The First 3 of the Top 12 = Awesome

Michael Johns and Carly Smithson

For the most part, Tuesday night’s performance episode was like a train wreck. Tonight is when the clean up crew comes in to sweep the debris from the tracks.

Ryan says that 24 million votes came in, which is approximately the same number as the dedicated viewing audience. You go Idol fans!

Tonight 9 people will get the ax and 3 will remain. This is a difficult format to get used to, and I find myself having to explain it to My Hubby and My Kid more than once. And trying to describe the Wild Card show later this season? It’s just too much work…

First we have filler fodder with Ryan/Judges banter. There are double entendres galore and really not necessary, but that’s just how it goes with Cowell & Seacrest sometimes.

Simon claims that he is impressed with Kara’s performance as a judge so far, which translates to “she can complete a coherent sentence and form words of more than one syllable.” It has been a nice change of pace so far.

Now it’s Group Song Time! The twelve do the Jason Mraz song “I’m Yours” because every time we turn our radio on, that song is playing. We all know this one and can sing along. My Kid says that they look like they are doing Ring Around the Rosie and she expects them to all fall down any minute. The singing is not bad, especially when they sing in trios. As far as choreography goes, the stand-outs during the Group Song are Stephen and Anoop. All of the brunette girls seem to cancel each other out in a weird way. By the end of the song it’s evident that this ditty is not meant to be sung by a group.

Recap of last night’s “raw” show… Jackie wanted a little less conversation and little more spandex please. Ricky had no bad rhyme with his song for us. Michael didn’t wanna be anything other than in the top 12. Stevie could not find any notes that belonged to her. Casey did every little thing wrong but was so pretty. Stephen rocked his way back to Cleveland. Brent returned to his country roots in Hicktown. Tatiana was saving all of her love for the guy with the “sound stick.” Anoop is the angel of UNC and NC BBQ. Ann Marie was a natural woman as opposed to processed. Alexis never loved a man the way that we all love her. Danny said the hero lies in all of us and we believe him.

Ryan chats with a few of the nervous contestants for awhile. Jackie gives herself a solid B+ for last night. The outfit still gets an F though. Anoop admits that he is only calm on the outside. Humble Tatiana is evidently on her medication. Or maybe Paula’s? Stevie is still confused about the whole “in the box/out of the box” advice from the judges.

Now it’s time to get down to business. There are 3 water-fountain-shaped seats for the 3 singers that are moving on to the next round.

First up is Casey who admits her song choice was bad but she had fun. She is not making it to the Top 12, but hopefully she can get on a soap or that Tyra modeling show.

Next up is Stephen and he and his Buckwheat hair are dismayed that they are not making it through. One day perhaps these kids will learn that doing MJ is the kiss of death.

Alexis is up next and the audience goes wild. Good to know that we are not the only ones who love her. I’m so thrilled that she made it to Top 12 that I get a bit misty-eyed, especially when I see her parents. My Kid says, “I did not know her dad was Jerry Garcia.”

Thankfully cute Alexis is wearing a hat from the Johnny Depp collection instead of Aretha’s. She does get to sing Ms. Franklin’s song again though.

Having the Top 3 repeat their songs is SO much better than having the losers do theirs again amidst tears and meltdowns.. I am really liking this format now. It would be a very long show if the 9 rejects had to sing, so duh.

Ryan calls Ricky and Jackie up next. After jerking them around awhile, they learn that both of them are going home. This is too bad because Ricky never stood a chance with no previous air time. (I just noticed that he looks a bit like CCM artist Jeremy Camp.)

Anoop and Michael are called up together next. We hope that this time it’s a two-fer because we like both of these guys. Unfortunately, Anoop did not make it which is a surprise. Hopefully he’ll get another chance during the Wild Card round.

Michael reprises the Gavin DeGraw song but we’re too disappointed to enjoy it now. I like him a lot but it’s too bad that both of our NC guys are out of the competition.

Next we get an infomercial for The American Idol Experience at Disney World. They show short clips of all of the past Idols who attended the opening. Cookie and Carrie-bot sing a Fleetwood Mac song together and they sound pretty good.

Tonight’s special guests are last season’s Michael Johns and Carly Smithson. Carly tells a funny story about losing her wig while on tour, and I expect Paula to stand up and say “Me too!” They sing the song they did together during the finale last year called “The Letter.” I read on the AI website that Michael and Carly also coached the contestants during Hollywood Week. That would have been much more interesting to watch than the season 8 Drama Queens.

The lights dim again and Ryan asks Ann Marie, Brent and Stevie to stand. They don’t even rate a walk down to center stage? That’s cold. Not surprisingly, all three are going home.

Now we have the last two remaining – Danny and Tatiana. This should be a no-brainer, but we’ve seen enough of these elimination episodes to know that sometimes the wrong person goes home.

Ryan draws the suspense out for at least one hundred thousand years and everybody just wants to KNOW already. We’re all aware of the anti-Idol web sites out there that encourage viewers to vote for whoever is the most terrible. This could go either way; even Paula seems nervous.

