overwrought caterwauling, trying to impress everyone so just toss it. Give this man a slot opening for Aretha Franklin or Natalie Cole, someone like that, and he’ll nail it. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it through.
Nick Boddington- If he gets bounced he’s going to have a long, painful summer of wondering if he gave it his best shot. I got a strong feeling, based on what I’ve heard him do in the past that he was holding back tonight, maybe to set himself up for next week; when the public will need to be impressed. He’s been a frontrunner all year, so I still think he’s ok, but he might have opened the door a little.
Josh Holiday- I didn’t hate the song, just the singer singing it. He might have some songwriter potential. Singing… please stop. Seriously, he’s just good enough to make it very clear that he isn’t a professional quality singer. He has all the moves, all the affectations, but none of the soul, the spirit, the TALENT to be a singer. This means, of course, that he is our Next American Idol. All he needs is a guitar to be pretty much the only one left on the show who can bring the WGWG title home this year.
David Oliver Willis- What’s the opposite of overdoing it? DOW kept the entire song’s melody within half an octave until his wild, ca- RAYZY glory note at the end, an entire step past half an octave. His voice is nice, his feel even nicer, but he ain’t going far without more dynamic variety to his performances. He’s a really good musician (plays strong piano too) and he might play some cool stuff, not just a bunch of drippy ballads, so I really want him to make it. The show is going to need singers who will sing up tempo songs.
Bryant Tadeo- If they were thinking of dumping him, he made it really hard to do it. He was somewhere between fantastic and perfect, on a fairly tough song to be perfect on.
Burnell Taylor- He doesn’t really have a flashy voice, but man does he emote. Am I the only one who thought of Urkel? Oh shut up, yes you did.
Lazaro Arbos- I never thought I’d live to see bow ties back in style, but they all seem to be wearing them tonight…. Laz ain’t here because he’s an amazing singer. He’s good, very good, and he sounded fine tonight once the nerves settled in a little. It’s up to the judges, whether or not he fits the bill over someone who maybe sang a little better. Honestly I don’t think it’ll be that big a problem to justify giving the kid a spot in front of the voters.
Cortez Shaw- They saved the pimp slot on all four shows for the biggest voice of the night; the first three all sailed through, and Cortez probably will as well, though his high notes were really sloppy. What a difference a year makes; he was dumped between 100 and 50 last year, and now he’s the anchor of a top 40 show.
Safe to in danger:
Locks
- Lazaro
- Vincent
Probable
- Burnell
- Cortez
Hoping For the Best
- Nick
- Bryant
- Turbs
- David Oliver
Done Like Dinner
- Matheny
- Josh
Bryant sang the best of the middle ones, but he wasn’t pimped all year like Turbs was, or as strong all year like Nick was. I figure either he’ll be the fifth one, or it will come down to Nick and Turbs. I like both, so either one is fine with me.
Ok, let’s have it…
Ok that was weird…. I’ve been miles off the last two nights, but tonight I got it right (Nick was the fifth, head to head with Turbs). I’ll spend some time this weekend working up a power rankings for the final twenty and maybe some good inside information, and next week the show is live!!! Seeya then.
Bob Gregory's Gallery of Renown 