StoneRose Valley

Once again, it’s that time of year. The Finale of finales’ has arrived.

We have Rod Stewart, Black-Eyed Peas, Cyndi Lauper, Lional Richie, Keith Urban, Queen Latifah, Carlos Santana, Jason Mraz, and David Cook, all gracing the stage tonight (reportedly).

Right now, we have the top thirteen performing Pink’s “So What”; great to see some old faces-Alexis Grace, for example! That was interesting; hearing the last words uttered by these thirteen contestants “I want to start a fight!”, while all decked out in white….yeah, this is american idol.

David Cook is performing “Permament” in honor of his brother, Adam, who passed away a few weeks ago. All the proceeds from the I-tunes sales of this song will go to charity.
It is wonderful to see David on this stage again…this man, is, IMO, hands-down the BEST american idol winner ever. He is the embodiment of everything that an A-I is supposed to be. He was obviously very touched by this song. That was another thing I loved about DC, the emotion he showed during his performances.

Now we get a tribute…Norman Gentle, anyone?
And I was right, Nick Mitchel, aka, Norman Gentle wins the male contestant tribute. And he takes the stage, singing for us one more time…wasn’t that something.

Queen Latifah is singing “Cue the Rain” with Lil Rounds…this is the kind of music Lil should be singing. But I’m tired of it already; can we move on now?

The top thirteen (minus Adam and Kris) are performing “I’m Yours” now with Jason Mraz; love Alexis Grace, as usual. She and Anoop each got their little solo’s.

Now we watch Kris’ journey through A-I…was so proud of him as I watched this.
We get to hear Kris perform with Keith Urban, “Kiss A Girl”.  These guys sound great together! Great choice putting Kris with Keith. Thoroughly enjoyed this performance.

The girls are performing now. Not liking Megan Joy or her outfit. Allison looks nice; Jasmine is darling! And Allison introduces Fergie…not one of my favorite singers out there. Now that number is over; Allison introduces Black-Eyed Peas. A-I blacks out a bit of the number…and when they brought it back, I changed the channel.

Back to the “Golden Idol”; tribute to those with the “best attitude”. Katrina; Tiffany Shedd; another girl in there; are the contenders….but the winner is Katrina. Yeah. Wasn’t a fan of her, either. So, once again, the channel changed.

Allison Iraheta takes the stage with Cyndi Lauper, singing “Time After Time”. Great performance by Allison. There’s something about this night; maybe because it’s no longer a competition, but more a time to have fun. Just much more relaxed.

Ryan talks with both Kris and Adam’s parents.

Back to the stage is Danny Gokey, singing “Hello”. Awesome song-one of my fav’s ever since DC did it last year. Danny’s performance is no David, but still quite enjoyable. Good song for him. Now Danny introduces Lional Richie for their duet; they’re doing a medley of Richie’s songs. Loved this! Also, this was the sort of music Danny said he wanted to do. I would definitely buy his album.

Now we get a glimpse of Adam’s journey….What in the world is he wearing?! That was a boring song….Now he’s singing with Kiss. All I can say is…did we just get transported to the circus?! These people are seriously disturbing. But Adam fits right in. I can’t say anything more about this. The scream in the middle didn’t even sound like it fit in the song, but it was like they said, “oh, we have to put an Adam signature scream in”, and so did. Just weird.

Guitar legend Carlos Santana is performing “Black Magic Woman”….we hear an awesome solo by Matt. Now we get the top thirteen for “Smooth”. Adam heads the group up; Jorge follows with some creepy moves; and then some awesome solo’s by Kris and Danny. Great number! Absolutely loved it!

Ryan promises the results soon. Final Ford Music Video…nice one; featuring clips from all the video’s this season…the song is “I Will Remember You”. David Cook shows up to hand over the keys for the guys new Ford Fusions….man, I need to get on this show.

Steve Martin, Megan Joy, and Michael Sarver are all on-stage singing “Pretty Flowers”…Steve with a banjo. What is this? Hilarious…my fam called it the “Clampett’s”. lol  Enjoyed Micheal…but he and Megan didn’t sound good together…I think that was Megan. Steve slips in a joke; when asked who he hope’s is the winner after tonight, Steve replied “I know it’s kind of a long shot, but I hope I do!”.

