American Idol Season 8 – Hollywood Week – Part 3 – VIDEO

Matt owns it!

Holy crap – Liza just sang the drag queen anthem! That cracked me up.

LOL
This is full of Idol songs this year. Carrie, Daughtry, Jordin, Kelly…

ETA: Time of My Life??!

Why are they all singing past Idol songs? (And not as well!) It’s driving me nuts. Especially all of the blondes singing Carrie songs. So far I loved Anoop, Danny, and especially Matt.

LOL
This is full of Idol songs this year. Carrie, Daughtry, Jordin, Kellyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

ETA: Time of My Life??!

I noticed that too Maybe it’s cheaper??

Time of my Life? WTF?!

LMAO, No wonder Stephen got stuck on the lyrics. Probably still contemplating the deep meaning of the “magic rainbow” lyric.

OMG he massacred magic rainbow. SO wrong! I loved Scott’s “Home” though. Matt is freaking awesome.

Holy crap – Liza just sang the drag queen anthem! That cracked me up.

:lol_tb:

I think all of those who sang idols songs did bad…
Scott was bit bland, I think. I wish Stevie had picked something else, Bubbly really isn’t a song that will show how strong you are.

I actually enjoyed that bit of Nate… which surprised me.

Now Ju’Not > Stephen

I loved Anoop, Matt Giraud..

Adam was horrible (IMO), Danny was bland..even his best friend (Jamar) stood out more than him.

I’m a bit upset that they only showed a bit of Anoop’s performance when they hyped it in the preview last week..Hee.

How many rooms are getting cut tonight ?? Tatiana is freaking everyone out.

Tatiana might be the most annoying tv singing contestant ever! Boy, I’d like to punch her.

I’m seriously starting to contemplate power voting for Norman Gentle! LOL

Now Juà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Not > Stephen

See why it got to be one or the other black guy.

I don’t know much about what will happen this season, but so far I know two things:

1- I love Matt G because he reminds me of a mix between Justin Timberlake and Michael Buble

And

2- I despise Tatiana. Because.

They give more airtime to Tatiana than any other girl. I would have liked to see more than half a second of Jackie.

Danny was bland..even his best friend (Jamar) stood out more than him.

I thought so too. But what was that Jamar was wearing?? He looked like a fruit!

What? No mention of the armor that Pauler had on? Did she have a flattened tin can around her neck?

Ok, I’m not watching, but I’m amused by your comments. LOL

I will add that choosing TOML seems crazy stupid to me, but whadda I know.

It looked a little like maybe she wore a magnet around her neck and then stood too close to a toolbox.

OMG. I am not watching but your recaps are making me laugh. So can contestants ONLY sing songs from off albums of former contestants? Daughtry, Carrie, and DavidC? Heh. I am really shocked that anyone would even try Magic Rainbow. I lurve it now because it’s grown on me. Am so happy that it went platinum and reigned on the AC at #1 for so long for DC. But the song alone? Um, probably not my favorite song ever written. Heh. So many others to choose from, no?

Even though Stephen forgot the lyrics I like his tone better than Ju’Not.

Matt is my frontrunner and Ann Marie has a beautiful voice!

OMG – Michael Sarver has to sing for his life???

I can’t believe Tatiana got through. She’s a nutcase….but she’s good for the camera and DRAMA!
And the ones who forgot the lyrics — my god! that’s the #1 reason to get booted off but they got through.

I gotta say..

Matt FTW!
This guy is incredible. Wow. I think his style reminds me a bit of Gavin de Graw.

I think Danny is super talented too but I think Matt is even better. JMHO.

Did not like Adam’s song AT ALL.
LOVED Matt, definitely my favorite right now. Also liked Danny, Jamar and Anoop.

Now Juà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Not > Stephen

See why it got to be one or the other black guy.

Maybe because I am black? :rolleyes_wp: It’s more of a comparison of like voices than anything. They just so happened to be…black!

Adam Lambert will quickly get on my nerves. That pretty much sucked. I’m still loving the tone of Danny Gokey’s voice. Jamar was good, but he’s weird. Love, love, love Michael Sarver.

And…how about Matt Giraud? Oh my gosh, “Georgia” was absolutely brilliant!! Those runs were effortless. By far, that’s my favorite Hollywood performance.

Again, ugh, Adam Lambert!!

Am I wrong for being happy that Joanna Pacitti had a nerve attack? Hmmmm…

Actually, I’m not liking any of the girls this year.

I believe, Adam!!!!

Adam, Matt, and Danny – top 3.

And Boo for the Past Idol Winner’s singles being sung – no one should be singing Kelly/Carrie.

I’m a little skeered that Matt is going to peak too early and go into this as a front runner, and that’s going to screw him in the long run. So far, his song choices and style are definitely music I’d invest in, and I’d like him to continue to improve and get the exposure to put him in a place where he’ll be able to make music in the future…but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve latched onto an Idol early in the competition only to see him either fizzle out or suffer from “over popularity” and get an early boot (or not make it to the Top 12/10). I like Danny too, but I think some of the overexposure backlash has started already (based on other boards I read), and that makes me sad.

Note: I very much dislike Tatiana. I feel it is important to add that disclaimer to every post I make from now until she is off my teevee.

wow, really underwhelming overall. I didn’t think anyone really stood out and many sounded pretty bad and not just because of dropped lyrics.

hey, maybe last year really WAS the BEST! 24! EVER!

Matt was the best of the night. For the first time I actually liked Ann Marie, but she seems to be so insecure. Always wondering what she should or not do… not a good sign.

It’s interesting that they’re not pimping Joanna much. They didn’t show her last week and this week they show her forgetting the lyrics. I bet she probably did great during the rest of the song, but they don’t want her to be a frontrunner so soon. Which is why I think Danny won’t win this at all. He gets more airtime than anyone else (well, he and Tatiana).

It looked like Cody and Alex will be in for the last spot. If it is so it’s funny cause last year there was the pretty young guy and the geek young guy too, but the pretty one made it. This year the geek one will go to the top 36.

Paula was drunk, she just wouldn’t stop clapping. I don’t think they were all that good.

Btw, Adam has no problems about assuming he is gay. I’m curious to see how that turns out with the audience and all. Has Idol ever had a contestant assuming that he/she is homossexual? (during the show)

Wow, lots of bad singers went through. Lots of people making funny faces while singing doesn’t look that great on HD – I’m looking at you Adam, Kirstin, Scott (sorry, but true), Kai. I still like Matt, Stephen Fowler the best. A couple of the girls have potential.

However, I’m not enjoying all the “drama.” Plus (and this may change), I can’t imagine any combination of 12 from this show worth paying $ to see on tour. I know they have Cook but couldn’t they have put one rocker guy through?

I missed a few nights of AI, what has happened to Von Smith?

wow, really underwhelming overall. I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think anyone really stood out and many sounded pretty bad and not just because of dropped lyrics.

hey, maybe last year really WAS the BEST! 24! EVER!

Me too! Although some of the girls stood out.

Tatiana=Josiah Leming. Emotional wreck. She won’t get to be a finalist. No way.

Loved Matt. His voice, his presence, his musicianship… all the boxes are checked with this one. I liked Anoop, too.

Danny usually impresses me, but not tonight, for some reason. I was surprised. Still on the fence about Adam. I wish he’d chosen a different song – the Cher thing wasn’t doing it for me…

And the ones who forgot the lyrics à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  my god! thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the #1 reason to get booted off but they got through.

I know, right?! For all this talk about “every performance counts” and “you have to sing for your life,” I was surprised that they let through so many people who’d flubbed their lyrics. Whole lines of lyrics, too à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  not just a couple words. Tsk tsk.

Holy crap what was with the dull song choices?

I hope we dance x 10

Hey there delilah X 10?

I’m replacing my love of Danny Gokey with Matt G. I’m over Danny now. I’ve heard better.

So now my top three gents are Anoop, Adam and Matt G. I’m one happy girl.

Girls failed to impress me. all of them.

I love how they put a bad light on Joplanta! Go away, plant, go away!

Tatiana needs to fall off the face of the earth. Someone I’m sure I’ll see here on some terrible reality show on VH1 in a few years….

God the amount of airtime they’ve spent on that girl! I could have seen more good singers!

Didn’t think “Believe” was a good choice for Adam, but you know, I still love him…and I don’t know what it is about him….

Overall, I’m extremely sad that the Magic Rainbow wanted to resurrect itself tonight. So, so sad. :sad_wp:

Screw it. If Joplanty is allowed into the top 36 after that disaster then bring on Tatiana. At least she remembered most of her words. Besides, the girl amuses me to no end. I might feel differently if I had the misfortune of being trapped with her in an elevator but via my tv? She’s awesome.

Matt was great. I liked Junot and Anoop, and every single person who sang a previous idol song did not measure up for various reasons and for several reasons since there were so many singing “Idol” covers.

I couldn’t remember Danny’s singing because I was so grossed out by Paula gyrating to “I hope you can dance”

Anoop gets so many points in my book for singing “My Prerogative.”

That just made my day. Bobby Brown would be proud. ha.

Adam and JothePlant do the gasping thing. It sucks.

I’m really disappointed in Adam’s song choice. He sounded good, but he’s gonna have to make better choices than that. I hope to hear him use his lower register more.

ETA: And Tatiana, kindly GTFO. Seriously, who cares? In what way is she good TV? I don’t get it.

Anoop gets so many points in my book for singing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My Prerogative.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Oh, yes. Hope he gets plenty of chances to choose to go “old school” on us.

I missed a few nights of AI, what has happened to Von Smith?

Don’t worry he’s still on there, we’ll have suffer through him screaming at us through the tv until he gets eliminated.

If Adam continues to pick songs like Believe he’s not long for this show. Pick crap to sing and you’re a goner. Right now Matt G. has the strongest musicianship out there. Anne Marrie has potential but again not sure about her ability to pick the right songs. Props to Anoop for picking a decent song.

I really like Anoop. I would like him just for his name but he is really really good.

Did they only have so many song choices to choose from?

I was beginning to wonder why we heard so many repeats, or were they just showcasing the people who seemed to sing all the repeats or what?

It was obnoxious. It didn’t make anyone stand out at all. It made me underwhelmed.

Oh well A Castro made me watch Idol in the first place and a Castro might just make me forget that this show exists!

Matt is awesome. He and Anoop are my favorites so far.

I love Matt! Adaminelli???? Uh, no.

It was a really good show tonight! My DH has a crush on Alexis Grace. Pretty girl with a good voice. I am impressed with Matt and Michael, but realize Adam is a shoo-in for TOP 12.

Did any one notice that Joanna Pacitti and Casey Carlson did not hug each other even though they were standing right next to one another crying? Maybe they did off camera.

For me, there’s no Jason Castro. He has that special combination of a good voice, Greek-like looks, and charisma to captivate. Well, at least that’s what I felt right from the beginning of Season 7.

I am still wondering why we have only seen about 5 seconds of Felicia Barton singing this entire season so far. What’s up with that ??

I wonder if they were encouraged to sing recent songs. there were a few old songs (Georgia) but the majority were songs from the past couple of years. I actually think a lot of people sang well, but performing a song that’s currently on the radio (even if it’s moved to AC by now)? I think if Lenesha hadn’t picked Love Song she’d have made it through. It was too mature an image for her, and Sara Barreilles is a terrific singer.

I disagree about Scott singing “Home.” He did fine, and his piano was good, but he’s got a nasally voice that doesn’t compare favorably to Chris Daughtry. I think it’s a mistake to sing a song made famous by someone who sings better than you do.

I’m with everyone re: Tatiana. It’s just not entertaining. Why does AI think we have any interest in watching this super emotional drama queen who’s completely self-involved and either over confident or insecure or both. I really don’t want to see her move on. The competition just won’t be enjoyable with someone like that in the mix bringing all the talented people down.

Does anybody know if the Tampa boy actually got to Hollywood? I think his name is Cesar – I thought I had seen him with the golden ticket at the auditions but somehow lost him in Hollywood.

Love Adam but he has to choose better songs. Matt will get stronger and Tatiana will get more annoying! Good for TV though.

Anoop will be the surprise of the season – hope he keeps going with the “old school” R&B!

GO DANNY!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m really disappointed in Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s song choice. He sounded good, but heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gonna have to make better choices than that. I hope to hear him use his lower register more.

Unfortunately, I’m starting to think he doesn’t have a lower register. Which is perfectly fine if you’re into that kind of style. But I tend to like male singers with somewhat deeper voices.

I thought that Matt did a pretty good job. He is definitely talented and I enjoyed his performance.

I thought that Nate did a decent job.

I would have liked to see more of Anoop’s performance.

Steven Fowler messed up, but I do like him and his voice. I think that his voice is nice and hopefully he can keep it together and stay consistant. It could be nice if he stayed around and made the finals.

