Lisa Tucker set the bar last night and the men will take their swings at stardom. Quick capsules and odds:
Ace Young +447
The odds-on male favorite right now. He has the looks the teenyboppers swoon over and if he can avoid a Constantine-like disaster he will advance to the final four and further. Right now Ace can almost taste the Hollywood Theater according to some, but let's see him actually perform before we declare him champ.
Bobby Bennett +1000
The long of longshots. Bobby hopes to capture some of that Scott Savol magic and ride the carpet to glory. Starting behind the 8-ball, Bobby will have to shake things up in a big way to see next week.
Bucky Covington +6500
What I've seen and heard of him has been impressive. May have a semi-live dog here. His problem may lie in that he's a poor man's Bo or Constantine and Ace and Chris have him beat in spades in that area.
Chris Daughtry +1126
He is the Bo to Ace's Constantine. Powerful vocals and southern style. 11/1 is about as high as I've seen and considering he's a solid top-12 candidate and beyond, value lies therein.
David Radford +6500, Patrick Hall +6500, Will Makar +3000
These three are kinda like the 17,18,19 horses in the Kentucky Derby. They are the prototypical Abercrombie & Fitch white teens. Will seems to have the most polish, but these three are so similar they will cannibalize votes from each other. At least 1 of the 3 will likely be gone next week, the question for tonight is which one.
Elliott Yamin +6500
He stands out from the above 3 in that he lacks the preppy look. In this case, that is a plus for Elliott. Lots of chops for him, but in a crowded field of claimers he will have to do something special to rise above.
Gedeon McKinney +7500
Here's where the question of race comes in. Gedeon is the only African-American male. Therein, he will have an inherit advantage when it comes to voting. Whether he can sing or not is slightly irrelevant until later. We are looking at a very live dog here and worthy of at least a sawbuck shot. If he can sing as well, we are looking at an outright steal.
Jose "Sway" Penala +6500
Odds hit hard early, then everyone has avoided him. Another voting advantaged customer who will receive both Asian and Hispanic votes. Are you kidding me, that's two huge blocks. If he can sing as well, welcome to the top 12.
Kevin Covais +2543
So what sucker bet on this kid? He should be 200-1 at least and I still wouldn't touch it. Best case scenario, he is this year's John Stevens. Even with that he wouldn't sniff the title. Worse case scenario, he is a cute kid with a bad lisp that will embarrass himself. Avoid at all costs.
Taylor "Grandpa" Hicks +897
Curiousity killed the cat, but it is making Taylor legendary. The grayer than Grandma Hicks is all the buzz because of his quirky mannerisms and his Cocker-esque sound. While a solid bet to advance far, his shot at winning the whole enchilada is slim at best.
You will see the first evidence of the importance of demographics in voting tonight. Lesser constestants will stay and better voices will go home. This is the key to handicapping Idol and if you pay attention it will pay off big time down the road.
Good luck.
Ace Young +447
The odds-on male favorite right now. He has the looks the teenyboppers swoon over and if he can avoid a Constantine-like disaster he will advance to the final four and further. Right now Ace can almost taste the Hollywood Theater according to some, but let's see him actually perform before we declare him champ.
Bobby Bennett +1000
The long of longshots. Bobby hopes to capture some of that Scott Savol magic and ride the carpet to glory. Starting behind the 8-ball, Bobby will have to shake things up in a big way to see next week.
Bucky Covington +6500
What I've seen and heard of him has been impressive. May have a semi-live dog here. His problem may lie in that he's a poor man's Bo or Constantine and Ace and Chris have him beat in spades in that area.
Chris Daughtry +1126
He is the Bo to Ace's Constantine. Powerful vocals and southern style. 11/1 is about as high as I've seen and considering he's a solid top-12 candidate and beyond, value lies therein.
David Radford +6500, Patrick Hall +6500, Will Makar +3000
These three are kinda like the 17,18,19 horses in the Kentucky Derby. They are the prototypical Abercrombie & Fitch white teens. Will seems to have the most polish, but these three are so similar they will cannibalize votes from each other. At least 1 of the 3 will likely be gone next week, the question for tonight is which one.
Elliott Yamin +6500
He stands out from the above 3 in that he lacks the preppy look. In this case, that is a plus for Elliott. Lots of chops for him, but in a crowded field of claimers he will have to do something special to rise above.
Gedeon McKinney +7500
Here's where the question of race comes in. Gedeon is the only African-American male. Therein, he will have an inherit advantage when it comes to voting. Whether he can sing or not is slightly irrelevant until later. We are looking at a very live dog here and worthy of at least a sawbuck shot. If he can sing as well, we are looking at an outright steal.
Jose "Sway" Penala +6500
Odds hit hard early, then everyone has avoided him. Another voting advantaged customer who will receive both Asian and Hispanic votes. Are you kidding me, that's two huge blocks. If he can sing as well, welcome to the top 12.
Kevin Covais +2543
So what sucker bet on this kid? He should be 200-1 at least and I still wouldn't touch it. Best case scenario, he is this year's John Stevens. Even with that he wouldn't sniff the title. Worse case scenario, he is a cute kid with a bad lisp that will embarrass himself. Avoid at all costs.
Taylor "Grandpa" Hicks +897
Curiousity killed the cat, but it is making Taylor legendary. The grayer than Grandma Hicks is all the buzz because of his quirky mannerisms and his Cocker-esque sound. While a solid bet to advance far, his shot at winning the whole enchilada is slim at best.
You will see the first evidence of the importance of demographics in voting tonight. Lesser constestants will stay and better voices will go home. This is the key to handicapping Idol and if you pay attention it will pay off big time down the road.
Good luck.