The guys from the top thirteen are back singing a pretty cool (and a bit funny) version of “Do You Think I’m Sexy”. Adam introduces Rod Stewart  after the guys are finished. Stewart is singing his “Maggie May”.

Last Golden Idol of the evening we are told…”Outstanding Female”….nominees are Chelsea, Irene, Dana, and Tatiana Del Torro. Tatiana is going to win this one….I was right. Of course, there’s a lot of drama here; Ryan says he’s out of time and has to cut to the commercial…Tatiana forces her way on stage, grabs the trophy and bursts into song…some escorts try to get her off-stage, but we cut to the commercial before anything else….this was so totally staged.

One of the best numbers tonight, Kris and Adam sing “We Are The Champions” together. Queen joins onstage with the guitar. The top thirteen join the chorus. Must be nearing the very end. Love watching the comraderie between the two guys as they share the stage here at the end. These guys sounded great together.

Soon, we will hear the results. My guess is that Kris wins….but it really could be either of them.

Simon said that either one could win and deserve it. 100 million votes…wow.
And the winner is….KRIS ALLEN!!!!! So totally deserved…and he still remains humble.
The judges make me so embarrassed…they really had a look as if to say “this is SO wrong”. I think Kris has shown amazing artistry this season; consistently growing each week, more so than any other contestant.
He sings once more “No Boundaries”…I like him singing this; and despite what others say, calling it a ‘corny’ song-I like it. Afterwards, before the station cuts, we see Kris locked into a hug with his wife. This man is amazing, I’ll say it again.

And so ends another season of american idol. I have to admit, I’m relieved that I don’t have to keep up with this show twice a week anymore. It will be nice to have my Tuesday and Wednesday evenings back.

“American Idol Hall of Fame”

Kelly Clarkson
Reuben Studdard
Fantasia Barrino
Carrie Underwood
Taylor Hicks
Jordan Sparks
David Cook
Kris Allen

“These names will go down in musical history as some of the best. Congratulations to each of you. And welcome to Kris Allen. Sometimes, slow and steady still wins the race.”

The twist that we were promised…well, we are getting ready to hear what it is. The new rule is that the judges can save one contestant from elimination just once. It has to be unanimous, and once they use it, they cannot use it again.

Here is the top Thirteen singing a melody of top hits. Was very impressed with Scott; nearly forgot that he can’t see hardly. He did very well negotiating his way around the stage. Danny’s dancing…that was really weird. And that said in all love, ’cause he’s my favorite this year.

The Ford commercial was lots of fun! Way over the top, but great! Gave everyone watching here with me a laugh!

Michael Sarver is up first. He is pronounced safe.
Allison Iraheta is next. Allison is also safe. She looks very relieved.
Jasmine Murray is third; and is in the bottom group.
Matt Giraud wanted to go ahead and join Jasmine; but was stopped by Michael, Allison, and Ryan. He is safe.

Kris is standing now. He was called both interesting and cool, and clumsy.
Megan is standing also. Kris is safe; Megan joins Jasmine. But is pronounced safe.

Will the judges save Jasmine? We get to hear Jasmine sing again. I really love Jasmine’s voice. Nearly feel like crying at the thought of her leaving. Her performance was quite good…but I think she would have really wowed next year or the year after.

Now we get to hear Kanye West. I’m not too excited at this prospect; but that’s just ’cause I’m not a fan of rap. OK; that might be considered great by some…but for me it was ridiculous. I won’t say anything more for fear of insulting someone else’s taste….

Another round of the eliminations.
Scott is here…and safe.
Alexis stands. Of course, she is safe!
We know Danny is safe. Why even make him and Adam stand?! lol
Unlike everyone else; I believe this guy is completely safe. But Anoop is sent to the middle of the stage.
Adam is safe…no surprise.

That leaves us Jorge Nunez and Lil Rounds. Jorge was called corny, yet the judges loved his voice. Lil was called a force to be reckoned with. Lil is safe.

Jorge and Anoop are left in the center of the stage. We’ll probably not hear who until after Kelly Clarkson sings.
And yes; I was right–as well as Ryan’s traditional ‘after the break’.

