Are We Ready?

Are we ready?

Scoring sheet…check!

Red clipboard…check!

Blank tape in the VCR…check!

Computer on…check!

Hot guy I’m hoping can actually sing…okay, I’m still working on that one.

But other than that, we’re good to go!

Tonight, we’re going to get something a little different as the top 12 guys (and girls tomorrow) will sing songs from the 60s—the first time the semifinals have had a theme.

And if you enjoy any of the performances tonight, you can download them tomorrow exclusively at iTunes. I’m hoping that the downloads will be the actual performances this year instead of those inferior recorded versions we got last year.

Before the show begins, let me remind any newbies out there how my scoring works. I use a scoresheet based on the official one from “American Idol Magazine” (Do they still publish that?). Four categories make up a contestant’s total score: Vocal ability, song choice, personality and stage presence (The magazine scoresheet figures in appearance, but I took that out of my scores after some controversy in season four.). Each category is worth five points, so the maximum a contestant can receive is 20 points.

Three minutes to go….