American Idol 09 fills the top slots and soon this contest will capture the public's fancy.

Yes some think this a bad thing but hey a)it's a fair, square contest won by the voting public b)American Idol contributes to the economy by filling stadiums and selling TV commercial time and c)it's good ole American talent and ingenius success at its finest.

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Top THIRTEEN Slots Filled?

First, out the way- the particulars. On the third round of the top 36 eliminations for “American Idol” 2009, the top three voted to move on were:

Jorge Nunez
Scott MacIntyre
Lil Rounds



These three join the following…

Alexis Grace
Danny Gokey
Michael Sarver
Adam Lambert
Kris Allen
Allison Iraheta

…to comprise the top nine.

BUT…we have a top 13 and I know this is AI’s eighth season but somewhere along the line I missed this bit about wild cards and 13 finalists.

Three of the wild cards are chosen by the judges, maybe all four wild cards, I don’t know. Because if you search that bloated Americanidol.com site you can’t find how this selection process works for nothing and my DVR quit before the show was over, likely because the show ran too damn long but who’s bitching?

I didn’t know that Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken were both wild card contenders, as Simon Cowell informed us all.

The eight chosen to go on and compete as wild cards included:

Von Smith
Jasmine Murray
Ricky Braddy
Megan Joy
Tatiana Del Toro
Matt Giraud
Jessie Langseth
Anoop Desai



Of these, Jasmine, Megan, Matt and Anoop were selected to be in the top thirteen.

Best I can figure, having thirteen finalists allows for three eliminations during the first week, giving that elimination show a more normal number, and leading evenly into the vaunted top 10, when the American Idol season really begins and America takes a more keen interest.



So in the interest of neatness and closure, the Top Thirteen 2009 American Idols are:

Jorge Nunez
Scott MacIntyre
Lil Rounds
Alexis Grace
Danny Gokey
Michael Sarver
Adam Lambert
Kris Allen
Allison Iraheta
Jasmine Murray
Megan Joy
Matt Giraud
Anoop Desai

Right now I don’t know how many are eliminated in each show leading up to the grand finale, which usually happens in early May. I’ve calculated there’s about nine weeks until early May but there’s some flexibility here.

At any rate, who do I favor so far?

Thought you’d never ask.

I do love that Megan Joy, such a beautiful girl, so hip and current. I don’t like her music even but I know that Simon Cowell likes her and with good reason. She’s totally marketable and the judges did, in fact, bring her back as a wild card.

I don’t think she has a chance to win that title, unless looks weigh heavily on the voters. But she’s tickled my fancy and I will watch out for her.

Allison Iraheta has the best voice of the top 13, at least as I see it. She’s not likeable and doesn’t interview well at all, however, Let’s face it, at this point in the competition, every one of these singers have great voices. It’s the nuance of a difference in the voices, their personalities, their look, their hipness and appeal that will make the viewers of America call in their number. Allison has the voice but someone needs to coach that child on how to talk and maybe work on her attitude while at it.

Jasmine Murray is this year’s youngster, much like Sparks and Archuletta were in their season. Americans love to vote on that young and vibrant singer in the mix.

Lil Rounds is a real contender here. She’s Fantasia with class. NO I don’t think Fantasia has a whit of class. She has been foreclosed on a big mansion she overspent and bought and she bad-mouthed American Idol, inferring they took all her money. Fantasia would be just another single mother in the ghetto were it not for American Idol. Lil is married to her babies daddy, she’s got three little ones. She’s got a voice to rival Whitney, she’s attractive, she’s personable…watch out for Lil.

As for the guys, I don’t have any great attraction to any except possibly Anoop. First, he’s born of Indian parents although he’s as American as Bobby Jindal. He’s cute, he sings well and he’s…er, different. I’d call him a long shot and Jorge from Puerto Rico is different too but Jorge really has an accent and struggles with English.

Finally, I wouldn’t cut Nathaniel Lambert out. Yes he’s very light in the loafers and quite obvious about it. But Nathaniel is too different and he’s bound to garner a lot of attention. He’s also a great singer and showman. This could well be the year that American Idol embraces an openly gay contender.

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