American Idol - Week One- 2/25/10

So was it a boys night out?

After only two out of the 12 girls impressed me last night, I was hoping that there were some great performances expected from the Top 12 guys last night. I got a few, but for the most part, I was bored at some parts and downright disappointed in others. Only 3 guys really stood out for me, and that's really not that much better than the gals. ALL of these contestants need to up their game if they hope to gain me as a fan.

Aside from the weird fascination that Idol is having kidding around about Kara's supposed lust for contestant Casey James, the night went pretty well. I don't think the boys are necessarily stronger than that girls, to be honest. I think they are all on even ground right now, and as the weeks go by, the stronger performers will make their way to the foreground.

On a side note, I'm a bit confused as to some contestants. What I'm saying is, wasn't Michael Lynche disqualified because his father blabbed to the media before the Top 24 were revealed? Did they give him another shot? And I didn't even know about Chris Golightly's disqualification and subsequent replacement with Tim Urban. (although based on his performance last night, I agree with Simon in that they were right in telling him he didn't make the Top 24 originally - more on that later)

Like yesterday's review, we got a lot of boys to get through. (hmm...there is a joke about me there somewhere, but I'll let it be)

Read on for the rundown!

1. TODRICK HALL – sung “Since You’ve Been Gone” - Oh my God, this was torturous, and I couldn't agree with Simon (or some of the other judges) more. You can't completely murder a song like he did. It was unrecognizable, and it didn't matter that he sung it well. He was trying too hard to show "Oooo, look at what I can do! I can remake a song and make it better!" - Yeah, not so much Todrick. I can see he has stage presence, because of his experience as a dancer, but I think that's the only thing that will get him through to next week. I think he's safe, but BARELY.

2. AARON KELLY – sung “Here Comes Goodbye” - How adorable is this kid? He reminds of Kevin Covais from seasons back, except with more talent. Aaron has got an amazing voice for a 16 yr old. When he hit that one big note, even I was shocked it was coming from this kid. He has all the elements to get him pretty far in the competition (though I don't know about winning -- yet). He's likable, he's cute, he's polite, and he's humble. I agree with Kara, this is my favorite kind of contestant; the type that has no clue how good they really are. I'm looking forwards to seeing this kid grow in the weeks to come. Definitely SAFE.

3. JERMAINE SELLERS – sung “Get Here” - Another song that should be forever retired from the show. BORING, and to be honest, I think I agree with Randy, Kara & Simon: the song was too old and too big for him. Add to that that they showed (yet again) his "diva moment" with the band during Hollywood week, and I'm not confidant of this guy's chances to advance. A sub-par performance added to that definitely puts him in danger.

4. TIM URBAN – sung “Apologize” - Ah, Tim, Tim, Tim…those nerves are a killer, aren't they? My God, I felt bad for him. The whole time he was singing, he had this horrified look on this face. Add to the fact this was a completely bad song choice, and you can see the danger poor Tim is in tonight. Some of the notes that he sung were completely off. The song was just too big for him, and he just couldn't get on top of it. Kara was right, he was definitely overwhelmed by the music. Tim, if I were you, I'd have my bags ready tonight.

5. JOE MUNOZ – sung “You and I Both” - This was a decent performance. It didn't blow me out of the water, but it didn't make a memorable moment either. I like this Jason Mraz song, and he sung it pretty well. No complaints here on his vocal ability, but I agree with Simon; I see no star power yet. There was nothing for me to say, "this guy has ---" and it will get him very far. I think Joe can stick around a while, but he needs to give one of those performances that will be remembered the next day, and not forgotten by the show's end.

6. TYLER GRADY – sung “American Woman” - I want to say off the bat, I like this guy. I think he has a nice personality, and I think he's different. He stands out from the crowd, and that's important. But come on, how predictable can you be? You love the 70s, we get it. It doesn't mean you have to do a 70's song. The judges were sooo on the nose with their assessment; Tyler needs to be more original. Put a 70's spin on a modern hit. Or do something completely unexpected. His performance was mediocre at best, and I found myself disappointed, because I really wanted him to do well. I think his individuality will keep him safe this week.

7. LEE DEWYZE – sung “Chasing Cars” - This was one of the few performances I'm going to remember. I wasn't sure what to make of Lee, but once he started singing, I instantly liked his vibe. Now granted, he did hit some wonky notes during the chorus, but overall I think it was a solid performance. I disagree with Kara & Randy, I think this was a good song choice. I think if Lee was a little less nervous, he would have hit the notes he missed. I don't see him as a rocker though, but I could be wrong. Time will tell if I'll change my tune about him, but my first impression; one of my favorites. (at least I won't feel like a dirty old man lusting after him, as I would if I lusted after Aaron) Most definitely safe.

