The guys were better than the girls, but not by much. 

The first two live shows are over, and now every contestant should understand what it takes.   Some harsh criticsm was given to the top 24, and especially to the guys. 

As with the girls, there was the good and the not-so-good.

The Good

Andrew Garcia.  I’ve been talking this kid up for awhile.  He’s fantastic, but he fell flat last night.  His song was too depressing.  He needs to stay upbeat.   Technically, his performance was spot on.  Performance-wise, it was boring.  He’ll bring it next week, and yes, he will definitely be back next week. 

Casey James, Courtesy AmericanIdol.com

Casey James.  If you could get by the swooning Kara and the teasing judges, you would have heard a very, very nice rendition of “Heaven” by Bryan Adams.  It was brilliant.  At times, I though Casey was singing that song better than Adams.  I liked the slight falsetto in his voice during the song (although he seemed to lose it occasionally).  Look for Casey to be back next week.

Toddrick Hall.  This dancer turned singer did a great job.  The judges were only luke warm to him.  In fact, Simon said “you murdered the original song”.  Yikes.  It wasn’t that bad.  I don’t know the song too well, and I enjoyed Toddrick’s version.  He showed good range, showmanship and stage presence.  It was a very good performance.

Aaron Kelly.  Young Aaron Kelly.  The judges can’t hear all the notes being sung…and they must have missed a couple of flat notes during the chorus to “Here Comes Goodbye”.   I think nerves were getting to the 16 year old.  His performance was fairly good, but he needs a little more confidence.  He’ll get it.  He also looks like a young Dustin Pari.  Who is Dustin Pari? He is on Ghost Hunters International, a SyFy network show where they hunt ghosts.  Dustin also, used to work here at Channel 12 / Fox Providence. 

Aaron Kelly, courtesy AmericanIdol.com

Dustin Pari, Courtesy Dustin Pari

 

Joe Munoz.  He looked like he was having a lot of fun.  He had a permanent smile on his face and his vocals were good, for the most part.  However, I thought the performance was boring and forgettable.  He could be in trouble….I actually forgot he sang last night until I looked at my notes!!! I know, he’s under my ‘Good’ list, but of the ‘Good’, he could be gone.

Lee Dewyze.  The windy city native blew onto the Idol stage and sang “Chasing Cars”.  It was a good song choice, even though 3 of the judges disagreed.  He was off on a few notes in the chorus, but it was a solid performance.  My wife liked him….I’m not sure what that means.  Simon liked the song, too.  I’d like to see him one more week, before I know if I like him. 

Michael Lynche.  ‘Big Mike’.  Yuh. He’s big.  Did you see him standing on the stage?!?!? He actually looks a little awkward playing the guitar and wiggling around.  He sang “This Love” by Maroon 5.  It was a good vocal performance, but I didn’t feel his voice had control of the song.  Maybe it was too easy for him.  Kara was right…he needs to challenge himself more.  He’ll be around next week.

The Not-So-Good

Jermaine Sellers.  He should get the boot this week.  This performance was a mess.  An absolute mess.  He took the song “Get Here” and butchered it.  Oleta Adams was probably crying if she watched it.  I remember this song being played on the radio during the first Gulf War.  It was so meaningful at the time.   Now, I’ll remember Jermaine killing it.   I didn’t like the arrangement.  He tried to hard to show off his range.  He can sing, don’t get me wrong, but this performance was a mess.  Simon thinks he blew his opportunity.  I agree. 

Chris Golightly, Courtesy AmericanIdl.com

Tim Urban.  This kid could be in big, big trouble tonight.  American Idol didn’t tell the whole story last night.  Yes, he was called back onto the show, but they never said why he got kicked off, then called back.  Chris Golightly originally held that spot, but then he had contract issues with a band.  Those contract issues are still being worked out, but don’t expect to see Chris this season.  He lied a couple of times to AI producers, and I don’t think they’re too happy about that.  Anyway, Tim blew his opportunity, too.   He sang “Apologize” by One Republic.  Kris Allen sang that last year and nailed it.  Tim could not pull it off.  I think it was a bad song choice.  He was screeching at times, and it was just technically horrible.  Simon said that there was nothing positive to take from it.  I like his voice, but he blew his opportunity with this song.

Tyler Grady.  I thought he was going to hit a homerun with “American Woman” .  It sounds perfect for him.  He made it his own, and then couldn’t pull it off.  His voice is not strong enough for the song.  His stage presence was great, his singing was technically okay, but his voice couldn’t handle it.  I think he’s safe, but he needs to be careful with his song choice and be true to himself.

John Park.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  I did not like this performance.  He was good, but boring as all get up.  He was very monotone with very little movement in his range.  The song “God Bless The Child” was too old for him.  I want to see another week from him, but he could be in big trouble this week.

Alex Lambert.  He sang “What a Wonderful World” by Jim Morrison.  I didn’t believe his performance, and I felt uncomfortable with it.   I like his rich voice, but this was the completely wrong song.  He needs more confidence and he could do much, much better.  He could be gone this week, too…I hope not.  I’d like to see him get another shot.

My picks for those who will disappear tonight:

Boys: Jermaine Sellers and Tim Urban
Girls:  Haeley Vaughn and Paige Miles

You can watch the results show tonight on Fox Providence at 8pm.