Phil Stacey's Idol Thoughts

We are only one episode away from the live performances. An interesting thing has been added this season. During the chair episodes, they are letting people they are undecided about have a sing-off to earn their spot in the semifinals. I like this because it is tough to get eliminated once you’ve made it through Hollywood Week and haven’t performed for the judges since…. I don’t like it because it seems very awkward for the contestants. I would have hated to be in any of the sing-offs, whether I won or lost.

I remember being at the hotel the night before the chair episode and that was awkward enough because you know people are being eliminated. The truth is that I never expected to make it through Hollywood Week, so I can honestly say that I was hoping the best for everyone. When I made it through, I was terribly excited to be on the show, but also terribly guilty for having taken someone else’s spot.

I can tell you that there are people that the other contestants aren’t rooting for. On my season, there were a few people from Hollywood Week that did not stand out to us at all. We came back for the chair episode and wondered how in the world they made it into the semifinals when some of our friends who were great got cut. It wasn’t until we saw their original auditions that we understood how they had made it through.

Consider Joanna Pacitti. She’s a great singer, but she forgot her lyrics every time she sang in Hollywood. The other contestants can’t possibly know how great she is just yet.

Or consider Tatiana Del Toro. She’s a good singer, but she couldn’t be any more annoying. I think the other contestants are a little frustrated that many other great singers have been cut so they can feature her on more episodes.

At the end of the day, most of the decisions were expected. Here is a list of the top 36:

Anoop Desai

Von Smith

Alex Trugman

Adam Lambert

Taylor Vaifanua

Jasmine Murray

Arianna Asfar

Casey Carlson

Megan Corkrey

Mishavonna Henson

Stevie Wright

Joanna Pacitti

Kendall Beard

Kristen McNamara

Alexis Grace

Scott Macintyre

Lil Rounds

Jesse Langseth

Allison Iraheta

Danny Gokey

Ricky Braddy

Matt Giraud

Ju’Not Joyner

Jorge Nunez

Brent Keith

Stephen Fowler

Norman Gentle, or Nick Mitchell

Jackie Tohn

Tatiana Del Toro

Nathaniel Marshall

Jeanine Vailes

Kai Kalama

Anne Marie Boskovich

Kris Allen

Matt Breitzke

Michael Sarver

I was a little upset to see Jamar Rogers get cut. He’s an outstanding talent. The fact that Norman Gentle is there instead of him makes it all feel a little off. Don’t get me wrong, I like Norman. But I haven’t heard him sing anywhere near as good as Jamar. Who knows… Thoughts?