8. JOHN PARK – sung “God Bless The Child” - From the first few bars of the song, I was already asleep. Oh my God, this was excruciating. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I was bored beyond belief, and I really saw no personality at all. To me, he was just singing the song, and I think Ellen put it best when she said he had no connection to the song he was singing. I think this was a bad song choice for him. He's young, and he should have chosen a song the younger audience members would know. Think about it, this is your first time singing live. You want to impress your audience enough that they want to pick up the phone for you and vote. So you choose "God Bless The Child" as your song choice? Me thinks I know whose bags need to be packed and put near Tim Urban's. Very much in DANGER.

9. MICHAEL LYNCHE – sung “This Love” - Hmm...I'm undecided about Michael. I don't think his performance was as strong as some of the others, but the guy has a great personality. He has a great backstory (he's a new dad), but how far can that get you? Truth be told, his performance was not great. He missed more than a few notes, and it didn't seem like he needed his guitar at all. I think he needs to step it up in the coming weeks, because his personality will only get him so far. He's safe, but that's not based on his performance.

10. ALEX LAMBERT – sung “Wonderful World” - My God, Ellen was right…this kid has a mullet. Wow. Distracting as that is, I thought this performance was ok, but his nerves just made the whole performance a mess. He looked terrified, and it just made the whole performance exactly what Simon called it…uncomfortable. I think maybe he's in danger of being in the bottom three, but I don't think he's going home. (mostly because I don't think his performance was one of the worst of the night.)

11. CASEY JAMES – sung “Heaven” - THANK YOU Ellen! At the end of Casey's performance, she apologizes for the nonsense the other judges were doing during his performance. As Casey sang, it showed that he was distracted, as he came close to busting up laughing a few times. That was unfair to him, and I thank Ellen for calling out the other judges on that. that aside, and distractions aside, Casey's was one of my favorite performances of the night. I love the original song, and I've actually heard an acoustic version of it that Bryan Adams himself recorded. It wasn't flawless, but I blame the judges' shenanigans, not Casey. He's definitely safe, but if he isn't, there will be a lot of gripes towards the judges. a joke is a joke, but when you're endangering a contestant's chances, the B.S. needs to stop. I will say this though; he IS great eye candy, but Kara is right, his talent is on par with his looks.

12. ANDREW GARCIA – sung “Sugar, We’re Going Down” - I was really disappointed with Andrew's performance. I really got hooked on as a fan when he did his amazing version of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" during Hollywood Week. Just like Tyler, I really wanted Andrew to do well, but I really hated this performance. I think it was a bad song choice for him, and though I think he's gonna be safe, he needs to be better at his song choices.

My Bottom Three Picks: As opposed to last night, I think I find it pretty simple to pick the bottom three boys from last night's performances: Tim Urban, John Park and Alex Lambert (or swap Alex out with Todrick Hall).

My Picks to be Eliminated Tonight: Say goodbye to Tim Urban and John Park!!

And we close the first week of American Idol, faithful readers! What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? What do you think of Ellen as a judge? How did this first week go? Any predictions?
Let’s chat it up!

American Idol - Week One- 2/24/10

Welcome back my faithful readers!

And so we begin our journey once again, and I thank you all for joining me once again. Like every season, we will have our ups, our downs, and our “what the heck was Paula talking about?!” moments.
Oh wait.

We won’t have that last part, will we? By now we all know that Paula left, and has been replaced by the fabulous Ellen DeGeneres. Now a lot of you may say, what the heck does Ellen know about music? Why is she a judge? As Ellen herself admitted, (even last night), she is not going into this as a judge of pitches, tone or what have you. She is going into this strictly as a listener, as one of “us”, a person that will potentially buy this person’s music. I think it brings a fresh new perspective to the show, and Ellen is a perfect addition in my opinion.

Now as for this season being Simon’s last, I will refrain from commenting, on account I’m not so sure I will feel like watching next season if he’s not on. Say what you will about Simon, and I may not agree with him sometime, but I would say 95% of the time, he and I are on the exact same page. It will be hard to replace someone so honest. But enough about that. Let’s get to the nitty-gritty shall we?


This week, the Top 24 perform, with 2 girls and 2 guys going home by the Thursday night. We have a lot of girls to get through, so you will notice I don’t have much to say about most of the girls. (same will probably go with the guys performing tonight). Most just haven’t performed enough, or made a big enough impression on me for me to comment much. Read on for the rundown!

1. PAIGE MILES – sung “All Right Now” - Forgettable. I don’t get why the judges showered her with love, because YES, she had a great voice, but the song choice made me forget who she was almost immediately. Given the fact you’re also first, wouldn’t you have picked a stronger song choice? Paige will be safe because of the love from the judges, but she needs to make better song choices for her to start showing up on my radar.

2. ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ – sung “Happy” - LOVE the song, hated this performance. Was it just me, or does this girl hold the mic too close to her mouth? It was off, and her pitch kept changing. I agree with Simon, she may be in trouble.

3. JANELLE WHEELER – sung “What About Love” - This was a mid-range performance for me. It didn't blow me away, but again it didn't wow me either. It wasn't as forgettable as Paige's performance, but it really didn't show me much about this artist. I think Randy is the one I agree with most in this performance in that he said it was a very bad song choice. I agree, because a different song would have made her stand out. She's safe I think…better than Paige, but I'm not wowed. If only one of these girls would begin to wow me. Which brings us to:

4. LILLY SCOTT – sung “Fixing a Hole” - I really liked her performance, and it truly stood out as a different take on a song. It reminded me of what Adam or Kris did last season, taking a well-known song and giving their own version of it. This version of the song sounded like it could be featured on a popular TV show such as Grey's Anatomy. She is definitely safe, and I look forward to seeing more of her.

5. KATELYN EPPERLY – sung “Oh Darling” - Meh. Middle of the road and average. To tell the truth, I was bored. She didn't necessarily sing it badly, I just wasn't into it. Maybe it was the song choice, but it didn't excite me. She could go either way, safe or in danger. It's only the first week, so let's see what this girl does to impress me in the coming weeks. (that is, if she isn't voted off tonight).

6. HAELEY VAUGHN – sung “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” - I really liked this girl, from her auditions. She was different, because she was the black girl who wanted to be a country singer. It made her stand out and I liked her attitude and her voice. This performance, however, was a mess. It was all over the place as far as tone and pitch. She sung it decently, but some of those notes were not getting there at all, as some of the judges pointed out. Safe because she is a likable girl, but if it came down to performance, she would have been in danger.

7. LACEY BROWN – sung “Landslide” - Can we PLEASE retire this song? I may be wrong, but doesn't it seem like this song is performed every year during the same week? I was bored, and it wasn't even a great performance which would have offset my boredom. She sung it well, but this song not only didn't make Lacey stand out for me, but it actually made her look like less of a singer than she really is. (I saw her during the audition week, and she impressed then…not so much now.) This is another contestant that could be safe or in danger, because it was a mid-ground performance.

8. MICHELLE DELAMOR – sung “Falling” - Who is this? No really, this is one of those contestants who you never see during the auditions, but yet all of a sudden they are in the Top 24. (then again, so was Kris Allen, and we know how that turned out) She's a corporate singer? What exactly does that mean? She does, in my opinion, a copycat performance of Alicia Keys' version, but not as talented, as Simon put it so accurately. Another one that could fall to either the danger or safety zone.

9. DIDI BENAMI – sung “The Way I Am” - This I think was a great song choice for Didi, but I don't think she brought enough of herself to the performance. It seemed too copycat, but yet it was sung very well. I haven't decided on Didi yet, but in all I do kinda like her. She needs to start blowing me away in the coming weeks, but so far it was a good start.

10. SIOBHAN MAGNUS – sung “Wicked Game” - This was a difficult song to sing to begin with, but I think Siobhan handled pretty well. There were a few wonky notes here and there, but overall it wasn't terrible. Was it karaoke? It borders there I think, but never falls into that category. I enjoyed the performance, but I'm not off my feet clapping her praise. As opposed to the next contestant, who I enjoyed the best of the night.

11. CRYSTAL BOWERSOX – sung “Hand in my Pocket” - I LOVE the fact that this girl never watched the show. To me, that means there are no pretenses, and no pre-conceived notions on how the show works, etc. She is completely herself, which shows in her performance. Crystal has this Carly Simon/Melissa Ethridge like vibe to her which is very appealing. She is unafraid to take a song like this and make it her own. This was by far the best performance of the night for me. And I strongly disagree with Simon; there are not thousands of singers like Crystal playing in subway stations across the nation. Simon? I ride the subways and see singers all the time. None of them sounded like Crystal, nor did they have the same cool vibe. And to quote you Simon, "if I'm going to be honest", when was the last time you were even in a subway station? Anyway, Crystal is definitely safe. Can't wait to see more from her.

12. KATIE STEVENS – sung “Feeling Good” - Oh my God, I could not have agreed with the judges more on this girl. What a horrible song choice. This song was waaay too old fashioned for her, and she came off boring and dull. For someone so young, she did not make the right impression out. She could be in danger.

My Bottom Three Picks: Take your pick at this point, since many of them didn't do so well. Personally, if I had to pick the ones in danger: Katie Stevens, Paige Miles and Ashley Rodriguez.

My Pick to be Eliminated Tonight: Take your pick people! It's too early and close to call!

Tonight, the guys take the stage. Let's see if they can impress me better than the gals. So what do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Let’s chat it up!
Until tomorrow, faithful readers!