The Top 10 Boys take their first shot

The Top 10 Boys can sing any song of their choice to try and win your votes:

Elijah Liu started the night out with a performance of Rihanna's hit Stay that is currently in the Top 10 this week. He is young and cute and this song presented himself as a pop star who is ready to be loved by the masses.

Cortez Shaw also took on a song that is presently dominating radio airplay. The recent #1 smash from Bruno Mars, Locked Out Of Heaven, allowed him to have fun and show off his dance moves as well as sing. He is very handsome, but his voice isn't the most impressive instrument of the group.

Charlie Askew is clearly on a search to find himself with this American Idol experience. He started out as a quiet awkward kid and now he is a loud and obnoxious awkward kid. He performed Mama by Genesis and he went out there playing dress up and looking kinda silly and foolish. And then there was the completely messed up vocals. Hopefully it was therapeutic for him, but it was unpleasant for us. 

Nick Boddington sat at the piano and performed a sincere and vulnerable rendition of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. He is a very nice guy who is clearly passionate about music and that comes through when he performs. 

Burnell Taylor tried to recreate the magic of the showstopper I'm Here from the musical The Color Purple. Season 3 Miss American Idol winner, Fantasia, does this song and totally hits it out of the park, but Burnell just sounded like he was going through the motions. It lacked spirit, energy and left us without delivering a big powerful ending. 

Paul Jolley is a tall, handsome and talented singer with a great smile. The song choice  wasn't as strong as it should have been, but his personality and voice helped to compensate. He needs to lighten his style so he doesn't come off as so serious.  

Lazaro Arbos has already won my heart in the past few weeks and he solidified it even more with his stellar performance of Feeling Good. The Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson has made this song her own and now we have witnessed another Idol take it for himself. Lazaro is charming, sweet, easy on the eyes and his voice will just make you melt. 

Curtis Finch Jr. hoped that his gospel infused rendition of R. Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly would make us all believers. While he has the passion and the heart every time he hits the stage, the problem is that his vocals aren't that impressive. 

Devin Velez delivered the pop standard It's Impossible with effortless vocal ease. He has a smooth voice with a great range that he can sing in both Spanish and English. American Idol may have found their first international superstar. 

Vincent Powell attempted to tackle the huge #1 hit from 1993 End of the Road by Boyz II Men. Unfortunately the song proved to be too big for him. His vocals got lost in there, even though we know he's good. He just didn't show it tonight. 

The boys were supposed to bring their A Game tonight, but many of them didn't seem to get the memo. Here's my prediction for who I think should make the Top 5: Lazaro Arbos, Paul Jolley, Devin Velez, Elijah Liu and Nick Boddington. 

The Top 10 Girls take their first shot

The Top 10 Girls can sing any song of their choice to try and win your votes:

Zoanette Johnson went first with an attempt at Tina Turner's #1 hit from 1984 What's Love Got To Do With It. The expectations were high as the judges gushed about her, but she failed miserably. Zoanette could hardly remember the lyrics and she looked like a complete mess.

Breanna Steer stood center stage and let her vocal range be the focus. She looked very classy and poised performing Beyonce's 2007 R and B slow jam Flaws and All. It was tender, emotional and presented Breanna as a star of the future.

Aubrey Cleland chose to sing Big Girls Don't Cry that Fergie took to #1 in 2007. She is a strikingly beautiful young woman who is completely ready for starring in videos. Vocally it is evident that her range has its limitations, but this song did not challenge her too much.

Janelle Arthur is the definition of a classic country girl. She is sweet, genuine and lovely and with her vocals tonight she saved it all for the end. She belted out a superbly pure final note that was thoroughly impressive.

Tenna Torres served up a cover of a Faith Hill song twisting it up with a soulful and impeccable vocal. She clearly has a the range to hit the highs and the lows and everything in between. And along with all of this, Tenna is just a very nice girl as well.

Angie Miller sat at the piano, sang an outstanding vocal and thoroughly brought the house down. She carries herself like a seasoned professional who is quite simply a true artist. She performed a brand new song that can be found on the debut album from Season 11 Miss American Idol finalist Colton Dixon. He needs to thank her for helping to raise the profile of his album. I see a spike in sales after this.

Amber Holcomb took on the 1996 hit from Whitney Houston and the Preacher's Wife soundtrack, I Believe In You And Me. She could definitely rise to the challenge and pull it off and make it look effortless. Great job.

Kree Harrison struggled and strained vocally to hit the notes. She sounded weak and forced as she tried to sing the song. The judges seemed to like her, but I just didn't see it. She seems to totally lack stage presence, personality or any style whatsoever.

Adriana Latonio did her best to provide a showstopper, but her youth and inexperience didn't quite allow her to measure up. She has a very nice voice and a sweet personality, but that's not enough to carry her through.

Candice Glover added some passion and energy to John Legend's Ordinary People. It was an outstanding interpretation of a great song that she was able to make even better.

There was some great talent to be found in the top 10 girls tonight but only 5 can make it through. Here's my prediction: Aubrey Cleland, Janelle Arthur, Angie Miller, Amber Holcomb and Candice Glover.

Mark Your Calendars

There's a lot of American Idol activity coming up in the coming weeks.

First and foremost is the live performances for Season 12 starting this Tuesday March 5th. The Top 20 finalists will perform and the public will vote to see who makes it into the Top 10.

Monday March 18th is the premier of the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. This year, Season 5 Miss American Idol finalist, Kellie Pickler, is joining the cast. I have a very good feeling that a mirror ball trophy is going to be in her future.

Sunday April 7th is the 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The nominations were announced recently and some familiar names were included on the list. The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is in the category for Vocal Event of the Year for the track Don't Rush that she recorded with Vince Gill.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood has two nominations. One is for Female Vocalist of the Year and the other is for Album of the Year for her most recent release Blown Away.