Would have liked to see Jesse Lang tonight, because she is my favorite girl.

Speaking of the girls, I don’t care for most of them even though I thought that Mishavonna was okay tonight. She was the best of the girl’s tonight IMO.

Casey should have went home. She has a mediocre voice and she forgot the lyrics.

I like Kenny Haufpouer, I would have liked to have seen more of him.

Still not a fan of Lil but she sounded better singing the Alicia Keys song than she did the Whitney Houston song.

IMO, Norman continued not to impress, and I think it would have been better if he had just came out as himself. But he says that he makes up his mind about who he wants to be like 5 minutes before he peforms. We’ll see how that will work out in the semifinals, and if he actually make the finals.

Tatiana continues to be the most annoying contestant ever on this show. I feel for the other contestants and the fact that they will have to deal with her a lot.

No Carly and Michael again?

Also, why aren’t they showing more of Anoop on the show?

But hey, I totally dug Matt and Danny. They gave me chills. :clap_tb:

OMG, Matt G rocks my world. He’s like a mix of John Mayer/Adam Levine/JT/ a bunch of other male musicians I love. Still rooting for Anoop. Am off the Adam train for now. Did not like the faces, the girl voice, the overt claim to be all original and different (why don’t you show us and have us decide rather than tell us upfront?)

It was really strange to hear all the Idol songs. Too bad that cool Stephen Fowler guy messed up Magic Rainbows– I think a piano version with his voice would’ve been cool to hear. Kristen M surprised me and didn’t suck on a Kelly Clarkson song. I don’t think the girls doing Carrie were very good, but it seems like they went though. Tattoo was a good choice for Jasmine, but still not feeling her. Tatiana and Nathan… WHY won’t you leave my TV??

Matt is awesome. He and Anoop are my favorites so far.

Ditto!

I don’t get the whole Norman/Nick thing. What’s the show about really? If they’re looking for comedians who sing, they aren’t looking for a future recording artist; they’re looking for a stage performer.

Whoever it may be, I pity the girl stuck with Tatiana as a roommate.

I really liked Matt G tonight. Danny was ok. Wanted to hear more from Anoop and was Jessica Langseth???? shown at all tonight??? She is another one I would like to see more of.

Don’t tell Sarah…but I am kinda over Adam. Dude needs to chill. The OOT theatrics is turning me off bigtime.

Love, love, love Matt G. and Anoop. Sorry to everyone else that does because it means they will go out around midway in the season.

Tonight, best performance was a three way tie between Matt G/Anoop/ and Junot Joyner. Is there a reason they couldn’t have shown us more of Junot? Oh yeah, because he might replace a chosen one in the hearts of the viewer.

Really wished they would have just put Tatiana in a room by herself…

Love, love, love Michael Sarver.

Me too!

Donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t tell Sarahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but I am kinda over Adam. Dude needs to chill. The OOT theatrics is turning me off bigtime.

Right on sister. Not only was that song choice laughable – it wasn’t good at all.

I have to believe that America will quickly dispose of Tatiana.

Unfortunately, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m starting to think he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have a lower register. Which is perfectly fine if youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re into that kind of style. But I tend to like male singers with somewhat deeper voices.

No, that’s the thing, he does! I’ve heard it in some of his YouTube videos. I mean, not like really deep obviously, but a lower tenor. I think because some of his YouTube vids are so good, I now have impossibly high standards for him, lol.

Wow, Nate Marshall with guitar, that was pretty impressive. Totally changed my perspective of him. Stephen Fowler is my favorite so far. So glad that he was put thru…hope he goes all the way!

Dayum, that was a whole lot of horrible singing for one show. Seriously, every girl was terrible. Is “Before He Cheats” really that hard to sing? Hey There Delilah? Love Song? Really? Most of the arrangements were really odd. I think I would have preferred that Adam just sing his Cher song disco style instead of whatever that was he did to it.

I felt like I was watching a montage of bad auditions from the city rounds. No one even came close to doing Carrie, Kelly, David, Jordin or Chris justice, but it was kind of fun watching people scream, mutter or just plain sing flatly through their songs. How complicated are the lyrics to Magic Rainbowz. You just mix up a bunch of cliched metaphors in waltz time. I also enjoyed “Live every second like you was a tattoo.”

I guess I would pick Matt and Anoop as sounding the most like people who should be making the finals of a singing competition.

I’m really loving Anoop and Matt. None of the girls really stood out to me though :/

Unfortunately, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m starting to think he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have a lower register.

That boy just walked all over my nerves tonight with his pointy-toed boots. I’m beginning to step off the Adam train.

Dang, Matt Giraud is still good…even after 15 listens.

mattmattmattmattmatt… wooooooooo!

Do NONE of the girls play instruments??!! BROOKE, COME BACK!

A run-down of tonight’s performers because there are so many other things I should be doing with my time.

Adam– I liked this better than his audition, but I wish he wouldn’t push his upper range so hard because it’s going into Von’s territory. If he keeps singing like this, let’s just say he will NOT be one of my favorites.

Matt Giraud– I can’t believe he taught himself to play the piano. He has potential. I liked him during group rounds, this just sealed the deal for me. Hopefully him being my initial favorite (hey, there is a possibility he could screw up during the semi’s right?) won’t be the kiss of death for him, because my favorite has NEVER won. Ever.

Jamar Rogers– DANG, he should have made the Top 36. He really stood out with this song, and I think he’s awesome.

Danny Gokey– He was my favorite from the audition rounds. I love his voice–he’s obviously talented–but didn’t like the falsetto at the end. Definitely a front-runner, but then again, Carrie Underwood is the only front-runner (coming out of the Hollywood rounds) who has ever won, right? Also, where would he fit in in today’s music industry? AC artist? Doesn’t David Cook already fill that spot? Call me a skeptic, but I doubt he’ll be the next American Idol.

Anoop Dogg– Nice, smooth voice. I wish they had shown more of him.

Scott– I think his voice is too smooth to sing something like “Home.” Didn’t Paula giving EVERYONE a standing O? Oh right, he wouldn’t have been able to see that! [/Ryan moment]

Lil Rounds– Hopefully, Lil takes more risks with her song choices or she is going to be Lakisha 2.0, choosing the most predictable (african-american) belter songs. Zzzzzz.

Joanna– She sounded like an inarticulate Kat McPhee. Oh wait, that was redundant!

Michael Sarver– He seemed to run out of breath in several spots, but I guess of the voiceover said it was good, it was good!

Norman Gentle– Congratulations, Nick, you were better than Joplanty!

Matt … Matt … Matt. I absolutely refuse to be drawn into AI again this year. i don’t care that you blew me away tonight and that I totally was not expecting it. No siree, I absolutely do not.

I will not be impressed.
I will not be impressed.
I will not be impressed.
I will not be impressed.
I will not be impressed.

Damnit. It’s not working. :mad_tb:

Once again, despite the comments here so far, Danny Gokey KICKS ASS! Matt also very much impressed me and should be another front runner now. Also love Michael Sarver and Scott. Anoop is just OK, but I’m not getting the hype. Not getting Adam either.

For the girls, Stevie Wright is the best one I’ve seen so far. Wish they would’ve shown her more tonight…hard to judge on one line of a song. But it sounded good from what they showed. I like Kristen’s voice too, but the song wasn’t fitting her well tonight. And Anne Marie has a really great voice. I think I still like Taylor V. too, but have no idea how she did tonight not being shown. The rest of the girls can go home as far as I’m concerned.

And for the love of God, GET TATIANA OFF MY TV NOW!!!!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a little skeered that Matt is going to peak too early and go into this as a front runner, and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to screw him in the long run.

Uh oh– just read that… this is my first time going into semi’s with a favorite, so I really hope that’s not going to happen with Matt…

Also, where would he fit in in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s music industry? AC artist? Doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t David Cook already fill that spot?

Err? David Cook is an AC artist? Cuz of one song (TOML) that’s not indicative of his sound…?

Do NONE of the girls play instruments??!! BROOKE, COME BACK!

That one girl with the annoying singing face (IMO) who butchered Jason Mraz in her audition (when the window screen fell down), and proceeded to sound like Amanda Overmeyer last week– she was shown with a guitar. That said, I agree, where are the Brooke Whites this season?! She was by far my fave girl in S7, and none of these girls are really impressing me yet.

Folks I know a lot of you are annoyed with Tatiana, but you gotta live with her for a few weeks. SHE MADE THE TOP 36 and the guys at Vote For the Worst will try their darndest to make sure she stays and stays and stays…

Tatiana… she made the top 36 just because she’s so damn annoying people will keep tuning in to watch her get voted off.. imo.

Again, Anoop is still my top DAWG! I wish they showed more. But I was also impressed with Ju’not tonight too. Strange that I’m into the R&B guys instead of the Rock guys this season. Could it be that subconsciously I’m thinking there can be no one better than DC and its coloring my view? Hmm…

That giant sucking sound was of all the girls performances tonight… lol

WHY IN THE HELL did Tatiana make the Top 36?! What are they thinking?!

I have to admit I was rolling on the floor when they kept showing the drama-est of the drama queens Nate Marshall having continual emotional breakdowns interspliced with him singing Disturbia…cry/cry/whine/whine…Disturbia….cry/cry/whine/whine/sniffle…Disturbia…

BWAH!!

Also, IMO, I want to thank Scott McIntyre for a beautiful rendition of “Home”. I really hate that song, but I loved Scott’s version.

Dear PTB,

Please open up your checkbook a little and let the contestants sing something other than idol hand-me-downs.

Thank you because there is only so many bad screechy versions of Before He Cheats that a person should have to listen to in a lifetime,
t2

I hate Tatiana.

AI PRODUCERS, PLEASE SHOW MORE SINGING!
I can’t believe that the good singers are not aired to give Tatiana and that guy in the drama group last week more time..gah!

Strange that Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m into the R&B guys instead of the Rock guys this season.

Maybe because this year almost everyone is R&B or Soul and it’s impossible to find a rock guy.

Adam can sing in a lower register, just go to u-tube and listen to him in the Ten Commandments singing “Is Anybody Listening.” I thought pointed toe boots were in as both Taylor and David Cook wore them alot. But will say I wasn’t thrilled with Adam’s song choice but he still has lots of charisma. Masterclass Lady on her site has lots of praise for him. The Idol fun is just starting.

Folks I know a lot of you are annoyed with Tatiana, but you gotta live with her for a few weeks. SHE MADE THE TOP 36 and the guys at Vote For the Worst will try their darndest to make sure she stays and stays and staysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

You’re right, Tatiana is the perfect choice for their selection. I wish she and Joanna would just nicely go away. Please.

Here is Adam in the Ten Commandements

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwcJUhIa0U

He’s got an amazing lower register.

First, MJ THANKS!! for getting those videos up so fast. I missed the first 15 minutes, and was dying to see what Adam did. Not my favorite song, and I agree that I need to hear his whole range, not just the shriller places he tends to go. But I still find him fascinating to watch, and I’d rather watch his “theatrics” than Tatiana’s or Normund’s any day..

Matt really does seem like one to watch. And it was so nice to finally see someone playing an instrument. Isn’t he the guy that works as a dueling pianist? I think that will really give him an edge. Alot of the contestants last year had issues with nerves when trying to play their instrument and sing at the same time, it should be a breeze for Matt…

Hmmm…so far, Adam’s storyline is playing out the way I imagined it would from the set up at his audition. Theatricality/OTT-ish-ness…will it be his downfall? Dum dum DUM… Stay tuned. The challenge for him now will be to show some progression and an ability to reign it in and deliver something stripped down without losing his sense of self. If he can pull that off, he’s got a shot to win. If not, they will theatrical him right off of the show, a la Michael and his refusal to relinquish the rock anthems.

Didn’t Cookie face some trumped up peril of not advancing in Hollywood? I remember something about SImon not liking him and Cook joking that it must be the hair.

Matt was great tonight. Danny was eh. Anoop was great….. And it’s a lonnnng season ahead.

Oh, and Magic Rainbow is only magical when Cookie sings it. Otherwise, it’s just plain old Time of my Life.

It’s the little… mewling thing… that Adam does that I don’t like right now. No doubt he can sing… that’s what’s bothering me, figured it out when he did it tonight, hehe.

I love Matt Giraud, he was great!

Make Tatiana go away… now.

I still like Adam, but that was the silliest ass song choice in the history of song choices.

I liked Anoop, Danny, Matt. I know Jamar is toast, but it makes me sad. The girls, eh.

deleted.

i loved Anoop:)

I only saw the first half hour and wasn’t impressed. I’ve been hearing all the hype about Adam, and I have to say, WTF was that? He announces that he’s going to make a song his own and then he turns a fun Cher song into a Josh Groban tune? At least you can dance ironically to the Cher version. And when he was saying it, I thought… Oh no, because of Blake and Cookie we are going to get all these re-vamped versions of songs.

