World Wide Ed | American Idol Chatter

American Idol Chatter - Top 8

April 12th, 2011
By World Wide Ed

So the last time we dished on Idol, we had 13. Now, we're down to just 8 going into this week. Y'all still watchin'? Holla!

I gotta be honest. For the first time ever, I've been doing the speed-watching technique (I <3 my DVR!). Just not catching my interest this season for some reason. I fast-forward through all the nonsense chatter, and just watch the package before the contestants sing (to get a feel for their personality) and then their actual performance. I give that a few seconds and if it bores me to tears, it's more fast forwarding for me.

I actually watch everything (package and performance) on Casey Abrams (still seems humble and buggah makes me laugh), Haley Reinhart (why not?), Lauren Alaina (seems humble and is still my pick to win!), and Scotty McCreery (to see if I can catch more arrogance from him). The others, I'll just watch the first few seconds of their performance if anything.

Here's my previous notes from the American Idol Chatter - Top 13 blog, with updated, Top 8 notes. Add your own comments for your favorite contestants at the bottom!

Casey Abrams - LOOOOOVE this guy! He cracks me up! He reminds me of Will Ferrell and Seth Rogen combined. Plus he can SAAAANG, and he still seems humble! (I still feel the same. Thank goodness he got saved!)
Haley Reinhart - good eye candy (right rayboyjr?), plus she can sing pretty good too. Don't think she has what it takes to win though. Also looks like she might lose her temper at one of the judges down the road. (I still feel the same. American public is probably getting sick of her antics pretty soon.)
Jacob Lusk - pretty good singer, but don't really like the way he overstylizes everything. If he sang straight-forward, he'd be a lot better. (Still feel the same.)
James Durbin - Adam Lambert copycat. He can scream-sing ok, but not sure how he'll do with regular songs. (Still feel the same.)
Lauren Alaina - My pick to win. She's so naturally talented and sings without any effort. Seems humble too. I like that. (Still feel the same)
Paul McDonald - very quirky, but I like it. Seems like a nice guy and his smile is infectious. (Still feel the same, though I wonder if his style is getting repetitive?)
Scotty McCreery - CAN'T STAND HIM!!! You can just tell how conceited he is. He is his own #1 fan. Dear lord he better not win! I will admit that he has a good country singing voice, but I can't stand listening to somebody so into himself. He reminds me of last season's Michael Lynche! And he tries to act all nice and respectful, but I'm not buying it! (Still feel the same. Even J-Lo told him to not get into his own head too much! I LOVE IT! You can tell that he's trying to tone it down a little bit and act humble, but I'm still not buying it!)
Stefano Langone - pretty strong voice in the upper register. Seems nice, but talks too much. (He's starting to annoy me and needs to go. He still talks too much and seems to be getting conceited as well.)

Eliminated Notes:

Ashton Jones - way too much spunk/confidence for me. There's more show than singing so far to me. (Not a surprise at all that she got eliminated early.)
Karen Rodriguez - one of my favorite girls to win the whole thing. She can blow! (This was a slight shocker! I thought she could sing the lights out!)
Naima Adedapo - No idea why she made it. I can appreciate that she has so much passion for singing, but I still haven't seen anything worthwhile from her. I hope she proves me wrong, because I really think the judges made a mistake by not putting Robbie Rosen through. (Not really a surprise that she got eliminated)
Pia Toscano - OK, and pretty good voice. Need to hear more from her to have a better opinion. (WHAT IN THE HECK!!!??? I thought for sure she should've stayed on until close to the end. Maybe America assumed she would be safe???)
Thia Megia - kinda quiet, but can sing pretty good. That Michael Jackson comparison from Randy Jackson was a reach I thought, but she has a pretty good voice. Wanna see more personality from her. (She can sing, but it wasn't really a surprise as she lacked the personality for America to latch onto. I'm sure she'll do fine as she is still so young and talented).

My picks for the Top 3 finalists are:

Talk to me!
* Is it me or is Steven Tyler the worst judge ever invented? He says "Beautiful" like 100 times a show for everything and doesn't offer any constructive advice/criticism at all. I think I want Paula back! LOL!
* Can we all agree that J-Lo is awesome? She seems so genuine and that she really cares for the contestants. Her advice is always on point too.
* Have you guys heard about the budding romance between Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart? Oooooh... rumors! LOL!
* What do you think of the contestants left? Any surprises?
* Who is your pick to win it all?

Have a good one y'all!

In other news...

The Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Clear Channel Radio Hawaii produced Kokua for Japan event that I mentioned last week, was a HUGE success! Through the generous donations of both attendees as well as corporations and online donations, the event was able to raise a whopping 1.6 million dollars! WOW is all I gotta say! Great job Hawaii! For more local coverage, see: