Check guesses for ‘American Idol’
With 11 contestants left, only a fool would try to handicap “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox). So here I go.
Nadia Turner is the clear favorite. She’s mature yet spirited. She always puts on a great stage show, and her outfits are so great she should release her own line of clothes.
But I always get nervous about early front-runners. Will she be cursed by Simon Cowell’s awkward meat metaphor? Last week he called her “steak” in a room full of “hamburger.” I tend to think of her as a free-range free bird in a kitchen full of Chicken McNuggets.
The mysterious departure of Mario Vazquez removed Nadia’s most serious competition. That kid had star potential.
If they ever go casting “Fame 2005” they should give him a call. His replacement, Nikko Smith, will last three more weeks, tops.
The judges seem to love Bo Bice, but he reminds me of the hardest working member of an Allman Brothers tribute band. If this were “American Idol 1974” he’d be a natural. It’s funny that he and his fellow “rocker” Constantine Maroulis both sang a Blood, Sweat & Tears song last week. What goes up must come down indeed.
Mikalah Gordon has surely demonstrated just how far you can go with a winning smile and an exposed naval. Look for her to go no further.
Jessica Sierra is having the most fun. But her act is better suited to a smoke-filled bar where her audience can console themselves with a cold beer or five.
Anwar Robinson combines good looks and a wonderful voice with an inner glow. And that’s why I have a problem with him. He’s so vital and earnest. I half expect a “Godspell” revival to break out at any moment.
So now that I’m thoroughly out on a limb, here are my picks for the top five: Nadia, of course, followed in no particular order by Carrie, Vonzell, Anthony and Scott.
Anthony Fedorov is hardly the best performer, but he has that nonthreatening-boy thing working for him. That’s no small advantage on a show watched by millions of preteen girls with their mothers. John Stevens rode that constituency well into last spring’s competition. And Clay Aiken almost won it all.
I’ve been rooting for Scott Savol from the beginning. He’s the least “Idol”-like contestant imaginable. After weeks of glamorous extreme makeovers he still looks like someone you’d cast as a prison guard. But, man, can he sing.
Vonzell Solomon is also here to the end. She acquitted herself quite well last week while performing the spectacularly difficult Bacharach/David song “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”
While her performances can be bland, you have to like Carrie Underwood’s voice and root for her country-girl nonchalance. She still has the best line on this year’s “Idol.”
After a sightseeing stint in Hollywood, Ryan Seacrest asked her if she had seen any stars. “No,” she replied. And added, “It was a cloudy night.” You can’t write dialogue like that, kids.
Two elderly women bond at a retirement home for retired activists in the moving and often funny documentary film “Sunset Story” on “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., KSPS).
Other highlights
A mission in matchmaking on “Gilmore Girls” (8 p.m., WB).
Longitudes and attitudes on “The Amazing Race” (9 p.m., CBS).
A mob turncoat needs emergency care before delivering key testimony on “House” (9 p.m., Fox).
Only five remain on “The Starlet” (9 p.m., WB). But they may still outnumber the show’s audience.
A bias case pits one Arab-American against another on “Judging Amy” (10 p.m., CBS).
A teen may be carrying a cult leader’s child on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (10 p.m., NBC).
A detective’s murder casts suspicion on his partners on “Blind Justice” (10 p.m., ABC).
Cult choice
The mystical New Age cartoon “Kaena: The Prophecy” (7:20 p.m., Starz) features the voices of Kirsten Dunst, Richard Harris and Anjelica Huston. Per Village Voice film critic Mark Holcomb, “This French animated feature was hatched as an idea for a video game, and it shows.”