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…

Janell Wheeler is in! She’s okay. I don’t hate her. So that’s a plus.

Tyler Grady is in. I’m not sure how I feel about him. I don’t hate him either. But I don’t really like him. He’s a drummer though, so maybe I’ll give him a chance.

Lacey Brown is in. I’m not happy about this one. She’s the girl who went up against Megan Corkrey last year. And I dislike her just as much as I disliked Megan.

Ashley Rodriguez is in. I don’t remember if I liked her or not. I think I thought she was okay. Maybe. Heh.

Alex Lambert is in. Ugh. I don’t like him.

Joe Munoz is in. I don’t have any idea who he is. Which means he needs to kill it next week or he’s going to be another one of my 100% guarantees to get the boot. But he has a chance…I said the same thing about Kris last year, and he did in fact kill it. And he made it through. And he won. Yay!

Crystal Bowersox is in. She’s okay. I still don’t like her stupid dreadlocks though. Aw, but her husband and son are really cute.

Katie Stevens is in. I’m not a huge fan of her either. Apparently last night was not an accurate representation of the Top 24. I’m not particularly excited about anyone so far tonight.

Angela Martin is out. Wow. I didn’t like her, but this is rough. Third time auditioning, third time to Hollywood, third time cut. That’s rough.

Lilly Scott is in. I don’t like her either. I’m not sure I’m excited about all these “different” girls. I want a cookie cutter all-American girl belting out well known songs. That’s my kind of Idol.

Paige Miles is in. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name. So she’s in the same boat as Joe Munoz.

Siobhan Magnus is in. I don’t think I like her.

Michelle Delamor is in. Don’t know her.

Jermaine Sellers is in! Yay! Boston Jermaine! Hooray, I’m finally excited about someone!

John Park is in. I don’t know him either.

Ooo…now we get down to the 1 spot, 2 people part. Girls are up first.

Tori Kelly vs. Haeley Vaughn

And the winner is…Haeley. Ugh. I really don’t like her. I don’t like Tori either. But I have a really bad feeling that this is going to be another Janay Castine.

Now for the boys:
Thaddeus Johnson vs. Andrew Garcia.

And the winner is…Andrew! Yay! I like Thad, but he’s only 16. He should come back some other year. He’s quite good.

I’m a little confused. I only counted 11 boys. The video at the end tells me that Tim Urban made it through, but I don’t remember seeing him. He must have been mixed in with one of the quick montages and I missed him.

So here they are…
Guys:
Mike Lynche
Casey James
Aaron Kelly
Lee Dewyze
Todrick Hall
Tyler Grady
Alex Lambert
Joe Munoz
Jermaine Sellers
Tim Urban
John Park
Andrew Garcia

Girls:
Didi Benami
Katelyn Epperly
Janell Wheeler
Lacey Brown
Ashley Rodriguez
Crystal Bowersox
Katie Stevens
Lilly Scott
Paige Miles
Siobhan Magnus
Michelle Delamor
Haeley Vaughn

Overall I think I’m somewhat pleased. I won’t know for sure until the next couple of weeks, but I’m encouraged. Particularly by the boys. Mike, Todrick, Jermaine, Andrew, and Aaron. The girls I’m not toooo excited about. Didi I think was okay. We’ll see. But right now, I give my Idol 2010 crown to…Todrick or Andrew. I think this is the year of the original and entertaining songwriter.

The website will be updated tomorrow at some point with pictures of this year’s Top 24. And I promise to have all the names and faces memorized before next Tuesday. WOOO!! My game starts next week! Yessss. Go Boys (as usual)!

Until then…

I’m not sure how I feel about this whole backwards thing they’re doing. Showing us the rooms before the performances? I feel like I missed an episode or something. Is this how they normally do it? I don’t remember.

Angela Martin – Nothing special.

Jermaine Purifory – It was okay, I’ve heard him better. I expect him to make it to the Top 24.

Casey James – I’m still not a huge fan of him. I can’t picture him in the Top 12. Top 24 maybe.

Jermaine Sellers – I liked him better than Jermaine P. Except…he was kind of a jerk to the band. I just went back and discovered that Sellers is the one who auditioned in Boston. I thought I liked the Boston Jermaine better, but I think I’ve leaned towards Orlando Jermaine in Hollywood. Just not in this performance.

Siobhan Magnus – She is very odd looking. I’m not sure what she’s wearing…looks like something from Pretty in Pink. But her singing isn’t awful.

