Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace and Ricky Braddy Shine in American Idol Semifinals

Round one of the American Idol semifinals was a mixed bag of train wrecks and solid performances. Jackie Tohn (dressed like an '80s version of Minnie Mouse), Stevie Wright, Casey Carlson, Anne Marie Boskovich and Stephen Fowler all picked the wrong song and received scathing feedback from the judges.

Standouts from last night's performance were Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Anoop Desai and Ricky Braddy. Brent Keith and Michael Sarver were both pretty forgettable. And then of course there was the very "demure" Tatiana Del Toro, who had the judges begging her to bring back the "crazy".

But in a night filled with flat performances and production problems galore, there was a bigger question on my mind and that was "Why had America never heard of Ricky Braddy until tonight?"

Here is a guy who is phenomenally talented, certainly on the same level as judge's favorite, Danny Gokey, and yet he may be getting the boot after only one performance.

Every year, a handful of American Idol contestants are given extensive camera time, both during the auditions and during Hollywood week. Two that should come to mind immediately are Danny Gokey, the worship leader who recently lost his wife and Tatiana Del Toro, who is perhaps the most annoying American Idol contestant EVER.

Of course, it's in American Idol's best interest to showcase contestants like these because it gives America someone to root for (Danny Gokey) and someone to hate (Tatiana Del Toro), both of which are great for ratings. However, it leaves certain contestants, namely Ricky Braddy, out in the cold and come performance time, America has no idea who they are.

We won't know until Wednesday night's result show if Ricky Braddy's solid performance will be enough to secure him a spot in American Idol's Top 12. Although he certainly deserves another chance, we know by now that American Idol voters are nothing if not unpredictable.