Top 16 Perform - 10/31/12

First of all Happy Halloween, hope your night was not too spooky. Ours was fairly quiet as I was not able to pass out candy this year due to my son-in-law's parole restrictions. But it was just as well as not many kids were out anyway according to my daughter who took out her two boys. People were giving out handfuls since there were not many kids. My two grandsons are loaded with candy. Anyhow, on with the show:

Tonight's show introduced our new hosts who are Mario Lopez (he is so cute) and Khloe Kardashian. Overall they did okay as hosts. My big gripe is the judges totally picked so many wrong song choices for their acts which I feel will eliminate some really good contestants. On the Thursday show our four judges will be eliminating one act from each category instead of a public vote. Not sure I like this as I fear my top favorite is going to be leaving the competition.

Our theme tonight is "Made In America" which makes no sense since some of the songs came from overseas and Canada. However each of our judges feel confident their category is the best. Instead of giving you a blow-by-blow account I will group each of the acts in their category with their judge and a brief comment. Here goes:

DEMI LOVATO - YOUNG ADULTS

Paige Thomas - She performed the song "What Is Love" by U.K. group Haddaway. This performance was not bad although I was distracted by the almost spacey-look of the set and Paige's outfit. Demi has chopped off all of her hair but you could not see it due to the spiked headdress she wore. L.A. Reid did not like the song choice but felt Paige did well with it. Britney Spears calls her outrageous. Simon Cowell feels she nailed the song and Demi of course was proud of her. My grade: B

Jennel Garcia - With her new look, Jennel seemed so much older than her 15 years. I was not thrilled with the song choice of "Home Sweet Home" by Motley Crue. I missed the saucy attitude this girl has shown in past performances but overall it was good but not great. L.A however called it a "10". Britney felt she rocked it. Simon feels like she defined the theme but looked like a clone of Demi (forgot to mention that Demi is now a brunette instead of blonde). Demi felt like crying since she was so proud of Jennel. My grade: B

Cece Frey - She has changed her hair color to blonde and frankly during her performance of "Because The Night" by Patti Smith I felt she seemed like a wannabe Madonna. The make-up and clothing were too much in my opinion plus the fact that her vocals were not very good as she lost her breath several times during the song. Each of the judges mentioned her off vocals including her own coach. My grade: D

Willie Jones - Is Demi trying to kill Willie's career I ask? She picked the song "Here For The Party" by Gretchen Wilson and the whole act seemed wrought with a bad stage play appearance which included Willie's outfit and the cheap-looking dancing girls surrounding this young guy. However I did feel the vocals were fairly okay. L.A. thought he was entertaining, Brit thinks he is a true star, Demi is proud of him, however Simon found it to be a silly and cheap performance and feels Willie is better than that. My grade: B-



L.A. REID - OVER 25'S

David Correy - His look seemed more polished however those tons of tattoes were still so evident. His song is "My Love Is Your Love" by the late Whitney Houston. I thought he had good control of the song overall even though I was not blown away. Britney has a new word "amazing" that she will use to the extreme through this night. Demi felt David got the crowd going. Simon however thought it was an interesting song choice but felt David seemed desperate as he sung. L.A. thought he sounded pretty good. My grade: B

Vino Alan - I am really mad right now with the song choice that L.A. gave him and I fear he may get eliminated on Thursday's show. The song is "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback. Vino's lower register was not very good however once into the chorus he did better. Britney thought he was good but was bored by the song. Demi feels he had a shakey start and was not a popstar (huh, she is a twit since he is a rocker). Simon thinks Vino has an incredible voice but the song was wrong. L.A. reminded Vino not to let the criticism get him down because he was good. My grade: B-

Tate Stevens - Our country gent did fairly well with his song choice of "Tough" by Craig Morgan. Again I'm not blown away but thought his vocals were pretty good. Britney felt "wowed" by him. Demi thought it was a boring start but felt he got it together. Simon does think he is a keeper in spite of the wrong song choice. L.A. calls him a classic. My grade: B