Broadway Bombshell

The second season of Smash is in full swing and it is continuing to serve up the most sensational hour of outstanding musical entertainment. The Season 5 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up Katharine McPhee is back again front and center playing the lead in a musical about the life of icon Marilyn Monroe called Bombshell.

We have had the chance to hear all of the original songs written for the musical in various episodes of the show throughout the year. They have been performed to perfection with wonderful vocals, amazing choreography and stunning costumes. But, all of these performances have been scattered throughout the narrative of the show and have been out of order. Even so, they have left us wanting more and hoping for the chance to someday see the musical Bombshell staged and performed in real life in it's entirety.

And now, here we are, one step closer to that becoming a reality. The Cast Recording of Bombshell has been released! It has all of the songs, in order, so we can enjoy all of Act One and then go right into Act Two just as if it were a real show on Broadway. The fact is, that this is a show that is quite honestly, better than most of what is actually playing on Broadway.

If you haven't heard it yet, I encourage you to listen and hear for yourself how great this show is.

Idol Grammy Winners!

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were once again a celebration for the successful Miss American Idol winners.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner went into the night with 4 nominations including nods in Record of the Year and Song of the Year. While she ended up not winning those, Kelly was able to get up on stage and accept the Grammy for Pop Album of the Year for Stronger. This is the second time she has won in this category. The last time was for her huge hit album, Breakaway.

Kelly also performed a lovely medley of songs in recognition of Grammy Hall of Famers, Carole King and Patti Page.

The Supreme Miss American, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood has now added a 6th Grammy to her collection of wins. She won for Best Solo Country Performance for her wonderful hit Blown Away. In addition, the song writers for Blown Away also won the Grammy for Best Country Song.

Carrie looked absolutely stunning in a beautiful white gown as she delivered the best performance of the evening. She sang a stripped down ballad version of Blown Away that really allowed her amazing and flawless vocals to be front and center. She then went right into singing her latest single, Two Black Cadillacs. In a wonderful special effects twist the audience was treated to a visual laser light extravaganza that was projected on her dress and the entire stage behind her. She quite literally lit up the room with her beauty and her outstanding voice.

American Idol is a SMASH!!!!

The auditions for Season 12 of American Idol have started and we already have a clear front-runner! Lazaro Arbos provided the most inspirational audition yet as he overcame his speech impediment with his outstanding singing voice. I wish him the best as he moves on to Hollywood week.

But that's still a few weeks away, so there's other exciting American Idol music to look forward to in the meantime.

The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, has been announced as a performer at the Grammy Awards on February 10th. She will likely sing her latest single, Two Black Cadillacs. The long anticipated video for this great new single will make it's debut before that on January 23rd.

The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, has been given the honor of singing at the Inauguration of President Obama on January 21st.

The Season 5 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Katharine McPhee, will be returning to weekly television as the 2nd season of Smash premieres on February 5th. We can look forward to more great singing and fantastic production numbers. I know we all can't wait to see how the Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will be integrated into the story. We all know that Smash is the most anticipated show of the season. It recently was the cover story on an issue of Entertainment Weekly. But the REALLY EXCITING news as that we don't have to wait any longer!!!!

The premier episode of Smash is NOW available for FREE download from itunes!!! Go get it and let the entertainment begin!!!

And on top of that, the music from the show Bombshell is being released on February 12th so we can finally enjoy all the amazing original songs that were written for the show.    

And Season 12 Begins!

In less than a week American Idol will start it's 12th Season and the search for another superstar will begin! Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend an American Idol Premiere advance screening event with a live Q&A with the new panel of judges.

It was right after work so I had to finish things up for the day and head out so I could make it to the movie theater in time to meet my friend Ryan and get in line. It was so great to be there with other American Idol and Mariah Carey fans who are all looking forward to this next chapter. While waiting in line the local FOX News cameras came by to film all of the energy and anticipation of the eager crowd. One of the most notable things about the group in the line was how diverse it was.

A lot of credit has to be given to the American Idol producers for selecting a panel of judges that is going to attract all demographics. Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj are all very different and the same is true for their base of loyal fans. We were surrounded by fans young and old, gay and straight, black and white, lovers of country, soul, hip hop and R&B.

The screening included a free box of popcorn and a diet coke for everyone in the theater. We had a chance to see the first round of auditions on the big screen. There were a few really misguided bad singers as usual, but there were also some very inspirational talents to be found. I am sure everyone is hoping to see the young man with the stutter make it far in the competition this year. He had the entire theater crying along with him.

The Q&A afterward had the new panel of judges on their best behavior. We got a chance to see a sample of how they will be interacting during the competition. Keith is an easy-going guy who knows what he is talking about and what he is looking for in a new talent. Nicki is out-spoken, opinionated and speaks her mind loudly and proudly. Mariah also has a strong point of view, but the difference is that she expresses it in a more subdued manner.  

Just like it has been widely reported that there is some dysfunctional friction between the new judges, the same was to be found among the fans in the theater. The Nicki Minaj fans were the most vocal of the group to sing her praises to the extent of coming off as loud, obnoxious, unpleasant and rude. While the more classy and respectful Mariah Carey and Keith Urban fans had to endure all of this enthusiastic drama during the screening, the good thing to be found in it is that a whole new group of young people has discovered American Idol for the first time.

Yes, these immature Nicki fans threw popcorn around the theater and kicked the back of people's chairs, but hopefully, by the end of the season they might learn that some professionalism and respect is also a part of being a pop superstar.

At the end of the screening we are all given free American Idol hats and t-shirts. I am sure to be wearing mine quite a bit over the next few months!