I feel really sorry for this group right off the bat. Not only has it been so long since we've seen them that I've completely forgotten who they are, but we've sat through two weeks and four hours of airtime devoted to 24 people singing, and only about four of them make me not want to kill myself. The whittling down to the top 12 is always the most tedious time in the competition, and with the performances of the past few weeks still fresh in everyone's mind, these poor contestants are facing an uphill battle. If I'm feeling this cranky about tonight's prospects, I can only imagine what Simon must be feeling right about now. I predict some harsh criticism in the Kodak theater tonight.
Von Smith screamed at us in Hollywood, and has made it through to sing "You're All I Need to Get By." He looks vaguely like my cousin and would be a really great wedding singer. Other than that, I have pretty much no opinion on him. Randy, however, thinks it was a very hot performance. Kara is impressed that he did it "when it has meaning," whatever that means. Paula loved his performance, and Simon says he reminds him of Clay Aiken.
Taylor Vaifanua is singing "If I Ain't Got You," because Lord knows the judges haven't heard that in the past five minutes. Her body language is really awkward and twitchy. She does a decent job with the song, but maybe because it is because I've heard every single Idol contestant sing that song, but I'm just not blown away. Kara tells her she has talent, but that she wants more of her personality to come through. Paula is perplexed because she sang this in Hollywood week and they want to hear something new. Simon says he has no idea who she is and that she's very generic. Randy says it "was just kind of boring."
Alex Wagner-Trugman has been reading what people are saying about him on the Internet, so he's been working out. He's kind of adorable and sadly hilarious, so I hope he does well. He's singing "I Guess That's Why They Call Them the Blues," and it's not the greatest performance ever-- he has a couple of rough patches, but ohmygod he is like a sack of puppies, that one. He's so cute and fun that he's just a pleasure to watch. Paula tells him that he gave them their money's worth. Simon says that they had fun "watching you, but not listening to you." Randy says he can sing, but he just kind of screamed that song. Kara tells him that he has moves.
Arianna Afsar is singing Abba's, "The Winner Takes it All." I'm not really familiar with this song and it's a little too maudlin for me, but she does a great job with it. She's also cute as a button and I think she's a shoo-in for top 12, but the judges disagree with me. Simon says it was terrible and dreary. Randy says that it wasn't the right song for her. Kara says it was dark and depressing, but Paula says that there were some bright moments.
Ju'Not Joyner is singing the ubiquitous "Hey There Delilah." He turns it into an R&B song and does a better job with it than the other Idol contestants from earlier rounds. He didn't really do much for me during Hollywood week, but I'm pretty impressed with him tonight. Randy loved it, while Kara loves his take on the song. Paula says he had a nice vocal, and even Simon says it was better than he thought it would be.
Kristen McNamara is singing "Give Me One Reason," in a sped-up jazzy fashion. It really works, and I'm always surprised that she can sing. I look at her, and I always think she's going to suck, but she keeps on impressing me. Kara tells her that she can sing, but wishes that she sang a Kelly Clarkson song. Paula says she has a hell of a range. Simon, like me, is puzzled by her, and Randy says that she tried to do too much with the song.
Nathaniel Marshall is completely insane and is singing "I Would Do Anything for Love" and turns it into a Donna Summer song. I am not a fan. Simon says that it was "verging on excruciating," but that he's fun. Randy says it's hard for him to imagine what kind of record they would make. Kara says they want to see a more serious side of him. Paula says she loves him, but this was the Boy George version of this song.
Felicia Barton was actually cut from the competition, but is back. She's singing "No One," and while she's clearly having fun, she kind of overdoes it a bit. Paula says she has a gift, while Simon calls her performance a bit "copycat." Randy thought it was hot, while Kara says she had attitude and presence.
Scott Macintyre is singing "Mandolin Rain," which is kind of a perfect, dorky song choice for him. He has problems with a few notes here and there, but overall he's pretty good. Randy tells him that it wasn't a perfect vocal, but the parts that were great were really great. Kara tells him that he moves mountains when he steps on that stage. Paula says that he's blessed them with his gift, while Simon says he's growing on him.
