Correction/Update

Good news and bad news.

Good news: Joanna Pacitti is out this season. She was cut by producers and replaced with someone so bland I don't even remember her name. Like I said before, I don't have a problem with semi-pros on Idol but this girl has essentially shown over and over again that she doesn't have "it"... make way for someone who hasn't failed repeatedly and let them fail here!

Bad news: I was wrong in my count of favorites that will perform in the first semi-final round next week. Four will be up, not three, and since only three of the 12 will move on to the finals (top boy, top girl and the next top vote getter) one of my favorites is guaranteed to go. It will probably be Jackie, which sucks but won;t be wholly unexpected. I read the following in the Idol Tracker in the LATimes Blog about her today:

As far as demographics go, I'm ready to root for Jackie Tohn to add another schmear of Jewish deliciousness to the always overly Gentile "Idol" banquet.

Boo. Oh well, I guess there's always hope that the rumored return of the wild card round can bring someone back.

I like that they're taking Idol back to its roots this season. This kind of semifinal is much more dramatic and less tedious than three weeks of three nights of Idol. This is really similar to the format they used in Season 2 (remember the wildcard round resurrected Clay Aiken, the world hasn't been the same since...) which I have been missing since. The mix of people they put in for next week's first round of Semis is an interesting mix with more than three stand-out characters. That means I am probably not the only one who will be loosing a favorite this early in the game.

For Tuesday:
Casey Carlson - internet famous for doing a swimwear calendar
Stevie Wright - 16 years old, that's about all that's interesting about her
Alexis Grace - pink haired mommy
Ann Marie Boskovitch - pretty voice - pretty girl
Tatiana Del Toro - dramalicious
Jackie Tohn - Jewish deliciousness
Danny Gokey - guaranteed to go through
Stephen Fowler - absent-minded dude from Beechwood
Anoop Desai - *swoon*
Ricky Braddy - i honestly have no idea who this guy is
Michael Sarver - Andover-friendly roughneck
Brent Keith - hot guy #2

Awww Dawg, it's on! Let the AI 8 Updates Begin...

For those who care: The finalists have been chosen, let the sing-a-long drama begin!

First things first, I have mixed feelings about the new format they're trying this year. I did enjoy the audition weeks this year. The focus on the positives made the first round feel more a part of the regular show than it used to. Before, audition weeks felt like their own, separate series. But I wonder if that, plus all of the other expansions they're adding, will just make this season seem never ending. We'll have to see!

So now on to the Top 36.

It's not that I don't understand what they're doing with the sing-off. It makes for great TV. They did a great job pairing up contestants to make for dramatic eliminations. I hate that they put the two roughnecks together but, again, i understand why, even if it was mathematically impossible for both of them to go home. But part of me is just a little disgusted by the whole "let's make American Idol more like a VH1 reality show" vibe this year. I mean, they even had a 'judge's mansion'. Come on. Invite Flava Flav and Brett Michaels to guest judge and let's just call this what it is: ploy for ratings. But hey, this is show business and that's what its all about.

Favorites:
Anoop "noop dawg" Desai - Dorky college academic with dark hair who can sing... could there be a contestant more my type? *swoon*
Adam Lambert - Ah-maze-ing talent. I hope the whole flaming gay thing doesn't keep him from going as far as he deserves to go. *fingers crossed*
Lil Rounds - Oh so talented and sweetly humble
Danny Gokey - Sob story with a voice to back it up = Idol gold
Matt Giraud - omg his "Georgia on my Mind" from the last round of Hollywood gave me goosebumps. If he sings some James Morrison this year, he'll take Noop Dawg's place as my fav
Jackie Tohn She just cracks me up and I like how different her voice is
Matt Breitzke & Michael Sarver They get grouped together by me since they get constantly grouped together by the Idol producers. I just like to root for people who look like they belong in Andover...

No-so-Favorites:
Joanna Pacitti - If anyone else had messed up as much as she has, they would have been sent home immediately. I don't have a problem with semi-pros on Idol, but I just don't like this girl
Scott MacIntyre - He's just not that good. Honestly, I have nothing against blind people. I just don't think we need affirmative action picks in the top 36. Those free rides should end the first day of Hollywood week
Nick Western Mitchell a.k.a Normund Gentle - Sing-or-die challenges and tacky mansions are okay for ratings grabbers, this clown is not. Yes, he can sing, but how dare they make comments about Adam Lambert sounding too cabaret when they're sending this looser through. VotefortheWorst.com hasn't been this happy since... well, since Danny Noriega made the show in season 7 and before that... well, since Sanjaya Malakar made the show in season 6
Tatiana Del Toro - j/k no Flava Flav necessary. This b*tch brings more drama with her than the whole Rock of Love Bus-O-Skanks...
Nathaniel Marshall - This b*tch brings more drama than Tatiana Del Toro on the Rock of Love Bus -O-Skanks

Don't really cares:
Von Smith - liked him in auditions, haven't given a crap since
Alexander Wagner-Trugman
Alexis Grace - She has something different to bring from the girls other than a traditional, big-voiced Kelly Clarkson/Carrie Underwood type
Taylor Vaifanua
Arianna Ayesha Afsar
Casey Carlson
Megan Corkery
Mishavonna Henson
Stevie Wright
Kendall Beard
Kristen McNamara
Jessie Langseth - I like the smokey-ness in her voice even though her 'sing-or-die' wasn't her best performance
Allison Iraheta
Kai Kalama
Ann Marie Boskovich
Brent Keith
Jeanine Vailes
Jorge Nunez
Kris Allen - Hottest guy in Season 8
Brent Keith - 2nd hottest guy in Season 8
Nate McGee
Ricky Braddy
Stephen Fowler - Isn't this the dude from Beechwood who couldn't remember the lyrics to "Time of my Life" twice? The only reason he makes this list rather than the Not-so-Favorites is that he's a hometown boy...

So that's it. Three of my favorites (Noop Dawg, Michael Sarver and Danney Gokey, are going to be in the first group of 12 to perform. Hopefully they all go through, I'm not ready to loose a fav quite yet!