American Idol Spoiler Luke Edgemon: Danny Gokey Version 2.0?

Every year, American Idol fans with inside knowledge leak American Idol spoilers on various websites like IdolForums.com. Luke Edgemon is an interesting singer who has emerged as a spoiler for American Idol 9. He seems to prefer RnB songs and has quite a soulful voice. Luke also looks a bit like Danny Gokey, the widower who took third place in the eighth season of American Idol. Luke is an impressive singer with a soulful voice for most of his performances. The question that arises is whether he has the power and control to pull off stellar performances. If the judges give him a chance, he certainly has the potential to go deep into the Top 12. But what we can see so far from his online videos is that he may lack the superstar vocals of most American Idol winners.

Luke must first get past the American Idol judges. This may be difficult for him if he reminds them too much of Danny Gokey. Danny was a judge favorite last year, but Idol likes to mix it up from year to year. The Idol producers and judges want to keep the show fresh. The ratings are already dropping from year to year, so putting another contestant on this year too similar to one of last year's favorites may be seen as a ratings risk. Some people will disagree with this, but Luke sure looks a lot like Gokey when I see him with those glasses. Of course, it wouldn't exactly be fair to Luke to deny him a spot in the voting rounds based on that. But American Idol does not exist to be fair. It exists to make money, and that is their first priority.

If Luke does get past the judges and into the voting rounds, his biggest assets seem to be his nice mix of soulful and pop tones and apparent ability to diversify with different song types. The Luke Edgemon YouTube channel reveals that he likes male RnB songs like "Back At One" but will also mix it up with a tune like Rihanna's "Umbrella" or a beautiful ballad like "Falling Slowly." This range of interests and ability to display different looks suggests that he can do well in the Idol format.

However, there are some concerns about his power and range (at least the control of his higher-register power notes). He almost got swallowed up by the big part in "Back at One." Although Luke held it together, he started to lose control there for a bit. A singer who cannot maintain his tone on power notes can have difficulty on American Idol.

Although range is not that important, avoiding sour notes can be important. American Idol has many technically good singers, and the judges will harp on missed notes quite a bit. This, however, does not mean that Luke cannot be successful on Idol. Matt Giraud was fairly routinely criticized for missing notes last year but managed to survive to the Top 5 (although he received a wildcard spot and a judges' save to get there).

All things considered, Luke Edgemon is probably an early American Idol favorite at this point due to his spoiler leaks. He does have talent and versatility. On the other hand, he may have problems with the power notes. This kind of problem probably does not make him an absolute favorite to win. But if Luke gets a pass to the voting rounds by the judges, he stands a good chance of making it to the Top 5. He looks like he could be a star, and that is enough for a Top 5 spot if the voters like his personality.

Update: Well, it looks like Luke Edgemon was cut in the Hollywood auditions. According to JoesPlaceBlog.com, Luke is done for now. He was already very popular over at IdolForums.com. However, this may not be the end for Luke. He has plenty of potential and can try out again if he doesn't secure a record deal before next season's auditions.