REALITY BYTES

American Idol votes went to Ju’not Joynor, Lil Rounds and Scott McIntire. I don’t think anyone was very surprised by the votes. Before the closing bell, the judges announced their wild card choices to everyone. Eight of the contestants that were eliminated are getting another shot at the crown.

This last group of 12 was probably filled with the most talented of all the performers that were shooting for a spot. It was tough to pin down the best from this group, because so many of them were outstanding this week.

Lil Round was the first to be tossed into the safe zone last night. Lil covered a Mary J. Blige number that was as smooth as the best whiskey, in the best down home bar, south of the Mason - Dixon line.

Lil Rounds is truly in a league of her own. It’s a damn shame that this woman has to compete in American Idol this season. Even though Simon Cowell gave his seal of approval to Lil, she still has to put up with Cowell’s bullshit for weeks to come. Simon had said that Lil Rounds rendition was too close to the original song she covered. Thank you Simon for the insightful, insight.

The network is a fickle thing. The more you hate Simon Cowell, the more popular he becomes. Unfortunately, this self-made tool is as constructive to this American Idol process, as the last installment of the  stimulus package we just handed over to AIG.

Scott MacIntire came in second place for votes, with his rendition of “Mandolin Rain”. Scott is blind and most comfortable sitting behind his keyboards playing and singing. Will Scott be compromised later this season, without having his keys to help him out, or will he prevail without them?

Jorge Nunez was voted in, for his cover of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”. The judges felt that Jorge was a natural born singer, despite his difficulty with our spoken American tongue. Good luck to Jorge! He has a large mountain to climb, competing against a group of soft spoken American Idol hopefuls.

America’s votes will make, or break these contestants for the season. I have a feeling, way more than half of the American Idol votes coming in are always from a very young crowd.

Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson offer these American Idol contestants good constructive feedback, consistently. Paula Abdul, is Paula. She tries to find something good to say to everyone.

My God, if Simon Cowell died tomorrow, would anyone ever really remember him in a good light? In the whole scheme of American Idol, does Cowell constructively help voters decide whom to vote for? Wow, now that is a scary thought. Yet, even a sigh from Simon Cowell’s lips influences America’s votes.

Overall, we now have the line up of  performers to cheer, or jeer for. In the end, one person will be given the American Idol seal of approval. Yet, many of these runner-ups will also be offered solid contracts to carry on with their musical careers.

My vote is for Lil Rounds to come in first place this year. But, that just me. If lil doesn’t win American Idol this season, she will at least be offered a good record label; you can count on that. My only real doubt that Lil Rounds might not be the American Idol winner is: American Idol is looking for “the package”. Will Lil Rounds fit the Idol profile?

The American Idol “package”, is no longer about who has the best vocals. It’s who has a good voice, good stage presence and that ever elusive “charisma”.

It’s going to be a real task this season. Out of these contestants, all of them have great pipes. Yet, it might be easier to look at this  package profile that Idol is in search of. If you believe that you, the viewers, have any real voice in who wins this American Idol top honor; consider what influences your vote. The highest priority of these American Idol judges, is to guide your voting selection toward the top candidates that Idol producers want to market.

This package that American Idol is in search of has been talked about by the Idol judges a lot this year. It’s a real push that many talk shows topics are touching on, trying to pin down what Idol is up too. Simon Cowell has come right out and stated, they are looking for someone that has a great marketable package.

If you want to know who fits the American Idol package this year, keep your lazy eye on who Simon Cowell starts praising repeatedly each week, then watch the rest of the judges fall in line. This will begin to happen in a few short weeks. It might be America’s votes that keep contestants in the game, but it seems that the judges do influence millions of voters with a thumbs up, or down gesture.

So, the judges tossed in their wild cards last night. These are the contestants that will be returning for a second shot at the Idol crown.

Anoop Desai, Von Smith, Jesse Langseth, Jasmine Murray, Matt Giraud, Ricky Braddy, Meagan Joy Corkrey and that crazy girl we all love watch; Tatiana Del Toro!

So glad someone was thoughtful enough to bring back Tatiana Del Toro. This girl is a wild card. Fantastic voice, great range and control. Yet, Tatiana doesn’t really dance to the beat of the American Idol beat. This girl marches to the beat of a different drummer. I would watch this season just to see what Tatiana might do on the live stage one evening, that would have everyone in a state of shock.

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