American Idol and Hollywood needs a good slap in the face.  Tuesday night demonstrated the realities of Hollywood and that it really is about looks.  After John Park had performed, the judges were trying to say without really saying it was that they can’t market an Asian male and they tried softening the language by saying he was challenged with “believability” and that his performance would soon be forgotten.  Sadly, Simon was the cruelest in his comments by telling him that he’ll most likely be going home this week.  That’s even before seeing the other contestants perform – John had only been the second performance of the night and it wasn’t even an awful performance.  It was what Simon really wants and it’s because he can’t market John and he’s already dismissed him.  It became even more obvious as the judges noted how some of the singers were presentable and “commercial,” and they would make references to a performers looks.  That further validates the underlying issue here with American Idol and John Park’s chances with the judges.  Can he sing?  He sure can.

However, not was all lost on Tuesday night as they had a pre-roll video of John Park’s life before his performance.  John was born in Chicago and he grew up speaking Korean because he moved to Korea as a youngster.  He returned to Chicago during the 4th grade and the rest is history.  He shared during the interview by Ryan Seacrest that it was difficult standing up in front of the judges the previous week and hearing their critiques of his performance.

This week, he decided to stick to his guns and sing John Mayer’s “Gravity.”  The song appeared to allow him to show more of his vocal range.  He seemed a bit more relaxed and maybe it was because it was the pace of the song or a song that was within his range.  Unfortunately, the judges were not to kind to his performance.

Randy said there was “Nothing new or spicy to it.”

Ellen said it was “so much better of a song choice,” but he needed “a little more soul into it.”

Kara noted how it was “way better than last week”.  She was concerned with “the connection.”  She encouraged him “to let loose” and “to take risks.”

Simon was naturally the harshest and said there was “nothing to get excited about” and he “struggle with the believability.”  BOO SIMON!

So I plead with all of you, please VOTE for John Park so we can give the guy a shot to prove himself to America.

John Park was relieved on Thursday night to find himself still alive and passing through to the first round of American Idol live. He didn’t connect with the judges the night before and it appeared that he was in danger of leaving American Idol, but America called in and voted and John Park got enough votes to live another day on American Idol.

John sat in the back row and when it was his turn. He stood up with the entire row to hear the judge’s comments from the night before. Ray Seacrest said that “all the judges agreed that it didn’t show off his artistry” and “Kara felt it was sleepy and pointless.”  Then Ryan Seacrest took him to the edge of elimination and said “You’re going to have to face them again, so congratulations and take a seat.”

Keep it going John Park, but this time pick a better song that would make Shania sing your praises again.

Big bummer last night on American Idol as the men didn’t impress, including John Park who’s the Korean-American singer in the final 24.  It started out pretty humorously for John as he spoke about his love and affection for Shania Twain and how he thought she was most beautiful woman he had ever met in person.  All the fun ended after John sang “God Bless the Child,” a song he said meant a lot to him and to his family.  The judges were obviously not impressed by the song selection nor the overall performance.  In these competitions, it’s not always about singing your favorite song but about finding the right song that fits your persona and tone that America can embrace.  Adam Lambert won with his “rock on” look and sound.  John just needs to find the right genre that he’s most comfortable with, not necessarily the songs he wants to sing to his family.  As Kara noted last night, she couldn’t quite determine what lane John could go down that America could embrace.

Simon: “You have got to have an incredible voice to take on that song, and haven’t got that. And zero emotion. It was a pointless performance.”

Kara: “I agree with Simon — there was no connection.”

Randy: You’ve definitely got a voice there.”

Ellen: “I think that if it was a different song, we’d see who you really are. I actually thought it was a great performance.”

Let’s keep hope alive and hope that John gets one more shot by America to breakout and show his true talents.