Finally we learn that Danny is the one going to the Top 12. Thank God! I was not looking forward to boycotting American Idol forever. Strange how the camera lingers on Tatiana, who cries and cries but with no tears.

When Danny sings “Hero” again, we are too relieved to be annoyed at how the camera still wants to focus on Tatiana instead of the one who is actually singing. Perhaps they are waiting for her vasovagal syncope?

As long as Danny and his supporters will let Sophia rest in peace, I will remain his loyal fan. Hopefully they will learn from David Cook last year – he was able to win American Idol without ever mentioning his brother’s battle with cancer. Danny and Crew: take a note from this page please. There’s only so much more we can take.

My Kid mentions that Danny is like Cook and Archuleta combined – he has the awesome gravelly voice of one and the “I want to give you sunshine and puppies” of the other.

Two of my favorites are in the Top 12 – Alexis and Danny – and I’m okay with Michael too. America got this one right (mostly.)

Group 2 will perform next Tuesday. They are: Megan Corkery, Kris Allen, Mishavonna Henson, Matt Breitzke, Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud, Jasmine Murray, Kai Kalama, Jesse Langseth, Adam Lambert, Jeanine Vailes, and blech! Nick Mitchell.

Best Quote of the Evening:

Michael (about his friends back home): “They're either making fun of me for being a sissy, or they're proud.”

‘Til Tuesday!

The First Group of 12 Recycle and Rehash

Tonight we have two hours to get through 12 songs, each lasting roughly 90 seconds. Do the math and it all adds up to much filler fodder. But no worries, because that Seacrest knows how to facilitate.

Ryan polls the judges for their opinions on what the contestants need to do tonight to blow us away and win our votes. Those of us who have watched this show forever already know that Simon will say “Sing well.” Ryan calls him on that and we are offered the usual clichés (all together now): “Be in it to win it.” “Don’t let the nerves get to you.” “Make the magic happen.” “You’ve got one shot.”

The voting process is different this year; they have gone back to the original format. The 36 singers have been broken into three groups of 12, and over the next three weeks they will perform. Each week only three contestants will make it through to the Top 12. The fourth week there will be a Wild Card show and the judges will choose the final three singers. (Wow, that is a lot of “threes” in one paragraph!)

This evening the family members of the contestants will sit in the “red room” in the loft above the stage and offer moral support. All have daggers shooting from their eyes toward Simon. Some of them have really clever tee shirts that you can order online. But I digress because…

Finally! We get to some singing. They can choose any song from the Billboard charts ever, so the playing field is wide open. (As long as it’s in the American Idol Songbook of Cleared Tunes.)

Up first in the spot of doom is bluesy-rocker Jackie Tohn. Wikipedia informs us that Jackie is not only a singer but has been acting since she was a child. Tonight she sings Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation” otherwise known as “the song that got Chris Daughtry the boot in season 5.” Jackie puts her own spin on the song but her performance is somewhat manic; it seems like she’d be more comfortable with her guitar. And why she raided The Go-Gos’ closet is anybody’s guess. For the most part the judges think she’s entertaining but silly.

Next up is Ricky Braddy, to which we say WHO? Because it’s the very first time that we’ve had the opportunity to meet him officially, we learn that he is from Elizabeth City, NC. YAY! Another North Carolinian in the bunch; we did not know this. Ricky is singing the Leon Russell song that put season 5’s Elliott Yamin on the map – “A Song for You.” Although I groan at this news at first, he quickly wins me over with his practically perfect vocal. The judges agree that Ricky’s days of cooking chicken tenders are over, because that was awesome.

Lovely Alexis Grace has the delicate features of Sixpence None the Richer’s Leigh Nash, but her vocals are strong and powerful. She sings the way overdone-on-Idol Aretha song “Never Loved a Man” but she makes us believe we haven’t already heard it a thousand times. This girl is fantastic and she personifies “making the song her own.” The judges pile heaps of luv on her and reminisce about how the simple mom-next-door has morphed into a red-lipstick-wearing diva. As Kara says, “The genie is out of the bottle” indeed. Hopefully she won’t have to go back in tomorrow night.

After a brief technical mishap with the video (I bet someone is getting a pink slip tonight), we get to see Brent Keith. Since Brent was on season two of Nashville Star it is no surprise that he is performing a country song tonight. I don’t listen to country very often so I have no basis of comparison. The song is called “Hick Town” and he sounds exactly like every other male country singer I’ve ever heard. Brent gets played the dreaded “chili cook-off” card from the judges and he’s not happy about it. That back-talking can cost him votes too, but maybe he’ll get by on his very cute dimples.