With this being season eight…and eight weeks till the the finals–wait! We have more than eight weeks till the finals! What was I thinking?! But anyway, we will be hearing from a former idol (contestant) each week as we go along. There are some that I don’t care to see again…but Kelly is not in that group. She’s here performing “My Life Would Suck Without You”, her recent radio hit. And her new album just came out yesterday; for all you Kelly fans! I really like seeing her return to some of the same kind of music we heard from her first album, instead of the really dark, depressing songs she’s done in most of her last two albums. So nice to hear her again; this is the performance of the night for me.

Back to Jorge and Anoop who have both been waiting (probably with a lot of trepidation) through what was a very enjoyable performance…just maybe not from their impatient seats.
What did I tell you? Anoop is fine…But we get to hear Jorge once more while the judges decide if they want to use their save on him.

Congratulations to Jasmine and Jorge for what they’ve accomplished in the last few months. They are both so talented.

As for the new judges save rule…I think this is great! Of course, they weren’t going to use it so soon in the competition…unless it had been Danny, Adam, Alexis, or Lil…maybe then they would have. But I’m glad they inserted this rule. Bittersweet night for me, saying goodbye to Jasmine. And Jorge is such a fun guy! Will miss his personality.

So, what do you think? Share your thoughts on tonight or for tomorrow’s results show.

It’s Michael Jackson night…I have to say I was less than thrilled with this choice. But there’s nothing I can do about it. The unfortunate fact that two of the contestants will be leaving tomorrow night is revealed. Tough…

I am unable to offer you the live summary of the night. My youngest brothers’ birthday celebration was this evening, and I also have to work on top of that. Adding a live summary was just too much to attempt tonight. But I do hope to get back to the live posts tomorrow night.

Lil Rounds starts the night with “The Way You Make Me Feel”, and I have to say that this is one I could see her singing easily even before I heard her choice. That being said…I’m not wowed by her performance tonight. At least not yet. As she gets more comfortable on stage, she loosens up and turns up the quality. She definitely has the makings of a star.

Randy declared this was “the way we kick off season 8!” He loved the new spin Lil put on the song.
Kara thought that after watching Lil, everyone else had to be thinking “oh-oh”. She also said she hopes  “we get to hear you on the radio cause you are great. And that end note! That was great!”
Paula called Lil a “force to  be reckoned with”; saying her falsetto was beautiful and comparing it to angels.
Simon thought it was good but was disappointed in that he thought it was a bit of a lazy song choice. He also thought the second half was better than the first half.

Scott MacIntyre chose“Keep the Faith”. I love that he chose to play the piano tonight. Honestly, there were some bad moments amid the good. But I really admire this guy. Picked a good song for himself though.

Kara brought up the fact that Scott just learned this song on the piano this week. Great job there, Scott! Kara said it was not an obvious Michael Jackson song. But loved the hopeful message that Scott delivered. “You stay true to yourself every week”.
Paula said that when Scott has an instrument at his fingertips it’s a beautiful thing; saying he was in his comfort zone.
Simon hated the song. “Nobody knows this song. It’s fine to be artistic but not on this show.” What about last year? Said it was a good thing when it was David Cook or Brooke White being artistic; what’s with the inconsistency? Simon said he liked Scott, calling him a good singer, but Simon just didn’t like the song.
Randy, unlike Simon, liked the song. But thought it was just all very safe. “Want to see more sparks from you cause I know you got them”.

Danny Gokey picked “PYT”; and he came out showing us why he’s already so popular. I love the husky timbre of his voice. His dancing skills leave something to be desired, but his vocals more than make up for that. I could really identify with what he said, though, about not knowing quite how to put the dancing and singing together. I also have the awesome and humbling opportunity of helping to lead my fellow church members into worship on Sunday’s; so am familiar with singing in front of people. But you don’t dance and sing like you would on American Idol during morning worship. I look forward to seeing Danny overcome this obstacle.

Paula said that the true mark of an artist is when you can hear somebody even with your eyes closed and know who they are. “You” she told Danny, “are like that”.
Simon thought the vocals were brilliant. “You are one heck of a singer; a white guy with soul”. But Simon called the dancing hideous, “maybe because you were over excited?” But overall, Simon said he really, really liked Danny tonight; calling his performance terrific and well done.
Randy said he’s always looking to see a different side of Danny. “You just got it”, he told Danny. “Loved it all, the dancing and the singing!”
Kara loved the undeniable joy radiating from Danny. “You have joy when you step on stage. You’re just joyous, and I love that!”

