Todrick Hall – Since U Been Gone: Now this is what I’m talking about. The best way to succeed on Idol is to sing a song that was originally done by someone of the opposite sex. Now is the singing great? Not really. But this is memorable and original. Okay, the judges think it was a little tooooo original. But people will remember it. And at this stage…that’s what’s important.

Aaron Kelly – Here Comes Goodbye: Was he a country singer before? Or is he going the route of the girls and just sounding like whoever he’s singing? I feel like it’s the latter. More karaoke. And some rough vocals. He sounds nervous. Apparently the judges and I don’t agree tonight.

Jermaine Sellers – Get Here: Someone sang this before. Melissa? Season 5? (I was close…it was in fact Season 5, but it was Kinnik Sky…she did a great job, but was cut before the Top 12.) Yikes. I do NOT like this. I can’t stand falsetto. That was pretty rough.

Tim Urban – Apologize: Kris sang this song. He looks like Jon Peter Lewis. If you’re wondering why I’m doing so many past Idol comparisons, it’s because these performances are too terrible, and I don’t want to listen. So I’m thinking back to past years where good singers actually existed. That was awful. Absolutely awful.

Joe Munoz – You and I Both: Ooo, I like this song. Which is probably a bad thing. Sigh. More shaky karaoke. Sounds very nervous. Really boring performance. Not as bad as the last two though.

Tyler Grady – American Woman: More karaoke. Trying to sound like the original. Another boring performance. With more rough high notes.

Lee Dewyze – Chasing Cars: Starting out promising. Going downhill a bit. There were some rough moments, but that was definitely the best so far. And he has a nice voice. Like a raspy Dave Matthews-y rocker. It’s kinda cool. Hey, Simon agrees with me! Kara and Randy hated it. What do they know.

John Park – God Bless the Child: Mikalah sang this song. They’re not going to like this because it’s old. It wasn’t awful I guess. But it was boring. And forgettable. I actually stopped paying attention for a while. He could be in some trouble.

Mike Lynche – This Love: Ooo..another good tune. Whoa…fast. So fast. It’s not terrible, but it it’s boring again. It’s way too fast for him to really sing it well. He just sounds like he’s rushing through it. I don’t like it at all.

Alex Lambert – Wonderful World: What’s with the mullet? Ugh. I don’t think there’s every been a week of Idol where I’ve hated everyone. This is a really bad start.

Casey James – Heaven: I get the feeling that the judges are going to love this. I think he sounds REALLY nervous and shaky. And he looks about as uncomfortable as Alex, just smiling and staring at the camera. I’m not feeling the emotion. And he’s got a Carmen Rasmusen sheep thing going on. The voice wasn’t awful though. I’m not sure why everyone thinks he’s so good looking. I think he’s kind of ugly.

Andrew Garcia – Sugar We’re Going Down: He is SO GOOD. He needs to win this show. No one even comes close. I have no idea what this song is, but he is making me love it. Awesome. …or not. I guess if I knew the song, I wouldn’t have liked it. That’s why I like not knowing songs.

Overall? Another rough night. I liked Andrew, but I guess I see where the judges are coming from…I don’t really plan on buying it on iTunes. So it wasn’t fantastic. Which means out of 24 people, I didn’t like a single one enough to spend $1.29. Which is very sad. And makes me very concerned. I’m even more concerned that some of my favorites – Todrick, Jermaine, and Mike – had such bad performances. I was encouraged by Lee though. It wasn’t great, but I like his voice a lot. I dunno. I feel like it’s going to be a rough year. I don’t know what it is about this year. I feel like I’m watching Season 1 or 2. Where everything is just so karaoke. I mean…listening to the recap…it’s just so bad. Although I must say that Lee’s performance was the only one I didn’t cringe while listening back to. He sounded like an actual artist. He even sounded better than Andrew. Maybe I’ll pick a new favorite.

Predictions? John is gone. And probably Tim. But just like the girls, any one of the guys could go. Could be Aaron, could be Joe or Alex. Could even be Todrick, Tyler, or Jermaine. Who knows. I’m gonna say John and Tim though.

We find out tomorrow which 4 Idols get the boot. And more importantly…KRIS ALLEN PERFORMS! WOO! And Allison Iraheta (less excited, but I’m sure it’ll be a million times better than the 4 hours of my life I’ve spent on this season’s contestants over the last two days).

Until then…

ANYWHO. I guess we’re announcing the Top 24. So here we go!

Mike Lynche is in! WOOO!! Unanimous decision! YAY!

Didi Benami is in! Yay! I like her too! WOO! 2 for 2!

Katelyn Epperly is in. I don’t really like her though. Oh well. I wasn’t going to like them all.

Shelby Dressel is out. That’s too bad. She wasn’t bad.

Casey James is in! He’s okay. I don’t hate him.

Aaron Kelly is in! Yay! Aw, he’s so cute. I might have to root for a 16 year old this year.

Lee Dewyze is in! Heheh…he just keeps saying shut up. I wish they had showed more of him. He was really good.

Todrick Hall is in! WOO! I’m so excited about the boys this year! Now we just need Jermaine (I think Orlando Jermaine got the boot earlier) and Andrew.

Jessica Furney is out. That’s weird that they’d even show her. They didn’t show her very much in the auditions. Probably just because she’s freaking out right now. Stop your whining. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. PUHLEEZE. Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away. Why are you still here? Yes, that’s why they showed her.

So 7 people are in the Top 24 so far. I’m not a fan of this splitting the results into two days thing. I like to learn them all at once. Sigh. Oh well. We have 5 of 12 guys and 2 of 12 girls. We learn the rest tomorrow…and then my website gets updated on Thursday! WOO!

