Like Jim and a couple others, I thought the girls outshone the boys overall. While the top couple guys might be stronger than the top girls, the rest of the boys were pretty mediocre to bad to me. And unlike the girls, the younger guys all suffered.
Some I liked:
Ace-The clear man to beat at the moment-I liked Randy's comments about him in comparison to some from previous seasons (aka Constantine)
Chris-Always thought he'd make the Top 6, and last night didn't change that. Needs to work on stage performance though.
Elliott-The underdog I think. I've liked him since the beginning too and there wasn't much buzz about him coming into the competition last night. Also needs to work on stage performance.
Next Level Down:
"Sway"-I put him here because it was incredibly risky to sing that song that way. I didn't particularly like it, but he showed versatility and some potential. Which is more than I thought of him before last night.
Taylor Hicks-I'm with Jim somewhat. His voice was better than I remember it from the auditions and Hollywood week, but he's almost painful to watch. And I'm surprised the judges haven't commented about it really. I better get used to it though cause he's in the Top 6 for sure.
Patrick Hall-Bad song choice + 1st to sing has me worried he'll survive this round. Which is a shame because he has some potential I think.
David Radford-Yeah his performance was a bit over the top, but I liked it, and his voice sounded good for the most part. He showed personality, which is good, because he was reminding me of red-headed John from a season or two back who had no personality. I hope he survives this round, because I enjoy watching him sing.
Gedeon-He actually surprised me with his performance and voice. I really didn't like him much before last night and combined with his somewhat arrogant personality, I was hoping he'd be gone this week. But he can stay another week now.
Great song choice for him.
Bucky-Well he's about as redneck as they come I think, but I liked him better than expected. He'd probably fit in well with Bo's band. Like him to pick a song where I can understand the words better though.
Need to go:
Kevin Covais-Ugh. Looked like a deer caught in the headlights and his performance suffered from it. Can't believe Paula and Randy liked him so much. But his "cuteness" will probably save him from being voted out for a week or two. A case where the judges should have said no from the beginning with encouragement to try again in a couple years.
Will Makar-Another youngster who probably shouldn't have made it to Hollywood let alone the Top 12. I like his voice better than Kevin's though.
Bobby Bennett-Cringed when I heard the song choice and cringed all the way through it. How did this guy make it to the Top 12? Sounded more like he should be singing in Vegas or at bar mitzvah's and weddings. Seems like a nice fun guy, but boy that was way over the top.
I think Will and Bobby will go, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Patrick or David as one of the two, which would be a shame.