Michael – 6 – “It’s a Man’s World”: This is a much better song for his voice than last week’s. Strange arrangement for this show; there are lots of instrumental breaks and most people use that time to sing.  He seems very confident this week.  He’s very at ease on the stage.  I haven’t heard one note out of pitch.  He has a lot of power this week, and he’s interpreting the song well.  I’m not thrilled with the lyrics, but that’s an entirely different matter.  Well done.

John – 4 – “Gravity”: The first word of this song was better than his entire performance last week. He seems much more relaxed, although he still has a long way to go.  A few pitch problems.  Some of his runs seem very rehearsed, but the ones that aren’t are going awry.  His enunciation, again, is odd.  The words are hard to understand.  This was a lot better than last week, but he still doesn’t have that star quality.  He needs to trust his voice and just perform.

Casey – 5 – “I Don’t Wanna Be”: Nice electric guitar.  This is not as exciting as last week, even though it should be.  I mean, he’s wailing on that guitar, the song is great for his range, it’s a good song choice, but it somehow lacks interest.  I guess it’s because he’s not really performing.  He’s relying on the guitar too much.  He’s stuck to the microphone.  His eyes don’t have that sparkle they had last week.  He’s not connecting with the audience.  I noticed a little “goat boy” vibrato coming out from time to time.  He did that last week, but I didn’t hear it in his audition songs, so it must be nerves.

Alex – 5 – “Everybody Knows”: What a massive dork!  There’s still something endearing about him. The first verse is good.  He seems much more at ease this week.  I think sitting is a good thing for him to do from now on.  Nice guitar playing, but he’s still not performing at a level I’d like to see. The emotion isn’t showing in his eyes.  He’s singing well; I really don’t have any complaints about his vocals.  Oh, except that last note.  This may be a step between what he did last week and what he’s capable of doing.

Toddrick – 3 – “What’s Love Got To Do With It”: Again, SO obnoxious.  He really thinks he’s got this whole competition wrapped up.  Flat right off the bat.  I’m actually surprised at how many pitch problems he’s having.  He’s not getting all the way up to some of the top notes, and they’re not even high.  I’m not excited about this arrangement.  His performance is totally fake.  He’s trying way too hard.  It doesn’t mean anything without the connection to the audience… more like he’s singing at us than to us.

Jermaine – 3 – “What’s Goin’ On”: The beginning of this song was a snooze.  It’s keyed too low, which drags all the excitement out of it.  Now he’s picking up the pace a little.  This is OK, but it’s sort of “so what.”  He is once again using too many runs.  He’s trying too hard.  Again, he’s trying to put every vocal trick in the book into the latter half of this song.  Just because he CAN do something doesn’t mean he SHOULD, or at least not all the time.  The after song interview was a disaster.  You don’t argue with the judges and you DON’T ask them to choose a song for you.  If he doesn’t make it, does that mean God doesn’t want him on the show?

Andrew – 4 – “You Give Me Something”: Good vocals at the beginning.  He looks slightly serial killer-like tonight.  His eyes are freaking me out.  Some very flat notes in this center section.  He enunciates oddly.  You don’t sing the word “nothing” with the “-een” at the end.  He seems uncomfortable tonight.  I think he is unsure of himself after last week’s show.   Maybe he doesn’t know what to do, so he’s grasping at straws.  He’s not performing very much.  I feel like he’s just trying to stay safe, riding on the coattails of his previous performances.  He can only ride the initial wave of popularity for so long.

Aaron – 4 – “My Girl”: He’s trying to look confident, but I’m not feeling it.  Michael has genuine confidence.  This is a cheap imitation.  I think he should keep the “cute boy” vibe going.  He should be singing younger stuff.  I don’t think he’s doing enough with this song to make it young. It sounds too much like the original.  He’s trying to use a gravelly tone, but it’s not him at all.  It actually sounds silly.  His pitch is flailing all over the place towards the end.  Ended on a flat note, which is never a good thing.