Crystal Bowersox – I really hate that she has dreadlocks. She sounds a lot like Sarah McLachlan in this performance. I can totally picture her at Lillith Fair.

Alex Lambert – This is VERY karaoke. He doesn’t have any stage presence or star power. The only reason people online like him is because his last name is Lambert and his first name begins with an A. Everyone keeps comparing him to Adam. I don’t like Adam at all, but at least he could take charge of the stage.

Mike Lynche – See, now THIS is what I’m talking about. Same song that Alex did, and this is original (but not tooooo original) and well sung. With some presence.

Todrick Hall – Third time on the Jason Mraz song, this one is definitely original…to the point of being a different song. But I really really like it, and I love Todrick. He’s up there with

Thaddeus Johnson – Another Man in the Mirror. Ooo…he’s better than Jermaine. Wow. I don’t remember this guy being this good. Nice job, Thad! I agree with his mother…that performance just put him in the Top 24.

Charity Vance – She sounds old. And boring. I feel like I’ve said this about her before.

Mary Powers – This is actually her worst performance. I thought she was going to make it through, but that one was rough. Very karaoke.

Lloyd Thomas – Another Man in the Mirror. Probably the worst of them.

Hope Johnson – Uh oh. “Home”? Really? Hey, I have a great idea, let me sing a previous Idol farewell song! That can’t possibly have any bad vibes. She wasn’t great, so I think she will be going home…back to the place that she belongs, where your love has always been enough for her. Hehehe.

Shelby Dressel – She has a nice low voice, but her high voice gets a little screamy. Which is strange, because usually Idols have a rough time with the “lower register” as Paula and Randy always say.

Aaron Kelly – Uh oh, forgot his lyrics. But he brought it back, and sang it very well. I’m quite impressed with him actually. Even though he’s young. Forgetting your lyrics isn’t always a nail in your coffin. Carrie forgot her lyrics in Hollywood. It was funny because some girl who got kicked out after that round was like, “I can’t believe that girl made it through…she forgot her words!” Well, “that girl” is doing okay for herself.

Ashley Rodriguez – She has a nice voice. I wasn’t a huge fan of the song/performance, but she has a nice voice.

Lee Dewyze – Hmm..he’s new. He’s good.

Joe Munoz – Another Man in the Mirror. Not good.

Haeley Vaughn – Another I’m Yours. Not good at all. Pretty terrible actually. I hate it. Oh man…the ending was awful.

Janell Wheeler – She has a nice voice. Good performance, good song choice. Stupid Kara…she says “Awesome” after Haeley and “Wrong song” after Janell. I wish she’d go away.

Tori Kelly – I don’t like her.

Lilly Scott – I don’t like her either.

Andrew Garcia – Uh oh…I’m not a fan of this. That’s okay, I think he was good enough all the way through to make it.

Time for some results. I’m interested to see what the other half of the show will include…I hope they aren’t stretching out these results without showing more singing.

Room 1….is through! Including Andrew Garcia, Thad Johnson, Lilly Scott, Mike Lynche, and Katie Stevens.

Room 2…is out. Including Mary Powers, Charity Vance, Lloyd Thomas, and Hope Johnson (I TOLD YOU!).

Room 3…is through (I know, you’re shocked)! Including Aaron Kelly, Janell Wheeler, Ashley Rodriguez, Angela Martin, and Shelby Dressel.

Now the judges will look back at the tapes and whittle that down some more.

Until then…

And right off the bat, what does she do? She gives an even better answer than mine to the “How are you qualified to judge Idol?” question. No, she has no real music experience, but she does know how it feels to get on a stage every day and have to please an entire crowd. Good answer, Ellen. And then she told Ryan she was ignoring him, and asked Simon if she should come on to him. Perfecto.

Line 1:
Katie Stevens – I still don’t really like her. She’s not terrible. But I dunno.

Skiiboski – He’s not as good as I remember him in the audition. Before, the voice made up for the weirdness.

Verdict: Katie’s in, Skiiboski’s out.

Line 2:
Andrew Garcia – Hmm…this is quite good. Wow. Okay, I predict he will be in the Top 12. This is awesome. I kinda wanna download this. I think that was the best Hollywood solo audition I’ve ever seen. Excellent. Ugh…Kara just compared him to Adam. Don’t do that.

Vanessa Wolfe – Wow…she is still awful. Like, really really awful. Maybe worse than she was before.

Verdict: Andrew is in, Vanessa is out (woo!)

Janell Wheeler – Good I guess. I got a little bored. But she did sound like a real singer.