Michael Sarver is singing “You’re Not Alone” tonight. I can’t comment as much because my sisters’ dog decided to come over and sneeze on me. That freaked me out and I missed some of Michael’s performance. But it was good. The problem is, all of these contestants this year are good. You really have to be great and stand out to make it in this competition. I really liked Michael, but it didn’t stand out for me tonight.

Simon said the obvious, “You are not the best singer in this competition. But you made up for it with passion, heart, and you gave it 110%!” I’d take that!
Randy loved Michael’s return to the R&B swagger tonight. He called it “one of the best so far”.
Kara thought that tonight Michael showed everyone that he really can sing. “You are serious and bring your game every time you step on stage”.
Paula knows Michael has so much going for him, calling him a very “likeable, ordinary guy with extraodinary talent. You colored this song up, did really well tonight”.

Jasmine Murray is up next. Her video was so sweet, and that kid so cute! She chose “I’ll Be There”, and this is exactly what I’d hoped she’d sing!! Her performance was terrific, vocally, but just a bit boring. She may be in a bit of trouble.

Randy was impressed, saying it was a tough song to sing. But he called it a “pretty good” performance.
Kara said she was surprised too. “You hit some of these notes and I was like Whoa! Great stage presence. You sold it!”
Paula thought Jasmine showed tremendous composure and pose on stage; saying there were some bright moments to her performance. But there were also some times that she was under.
Simon said there was not much more that he could add. “It was a little bit robotic at times. You should start acting your age”. I don’t get this; when the girls have big voices, they get upset with them for not picking songs to showcase that, but then they get upset for them not acting young enough! Agh!

Kris Allen chose “Remember the Time”. I was so excited to hear he will be performing with his guitar. A bit too breathy, I think, in places. This wasn’t up to par with what Kris is capable of. But it was fun! And I enjoyed it. He’s like majic behind that guitar of his, and would be a very good current artist.

Kara echoed my sentiments, saying she was happy to see him with the guitar. “It really helps you performance-wise. Few notes were a little off”. Ahh, and she also shares that Kris spent a lot of his time helping out the other contestants! Now that is worthy of a number of calls!! I think it’s so easy to get lost in the hustle of trying to come out ahead of everyone else in this competition; and it’s so refreshing to see one of them put others before his own chances of doing well in the competition!
Paula called Kris engaging and adorable. “I love you too! Congratulations; great, great job!”
Simon thought it was interesting. The song Simon was not sure suited the guitar, so that made it a little strange. “But you were good; that’s what matters”.
Randy said he thought it suited Kris.

Allison Iraheta follows with…I missed it. As enjoyable as it is to watch with mom and sisters, they always seem to talk just when I need to hear something that was said on TV. But Allison is definitely coming out strong as the Rocker girl in this season. I thought that her vocals were a bit strained tonight, though.

Paula said the 16 year old was mind boggling. “You’re like a rock star and look like you’ve been doing this since you were 2! Keep doing what you’re doing. Stay authentic and true to who you are”.
Simon called it a good performance. “We know who you are. Lighten up a bit. But very good”.
Randy said if you’ve got it you’ve got it; calling her “one to watch in this competition”.
Kara told Allison to “keep being the rocker girl. When you go up high, that’s ridiculous!”

We’re in a commercial break. So far, my favorites have been Danny, Kris, Lil, and Jasmine.

Anoop Desai is up next. He’ll be singing “Beat It”; interesting song choice.
This was such a smart choice by the judges to bring him back. Great voice, and he’s doing a tremendous job interacting with the audience. Definitely one of the best of the night!

Paula reminded Anoop that “when you pick a song it’s your gift to show the world what you’ve got. I think this song is untouchable. Belongs to the artist and anything else is kareoke to me”.
Simon said it was horrible; a bit stupid; and like a really bad impersonation of Michael Jackson. Harsh, Simon!
Randy thought it totally the wrong song choice, saying “it didn’t work for me”.
Kara agree with the others. “We didn’t see any variation. No riffs; it didn’t even go up”.
I have to say, I haven’t disagreed with all the judges so much in a long time. I guess we’ll see tomorrow night.

Jorge Nunez is singing….man, I missed it again! And I don’t recognize it, either. Happy to see the accent return! Fairly solid performance. But like I said before, these are all good singers; you have to stand out above the others…this wasn’t it.

