Real Kato Blog: American Idol 2009 Finals Week 1

Okay, it's that time again: time to start writing American Idol posts that nobody really cares to read... but whatevah, I do what I want. Actually, if you are gonna read one AI post from me this year, this is the one, because I actually put some effort into it.

Here are your top 13, in order of how I think they're going to do.

Danny Gokey

Reminds us of: Robert Downey Jr.

(I couldn't use Danny's "official" picture here because it's damn near impossible to find a good picture of Robert Downey Jr. smiling.)

Danny has the whole package: smooth movie-star hipster looks, a strong voice, and a touching back-story about his recently-deceased wife. If he doesn't make the top three, it'll be a scandal.

Alexis Grace

Reminds us of: Yvonne Strahovski.

She kinda came out of nowhere with her stellar rendition of "Never Loved a Man". She has some depth that the other contestants lack, and she's cute and charming too. She didn't get much air time in the opening rounds, but now that people see her, I think they'll like her.

Anoop Desai

Reminds us of: Ray Romano.

You gotta love this guy. He looks like every software engineer I've ever met, but he's got a groovy vibe... I don't think he'll make the mistake of drowning us with drippy ballads. The producers made it seem like he sneaked into the top 13, but I think he's got a bigger following than the initial voting rounds suggested. He'll need to work on his look (but without going all Sanjaya on us).

Lil Rounds

Reminds us of: Beyoncé... generously.

The scoop: she's got that Latoya London (season 3) vibe to her; she's soulful and powerful, but she'll be limited if she doesn't show some versatility. I'd like to hear a rock song from her.

Megan Joy

Reminds us of: Diane Kruger.

(I considered Jennifer Garner too, but it's hard to find a Jennifer Garner picture that doesn't show those enormous ears of hers.)

Perhaps the most memorable thing about her is the little dance-shake move that she does while she's singing... it's just so dang adorable. She's quirky; that usually helps for a while, but eventually spells doom. I'm not sold on her vocals yet, but it's hard not to like her. If she can pick good songs and avoid disaster, she could make it to the top five.

Adam Lambert

Reminds us of: Burt Reynolds, minus the 'stache.

(If I'd had time to composite a picture of Burt Reynolds with Robert Smith from The Cure, I think that would have been perfect.)

His theatrics will make you love him or hate him. There's no doubt that he's a good singer and a good performer, but at some point, we're looking for a pop star, not the lead singer for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".

Allison Iraheta

Reminds us of: Brittany Murphy.

She may be our resident rocker this year... but cuter than the rock girls from years past. She doesn't have the strongest voice, but if she picks songs that suit her, she's got the potential to do well. She'll just have to avoid songs that are too old and songs that are too big for her.

Jasmine Murray

Reminds us of: Brandy.

She's young and pretty, with an immediately-marketable look and style to her. But I don't think she's got the chops to sing the really big songs, and she runs the risk of sounding too copy-cat if she just sings recent pop hits all the time.

Jorge Nuñez

Reminds us of: Sendhil Ramamurthy.

Yes, he can sing. He's got a good personality, and many will find his accent charming... until they get annoyed by it. There are only so many times we'll be able to tolerate a Latin-influenced Elton John song; if he doesn't give us some spark, he'll get boring very fast. And no, we don't really want him to sing Ricky Martin songs.

Scott Macintyre

Reminds us of: William Katt.

Let's be honest... he's really not the best singer in the world. Sure, he's got a lot to be proud of, what with his blindness and all, but we can't give him a free pass for that. He's pitchy and a little corny a lot of the time, and at some point, the sympathy vote will have to die away. He has an outside chance of getting to the top six; any higher than that will be unfair to the other contestants.

Matt Giraud

He's kind of this year's Eliot Yamin. For me, that's not a good thing; I couldn't understand how Eliot made it as far as he did, with his goofy looks and overly-jazzy vocals.

Michael Sarver

Nice guy, sure, but guh, please spare us the country clichés. If he doesn't show some personality and take a few chances, he'll be gone quickly.

Kris Allen

I'm not sure what he's even doing in the top group... I thought his attempt at "Man in the Mirror" was hideous. He wants to be Justin Timberlake, I think... but he's just not.

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