Well, the guys took the stage last night and Ryan Seacrest says it time to separate the men from the boys before he gives us his usual intro "This is American Idol". There is no fooling around on this night as Ryan immediately introduces our 12 guys and welcomes our judges. Comments from the judges are that follows:
Randy says there is a lot of diversity and the guys need to bring it.
Kara tells them to watch their nerves.
Ellen wants them to make it their own.
Simon is more blunt by telling them not to lose it by forgetting their words because it will be the end of their careers. That's a little harsh I think.
Once again each guy will give us a brief comment on what was their defining moment so far on the show. I am skipping these moments of chat to focus on the actual performances as I did with the girls. One comment I must make before we get started is that the judges have said time and time again that song choice is crucial and sadly most of the guys tonight definitely picked the wrong song to showcase their talents in my opinion. Okay, I got that off my chest so let's begin:
24 year old Todrick Hall is first to perform and does a somewhat funky version of the Kelly Clarkson hit "Since U Been Gone". Frankly speaking I liked it and was impressed with the creativity of this contestant. He did have a few bad notes in the chorus but overall he did well. The judges on the other had were not too impressed which surprised me as they are constantly saying make the song your own. Ellen liked it but mentions the chorus was rough. Randy, Kara and Simon did not like the arrangement at all. In fact Simon was quite brutal with his comment by saying that the performance was verging on being stupid and he murdered it. Take a chill pill Simon! My grade: B-
Aaron Kelly is one of our youngest contestants as he is only 16 years old. I think he is so cute and I do like his voice. However his take on the song "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flatts came off kind of tense as his nerves were certainly showing during this performance. His stage presence was lacking and he surely needs to get some confidence as mentioned by Simon. Kara likes his raw, natural talent. Both Randy and Ellen mention his pitch problems with Randy adding that maybe the song was too big for him. All agree however that he does have a good voice. I hope he sticks around to gain that confidence. My grade: B-
Jermaine Sellers is certainly a diva I feel. He is 27 years old and should actually be glad to even be on this show as I totally did not care for him in Hollywood. He once again confirms my thoughts as he performs "Get Here" by Oleta Adams. In my opinion he was all over the place with the notes and like Kara mentions tried to do too much all at once with the runs of the song. Randy thought it was a weird choice. Ellen liked his look but felt he was not feeling the song at all. Simon again being blunt believes Jermaine has blown his chance to advance further in the competition as it was too much over the top. It was nice that Michael Orland and Jermaine shared a make-up hug as I feel Jermaine's days are numbered on this show. My grade: D
As many of you know our next contestant was actually a replacement for Chris Golightly who was eliminated due to fraudulent info given on his contract. 20 year old Tim Urban had alot to live up to and sadly does not deliver with his rendition of the song "Apologize" by One Republic. Although he is a cute kid, his singing was just ordinary and not good enough as Simon mentions. Kara felt the music over-powered him with Randy adding it just did not work. Even Ellen was not impressed. This is another guy whose days are certainly numbered although he may make it to next week because he is a cutie and people may feel sorry for him. My grade: D
Joe Munoz is 20 years old and we actually have not seen much of him until this point of the competition. He is choosing to sing Jason Mraz's song "You and I Both". Not a good choice to show off his talent as I do think he can sing. I actually felt he mumbled the lyrics as I could not understand him throughout most of the song. Ellen liked it which surprised me. Even Randy called it a good job. Kara and Simon however were more honest by saying the singing was not so good with Simon adding it was safe, limp and forgettable. I have a feeling Joe will be forgettable with the voters. My grade: a generous C-
Tyler Grady who is 20 years old takes the stage next and is choosing one of my favorite songs "American Woman" by the Guess Who. OMG, I was totally appalled how he butchered this song. His stage presence was awkward as he screamed some of the lyrics and my advice to this young guy is get out of the 70's and pay more attention to your vocals. All of the judges pretty much agreed that he had presence but his vocals needed a lot of work. I am shocked he has made it this far. My grade: F
