Hello all. I am starting this post with saying how disappointed I was with tonight's episode. First of all, the drama was a bit much throughout the show. I would have preferred to see more singing. I did enjoy some of the Las Vegas segments however I felt too much praise was heaped on some who really did not deserve it. Last but not least when we actually got down to the fact that some of our top 24 would be named I felt the judges talked too much before giving the verdict. Don't get me wrong I adore our judges but honestly I think they could have given the decisions in a quicker way. Now that I have that off my chest let's begin.
Our show starts off with a scene from the 61 that remained of the original 327 being over-joyed having made it this far. Randy Jackson lets them know because of the major talent from this season they have another round to go through. Our contestants are so excited knowing they are going to Las Vegas. I actually was surprised that the contestants went there by bus rather than flying but for those who have never seen that part of California and Nevada they probably enjoyed it.
Upon arriving in Las Vegas our contestants have no chance to rest as they have formed duo's and trio's to conquer the music of The Beatles. It amazed me how many were not familiar with this group or their songs as we see later. They will be performing on the stage of The Mirage which is currently headlining the show Cirque Du Soleil doing "Beatles Love" revue. Lots of scenes are shown of what is coming up as the contestants face this newest challenge.
Our next scenes involve several of our contestants with coaches trying to learn their songs plus the pressure they are having along the way. The focus is first on Thia Megia and Melinda Ademi who have the coach from hell..o. Her name is Peggy Blue and with lots of yelling, cussing and downright meanness in my opinion she is scaring these two young girls I think. A few moments later we will see this coach tell these young girls that they will die on stage and she is not going to acknowledge them when they croak to use her words. She does add however later if they do awesome she will eat crow.
Denise Jackson, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina are also having it rough with their song. Coach Ken Stacey is not impressed with this group. Neither is Jimmy Iovine who is shown later judging the singing of these three. He lets them know this is the wrong song and to pick another. Lauren is shown is a few clips feeling all this pressure. Jimmy also gives more criticism to other groups including the one holding Ashthon Jones.
The contestants get a brief breather from this tension by actually seeing the show "Beatles Love" before they have to perform their songs for the judges.
On day one of these performances, going first is James Durbin and Stefano Langone. Their song is "Get Back" and to my ears they sound pretty good both solo and together. Each shows off some high range which Steven Tyler comments on after they finish the song. Randy thinks Stefano was a little timid at first but got it together. Great kick-off from Steven ends this duo's moment on stage.
Pia Toscano and Karen Rodriguez are friends who attended high school together and were in a singing group as well. The song "Can't Buy Me Love" was done pretty well by these two (I personally do not like this song). Jennifer Lopez heaps the praise and saying these two "get it". Steven felt the song built well but was worried at the beginning.
Jacob Lusk was cautioned by Jimmy Iovine the day before about over-singing. He along with Naima Adedapo and Haley Reinhart sing "The Long and Winding Road". Haley sounded okay, Naima showed alot of emotion but it was Jacob Lusk who really shined during this number I think. Jennifer really enjoyed the performance and says the three made the song their own. Steven declares it "stupendous" singling Jacob out. Randy adds never hold back to Jacob followed by Jacob admitting he had never sang a Beatles song. Overall the judges agree this was a good one.
Rachel Zevita is wearing a veil as she sings "Eleanor Rigby". There is another guy and girl in this number but we do not get to hear them sing solo or even know their names. Not cool. Rachel sounded okay.
Another short feature is Lauren Turner and Jovany Barreto doing "Let It Be". Sure wish we could have heard more from these two even though I am not wild about the song.
A nice touch was the duet of Tim Halperin and Julie Zorrilla both playing on keyboards as they sing "Something In The Way". I thought these two were very good.
Lakeisha Lewis is one we have never seen until now. She along with Tatynisa Wilson and Jerome Bell are singing "I Saw Her Standing There". Overall this was a messy performance with Lakeisha sounding the best I thought. Randy mentions that they all can sing but was not so impressed. He felt Jerome was just okay. Lakeisha had the Aretha thing going on and says Tatynisa was better at the end. Jennifer thinks Lakeisha held back some and also mentions this was not Tatynisa's best performance. Steven on the other hand disagrees with Randy and Jen and thinks the group nailed it.
