American Idol: Top Ten Men Sing 2/27/08 

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“Top Ten Men Sing.”

American Idol, February 26, 2008

By Marcus

Tonight as the competition heats up, we are down to the top ten male vocalists. Let’s see how they handled the intensity.

First up was tennis tournament player and song writer Michael Johns singing “Go Your Own Way.” He did okay, but there was nothing special that will make him stand out from the others. And he literally swallowed his ending like a fish on land gasping for air.

Jason Castrol told us that he hates interviews, shies away from being photographed and just wants to sing. Well he failed to impress with “I Want To Be Your Everything.” There was nothing there to keep us interested. And he needs to quit playing his guitar and start singing. Look, Jason, this is a singing competition. So get on it.

Touring with a 6 person acapella group, we could see the ease that Luke Menard has on stage singing “Caviar and Cigarettes.” But he was weak and really didn’t make us want to hear anymore from him, tonight.

Robbie Carrico enjoys the rush from drag racing and tonight we felt a little of that rush with “Hot Blooded.” But even with the band playing hard to make it happen, he just didn’t have enough of that sneer-type attitude that the song needed.

Former punk rocker Danny Noriega sang “Long Ago” without any passion.

It was dull. It was second rate. It was like eating yesterday’s scrambled eggs.

But then we finally heard a real performer with David Hernandez singing “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.” He was fresh, exciting and involved. He sang that song like he had written it and as if he had lived it. David has real contender aspirations. Next we had self-taught musician Jason Yeager. He barely survived a very run of the mill and mundane performance of “Without Love.” He has yet to show us that he has what it takes to stay in this competition. If he is not cut, he needs to bring his act together and dazzle us. But I think that he will have little change of getting much further.

Chikezie’s Nigerian name means “well created by God.” And tonight he created a stir in us with “I Believe.” He showed us a feeling for the music and his eye contact with the audience kept our interest. He has redeemed himself from last week’s dismal performance.

Rocker and crossword puzzle addict David Cook played his own guitar while singing “Alright Now, Baby.” I think that the guitar playing was better than his singing and he really lacks the“wow” factor. Maybe that is due to his greasy dirty hair or lack of facial expressions. He needs some theatrical coaching to stay in this race.

Tonight’s show closed with the best performance of the evening by David Archuleta singing “Imagine.” He made it into his own version and it worked brilliantly. He is the singer to be watched.

So what happened this evening? Of the 10 remaining singers, only three impressed us and the rest will be, within a few weeks, history. But those three are worth the wait.

Return here tomorrow for a recap of the remaining ten women singers.

see also:

2/22/08 Four Chops on American Idol

2/21/08 The Twelve American Idol Women Compete

2/20/08 Twelve American Idol Men Sing

2/14/08 The Twenty Four American Idol Survivors

2/13/08 164 Hollywood Singers in a Grueling Hollywood Week

1/31/08 American Idol in Miami

1/30/08 American Idol in Omaha

1/24/08 American Idol in Charleston

1/23/08 American Idol in San Diego