American Idol - Not Wowed Yet Over Final 24?

Okay, a lot of people are really ticked off and/or disappointed about this year's top 24, but I'm willing to give this new crop of Idols some time to impress me. Is there a standout favorite yet? No, but I didn't really ever have that before coming out of Hollywood. I had people on my "to watch" list, but no one I was completely wowed by. So, to me, it seems right on target.

I'll tell you who is on my "to watch" list, though. First and foremost, my short list includes Chris Sligh. This show seems to celebrate unique, and he's very funny, and has talent to boot. Simon came right out and said he was one of the most popular people on the show this year, despite the fact he isn't one of the most talented. Yet, the guy brings it.

In Hollywood, during group performances, he and the other three guys definitely brought it. They worked hard, and it showed. Let's not forget this industry is looking for someone to sell records. Having a great voice isn't all there is to the equation, as there are a lot of boring people with great voices. So they take a look at Chris who has a great voice, but may not stand out above others, plus he always leaves them laughing, and he works hard.

Aside from all that, he's working his way into a great camaraderie with the remaining two guys from his group night. Blake Lewis and Rudy Cardenas teamed with Chris and another guy that has since been cut, Thomas Lowe, and brought the house down with their rendition of How Deep Is Your Love. Looking through the bios of the contestants on americanidol.com, I see that when Chris is asked to name his favorite male pop artists, the list that names Freddie Mercury and Paul McCartney, also includes Blake Lewis and Rudy Cardenas. Asked who is personal American Idol is, Chris names Bo Bice and Blake Lewis. Rudy Cardenas names Chris, Blake and Michael Bolton as his personal American Idols, and Blake names Chris and Rudy as his Idols.

I think having people you get along well with carries you far in this competition. You're cut off from the rest of the world in a house with a bunch of strangers, and getting critiqued weekly on national TV. It has to get a little lonely, so if you can find a couple of like-minded people that you get along well with and can turn to for a shoulder to lean on when you just can't take another minute of it, I think it has to carry you pretty far.

One guy that everyone is all up in arms about is Sundance Head. He started out being a favorite of many, but after he did poorly last night, and made top 24 above Tommy Daniels, many are crying foul. For all we know Sundance did amazing with his last song. Or, for all we know Tommy Daniels was impossible to work with. It's just hard to tell what their reasoning was, but instead of crying foul, I'm going to give Sundance a chance to prove to me why he's there. I want to see it. And because people are already upset with him making it, he needs to bring it already next week, and impress everyone all over again. Otherwise he could fail like Sway Penala last year. He was touted as great and all, but never really showed us, only the judges, and he was gone a few weeks into the semi-finals.

And, of course, there's all sorts of rumors out there. One states that Tommy was disqualified because he talked to the media and that he has some criminal charges against him, and was possible replaced by Sanjaya Malakar. Would he have been sitting next to Sundance if this was the case? I just don't know about that one. There's another one out there that Philip Stacey was disqualified and brought back for some reason. All are unsubstantiated, and we'll never know, as Fox likes to leave us stirring the rumors instead of putting an end to them.

Sanjaya is another one I'm watching. He's very, very young, and I think if he fails, it will be because of his youth. But he has a certain naturalness that combined with his naivete is very refreshing. And many saps, like me, feel for the guy after his sister didn't make it. I don't think he'll be gone the first few weeks, but I'm not sure if he'll make it to final 12.

I'm not really overly excited about the girls. Many of them are unknowns that we haven't seen before. I'm rooting in particular for Lakisha Jones and Melinda Doolittle. Lakisha just seems like such a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of person. And she brought down the house after her audition singing Think, which happens to be my favorite Aretha Franklin song, and one I always wished I could hear Kelly Clarkson do. Melinda has a thing about her that makes everyone root for her, after choosing to be a backup singer. You just want her to do well.

I admit I like Gina Glocksen, too, although many others don't. They see her as a little bitchy and hard-edged. This girl is determined, tough. She just missed out on it last year, and was so focused to not miss out again, and it's worked for her. Some think she'll be gone the first week since she isn't well-liked, but I don't see it. It's never the unliked people that are gone the first week. Look how long Brenna Gethers lasted last year. The first week the people that leave are usually ones that not only do we not see before, but they also don't do well.

The first guys to leave then, are going to most likely be in the group of AJ, Jared Cotter, and possibly Chris Richardson, as he isn't that memorable. The first girls to leave then, will most likely be in the group of Alaina Alexander, Amy Krebs, Leslie Hunt, Nicole Tranquillo, Sabrina Sloan, and Stephanie Edwards. People don't like Antonella much better than Gina, but again, she's a known and not unknown, so she'll stick around for awhile.

I'm anxious for it to start, though, as I really would like to hear and watch those people we haven't heard too much from yet. From what I heard from the clips they showed of them and why they made it to final 24, I'm not overly enthused. So I'd really like to see why the judges thought they needed to be there. Enlighten me, please. They don't seem very unique either.

Am I the only one that noticed that we have no country people in the final 24 this year? What's up with that? Not that I'm big into country, I rarely listen to it, but where are they this year? Are we country-ed out? Could this then be the year that a rocker finally wins?

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