American Idol Top 13

I love how Ryan asks the judges what the contestants should do… As if the contestants can change anything at this point. I especially love it when the judges say they should choose good songs. There’s no way they can change that at this point.

And for those of you who don’t know, the judges already know pretty much what they are going to say. They watch the contestants during rehearsal and prepare what they are going to say at that time. This has been obvious in the past when Paula has mistakenly said things that were completely incorrect. Last year she started talking about a performance that we hadn’t even seen yet.

It’s Michael Jackson night. Nothing like picking a broke pedophile as your artist.

Lil sings “The Way You Make Me Feel”. I’m not sure how I feel about this performance. Paula’s dancing, so I guess she likes it. I know I don’t like Lil’s outfit. I think the reason I don’t really like this is because of the way it’s arranged. It reminds me of a bad Pointer Sisters song (I liked them, this sounded like a song they might have rejected). Randy liked the bluesy vibe she added to the song. Kara thought that it was going to make the other contestants work harder. Paula loved the outfit (but of course she’s wearing feathers) and said Lil was a “force to be recond with” and “like angels singing”. Simon said he hated what she was wearing and that the second half was better than the first.

Scott plays the piano, singing “Keep the Faith”. This is a song that someone can really make their own because it’s not as well known as some of Jackson’s other songs. It’s harder for Scott to make a connection with the audience. I personally think he should “look” around because it would be less disconcerting if he didn’t stare into one direction. I think he did a good job with the song, not great, but good. Kara said Scott was true to himself. Paula said it was a lovely performance. Simon said he hated the song because nobody knows it. Scott said he wanted to be artistic, Simon said that AI was not the place to be artistic (this contradicts them wanting people to put their own spin on a song). Randy thought it was okay, but safe.

Danny has a great voice, even though I’ve never heard the song before. “P.Y.T.” Great energy and stays on key the whole way through. He’s definitely going to the top. Paula danced through the whole thing. Paula said he had a recognizable voice and was going to the finals. Simon said it was a little early to be saying that (I for once agree with Paula). Simon said the vocals were brilliant, but the dancing was hideous (totally agree with Simon). Randy said he liked it all. Kara said it was joyous.

Michael Goes with the whole ballad thing, and sings “You’re Not Alone”. It’s different enough that it doesn’t sound much like the original. It sounds more like something at a Branson show. The old ladies would love it. Simon said he’s not the best singer, but made up for it with passion and heart. Then Simon made a joke, saying that he just wished they knew what Michael did for a living. Randy said he was born to sing. Kara thought he did a great job. Paula babbled on about how lovely he sounded.

Jasmine sings “I’ll Be There”, which I’ve always thought this song sounds good sung by a girl as apposed to Michael as a young boy. Jasmine does a good job, although she has a little trouble with the high notes and doesn’t really change the song up at all. Randy said it was pretty good. Kara was surprised she did that well, but might have needed to be a half-key lower (for that high note). Paula thought she was poised, with good and bad moments. Simon said there wasn’t much to add, but she needed to lighten up a little bit and it was a little robotic. He told her to be her age (she’s 17, but seems much older).

Kris plays the guitar and sings “Remember The Time”. I really considered fast forwarding through this and after I heard it, I sort of wished I had. He’s not a bad singer, but I haven’t fallen in love with him yet. I actually think he has a good chance to make it pretty far if he continues to perform at a level like this. I’m hoping to get more into his style soon. Kara thinks the guitar helps him performance-wise. Paula said he was adorable-sexy with the guitar. Simon wasn’t sure that was a song to use with a guitar and thought that Kris shouldn’t have let the women know he was already married. Randy said it was very well done and compared Kris to Jason Mraz.

Allyson sings “Give Into Me”. Her voice is so much older than anything you would expect from a 16 year old girl. It almost sounds like she’s been smoking for 30 years. I thought she did okay. The only thing I didn’t like is she pronounced “okay” as “hokay”, which drove me a little crazy. I love her voice and think she’s got a shot to go a few more rounds at least. Paula said it was mind-boggling that she so young. Simon said it was a good performance and we know who she is. Randy said that she’s got it and could sing anything and was one to watch. Kara said her vocals were ridiculous.

Anoop sings “Beat It”. He’s never one to sing a ballad when he can sing something fast. Anoop is my favorite. I think I love that his style and voice are coming out of someone who looks so traditionally Indian. I just don’t think the majority of people would even dream of Anoop’s nationality if they were just listening to him. I think he rocks out the song and no way he’s going home. Paula and Simon fight over who goes first. Paula says she thinks that this song is untouchable and that it sounds too karaoke to her (she said she knew she’d get booed). Simon said he’d go a little further and said it was horrible because there was no aggression and was too lightweight. It was like a bad imitation. Randy agreed. Kara agreed, but said the worst part was that they didn’t get to hear any variation in his voice. Looking back it, it probably was a bit karaoke and I might have been listening through rose-colored headphones so to speak

Jorge sings “Never Can Say Good-bye”. I am really ready to say good-bye to Jorge. The whole “sex symbol” thing is not working for him, and although he can sing, I just don’t think he is good enough to get much farther in American Idol. His performance is all a little cheesy for me. Randy didn’t like the song because it was old-fashioned. Kara didn’t feel emotionally connected to the song, or Jorge (not sure which). Paula thought it wasn’t a good song choice. Simon said it was corny and Jorge was out of his depth.

Megan sings “Rockin’ Robin” (which isn’t even originally done by the Jackson 5 by the way). I like Megan’s voice, but I’m not 100% sold on this song choice. Having said that, I’m not sure what might have been better suited to her voice (or if their was one). All-in-all an okay job. She did this really weird bird noise at the end that she should have left off. Kara said Megan injected her personality in the song. Paula loves the uniqueness of Megan’s voice. Simon said it was a stupid song choice and the whole performance was clumsy. Randy said the song didn’t allow her to really be Megan.

Adam (who is obviously gay…not that there’s anything wrong with that, but let’s not market him for the tween girls) sings “Black n White”. Paula was up dancing, but although I think it was an okay performance, I thought there was a little too much screeching going on in the song. I also kept waiting for him to run out of breath. The voice is there, but I’m not sure he has the pacing down yet. Paula is beside herself. She said they had never in all the seasons seen anyone so comfortable on the stage. I thought she was going to cry…Adam teared up. Simon said it was in a totally different league than everything else seen that night. Randy said he could make a record right now. Kara is also loved it. Obviously the judges have chosen Adam as their golden boy.

Matt plays the piano and sings “Human Nature”. He reminds me a little of a poor-man’s Justin Timberlake. Paula was singing along. Matt seems to hit the notes and does a decent job of the song. I am not overly excited by the song or the arrangement of it. Randy said said he had the Justin Timberlake thing going (swear I wrote that before I listened to the judges). Paula said he is a talented guy. Paula said he was talented, sexy, amazing…blah, blah, blah. Simon said it was a meat and potatoes, solid performance. They were all really quick with what they had to say because they were running out of time after fawning over Adam earlier.

Alexis gets the coveted final slot. There is always some discussion as to whether this is really random or not. She sings “Dirty Diana”. The words almost seemed to come to fast for her at the beginning. I like Alexis and thought she did a good job. There’s a lot of voice coming out of that little body. Kara said Alexis was a naughty girl and liked it. Paula liked it and said to watch her over-singing. Simon said it was very over-the-top and probably not as good as Alexis thought it was. Randy said it was not great but good and liked the attitude. They spend about a minute and a half total on Alexis because they were totally out of time at this point.

Two of these will be going home Wednesday night.