"American Idol" judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson.
The final twenty-four semi-finalists were selected on “American Idol” on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, in Las Vegas. Let the games begin! The twelve male semi-finalists will rise to thirteen as a final boy is selected from one of four contenders. A poll taken on my.hsj.org, asking which of the four potential male contestants deserved to be placed back in the competition, favored Johnny Keyser, with 41.1%. David Leathers, Jr., received 29.1% of the votes, Germaine Jones 23.6% and Richie Law—the arrogant cowboy-hatted bossy contestant—got only 6.1% of the vote.
Twelve Female Semi-Finalists
The twelve girls left in the competition are: Jessica Sanchez, Jen Hirsch, Hayley Johnsen, Elise Testone, Chelsea Sorrell, Baylie Brown, Brielle Von Hugel, Erika Van Pelt, Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, Hollie Day and Shannon McGrane. It is no accident that I placed Jessica Sanchez’ name first in this list.
Twelve Male Semi-Finalists
The twelve male contestants selected, so far, are: Creighton Fraker, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm, Heejun Han, Colton Dixon, Phil Phillips, Deandre Braceknsick, Chase Likens, Aaron Marcellus, Jeremy Rosado, Adam Brock and Eben Frankewicz. Eben and Randy Leathers, Jr., were the last two to be notified and each looked like they were among the youngest, although Randy has a two-year advantage on the 15-year-old Eben. Randy was shown with his father, after he was cut, describing himself as “devastated” but saying Eben deserved a spot. I hope the poll mentioned above is wrong and either Randy or Germaine is placed back in the group. For that matter, I thought Neco Starr deserved to go on for the boys, and cutting 29-year-old Wendy Taylor was singled out by www.theclicker.today.msnbc as particularly brutal, since she will not be able to compete again. Wendy of Crosby, TX, sang in the group (with Mathene Treco and Lauren) “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and was quite good.
The two-hour program on Wednesday night dragged on and on as the same “bait-and-switch” tactic for delivering the good news was employed over and over again, reducing many of the stressed-out contestants to tears. I don’t believe I’ve seen so many male contestants in tears before this season. (Steven Tyler even said, “I like to see a grown man cry” when Adam Brock broke down on Thursday night’s program.)However, it is also true that the Korean-American contestant Heejun Han from Pittsburgh cries when he’s happy and cries when he’s sad. So, go figure.
Momma’s Boys
I also don’t remember a season when 26-year-old contestants like Reed Grimm were on their cell phones to Mommy quite so much, or when a gentle giant like Germaine Jones is shown devotedly telling viewers that he calls his mother “My Beautiful” and she calls him “My Handsome.” My only conclusion: this year, they don’t have as many truly tragic backstories of sickness or handicaps overcome.
Of course, the producers could simply be waiting to display all that pathos for the coming programs. (I have never seen such blatant tear-jerking maneuvers as those used by “Dancing with the Stars;” the “dedication” of each night’s dance to this or that cause gets to be a bit much.) Somehow, you expect a 15-year-old, like the very young Eben Frankewicz, to lean heavily on his parental units, but for those pushing thirty, it seems immature. Of course, with contestant Reed Grimm, (who sounds good if you don’t have to look at his weird presentation(s) and slinky-like dancing, what is “normal,” really? I, personally, like Dave Matthews wanna-be Phil Phillips, 21, of Leweesburg, PA, even though his voice may not be the best in the competition. That honor may go to Joshua Ledet from Louisiana, or even young Eben. I would not expect Jeremy Rosado or Deandre Brackensick of the long, wavy locks and the high falsetto to go very far.
“American Idol” vs. “The Voice”
Meanwhile, a flap has broken out on Ellen DeGeneres’ show over Randy Jackson’s supposed comment that “The Voice” was a show on which rejected contestants from “American Idol” go to compete again. Adam Levine did not take kindly to Randy’s off-the-cuff remark, saying, “Shame on Randy Jackson for saying that, because he, out of anybody, should know that if you’re in this business you need second, third, fourth and fifth chances. So, we love and embrace that being part of ‘The Voice.’…It was an irresponsible thing to say that.”
Randy Jackson immediately responded with a semi-apology, trying to clarify what he had meant, saying, “It’s all love. Adam is a friend of mine. He and I and Ryan (Seacrest) have hung out a zillion times. There is no disrespect…I’m just saying the difference in our show is new people. We try to find those.”
Since its 2002 launch, “American Idol” has been a ratings winner and it still beat “The Voice,” which pulled in 16.3 million viewers, 13% less than “American Idol.” “The Voice” is doing well for NBC, however, scoring second only to Sunday night football and attracting an audience that is slightly younger, with an average age of 43, while the average age for “Idol” viewers is 47.
