The live shows have officially begun! Don’t let that exclamation point fool you, I couldn’t be less excited. Hopefully there will be some good performances to make me start caring about this season. But I have to admit, at this point, the only reason I’m still watching Idol is because of my game. Although I guess I’m interested to see how Ellen does. But I’d rather be watching the Olympics.

The next three weeks will feature songs from the Billboard charts. Which basically means anything you want.

Paige Miles – It’s All Right Now: Michael Johns sang this song. It’s starting out very very VERY rough. She’s going to be in some trouble I think. No one has any idea who she is, and she’s singing a pretty dull song and doing it pretty terribly. Not good. Hmm…apparently I’m deaf. The judges loved her.

Ashley Rodriguez – Happy: I’m not liking this one either. The lower stuff wasn’t great, and I figured she’d get better as it got higher, but I didn’t like that either. I’m getting a very karaoke feeling tonight. Not starting out well. But she’s had a lot of airtime, so she miiiight be okay. We’ll see.

Janell Wheeler – What About Love: Ugh. More karaoke. I liked her at one point, but I was not a fan of that. That’s the problem with giving them the freedom to choose whatever song they want. They all pick these big diva songs and never compare.

Lilly Scott – Fixing a Hole: The first musician. She’s going to be one of those people I never like. So I’ll never be able to judge her accurately. I despise her voice. She really is like another Megan Corkrey (and she’s not even the one I compared to Megan in the auditions…which means there’s gonna be 2 of them). Same sort of annoying voice and annoying movements (movements aren’t nearly as annoying as Megan’s). Sooo…I don’t like her.

Katelyn Epperly – Oh Darling: What is she wearing? Leather strapless dress and cherry red lipstick. Yikes. Well…I don’t hate her. But I don’t really like her either. It was probably the best so far for me – but that isn’t saying much. Wow…Kara agreed with me about the look. And Ellen was cute, she sounded like me. I felt like you were pushing too much, but I don’t really know if that’s right.

Haeley Vaughn – I Want To Hold Your Hand: I’m not looking forward to this. She’s one of my least favorite of the Top 24. She’s playing the guitar. Which I’m not really a fan of. I do not like this. I mean, it’s not as karaoke as the others because it’s definitely different, but it’s very very yelly and squeaky.

Lacey Brown – Landslide: Something about this feels off. I don’t know what it is. Maybe the timing or something. It’s just weird. Although…I’ve hated her more in the past.

Michelle Delamor – Falling: Oh good, back to the karaoke show. Not terrible, but really boring. And very karaoke. She’ll be in trouble. Middle of the show, no previous airtime, boring performance.

Didi Benami – The Way I Am: Okay, finally someone I liked in the audition process. Uh oh. This is rough. Where did this voice come from? She’s singing like Megan Corkrey too! And she’s even wiggling like Megan used to. I have no idea what this song is, but I’m assuming whoever sings it has this stupid kind of voice. So apparently Didi doesn’t have a style. Bleh.

Siobhan Magnus – Wicked Game: Wow she’s starting out low. More karaoke, but this is probably my favorite performance of the night. Which bothers me since she’s only 19. I don’t like to root for anyone under 20.

Crystal Bowersox – Hand In My Pocket: She’s another one. Karaoke. Trying to sound like Alanis. She’s yelling a lot too. Boring and yelly. Hmm…no one else commented on her yelliness, but Simon agreed that she was just trying to be Alanis. To which she responded, “they don’t allow originals on this show”. This is why I think they should be required to watch the show before they go on it. “Original” doesn’t mean you wrote it. It means you interpreted it.

Katie Stevens – Feeling Good: Uh oh, the last two people who sang this in the first week got the boot. In the same year. Although I feel like they didn’t get the last spot. So she might be okay. It’s just such an indulgent song (to use Simon’s terminology). She sounds like she’s trying too hard. Yelly again. Wow, look at me go. This time Randy agreed with me!

Overall? Not so good. I didn’t like ANYBODY. I guess my favorite was Siobhan. But I didn’t really like her either. I won’t spend money on any of those performances on iTunes. It was just not a great 2 hours.

My predictions? It’s tough because I didn’t like anyone. But if I had to choose, I would say that Michelle Delamor is definitely in trouble. She didn’t get any airtime in the audition process. And I have no idea what she sang. I think Haeley should go too, but I think she’ll make it through. I’m watching the recap right now, and I’m realizing just how bad everyone really was. This is a hard choice. Okay, I guess Lacey. Michelle and Lacey. Vocally, I think Michelle was better than others, but I don’t think she was memorable enough to overcome her lack of advertisement. But don’t quote me on any of it. Anyone could go home. The only people I’d like to see again are Siobhan and Didi.

The guys perform tomorrow night…hopefully they will be more original. I’m encouraged because some of them have already shown they can do it. We’ll see.

Until then…