Naima Adedapo barely made it into the "American Idol" finals last week, when the judges picked her as a "wild card." On Wednesday night, she was just one of 13 finalists, competing for viewer votes.
Milwaukee's lone "Idol" finalist" gave the last performance on a show that was recorded in advance as producers work on chronic sound problems this season. She sang Rihanna's "Umbrella" on a night when finalists picked a song by their own "Idol."
She offered an energetic performance from the start, although her vocals weren't perfect, and she showed off some of her dance moves. Although she didn't get voted into the finals, I don't think she's going home tonight.
In previous seasons, I've called a winner early (and was right more than I was wrong). This year, there aren't any clunkers in the bunch, so it's hard to make a prediction quite yet.
Instead of any prognostication, here are thumbnail sketches of Adedapo's dozen competitors and their first performance in the finals:
Lauren Alaina -- Sang Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine." Alaina's performance got better as it went on as she seemed to relax into the bouncy ditty. But she never really took command of the stage. She's cute enough to survive the first cut.
Casey Abrams -- Went with Joe Cocker's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends." His take was a little smoother, even when he tried to growl. But he's a likable and powerful young singer and isn't leaving anytime soon.
Ashthon Jones -- Chose Diana Ross's "When You Tell Me That You Love Me." Another wild card finalist, she was a bit too breathy and a bit shaky. As a wild card (which meant she wasn't chosen by viewers to be a finalist) her danger of going home is increased.
Paul McDonald -- "Come Pick Me Up," by Ryan Adams, was his choice. He has a quirky voice that didn't seem up to the song, and he sort of danced his way through the number. He's a distinctive character, which may not keep him around for the long run.
Pia Toscano -- Went with Celine Dion's version of "All By Myself." She has a powerful and emotional voice (frankly, she's more soulful than anything Dion can do). She's around for a quite a while.
James Durbin -- Chose Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed," and took off in a way that gave it his own spin. And his falsetto bit worked surprisingly well. With a boyish look and strong pipes, he's not going home right away.
Haley Reinhart -- Tried Leann Rimes' "Blue" and was all twangy and yodel-y during the number. There's a lot of country competition in these finals, and she'll have to crank it up a bit to make it through that.
Jacob Lusk -- Picked R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" and built through the course of the song to a tremendous ending. This group of finalists really is the best in memory.
Thia Megia -- Took on Michael Jackson's version of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile." She had no idea who "Charlie Chapman" was, as she called him, but that didn't stop her from offering a sweet opening to the sing. But then it got a little jazzier, and could have messed things up a bit.
Stefano Langone -- The third of the wild card finalists chose Stevie Wonder's "Lately." Although his performance picked up at the end, he's the weakest of the vocalists in the bunch, and he's the likeliest to head home tonight.
Karen Rodriguez -- Picked Selena's "I Could Fall in Love." She never seemed to find her voice and it turned out to be one of the weaker performances of the night.
Scotty McCreery -- Capped off the country performances with Garth Brooks' "The River." He has an easy-going style and the kind of classic country voice you don't frequently hear in "Idol" finals. He's safe for a while and has a guaranteed post-"Idol" country career.
The losers of the night: Frankly, I'm very tired of the judges loving each and every singer. Even their criticism sounds like praise. While the ratings are better than expected, I'm afraid "Idol" has lost its edge. Sadly, we can't vote them off.
One last "Idol" note: For the first time, studio versions of the songs from Wednesday's show are already available at the iTunes Store, either as an album or as single songs.
One last bit of "reality" news: CBS has ordered two more installments of "Survivor," the show that really kicked off the trend of "reality" competitions, which is now a permanent part of television.
Tim Cuprisin is the media columnist for OnMilwaukee.com. He's been a journalist for 30 years, starting in 1979 as a police reporter at the old City News Bureau of Chicago, a legendary wire service that's the reputed source of the journalistic maxim "if your mother says she loves you, check it out." He spent a couple years in the mean streets of his native Chicago, and then moved on to the Green Bay Press-Gazette and USA Today, before coming to the Milwaukee Journal in 1986.
A general assignment reporter, Cuprisin traveled Eastern Europe on several projects, starting with a look at Poland after five years of martial law, and a tour of six countries in the region after the Berlin Wall opened and Communism fell. He spent six weeks traversing the lands of the former Yugoslavia in 1994, linking Milwaukee Serbs, Croats and Bosnians with their war-torn homeland.
In the fall of 1994, a lifetime of serious television viewing earned him a daily column in the Milwaukee Journal (and, later the Journal Sentinel) focusing on TV and radio. For 15 years, he has chronicled the changes rocking broadcasting, both nationally and in Milwaukee, an effort he continues at OnMilwaukee.com.
When he's not watching TV, Cuprisin enjoys tending to his vegetable garden in the backyard of his home in Whitefish Bay, cooking and traveling.
