Jon22: The Website of Jonathan Dobres

My American Idol experience began last year and featured the likes of Taylor Hicks, Paris Bennett, Elliot Yamin, and Chris Daughtry.  These guys had undeniable talent and charisma, and set me on fire just about every week.  However, I feel no similar spark this time around.  Every week I tell myself I’m not going to watch it, and every week that turns out to be a lie.  So, some thoughts on Season 6 thus far.

Blake Lewis is, by a wide margin, the most interesting male contestant on the show.  Playing himself off as a beatboxer who can sing in his initial audition, I was worried that he’d be gimmicky and fall apart during Hollywood Week.  Luckily, he backed up his beatboxing with some great singing.  In last week’s painfully stilted male performances, Blake stood out with a soft, smooth rendition of his chosen song that didn’t put me to sleep.  He was the only one who looked comfortable on the stage.  This week, he sang Jamaroquai’s “Virtual Insanity.”  Granted, it’s one of my favorite songs, but not many people know it and it was a daring choice.  He threw some beatboxing into his rendition and really did interesting things with it.  He’s the only performer whom I really look forward to seeing more of.

Chris Sligh is this season’s Taylor Hicks.  The man is large and in charge, thus far showing off an impressive, mature vocal range and a great sense of humor and groundedness.  Definitely every dork’s hero, including mine, to a certain extent.  I think he’ll make it to the top twelve.

Sanjaya Malakar is like a little girl.  The hair, the androgynous voice, I find it all kind of off-putting.  Not to mention his smile, which is creepily perfect, like a row of iridescent Nazis standing at attention.  I would never in a million years listen to an album of his.  Still, he seems like a sweet enough kid, and getting on national television at the age of seventeen?  Good for you.

On the other hand, I despise Antonella Barba.  The girl from Point Pleasant embodies everything I always hated about overprivileged Jersey girls.   She’s the kind of person who clearly thinks excessive lip gloss can compensate for a total lack of personality.  She, like many of us, probably sang along to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack as a kid, and unfortunately never grew out of it as her musical skills developed.  Thus far she has chosen enormous numbers from the likes of Celine Dion that utterly crush her middling talents (and the judges agree).  Need more?  Antonella auditioned along with her best friend, whose name escapes me.  Both made it to Hollywood.  During the group auditions, they allied with a third girl, Baylie Brown.  Baylie largely sat quietly while Antonella and her BFF bickered over song choices.  When it came time to perform, Baylie choked and forget nearly every lyric of her part, and was eliminated while Antonella and BFF were spared.  BFF turned to the camera at this moment and said, “You see?  It’s because God likes good people.” This is your best friend, Antonella?  This heinous, self-absorbed, self-righteous princess?  What does this say about you?  Let’s at least hope that you’re not as short-sighted as your BFF.  She was eliminated the next day, after all.

Ending on a positive note, I’ll say that the only female performer that holds my interest is Leslie Hunt.   With her odd stage affections and husky, textured voice, she stands out in a field of contenders who are either standard Mariah Carey wannabees or talented older sings who do little to excite me despite their good performances.

In general, the field this time around just doesn’t compare to last year’s.  Blake Lewis, Chris Sligh, and Leslie Hunt.  If these people get the big goodbye, I have no reason to watch the show this season.