<p>We were saying at the end of the show that they will probably bring back the cowboy kid because his parents threatened to sue AI because he was the “best”. NOT. If they bring him back, I might just stop watching until he is gone.</p>
<p>Heejun is my favorite, too. He might even inspire me to pick up my phone and vote for the first time ever. I think he sings well, of course, but what really got me was when he was selected for the top 24 and he goes back to Ryan and he has no family to hug him. He was the only one without a support group! It made me want to show him support by actually voting.</p>
<p>Since I have missed the group nights, I feel I have missed “bonding” with any of the contestants. Heejun does nothing special for me, but I barely remember his first audition and have only seen him this past Wednesday. Honestly, I can’t understand a word he says. I did not watch last night, so what is this about them bringing somebody back? Do the live shows start next Wednesday or have they changed the day? I hate to miss so much, but I don’t have DVR and FOX is not available for OnDemand by my tv provider, or internet viewing until 8 days later. Even then, I’m not sure full episodes are available.</p>
<p>musicmom, the boys sing Tuesday at 8, the girls Wednesday at 8, and the results are on Thursday at 8, two hours each night. On Tuesday, one more boy will be added, from a group of four. I believe that the finalists are announced on Thursday, with a wild card added, which since they’re adding a boy on Tuesday, will likely be another girl.</p>
<p>SteveMA… good plan. Although I probably can’t bear to stop watching totally. However, I can certainly exercise that FFWD button… natch, it will need to be not only when he sings but through the inevitable soap opera snippets the producers will create about him.</p>
<p>I can do it!</p>
<p>I’m betting that they bring back David “the ladies man” Leathers Jr. and hoping that Ariel Sprague gets back in as well. Both were in that amazing “Hollywood Five” group number. Of the top 12 guys, I was somewhat surprised that Creighton made it through. His voice is so nasal-sounding.</p>
<p>I have to close my eyes when Reed performs. I like his voice, but I can’t stand to watch him perform. His facial gestures and body movements are so awkward.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Adam. He reminds of Taylor Hicks. Sounds like he sings the same few notes throughout every song he sings.</p>
<p>Wow, this is a lovefest so far tonight! Nary a word of critique.</p>
<p>My guess is that they’ll bring back Jermaine.</p>
<p>Not blown away by any of them, but my four favorites were Joshua, Jeremy, Phillip, and the one they brought back (didn’t want to spoil it for the West). I’m not sure whom I would choose for the fifth spot. I can see why so many of you are Heejun fans. He is very charming and his mom was cute! That soprano boy who tossed his hair was bizarre.</p>
<p>^^ Deandre? I’m not getting the love for Deandre. He has an appealing look, but I find his voice weak…doesn’t do anything for me that he goes all up and down the range, if it’s all weak.</p>
<p>I’m on the West Coast, so that’s as far as I’ve gotten, plus was out to dinner and probably missed a lot. Away from home too, so no DVR :(.</p>
<p>I did a little youtube surfing to see if I could find some non-American Idol clips of Deandre.
