IDOL UPDATE: TOP 13 BOYS....GRADES AND WHO MOVES ON?



American Idol, Season 11 TOP 12 Guys

The TOP 12+1 Boys performed last night LIVE on the Idol stage, getting to choose any song they wanted to perform....and there were some very good and very bad performances. As I predicted, the 'additional' 13th guy added to the field was Jermaine Jones, 'The Gentle Giant'....way to go Idol, and more on him later. There was also confirmation that each judge will get a 'wild-card' pick later this week, leaving us with a TOP 13 FINALISTS on Thursday night for the second straight year on IDOL.

So, without further ado, here's Eddie's grades and thoughts on which guys DESERVE to move on......

Joshua Ledet

BEST OF THE NIGHT.....Joshua Ledet....sang Jennifer Hudson's "You Pulled Me Through"....hands down without question, the best vocal of the night. Incredible performance, and that my friends, is what singing is all about! GRADE: A+...easily makes the FINAL 13 whether America agrees or not!

BEST of the REST:
Colton Dixon....sang "Decode" by Paramore....have to admit I did NOT know the song and was not familiar with it, but I'll give him props for an energetic performance and stepping away from the piano. I saw sjhades of David Cook, Adam Lambert and James Durbin here.....all good company....GRADE: B+

Creighton Fraker......chooses to sin the 1986 Cydi Lauper hit "True Colors" and although a very curious and ballsy song choice, performs it very well. Lost in this stellar performance was all the talk from the judges about how so many great male voices will be lost after one performance.....let's hope Creighton is NOT one of them. GRADE: A.....though I doubt America agrees with me!
Phillip Phillips....sings "In The Air Tonight" and of course he has his guitar and makes the song his own....with little emotion....reminds me a lot of Season 9 winner Lee Dewyze...remember him? Yeah....sure you do....and he's not selling any records! I'm not in love with this kid like J-Lo is, but this was probably good enough to get him into the Finals without a doubt....GRADE: B
Chase Likens....country boy from WV (I won't hold it against him that he attends school at Marshall) who chooses "Storm Warning" and pretty much nails it. Great stage presence, good looking kid, who has had little face time so far. Only reason I can think is that Idol does not want another country boy winning it this year, but who knows.....GRADE: B
Adam Brock....Mr. 'White Chocolate' from Washington, PA (my home of 15+ years) sings an Aretha Franklin hit "Think", and overall, does a pretty good rendition with some lively stage presence. Not sure he'll make it to the Finals or not, but he's in the running....GRADE: B
Jermaine Jones......Mr. 'Lucky 13', the Gentle Giant picks an excellent song choice, performing Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father", and after a shaky opening, recovers nicely and does a pretty solid rendition. Not sure he'll make it to the next round, but I can't help but pull for this big, lovable guy! : GRADE: B-
Jeremy Rosado....sings a Sara Bareillis hit "Gravity".....what is it with all these guys wanting to do chick songs? GEEZ! I just don't get it, and for me, it was just OK.....nothing great, but certainly not the worst of the night. Nice kid though, but he'll need help to get through to the Finals...GRADE: C+
Aaron Marcellus.....sings a MJ song "Never Can Say Goodbye" and after a shaky start, recovers nicely and does and adequate, but not great, job with it overall...probably a one-and-done performance here...GRADE: C
Reed Grimm.....a 'Casey Abrams wanna-be' performs a jazzy version of Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger"......thought it was weak and all over the place, and enough with the drums already, he can't play them as good as he thinks he can....might get America's votes, but not mine....GRADE: C-
Eben Franckewitz.....horrible song choice with Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain"....was there any guidance at all on Idol to tell this 15 year old kid he doesn't have the chops to sing an Adele song? Very poor performance, and even though his mom's a WVU grad and he loves WVU football, I gotta send him packing back to Ohio....GRADE: D+
Deandre Brackensick.....sings EW+F's "Reasons" and it was just too much falsetto for me with nothing else to back it up! I didn't care for it at all....sorry....the teenie-bopper girls may vote him to the next round, but 'hair-boy' is NOT TOP 13 material....he needs to take his curling iron and head back to San Diego...GRADE: D
Heejun Hun......sings "Angels"......and I was praying to the angels for him to stop singing...it was a train wreck. I'm sorry, but why is this kid even in the TOP 25? Seriously....this is what just enrages me about Idol. Send Heejun Home......PLEASE! GRADE: D-.....slightly pushing to an F!

So....not that I think America will agree with me based on their voting last night, but Eddie's TOP 5 Guys would be: Joshua Ledet, Colton Dixon, Creighton Fraker, Phillip Phillips and Chaise Likens
Wild Card Possibilities: Adam Brock, Jermaine Jones or Jeremy Rosado
Who Will America Probably Pick? Eben Franckewitz, Heejun Hun, Reed Grimm, Phillip Phillips and Colton Dixon.....with one of the the judges forced to pick Josh Ledet as a  on Thursday night.
Personally, I think the TOP 12 Girls are much more diverse and stronger than the guys this year, so we should see a much better 2-hour show tonight, at least that's what I'm hoping for anyway.
Stay tuned.....more from Eddie Idol.......after the girls perform LIVE tonight on FOX!