If Danny Gokey had not gone through to the Top 12 this season, I think I may have quit American Idol for good. It just wouldn’t have made any sense.

Tuesday, the first group of 12 took the AI stage and sang for the hearts (and votes) of viewers, and for the most part, made fools of themselves.

THE THING THAT WENT RIGHT

Danny was by far the best singer of the night - and in my opinion, the best in the competition. I just love his sound - I like a little rasp from time to time. And those glasses - how many pairs does he own?? In all seriousness though, Danny is the full package - he’s got looks, he’s got charm, he’s got the chops - all I could ask is that he try and take a few risks throughout the competition. I hate to say that I can see him going in a more David Archuleta-like direction with his song choices, and I think that could be a grave mistake.

THE THING THAT WENT WRONG

I got home from class Tuesday night just in time to catch “Anoop Dogg” Desai singing Monica’s “Angel of Mine.” He’s got a great voice, there’s no arguing with that. I’d already heard the performance before, so it didn’t surprise me like it surprised the judges. They thought it was a weird song choice.  I disagreed.

You see, upon the announcement of the Top 36, I Googled my favorites to get a glimpse of what I could expect. I found Anoop performing that very song with the UNC Clefhangers:

He played it safe, he sang a song he knew was a crowd favorite where he was used to performing. I really like contestants like Anoop. No previous recording contracts, no real professional experience (to my knowledge) - real people who can actually sing.

If they don’t bring him back as a Wild Card, then Idol fans have really been slighted.

THE OTHERS

I’m glad to be rid of Tatiana del Toro - so her voice wasn’t THAT bad, but her annoying traits were far too extreme to have to watch throughout the whole competition.

I expected more from Jackie Tohn, an early favorite of mine - especially after someone like Amanda Overmeyer got as far as she did last season. That being said, looking back, I don’t think she did quite as bad as some of the others. But like the judges said, it was a weird night.

I’ve heard a couple people say Michael Sarver shouldn’t have gotten through, but I think I disagree. Michael has a good voice, and I think he might become more interesting the longer he sticks around. Besides, it’s always nice (like I said earlier) to see a normal, blue collar type guy achieving success on a reality TV show built around being a star.

Also, congratulations to Alexis Grace, who rounds out the three who’ve made it through so far. I didn’t get to see her performance on Tuesday, but I’ve been a fan since the beginning of the season.

THE NEW FORMAT

I’m still not sure what I think about the new format of the show. I do like that good singers can be voted in regardless of whether they are male or female (the third person from each night can be either). After all, I want to see talented singers. I don’t want a talented guy not getting through just because the number of talented guys outweighs the number of girls.

That being said, I’m looking forward to the next 12 and hoping they learn from the first group’s mistakes - lets get Season 8 off to a better start.

Anoop, I hope I see you in the Wild Card round.

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