Welcome one and all to your favorite American Idol recap. Sorry I missed last week but health issues took all my energy and I did not write much all week.
We start off with a message from the judges about donating money for Japan. If you have not already and are able to, please do, its truly devastating what is going on over there. And no, playing your Wii does not count as donating.
Ryan reminds us that Ashton went home last week. Good riddance. She was awful. We are introduced to the judges and the trolls in the crowd go crazy. Our top 12 come out looking very white. I mean excited. That was in no way a criticism of this show or the people who vote. No way at all. Lets move on. This weeks theme is songs from your birth year
Naima Adedapo is up first. We get a look at her child hood and her family. She is singing What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner. Naima starts crying when talking about her kids. It only took 5 minutes for someone to cry! Wow, Naima starts off really rough. Like not good at all. Once she hit’s the chorus it gets a bit better. I stress a bit. I think this performance sucks to be honest. Naima almost has an expressionless look on her face for the whole performance. Steven loved it and thought it was beautiful. Jlo says she gave her a pass last week on her pitchy sound. Not this week. Randy agrees that it was PITCHY and says the vocals were a mess. At least they are hearing what I hear.
Naima says she is still going to bring it. I think she may be bringing it from home. Paul McDonald is up next. Paul looks a lot like Rhys Ifans. Look it up if you don’t know who that is. Paul’s parents are as odd and quirky as him. He’s singing I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John. Jimmy Ivine says Paul sounds hoarse. I think its just because he does not have a very good voice. I don’t like Paul’s sound in general but he delivers an ok performance. I definitely would not say its any better then ok. Its kind of sleepy. And all of his movements are really awkward. Jennifer says it sounded good even though Paul has a cold. Randy wont give him a pass for being sick. It was very PITCHY. Randy is 2 for 2 with the Pitchy! Steven says he defines “Cool dude, loose mood”. I don’t even want to know.
Thia Megia is up and were reminded she was born in 1995! God I feel old. Thia’s parents say she was always happy as a child. That’s code for “we enjoyed beating her”. I kid ladies and germs. Thia is doing Colors Of The Wind by Vanessa Williams. Jimmy Ivine thinks she can be a dark horse in this competition. She’s not bad. A real step up from last week, but I still think she’s super boring. Compared to the first two she’s great. Randy says the vocals were ok, but he’s getting bored with her performances. Thanks Randy! Steven says she sang it beautifully, but asks if that song is who she thinks she is. Thia was not ready for questions and stumbles through some answers. Jennifer thought the choice was too safe and that either her Vibrato is shaky or she was nervous. Ryan mentions that Thia’s vocal couch from hell from the Vegas round is there. Oh Joy.
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James Durbin is on the clock. Ryan has an awkward exchange with Kate Hudson, who is sitting in the nose bleed seats. James, Casey, Stefano and Paul have formed a band. I don’t know what to say. His mom says as a kid he brought joy to everyone around him. Just once I want to hear someone’s parents say, “He was such a little shit!”, But alas, I don’t think we will see that anytime soon. He is doing I’ll Be There For You by Bon Jovi. Jimmy Ivine tells him to stay hungry and not to kiss anyone in the house. He does a very good job here. I like James. Kind of like a David Cook meets an Adam Lambert. James is really hamming it up with the audience and he’s the first one tonight to actually look comfortable performing. Steven says he has left over sandwiches under his bed older then James. He also has girls in his bed younger then James. Thanks, ill be here all week. Jennifer loves him and he brings her a lot of joy. Randy says they were parts that were PITCHY but he found a way to make it his own and he really did it justice. Steven says James has a rich vain of inner crazy. I hear penicillin will help with that.
My hometown girl Haley Reinhart is up next. Damn for a good looking girl she was an ugly baby. We get to see Haley’s dad’s mullet again! Her parents are performers to. She is singing Im Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston. She is intimidated by Jimmy Ivine. He subtly questions her work ethic. She does a decent job. I will say one thing, Haley definitely knows how to use her sexiness and knows how to work a stage. Jennifer says Haley looks great. Uh oh. She says she feels like Haley is tense and with a great voice like hers, she needs to relax. Ryan fixes Haley’s make up. This is really awkward. I’m very uncomfortable watching this. Randy says Haley is not sure who she is and she needs to figure it out because her performance was not great. Steven loves her voice but thinks she needs to be more soulful and sing more blues.
