American Idol - Top 12 guys

The season comes into full swing tonight as we finally get a serious listen to the 12 men who made it through auditions and Hollywood week to be here tonight. So far, the talent I have seen this season is the best since Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard battled it out in Season 2, with Studdard coming out the victor.

I shudder when I think back to last year's initial Top 24 night, where the supposedly best male singers of the season made their first impression on the "Idol" voting public, which was, approximately "This is the best they could do?"

It’s songs from the ’60s, the judges are seated, Ryan is standing by to introduce the contestants and Paula Abdul has already done one “seal clap;” let the show begin.

David Hernandez, 24, Glendale, Ariz. - "In the Midnight Hour"

I like this kid. He's got some gospel chops, and the organ in the arrangement helped jazz him up. I admire that he doesn't push the big notes - they just come.David starts out with “In the Midnight Hour.” He starts slow and strong – his voice is full and clear. Then the beat picks up and he sings the heck out of the song, but his body only made almost imperceptible movements. The beginning of the song was outstanding – especially considering that it must be difficult to go first. His voice was a 9, his body language was a 6, over all, I give him an 8 out of 10.

Chikezie, 22, Inglewood, Calif. -  "I Love You More Today"

And here we are back in one-named territory. That usually annoys me, but I get that his last name is "Eze." which rhymes, so I understand why he might want to drop it. He might also want to drop that arrangement of "More Today Than Yesterday," which was awkward and loungey. And note to Chikezie - Chuck Barris called and he'd like his suit back. The opposite of David, Chikezie starts “I Love You More Today” a little rough. He pulled through toward the middle and the end, but it wasn’t outstanding. He has a good voice, but it wasn’t as original as it needed to be. His voice is very throwback, so it suited the theme for the night. But, Chikezie is going to have to work a lot harder to stay with this year’s talent. To use a “Cowelism,” it was very “Love Boat.” Score: 6.

David Cook, 25, Blue Springs, Mo. - "So Happy Together"

My new Idol boyfriend! "Happy Together" is totally the song I want played when I walk down the aisle in my imaginary wedding. And David can sing it, since we;re being imaginary and all. “So Happy Together,” sounded really good from David. He really brought this ’60’s tune up to date – something Chikezie failed to do. He brought a rock-n-roll vibe to it, was really comfortable on stage and is so far the best of the night. He needs the professional skills of the “American Idol” hair artists, but other than that, the song and the performance were great. 9.5

Jason Yeager, 28, Grand Prairie, Texas - "Moon River"

Well, Jason hasn’t sung a note yet, but his story about doing this for his son brought a tear to my eye. “Moon River” is Jason’s choice and he has an outstanding voice for it. He also had the emotion to go with the lyrics – he sang the song like he knew what the words meant and he was working hard to convey the feelings of it to the audience. Geez, and after the son story, now he dedicates the song to his grandmother. I think he has a strong voice, and good emotion; he’ll do better with songs that aren’t so old so that he doesn’t appear so old himself. 8.

Robbie Carrico, 26, Melbourne, Fla. - "One is the Loneliest Number"

I liked his version of "One," but it'd be even better if he ditched the Bret Michaels bandanna. Kid, you have a full head of hair. You don't need to be rocking the creative receding hairline-hiding wear. Coming out of auditions, this guy was my favorite. I like his style, I like his look, I like his performance and I like his voice. He has all the components to win this thing. He turned “One is the Loneliest Number” into a current performance – he is up-to-date, he is now and he’ll get the votes. 9

David Archuleta, 17, Murray, Utah - "Shop Around"

“Shop Around,” is an upbeat ’60s tune that suited this young guy quite well. With a boy-next-door charm, he wrapped the audience right around his finger. He seems to be born to perform and sing – he sang with a maturity far beyond 17. He was bold and really performed to the audience like he’s been doing this for 20 years. And then Simon gives the kid a compliment to bring him to his knees – “best performance of the night by a comfortable margin.” The kid has charm and viewers will just eat him up. 9.5.