I like Danny’s voice, but what terrible song. I didn’t get Matt, either. If they had a choice of songs, why did so many of them choose past Idol songs?

Too tired to watch the whole show now. I’ll tune in tomorrow, I guess.

This show is becoming a joke. What the heck was the deal with the “judge’s mansion” and “sing for your place”?? are they trying to make this show a cross between The Bachelor and So You Think You Can Dance?! Thank God my faves auditioned last year…

Love, love, love Matt G. and Anoop. Sorry to everyone else that does because it means they will go out around midway in the season.

Yesss! Add me to the list of Anoop and Matt fans!!! They are definitely my two favorites.
Okay, the kept previewing a 4 second video of Anoop just to show us a 6 second one??
But I love their song choices. Unlike all the people who did the past idol songs. And I Hope You Dance. And pretty much almost every other song I heard. Like, what the hell. But I’m sure they really didn’t get that great of a selection either.

Well, my favorites usually get pretty far in the competition.

Danny is seriously being way too overpimped. And I still don’t think his voice is that great. Why didn’t they show Anoop for that long!? Adam is just.. eh. Not liking the super high notes. Tatiana better not make it to the finals.

I kinda wanted to hear Von. His singing.. err screaming makes me laugh.

Lol, I thought it was funny how everyone in that one room got nervous when Tatiana walked in. I seriously don’t understand why they had to make that switch anyways. She was in a group that made it through, and they just moved her into another group that made it through.

Oh, and what was up with all the really weird arrangements? Like.. almost to the point where you’re not sure if theyre out of tune or not. I just really wanted to hear some people sing the songs straight.

Is it too much to ask to have Adam, Anoop, Matt G, Junot Joyner and Kris Allen be the final five? I’d like to also throw Michael Sarver in there, but am afraid I might be pushing my luck.

After Patrick Hall (season 5), I try not to fall in love with anyone on Hollywood week. Bitter, party of one.

What the heck was the deal with the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“judgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mansionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sing for your placeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ??

That reminded me of the Rockstar mansion and the bottom 3 rawkers having to sing for their lives to be saved by the judges…

I would powervote for Tatiana if it meant I could get Norman Gentle off my tv. I’d rather chew carpet than endure another second of his schtick.

LOVED Matt. Also really dug Adam and Junot. Enjoyed Anoop much better this week than I had in the past and wished they’d shown more, even though I hate the song – at least it wasn’t an Idol song.

I was disappointed not to see anything of Jesse Lang, but glad they finally showed Mishavonna.

After Patrick Hall (season 5), I try not to fall in love with anyone on Hollywood week. Bitter, party of one.

Heh, you’re not alone at that party…sooooo sad…

They showed a shot of Ryan Johnson in Room 3 (Michael Castro’s room). Does this mean the spoilers were WRONG and Ryan didn’t even make it into the Top 50??

It’s at 0:42 on the video mj put up.

tierbee…

what is “mewling”?

LittleBoyBlue:

Folks I know a lot of you are annoyed with Tatiana, but you gotta live with her for a few weeks. SHE MADE THE TOP 36 and the guys at Vote For the Worst will try their darndest to make sure she stays and stays and staysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I came on here to say VFTW, Pul-eeeeeeze do not make us suffer through Tatiana for long.

Norman in on his knees begging you.

Nate is crying and whining to you.

The moldy closet guy is saying put her in a closet.

Adam (Liza) is singing to you like a girl and begging.

Danny is keeping a level head and saying C’mon guys.

Von Smith is shouting at you.

Matt and Anoop are simply disgusted they’re on the same show with her.

And last of all: the girls are saying, VOTE ME OFF so I don’t have to live with this girl any longer!!!!!

Tatiana made it through and Leneshe didn’t. Leneshe, GO FOR IT next year, unless you get a contract in the meantime.

Now for my favs: Danny G. and Matt G. are close to interchangeable to me at this point. Though I’ve like Danny a little longer, Matt just blew me away tonight!

As far a girls go, Jesse Langseth (even though we’ve seen very little) and Alexis Grace currently stand out to me.

I think the first few weeks of semi-finals will shed a lot of light on who should stay and who should go.

My favorites remain Anoop and Danny but also enjoyed Matt G and Jamar tonight. I still like Scott and Stephen Fowler but not so much tonight. I thought the girls were underwhelming especially with their song choices although I did like Stevie. I know Adam has a good voice but still am not liking him. There were others that I’d have like to see more of and definitely ones I wanted to see much less of (Tatiana, that means you). Why keep her and send Leneshe home?

No Michael or Carly yet. :down_tb:

Mewling… it’s “crying weakly/whimpering” which is what it reminds me of when Adam has that sort of whining sound at the end of some of his notes. I know it’s a weird term to attach to a voice that is strong like his but it is like nails on a chalkboard to me how some of the notes tail off into a whimper!

I have to admit I was rolling on the floor when they kept showing the drama-est of the drama queens Nate Marshall having continual emotional breakdowns interspliced with him singing Disturbiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦cry/cry/whine/whineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Disturbiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.cry/cry/whine/whine/sniffleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Disturbiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

BWAH!!

t2, me too!

BTW: I really liked the tone of Stephen Fowler’s voice even though he completely blew the lyrics of TOML. OF COURSE, they would film him saying the lyrics were no problem. It cracked me up that he chose that song, because after the Carrie songs, my family said, wouldn’t it be funny if someone sang a DC song? THIS was the last one I expected, however, the only other one on the radio right now, LO, would have been a complete failure if anyone would have tried it.

I’d like to hear more from Kenny Hoffpauer. It looks like he was in a room that made it through to the top 50.

He’s been on for like a total of 5 seconds yet is one of the few who stands out.

I hope the list is wrong and he makes the top 36.

MJ, the links for the videos for Anoop and Jorge go to Danny Gokey’s video instead.

Did they say at the end that the next episode would be at the judges mansion? What’s that about? Here’s an idea- how about the Idols and the judges all live together in the judges mansion? Paula and Kara can room with Tatiana, Simon can be roommates with Nate, and Randy can live with Normund. Now THAT would be TV I’d pay to see!

Anyway… I really liked Mishavonna tonight. I’ve been waiting for her to show up, since I liked what I heard from her last fall when the spoilers came out. Also liked Anoop, Matt, Scott, and Danny. I still like Stephen Fowler too.

I just don’t know what to make of Adam. A Cher song done like it’s from a musical? Ummm, okay. Especially weird when we know his own band is a rock band, even though he’s a stage actor as well. He’s capable of so much more than what he did tonight.

Matt was very good. Danny not so much (maybe I got on his train too early and am already bored . Anne Marie was very good too.

Adam is very appealing even if I didn’t like his song choice. I’m very interested in seeing how he progresses. He’s a very sweet and talented boy who is very different and who has to figure out how to make it all work in a pop world. (when his world is so different)

I feel this is the weakest final Hollywood round I have seen. I don’t remember hearing my two fav girls – megan and jesse. I fear the show is becoming a farce after tonight.

I still Flove Adam AND Anoop (honey if you sing Bobby Brown’s “Roni” I will SO be your biyatch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey5hWPFBvcM

I’ve become more impressed with Matt Giraud this week.

Danny Gokey is really good but the excessive pimpage….man…and backlash comiing in 10…9…8…7…

OMG! I just had a thought! Wouldn’t it be funny if they had us vote OFF the ones we liked least up until the top 12?

I could just hear it: Ryan dramatically saying, “Here we are back to the semi-finals, with a twist!” “Pay extra close attention to all of the numbers!” Then at the end of the first show, “Have your numbers ready and stay tuned for the the twist, AFTER the break!”

Okay, I’m probably talking out of my arse, but just a thought. LOL. :foot_in_mouth_tb:

That said, I agree, where are the Brooke Whites this season?! She was by far my fave girl in S7, and none of these girls are really impressing me yet.

ugh, I know. I’m really pulling for a girl to win this season coz I don’t want a male winner two years in a row but these girls are not bringing it at all. IMO, none of the girls they keep showcasing has even just a quarter of the talent Brooke has. Meghan Corkrey sounds promising but I haven’t heard her sing since her audition. Jessa Langseth too, but I’ve only heard her for like 5 seconds. And of course, they cut the other promising girl in my book- Leneshe Young.

Haven’t watched this yet since I’m at work but I’m LOLing at Adam’s song choice. I think he may be trying to make a statement. And all these comments about Matt has got me excited, can’t wait to see it for myself.

bean99 Feb 10th, 2009 at 11:47 pm

No Michael or Carly yet. :down_tb:

Darn. I was hoping to see Carly mentor JoPlanta.

t2 Feb 10th, 2009 at 11:42 pm

After Patrick Hall (season 5), I try not to fall in love with anyone on Hollywood week. Bitter, party of one.

Heh, youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re not alone at that partyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦sooooo sadà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I wish Patrick could have accompanied himself on the piano. I knew he was doomed when he performed first on the guys’ top 24 night. In the AI8 top 36 semifinals divided among 3 groups of twelve, there will be three anti-pimp spots reserved for the producers’ least favorite cannon fodder.

I’m hearing the top 50 is actually a top 54.

And I agree, Leneshe was definitely robbed. Why was she cut and many much worse – especially Tatiana – kept?

And when he was saying it, I thoughtà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Oh no, because of Blake and Cookie we are going to get all these re-vamped versions of songs

Speaking only for Cookie (because I didn’t watch S6), the trick isn’t in rearranging a song … but rearranging it well.

An art form that David Cook has down to a fine science. :wink_wp:

Anoop (honey if you sing Bobby Brownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ronià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I will SO be your biyatch!

*Busting a gut!* *Catching my breath*

An art form that David Cook has down to a fine science.

Not hating in Cookie or anything, but several of those awesome re-arrangements were copies of other artists arrangements. Like “Billy Jean” and “Eleanor Rigby”. Although, I will give him Mariah’s “Always Be My Baby”. I think that one was all him.

I’m joining the Matt love boat! He was awesome… Great voice, great musicianship and he has that whole “simple guy” appeal that would make a great rags to riches storyline. And he plays the piano really, really well.

Matt Giraud, where have you been all my life?

Go Adam and Matt G! Go Anoop! :clap_tb:

I disagree about Scott singing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Home.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  He did fine, and his piano was good, but heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s got a nasally voice that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t compare favorably to Chris Daughtry. I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a mistake to sing a song made famous by someone who sings better than you do.

I think Scott’s situation coupled with his singing is inspiring, but I don’t think he is good enough to be in the top 12.

are they trying to make this show a cross between The Bachelor and So You Think You Can Dance?!

I watched SYTYCD last season and I can see a lot of similarities.

I am sure I am not the only one who just about screamed every time they kept going back to show the judges making drama while arranging the cards. Just let us see the performances. Enough of the manipulation and pimping already!!

Not hating in Cookie or anything, but several of those awesome re-arrangements were copies of other artists arrangements.

Even so, it’s akin to song choice. Whether you’re creating the arrangement or picking one from those done by other artists, the trick is in using an arrangement that works for your voice and style. It doesn’t matter how well the arrangement may or may not have worked for someone else, if you can’t make it work for you.

DC also rearranged The World I Know, Little Sparrow, and Dream Big, to name a few.

MJ, Nate’s video link goes to Kendall’s video! Thanks for putting these up though. My Tivo was giving me the Gray Screen of Death for the 1st 10 minutes.

cay Feb 11th, 2009 at 12:06 am

Adam is very appealing even if I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like his song choice. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m very interested in seeing how he progresses. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a very sweet and talented boy who is very different and who has to figure out how to make it all work in a pop world. (when his world is so different)

Well said, cay, and I agree. I can’t stand that annoying Cher song, but I still like Adam anyway because 1) he is simply phenomenal as a singer, 2) he seems confident enough to survive all the stress without being cocky, and 3) he is different from any other AI contestant ever — but different in a way that should work for him and the show.

As someone who has steadfastly refused to check out any of the original music and just judge them on their performances on the show, I can’t see anything at all unique about Adam.

On the surface, he seems like a theater boi trying to be a Fall Out Boy.

ETA: Love him or hate him, Blake’s arrangements were his.

Whether youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re creating the arrangement or picking one from those done by other artists, the trick is in using an arrangement that works for your voice and style.

Yeah I agree but just talking about the “science” of rearranging, we’re just saying, his rearrangements from last season could not all be credited to David Cook. He did have a little help, not hating.. just stating a fact.

Anyway, looking at the list of the performances…wow, they sang the same songs a lot of time… did they make them choose from a list of 10 songs or something. WTF.

Adam Lambert- not the best song choice..but i like what he did better the Cher.

