AI7 Top24 Guys

So AI7 kicks off...well they kicked off weeks ago, but I was only able to really watch tonight :P

Two-hour ep tonight and the guys took the stage. These are my early favorites. Of course they may change, but I have a feeling I'm really gonna stick to these dudes. We'll see.

Comments pala muna dun sa iba...

In general, I've read that this season is filled with semi-pros and rejects of past seasons or runners-up or even winners on other similar shows. On one hand, at least we're assured of some talent, which makes for good TV. On the other hand, isn't AI supposed to be a venue for showing us fresh, undiscovered talent? Give-chance-to-others, kumbaga. But what the hey, Taylor and Chris from Season 5 were in a band prior to joining AI, and their experience paid off and landed them the top spots. So I guess it'll really boil down to how the contestants perform *this* time around. Wait and see nalang tayo.

David Cook, "Happy Together" - I'm not convinced by the rocker-type persona he's projecting. If I remember right, he did a boyband song in the auditions (tama ba?)(Ok I stand corrected, he did Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer"). And, the judges were all hot about his rocked out rendition of The Turtles' song; haven't they heard the version in Freaky Friday (again, tama ba?), that was rocked out, too, and David's version kinda sounded like that. So much for originality. (But then again, my boy Chris was accused of the same when he copied Live's "I Walk the Line"...I'm biased no? :P)

Robbie Carrico, "One Is The Loneliest Number" - Same here, not convinced by his rocker image. He was in a pop-boy-girl group - enough said. I think it was on Rickey.org that I read that he used to be Britney's boylet.

Danny Noriega, "Jailhouse Rock" - I couldn't reconcile his gay persona with the manly Elvis song he was trying to pull off. I have nothing against gays; I'm actually amused by his "tarayness" (Ok, help me out here! What's that in English?) but Andrew hates him :P It's just that...hindi bagay yung kanta sa kanya :D

And the names! My gulay! Three Davids and two Jasons! Wala na bang ibang pangalan sa Amerika? :P

So ok, finally, my top three:

David Archuleta, "Shop Around" - He's just oh sooo cute! Such a kid, full of optimism, really just so cheerful and obviously grateful to be experiencing what he's going through right now - the kid in him is so charming. It's just perfect that he's got the awesome voice to get him through the season. And did I say he's cute? :D He's also one of "semi-pros" I mentioned earlier; he won the Junior Category of Star Search when he was 12.


Jason Castro, "Daydream" - Cool! AI now allows their contestants to play instruments! Too bad they didn't draft this rule as early as Season 5; hello Taylor and Chris! So, Jason Castro. Dreads, check. Guitar, check. Nice voice, check. The guy's got me, alright :)


Michael Johns, "Light My Fire" - Anyone who sings Otis Redding, Queen, and The Doors is mighty mighty fine in my book. That, plus the Aussie accent - I like! Sapul si Dacs :D It's awesome too that Randy compared him to the late Michael Hutchence; must've been one helluva compliment for Michael Johns, and it was also what I had in mind watching him sing "Light My Fire". By the way, he's also another of those "semi-pros". Stalked him on the Net and found out he's had two former bands, and videos of his songs with those bands can be found on YouTube. Now *this* rocker guy is believable. I can tell simply through his song choices and the way he sings that he's got rock n roll in his soul. Oh, and as Ninna said, he's "all man" :P All the way, Michael Johns! It can happen ;)