Kendra Chantelle and Paul McDonald do a very nice but soft-sounding version of the song "Blackbird" with just a guitar playing in the background. Jen tells Kendra she sounded strong (huh?) and Paul was great with his softer tone. Steven says having a "different" voice isn't always good but in Paul's case it is. Randy loved their harmony. Personally I was not blown away by these two.
Sorry about this but some of the names of the next three acts escaped me. First is Clint Jun Gumboa with a girl singing "Help Me". Just so-so in my book. Next is Ashthon Jones with a blond girl doing "Ticket To Ride". They sounded good. Lastly is John Wayne Schulz, Adrien Micheal with another guy singing "With A Little Help From My Friends". Not bad. Jeesh, I hate these fast clips.
It appears our emotional girl Ashley Sullivan has decided to tie the knot in the same place that Britney Spears once married her Jason Alexander. Our next scenes are Ashley trying to find a dress to wear for the nuptials. She finally settles on a white blouse and black leather pants. She looks so happy and excited. I did have to laugh when she tells her future hubby David in the limo if he gets cold feet she will have to kill him in his sleep. With a camera guy as a witness, Ashley and her David tie the knot. No honeymoon for these two as Ashley has to get back to get ready for her duet.
Now it is time for Melinda Ademi and Thia Megia show their stuff with the song "Here Comes The Sun". They did not come off amazing and we see that Peggi is not pleased who is seated in the audience. Randy says Melinda was shaky but got better. Thia kept her phrasing intact the whole time. Jennifer thought it was "cute" but their pairing was not as strong as she had expected. Steven thinks Melinda was behind in her phrasing and Thia was just alright. Backstage Melinda tells Ryan Seacrest she really wants to be here. I got news for her so do the other 60 contestants.
Newlywed Ashley Sullivan (Suraiva) and Sophia Shorai have a brief conversation with Ryan before their number. I must say Ashley seemed happy but also looked very tired. She appears to be "mentally there" as mentioned by Ryan. The girls sing "We Can Work It Out" with Sophia sounding better than Ashley but neither was great in my opinion. Steven also did not feel this was their strongest performance. Randy says "it just wasn't hot" and he didn't get it. Needless to say Ashley did keep her cool and tells Ryan backstage they did a different adaptation of this song. Sorry girls your experiment did not work.
Coming up next is Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and Denise Jackson. They have picked another song which sounded better for them as a group. The song "Hello, Good-bye" was done with cute choreography I thought. Scotty and Alaina sounded just okay to me but I thought Denise was really good. Jennifer says they sounded good but mentions that Denise wasn't as strong as usual (what?). She thinks Scotty should stick to the low tones and thinks Lauren was great. Okay I have to take issue with these comments. I do not think this song did any of them any favors overall but partially was certainly shown with Jen's comments. Steven agreed with Jen and mentions the running around like The Marx Brothers.
In quick clips we see Carson Higgins and Caleb Hawley slaughter their song (sorry I did not recognize the song). Casey Abrams and Chris Medina are playing guitars and falling down on a bed to the song "A Hard Day's Night". Not your best you two. Steven calls them freaks with Casey making a joke about what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Our last group to perform are Aaron Sanders, Robbie Rosen and Jordan Dorsey who sing "Got To Get You Into My Life". I know many thought these three were great but frankly I was not impressed. Randy comments that Jordan wasn't as good as usual but for the most part thought the performance was great. Jennifer tells Aaron that they have high expectations of him. Steven ends with liking all three guys and singles Robbie out for praise. I really think the judges missed the mark on this one.
Now comes the moment of truth. Randy calls out the names Thia, Scotty, Jordan, Ashthon, Robbie and Lauren Alaina to step forward. They are all moving on. Lauren cries as she looks for her mom. Thia is looking for her mom as well.
Next we see some whose dreams have come to an end. The cuts are Molly DeWolf Swenson, Carson Higgins, Caleb Hawley, Denise Jackson (so un-fair) and the newly married Ashley Sullivan. Now only 40 remain to sing a solo and face the "chair of doom" as we head back to Los Angeles for the final round.
For some odd reason our contestants are performing in a hangar as well as taking the final long walk to the chair of doom to see if they make it into the top 24. Talk about a long hour as each contestant gets to have flashbacks of their journey getting to this place in the competition. I won't give you the entire chat between the judges and the contestants because each is rather lengthy. Now that is out of the way let's get to the first girl to face her destiny.