Tim – 4 – “Come On Get Higher”: This is a good song choice.  Let’s see if he can actually sing it. He’s already much better than last week.  His voice is very exposed.  It almost sounds childish.  He needs voice lessons in the worst way.  Pitch problems in various places.  He closes his eyes too much when he sings (another pet peeve).   He’s cute as a bug.  I think he may squeak by this week, but if he’s going to be a serious competitor, he’s going to need to step up his game.

Lee – 7 – “Lips of an Angel”: Very good song choice.  Perfect for his voice.  He picked a great key, too.  I really like his tone.  He’s performing the lyrics.  He looks appropriately pained and intense. I’m actually enjoying this a lot more than I expected to.  Some pitch problems.  Too much grit in his voice right before the end.  It threw off his pitch, but he pulled it back together.  Best of the night.

There were too many average performances; it’s hard to place them in rank order.  The top and bottom are pretty obvious to me.

10.  Toddrick

9.  Jermaine

8.  John

7.  Tim

6.  Andrew

5.  Aaron

4.  Alex

3.  Casey

2.  Michael

1.  Lee

I absolutely expect Toddrick and/or Jermaine to go home.  Wow, they were bad.  My third choice is John because he’s completely forgettable.

“American Boy” – These group songs are usually lame.  This is no exception.  I sort of wish they would stop doing these, but I guess it’s all part of the camp of the show.

The first girl out is… Janell.  Dang it!  I originally chose her as one of my bottom two, but I allowed my son to talk me in to putting Paige in there instead.  I can’t prove it, but I know the truth

I really like Allison Iraheta.  She’s better than any of this year’s girls.  I thought she might win last year.  Her enunciation is strange on this song, but she has 20x more star power than any of the other women on that stage.

Second girl out is… Ashley .  Technically, I got both of them right.  Both girls got my lowest scores.

First guy out is… Joe?????  That isn’t possible!  I ranked him #2!  Ridiculous.  Tim was terrible, but Joe was actually pretty good.  That’s just so wrong.

Kris Allen is still pretty adorable.  I appreciate that he’s not just there to hype his new CD.  He seems like a genuinely good guy.  Talented guy, too.

Second guy out is… Tyler.  I’m surprised, but not shocked.  Oh, and he’s not bitter or anything.

Depending on how you look at it, I only got one right.  If you look at it from my perspective, I got two of four.  America seriously botched it on the two guys.  That was ridiculous.  Tyler might not have been long for the show anyway, but Joe could have been a contender.  Shame…

Well, on to next week.  Hope somebody decides to shine.  Casey, Crystal, and maybe Siobhan and Lilly are the current frontrunners, and while they are good, they’re not great so far.  This is still anyone’s game.  Someone like Adam Lambert or Allison Iraheta would clean up this year!

Toddrick – 3 – “Since You’ve Been Gone”: This guy has bugged me from day one. He is so cocky and obnoxious, it angers me. This performance is totally contrived and self-indulgent. He’s obviously just trying to be different, and he’s gone WAY overboard. He has a good voice, but his arrogance is overpowering everything else. I don’t like this arrangement. Doing something different with a song is one thing – making it completely unrecognizable is quite another.

Aaron – 5 – “Here Comes Goodbye”: On the opposite end of the humility scale is Aaron. He seems like a nice boy. He has a good voice, but he lacks confidence. He could be a teen idol if he could pull some star power from somewhere deep in his soul. He has the stage presence of a mouse. A few pitch issues, but the falsetto high notes were lovely. If he can overcome the nerves, I think he will do pretty well. He has a ton of potential.