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…

Now for this year’s action.

Interesting…not a whole lot of drama this year. The drama they’re trying to create is kinda lame. They’re really making Mary Powers (the rocker chick) out to be the villain. The biggest drama was the Big Mike baby thing. Which still makes me kinda mad. He should have been there.

Okay…on to the groups!

Faith (Charity Vance, Ashley Rodriguez, and Michelle Delamor) – Not a fan of Charity, who forgot her lyrics. Ashley’s just okay. Michelle wasn’t really highlighted, so I don’t have an opinion on her.
Verdict: Everyone is in.

Team Awesome (Mike Lynche, Seth Rollins, Tim Urban, and Michael Castro) – They were all decent. Not outstanding, but definitely not bad. And Michael Castro didn’t even get a solo or a lower third. Guess he’s not going through.
Verdict: Mike and Tim through, Seth and Michael out.

Neapolitan (Liz Rooney, Thaddeus Johnson, Jessica Cunningham, and some girl named Paige) – They’re all pretty terrible. And there’s some stupid drama between them and “Destiny’s Wild” because they stole their a cappella idea. Uh oh.
Verdict: All through. Maybe I just hated the song.

Destiny’s Wild (Todrick Hall, Theri, Jareb Liewer, and Siobhan Magnus) – They’re slightly better (although the ending was absolutely awful). I agree with Ellen though that they were very weird. I think it’s the song. Such a terrible song.

The Mighty Rangers (Tori Kelly, Maddie Penrose, Mark Labriola, Kimberly Kerbow, and some guy named Danny) – Tory is boring. Maddie is awful. Mark forgot his words and wasn’t good anyway. Kimberly also forgot words and was bad.
Verdict: Tori and Maddie are through, the others are out. Mark cried.

The Phoenix (Ben Honeycutt, Jeff Goldford, Moorea Masa, Jermaine Sellers) – Ben and Jermaine were fantastic. Jeff was okay. Moorea wasn’t good. As a group, they were pretty darn good. The judges were pretty tough on them. Interesting.
Verdict: Jermaine and Jeff are through, Ben and Moorea are out. Wow…I liked Ben. But of course, I love Jermaine, so I’m very happy to finally see him again.

Big Dreams (Matt Lawrence, Amanda Shechtman, and two other guys) – Matt wasn’t awful. Everyone else was. Matt wasn’t good either.
Verdict: All out.

Middle C (Janell Wheeler, Jermaine Purifoy, and Casey James) – They were all pretty good. I like the other Jermaine better.
Verdict: All through.

Three Men and a Baby (Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens, J.B. Ahfua, and some other guy) – Andrew was great again, J.B. (a new face) was VERY good. I still don’t like Katie.
Verdict: All through.

The Dreamers (Mary Powers, Hope Johnson, Margo May, Alex Lambert, and some other girl) – That was probably the worst thing I’ve ever heard. Margo was particularly awful.
Verdict: Mary, Hope, and Alex are through. Margo and the other girl are out. Yuck, I thought Hope and Alex were terrible too.

That’s it…71 made it through. No group stood out, and there was no funny drama. I will officially dub this the worst Group Round ever. And I had to stay up until 10 for it too. Gross.

Next week that 71 becomes 24. Tuesday will be the last performances and the whole splitting everyone into rooms thing. Wednesday will be the complete waste of an hour episode where we hear no singing and instead have to watch people walk up to a chair and hear whether or not they made it. BUT THEN…the real show starts. And my game starts! Hooray!

Until then…

Wow…look at those first season auditions. Look at Simon’s hair!

Lloyd Thomas – Charles Grigsby sang this song! Aww…I miss Charles. He was so cute. This guy is pretty good. Not as good as Charles of course. And not nearly as cute. But very good.

Kimberly Carver – Aw, she was good until she pulled out the Carly-esque screeching. Hmm…they’re trying to create a Neil/Simon fight like the Kara/Katy fight from last night. I think she seems pretty nice. So I’ll give her a second chance.

Erica Rhodes – Yuck. There was nothing good about that. That was one of the worst things I have ever seen.

Dave Pittman – Another Arkansas boy. He’s certainly not Kris. I’m not sure. He has a nice voice, maybe it was just a bad song for me. I like him, I’ll give him another chance.

14 made it through on Day 1.

Sadly, Neil couldn’t stay for Day 2 (he wasn’t kicked out like Avril Lavigne was). Which means we’re stuck with a stupid Jonas brother. Joe I guess. Bleh.

Todrick Hall – He was in The Color Purple with Fantasia. Which I was initially unimpressed by because Fantasia is among the worst Idol winners. But this guy was good. I was a big fan. Cool song too. His voice was a teensy bit shaky, but it’s tough to not be shaky when you’re auditioning a cappella for the country’s biggest TV show.

Dawntoya Thomason – Meh. Boring.

Stephanie Daulong – Umm…how did she get through? That few seconds was absolutely awful. Maybe worse than Erica.

Maegan Wright – Kris sang this song. Better. I wasn’t a fan. Although it did make me want to start listening to last year’s stuff.

Hahahahaha! Ryan’s stupid thing about how hard Simon has it was in fact stupid, but I enjoyed the fact that when referring to finding someone “special”, they only showed 5 of the 8 winners. Kris and Carrie of course. And Jordin, David, and Kelly. Stupid Ruben, Fantasia, and Taylor. Nobody likes you.

Christian Spear – What is she wearing? Jonas boy looks like he wants her. I didn’t really like her. She was kinda boring.

A total of 31 made it through from Dallas. I liked Lloyd and Todrick. I kinda liked Dave.

Next week, we move to Denver (where apparently Posh Spice returns). Last week of auditions! Hooray!

Until then…