Darling teenager Stevie Wright got picked on so much during Hollywood Week about being so Old School, that she’s changing her style tonight. Unfortunately, she’s going with a Taylor Swift song and it’s not a good idea. The poor girl is scared to death and totally out of her element. The song is too fast and too bubblegum. Where is the girl who sang “At Last” so wonderfully? After the judges tell her how awful the performance was, she returns to the comfort of her family in the “red room.” They discuss with Ryan how wishy-washy the judges are with their “advice” and that is so very true.

NC’s very own Anoop Desai is next and we have high hopes for him; he has offered stellar performances from what we’ve seen so far. Although we don’t learn this during his video, the ‘net reveals that he’s been in a vocal group called the UNC Clef Hangers. It is evident that he is used to singing with others although he does well with “Angel of Mine.” Anoop says that this is a song he dearly loves and he sings it like he means it. All of the judges are on board except Simon, who wasn’t expecting “Anoop Dog” to be so serious. Paula compares him to Brian McKnight, so THERE Simon!

Evidently there are no Mandy Moore songs in the American Idol catalog for her look-a-like Casey Carlson to sing. Instead, the Campus Girls bikini model inexplicably chooses “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” and it’s just wrong. Did she learn nothing from Chris Sligh? Someone needs to call The Police. The judges call her out on the winking and crazy faces and bad notes. They go on for a hundred years about her being more beautiful than Becky O’Donahue and Haley Scarnato put together, which is true. Casey gets the “karaoke” kiss of death but is respectful and walks away with dignity.

One of the most likable contestants that we’ve seen in years is “roughneck” Michael Sarver. The guy is just plain nice. While he sings “I Don’t Want to Be,” My Kid and I make a list of all the other guys who have done this song on the show. We come up with: Bo Bice, Elliott Yamin, and Chris Richardson. Michael actually holds his own against the others from years past. He puts just enough into the performance without going over the top. Although the judges don’t totally agree about Michael, Paula (and I) think that he did Gavin DeGraw proud. Even Simon hopes he gets votes.

An early favorite of mine, Ann Marie Boskovich comes to the stage next. We are reminded of her “faux makeover” during the initial audition round. Because this song has never been done on Idol (that was my sarcastic voice), tonight she is doing “Natural Woman.” It’s too bad that she is as awkward as Aretha’s inauguration hat. Her singing is okay but it’s not as good as we expected and pales in comparison to Kelly’s season one rendition. A very uncomfortable moment occurs during critique time with Ann Marie dissing Sara Bareilles, and then she gets the dreaded “hotel singer” analogy.

Stephen Fowler will never live down the way he massacred David Cook’s coronation song in Hollywood. The grown-up version of Buckwheat says that he realizes how lucky he is to get another chance. After all, the guy has a smooth, sexy voice. Why does he decide to blow his opportunity on an old Michael Jackson song, we wonder? MJ is just one of those legendary singers that you don’t try to perform. Plus he’s way creepy. All of the judges agree that Stephen has a remarkable voice but alas, this was the wrong song choice. Simon even snarks that he wished Stephen had forgotten the lyrics again.

Up next is Tatiana Del Toro, gal of the thousand giggles. She speaks semi intelligently during her video and must be on meds now. We are very thankful for that and I bet her fellow contestants are as well. I roll my eyes when she says she’s doing Whitney. OMG! I wish I had a nickel for every time the judges have said to these kids: “Do not do Whitney. Or Celine. Or Mariah.” However, a strange thing happens when Tatiana takes the stage: she actually sings well and gives a subdued (for her) performance. The judges are disappointed by this and want the crazy chick back. February is sweeps month!

The last singer tonight is Danny Gokey and if anyone deserves the coveted “pimp spot” it’s him. Although he’s been criticized by some fans for being so open about his late wife, I can understand it from a personal standpoint. Sometimes it helps keep a loved one’s memory alive by talking about them. Danny is breaking the “no divas” rule, but in a good gravelly, growly way. He sings Mariah’s “Hero” and it’s the best he’s done so far. Three cheers for the church music director, but Simon says he’s not buying the hype. Whatevs.

Tonight’s Quotes:

Ryan: “This panel of judges is starting to look like The View.”

Paula: “But perfect sometimes is boring.”

Tune in tomorrow night to learn which guy and which gal, as well as which 3rd place person make it through. My money’s on Alexis and Danny for sure. I’d like to see either of the NC guys, Anoop or Ricky make it through also. With zero air time prior to tonight, we don’t have high hopes for Ricky though.

At least the show is on the GO GREEN bandwagon. They recycled 9 out of 12 songs tonight. It was almost like watching a rerun.

Remember: for a limited time you can download tonight’s favorite performances from iTunes. At least two of these songs will be on my Shuffle tomorrow.

Joanna Out/Felicia In

A press release was issued from the American Idol folks that Joanna Pacitti has been disqualified from the competition. She has been replaced by Felicia Barton. We briefly saw Felicia in her initial audition performing "Put Your Records On."

According to the official report, Joanna was let go due to a conflict of interest, not for forgetting the lyrics to almost every song she sang while on the show.

Welcome Felicia... and good luck.