Matt Giraud – Very good…has been pretty great since the beginning

Jamar Rogers – I liked what he did with the song…im very much on the fence with him
Danny Gokey – was not at his best tonight..didnt like the song choice for him….he sorta sounds like michael bolton…which is not a bad thing

Anoop Desai – also has been great since the beginning….looking forward to his song choices

Jorge Nunez – he was ok tonight…i hope he sings some Marc Anthony on the show..im sure he will

Scott McIntyre – this was ok…it sounded like he was going to lose it ..but he kept it steady..not bad

Kendall Beard – was ok
Stevie Wright – was ok
Lil Rounds -way better then last week
Kristen McNamara – i liked it…she has some power
Mishavonna Henson – i dont remember this
Tatiana Del Toro -though annoying…she was better then most girls tonight
Alexis Grace -was ok
Kenny Haufpouer – nice tone..not amazing
Jasmine Murray -i dont remember this
Nate Marshall – I liked what he did with the song…was good

Joanna Pacitti – i’m suprised she made it after she hummed the song. Maybe the picked her because she has already been made into a pop star…look wise?
oh and they heard her cd and saw her music videos

Casey Carlson – i dont remember this either

Stephen Fowler – nice voice…almost got the words right…haha..he should be good on the show

Nick Mitchell as Normund Gentle – the man, the myth, the legend. I love this guy…dont hate him if he makes it…he wont win….we could probably all name who the top 5 will be right now and be right…so what if Nick finishes in 8th? Maybe he will get a sitcom out of it. If the contestant is talented and doesn’t make the main show then they should be able to make it on their own with the little exposure they rec’d

Anne Marie Boskovich -she was ok
JuNot Joyner – nice tone
Kaylan Lloyd – this was not bad

Leneshe Young – i like her…this performance was ok…i dont think they have shown much of her…her audition was good…but she didnt show anything spectacular

Kai Kalama -on the fence with Kai..has potential
Michael Sarver – he is pretty good..but i dont think he can hang with the big boys
India Morrison – terrible…should not have made it to hollywood

no Ricky brady….why are they hiding him?

Jessica and lil rounds are probably the best girls right now…the rest need to step of their game

lot of stars on the guys side…anoop, matt, adam, danny..if you add Paula favorite Ricky Brady..that could be the top 5 right there

I think a lot of those kids sang the previous contestant’s songs because they thought it was a surefire way to be shown on TV. Strategy, me thinks.

As someone who has steadfastly refused to check out any of the original music and just judge them on their performances on the show, I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see anything at all unique about Adam.

Ditto. Well, other than the uncanny resemblence to Liza.

I don’t think they’ve actually given any screen time to the girls I’ll probably like. So, I’ll wait until the real competition begins. Although I like several singers, I don’t have a favorite yet.

(honey if you sing Bobby Brownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ronià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I will SO be your biyatch!

LOL, I’d pay good money to see that.

I just re-checked the Video links, and they should be all set now.

Also, I talked to the guys who run my server, and if you were wondering why we came back all of a sudden tonight, they tweaked a database setting that greatly improved performance tonight…so… keep your fingers crossed!

Matt Giraud – à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Georgia”

I was sitting here watching Jeopardy and trying to cleanse my brain of the show tonight. I just gotta wonder why Matt, with all of his talent, would pick such an old song… something like a guy who performs in a piano bar would play. I don’t want to hear “Georgia” on Idol.

Go Anoop! Go Matt G (that one was a big surprise to me). I felt bad for Stephen Fowler but he does have a good voice so glad he got thru. Stevie & Jasmine were pretty much the only girls i liked. Wow people shouldn’t try to sing Carrie Underwood songs, it was sad.

Oh and Tatiana is a pain in my fanny! The woman is so fake and I’m sure the other contestants aren’t too fond of her either.

ETA: LOL on Adam singing Cher!!!

I’m still enjoying the heck out of Nick Mitchell/Normund Gentle. I think his ambivalent duality exemplifies my love-hate relationship with AI. Or else I’m just a sucker for over-the-top physical shtick.

We’re supposed to hate Tatiana, but I don’t. I do, however, resent the producers for wasting so much air time on manufactured drama instead of sparing five seconds for a Hollywood week snippet of Michael Castro with audio, for pity’s sake. After the way Jason was thrown under the bus last year, I get that Michael was never going to have a serious shot this season. But I don’t understand why his audition was featured so prominently and then he fell off the face of the earth.

I was more impressed by Matt Giraud’s musicianship than his singing. It is extremely difficult to do both well at the same time and I think he gave greater attention to his excellent keyboard skills. Unfortunately, Stephen Fowler couldn’t do either and I hope he rebounds.

Right now I’m counting on Jesse Langseth to redeem our gender or it will be the most lopsided season since AI3 when the girls ruled.

My gosh, the guys are light-years ahead of the girls this year. The ratio should be like 26 guys to 10 girls, at most. There are so few girls who aren’t completely cliche.

Junot Joyner was impressive.

This show has jumped the freakin shark. This show has reached drama of CW-like proportions.

Who thinks Adam will sing an Aretha song next week? I somehow feel that’s the logical step after Cher.

“R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me!” I can picture it now.

:ponder_tb:

ETA: sock-it-to-me-sock-it-to-me-sock-it-to-me-sock-it-to-me

This show has jumped the freakin shark. This show has reached drama of CW-like proportions.

LOL. You’re right…

mj Feb 11th, 2009 at 12:57 am

I just re-checked the Video links, and they should be all set now.

Also, I talked to the guys who run my server, and if you were wondering why we came back all of a sudden tonight, they tweaked a database setting that greatly improved performance tonightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦soà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks mj! I’ve got to say, “You’ve got the power!” And fingers crossed!

As someone who has steadfastly refused to check out any of the original music and just judge them on their performances on the show, I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t see anything at all unique about Adam.

I don’t think it’s about being unique as much as the potential to be controversial and envelope pushing within the context of AI. In a good way, not a Sanjaya way. Those types of performers (I’d include both Blake and Cook in that category, for example, and Jacob Hoggard from CI) are the ones who change the show for the better. That said, Adam very well could keep picking the wrong songs, annoy America, and crash and burn.

I’m curioius why you refuse to check out the pre-AI stuff? Only because I’m just the opposite. I lost interest in AI around the time of Season 2-3 largely because of the whole “singing competition” mantra that Randy liked to stress. They made it mostly about vocals, and it bored me. I just don’t think I can learn enough about an artist watching them sing less than two minutes of a cover song every week, and I find the old tubey vids and my space tunes and such to be very helpful now in sparking some genuine interest, and also in weeding out the real deals from the empy big voices.

Yeah, so far the guys are bringing it way more than the girls. So, so many cliche, marginal performances tonite. So far, of those who AI has deigned to show us, I’d have to go with the consensus forming here about Matt G., Adam, Danny and Anoop. I also want to give it up for NickNorm! The man is mad fun and talented and I’m glad he’s on the show.

I don’t like where AI is going by allowing Tatiana to advance and previewing a descent into reality world hell with the addition of the ‘judge’s mansion’. Very, very bad sign IMHO.

One thing that may occur if indeed Tatiana is allowed into the Top 36 as predicted, is that it could encourage more people to vote for Anyone-But-Tatiana to cancel out the well-known proclivities of VFTW. In fact, maybe TPTB have her on the show just to boost the voting.

I’m not sure if I like any of the girls this year. I guess time will tell…

So basically I’m watching this show for Anoop (LOVE!), Danny, Matt, Adam…and occasional glimpses of David Archuleta from S7. Hmmm.

What’s with Idol short-changing Felicia Barton? Is she not bat shit insane enough to get any airtime? Or is she being lame and just singing well?

I think the choice of Cher, a icon in the gay community, was a calculated move by Adam, and a smart one. I like him more and more each time I see him.

Oh Tatiana, how I enjoy thee! I have a feeling tomorrow the judges are going to have a hard time telling her whether or not she is advancing to the Top 36 because she’ll start pleading and begging at least 10 minutes before she is actually called to the chair.

Best moment of the night = when Rm 2 makes it through and Alex W-T jumps into Kai’s arms who twirls him around a couple times! Worth a rewind to catch that and chuckle again.

Still very impressed with Danny and Matt has earned some serious contention. Gotta agree with the upstream comment that his musicality may be stronger than his voice. But I’m one who’s looking for the creative and unique. I can’t get on the Anoop bandwagon for some reason. Not impressed with Michael Sarver (meh), Jorge (ugh) or Scott (ho hum).

And holy sheet, I can NOT watch Adaminelli sing. I get the mewling comment, but I think it’s more a mush mouth version of Michael Jackson’s over used hiccup thingy he was always doing (how on earth do you describe that noise???). The only girls worth the air time were Mishavonna and Ann Marie. Passable voices but nothing to get excited about.

I’m mostly disappointed due to the lack of air time for Michael Castro and Felicia Barton ~ at least give a couple seconds before you send them packing! And I’m dying to hear more from Meghan Corkery and Cody Sheldon (horror boy). Better spread out the on air love for the rest of the 36 contenders tomorrow night.

Call me chatty Cathy tonight, but I also had to express my total disgust with what’s lined up for tomorrow night. WTF is up with the ‘judges’ mansion’?? Wayyy too Bachelor/Big Brother for me, not to mention totally pretentious. And they’re going to pick the top 36 after reviewing performance tapes?? Why the he!! didn’t they just make the final selection in one fell swoop instead of two itty bitty steps? Course, maybe I could hold off the kvetching until the show actually airs tomorrow….

Tatiana is absolutely a plant for the VOTE FOR THE WORST crowd. Expect the gossip rags to begin launching the news bytes immediately. She is the girl we love to hate and that means viewer interest. They’ll keep her hanging on until she outlasts and out-serves her AI purpose: ratings.

I think Stevie Wright has an interesting female voice. There’s not one girl that reeks STAR for me. To me, Lil Rounds is Fantasia 2. No offense to Fantasia 1. :>

Joanna Pashit*y: sorry, that’s what she is to me. (I included the asterisk to avoid upsetting MJ and her fans.)

I miss AI 7 already.

I think the choice of Cher, a icon in the gay community, was a calculated move by Adam, and a smart one. I like him more and more each time I see him.

Yeah, I agree. i think he was trying to make a statement with his song choice. I’m glad he’s not trying to hide anything. That said, I do hope he makes better song choices in the semis. His performances should appeal to a broader demographic for him to make it.

Will the wild cards from the discards from these last groups or from people sent home from Hollywood already?

Ryan’s behind-the-stage patter is disturbingly reminiscent of Jerry Springer’s inane patter on America’s Got A Little Talent and a Lot of Time To Kill Watching this Show. Stop it now, Ryan. You don’t want to go there. Please.

The girls were all meh. Not a one in the bunch I care for with the possible exception of Lil Rounds. Tatiana sanf her song wel…too bad she’s such a goddamn loony bird.

Am drawn to Adam, Anoop, Danny Matt and Jamar.

Lenesh Young was robbed.

Can you imagine Tatiana’s reactions when the “real” judging starts!!!! She’s waaaay loopier than Brooke White who was one of the most annoying contestants…evah!

This was the best episode so far for those of us who prefer good singing to bad auditions and melodrama, but considering the previous eps, that’s not saying much.

It’s annoying though when Seacrest dramatically intones that the 4 rooms of competitors are facing the final cut when we know perfectly well that’s not true. They still have the stupid solo trip up the elevator to face the judges for the REAL final cut to trim the roster down to 36. At least it appears there was an actual time gap to allow the top 50 to relax a bit before 14 of them got the “haha, we were only kidding; you didn’t actually think you made it, did you?” final goodbye.

Some random musings…

* The judges get a mansion? What the heck for?

* The producers and judges were clearly toying with Tatiana’s and her fellow competitors’ emotions by pulling her out of one group that had made it through and sticking her in another group that had also made it through. The looks on the faces of the latter group were of shock (of the “we’re all screwed” variety). As much as I do not like Tatiana, I don’t think she deserved such blatant psychological manipulation.

* There was clearly a limited selection of songs for the 72 solo performances, no doubt so that the band would have a manageable quantity of music to learn. But did the list have to include so many tunes made famous by past Idols? I’m sure the producers made those songs available just to see which competitors would fall in the trap and pick one of them. Besides staying clear of diva songs from the likes of Whitney, Celine, Mariah and Aretha, isn’t the other cardinal rule of Idol to NOT attempt signature songs of prominent past Idol alumni, lest you be compared unfavourably to them?

* I’m very annoyed they cut short Anoop’s solo just as he was getting into the heart of his song. Basically, the edit only showed 15 seconds of his performance. Adam got 30 seconds, Jamar and Scott each got about 45 seconds, Matt got a minute, Danny 70 seconds – and that was just for their singing. They all received additional pimpage before and after their performances. The reigning record holder for screen time is of course Tatiana.

