American Idol boys vie for Top 10 spots

Pia Ranada

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

The boys may not be as strong as the girls, but certain performances merit spots in the Top 10

AMERICA'S VOTE. Who among these 10 boys will make it American Idol's Top 10? Photo from American Idol Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines – Compared to the show-stopping performances of some of the girls during the American Idol Season 12 semi-finals round last March 6, the boys’ round on March 7 was a bit of a disappointment.

The girls’ slate being stronger than the boys’ has been acknowledged by many AI watchers, even the Idol judges themselves. In fact, many believe that the first female American Idol to win since Jordin Sparks in 2007 may just be from this batch.

READ: Fil-Am Adriana Latonio’s ‘weak’ AI performance

The bright lights

Watch Nick Boddington’s performance here:

That said, there were some bright performances in the boys’ round when the Top 10 boys performed to get enough votes for one of the 5 spots on the over-all Top 10.

Those who particularly shone were Nick Boddington, Lazaro Arbos and Devin Velez.

Boddington, who wowed the crowd with his gripping rendition of “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls, achieved positive comments from the judges on his song choice.

Keith Urban told him, “What a perfect song for you… there’s a vulnerability in your tone and I feel it.” 

Nicki Minaj thought his performance “was pretty and you were in your comfort zone… I don’t know if it will get billions of votes but it’s true to you.”

Randy Jackson gave his thumbs-up as well with, “I thought it was a good, solid performance.” 

Here’s Lazaro Arbos performing “Feeling Good”:

According to AI watcher and AccessAtlanta.com writer Rodney Ho, Lazaro Arbos’s performance “was the best performance I’ve seen him do since his audition.”

He added that Arbos oozed confidence and sexiness as he performed Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.”

The judges agreed with Ho, with Urban praising Arbos’s ability to “connect with everybody” and Minaj saying, “It’s like you have an album out already. That’s a very strong vocal.”

Listen to Devin Velez’s Perry Como cover here:


Devin Velez appealed to the AI Latino viewer with his rendition of “It’s Impossible” by Perry Como (half the song is in Spanish). Jackson praised him for his “great tone” and added, “This kid is effortless. You’re mad cool.” Minaj congratulated Velez for “stepping into your own” and called him “a Spanish Ken doll.”

Other favorites who might take coveted spots on the Top 10 are Burnell Taylor (who sang “I’m Here” by Fantasia) and Vincent Powell (“End of the Road” by Boyz II Men).

Road to Top 10

Rodney Ho predicts that these 4 aspirants will be booted out of the competition: Elijah Liu, Cortez Shaw, Paul Jolley and Charlie Askew.

He says that Curtis Finch Jr is a possible wild card owing to his good vocals.

The Top 10 will be announced in the March 8 episode of AI. 

Filipino-American Adriana Latonio failed to impress the judges during the girls’ semi-final round and is in danger of slipping from the Top 10. – Rappler.com

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Pia Ranada

Pia Ranada is Rappler’s Community Lead, in charge of linking our journalism with communities for impact.