Randy said it was “not the song I would have chosen. You definitely got vocal chops; there were a few pitch problems. But you have a nice upper range”.
Kara called Jorge “one of the most emotionally charged people on this show”. But thought this performance wasn’t up to par.
Paula said she had mad love for Jorge, but didn’t feel Jorge was himself. “This was not the right song for you”.
Simon thought it corny and “out of your depth”; also pronouncing the arrangement “awful”.

Megan Joy Corkrey will be next. She is singing “Rockin’ Robin”. Great choice for Megan!  Her dancing hasn’t changed, to my slight annoyance.
I take it back. Not a good song choice. Now, this sounds a bit kareoke to me. There were some pretty nice moments in there. But the last bit! That was just weird for me.

Kara loves how Megan injects her own personality into the song.
Paula loves the quirky and unique tone to Megan’s voice. She thought it was the right song, but felt disconnected until the end.
Simon told Megan “we like you. But stupid song choice. The vocals weren’t very good; the dancing verging on ridiculous. If this was the first time we’d seen you, we’d have gone completely nuts!” he declared.
Randy said the song choice didn’t allow Megan to be herself.

Adam Lambert is up; and I’m skeptical. He’s singing “Black And White”. He’s gonna go far. I can tell that from the very first notes he sings. Maybe not my personal style, and I probably won’t be voting for him. But Adam’s bringing it tonight.
In a way, I find him a bit creepy, though. But his stage experience helps him out a lot, performance-wise.

Paula said she has never seen someone so comfortable on stage so early. “You’ve got the whole package!” she declared; “We’ll be seeing you all the way to the end”.
Simon that, to him, was “a totally different league to what we’ve already seen. You were comfortable; whether that was your prior stage experience or not. But to sing Michael Jackson you have to be over the top like Michael Jackson, and you were”. That’s not a compliment in my opinion. But oh, well.
Randy said that Adam was, “since day one, the most current”, also telling him that “you could make a record right now and sail to the top. You’ve got it!”
Kara; “what can I say that they haven’t already said?”

Matt Giraud is up next, singing….missed it again. ugh. But smart move by him to play the piano tonight. And honestly, this is the first time that I’ve enjoyed Matt. He brought his soul to Michael Jackson, and put in some beautiful riffs and runs as well. Really loved it!

Randy called it a really good performance; but there were a few pitch problems.
Kara said he was a “talented guy. Hope to see you for many more weeks”.
Paula let loose a stream of positive words…hardly any of which I caught.
Simon said it was “difficult following Adam. But this was like a meat and potatoes meal. Solid!”

Alexis Grace finishes up the night with “Dirty Diana”. She certainly is staying true to the girl she showed us in the semi-final rounds. Though I’d like to the other side to this girl.
Great performance; and the vocals were superb! This was the way to close the night!

Kara declared Alexis back! “Liked it”.
Paula cautioned her to “watch the over-singing”.
Simon thought it “very over the top and not as good as you thought it was”.
Randy said it was “very good. Not great though”.

There is a slight change to the rules tomorrow, they warn. Hmmm…Also, we’ll be seeing Kelly Clarkson tomorrow night!
Should be an interesting night to see. But man, how tough to have to say good bye to two contestants!

My personal breakdown of the night.

1. 1. Alexis Grace
   2. Danny Gokey
   3. Adam Lambert
   4. Lil Rounds
   5. Anoop Desai
   6. Jasmine Murray
   7. Matt Giraud
   8. Allison Iraheta
   9. Kris Allen
   10. Michael Sarver
   11. Scott MacIntyre
   12. Megan Joy Corkrey
   13. Jorge Nunez

Who do I think will be leaving? Well, I think it should be Jorge and Megan; but believe it will probably be down to Jorge, Scott, Kris and Jasmine in the bottom four. Can’t wait to see though!
What are your thought? Come on, people! I know there are plenty of you out there with a million thoughts of your own!

Well, here we are. Tonight we find out the final three to move up into the Top Twelve. Well, the final three voted in.

They opened the show with Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold”. Not my favorite group song they could have done. I thought they did a tremendous job with the choreography though. That’s a hard thing to do when you can’t see; and they arranged it perfectly so that you hardly realized that they had that issue.