Kendall Beard is singing "This One's For the Girls." She's really funny to me (oh man, I'm sounding like Randy) because she has a really tinny and annoying speaking voice, but her singing voice is vastly richer and different. It's not a perfect performance, but she's different from everyone else who performed tonight, and I think that could get her far. Kara says that she had some issues, but she likes her personality. Paula says she did a good job and is adorable. Simon says that it got a bit "shrilly" toward the end. Randy says it wasn't her best vocal performance, but that she told them who she is.
Jorge Nunez is singing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me." While his facial expressions are completely terrifying, he does a great job on this song. It's schmaltzy, sure, but the song is kind of schmaltzy so I can excuse it. Paula is proud of him, Simon calls him a "very very good singer," Randy says it was "really, really good, dude." Kara tells him that he was born to sing.
Lil Rounds has always confounded me. The judges love her, but she's never really impressed me. She's singing "Be Without You," and while I'm still not completely sold, this is the first time I've seen her perform and I want to see more. My main problem with her is that she was so shouty a lot of the time, but for the most part, she's pretty restrained tonight and it works for her. Simon calls her performance "brilliant," Randy says she has unbelievable vocals and knows who she is. Kara says she's a powerhouse, and Paula says she's "first-class."
All in all, this round was very similar to the last two, in that it started out rough, but there were more contestants who stood out this round. Lil Rounds impressed me for the first time, Scott Macintyre was pretty good, and Jorge Nunez getting all emotional and not being able to think in English was very cute. But I also enjoyed Kendall Beard and Ju'Not Joyner, as well as Kristen McNamara, not to mention adorable Alex, but I'm afraid they're going to get lost in the shuffle. Who do you think is going to go through to the next round?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-04-2009 @ 7:23AM
Jimmy said...
The good news is that this was the best group of 12 so far. The bad news is that five (maybe even six) have a legitimate shot of advancing, which means two or three will be left in the cold.
Which five? Well, Lil' Rounds was a no-brainer before she even sang, so really, 11 singers were vying for only two spots. (Side note: It's a travesty Lil' had to share the stage with a no-talent hack like Alex. I agree: He's a sad little puppy -- one that needs to be put down. He may surpass Nick on Vote For The Worst!)
My other picks to advance are Ju'Not and Valerie, but Jorge and Scott have a good shot too. Who knows -- Kendall might even slip through.
The song choices were interesting last night because of the expectations they created. For example, when they announced that Ju'Not would sing Hey There Delilah, I rolled my eyes, but I loved what he did with the song. By the same token, I thought Mandolin Rain was a great choice for Scott, but his rendition fell flat.
Valerie gave a nearly spot-on performance of her song and Jorge, well, he just blew his song out of the water -- much to my surprise.
I expect a good show tonight -- and I'm looking forward to seeing how the wildcards are handed out. There could be two from tonight's round.
P.S. Kona, your crankiness is showing. This review wasn't as good as the last few weeks.
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3-04-2009 @ 8:34AM
Jimmy said...
Felicia, not Valerie. My bad!
3-04-2009 @ 9:03AM
Jimmy said...
And I meant Nate instead of Nick. Ouch. (Too bad there's no edit option here.)
But hey, Simon couldn't even remember who Taylor was!
3-04-2009 @ 8:10AM
Mel said...
Who in the world is Valerie??? I thought it was a much better night for this 12 than all the others. I wonder if they would have had these 12 on in other cycles if the results would have been the same...Michael Sarver??? or Kris Allen??? Anywho...my choices are probably Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre (he was good and plus Simon's comment that he would be shocked if he didn't sail thru might put him over the edge) and Jorge Nunez.... We shall see
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3-04-2009 @ 8:20AM
David said...