* Matt seemed to deliver the best solo though Anoop may have been as good or better, if only they had shown more of his performance.

Adam was just NOT good. Yeesh! I don’t know what anyone sees in him. He sounds like a lady… a lady who doesn’t sing very well.

I really liked Matt and Anne Marie. Some of the other girls were good but the really good ones were barely featured and we got freak show Tatiana instead.

Still unimpressed by Danny. I need to see much less of him.

LOVED Anoop and his Prerogative. Now that’s a song choice! Fun and well executed.

I don’t really care if Joanna is a “plant” or not but what’s the diff? If she’s not a famous recording artist she deserves a chance. On the other hand, she was terrible. So she should go home.

I kind of liked the Magic Rainbow guy. That song makes me smile.

I disagree that we don’t have a Brooke White-type girl this year. I think Mishavonna, Jesse and Megan all have great, subtle voices, and could do well if we ever get a chance to really see them. Obviously we’re just getting a lot of Tatiana right now, but there are some good girls!

I was disappointed with Scott’s performance — I was hoping he’d blow us away at the piano, and he didn’t. Matt, however, was rocking it. Too many runs (where was the melody?!?) but still the best shown tonight. Amazing keyboard skills. Scott’s got to have some “mad skills” too — he went to Juliard at 14, is that right? But I’m afraid he doesn’t have the best instincts about what’s going to go over well.

The Tatiana changing-rooms thing was hilarious. They want more drama and she just steps right up. I bet Simon’s already working on some great comments for her first live performance. LOL if she breaks into another song after they pan her.

I was wondering when people were going to actually start listening and realize that Adam sings like a girl. However, I don’t mind personally. He’s still one of my horses if he can control himself.

Adam should’ve sung New York, New York….

oh my dear dear bax…I can still read y’know. Anyway…I actually haven’t watched the show yet so I can’t really comment on the performances, but I do have to say that when I saw he was singing, I totally LOL’d. I agree with Niall that this was likely a calculated move on his part and I think it’s hilarious and brilliant on his part. I do get that he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I flove him.

I am on board the Matt Giraud, Michael Sarver train at this point. I like Danny ok, same with Anoop. Not a fan of Adam at all. NONE of the girls impressed me. I tend to like male voices better, anyway, but usually I can pick out one girl – this time – not one.

Normannnn, ooooooooh
Normannnn, ooooooooh
Normannnnn
Norman my looooove.!

Coughs. Youd have to be a relic, a freaking antiques to remember that little diddy by someone named Sue Thompson who did the original version in 1961.

Look, I was ONLY 9 years old and I loved that song.

Anyways, not so good with “Georgia” but not as bad as some others and very very entertaining. I love this guy and if he doesnt make it I will be heartbroken. My fear is this, if anyone cares.

In season 5 there was a contestant named Taylor Hicks, some of you may remember him and he was a bit of a joke but also entertaining and so 3 of the judges loved him and put him through (just like with Norman) knowing (or thinking they knew) that he would be good television for a few weeks and then…poof….he’d be voted off.

Well, he wasnt voted off, I dont think he was ever in the bottom 3 much less get voted off and I think thats their fear with this guy cause Im tellin’ ya, should he make it through I will be voting my fat ass off. This little dumpling learned how to text like the wind in season 5 and though I havent texted since then, its like riding a bike and I plan to make use of that talent of mine.

I love Anoop too and I find myself into this season pretty deep. I hated season 6 and season 7 was lukewarm for me but Im back in the saddle thanks to Norman/Nick.

One more thing, I know I should hate Tatianna and before last night I wanted to douse her with olive oil but I thought she was really good last night.

Hey, LOVED that at least two people sang my state’s official song! Matt, you are awesome!

Right now Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m counting on Jesse Langseth to redeem our gender or it will be the most lopsided season since AI3 when the girls ruled.

AMEN! Hoping that tonight TPTB will finally show Jesse, Megan, and other good singers. They need to throw it down, now that we have heard Anoop, Danny, Matt, et al. Anyone know if it is still a balanced-gender final 12? Don’t want Cherbert takin’ any of the lady spots, either, even if he can sing….

I’m so disappointed. I saw a total of ONE performance that I would qualify as really good (Matt’s) – the rest were okay at best. The lack of sleep and the stress seems to be taking a greater toll on this bunch than usual.

One thing that may occur if indeed Tatiana is allowed into the Top 36 as predicted, is that it could encourage more people to vote for Anyone-But-Tatiana to cancel out the well-known proclivities of VFTW.

I don’t make a habit of frequenting VFTW, but do they still have the same impact on voting that they once did? I got the impression last year that they were having to change contestants almost weekly because their picks kept getting voted off.

As much as I do not like Tatiana, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think she deserved such blatant psychological manipulation.

This. I find Tatiana to be excruciatingly annoying (that diva hand at the end of her performance? *shudder*), but it was so obvious they were just toying with her last night. It’s bad enough to mess around with the emotions of a sane, stable person, but in her case the producers are playing with crazy and it’s just not going to end well, I’m afraid.

Good point re: Tatiana. If she is as unstable as she appears, the producers need to cut back now on their mind manipulation with her. This girl is having delusions of grandeur and needs to be brought down to earth. AI can and will make her snap if they play this one wrong. And when did AI ever play something right (except when David Cook won last year)?

I have liked Matt G. since his first audition, but I have to say, he overdid the runs for my taste tonight. I still love his voice, though, and look forward to seeing what he does next. He is very soulful, and he doesn’t scream at me….

I dont think Tatiana is unstable. I mean I dont know that for sure but I think she is OTT, flamboyant, extroverted, emotional and that she is doing all the right things to be noticed and to stand out on this show. Its working so far and I thought she was very good last night. She is also irritating, diva”ish”, and appears to love the spotlight.

If those things are the criteria for being unstable then shit, I better make an appointment.

Just an addendum, I made a mistake in my earlier post. There were only 3 judges in season 5 so 3 of the judges could not have put him through cause there were only 3 and one said no and Im rambling. Sorry.

Adam shouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve sung New York, New Yorkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Yeah. “These vagabond shoes….” Hehe. Kinda hate the boots.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make a habit of frequenting VFTW, but do they still have the same impact on voting that they once did?

I’m gonna go with no.

As much as I do not like Tatiana, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think she deserved such blatant psychological manipulation.

I’d say the targets of any blatant psychological manipulation were the group to whose room she was transferred. That would’ve freaked me out. Some of them looked like, “I know we’re going home now.”

Have to agree with RemusL, they had a specific list for the finalists to sing. Some odd strange list that included every single song ever sung by an idol (what, no one wanted to sing This Is The Night?) plus every song ever oversung on a competition show (Bubbly, I Hope You Dance) plus a few songs that no one should ever choose (I Believe, My Prerogative–both of these songs were nailed by their respective singers IMO)

Seriously, who is idol’s song picker? A monkey with a banana, a dart, and a book of the worst songs in the universe?

Most of last nights performances were fair to middling and some were just downright bad………which just proves that the chosen ones are already…… well, chosen.

I liked Matt G but he is NOT like Elliott, I wish they’d stop doing that comparison.
Junot Joiner was a nice suprise last night and Anoop sounded great.

I think i’m getting sucked in by Danny Gokey but the sob story that they will replay and replay and replay should put a quick end to that.

WTH was with that Judges Mansion/Throne room???? Ohhhh I bet Simon gets a bigger throne than everyone else and also WTH was Paula wearing around her neck last night? Her old platinum albums?

oops forgot to say THANK YOU AI for showing all but 1 second of Felicia Barton although 1 second of her actually singing would have been better…………..if the top 36 list is correct then that girl was robbed.

Dingo..

Great to hear from you, and I’m such a loser I remember the follow up hit to ‘Norman,’ which was ‘James(Hold the Ladder Steady).’

I thought last night’s show was great, and it was probably a good night for Anoop to stay under the radar given the reaction to other favvorites like Danny and Adam. I liked them both. And Matt too.
The first 15 minutes was excellent.

But what is it with the neglect of the women conestants this year. The women are portrayed as nothing more than whiny drama queens. And enough of Tatianna already. If they spent the time on legitimate female contenders insted of watching Tatianna curled up in a bundle on the floor, it would be better television.

I was shocked Felicia Barton was still in this contest.

Whether youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re creating the arrangement or picking one from those done by other artists, the trick is in using an arrangement that works for your voice and style.

Yeah I agree but just talking about the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“scienceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  of rearranging, weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re just saying, his rearrangements from last season could not all be credited to David Cook. He did have a little help, not hating.. just stating a fact.

Not all of them, no. But, among others, Little Sparrow, Always Be My Baby and The World I know were all DC and, IMO, absolutely brilliant. YMMV and all that.

I’m still wowed by Matt’s performance tonight. I think he’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

I think ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m getting sucked in by Danny Gokey but the sob story that they will replay and replay and replay should put a quick end to that.

I haven’t been paying super close attention for the past couple of weeks, but have they mentioned his story lately? Just curious. I kinda thought they’d dialed it back, but maybe I just missed it.

I still like Danny but I did not like his performance last night. I *like* a few of the guys but I have yet to *LOVE* anyone. I’m starting to think that I’m going to be an every-other-season kind of fan.

ETA: With regard to rearrangements of songs, I was so so so underwhelmed with Adam’s “version” of Believe. As far as unique arrangements of songs go, for me the winner last night was (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) Nathaniel. I kinda liked his version of Disturbia, and I’m with those who loved the way they interspersed his performance with snippets of him freaking out.

But, among others, Little Sparrow, Always Be My Baby and The World I know were all DC and, IMO, absolutely brilliant.

Not to mention “All I Really Need is You,” which he needs to release like, yesterday.

Rearrangement is not a necessity, but it’s definitely a bonus. When it comes to Idol in any season, I think interpretation is key. That’s part of the reason why I’ve watched Matt Giraud’s performance from last night so many times. His delivery of it was near-perfect.

He didn’t catch my attention first time around, but I think the difference with “Georgia” was that he showed some control over that aggressive vibrato. Rather than let it over power his voice, he used it for his good, and it resulted in a memorable vocal performance that had Kara whooping, Simon (nearly) smiling, Randy rocking like he was in church, and Paula jumping up out of her seat (not that she didn’t do that for everyone else). If he never does this well again, I’ll always remember this one as my first (hopefully not the last) goosebump performance of Season 8.

I havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t been paying super close attention for the past couple of weeks, but have they mentioned his story lately? Just curious. I kinda thought theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d dialed it back, but maybe I just missed it.

Yeah they’ve only mentioned it the first two times we saw him and not since then, so I have no idea what that person is talking about.

This episode hasn’t changed my opinions on most of the contestants, for the most part the performances just confirm them. The best is still Adam, and I don’t agree that it is a wrong choice of song, I just think that he didn’t do it quite right, the interpretation is a bit off. Matt is still good, but I think the song (or the way it is sung) doesn’t suit his voice. I also still think that Tatiana has one of more interesting voices on the competition, even if she overdid on the last bit of singing. She is really annoying, but I’m not hating her just yet.

The one I sure am going to hate is Norman. He is the only person we’ve heard who hasn’t shown that he can sing. There are plenty of people who can do both comedy and singing very well (Bette Midler for instance), he isn’t one of them – his comedy is only mildly amusing, his singing third rate (atrocious is Simon’s word), an out of tune, uninteresting mess. If he gets to Top 12 I’ll be seriously considering stop watching the show. I think I’m going to hate Nate the drama queen as well.

I think Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to hate Nate the drama queen as well.

He’s definitely one of my least favorites. I absolutely hate drama.

I like Danny & they didn’t mention his story at all this week, and I’m not sure they did last week either. Maybe we just all remember it whenever we see him as it IS a sad story, but they don’t seem to be playing it up now. I like Matt – glad to see a local boy moving forward. Other Michiganders who went far were LaKisha and the country singer marine in season 2 – Josh?

I also liked Michael Sarver – just nice to see some “regular guys” pulling thru well instead of just a bunch of plants. I’m fine w/ Adam as well altho I didn’t care for the song choice. Scott was just OK – disappointing as I thought he’d really blow it out of the water.

Of the girls, as much as I hate Tatiana, I did think she sang well in yesterday’s episode. Also that brief bit of Stevie looked good to me. And there is a cute little blond who’s name I can’t recall.

There are always folks put thru who forget lyrics (I’m thinking Kat McPhee on Elvis night) – but at this stage they are also casting a reality show, so they look for personalities as well & are more willing to forgive forgotten lyrics if a previous performance was good. I mean, Sundance Head totally f’d up Hollywood week & still made it into the top 24 based on his original audition.

I just gotta wonder why Matt, with all of his talent, would pick such an old songà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ something like a guy who performs in a piano bar would play. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to hear à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Georgiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on Idol.

They don’t call ‘em classics for nothing- they stand the test of time (and every other cliche ridden description).