As always, they recapped last night, and I thought they were unjust with a few of the contestants.

Here come the results.

First up, we have Lil. And she’s safe as completely expected!! Plus, we get to listen to her all over again. This gal really does have a tremendous talent in her voice.

Next; Arianna, Taylor, Kendal, Alex, and Scott are called to stand, and only one is through to the top. Of course we are left hanging till after the commercial break. Has to happen sometime, and Fox figures you’re more likely to return (or possibly even sit through the commercials) if you have the great incentive to return such as hearing who the next contestant to progress is.

We are back after the commercial break. Arianna is not in the top twelve. Taylor (are they going to do each one individually?) also is told to sit back down. Alex is next, and is also not in the top. He made the comment that he’d rather lose being himself, and he’s happy with what he decided.
Now we’re down to Kendall and Scott. Kendall will be leaving us; Scott will progress on. So happy for him; I think this is the right decision. No, he is not great, but he is quite good. He has great tone to his voice, and he knows how to work it well-better, in fact, than many we’ve heard in the last couple of weeks. We will definitely see this young man grow in the coming weeks.

More results. Kristen and Nathaniel stand up. My gut tells me that they’re both leaving, standing up so soon by themselves. And I was right.

Taylor and Von are next. And I’m not happy to see him up there right now. Not a good start. Both are given no’s. I’m really dissapointed here.

Now it’s down to Ju’Not and Jorge. I’m going to call it early and say that Ju’Not is the final contestant tonight. But we’ll have to wait till ‘after the commercial break. Not really. And, here I am wrong; Jorge is actually the final contestant.

I guess we don’t get to listen to Jorge again tonight. But we will find out who are the Wild Card Round picks for tomorrow’s show. Yeah! At long last!

My hopes are in Ricky Braddy, Von Smith, Kristen McNamara, Jasmine Murray, Anoop Desai, Jesse Langseth, Tatiana Del Toro, and Ann Marie Boskovich. We’ll see though.

We are told that there will only be eight performing tomorrow night…follows the information that I’ve been able to glean.

Randy reveals one first; and that is Von Smith!!! Yeah, I’m so excited! Very happy about this.

Now Kara reveals one. Jasmine Murray!! The hometown girl! Glad she gets another chance.

Paula announces the decision to bring back Ricky Braddy. Great choice!

So far, so good. Three of my personal picks are through to tomorrow night.

Simon is next; he calls Megan Corkrey. I know a lot of people will be happy with this choice; I just can’t help feeling that there are a few others that deserve the chance just a little more. But I am happy for this girl.

Four more will join the four on the couch. The first one to join them is…..Tatiana Del Toro. I think that she really deserves this chance; Tatiana is an amazing vocalist. She does need to learn to restrain the emotional theatrics a bit first.
Next, Matt Giraud joins the group.
Jesse Langseth also gets to perform tomorrow night.

Only one more spot left. And it’s given to Anoop Desai.

Overall, a good group for tomorrow night. Very dissapointed that we will not see more of Kristen McNamara-I really like that girl and her incredible range.

And…we do get to hear Jorge again; he closes out the show.

So now; all the mysteries of the Wild Card Round are laid open for all to see. It’s going to be another tough night; these last eight are really going to have to fight for the last three spots open. Bring it on.

Time for another poll! You know the drill-cast your vote before tomorrow’s results show starts.

Plus, my personal favorites and highlights from tonights show.

Kristen has killer range!

Lil Rounds ended the night with a definite bang! She basically stole the top girls pick!

I also enjoyed Von Smith…he’s already learning so much; and I really look forward to seeing this guy progress through the weeks…I hope.

And Scott MacIntyre is an incredible man; really. Great voice, and such a sweet guy.

Ryan opens the night with his usual spill….all about the final group…etc…etc…

Ryan and Simon wonders why Simon can’t just pick the songs for the contestants….and Simon mentions how that would make a great song night! Something to think about in future…I hope they do something like this-would be great!

