American Idol 10: Top 24 (Top 12 Boys)
Air Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 [8-9:30pm]
Theme: Sing Whatever You Want
This round usually has a smaller stage and audience seating, but they've expanded it all, making it look closer to the regular stage we see for the Top 12. I don't know if this will be the same stage used for the rest of the season or not, because why would they build all of this just for one week? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Ryan Seacrest gave Steven Tyler a bleep sign that is the American Idol logo on a stick so that he can cover his mouth with it if he's going to swear. I don't think it always worked.
I couldn't get a complete picture of the band arrangement, but I saw at least part of the band on (our) left side of the stage. The other edge of the stage housed the rest of the singers, where they sat and watched all the performances.
Besides the normal phone and text voting, Idol has added online voting at AmericanIdol.com (through Facebook).
1. Clint Jun Gamboa - Stevie Wonder's "Superstition": The first half was just okay, and I thought that would carry throughout, but once he hit the high notes, he pushed his energy fully into the performance and gave it his all.
2. Jovany Barreto - Edwin McCain's "I'll Be": I'm glad Randy Jackson told the truth - It was very karaoke-like. A few seconds in when I realized what song it was, I thought - Uh oh. I was bored for most of the song. Some great notes at the end, but overall very forgettable.
3. Jordan Dorsey - Usher's "OMG":He was in trouble right from the start. I think the first few lines were supposed to be low notes, but he couldn't make them work, so they came out very quiet. With the dancing, he relied too much on sex appeal, which affected his vocals. The song has very stacatto notes, so I couldn't tell anything about his voice from this.
4. Tim Halperin - Rob Thomas' "Streetcorner Symphony (Come On Over)": I might have to remove the karaoke label from Jovany and stick it on Tim, because this performance was the epitome of karaoke. I started to become a fan of his the last couple of episodes or so, but this did nothing to help him. He can do better, but I don't know if he'll be around to do so.
5. Brett Loewenstern - The Doors' "Light My Fire": In earlier rounds, he's had both good performances and some pretty average ones. This one was more on the average side. His voice was off at the start, better at the end. He's been heavily featured, so he has a chance of making it.
6. James Durbin - Judas Priest's "You Got Another Thing Comin'": He's always had comparisons to Adam Lambert, but hasn't matched up to him before now. This rock song could have been his downfall, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well he tackled this song. I wonder if this is the musical route he should take. Also, I'm glad he didn't overdo the high notes.
7. Robbie Rosen - Sarah McLachlan's "Arms of An Angel": He has been my favorite leading up to this week. There were moments when I heard some beautiful notes, but I heard a lot of pitch problems and one or two strained notes as well. I expect better from him, because he can do a lot better.
8. Scotty McCreery - John Michael Montgomery's "Letters from Home": I'm glad he chose a song that fit his music style. I've never been a fan of his, and while his voice wasn't that bad, I wasn't blown away. He might make it since he's the lone country singer, but he still needs to step it up.
9. Stefano Langone - Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are": There seems to be a pattern tonight, where many start out average then improve by the end. For Stefano, the start was not good, but I loved the last half (save for the cringe-worthy high note). Having said that, did this sound any different than the original?
10. Paul McDonald - Rod Stewart's "Maggie Mae": If I'm not mistaken, they only featured him last week. I wasn't on board then and I'm still not completely a fan. Maybe I still need to warm up to him. I hear a good voice, but I just don't know what to think yet.
11. Jacob Lusk - "A House is Not a Home": He can definitely sing, there's no doubt about that. And I'm sure he'll make it. But I'm trying to look ahead, and I don't see him making it big. He's talented, but that doesn't always equal record sales.
12. Casey Abrams - "I Put a Spell on You": Based on that performance, I wouldn't have known he was ill (for the most part). He brought his energy and put everything into that song. The last notes were all over the place, but it still kind of fit in with it all.
We knew that both Steven and Jennifer Lopez were going to be nicer than Simon Cowell, but I thought last night they were way too soft on the contestants. Randy Jackson was the only one on the panel that really told the truth and gave honest feedback. I agreed with Randy most of the time, surprisingly.
Favorite Performances: James Durbin / Casey Abrams
My Votes: James Durbin - 20 votes
[I decided not to vote online; I figured that I could vote by phone faster than doing it online. Maybe later on I'll include online voting as well]
Top 12 Predictions (5 will advance):
James Durbin
Casey Abrams
Paul McDonald
Scotty McCreery
Jacob Lusk
When I first wrote down a list of those who have a chance of making it into the Top 12, I included Brett and Robbie as well. I have logical reasons why those two will stay in (just read my comments on them above), but I ultimately cut them when you look at those who stepped it up and provided the best performances of the night. That leads you to the list of five names above. There's always the judges Wild Card picks, so even if some are eliminated, there's always the chance that the judges will keep them.
Instead of having a separate page on the main T.W.O. site for the links to the American Idol performances on iTunes, I was planning on just linking to them here in my Idol-Talk blogs. But it looks like there's nothing up on iTunes yet. If they become available, I will update this entry with the links.
Now that the guys have performed, the Top 12 girls will take to the stage tonight (8-9:30pm). See ya then...
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