YAY!!! Finally time for the real deal to begin! Looks like they are going with more modern themes this year too as tonight's eppy is songs from their favorite artists. Should be getting a nice mix of songs tonight. Really hoping Stefano does good since he was so good during last week's wildcard performance. Don't want him getting voted off this early! Time for the show!
Lauren Alaina- "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain. Well she started at a weird part of the song, but vocally sounds good. A little quiet though. Gets louder with the chorus though. This girl does have a lot of personality and great stage presence though. She knows how to perform well. Not my favorite performance from her, but still fun. Steven wishes it would've been a little more "kick ass" and the crowd is SILENT. Jennifer wants her to kick it into high gear, but loves her voice and her on stage. Randy basically agrees with the other two, he doesn't know if it was the right song for her. When she does her post performance interviews she reminds me so much of Kellie Pickler!
Casey Abrams- "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker. Just like me, Casey first heard this song on "Wonder Years". I totally just saw that show on TV the other night, by the way :). Walking down the infamous Idol staircase to kick off the performance then sitting down to sing it. Sounds great in the beginning! I don't really like the way he is pronouncing "friends" during the chorus though. Wow he gets the staircase and the whole choir of people to back him up. He is singing this song with so much passion! I am loving this performance and he isn't even one of my faves! Probably will be one of my faves of the night though. Great job! Jennifer said it blew her away. Randy said he hit all the notes and made listening to him sing fun, he loved it. Steven said he is a rainbow of talent that never ceases to amaze him and a plethora of passion. He should be safe for sure!
Ashthon Jones- "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" by Diana Ross. Really happy she got a wildcard spot last week so hoping she does good tonight. Hmmm not liking the beginning too much on this. She's got the Diana Ross hair though. Some huge earrings too. The second half is better than the first and she does good holding the notes out. Ending was pretty good. Not my favorite of hers. Randy liked it even though he was worried when he first saw her song choice. Steven says he thinks there's a lot more than what she is showing us. Jennifer wants her to start singing songs we can sing along with her. I agree with Jennifer. I like her, but not sure if she will be safe or not.
Paul McDonald- "Come Pick Me Up" by Ryan Adams. I really wish my teeth were as white as his! Apparently he has been getting lots of comments on them and says it may be because he doesn't drink tea or coffee. Also uses Crest Vivid White. I may have to try that! I've heard Ryan Adams' music before, but never this song. His voice is so different and the way he moves just amuses me so much. Not a bad job on the song, but I can't get over how his voice sounds to critique him much. Love the raspiness though. Steven loves the rasp too, but called it a little pitchy. Loves his voice though. Jennifer said he is so unique and she hopes America gets it since she doesn't know Ryan Adams or that song. Randy said it probably wasn't the most exciting thing for people but he loves who Paul is and Ryan Adams. He loves him for this show. He is very unique so he should be safe. Ryan then dances around like him and it actually is pretty close to what he actually did.
Pia Toscano- "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen. Whenever I hear this song I think of the movie "Clueless". Starts off pretty good. I like the dress she is wearing until I notice the strange train connected to it. Does great with the chorus. Really nice on the long note. Great ending too. She pretty much nailed it. Jennifer says she topped last week, really beautiful. Randy reminds us for the 10th time (at least) this eppy that this is his 10th season. He loves that she can hit every note. Called it a "very hot dope cool performance". Steven says it was the sum total of everything she has done so far. Called it beautiful. She should also be safe.
James Durbin- "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. Well this is a choice I didn't expect him to do, especially for this week. I was thinking he would do some hard rock/ heavy metal stuff. He looks cute after his little makeover and haircut :) No tail this week either! He is doing pretty good with the song. I actually love the chorus and he doesn't do too much of the annoying scream so its tolerable. Hmm kudos to James that was actually much better than I expected! Randy says he is one of his faves because he has a voice that can sing anything. Steven says he has taken "everything he ever felt and kicked it into next week". Says he did such a great job. Jennifer says his voice has everything. Great performance, he should also be safe. These contestants are kicking butt tonight!
Haley Reinhart- "Blue" by Leann Rimes. Well she starts off with her voice cracking a bit during the "Blue" part. Gets better as the song goes on. Okay I really don't like when she does the "Blue" part at all. Just eh for me. Steven says that was really beautiful, she did such a good job. Jennifer says she does things with her voice that are so diverse. She loved it. Randy is laughing during this critique and says it was a little boring for him. She says she was trying to show the softer side. EEK I agree with Randy again.