I would vote for Ju'Not and Lil Rounds. Simon nailed it when he said to Ju'Not that he almost had "a moment" while performing. I thought it was a touching rendition of the song. I wasn't in love with Lil Rounds song or her performance of it, but clearly this girl is the most talented female of the evening and has the look and feel of an American Idol.
It's time for the blind guy to go. He might be the nicest, coolest guy on the planet, but he's not an American Idol, in my opinion, and his singing just wasn't that good.
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3-04-2009 @ 11:53AM
Dan said...
I agree, he's like Danny Gokey. The sheep like him simply because he has a sad story. But what kind of music will he sing? He's not cool like Ray Charles, Robert Bradley or Stevie Wonder and doesn't have the voice of Andrea Bocelli, so he'd always be a second-rate blind singer. One of my closest childhood friends is a blind guitarist and singer in a successful band, but his blindness is not what make him a success, it's his skills. Scott was okay, but simply not as good as the votes will lead us to believe. He has no chance of not making it through.
Lil Rounds was through simply because she was last and not a disaster. But she was pretty good anyways, seemed very natural on stage.
Jorge Nunez is also my choice to make it through. He's cheesy, but has a powerful voice that's perfect for a competition like Idol.
Ju'Not and Felecia are the only other ones I can see being put through, the rest were quite forgettable or simply terrible (Marshall).
3-04-2009 @ 8:38AM
Karen said...
I looked at all the names again from last night and don't see anyone named Valerie. Plus I really liked Alex -- he reminds me of one of my son's friends. I've heard way worse these last three weeks.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:13AM
Nornny said...
I am praying for Felicia to make it through on the public vote. I don't think she has a good shot in the wildcards no matter how well she does. There are already too many judges favorites for her to compete against that favoritism, which is why I'm glad unknowns like Kris and Allison made it through last week (and worried about Ricky).
Felicia is that perfect underdog story and she's got a cute personality to boot. She looked night and day from her auditions/Hollywood week. Girl is trying without looking like she's trying.
Not that it's particularly undeserved this week, but it still sucks that we're voting on really one open stool each week, while the other one or two are pre-ordained by the producers and judges. I think Scott and Lil will sail through. But, I think they would've made it through in the wildcard anyways, the judges love them. Save those stools for some of the unknowns/unordained!
Kristen, Junot, Jorge, and the above mentioned should go through to the wildcard if they don't make it through.
My 8 wildcard finalists would be: Ricky, Anoop, Mishavonna, Jesse, Matt G., and Kristen, Junot, Jorge (assuming Felicia, Scott, and Lil make it through).
I would select: Ricky, Anoop, and Mishavonna (unless Felicia didn't advance, then replace Felicia with Misha)
I think the judges will select: Ricky, Anoop, and Matt G.
There are some spoiler pics out there of some of the wildcards already.
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3-04-2009 @ 9:16AM
babs said...
Yes Felicia not Valerie i knew who he meant :-)
Lil is a real contender and really is the only one from last night. Most of the rest are better than some of the ones from last week and the week before. So far the top 5 are Danny Lil Alixis Allison and Adam in no particular order
My 2 other picks from last night- Scott and Felicia - others who should have a second chance : Jorge Kendell ricky and junot. There was someone else from last week to that impressed me but I guess not enought to remember her name!!!
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3-04-2009 @ 9:21AM
babs said...
Mishavonna, thats her name thanks
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3-04-2009 @ 9:39AM
SadOldMan said...
Big Butt girl is a shoe-in, because she was awarded the pimp-spot.
Blind guy is going to take the male spot, because he gets the pity vote.
The other spot will either be Puerto Rican gay guy, the Delilah guy, or the hot blonde.
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3-04-2009 @ 10:02AM
Ken said...
On DialIdol it says that Lil Rounds and Scott are safe. While I agree that Lil was very good, Felicia Barton sang very well and Taylor Vaifanua has a really good voice. Scott was particularly unimpressive last night while Jorge, Von and Ju'Not sang much better than him.