Seriously- do I want to hear recycled pap that will be forgotten in two years, or a song that can still give me chills 79 frickin’ years after it was written?

Georgia for the win.
That was an inspired song choice!

The one good thing about this year’s Semifinals is that it will be much harder for jokes like Tatiana to make the Top 12 with the top vote getters going through instead of just cutting the bottom vote getters. I smell producer manipulation all over Tatiana advancing even past the first audition. She’s horrible and the judges obviously hate her, so why in the hell was she even there to start with and especially why in the hell is she STILL there?! This has to be the Producers telling them to keep her to annoy the hell out of everyone.

I think Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to hate Nate the drama queen as well.

Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s definitely one of my least favorites. I absolutely hate drama.

I like his headbands. I want one.

I like Danny & they didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mention his story at all this week, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not sure they did last week either. Maybe we just all remember it whenever we see him as it IS a sad story, but they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seem to be playing it up now.

They didn’t mention at all last week either. I suppose it will be mentioned at least once more in one of those pre-performance packages they do since he is doing the show to honor her memory.

edit: stick to your opinions, stay away from commentary and judgments on what others are posting… If I have to keep editing you, I will put you in moderation

They donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t call à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹em classics for nothing- they stand the test of time (and every other cliche ridden description).

Seriously- do I want to hear recycled pap that will be forgotten in two years, or a song that can still give me chills 79 frickinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ years after it was written?

Georgia for the win.
That was an inspired song choice!

EXACTLY!!!!

They didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t mention at all last week either.

Actually, they did mention it last week, through the mouth of his best friend, Jamar.

Not that it matters.

They didn’t mention it last night at all.

Bottom line, the widower will lose his best friend and “go the Idol competition alone.” That’s the angle they’re shooting for now.

I could care less because the boy can sing. And, as I said before, if he is being pimped, I don’t mind. Better for me, ’cause I actually like ‘im.

edit: Same as above.

No, they haven’t talked about Danny’s backstory in a couple of episodes, but my problem with it is that he still gets the most air time of anyone (except perhaps for the horrible Tatiana). It seems like they’re always shoving him in my face. I think he’s good, but spread the love around a little! I’d much rather see more Anoop.

So, based on the fact that room 1 was chosen first, and because it has so many of the people we’ve come to see as front runners in it (Anoop, Danny, Lil Rounds, Liza), my guess is that these were the people that got a yes from all 4 judges, so they were easy to get through quickly, then the judges moved on to sorting the other contestants that were a little tougher to decide on.

I think room 4 had the second tier contestants (I think this even though Tatiana was thrown in, since I agree with those who believe she was only moved from one room to another to create drama…and to scare the bejeezus out of all the poor people in that room). Room 2 had the people who just slipped by (all the people who forgot their lyrics, drama queen Nate).

Because I think room 1 had all the judges’ favorites, I would expect wild card choices to come from this group…of course we’ll have to wait and see who steps it up in the semis. Just a theory.

I didn’t even recognize the song Kai was singing at that last Hollywood performance but I think I have a crush on this guy. Heh. :p

I agree with what Gwen said about Tatiana and I just want her OFF of my TV. More power to Danny – it isnt HIS fault that the producers are pimping him, he is good and that is all I care about but call me crazy I really like Adam too!!

No, they havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t talked about Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s backstory in a couple of episodes, but my problem with it is that he still gets the most air time of anyone (except perhaps for the horrible Tatiana). It seems like theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re always shoving him in my face.

Exactly. On a few other boards I’m seeing more and more backlash towards him, and my guess is it’s going to intensify. He is quite clearly the producers’ early favorite, he gets the most airtime, and people are already calling him overrated and overexposed.
I thought he was a good candidate to win at first, right now I don’t see that happening.

Adam wasn’t great last night. I still like him, but I’m re-evaluating my spot on his train.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d much rather see more Anoop.

As would I, which makes it even BETTER when I do get the teeniest glimpse of him. I haven’t underestimated him yet, and he could very well draw in the college demographic of viewers that this show needs.

However, I don’t think Danny’s or Adam’s trip to the Top 12 will be so easy. My guess is that we’re going to see some of the uber-pimped ones in the same groups. It will totally matter whether or not they’re judges’ favorites at that point.

This makes me worry for people like Anoop, Matt, and Michael.

Well the comments here were right, Matt was outstanding last night. He reminded me of Gavin DeGraw.

I love Adam but that performance was eh. I need to hear something different and less theatrical from him. Adam please bring it in the semis.

I can’t believe Leneshe Young got cut. I’m glad to hear she’s thinking about trying again next year. I still can’t figure out why they cut her and kept the others.

I don’t think Tatiana is a bad singer but AI is not doing her any favors by keeping on putting her through. They’re just feeding her ego, and she’s gonna come back down so hard when she’s finally eliminated. But oh, maybe she’s gonna win since AI seems to be set on keeping the drama going.

Nate was impressive last night. I wish he wasn’t so annoying when not performing coz when performing, he’s pretty damn awesome.

Other thoughts: I liked what little I heard from Anoop. Jamar’s Hey Delilah was also good. I am so bored with Danny, and yeah, he’s so overexposed but apart from his audition, he hasn’t really impressed me. I love, love, love Normund Gentle. Joanna should be gone now. I’m glad I didn’t hear Von Smith tonight.

Danny talks about his late wife on the AI site video; that may be what’s got people thinking they’ve heard the backstory pimped lately. He is clearly a very talented musician, but I’m not sure he has the best voice. I thought Jamar out-sang him last night.

I’m sorry, but I thought Scott was awful last night. He was slightly under-pitch and he should avoid pop-rock songs if he doesn’t have a strong pop-rock voice, which he doesn’t.

I felt very manipulated by more than just the Tatiana machinations. I couldn’t tell if Adam said he “can” or “can’t” arrange the songs the way he wanted to. I still like him, though, because I think he’s got a stage presence that a lot of the others lack and is clearly very talented. Song choice and the ability to work the small screen are going to make or break him, however.

I really enjoyed Matt last night. He’s definitely a contender. Loved Anoop again, although I’m not familiar with that song. He has a rich, full voice and good performance skills with just enough of the geek factor to keep me intrigued. I liked Stephen, too, but I get nervous for contestants who ‘lose the lyrics’ when they’re performing live. It does not bode well.

While I liked both Brooke and Jason last year, I wish this season they could find some singer-songwriters with stronger voices and better ranges. I’m hoping a few of this year’s contestants fit that bill.

David Cook was a brilliant arranger and very smart at selecting great arrangements from other people, but it was his voice that gave him the edge last season. He has a full, rich voice and excellent range, and he could rock too. I wish we had some rockers this year. I’m hoping Adam can fill that void, because I’m not feeling Jackie Tohn at all, and I haven’t heard enough from Jesse Langstreth to know if she can either.

No, they havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t talked about Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s backstory in a couple of episodes, but my problem with it is that he still gets the most air time of anyone (except perhaps for the horrible Tatiana). It seems like theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re always shoving him in my face. I think heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s good, but spread the love around a little! Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d much rather see more Anoop.

That’s where you and I will disagree. Anoop is just alright for me. To me, he’s no different sounding than any good, smooth boyband singer out there. His odd look combined with the voice makes him interesting to people. Kinda Clay-like appeal.

I wish we had some rockers this year.

Nah. Rockers are starting to become as stale on Idol as are Whitney-esque diva singers. Daughtry and Cook have taken over that anyway. I don’t need to anyone trying to be like them.

I haven’t watched this yet but I must say just reading the comments has been entertaining. I know that so far I’ve liked quite a few of the girls, so I’m interested in seeing this later today.

I agree with others who think Matt’s was an inspired performance – this is the guy to beat , IMO, although Danny was my first choice – loved, loved, LOVED, his Motown audition , but he has underwhelmed me since .

I think Matt has an awesome , soulful voice and I’m with Simon that he has that Eliot vibe to it . Love me some Eliot

Georgia’s an awesome song and showcased his voice perfectly – I don’t care how old the song is – it’s good ! And I’m nto even from the South ! : )

Matt Giraud is the one to beat .

I’m voting for Nick Western aka Norman Gentle.

I won’t worry too much about the Danny backlash right now. Both Archie and Carrie were pimped to the hills in their seasons and got TONS of hate and backlash and look where they are now. In the end, true talent will win out.

So sad…looks like TPTB are heading us towards another Taylor Hicks fiasco! Lets create “drama” for television, and so what if the lousiest wins…we only have to contract them for one year and that is a drop in the bucket of the revenue AI creates.

For all that I love younger performers (and last year was the BEST) I would really like to see the age requirements changed. Bottom line 18 or a certified high school graduated and upper age 26. These contestants that are almost 30 by the end of the show really boil my blood. If they haven’t done something with their lives prior to 30 they are a little slow in the maturing process and if they get to the top of the pile on AI their slide down is very rapid.

For all that I love younger performers (and last year was the BEST) I would really like to see the age requirements changed. Bottom line 18 or a certified high school graduated and upper age 26. These contestants that are almost 30 by the end of the show really boil my blood. If they havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t done something with their lives prior to 30 they are a little slow in the maturing process and if they get to the top of the pile on AI their slide down is very rapid.

Gee…I’m 30. I guess it’s all downhill for me.

^normally, I would agree about the mininum age change, but Archie and Jordin make me re-think that. This show relies a lot on younger viewers too I think. Plus I’m hoping 16-year-old Stevie Wright (who’s way more mature than her age) does well.

As for maximum age…never even occured to me. I don’t mind the 28-year-olds. Melinda for example. Awesome. Don’t care that she waited. Same with Michael last year and of course Danny this year (are you all sick of me mentioning him yet? LOL!)

Has anyone added up the minutes that they spent showing Tatiana last night? It seemed like a huge percentage of the show overall. Every time they came back from commercial breaks we were updated on Tatiana.

The thing to remember is last year at this point, Michael, Carly and Archie were the favorites, we have yet to see Castro, And Cook was very middle-of-the-pack. A lot can change, we still haven’t heard these people sing a whole song, we still haven’t seen them up on the Idol stage and interacting with the camera and audience. Some of the early favorites will go on to do great, some will crash and burn.

I do think Danny, Adam, Lil, Anoop and Matt are a lock for Top 12. After that, we’ll see.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think Tatiana is a bad singer but AI is not doing her any favors by keeping on putting her through. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re just feeding her ego, and sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gonna come back down so hard when sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s finally eliminated.

I agree. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable. As if she herself didn’t bug me enough!

But oh, maybe sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s gonna win since AI seems to be set on keeping the drama going.

See, I think she thinks that she WILL win, or if she doesn’t then it will be an injustice of epic proportions. She just doesn’t seem stable at all to me.

That having been said, if she has a really spectacular meltdown when she’s booted then she might garner some media attention, which will feed the ego, which will keep her on her course. Infamous, famous, it’s probably all the same to her. So maybe it’s all good. lol.

I do think Danny, Adam, Lil, Anoop and Matt are a lock for Top 12.

The showcasing of Danny and Lil makes me think that someone wants them in the Top 12 badly. I haven’t seen enough of Adam to make out whether or not he truly is a favorite just yet.

I fear that neither Anoop or Matt are a lock for the Top 12. I think they are still very susceptible to the Lisa Leuschner factor right now. Season 3, She was one of the Top 3 vote-getters in her semi-finals group. However, the other two contestants (Matt Rogers & Camile Velasco) advanced to the Top 12 over her. She was called back for the Wild Card Round, then inexplicably cut. My guess is that the producers weren’t particularly crazy about her, even though her voice was better than both Matt’s and Camile’s.

So, I think the voters are going to be very instrumental where Anoop and Matt are concerned.

The thing to remember is last year at this point, Michael, Carly and Archie were the favorites, we have yet to see Castro, And Cook was very middle-of-the-pack. A lot can change, we still havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t heard these people sing a whole song, we still havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen them up on the Idol stage and interacting with the camera and audience. Some of the early favorites will go on to do great, some will crash and burn.

But, last year there was no wild card round, and only the bottom of the pack got cut every week. Would Castro and Cook have made the top 12 if we had only seen their first semi final performance? Castro’s first semi performance was good, but no one had ever seen him before. Would that have been enough? People didn’t go crazy for Cook until the third week of the semis when he sang “Hello.” Would he have even made the top 12 if he had to rely on the votes from his performance of “Happy Together?”

I hate that they’ve gone back to the wild card.

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s where you and I will disagree. Anoop is just alright for me. To me, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no different sounding than any good, smooth boyband singer out there. His odd look combined with the voice makes him interesting to people. Kinda Clay-like appeal.

“I wish we had some rockers this year.”

Nah. Rockers are starting to become as stale on Idol as are Whitney-esque diva singers. Daughtry and Cook have taken over that anyway. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to anyone trying to be like them.