Stefano Langone is up next. Of course his parents say he was an incredible baby. Id venture to say he was fair at best. He’s is doing If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Simply Red. Ok? Jimmy Ivine calls him out for not knowing the words well enough. Seems to be a common problem for Stefano. He actually does a really good job. I think he may be riffing a bit too much but other then that, not bad at all. Randy, after saying Stefano like 15 times, says it’s the best performance of the night so far. Hot vocals. Steven says it was just wonderful and it was over the top beautiful. Jennifer says it was the perfect song for him and that he can win. She wants him to connect with her eyes. Ryan tells Stefano to go hug his mom. Nice moment.
Keeping with the Italian love, Pia Toscano is up. Her mom says she was a diva from a very young age. We get a story about her grandfather passing away. Queue the tears. She is singing Where Do Broken Hearts Go by Whitney Houston. She is pretty good. My worry with her is that she may have peaked to early with her first great performance. Steven says she is the reason the show is called American Idol. Jennifer is very happy she did something up tempo and she thinks she was perfect. Randy says she delivers almost perfect vocals and that she is in this competition to win it. Simon makes funny of Randy’s mannerisms and its pretty funny.
Before the break, Ryan announces Scotty McCreery is doing a Travis Tritt song. I was hoping he would sing babylockthemdoorsandturnthelightsdownlow! Oh well. We get the closest thing to a demeaning remark from a parent when Scotts mom call him a fat baby. He wanted to be like Elvis and all his friends thought he was weird. I just think its weird that he is a logo for Mad magazine. Scotty’s parents sing babylockthemdoorsandturnthelightsdownlow! Now I can die happy. He’s singing Can I Trust You With My Heart by Travis Tritt. Jimmy Ivine does not want to change him, just wants him to put his own flavor on things. Its like every Scotty performances, it is fantastic but eventually he is going to have to sing something not country right? Anyways, its another excellent performance for the kid. Jennifer wants to see him keep growing. Randy name drops Travis Tritt. He loves seeing Scott take chances and Randy believes in him. Steven says he is going to go places
Karen Rodriguez is the last online competitor left. Karen’s mom panders to Jennifer Lopez. No, im kidding, but I’m sure Karen will shortly. She’s is doing Love Will Lead You Back by Taylor Dayne. Jimmy Ivine compares her to a horse for some reason. Guess I missed the metaphor. She doesn’t seem offended though. He performance can be summed up with one word: “Meh”. It is not a bad performance but its forgettable. She throws in some Spanish. Its turning into a crutch. Randy says it sounded rough, it was better then last week but still not great. Steven loves when she “Breaks in to her ethnic what it isness”. I’m fairly certain that was racist. Jennifer could tell she was nervous, she needs to just perform because she sings beautifully.
The rumors of Casey Abrams demise were exaggerated! He’s here and he looks fairly healthy. In a shocking turn of events, Casey had a beard as a baby. Not really, but you believed it for a second. Casey’s parents are pretty old. Casey is doing Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. I personally would have gone with Smells Like Nirvana by Weird Al, but that’s just me. We are told that no one has ever done Nirvana on Idol. I appreciate the risk he’s taking. It starts off kind of rough but he really starts to nail it about 30 seconds in. However this song might be a little too grunge for the judges. We will have to see. Steven says he is the perfect match of crazy and talented. Jennifer said parts of it were a little screamy but she still loves him. Randy loves that he is fearless and that he puts art before commerce. I don’t think Randy knows what commerce means.
Lauren Alana is up next. She is sick to. Lots of hooking up going on in the idol house? I think Lauren’s mom might be as old as me, meaning she had Lauren when she was 9. She is singing I’m The Only One by Melissa Ethridge. Jimmy Ivine wants to see her redeem herself for last week because they are expecting a lot from her. She is much better then last week. Its still not a fantastic performance, parts of it still have issues but she is improving. Jennifer says it was very nice and she was able to make it hers. Randy says it is very nice and she should have a cold every week. Steven says she’s beautiful and she did it again.
After saying his Idol was R.Kelly, Jacob Lusk admits that his 2nd idol is OJ Simpson. That didn’t really happen. He is singing Alone by Heart. Jimmy Ivine loves that he picked a rock song. He does his typical good Jacob performance. Parts of it feel a little screamy. Randy agrees that parts of it were off but it was really good when he found his way and he likes how he “caressed the song in the end” His words, not mine. Steven says gospel had a baby and they named it Jacob Lusk. Jennifer loves the way he fully gives himself to every performance he does.
So there you have it. Kind of an underwhelming night. My bottom 3 would be Naima, Paul and Karen with Naima being my easy choice to send home. Check back tomorrow for my brief recap of the results show. See ya!
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