The problem with this show is that the judges pick a few favorites and praise them regardless of how they sang while the others are criticized relentlessly and therfore have no chance when the voting happens. People will tend to vote more with how the judges feel especially Simon since he has a brain. Scott is getting the sympathy vote plain and simple on a night when others were clearly better - the judges stated that his vocals were not great but isn't this a singing contest.
This is why I like and hate the show - I think very good singers lose out to the popular ones. I also think the 12 tonight were way better than the other two groups which makes it a shame that Scott and Lil will go through and others will not.
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3-04-2009 @ 10:55AM
jag said...
I liked Von, Junot and Lil Rounds. I hope people don't keep voting for the blind guy just because he has a handicap.
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3-04-2009 @ 11:39AM
Ryan said...
Well the only two girls who have made it to the Top 12 have been compared to Kelly Clarkson. And once again Kelly Clarkson was brought up during one of the singer's judging: Kristen McNamara.
This time though Kristen didn't remind the judges of Kelly, but they definitely wanted her to be MORE like Kelly Clarkson.
I doubt she'll make it, but it's just interesting that three weeks in a row Kelly Clarkson has been mentioned.
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3-04-2009 @ 6:16PM
Karen said...
Didn't Kelley Clarkson come out very critical of AI until just recently? Seems she made a turn around and they have been bringing her back up since then.
3-04-2009 @ 12:31PM
Tricia said...
I had to fast forward through the first four singers. They did not impress. After that I really enjoyed the show and found myself really liking seven contestants: Lil, Scott, Kendall, Ju'Not, Felicia, Jorge, and Kristen. Scott is not the greatest singer, but like Brooke White of last season, I really like him and want him to do well. I realize that is a contradiction since this IS a singing competition, but I want to see what else he can do.
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3-04-2009 @ 2:05PM
Scott said...
I think Lil was the only vocalist last night who should advance. The rest sucked. I've heard better singers in cheap casinos than most of the lot last night. Felicia wasn't too bad, but none of the guys were any good. I'm not saying this to be b*tchy, but are these REALLY the best and brightest young singers in America? If so, what a dismal testament to the future of recorded pop music. LOL
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3-04-2009 @ 3:11PM
Nate said...
I would have to vote for Lil, Ju'not and Jorge. Didnt like the song Lil sang, but she sang it well and you can tell she has talent and I want to see what she does as the contest goes forward. "Hey There Delilah" has been played to death on the radio and muzak and I didnt like it to begin with and am sick to death of it now. So I was really surprised that I liked Ju'nots' version as I much as I did. Although he had some rough notes hear and there, he sang it with real feeling, which, for me, makes up for a few bad notes. Jorge took a song that I like but have heard for so long and so often that it has become background noise that I dont really listen to anymore, and made me listen. His vocals were rich and smooth and he brought a lot of emotion to the song without overdoing it.
Most of the others were forgettable for me. I have to look at their name and the song they sang to recall them at all, for the most part. Scott was a big disappointment. Mandolin Rain is a good song and a good choice for him, but he didnt live up to his billing or all the hype he has gotten. Kendall sang well but for some reason her performance didnt grab me. I was interested when Arrianna said she was going to sing the Abba song, but she wasnt at all good and I was just anxious for it to be over. I agree with some of the other posters who say this nights performers where better overall than the other two groups, but still, of the final 36, there were a lot of flat out bad singers.
One final comment about song choice. The category they had to choose from in the final 36 was extremely broad, with a huge amount of songs and genres to pick from. And yet, a lot of the contestants chose awful songs. What do you think is going to happen in the final 12 when the categories are much more restricted? Anyhow, I am looking forward to seeing and hearing the final 12.
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3-04-2009 @ 3:42PM
fishymcdonk said...
can't wait for blind guy and dead wife guy to fight it in the final 12.
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3-04-2009 @ 4:41PM
darwin said...
Hope people don't NOT vote for Scott because they want to show how they don't pity him. Saying he'll get the pity vote is insulting and may seem hip but is simply stupid.
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