I wanted to see if his up-and-down, falsetto and back down low, is his trademark. What I came up with was that he sings a lot of authentic Hawaiian music which utilizes his falsetto much of the time.</p>
<p>[“Na</a> Wiliwili”, Featureing DeAndre Kamele Brackensick With Ka Nalu - YouTube](<a href=“"Nawiliwili", Featuring American Idol 2012 Finalist DeAndre Kamele Brackensick With Ka Nalu - YouTube”>"Nawiliwili", Featuring American Idol 2012 Finalist DeAndre Kamele Brackensick With Ka Nalu - YouTube)</p>
<p>[“Ke</a> Aloha”, Sung By Na Palapalai Featuring DeAndre Kamele Brackensick And Hula By Kehau Tamure - YouTube](<a href=“Ke Aloha, Na Palapalai With American Idol 2012 Finalist DeAndre Brackensick Hula By Kehau Tamure - YouTube”>Ke Aloha, Na Palapalai With American Idol 2012 Finalist DeAndre Brackensick Hula By Kehau Tamure - YouTube)</p>
<p>^Here are a couple of examples</p>
<p>[Mahalo</a> Ke Akua 2010: Castro Valley: Na Palapalai: Hawai`i No E Ka Oi - YouTube](<a href=“Mahalo Ke Akua 2010: Castro Valley: Na Palapalai: Hawai`i No E Ka Oi - YouTube”>Mahalo Ke Akua 2010: Castro Valley: Na Palapalai: Hawai`i No E Ka Oi - YouTube)
^He also dances (Polynesian).</p>
<p>You didn’t miss much if anything, jmmom. You should have gone out for yogurt after you finished dinner and then maybe taken in a movie. </p>
<p>I hate the new set. Way too much flash/video/special effects that detracted from (mostly) mediocre performances. Was hoping the judges would differentiate their critiques more from singer to singer, but they didn’t. As others have noted, the overly lavish praise was the norm tonight, just like all of last season.</p>
<p>I thought Aaron and Joshua had the best performances tonight. Hopefully the ladies will set the bar higher tomorrow night.</p>
<p>I enjoyed Phillip. And good guess, alwaysamom!</p>
<p>I thought for the first live show the contestants were pretty good. I’m not feeling the Phillip love, I thought he would be the first one to go. I love listening to Colton play the piano. His voice is nice too. I agree about watching Reed, hard to do but boy is he talented. I don’t see him winning though.</p>
<p>The Dial Idol results are interesting and not at ALL what I would have predicted. Still, compared to last year when they weren’t even registering until the last couple shows…</p>
<p>I had to wonder if the performance sound totally different live - because I thought most were mediocre at best. I kept waiting for the judges to say something besides “I love your voice”, or “Great job tonight”…but no. So I started to wonder if the TV sound mixing allows home viewers to hear more flaws in the vocals than if sitting in the theatre.</p>
<p>I had the same thought. To me a lot of them sounded just terrible. Cringing.</p>
<p>My guess is that the sound in the theatre was throwing them off. Once the band got beyond a certain level, it was too loud. The kids couldn’t hear themselves at that point and it was obvious with several of them. Heejun was a perfect example. For the first few bars of Angels, he sounded terrific. He has a gorgeous voice but beyond that, the band was way too loud. It’s likely that the kids will adapt and get used to this but it’s difficult the first time. The screaming girls in the audience don’t help the situation either. </p>
<p>My favorites of the night were Joshua, Jeremy, Aaron, Philip, Heejun, and Jermaine.</p>
<p>Maybe the judges want to let America decide which 5 to keep without being affected by the judges’ comments (after all, everyone in the class got an A), with the judges getting to choose one of their own choosing to keep. </p>
<p>But even last year, the judges became extraneous after the final 12 were chosen. Their comments were pretty blase and not useful for the most part. But I liked them during the earlier rounds.</p>
<p>I enjoyed Colton and Phillip. Adore Heejun but the quality wasn’t the best last night. I was quite ticked at the judges - it was like everything was peaches and cream (which it wasn’t) for the first half then finally Randy comes alive and they all decide to become critical (which they should do - top 24 and some singers are perfect? I don’t think so!)</p>
<p>Was disappointed with who they called back.</p>
<p>I was so glad that they brought back the gentle giant. Love his voice and personality. I also like Heejun, too, just can’t put my finger on why, but a few notes that he hit sat really well. He is quirky and funny, but real, plus he is adorable from a mom perspective.</p>
<p>I agree that the judges gave out all A’s, maybe because they want our votes to be untainted. </p>
<p>I also think that digital TV is cutting off some details of certain kinds of voices, like that falsetto guy. His sound on my TV was unbearable. Is there some way I can improve my sound to get more high definition? I have a super sound Bose thingy, but it seems that even that is not enough to hear the detail in each voice. I think Comcast is reducing the quality of the sound in order to be able to keep the video looking high definition, but something is not right with the high definition sound quality through the TV. I will investigate this and let you know if there is any hope.</p>