American Idol – 40 down to 24 – Season 6

So it’s down to the final 24. I love getting the contestants down to a more manageable number – it’s easier to pick favorites that way.

Here are the 24 finalists:

Sanjaya Malakar – He’s cute and sweet and girls will like his hair and personality. He can sing well, but needs to work on his stage presence. I hope his confidence will build as time goes on, but he’s different and more memorable than some other contestants. I don’t think he’ll make top 10 – he’s just a little too “soft” right now.

Melinda Doolittle – (background singer). Great voice. Needs more confidence but I think that will come as she performs. I think she’ll make the top 10 – people will respond to her.

Brandon Rogers – Very cute. I like his voice, but I want him to stand out a little bit more. He has a great personality and I think will go pretty far.

Gina Glocksen – She’s not my favorite but has a nice voice. Not memorable at all.

Haley Scarnato – I don’t really like her voice, but she’s cute (read marketable). When they did the recap of the top 12 girls – I have to admit I didn’t remember her – so she hasn’t stood out yet.

Philip Stacy – I really like his voice, he does need to work on his look a little bit but I think he’ll do well. His smile is contagious. He reminds me of the class clown – I think he’ll make the top 10 at least.

Chris Sligh – He is one of my favorites. Very funny, great dry sense of humor. I think people will really respond to him – but not just for his personality – but he has a really great voice as well. I predict he will be in the top 10. Okay, he cracks me up – when they were doing the recap and his dancing – totally LOL! Top 10 for sure.

Blake Lewis – He’s a great at beatboxing – and I think that may add a bit of variety to songs he’ll perform on the show. He’s cute and I think the girls will respond to him. He also has his own style. I hope he’ll go far.

Rudy Cardenas — For some reason his voice reminds me of Clay Aiken – and something he does with his mouth when he talks and sings also seems like Clay. He can sing but I’m not sure he’ll make the top 10, some of the other guys just stand out more.

Paul Kim – Okay, dude, where did the barefoot thing come from – and why are you talking about your underwear? He is a bit affected in his singing. I don’t think he’ll make it very far – he doesn’t seem as “real” as some of the others. I’ll be happy to have him go away next time.

Jordin Sparks – She’s a very cute girl and has a nice voice. Seems sweet and I think people will really respond to her enthusiasm. I think she’ll go far. I predict she will be in the top 10.

AJ Tabaldo – Cute, nice voice, but not extremely memorable. Has a nice smile and if he can connect with the audience, he’ll do better. I think he’ll get cut next time – just not unique enough.

Stephanie Edwards – Powerful voice. Unique style. I think she’ll do really well – especially if she’ll stay real.

Leslie Hunt – She can sing. Needs to stand out a bit more. Okay, the recap dancing was bizarre – very strange. I’ll remember the weirdness but I don’t remember her singing.

Nick Pedro – He’s not my favorite. Seems like he’s trying a bit too hard but it’s more affected than real when he is singing. I think he’ll get cut early on. However, he is cute, so if he can get a good fan base of young girls, he might stay longer. (If he makes it to the final 10 which I don’t think he will.)

Alaina Alexander — Looks a little bit like Mariah Carey. Very cute girl, I’m not loving the tone of her voice, it’s a bit sharp for my tastes, and I wish she would dress a bit more modestly – but I think she’ll do okay – she’s seems sincere but a bit over dramatic.

Chris Richardson – Amazing! I really love his voice. He’s going to be in the top 10 for sure, and I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t get to the top 2 or 3 – unless he does something terrible, or gets cocky. He is a top contender! Reminds me a tiny bit of Justin Timberlake for some reason.

Sabrina Sloan — Confident, great singer. She should make the top 10. Not extremely memorable though – she’ll need to do more to make a place for herself. She may come across as a bit cocky, but we’ll see.

Lakisha Jones – Amazing voice, great performer, a little reserved off stage. I think people will respond to her as a single mother. She should make the top 10 on talent alone – I hope her personality will come out more off stage so audiences will connect with her.

Nicole Tranquillo – She has a nice voice, but doesn’t really stand out as unique. Another one I didn’t really remember during the recap.

Jared Cotter – Cute guy, nice voice – I’m not sure if he’ll go very far simply for the fact that he doesn’t really stand out yet. But that’s just the editing of the show, so we’ll have to wait and see. He seems a little overconfident and that may come across as being cocky later on.

Amy Krebs – She can sing. Again, another one who doesn’t really stand out, but she has beautiful white teeth. ☺ Another one I didn’t remember when they did the recap.

Antonella Barba – Pretty girl. Sings okay. I’m not sure if she’ll make it very far unless she connects with people more.

Sundance Head – I am very happy that Sundance got through – although quite shocked. I thought for sure Tommy would have made it – but I like Sundance’s personality better and hope he can calm down a bit and get his great tone back from his first audition. I think people will like him and he should go far if he doesn’t sing like he did during Hollywood week.

SHOCK: Tommy Daniels being cut. I have to admit it – I thought he would get through and Sundance would go home. – He admits to being cocky – It’s not an attractive feature. He’s got a beautiful voice – very sexy tone. I loved his first audition and his hair when it was natural – but the way he reacted after he was cut was not classy at all. And I’m really glad Sundance made it through.

So — those are my opinions as of now. Of course, they may change — but it will be fun to see how accurately we can call it just from a seeing few seconds of each contestant. I’ve been pretty good every other year to predict, but once in a while I was surprised — especially in the first two seasons. I couldn’t believe some of the people who got through and couldn’t stay in tune. That goes to show you that personality and connection can make a huge difference.

My personal favorites: (and I predict they will be in the top 10, except maybe Sundance)

Chris Richardson (top contender)
Melinda Doolittle
Jordin Sparks
Lakisha Jones
Philip Stacy
Chris Sligh
Blake Lewis
Sundance Head

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