I like the raspy tone of 23 year old Lee DeWyze but once again his song choice left a lot to be desired. He plays guitar and sings the song "Chasing Cars" by the Snow Patrol. This was indeed an off the wall performance with some pitchy notes along the way. Ellen felt like he screamed some of the lyrics. Randy agrees the song was a wrong choice and pictured him to be more of a rocker. Kara says the song has a small range and he is better than that. Simon is the only hold-out with his comment that he liked it. I doubt Lee will be eliminated this week so hopefully he will pick a better song next week to showcase his vocal prowness. My grade: C
I was so looking forward to hearing 21 year old John Park sing as I have liked him since his first audition. Sadly he picks the song "God Bless The Child" which did nothing to impress us with his singing. I had to agree with Simon that this was indeed a flat performance. Kara calls it sleepy and indulgent. Randy thought the performance was out of sorts. Ellen likes his voice but had to agree the song choice was a bad one. John is the true example that you need to pick songs that connect with the audience and frankly I think he might be in trouble this week. My grade: C-
Another favorite of mine has been 26 year old Mike Lynche. He has a great personality which shows as he plays guitar and sings the song "This Love" by Maroon 5. However, I did not care for this performance by him as he seemed to be rushing the words and frankly he sounded kind of girlish to my ears. Ellen also likes his personality but does mention his pitch was off. Randy agreed with Ellen. Kara thinks there were some good things but nothing great. Simon says he is a big guy with a big heart but was not unique. Hey Mike, get back to the r&b as this pop singing is really not your bag at all. My grade: C-
Holy cow, how on earth did 19 year old Alex Lambert make it this far. His bland and pitchy performance of the song "Wonderful World" by James Morrison was a total mess in my opinion. This was indeed an uncomfortable performance as said by Simon. Kara thinks he needs a hug but also adds he has potential (is she nuts I ask). Randy also thinks he has the voice but needs to pull it together. Ellen's comments were sort of cute as she compares him to a banana that needs to ripen. Personally, this kid could go home right now and I would not be upset at all. My grade: F
Finally I am seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel of useless performances with the appearance of 27 year old Casey James. In spite of the judges acting like idiots during his performance, Casey does manage to give in my opinion the best performance of the night. Sitting on a stool with guitar in hand, he sings "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. I loved the southern rock tone of his voice. Kara looks dreamy eyed as he sings and later says he is eye and ear candy. Ellen could feel Kara undressing him with her eyes. Randy thought it was a good song choice. Simon says that he and Casey have been cursed with good looks (chuckle here) but does also say the song was the right choice and Casey is likeable. Good Job Casey!! My grade: A
I have liked 24 year old Andrew Garcia since day 1. However I was not too impressed with his song choice of "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy. This song did nothing to showcase his talent I think although he was on key with his vocals. Simon was looking forward to hearing him sing but felt the song was too serious and indulgent. Kara thought it was strange. Ellen reminds us of the great moment he had during Hollywood week with his singing of the song "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul and feels he needs to follow that lead. I think he will be safe this week and truly hope he picks better songs in the future. My grade: B-
So now we have heard all of our top 24 and I am seriously wondering if this season is going to be worse than season 6. I do have some favorites and will be glad if they make it to the top 12 however unless the performances get better I feel AI may lose alot more of their viewers. My picks to go home from the guys are Tyler Grady and Alex Lambert although I would not cry if Tim Urban was in the mix.
Tonight, Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta will be performing which should make their fans happy for the results show. So until then, I wish you a good day and be back later with the news of who is eliminated. Toodles!
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Subject: Top 12 Guys Perform - 2/24/10 
Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:27 am
I thought I was gonna die when Tyler Grady sang American Woman. It's one of my all time favorite songs and he MURDERED it! All I could do was shake my head in disgust. Quite honestly, I hope he gets axed from the competition. "shudder" Oh! And Tim Urban singing Apologise by One Republic?? I'm sure if the guys were watching the show last night they would have cringed.
Hi again. Seems we definitely are in sync about who should stay at this point and who should go. While I like Mike Lynche and Aaron Kelly I am mostly hoping that Andrew Garcia and Casey James make it into the top 10 for sure. These four are my top favorites of the guys and with "more growing on the show" so to speak they could be totally awesome in the future I think.