Jermaine – 4 – “Get Here”: Interesting song choice. The sound guys need to increase the mic volume, which is not his fault. I like the beginning. It’s slowly getting out of control. He needs to decide if this is a jazz tune, a gospel song, or a pop number. The chorus is getting screechy and excessive. Vocal gymnastics all over the place. He’s trying to cram every single musical device possible into this one song, like he’s never going to sing again. It’s like mixing all your favorite foods thinking you’ll make something even better. All you get is a mess.

Tim – 3 – “Apologize”: I like his vocal quality, but what happened to his falsetto? He’s got this fairly powerful lower range and the high notes just disappear into nothing. He should not be singing something with so many high notes. He’s going flat up there. It’s painful to hear him trying to sing something that is so absolutely wrong for him. He is showing no emotional attachment to the lyrics, which makes the entire thing seem disconnected. Good song, just not a good song for him.

Joe – 6 – “You and I”: We didn’t see him at all in the auditions. I like his vocal quality. His eyes sparkle while he’s singing. The verse is good so far. He looks a little nervous, but he doesn’t sound nervous. I like this song, and he’s doing it pretty well. The chorus has a few rocky moments, but overall, he’s doing better than I expected. He should have been introduced earlier. I think he deserved more air time and hopefully this performance will keep him in the game.

Tyler – 4 – “American Woman”: Not sure how much I like the intro… very repetitive and monotonous, but now he’s picking it up. He has some swagger, although I feel like it’s forced. He moves a little like he’s drunk (I don’t think he is… he’s just trying too hard to look like a rocker). I have a feeling he could be better than this. He needs to try to bring the 70’s into the 2010’s rather than trying to take us all back with him. If he can do that, he may be a dark horse in this competition.

Lee – 5 – “Chasing Cars”: I don’t like this song, but he’s singing it well so far. Of course, the song only has about a four note range, so anyone with half a voice should be able to handle it. On the chorus, some UGLY pitch problems. There were four terribly flat notes, which unfortunately were very exposed. I like the rasp in his voice. It sounds natural, whereas most people with rasp are obviously forcing it. I didn’t like the latter half of the arrangement. It got messy and we totally lost the melody line. Despite all these negative comments, I have to admit I kind of liked his performance anyway.

John – 4 – “God Bless the Child”: This is a MASSIVE song. Not very many people can handle it. His enunciation is very odd. I can’t understand the lyrics. He can really hit those low notes, but I don’t like the sound of his voice on them. He’s having to try too hard to hit them, even though he’s able. Bringing this up a key or two would really help. It sounds like a Broadway medley version of a very soulful, powerful, emotional song. Simon will probably say it sounds like a lounge singer version, and he would be right. Big voice, absolutely no expression. He would have been better off with a Josh Grobin song.

Michael – 5 – “This Love”: Very interesting song choice. He needs to open his mouth! He’s sort of mixing styles. The song only really works when it’s in a groove. It’s entirely too bouncy. Is it jazz or pop? At least he’s performing, unlike several who have just gotten up to sing. Part of the competition is about selling the song and yourself with it. He has a good sense of who he is as a singer, and now he needs to stretch. This was actually quite safe, and he’ll make it through just fine. He will need to step up his game in a few weeks.

Alex – 5 – “Wonderful World”: He doesn’t know how to move at all… sort of chicken-like. I like his voice just fine. It has a little John Mayer flavor to it. He’s very young and awkward. I like this arrangement. He has boyish charm and a good voice. I don’t know if he’s nervous or just naturally gawky. The last line showed a bit more personality and shine. I have to say I find him a little endearing. If he can put all his good qualities together and learn how to move in a way that doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable, he could do well.

Casey – 8 – “Heaven”: Nice start to the song. I really like his voice, and I really didn’t like his first audition. GREAT song for him. Definitely potential for stardom. He’s grinning like a fool, which is just entirely too adorable. He looks like he’s genuinely in love. So far he’s in tune, and he has such natural confidence and charisma, it draws the listeners to him. Connects with the audience in a way very few can. I LOVE that he ended the song simply. If this is his starting point, I might have to add “11” as my top score. (In case you were wondering, I sort of like him.)