Jacob Lusk- "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly. So I liked this song back when it came out in 1996 for "Space Jam", but for some reason I hate when people pick it to sing on this show. I like Jacob's personality, but I hope he keeps his performance toned down like he did last week. This guy has a career in gospel music for sure. Hate me if you must, but I am not liking this that much. HA I knew he would have a choir with him on this song! Nope way too over the top for me this week. He took us to church! Steven says pure passion, pure music he can't even judge because he is SO GOOD! Jennifer says with performances like this its anyone's game this season. Randy agrees with Jennifer, but he does say he went a little sharp and fell off it in the middle but he loved it anyways. I didn't love it, but I'm sure enough of America did that he will be safe.
Thia Megia- "Smile" by Michael Jackson Charlie Chaplin. Well every time I hear this song I think of MJ's brother singing it at his memorial service. Pretty sure I never heard it before then. Okay she doesn't remind me of Michael Jackson really like Randy thought. Sounds pretty decent on this song though. Especially since it is so flipping old! The song takes a strange medium tempo turn in the middle. She sounds good, but that was a little boring for me. Randy loved the intro since he could hear the Michael in her?. He didn't like the jazzy part in the middle though. Steven agrees with Randy. Says it was a little pitchy in the middle, but he liked it. Jennifer says the arrangement was "interesting", but that doesn't matter cause she sings like an angel. Hmm she could be in danger.
Ryan tells us that after the break its a battle between "east coast and west coast". This isn't a rap war Ryan.
Stefano Langone- "Lately" by Stevie Wonder. LOVE Stefano so hope he does well this week. Didn't like this Bruno Mars too much last week, but loved the wildcard song. Starts off nice, but I don't like his enunciation on certain words. He puts a lot of passion into his singing that's for sure! Picks up nicely with the chorus. I loved it. Steven said he pulled it off, it built from the beginning to end, it was beautiful. Jennifer said he had her dancing for a minute with the dance remix of that song. Said he sounded great. Randy said it started off a little rocky, but by the middle he was soaring. Very nicely done. He's adorable! I love him!
Karen Rodriguez- "I Could Fall In Love" by Selena. Video of Karen singing Selena when she was very young. Starts off a little low for me. Chorus picks up a bit, but still lower than I expected it to be. Second half of the song is better. Eh not that great for me. Was too quiet the whole song. Jennifer said she could tell she was a little uncomfortable while she was singing. Says she is one of the strongest girls though. Randy agrees and says it felt like she was fighting with the song. Says it was a little sleepy for him. Steven agrees also. Wow she will most likely be in danger unless she gets a lot of sympathy votes.
Scotty McCreery- "The River" by Garth Brooks. This kid has a career in country music for sure. Starts off great. Garth Brooks is a great choice for his voice. Seriously am loving this performance. So close to the original. Pretty sure he is the most country sounding person they have had on this show so he will definitely get signed when he is done with this. Audience seems to have loved it too. Randy says this is exactly where he belongs, don't change it. He loved it. Steven said he did Garth justice. Jennifer says she loved that he opened up as a performer. Very good, he should be safe.
Naima Adedapo- "Umbrella" by Rihanna. Well she gets the pimp spot, so I'm thinking this should be pretty good. Don't really care for her outfit at all, but the singing it good. She's dancing quite a bit, but not enough energy for me. Ohh until the middle and then she busts out some weird reggae rap stuff. The end is pretty good. Yea that was just a'ght for me. Steven says she is crazy good, little pitchy, but she brought flavor that no one else has done tonight. Jennifer doesn't care about the pitchy because she loved the reggae, rap and dancing. Says she needs to work on the control though. Randy does care about the pitchiness. He didn't like the cutoffs, but he loved the reggae. Yea I didn't like that too much. She then says some stuff to her husband that I didn't quite understand. She speaks very fast. Hmm she could go either way. She was a wildcard last week so I don't know how much support she had to begin with and the reggae, rap stuff was kinda different. She could very well be in the bottom three tomorrow.
Randy sums up the night by saying it was a tough night. Says there were some really good performances and some not so good. Jennifer and Steven basically echo Randy.
I thought there were some great performances tonight. Pretty good for so early in the season. This should be a good year! On tomorrow's results show: Diddy and Adam Lambert.
My favorites of the night: Casey, James, Pia, Stefano, and Scotty
Least favorite: Haley, Jacob (too over the top), Karen, and Naima
So far, Casey and Pia get my vote.
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