Naima Adedapo is up after we see her with pictures of her kids before she faces the judges. I loved her outfit. Evidently yesterday the final performances were held and we see a brief clip of Naima singing "Put Your Records On". She is crying already as she seats herself in the chair of doom. Steven mentions they fell in love with her because she shows so much emotion. Jen comments on her not being the most consistent throughout this process. Steven fakes her out but in the end Naima has made it to the top 24. She is overcome with emotion as she hugs the judges. Stevens's final words to her are she's a flower now "bloom".
Hollie Cavanagh is next on the chopping block. Hollie mentions how close everyone is. If you remember Hollie basically made it through to Hollywood because of Jen's support during her audition. She did rather well I thought after that so it was indeed a surprise that she was being cut. In her final audition we saw her sing Alicia Keys "No One" which is a difficult song I think. Jennifer wanted to put her through but she and Randy both agree she needs to grow more and figure out what kind of an artist she will be. Although Hollie is crying I thought she took the rejection pretty well.
Next to be cut are Lakeisha Lewis and Alex Ryan. Lakeisha mentions she will get there one way or another in the future. Alex says it will be tough watching his friends on the show. Clint Jun Gumboa comments on how upset he is Lakeisha did not make it.
Speaking of Clint he is up next for the verdict. Once again we hear of the drama involving Jacee. His solo clip shows him singing Lionel Ritchie's "Hello". Clint thinks something great is going to happen before he faces the judges. And it does since he is moving into the top 24. Clint has an overdramatic reaction to this news. I think Clint is a good singer but in reality how many people will be judging him on this rather than his not so good move involving sweet Jacee. Time will tell I guess.
Haley Reinhart has only been seen in a few quick clips during the last few weeks. This is her second time trying out for idol and she lets the judges know she feels she's learned more about who she is stylistically. Her final song before this moment was "Baby, It's You" which shows Steven and Jen getting goosebumps. She takes the news in a low-key way when told she is in the top 24. I personally think this girl does have a unique voice but may not always be outstanding in the future.
Sadly DeAndre Brackensick will not be moving on. Obviously he did not do well in his solo and needs some work. Randy tells him he should be proud to have made it this far and encourages him to try out again in the future. DeAndre handles the rejection well and plans to try out again next year.
Paul McDonald wears a wild looking rose-covered outfit and sang an original song for his solo. For me it was just okay however the judges liked it. In fact Jen mentions they have liked him from the beginning with Steven wanting to know if he has signed any autographs yet. It is sort of a fake-out as Jennifer says they are not sure if he will fit in this competition but it is good news as Paul as made it through. Paul on his walk out says he has alot of work ahead of him learning new songs.
Ashthon Jones did quite well with her solo of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". In the chair of doom Jen teases her for crying before she comments that she has been very consistent during the competition. Jennifer also mentions they are looking for the whole package and feel Ashthon has it. She has made the top 24 and now her tears are happy ones. Ashthon does fake out her own family before she delivers the good news.
With only a few brief moments left of tonight's show comes a whammy to say the least. Chris Medina says before his moment in the chair that he feels no matter what, he did more than he thought he was capable of. We see his solo of the song "Fix You" by Coldplay. It was not outstanding but you could tell Chris felt the emotion. The verdict is being given by Jennifer who let's his know he has had good and bad moments on the show. She commends him for his actions regarding his fiancee Julie after Chris let's them know his Julie enjoyed meeting them. Now comes the bad as Chris is told he is not moving on. Once he leaves, Jennifer is overcome with tears and emotion. Randy and Steven try to comfort her by saying she let Chris down in the best way possible. Chris appears to be taking it well as his final words to us are he is going to go home to write music, take care of Julie and make "a miracle happen". The guys are shown again trying to calm Jennifer down who says "she doesn't want to do this anymore".
Now this first night of our show of this week has come to an end with us seeing clips of tomorrow's show which will let us know who the remaining top 24 will be. Can Randy and Steven calm Jennifer down enough to follow through or will they be delivering the verdicts? Guess we will find out tomorrow.
Take care all until then!
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Subject: Las Vegas Round #4 - 2/23/11 
Thu Feb 24, 2011 2:21 am
In my opinion there needs to be less talk and more revealing the contestants. 