Andrew – 5 – “Sugar, We’re Going Down”: This doesn’t seem like it’s going to be the right song for him. He’s keeping true to the melody line, but almost turning this into a dirge. It’s dark and a little depressing. I feel like he’s trying too hard to do something different. He has such great natural ability, so I’m not sure why he’s messing with that. He shouldn’t try to change who he is as a singer just for shock value. I was expecting great things, and while this wasn’t a disaster, it was disappointing.

12. Toddrick

11. Tim

10. Jermaine

9. John

8. Tyler

7. Aaron

6. Lee

5. Alex

4. Andrew

3. Michael

2. Joe

1. Casey (by a billion miles)

I think Tim and Jermaine will go home. Tim chose the wrong song for his voice, and Jermaine sang 13 weeks of songs all in one. I WISH Toddrick would go home simply because it would make me happy.

And so the competition begins!  I’m really looking forward to seeing who’s who tonight.  I have a vague idea of the ones I like and don’t like, but I’m trying not to have preconceived notions.

Here’s how my review works:

I write my commentary as the performances are happening.  Sometimes the judges’ critiques match my own, but that’s purely because we’re both right.  LOL

Every performance is rated on a 1 – 10 scale.  Scores start off lower at the beginning of the season because I need a place from which to build.  I have to be overwhelmingly impressed to give a 10.  Anything less than a 4 is completely unacceptable, and at that point, it’s merely about degrees of horrible.

At the end of the review, I put all the contestants in rank order and predict who will go home.

Oh, and I never say “in my opinion” because everything here is my opinion!  J

Paige  – 4 – “It’s Alright Now”:  I don’t remember her at all from the auditions.  She’s having minor pitch problems all over the place.  She has some good qualities to her voice, but it’s definitely not polished.  A voice teacher could help her develop some control.  She scooped up on that last note, which was fine, but then went a little too far to the sharp side.  Not a good ending.  The performance was “alright,” but nothing I’ll remember.

Ashley  - 3 – “Happy”:  The key is too low.  Her lower register isn’t powerful enough for this.  Some of these notes are quite flat.  Her voice can be piercing at times.  This song is WAY too big for her; she doesn’t have the pipes for it at all, so she’s trying to force it.  She’s getting carried away with the vocal gymnastics (my pet peeve!)  There are some good moments, but overall, I’m not impressed.  Nice last note.  Too bad the rest wasn’t as good as the end!

Janell  – 4 – “What About Love”:  Very timid beginning.  She’s making me nervous.  Intonation problems all over the place.  Her voice is a little whiney.  Long held note was hideous.  She should have stayed with the folk song vibe.  I liked her audition song, but this really isn’t her style.  She’s almost shouting… trying too hard to force the big notes through a smaller voice.  That almost always messes up the pitch.  She would have been far better off to pick something lighter that she could stylize.

Lilly  – 6 – “Fixin’ a Hole”:  Interesting song choice.  Didn’t quite get down to those low notes.  After she got past that beginning section, it got a whole lot better.  I like her voice, and she is singing with confidence now.  She is completely different from the other contestants… a genuine bluesy type.  If nothing else, she caught my attention and I have no doubt she will be back next week.  Best so far by a long shot (although honestly?  That’s not saying too much.)  Randy said she’s indie, which is exactly right.

Katelyn  – 4 – “Oh, Darlin’”:  Too loud at the beginning.  She needs to work on vocal dynamics.  All the same volume is boring.  She has a good voice.  At least she’s on pitch!  She’s almost yelling in some places.  I’m guessing she hasn’t had a lot of voice lessons.  I’d like her to learn some control and how to support her tone better so she doesn’t have to shout to get more volume.  She could be quite good with a little work.  Right now, she’s the vocal equivalent to a bull in a china shop.  A little sensitivity, please!