Danny Noriega, 18, Azuza, Cailf. - "Jailhouse Rock"

Starting out the Top 12 singing Elvis is risky at best. I mean, “Jailhouse Rock” is Elvis Pressley and, in reality, can you really ever do that song any better than it was originally done? Bad song choice by a kid who really has a good voice; it didn’t work for me at all. Danny should have chosen a slower song that would have shown off his voice, but he did perform well. He took over the stage and did not appear to be nervous at all. Still, Elvis, man … not good. 6.

Luke Menard, 29, Crawfordsville, Ind. - "Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me"

Looks-wise, this guy could be Hugh Jackman’s double. “Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me,” is a beautiful song, but Luke was a bit off key. He’s a good singer, and he will attract the female audience. Simon says he won’t be remembered – I say the girls won’t forget him. The end of the song showed his range, which is fantastic and that will keep him in the game. 7.

Colton Berry, 18, Staunton, Va. - "Suspicious Minds"

He's OK – the guy even admits it – he looks like Ellen Degeneres – a lot. So, Colton also chooses to sing an Elvis tune, “Suspicious Minds.” At least it’s not as signature an Elvis song as “Jailhouse Rock,” and Colton managed to bring a bit of himself to this famous tune. He’s obviously very comfortable on stage and he has a good voice – not the strongest voice of the lot, but good. Not completely memorable, but not totally forgettable, either. 7.

Garrett Haley, 17, Elida, Ohio - "Breaking Up is Hard to Do"

His hair was more interesting than his song. Garrett is a Leif Garrett/Peter Frampton combo – but in looks only. Garrett has an OK voice, it was a bit breathy, and he bought nothing new to “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.” It was, as Simon would say, very karaoke. It would have gone over fabulously in the local bar, but is this a recording artist? Not for me. He needed to make himself known in this song, and I know nothing more than I did a minute ago about who Garrett Haley is – except perhaps that he is a little boring. 5.

Jason Castro, 20, Rockwall, Texas - "What A Day For A Daydream"

"What A Day For A Daydream" is one of my favorite songs, and this was a pretty good version. Jason is going to be the first contestant to perform on “American Idol” with an instrument. This is the first season this has been allowed and Jason is playing “Daydream” on the guitar. He reminds me strangely of David Cassidy with dreadlocks. His voice is good, but he appears nervous and he does not bring anything new to this classic song. But he’s got a current look and he’s got charm. Simon says he’s one of the top 2 performances of the night – I totally disagree, but it was good enough for him to try again next week. 7.5.

Michael Johns, 29, Buckhead, Ga. - "Light My Fire"

Speaking of hype, Aussie Boy is the early Melinda Doolittle, who is so good and polished that it's almost criminal. I totally felt what Randy was saying about his "Light My Fire" being Michael Hutchence-esque. And Michael Hutchence was my own teenage sex symbol, so you know this is a good thing. He’s originally from Australia and retains the accent. He also chose a song in The Doors, “Light My Fire,” that totally suited his voice and his stage presence. Vocally he was spot on, and extremely entertaining, his version of that song could be on the radio tomorrow. He hit this one out of the park – best performance of the night for me and he is currently the man to beat. 10.

American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the British reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller.

The program seeks to discover the best young singer in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of this competition are determined by public voting by phone. The format features three judges who critique the contestants' performances in order to facilitate the voting: record producer and bass player Randy Jackson; former pop star Paula Abdul; and music executive Simon Cowell. The show is hosted by former children's game show emcee and television personality Ryan Seacrest; comedian Brian Dunkleman cohosted with Seacrest in season one.

The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the US and Thursday and Friday nights in the UK (two days after the US airing). In its six seasons, its six winners have been, in order of their season, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, and Jordin Sparks. The first five American Idols are from the Southern United States of America (U.S) and the sixth, Jordin Sparks, is from the Southwest. Hicks was the oldest winner at 29, Sparks the youngest at just 17.

American Idol is televised on Fox in the United States, ITV2 in the UK, FOX8 in Australia, CTV in Canada and on Q11 for the 7th season, in the Philippines. The Idol series was first created by Simon Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7) and developed by Simon Jones of FremantleMedia. The director is Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video) and executive producers are Nigel Lythgoe (a judge on So You Think You Can Dance) and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and Grudge Match). With the exception of the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, American Idol is the highest rated (viewed) program on U.S. national television.