Broadway Stars BROADWAYSTARS

"American Idol": The Top 12 Guys

by Jon Caramanica

On Tuesday night's semifinal round show, which featured the season's top 12 male contestants, audition-round favorites were exposed as scammers, charlatans and fools. This season's conceit, in which the show appeared to be focusing on skilled contestants over punchline-ready singers, felt like a bait-and-switch. Just last week, they were singers; now, they were set up to be collateral damage.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 5:40am on March 2, 2011