Could Attitude Hurt Jermaine Sellers and Todrick Hall on American Idol Top 10 Boys?

Last night, the American Idol Top 10 Boys performed Billboard Hits. While contestants like Tim Urban were able to use the judges' criticisms for positive growth, others such as Jermaine Sellers and Todrick Hall had more difficulty accepting criticism.

American Idol viewers generally don't respond well to contestants (such as Lil Rounds, Brooke White to an extent) who talk back to the judges.

Jermaine Sellers on American Idol Top 10 Boys

Last night, Jermaine Sellers performed What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. There's no question that he can sing. Although the performance started off sleepy, the higher parts and the middle sections displayed his technical abilities.

The judges generally agreed that while he is a capable vocalist, the performance was too forced and that he was trying too hard to show of his vocal tricks. Simon also called the performance too old-fashioned (though he did make the same comment about other contestants).

Jermaine responded by asking Simon to go to church with him, then defiantly ask the judges what he should sing next week. Simon speculated that Jermaine might not be here next week, to which he responded that he was a God-fearing man and that they don't know that. While I have the utmost respect for people of faith, his comments did rub me the wrong way.

It's a bit moot to bring God into the equation when it's Jermaine who ultimately has to deliver the performances. As MTV's Eric Ditzian observed, "Jesus may be his homeboy, but the viewers at home hold his fate in their cell phones." For him to play the faith card shows a lack of willingness to learn from judges and his performances. If he get booted, rather than evaluating how he can improve, he may just attribute it to God's will.

Todrick Hall on American Idol Top 10 Boys

Last night, Todrick Hall performed Tina Turner's What's Love Got to Do With It? Like last week, Todrick Hall tried to take a familiar song and put his own spin on it. Yet somehow it didn't work. While I actually liked his interpretation of "Since U Been Gone," his performance this week seemed contrived and not cohesive.

As MTV described it, "Whereas his twisted take on Clarkson was oddly amusing, his butchering of Tina was sacrilegious."

The judges agreed that Todrick's interpretations were too out there and that he was a better dancer than he was a singer. Randy advised him to stop trying to change it up so much and to just sing.

Todrick seemed frustrated and defiant when he implied that the judges were sending mixed messages. "I thought you wanted me to change." He does actually have a point. The judges had been telling contestants to take songs and make it their own, showing America who they were going to be as artists.

Still, while other contestants may have played it safe with their interpretations, Todrick's performance was just too out there.

And Simon seemed to take an indirect jab at Jermaine and Todrick when he praised Tim Urban for handling the judges' criticisms and "not whining."

It will be interesting to see how viewers respond to Jermaine Sellers and Todrick Hall this week. On voice and performance alone, Michael Lynche is probably the strongest of the R&B singers. This may put Jermaine and Todrick in further danger. And I doubt Jermaine's attitude towards the judges lent him any favors with the voting public this week.

Sources

'American Idol' Top 10 Men's Report Card, MTV