While I got Clay’s appeal, I was never a fan. I love Anoop, and there’s nothing “odd” about his look to me at all. He looks like every preppy guy I went to university with, and he’s a great singer. I think he has a much stronger voice than Danny, although Danny is very clearly an all-around talented musician and this is very much in his favor. Anoop is still quite young, too, and I could see his voice still developing.

As far as rockers go, I didn’t say i wanted another Daughtry OR Cook. There are lots of great, current rockers out there (Brandi Carlile, Panic At the Disco, Ray LaMontagne, John Mayer) and they’re hardly interchangeable. It’s a huge genre and one of my favorites. Out of 36 (or 12) contestants, it seems to me there’s room for one or two.

The “Taylor Hicks” fiasco? What is that? He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is entertaining and certainly can sing. I didn’t realize it was a fiasco. I personally voted for him based on talent, not because he was the VFTW pick. YMMV but I certainly wouldn’t use the word fiasco to describe his win.

His odd look combined with the voice makes him interesting to people.

What odd look? he looks pretty normal to me.

He’s definitely better than Danny in my book. His voice is more…rich.

I think it was a fiasco every time Taylor yelled “Soul Patrol!” That got on my nerves after about two times. So, whether or not he’s entertaining is certainly mileage.

As far as rockers go, I didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say i wanted another Daughtry OR Cook. There are lots of great, current rockers out there (Brandi Carlile, Panic At the Disco, Ray LaMontagne, John Mayer) and theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re hardly interchangeable. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a huge genre and one of my favorites. Out of 36 (or 12) contestants, it seems to me thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s room for one or two.

I haven’t seen anyone with Rocker potential yet.

His odd look combined with the voice makes him interesting to people.

What odd look? the same look that a billion people over have in India? *confused*

I think Anoop is a little nerdy looking. Wouldn’t be the first time we saw that on Idol. Other than that, I don’t know what could be “odd” about him.

^^I edited my post…I thought it may be coming off a bit too strong haha. But yeah, definitely nothing odd about him.

I agree with a lot of what has been said about Tatiana. Seems like they have decided to use the additional 12 slots for the live show to fill with entertainment/drama/controversial “characters” who have no shot at winning.

And with Tatiana, they’ve taken a tactic they usually reserve for the initial auditions – stringing along a mediocre/no-talent, clueless and possibly mentally challenged or unstable person and dropping a reality check on them on camera – and now appear to be about to do the same thing on live TV. If she’s as bad as she’s shown in her auditions, I will be absolutely astounded if the judges don’t bury her. But that’s the catch-22 – if she was that bad, and it was so obvious to the viewers, why is she on the show in the first place? I realize the show is part-contest/part-TV show, but this is bringing the “for entertainment purposes only” portion of the show way too close to the actual competition for my comfort level. Same with Normund/Nick, although I at least like him. But he’s not AI material, so what’s the point?

I’d be quite happy with another “fiasco” like Taylor! If Norman could sing anything straight, I’d probably be a lot happier with him being on the show. To me, he seems like a Jerry Lewis wannabe and imo, that isn’t what this show is supposed to be looking for. I was really hoping he wouldn’t come on the stage in character last night, but I don’t think he can handle it without the protection that the character gives him. It is too bad because I really think he does have some talent under all the nonsense. Maybe “America’s Got Talent” would be a better fit?

They’re only keeping certain people around so that they can do the walk of shame from the elevator and create drama for ratings. That’s all.
I was kinda bummed that they didn’t show more of Michael Castro. I think it was kind of deliberate, but I’m not really sure why.

I really liked Asa Barnes during auditions and I know he made it to Hollywood, but after that, I haven’t seen him at all. I guess he got cut first day in Hollywood? MJ, do you know info on him?

I am surprised that Joanna Pacitti made it thru the cut because her latest audition basically blew chunks. Maybe they took into consideration her other auditions or maybe they gave the “plant” the pass.

I really liked Matt Giraud’s audition the best of last night. He could take it all the way.

I am surprised that Joanna Pacitti made it thru the cut because her latest audition basically blew chunks. Maybe they took into consideration her other auditions or maybe they gave the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“plantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the pass.

I’m beginning to think the producers are looking for viewers to empathize with her. Even though she’s got a professional past, I’m still think it’s an effort to make her look more human and to put her on the level with the other competitors. Whatever.

I think last nights performance from Joanna Pacitti was a brilliant illustration of why she HASN’T made it in the business. If she continues to perform that badly she hopefully won’t be around long.

I think it’s fake.

The thing to remember is last year at this point, Michael, Carly and Archie were the favorites, we have yet to see Castro, And Cook was very middle-of-the-pack. A lot can change, we still havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t heard these people sing a whole song, we still havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t seen them up on the Idol stage and interacting with the camera and audience. Some of the early favorites will go on to do great, some will crash and burn.

Completely agree. There are some contestants that make the top 36 that we’ve seen nothing, or next to nothing, of. At this point, my guesses are Matt and Anoop on the guys side (Danny and Adam are already suffering from over pimpage) and Anne Marie on the girls side, but it will be very hard to tell untill we actually see some singing. That’s going to happen some day, right? Yeesh.

There are a lot of really nice voices, more than I recall from Hollywood weeks past. I liked a lot of the ones who made it through although stand out more for me than others.

Even though Stephen forgot the lyrics I like his tone better than Juà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Not.

I agree. I felt bad for him, because I really like to tone of Stephen’s voice. Still, he probably should have been cut for forgetting the lyrics so badly. Twice.

I’m not a hateful person. Really. But I absolutely loathe Tatiana. I cannot stand to see her preening on my tv. And really – I think she’s probably mentally ill and deserving of pity more than loathing but I’m annoyed at the PTB that she’s still being used for drama.

Nick/Normund has finally lost me. He’s a funny guy but he needs to show that he can drop the schtick and sing for real.

Planty Joanna gets a (potential) villain edit… interesting. She was awful and forgot her words but still didn’t get cut.

I liked Danny and Jamal. Again. I liked Matt. Again. I’m definitely liking the guys more than the girls this year. Again.

I didn’t like Adam’s song choice or his interpretation.

I like Alexis. I’m pissed that Leneshe got cut!

I usually hate the “green mile” episode but damn them for changing it up so that I may be tempted to watch.

If they havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t done something with their lives prior to 30 they are a little slow in the maturing process and if they get to the top of the pile on AI their slide down is very rapid.

I know you nothing about him, but my hubby is 43 and his music career is just beginning. No, he’ll probably never go national or sign to a major label, but he and his band are definitely sliding up, not down.;)

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not a hateful person. Really. But I absolutely loathe Tatiana. I cannot stand to see her preening on my tv. And really – I think sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably mentally ill and deserving of pity more than loathing but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m annoyed at the PTB that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still being used for drama.

I agree…I loathe her, and think she could possibly be mentally ill. I kind of think that she’s so delusional that no matter how she exits this show, she will not realize that she’s a joke, but will instead think she’s a big star. However, what if she is mentally ill, she does find out that she’s a joke, and she commits suicide after she figures out how much America loathes her?

I think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fake.

For sympathy? Yeah could be.

IdolFanatic…

Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s where you and I will disagree. Anoop is just alright for me. To me, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no different sounding than any good, smooth boyband singer out there. His odd look combined with the voice makes him interesting to people. Kinda Clay-like appeal.

So, to which “good, smooth boyband singer” do you equate Anoop? JT from NSYNC? Brian Littrell or Nick Carter of BSB? Bobby Brown from New Edition? Menudo’s Ricky Martin? Ronan Keating or Stephen Gately from Boyzone? Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees? Robbie Williams from Take That? I’m not sure Anoop sounds like any of these guys. Not sure what you mean by odd look either unless you mean he looks a bit geeky or nerdy (which was everyone’s first impression of Clay at his initial audition way back when).

Nah. Rockers are starting to become as stale on Idol as are Whitney-esque diva singers. Daughtry and Cook have taken over that anyway. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to anyone trying to be like them.

There’s a lot more to the term “rockers” than Daughtry or Cook, as others have mentioned. I think it’s still hard to determine if any of this year’s crop can legitimately be called rocker due to the limited amount of singing and song choices we’ve heard so far.

Nick/Normund has finally lost me. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a funny guy but he needs to show that he can drop the schtick and sing for real.

Totally agree.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not a hateful person. Really. But I absolutely loathe Tatiana. I cannot stand to see her preening on my tv. And really – I think sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s probably mentally ill and deserving of pity more than loathing but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m annoyed at the PTB that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still being used for drama.

I’m not a hateful person either, but the girl is either an actress hired to play the part or suffering from narcissistic personality disorder. Either way, I hate the producers more than I hate Tatiana. And the truth is she’s no worse a singer than some of the others they’ve allowed to advance.

Re rockers, I’m holding out hope that we’ll get some blues-rock from Jesse Langstreth, some glam-rock from Adam, and maybe a little folk-rock from somebody else. Danny could certainly pull that off, and possibly even Nate. I wanna see some guitarists!

I think Pacitti’s flubs were planned and scripted. Her tearful ‘what? little old me?’ initial audition and now this flub……. it’s all a set up to get her to look like an underdog. Many will buy it, sadly.

So what is a “rocker”? I could define it circuit 1970 when it was Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, early Van Halen. Guys that call themselves “rockers” these days have infiltrated their music with jazz and r&b and pop and new age, etc.

VFTW is so two years ago. After it became obvious that he was picking very popular singers as a VFTW pick in order to claim victory when they were successful, he lost all credibility. Right now he has a post on his site that lumps Anoop into the same category with Tatiana and Von. He knows Anoop will do well and wants to stack the deck to make it look like he still has any influence. Lame.

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Adam was ick. Sorry, can’t get on the love train. Something about his tone bugs me.

Not really feeling Danny either. But I like his friend…

Ju’Not was pretty good and Matt caught my attention — I think he has big potential! Stephen sounded good but I was distracted cause I was all “how could you mess up *David’s song!!!*”

Anoop’s song choice was a little odd but I’m still rooting for him.

Nate surprised me! I hate his dramatics but when he’s performing he’s not bad at all. (I was like, “wait…..is this Disturbia??”)

On the girl’s side…
Anne Marie is still a favorite. Jasmine I go back and forth on, I didn’t like her this time around. I think Kristin is good but she seems pretty fragile (a lot of the girls do.)

Tatiana, just ugh. I hated when the judges came into the room to announce the group result and she IMMEDIATELY made it ALL ABOUT HER.

eta: and yeah, wtf was that with the “Judge’s Mansion”…stepping backward into reality show cheese. That reminds me: are they still making them all live in a house together?

“Nah. Rockers are starting to become as stale on Idol as are Whitney-esque diva singers. Daughtry and Cook have taken over that anyway. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to anyone trying to be like them.”

That’s like saying, we’ve had Carrie and Kellie (and Bucky and many more), so enough of country on Idol. I, for one, will be very bored with Season 8 if there are no rockers.

About last night:

Matt was very good, but in a piano-bar sort of way, as someone said upstream (sorry, there are just too many comments to find it to quote). I mean, I could not imagine that becoming a record. I never thought I would say this, but I think he needs to become more studied and less loose.

I did not really think Adam was coming off as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“theaterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  — until last night. To me, that by itself isn’t bad, except that I hate his high-pitch singing, and the Youtube videos are not really swaying me either. But the fact that people are embracing a theater guy in a show where à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“theaterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is usually a bad word is kind of awesome.

If the producers take the Tatiana strategy to the extreme, she could still end up in the final 12 through the wild card, even if she does not get voted into it. Arrrgh!

Finally, add me to the people NOT looking forward to the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mansionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  thing. Idol just might finally become too cheesy for me. I hope not.

If they really are going to all live in a mansion together, I hope the only behind the scenes dirt is how they REALLY pick the songs — how big of a group of songs are there to choose from, who gets stuck with the lousy ones and how do they sing (or not) their way out of it. Also, please show us how are people messed over with by the producers with lighting, ear mics, dress, rehearsal time, favoritism.

And I still wish they would not allow the judges to go to the dress rehearsals.

All the rest of the behind the scenes stuff–not interested.

p.s. the initial view they gave us of the “idol mansion” (is this where they are going to live?) made it look like a house of ill repute.

Its pretty clear this year the producer will do anything to attempt not to lose any ratings.

Thats why so many mediocre with big personalities or attitude get picked into top 36.

Nick/Norman just a mediocre singer. AI already shown him 4 times singing, 3 as his alter ego, on as himself in group round, and not once he delivers. But he got personality (his alter ego). So although this IS a SINGING competition, he get go thru top 36 and maybe will at least move to wild cards round if he failed to get the votes.