Line 3:
Haeley Vaughn – She sounds very young. Oh yeah, she sang a Carrie song before.

Mary Powers – I stand by what (I think) I said before…she’s good, but the rocker chick never makes it far.

Verdict: Both through.

At the end of Day 1, 46 contestants made it through.

Day 2:

Line 1:
Jay Stone – Aww…he blew it. You gotta let them hear you sing regular too. Darn.

Lilly Scott – Hmm…she sounds like she’s in the 40s. I feel like I’m watching some old movie where they’re listening to the radio. I don’t generally like that style, but I really enjoyed that performance.

Verdict: Lilly’s in, Jay’s out.

Mike Lynche – Well, he’s fabulous. But I kinda wish he would go be with his wife while she has their first child. But he was great.

Line 2:
Tim Urban – He has a very nice voice. I’m not sure I’m thrilled with the song choice. David Cook has a much deeper voice. I feel like this guy should have done something a little higher.

Justin Williams – He picks really awful songs. He’s so much better when he tones it down than when he starts belting.

Verdict: Tim’s in, Justin’s out.

Line 3:
Maddy Curtis – Nope. Not good. Sounds way older than 16. Very very old fashioned.

Casey James – Pretty good. A lot better than the original audition. I’m not sure how he’d do on the show though – with the theme weeks and such.

Verdict: Casey’s in, Maddy’s out.

Last Line of the Day:
Didi Benami – Hmm…I don’t think I liked her in the audition. But this is REALLY good. I think I have a thing for the people who play guitar. Very very good.

Crystal Bowersox – I don’t like her quite as much as the other guitarists, eeek…I wasn’t a fan of the high note either. But not terrible.

Verdict: Both through.

95 total are through from round one. I was actually quite pleased with the performances tonight. It’s not often in Hollywood that I can actually picture hearing the performance on the radio. It happened 3 or 4 times tonight. My favorite by far was Andrew. Right now, based on my extremely limited exposure (I’m mad that they only really showed people from before…no one new), he’s my pick to win it all.

Tomorrow…GROUP ROUND!!! Yessss. Let’s see if anyone can outdo Kimberley Locke and Frenchie Davis. I doubt it. Best group performance ever. Blake and company gave them a run for their money. But no one rocked it like K-Lo and Frenchie. But…some of these people seem pretttty good. We’ll see.

Until then…

Jessica Furney – Well she has definitely improved over last year’s audition. I’m not sure I like her, but it’s not every day you see that drastic of a change over the course of a year. I’m impressed.

Amanda Schectman – Boring. And I don’t like her personally either. She’s pretty annoying.

Lee Dewyze – His voice is great, but he should stop humming. That’s not quite as good.

Crystal Bowersox – Great, another dreadlocked person. And another person singing Janis Joplin. Fantastic.

Lacey Brown – I didn’t think it was possible for me to like her less than Megan Corkrey. I figured I’d talk about how she totally deserved to beat her out last year. But…she is equally as bad.

Rachel Hubbard – Boring.

Thaddeus Johnson – Way too many runs and such.

Genesis Moore – Yuck…she sang a Carrie song. Therefore she’s terrible.

Michael Lynche – Uh oh…Unchained Melody. Too many runs. This song shouldn’t be played with ever. And he totally didn’t hit the high note (I guess I don’t know that for sure because I don’t have any musical knowledge at all…but it didn’t sound good).

Didi Benami – I don’t like her voice. She reminds me of a combination of Brooke White and Megan Corkrey. And those are two of the worst people ever. But hey, at least she’s not Carmen Rasmusen. And she’s crying way too much.

Aaron Kelly – Hey, this is the kid I was told to keep an eye on because he’s from around Ithaca. He was pretty good for a 16 year old. I’d root for him. Just not to win.

Hope Johnson – Wow, they really played her up to be fantastic. And she wasn’t. She was really boring. And forgettable. Bleh.

So the audition process is complete. 181 people have made it through to Hollywood. No one really stood out to me this time around. I’m hoping that’s not a bad sign. There were some guys I really liked from Boston. Jermaine? He was good. And the beat-boxer. But I know he won’t win. If Blake couldn’t win, that guy definitely can’t. So I guess I won’t be picking a winner this year. Maybe I’ll figure it out next week.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll whittle the 181 down to 24. And more importantly…Ellen joins the judges AND…GROUP PERFORMANCES! The ultimate reality show (I never consider Idol to be a reality show, but Hollywood week…definitely is). This should be slightly more entertaining than the last 4 weeks and far less entertaining than the following 14.

Until then…