To turn the lyrics of one traditional “American Idol” standard around, this one’s for the boys.
Eight of this season’s 13 finalists are men, and there could have been more had the rules not required one woman to make it out of each of the three semifinal rounds. Six men and three women were voted into the finals by the viewers, while the judges evened things out a bit by wild-carding two more of each gender into the group.
The favorites Danny Gokey is the darling of the judges so far, and if he’s heard any criticism at all, it’s been mild indeed. He’s a smart pick to still be around in May.
In addition to his vocals, Gokey also has a tragic but compelling story — his young wife died of a heart ailment just four weeks before his audition. Depending on how the contestant and the producers treat this personal tragedy, it could either help him build an expansive fan base or serve as a distraction from Gokey's true talent.
Gokey’s counterpart among the women has been Lil Rounds. In a competition where the women have either been forgettable or stomach-curdling (see: Del Toro, Tatiana), Rounds has been the exception. She offers the total package of talent, personality, and the overcoming-personal-challenges factor, and sings with both power and confidence.
Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest should have plenty of time for thinking up more dumb puns riffing off her name like “lil’ chance of being voted off” or “will stick around for more rounds.”
The contenders Scott MacIntyre’s life story is a made-for-TV movie waiting to happen. He’s this season’s Mr. Inspiration, the blind man who’s been an audience favorite from his first audition.
If he can keep the vocals going, he’s going to be a hard performer to send home. He’s one of those guys the audience is rooting for, so he’ll have to have a couple of terrible weeks in a row to go home anytime soon.
Alexis Grace has the potential to stick around for awhile, but there’s a reason the judges have told her to project a more assertive image. She has the pipes, but the judges would love for her to strut around the stage with the confidence and moxie that Rounds does.
Grace dirtied herself up with some pink hair dye for her semifinal heat, which apparently helped. Now that she’s in the final 13, getting edgier could be the difference between a longer stay and a shorter one.
The dark horses Just when it looked like he was the last cut of the semifinals, “Idol” added an extra spot to keep Anoop Desai around. The college student can belt out a passable Bobby Brown, but his advantage is that he’s this year’s Mr. Likable. That will help “Anoop Dog” through the early weeks, but he’ll have to take his singing to the next level to truly contend.
Teenage girls tend to go in one of two directions once they make the “Idol” finals: they either shoot into the stratosphere (Jordin Sparks) or burn out early (Mikhalah Gordon). Allison Iraheta and Jasmine Murray will have to contend with the extra demands faced by high-schoolers (get that calculus done before rehearsals!), as well as the mixed messages the judges always send younger singers.
They’re going to drive Iraheta and Murray crazy with advice that seems to contradict itself. Both will be told to act younger but not too young, to be more commercial but not superficial, to pick challenging songs but not ones that make them sound too old.
That disconnect often causes younger singers to chase what they think the judges want at the expense of what got them there in the first place. Season six winner Jordin Sparks reminds everyone that it’s a hurdle that can be overcome, but for most it’s a tough road to travel.
Speaking of conflicting advice, Jorge Nunez has learned the judges make demands one day and take them back the next, as they both like and dislike his accent depending on whether they’re happy or cranky. Right now, they’re amused and perplexed by Nunez, who sings in English and then speaks Spanish when he gets excited. He’s one performer who could go either way, lasting a long time or being an early cut.
Adam Lambert is another finalist who could last until May or be gone before April. His biggest danger is the "Wicked" alum has been saddled with that dreaded musical theater label. But that’s always hard to shake, and unless he can get some minds to change, his curtain could close early despite an impressive start.
Long shotsThe judges like Matt Giraud, and based on the amount of footage he got in the early rounds the editors do too.
Giraud’s problem is that he’s done well when he’s been a blues artist, and terribly when he hasn’t. His foray into Coldplay turned out to be a disaster, and he’s going to have to be a multi-dimensional voice to survive the Theme Week Roulette that awaits him.
Michael Sarver is a nice guy, and has a perfectly pleasant voice, but there’s a 1% chance he would have gotten this far if he was an office drone instead of a more television-friendly oil rig roughneck.
It’s that odd profession that separated him from the likes of Ricky Braddy and Von Smith, who have similar voices. His roughneck past will buy Sarver a little time, but he’ll need to impress in the first week or two to prove himself a contender.
The judges evidently like Megan Joy Corkrey, or at least they like her potential. She’s pretty, has a nice voice, and the tattoos that scream “edgy” to the “Idol” producers. What she doesn’t seem to have is a sense of who she is as an artist, and that's going to hurt her sooner rather than later.
Kris Allen is one of the only singers to get voted into the finals despite not being on camera much before now, but he has to show some personality to stick around. There’s nothing about Allen that stands out, either vocally or in his background, so he’ll need a groundbreaking performance quickly to have a chance at even making the 10-singer “Idol” tour this summer.
Craig Berman is a writer in Washington, D.C.