Jason Brock - This flamboyant guy has been dubbed "Mr. Entertainment" by L.A. Not sure the song choice of "Dance Again" by Jennifer Lopez was right for him however as it came over a little karaoke in my opinion. However I do like this guy and felt he did pretty well overall. Britney and Demi felt it was definitely the wrong song choice although he did as well as possible with it. Simon calls it completely horrendous from the song to the outfit to the staging of the number. L.A. enjoyed it. My grade: B-



BRITNEY SPEARS - TEENS

Arin Ray - The bad news is you could barely hear him as he performed "You Just Keep Me Hanging On" because the audience of girls were screaming so much. The good news is he looked good however I felt the vocals were kind of weak of what I could hear. L.A. mentions the off-vocals while Demi thought he should have danced more. She also mentions the screaming girls. Simon feels Arin has swag but too much was going on during the number. Britney calls him a genius (sorry I do not agree with this). My grade: C-

Diamond White - Her song is "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. Sadly she had several sour notes but I loved her attitude of being a "B" boy type. L.A. felt she seemed mechanical at first but felt she did well overall. Demi thinks she is too reserved but liked the song choice. Simon mentions the off-notes but feels she is revelant as a popstar. Britney was impressed. My grade: B-

Beatrice Miller - I was mortified by this song choice for young Bea. It was Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up". The performance was so boring and Beatrice's lower register really suffered however the chorus was a little better. This girl has a unique voice but it was lost during this song I feel. L.A. however thought she was believable (whatever that means). Demi was very impressed (huh?). Simon thought it was good but does mention the off-notes. Britney calls her a true star. I must have heard something totally different I guess. My grade: C-

Carly Rose Sonneclar - She gave a fairly strong vocal to the song of "Something's Got A Hold On Me" but I hated the arrangement. She was good but not great with that arrangement I felt. L.A. likes her beautiful voice but felt like she was not having any fun which both Demi and Simon agreed with. Britney however calls her vocals amazing. My grade: B



SIMON COWELL - GROUPS

Sister C - Sorry but I find these three sister's voices so annoying when they sing. The song is "Hell On Heels" by Miranda Lambert. What can I say but I could not wait for them to be over. The judges on the other hand were complimentary. L.A. called it good. Britney thought they were interesting and delivered. Demi thinks they have a unique sound but thought they seemed stiff. Simon goes overboard and calls them fantastic. Wrong! My grade: D

Lyric145 - As much as I liked this group during the audition process at the judge's home I was under-whelmed by this performance of "Boom, Shake The Room" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. The energy by them was awesome but the rapping was just okay for me. L.A. thinks they are an amazing group but felt they did not show much soul. Britney was entertained. Demi calls them "so good". Simon felt they were sensational. Okay, whatever. My grade: C

1432 - This is the group formerly known as Lylas but they had to change their name due to legal issues (Bruno Mars band is called Lylas). I did not care for the song choice of "We Are Not Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift but then I am not a Taylor Swift fan. I thought the vocals were pretty good overall although some shined more than others in this group of five. L.A. however felt like it was pure karaoke. Britney called it good. It did not click with Demi although she felt Camila Cabello of the group stood out. She does see potential however for the rest of them. Simon feels work is needed but was satisfied overall with their performance. My grade: B

Emblem3 - I do not like these three boys however they surprised me by giving a good performance to the song "One Day" by Matisyahu (whoever that is). They connected with the audience and sang fairly well, even the rap part was pretty good. L.A. felt Simon got it right by having them perform this song. Britney calls them adorable and amazing. Demi felt like swooning over these guys. Simon mentions their improved commitment to performing. My grade: B+

Well all have performed and it is anybody's guess who the judges will eliminate. I do feel most of the song choices really hurt alot of these contestants as I mentioned earlier in my post. My picks to go are as follows:

Demi acts - Cece Frey

L.A. acts - Sadly I think Vino Alan is a goner but would get rid of David Correy instead

Britney acts - Toss-up between Arin Ray and Beatrice Miller

Simon acts - Sister C

One last note before I sign off; Seems the winner of this year will do a video of a song for the Pepsi commercial. It will be debuted at the telecast of this year's Grammy Awards show. Now I must end this and I will be back with the re-cap of the Thursday results show. Until then take care.