Can you honestly said that Norman vocal was better than jamal(Danny friend) and other guys who make it i nto top 54 but didnot make it into top 36? He should maybe apply to “American Got Talent” or “Last Comic Standing”. But turn out he didnot that funny too. Cause I see better comedian in Last Comic Standing. But ratings was all the producer care.

In other hand, Tatiana despite all her annoying attitude, she was a decent singer. At least she sing better than lots of top 36 girls that I heard today. And she will also probably get another chance in the wild cards round.

Though I hope beyond hope that they failed to make it to top 12. We never know. The judges (via producers) may give them 2 wild cards just to spice things up .

One last thing, although the guys totally rules over the girls this season, but we still will see at least 5 or 6 girls in the top 12. Cause with 3 wild cards, the judges will even the girls side if AI got 6 boys and only 3 girls after the top 36 votes.

Just like season 2.

I think Adam and Matt are the two to beat. Anne Marie is totally vanilla for me. I like Stevie a lot and think that she could be a dark horse. Lil’ Rounds will also have some breathtaking moments on stage methinks. Anoop will be around for a long time. I think that he’ll have a pretty solid fanbase.
I hope that the judges really commit to fair play this season and try not to manipulate things too much. I was so disappointed by the way that Simon influenced Carly’s votes as well as her confidence during Season 7. It was so contrived.
There is a ton of talent this year. I hope we get a chance to see the very best out of people!

mj, so is it correct to assume JP was wrong about Ryan Johnson making Top 50? He was definitely shown as being cut in the rooms.

Thanks for the reminder MJ.

Kai Kalama did “Part Time Lover”?? After “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes??” Oh man–it’s Brandon Rogers all over again. Good singer, fabulously attractive, making terrible song choices. He’s doomed if he doesn’t discover some variety in music pretty soon.

Kai–call Elliott Yamin immediately. Or better–talk to Nate. Disturbia was the best song choice I saw last night. I hate that song, and he was incredible on it. Like Brooke White singing Love is a Battlefield or David Cook on Billie Jean. I love hearing something I think I know completely different.

What odd look? he looks pretty normal to me.

Okay perhaps “odd” was the wrong word. I just meant unconventional as far as star appeal goes. That’s where I’m drawing the Clay comparison.

Okay perhaps à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“oddà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was the wrong word

Actually, I think Anoop is quite cute looking. Now Matt–he won’t be flying through the weeks on his looks. Lucky for him, he’s super talented.

I finally watched it. Leneshe actually drew a tear from me. But I see why she was cut… she has lots of promise, but she’s not ready yet. I liked a lot of the girls going into the episode but none of them really did all that great for me last night. Anne Marie was good. I want a stylist to get to that hair. LOL.

Matt was very good, but so was Danny’s friend to me. Danny wasn’t bad. Junot was very good. Stephen messed up, but he deserves a second chance I think. I’m not feeling Adam at all. I like Anoop. I like the oil rig guy’s voice.

I actually get letting Tatiana though. She can sing, even if she is annoying as all get out. I don’t quite get Norman. He’s entertaining but I’m hearing a mediocre voice. And can you imagine trying to market his characters to Top 40 radio? Yeah, me neither.

I think I’m the only one not completely hating this season so far. There is a lot of potential in some of the folks we’ve heard. Though for me, a lot is going to depend on the mix of voices that make the top 12. As long as we are not heavy on the screamers, I’ll be straight.

I just hope that they bring Jason Castro back as the wildcard pick, HEY I can dream can’t I???

Okay perhaps à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“oddà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  was the wrong word

Actually, I think Anoop is quite cute looking. Now Mattà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’he wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be flying through the weeks on his looks. Lucky for him, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s super talented.

Anoop’s R & B vibe kinda makes him cuter, too. He’s got a lot of eyebrows, though. :cool_wp:

Now as for Matt, I’m of a mind that the voice can make the average-looking man more attractive. But, that’s just me.

Kai Kalama did à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Part Time Loverà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ?? After à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes??à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Oh manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Brandon Rogers all over again. Good singer, fabulously attractive, making terrible song choices.

Fabulously attractive. :thumbup_tb:

I hated that his song wasn’t up to par. There was entirely too much noticeable vocal fatigue last night. They haven’t even started the real competition yet.

Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a lot more to the term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“rockersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  than Daughtry or Cook, as others have mentioned.

If Maroon 5 and Coldplay and John Mayer and Gavin Rossdale’s solo stuff are considered “rock” by some, then I think we can agree that it’s a broad genre. I would even say DC is a much different kind of rock from Daughtry. Anyway, the last thing I want is more Robbie Carricos, and I don’t even particularly want to see another Cook/Daughtry/Bice (note that I’m not equating them with each other– it’s just that they each have been done), but I would love to see a John Mayer/Gavin Degraw/John McLaughlin type on Idol. I think at this point, Matt G’s my guy, but now I’m worried he’ll pull a Michael Johns and disappoint the heck out of my sky high expectations…

Now as for Matt, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m of a mind that the voice can make the average-looking man more attractive. But, thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just me.

I think Matt’s attractive .

I am not feeling the whiny guy who sang Disturbia. I wanted to like him because he sort of looks like John Ritter, but he is drama! I hope he goes soon. Not a fan. I don’t understand how they are harping on Von & Adam’s “theatrics” and not his.

Hey sumidol, WORD to Jason Castro as a wildcard. :thumbup_tb: Buuuttt … if that can’t be, I’m thinking that the wildcard may come from the folks eliminated in last night’s show (rather than one of the Top 36 who gets eliminated, since, in effect, they will have already been voted out by America). Bring back Michael Castro! (Call me bitter that we heard not a peep from the lad since his audition.) They could also bring back Ryan P.A. Johnson. Now that would make this a really interesting season, IMO.

I think Mattà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s attractive .

Me 2.

mj, so is it correct to assume JP was wrong about Ryan Johnson making Top 50? He was definitely shown as being cut in the rooms.

Yes, that information was wrong.

Buuuttt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ if that canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m thinking that the wildcard may come from the folks eliminated in last nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s show (rather than one of the Top 36 who gets eliminated, since, in effect, they will have already been voted out by America).

Back in Season 1-3 the wildcard was all about bringing back people who had already been voted out by America. Some contestants were brought back from Hollywood, but most were from the semi-final rounds.

I would expect most of the wildcards will be chosen from the Top 36.

Adam shouldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve sung New York, New Yorkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

There may still be time Lu. Liza is the next logical step after Cher.

I like Anoop, and I’d like to see him in the top 12. The thing I’m wondering though is, does he have a good TV personality. Will he come across in a way that gets the audience to vote? I don’t think they’ve shown enough of him for us to figure that out yet.

I think the assumption that the guys are better than the girls could possibly be based on the fact that the only girls with a fair amount of screen time so far are the really, really annoying ones. I think I’ve seen several snippets of girls with lots of talent who might surprise us next week.

To me, Danny and Jamar are both good, but (unpopular opinion alert), I don’t think either of them has shown anything thus far so compelling that they should get an automatic pass to the Top 12. I like at least 4 guys more than I like them, but maybe it’s just me.

To me, Danny and Jamar are both good, but (unpopular opinion alert), I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think either of them has shown anything thus far so compelling that they should get an automatic pass to the Top 12. I like at least 4 guys more than I like them, but maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just me.

I don’t think that opinion is all that unpopular, actually. Does Jamar even make the top 36?

Why would the judges put in as wildcards those they had already said weren’t worth being in the final 36 and exposed to the voting public? Also, I don’t think it is one judge getting to put in one contestant since there are only 12 finalists…nine chosen by the public. I would think that the judges (plural) would have to fight amongst themselves to figure out the 3 wildcards….and they might just be satisfied with the 4th highest vote getter in each round.

What would be sad, imho, if the public votes for 3guys and the bottom one gets ousted just to make room for a girl or vice-versa. If this was an honest reflection of the public’s preferences then it wouldn’t matter if all of the top 12 were from one sex.

I remember the comments last year that the guys were so much more powerful in their auditions and that several girls were just fillers in the top 24 and especially in the top 12.

Back in Season 1-3 the wildcard was all about bringing back people who had already been voted out by America. Some contestants were brought back from Hollywood, but most were from the semi-final rounds.

I would expect most of the wildcards will be chosen from the Top 36.

Rats! I couldn’t remember how they did it in Seasons 2 and 3 (I didn’t watch Season 1). Thanks, mj. But there is hope, and it springs eternal for me. :mrgreen_wp:

Why would the judges put in as wildcards those they had already said werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t worth being in the final 36 and exposed to the voting public?

My thought is that just because someone didn’t get 3 or 4 votes from the judges doesn’t mean 1 or 2 of the judges didn’t really like them a lot, and feel strongly that they deserve a chance.

Have we seen Meghan Corkrey at all in Hollywood? Her audition was so good, but I don’t recall seeing her at all in these Hollywood rounds. Also, I’m not very impressed with this season’s contestants, yet. No one has blown me away during the Hollywood rounds.

I can’t believe that they’re not giving Felicia Barton more air time!!!!!!!! They haven’t even shown her singing ONCE in Hollywood. I just found a few newer videos of her on YouTube if you want to check them out. I’d much rather hear some talent, like Felicia, rather than wasting time with the drama queens (and kings) that thye’ve been showing. What is going on?

I like Kristen Mcnamara, although she had the misfortune of getting embrawled in drama during Hollywood week. I am anxious to see what she can do.

Why would the judges put in as wildcards those they had already said werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t worth being in the final 36 and exposed to the voting public?

I think they have the top 12 all planned out, but now with the system of voting people in, it could also bring some surprises and maybe they need the option for a new game plan, which would include other contestants.

The top 12 as a group have to be a mix with will appeal to the whole Idol audience.

Because I think room 1 had all the judgesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ favorites, I would expect wild card choices to come from this groupà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦of course weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll have to wait and see who steps it up in the semis. Just a theory.

butter – that’s an interesting theory. If it turns out the wild cards are limited to the 54, you very well could be right. I’m gonna come back and check the Rm 1 list when we get to the top 12.

butter – thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an interesting theory. If it turns out the wild cards are limited to the 54, you very well could be right. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m gonna come back and check the Rm 1 list when we get to the top 12.

Thanks…it made sense to me, but I don’t know why I’m trying to make something rational out of this season!

Gwen – you so funny! Yes KAI is extremely attractive – I hope he goes far just for you

Oh Kerfuffle – on Michaels myspace page he says they thought he wasnt serious enough, same stuff they said to Jason. They don’t want people who are laid back, not crazy and secure in their own skin – not as good TV I guess. He said it was best though because they would have eaten him alive and he needs more practise, more time under his belt. It was a good thing for him because getting cut here means he can try out again next year and he plans on it. I doubt they bring him back on Wildcard, it will probably be someone that gets voted off – that THEY liked more than WE the viewers liked?

Sumidol, I was so happy with Michael’s positive attitude about his Idol experience. Not that I really expected anything else.

He did two shows last weekend and he has shows scheduled each weekend until the first weekend in March.

Since there was no drama and no hysterics from him, he got no singing air time in Hollywood. I liked the way he phrased it on his blog:

…after all, it is their show and of course they want people who jump around and at least pretend to be excited. I’m never gonna be one of those people who jumps around and screams…

No drama equals little or no Hollywood week screen time I guess. Oh well.

Gwen – you so funny! Yes KAI is extremely attractive – I hope he goes far just for you

Um… me too please? Kai is my designated eye-candy of the top 34. I think I may even like his voice.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦after all, it is their show and of course they want people who jump around and at least pretend to be excited. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m never gonna be one of those people who jumps around and screamsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

In other words…he was boring? Lol. There are other ways to make oneself a compelling personality. His brother managed to do it.

It almost seems to me that little Castro did this on a lark after seeing Jason’s success, whereas I think Jason exuded a true passion for music. I actually think Michael has a nice voice, and who knows, maybe with some more practice, he’ll get better and have a chance next year? Or maybe he’ll give it up? Time will tell. I’m not sure why they didn’t show him, though. I get tired of the histrionics (I’m looking at you, Tatiana). I wouldn’t mind a few “boring” auditions. I think the show could have shown his group since they all made it… play up the Castro connection and make some fans happy. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t. They usually like to showcase the relatives, even when they fail. Especially when they fail.

Thanks for the updates on Michael, sumidol. I’m glad to hear he’s planning to try again next year. Unless he and his bro’ get an act together and he doesn’t “need” Idol. I just think the entire Castro family is so refreshing. And I think I know … or know I know … where their character and attitudes come from.

I was really ticked when they booted and did not even show Kenny Hoffpauer getting cut for the top 36.He is a very charismatic performer,and a very cute and attractive boy.I recently watched Archuleta’s rendition of “I’m Yours” on youtube,and Kenny’s was actually better.Its very easy to market very attractive teens who can sing very well,have excellent timing,and charming stage presence,so I am very angry that they cut him.