Haeley Vaughn (left) and Andrew Garcia (right)
This week, American Idol judges finally revealed the Top 24. This is the part of the show that’s really worth watching, because, for the most part, the show’s producers no longer want to make some contestants look like clowns–I know some people tune in for that, but honestly, I’ve always thought unappealing the silly auditions part of the show.
Moving on, this year American Idol returns to the Top 24 format. Last year, the show had a Top 36 (like it did the first three years), but that gave it an awkward stop-start rhythm, so this year it’s back to 12 guys and 12 girls.
It’s kinda silly to pick frontrunners at this early point of the contest, but nonetheless, Hollywood week showed us who had the talent and who didn’t. (That didn’t stop a few who didn’t have the talent from making it to the Top 24.)
At this point, for the guys, Andrew Garcia is the frontrunner, and will no doubt glide into the Top 12, when the show “officially” starts. He wowed the judges with his cover of once-judge Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up.” The song is silly, but it’s also a slice of brilliant pop. (However, for Garcia, it’s not exactly a good sign to set the bar that high for himself this early in the game since there’s less room for him to show progress or growth in the next 13 weeks of the show.)
For the girls, it’s a bit tougher to pick a clear frontrunner since all of them are not only strong but also diverse vocally. It depends, really on what kind of music and voice you like hearing. I think it’s a three-way tie between Lacey Brown, Lilly Scott, and Haeley Vaughn. Both Lilly Scott and Haeley Vaughn are hometown talent, with Scott hailing from Littleton, and Vaughn from Ft. Collins. (Yeah, Vaughn messed up during her Hollywood performances, but in her Denver audition, where she performed Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name” showed promise, and moxie.) All three women should have no problem making it to the Top 12.
For the next three weeks, the women will perform on Tuesday, and the guys on Wednesday, and two guys and two girls will be eliminated each week.
