Review: American Idol's Best of Show

On Tuesday, Feb. 12th, American Idol on FOX brought out the show's final 50 rising new stars at the Orpheum Theatre in Hollywood, California. On Wednesday this narrows down to 24 after the judges, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul shuffle the singer cards and fight it out with each other over who goes through and who gets left behind. They added new features this 7th season by allowing the performers who wished to play an instrument to do so. This worked for a select few, but for the guy who brought in his drum set and the one-chord wonder on the guitar it spelled disaster and these would have done better to have left their instruments behind.

Like the Westminster Dog Show, everyone has their favorite pick. There's the best looking - Michael Johns, who sang Bohemian Rapsody quite well, along with host Ryan Seacrest, who deserves credit for his ageless sex appeal for both the guys and the gals. There is the one with the most character - this year's pick appears to be the rocker chic nurse Amanda Overmyer, with her two-tone hair and Janis Joplin sound; and last but not least the underdog - maybe the homeless young urchin Josiah Leming, since the the heart wrenching baby-mama and baby-daddy were both sent packing yet undeterred. Here are my picks for the new American Idol season's best of show.

David Hernadez. Personable with a Latin quality, he was obviously a judge favorite the way the three gushed over each other after this crooner's performance. He blew them away with a soulful blend of runs and riffs which showed this performer, who looked effortlessly comfortable on stage, knows how to utilize his voice. He will need a lot of help from wardrobe, if he makes it to the final 24.

David Archuleta. This was the young singer with the endless smile and cute face. He has star quality written all over him and played the keyboard to perfection.

Kyle Ensley, the nerd. During his initial audition Kyle, wearing his trade-mark suit and tie along with those dark rimmed thick glasses looked more like he was running for office than trying out for American Idol. He sang well enough, but nothing special. During Hollywood Hell Week, he did even less stellar on the stage, however, the judges like his individuality and classic song choices (golden oldies), so he most likely will make it all the way through.

Syesha Mercado. Like Barak Obama, she also found her "voice" after a long-drawn out play for the cameras after her voice-box breakdown. Surprising everyone, she came back on the final night and pulled out a star soul singing performance which showcased her range and rarity. She will also go the distance.

Asia-h Epperson. Another soulful star to watch with a happy-go-lucky ease about her presence on stage. Cute and fashionable, she tried out in Atlanta like Amanda and Josiah, which is a good bet when you look at the track record of where the finalists were originally found.

Carly the Irish-looking singer, who was dissed years ago due to the lack of a green card, is back. Simon said her audition performance was not as good this time as last, and according to Carly that was due to her being allergic to her dog! She tore from her face what looks like a gas-mask contraption which is supposed to help her fight the allergens. I do not think the face-mask or her over-reaching desire will carry her to the top ten however. Her performances lack excitement.

Josiah put on a great show utilizing the keyboard and unusual song choice, however, he later cracked under the pressure when asked to perform with the band. For whatever reason, all the final performers got to sing with full-on accompaniment including three backup singers. You could tell this was quite distracting to the newcomers and inexperienced of the pack. I think this might be an attempt on the part of the producers to see who among them can keep up with the musicians and not sound drowned out on the big stage. This has been an issue in the past with top 24 singers unable to follow-the-beat, hear themselves or keep up in a group song. Simon wrote off a few to over-confidence on the part of very young performers and all three judges give some a pass onto the final round based more on their overall performances rather than one single shot.

Randy Jackson's new diabetes commercials, in conjunction with a heart doctor, are new and commendable since Heart Disease is the number 2 killer among women these days. Paula Abdul either has reigned in her odd behavior or hiding it. She showed up late and appeared to be missing as a judge periodically during the initial auditions. When she gave a concrete "NO," which this year appeared to be seldom, she hung her head and kept apologizing to the singer. Simon Cowell is his usual controversial self, however, we are seeing more of his adolescent narccistic childishness as he storms off because he disagrees with the other two judges as to who will go through. His also appears to be the first hand up to stop the performances when they go out of key, screech or otherwise go off tempo. Unfortunate, since many singers shake their nerves, pull themselves together and go on to deliver after the first few seconds, but unfortunately once cut, these treasures are lost to us forever.

American Idol airs on FOX TV at 8 pm Tuesdays with the results shows airing on Wednesdays. I videotape the final shows, along with the guest hosts, for viewing during the bleak winter off season. Don't forget American Idol is doing Rewinds, now Season Two, airing on most FOX stations weekends.