Tonight we got to see the first of the Top 24— the guys. Oddly enough, there was a theme tonight. I wasn’t crazy about that choice. Normally, at this stage they just sing whatever they want. When we’re faced with some singers we’ve never seen, that has always seemed more fair to me. If they’re going to pick a horrible song, at least they have no one to blame but themselves. From the number of “old fashioned” and “irrelevant” comments tonight, I’d say everyone was better off with no theme.

David Hernandez started off the night with a slow-starting “Midnight Hour”. I thougt it was pretty boring. I have an imaginary hour long concert test that I apply to new performers. Would I want to sit and listen to them sing for an hour straight? I’m sorry to say David Hernandez failed the test. I thought it was a pretty blah way to start the top 24. The judges, on the other hand, all had fairly positive things to say about the performance.

Next up was Chikezie. I like Chikezie. One, his name is fun to say. Two, he’s almost always smiling. Three, he’s persistent, as demonstrated by the fact that he made it to the final round last year before beng cut, and he still came back this year. His version of “More Today Than Yesterday” didn’t live up to my opinion of Chikezie, unfortunately. It was an odd arrangement, and his pitch was off a bit here and there— but he still had that great smile. Randy pegged it as old-fashioned, while Simon thought it was corny and hated it.

My man David Cook was up next singing “Happy Together”. This was the first modern take on a song that we saw tonight. I also like how laid back David is. Oh, and yes I still think he’s better than Chris Daughtry. The judges liked his performance, as well.

I really wanted to like Jason Yeager. After all, he’s a Texan. What’s not to like? Well, his performance of “Moon River”, for one. He sat on a stool and sang. Generally, it was pretty boring, I’m sorry to say. The judges weren’t crazy about it, either.

Robbie Carrico was up next with “One is the Loneliest Number”. It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t the best ever, either. All the judges really enjoyed it, and Simon even said it was a “current” performance.

Judges’ favorite and former Star Search competitor David Archuleta sang “Shop Around”. I really like him for a number of reasons. He’s very personable. He’s enthusiastic and fun. He sings songs that are age appropriate. His performance tonight was a reflection of all of those things. And he did a good job using the stage and interacting with the cameras. Overall, it was great. Did you expect anything other than enthusiastic thumbs’ ups from the judges?

Another of my favorites, Danny Noriega, was up next. Danny sang “Jailhouse Rock”. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as good as I think he might have been, although he was tons better than Simon’s “grotesque” gave him credit for. I still think it was a solid performance for the first night, and Randy and Paula agreed.

Luke Menard was one of the people we haven’t seen a lot of up until now. I wish we’d seen more of him, since I don’t think his performance tonight of “Everybody’s Talkin’” lived up to his previous auditions (just based on the clips they showed). Still, I think he had a very soothing voice— and it doesn’t hurt that he vaguely resembles Orlando Bloom. The judges weren’t big fans of Luke’s— especially Simon who gave the dreaded “forgettable” critique. Ouch.

Self-proclaimed Ellen Degeneres look alike Colton Berry was the next to sing. He chose a great song— “Suspicious Minds”. He does have a good voice and good stage presence, but I can understand Simon’s complaint that it wasn’t relevant to modern music. It wasn’t the best performance of the night, and it wasn’t the worst.

There’s something very sweet and innocent about Garrett Haley. He was on vacation when he auditioned, and it sounded like it was something of a whim. He’s only 17, and he did look a bit intimidated tonight, but when half the other people performing have had MAJOR professional experience, I guess that could make you a bit nervous. Garrett sang “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do”. Other than seeming nervous, I didn’t think it was horrible. For me, it was less boring than some of the other performers that the judges liked better, but that’s just my opinion.

I was disappointed with the first Texan to perform tonight, but Jason Castro redeemed the state :) Even though he’d only sung in front of other people about five times prior to auditions, he seemed very relaxed. That was really impressive since he accompanied himself on the guitar while he sang Lovin’ Spoonful’s “What a Day for a Daydream”. It was a really good, solid performance. “Effortless” Paula called it. Even Simon liked it.

The final performer of the night was Michael Johns. As we probably all know by now, Michael brings a lot of experience to the table, including a former recording contract. He’s really good, don’t get me wrong, but tonight’s performance of “Light My Fire” did feel a bit slick to me. Is it possible to be too good for American Idol? He just might be. Of course, none of the judges mentioned the record deal as they fawned all over him. I don’t know, I don’t think it should really be held against the “pros” but, at the same time, it does make things a bit awkward that you have people who have toured professionally on the same stage as people who’ve sung in front of an audience five times.

So, here’s the order of my favorites for the night:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Michael Johns (pro, or not, he was still good)
4. Jason Castro
5. Danny Noriega
6. Robbie Carrico
7. Colton Berry
8. Chikezie
9. Luke Menard
10. Garrett Haley
11. David Hernandez
12. Jason Yeager

That would put David Hernandez and Jason Yeager going home if my vote were the only vote that counted. Who did you vote for?