Idol-Talk: Season 10 Hollywood Week - Round 3

American Idol 10: Hollywood Week - Round 3
Air Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011 [8-9pm]

Round 3: Individual Performances (with band or a capella)

Source: EW.com

 And now, the final round of Hollywood Week for season 10. After making it through the individual sudden death round, then the drama-filled group performances, the remaining 100 contestants are back to singing by themselves. But this time, they can choose to have the band accompany them (including background singers) or go it alone, a capella. And playing their own instruments is allowed as well, which I think is too early in the season to allow this. When Executive Producer and show-runner Nigel Lythgoe returned to the show this year, he said that last year the singers were hiding behind their instruments, and that he would change some things now that he's back. If he really believes that, then I don't think the singers should have this option until the live shows.

Best of the Night:

• Thia Megia - "What A Wonderful World" (my absolute favorite song of all time!)
• Robbie Rosen - "Gravity"
• Sophia Shorai - "Georgia" (there were many contestants who performed this song, but Sophia outdid them all)

Good and/or Solid Performances:

• Hailey Reinhart - "God Bless the Child"
• Ashton Jones - "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (she's definitely good, but with this song, it's virtually impossible to match up to the Jennifers that made this memorable - Holliday and Hudson)
• Jacob Lusk - "God Bless the Child" (He's good, no doubt about that, but he wasn't as good as the judges made him out to be; there were some obvious off notes)
• Casey Abrams - "Georgia" (played upright bass; this performance definitely stood out, but I wonder if that still would have been the case had he not used an instrument? Just a thought...)
• Lauren Alaina - Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Really good, but I just wish she wouldn't have repeated her audition song.)

No:

• Clint Jun Gamboa - "Georgia" (It seemed like he was trying to imitate Adam Lambert; very over the top on the runs and falsettos

Lyric-Forgetters:

• Scotty McCreery & Tatynisa Wilson - They both completely forget the words and start making up their own words. This reminds me of a local radio station commercial where the people in the car are listening to a song, singing along and not saying the right lyrics.

Quit:

• Jacqueline Dunford - She falls ill and bows out of the competition. And again, one by one the exes and the couple are departing. I think I need to put on Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." Chelsee Oaks (part of the exes), now the remaining member of the foursome, is distraught over this news. Speaking of whom...

Bad:

• Chelsee Oaks - Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" (I say this all the time, but if you're going to perform a song by an Idol alum, especially one as great as KC, you better bring it. And Chelsee doesn't do the song justice.
• Ashley Sullivan - Michael Buble's "Everything" (She dedicates the song to her boyfriend, then proceeds to fumble and asks to start over. This causes her to continue messing up and ends up ruining the whole performance. How is she still in the running again?)

After everyone performs, the judges deliberate. Everyone is split up into four groups, each going to a different room. Room 1 is still in. Room 2 is out. Room 3 is out as well, which means that room 4 is still in the competition. Chelsee Oaks (the sole member of the exes and the couple) is eliminated, finally! But how did they keep Ashley Sullivan in? She basically had a nervous breakdown on stage, which should have been the end of it, but the judges must have felt sorry for her. There's no way she can make it any farther; she has never had a good performance ever. And even though Scotty M. and Tatynisa did not know the words to their songs, they're somehow still in it as well. I don't get it.

Next Wednesday will showcase a new round of the competition, where the remaining 60 contestants head to Las Vegas to perform songs (with only 24 hours to learn them) by The Beatles. See ya then...