American Idol March 14th  “The Dueling Dozen”  3/15/06 

By Marcus

Big band back-up, big sound and light effects, tonight is the start of the real struggle to stay on top for these twelve. Here is my recap:

            With his ocean-deep seductive eyes, Ace was off his stride. And this was no night to be off. His voice was sour, his dance was jerky and Ace simply folded.

            Dew on the pumpkin country Kelly wore a strapless black dress and red high heel shoes. She was kind like a young girl playing grown-up. Her delivery was timid and uncertain. Kelly, whom I think has incredible beat the odds determination, may be going home after tonight’s performance.

            Last week Elliot’s voice captured our attention, but not tonight. Maybe it was the stage or the make-up or the hundreds of fans. We expected a 1000 watt performance, but all we got was a flashlight.

            Mandisa’s soul warms our hearts and her voice holds in a velvet glove. She is so comfortable in her body and we are just as comfortable with her.

            Prancing Bucky tried to make “Superstition” his own song with a couple raspy gasps and deliberately faked hip thrusts. But the accompanying band actually sounded better than he did. I think that for some inane reason he held back tonight. Had he just let it rip, he could have owned the house.

            Almost bursting out of her dress, Melissa coated her sore throat with olive oil. It didn’t work well. She couldn’t hit the notes, forgot some of the words and her volume was weak as a bar well drink. She had a very forgettable performance and she may be soon packing up that new dress.

            Lisa is the hot package of American Idol. She shreds the house with her voice, her looks, her style and her lips.

            Swallow and squawking Kevin has got to be the American Idol joke. Come on voters, is he really the star of the twelve? Or is he just comic relief?

            Katherine’s constant tugging at her dress distracted us from her singing. She does have a good voice, but certainly not the best of the women. And at times, her high notes were like scratches on a chalkboard.

            Southern boy Tyler ’s dancing is better but he still needs to work on his voice. His growling does little to endear him to us. Sure he feels satisfied with his own singing, but we want more action.

            Roman candle Paris ignites our senses. Like the Yellowstone geysers, she explodes on stage.

            And then the last performer was Chris. What a way to end this two-hour program! With special effects of smoke and fire, he did what we wanted all these contestants to do----exhilarate us.

            I have my favorites and am making my vote heard. Hope that you do too.

see also:

3/10/06 American Idol March 9th “Shattered Dreams”

3/9/06 American Idol March 8th “Eight Men Slug It Out”

3/8/06 American Idol March 7th “Eight Women Brawl”

3/3/06 American Idol March 2nd “Four More Chopped”

3/2/06 American Idol March 1st “Ten Singing Men”

3/1/06 American Idol February 28th “The Top 10 Girls Sing”

2/24/06 American Idol February 23rd “Four Dreams Dashed”

2/22/06 American Idol February 21st “Of The Dozen, Whom Do You Remember”

2/2/06 American Idol February 1st “Where is the Talent In Austin?”

2/1/06 American Idol, January 31, 2006 "Gambling for the Big Jackpot in Las Vegas

1/25/06 American Idol January 24th “Getting Lucky in Greensboro”

1/19/06 American Idol January 18th “Singing for high stakes in Denver”

1/18/06 American Idol January 17th Part 1 “So many big dreamers and so little talent”