American Idol 12 – Hollywood Rounds Pt 2 – What the Critics Say

Here’s what critics around the interwebs are saying about last night’s American Idol 12 Hollywood Rounds Pt 2  Read my recap here.

‘American Idol’ recap: Solo Pups – The guys’ section of the Hollywood Round continued tonight with the solos, and while it was nowhere near the letdown of Wednesday’s group performance trainwreck, the hour-long ep did disappoint by showing some of my faves — like rocker/baker Gabe Brown and sign language teacher Nate Tao — get eliminated after we hadn’t even heard them sing. WTF? Still, plenty of guys delighted tonight, and Nicki Minaj put a few drama queens in their places — so let’s zip through the highlights. While 28 guys remain, eight of them will be eliminated next Thursday following the girls’ round, leaving 20 guys and 20 girls in the Top 40. – Read more at Entertainment Weekly

American Idol Recap: Darling Nicki – It’s solo day! (Again.) The most important day of Hollywood Week! (Unlike the first solo day, which was the most intense, or group day, which was the most grueling. Like students in a small-town high school, each day of Hollywood Week gets its own superlative.) It’s their final shot! (Until their next shot, and the shots after that, and the eleven more shots that await them if they make the top twelve. It’s possible that Idol’s writers are Red Bulled up and in a hurry.) – Read more at Vulture.com

‘American Idol’ recap: Hollywood Week — for boys only – It’s Hollywood Week on “American Idol.” That usually means we’re in for some drama and tension, especially during the dreaded group round – scenes of stressed-out contestants strolling around looking for kindred spirits, flashes of anger, exhaustion, frustration, desperation, tears. Last year, we got sickness and swooning, ambulances, a deep-voiced cowboy amusingly facing off with a smart-mouthed urbanite, our first twang of concern about eventual winner Phillip Phillips’ kidney-stone troubles. – Read more at LA Times

American Idol Recap: Boys Do Cry [Updated] – If God is an American Idol fan — and that’s a big “if,” considering where Jennifer Hudson, Ricky Braddy and Pia Toscano have finished over the years — then perhaps Nicki Minaj is the insane, mumbly-mouthed angel sent (ejected?) from above, here to drop harsh truths and a wacky kind of honesty that have been missing from the show for far too long. Certainly, Nicki’s anti-sob story, pro-weirdness, “give us one minute of professionalism” stance injected much-needed energy into Night 2 of Season 12?s gender-segregated Hollywood Week, following a Wednesday night telecast that all too often blared like a giant neon sign proclaiming, “Sorry About the Guys! (But Next Week We’ll Have Some Really Awesome Female Singers Who Could Give Us a Kelly- or Carrie-Style Sales Boost”). – Read more at TV Line

American Idol: Hollywood Week Part I, ‘No Girls Allowed’ (+video) – This season, American Idol executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, were no longer content to sit in the background pulling the same old strings of their American Idol puppet. They put their heads together and conspired on ways that they could make Hollywood Week even more distressing for the American Idol contestants. First of their Machiavellian twists was to separate the boys from the girls. Some might argue that the old-fashioned technique of gender segregation would remove the distraction of the opposite sex and enhance the focus of the contestants. But if the ability to remember lyrics is any indication of focus, clearly the abolition of a co-ed Hollywood Week did not have its intended effect. – Read more at CSMonitor.com

Why Nicki Minaj Is The New Simon Cowell (And Why That’s A Good Thing) – If you only started watching “American Idol” in the post-Simon Cowell era, over the past two seasons, then you were undoubtedly very confused when you tuned in for this Thursday’s Season 12 Hollywood Week episode. What was this? An “Idol” judge giving actual advice? Having strong opinions? Not just telling everyone they’re “beautiful” and “in it to win it”? Yes, on Thursday, newbie judge Nicki Minaj stepped it up and officially became “Idol’s” new Simon Cowell, proving once and for all, to all doubters and haters, that Fox honchos actually knew what they were doing when they controversially hired her.- Read more at Yahoo.com

‘American Idol’ Recap: Papa Peachez Sent Home During Boys’ Night – Goodbye, Papa Peachez. We hardly knew ye. Peachez, the deep-voiced soul singer from Jackson, Mississippi, and self-described “big black woman trapped in a little boy’s body,” was one of several significant cuts made on Thursday’s “American Idol,” which focused on Hollywood Week’s male singers. After a performance of Lady Gaga’s “You and I,” Peachez was cut after Nicki Minaj told him he’d lost his way in the competition. “I’m pretty sure that flame is now completely burnt out,” Nicki told him, lambasting him for his choice of song. “I’m so disappointed… I can’t believe you’ve allowed this competition to suck that amazing quality out of you.” (After his initial audition, Minaj labeled him a “superstar.”) – Read more at MTV

‘American Idol’: Looking for 20 good men – Making the cut — almost: “We all know how talented you are, but … Making the cut — almost: “We all know how talented you are, but … ,” Mariah Carey tells Micah Johnson. Randy Jackson finishes for her: “Unfortunately, it’s a ‘no’ for today.” Johnson says it’s tough to be cut, but he’s been through worse. Gabe Brown also gets cut in this round, as do Nate Tao and Sanni M’mairuru. But we’re not done. The guys who made the cut are getting called back to the stage. “Congratulations on today,” Jackson says. “You guys made it through.” But there’s 28 of them, not 20. So, Jackson says, the girls will go through the same thing they just did. Then, on next Thursday’s show, they’ll send an additional eight home. “Next Thursday, we’ll let you know.” – Read more at USA Today

 

About mj santilli 34869 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!