Haeley  – 5 – “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”:  Too cutesy right off the bat.  I don’t like the way she pronounces words.  She sort of blends them… does she have a little bit of a lisp?  This is much better than I expected, but I didn’t expect much.  She was horrible in the auditions.  She’s really going for those top notes.  I appreciate the effort… she’s not being cautious and backing off the volume, but her tone is pinched.  She needs to relax into the top notes rather than forcing them.  Again, a vocal coach would do wonders for her.

Lacey  – 4 – “Landslide”:  Is she trying to be British?  Her voice has a childish quality that annoys me greatly.  I don’t like this arrangement.  OK, some of this is fairly good, but I feel like she’s trying too hard.  It seems she chose this song because she thought it would be popular, not because it really fit her style or that it really means anything to her.  She needs to pick something that sits better in her voice, something that comes more naturally.

Michelle  – 6 – “Fallin’”:  Good song, if she can do it.  Risky to open a cappella like that.  I was worried she was going to change keys, but she came in on the right note.  Overall this is pretty good.  She’s singing it almost exactly like Alicia Keys, which isn’t a compliment.  I would like to hear something new and interesting.  She seems fairly confident.  Of course, if I was on this show, I would do exactly what she’s doing – try to land in the upper middle of the pack.  At the beginning, you want to be solid, but not too outstanding.  You don’t want to set expectations too high because you need room to show growth.

Didi  – 5 – “The Way I Am”:  Probably a good song choice for her.  She’s overdoing the vocal stylization.  The melody notes are too choppy; I’m not sure why she is putting so much space between notes.  The performance is a little sluggish.  If she increased the tempo a smidge, it would help.  This is “nice,” but that’s about it.  Her pitch is good in general.  Some interesting changes to the original melody line.  Oh, ouch!  That last note was horribly flat.  Not a good way to end.

Siobhan  – 7 – “Wicked Game”:  Started way too low.  She’s barely holding onto those low notes.  Her voice has substance, which I REALLY like.  It’s an interesting voice.  She doesn’t sound too girly.  There is some huskiness to her sound.  Nice falsetto on the chorus.  Odd song choice, but this is really working for her.  She’s definitely going through to next week.  So far, I think this is the best of the night.

Crystal  – 7 – “Hand in My Pocket”:  Good song choice for her.  I’m glad she’s not trying to sing it Alanis-style.  I really like her voice.  Harmonica solo is too long; it’s not Harmonica Idol.  She is very honest in her singing.  It seems like she doesn’t really care what other people think – she’s just going to do her thing and people can like it or leave it.  I like it.  Girlfriend needs to very slowly whiten her teeth.  I think she’ll be around long enough to get them looking a little better.  When you sing, people look at your mouth.  Coffee-colored teeth are not attractive, but neither are teeth you could land a plane to.  Moderation.

Katie  – 5 – “Feelin’ Good”:  First line was sharp.  She pulled it back into tune, but then lost her intonation again.  She needs to learn some mic technique.  Her pitch is really all over the place.  I’m surprised because she was my favorite of the girls prior to this performance.  I didn’t hear her lose her pitch even once, and now she can hardly keep it.  I don’t think this was a good song for her.  It’s kind of old-fashioned.  She has some power to her voice, but she really needs coaching.  She’s pushing her voice to hard and making herself go sharp.

I didn’t see anyone incredibly fantastic that stood out from the group, but there were a few solid performances.  No stars yet.

12.  Ashley

11.  Janell

10.  Lacey

9.  Katelyn

8.  Paige

7.  Haeley

6.  Didi

5.  Katie

4.  Michelle

3.  Lilly

2.  Siobhan

1.  Crystal

My guess is that Ashley and Paige will go home.  Paige performed better than several others, but we didn’t see her at all prior to tonight’s show and I think people will forget her.  My other choice would be Katelyn.

Top 12 guys tomorrow night.  Should be interesting.  See you then!