Von Smith has an amazing voice…a very powerful voice. I just want to see him control it. Singing ” You’re All I Need”, I am missing a bit of the big voice notes, but am enjoying him nevertheless. Perhaps, though, he should stay a little true to himself….I know he could do better. Still, a great performance.
Randy said “this is the way to kick off the performance. Better than Hollywood week.”
Kara thought he seemed more comfortable. “It’s not about how high you can go, but doing it with meaning!”
Paula mentioned how hard it is to go first in the night. But, she said, this was a “memorable first.” She also complimented him, saying “you know how to hold back, and when to push forward”.
Simon came out with the compliment to top the others, saying “you remind me of Clay Aiken. You sang very well; much better as Kara said (he meant Randy) than Hollywood”.

Taylor Vaifanua chose “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alecia Keyes. I wasn’t sure when I heard the song choice…she did better than I thought. But I’m not sure this was the best song for her, she could have picked a better one.
Kara said it was obvious that Taylor has a good voice. “I’m still trying to figure out who you are though. What’s it like to go shopping with Taylor. Your performance leaves me a bit cold”.
Paula mentioned how Taylor has such a ‘beautiful gift, beautiful voice’. But added “I just want to see where you can go”.
Simon doesn’t get the shopping thing. “I genuinely couldn’t remember you. It was very generic; a bit bland. You are going to struggle a bit”.
Randy agreed with the others, saying it was “kinda boring. Good voice though”.

Alex Wagner-Trugman has a sweet, funny personality. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” was an interesting song choice for him, but, after hearing him, definetely a good one. Well, the first half was, at least. The second half sounded a bit off pitch.
Paula thought Alex certainly the showman, saying “You gave us our money’s worth; don’t know how much will be spent. But certainly had fun watching you”.
Simon said “we did have fun watching you, just not listening. The growling, along with kicking over the microphone, was just stupid”. To which Alex replied that the mic was a total accident! I do like this guy-as I already mentioned, great personality.
Randy couldn’t finish his sentences. He’s turning into the new ‘Paula’. Moving on…
Kara gave out the positive. “You are you; great choreography by the way”.

Arianna Asfar is singing “The Winner Takes It All”. Big song. But Arianna rose to the occasion. And honestly, not having heard this girl in Hollywood or her audition, this girl wowed me!
Simon thought there was a certain irony in that song, calling it “way too big for you”. Oh, no no no no; I totally do not agree with Simon here. No at all.
Randy said it was not the right song, saying it “wasn’t good”.
Kara recalled the audition; “you were like a beam of sunshine. Tonight was dark and depressing. Be young, touch people. This was too serious and gloomy”.
Paula said she wouldn’t go as far as the others had, saying she thought Arianna “had some bright moments. But the song was too old fashioned”. Paula mentioned that she thought it sometimes better to stick to the melody.

Next up is Ju’not Joyner, singing “Hey There Delilah”. My sister likes him…I’m still trying to make up my mind. I’m afraid he’s going to be forgettable. Or maybe not. The last bit was much better.
Randy commented on how Ju’not switched up the song…calling it a “smart choice; I loved it.”
Kara liked the spin on that song. “You could bust it out even more on the next time. Felt like you were holding back.”
Paula loved the liberties Ju’not took, saying they paid off.
Simon sometimes is sooo…blond. And annoying. Oh, well. Simon thought it was better than he thought it was going to be. But called it “a bit safe”.

Kristen McNamara is up, singing “Give Me One Reason”. I like her gritty sound. There were moments that were both good and bad. Kristen might be another victim of the new format. I think she could definetely get better, we just might not see it. And that last high note! Wow!
Kara called Kristen a great singer, saying “you hit the notes, great tone. Need a little more rock edge though…”
Paula mentioned how Hollywood showed Kristen has big range, and thinks Kristen has only reinforced that!
Simon thought her just a little bit vague, asking “who are you? Odd song choice, but good voice”. He thought Kristen needs to become more comfortable.
Randy thought she tried to do too much.

Nathaniel Marshall is singing something by Meatloaf…“Anything For Love”…?…I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have…unfortunately because he annoys me. He has a good voice, but I have trouble getting past him to that. I like his voice; really is quite good.
Simon thought some people will quite like that. The majority will not. On a positive note, people will remember you. You are fun, and I like you.
“I like you too” Randy said. “Curious song choice, though. You definitely can sing; but it’s hard to imagine what kind of record you’d make”.
Kara said “the thing is, you have a voice; but if you want to be taken seriously, you need to pick a song to reflect that”.
Paula said he knew she loved him since Hollywood; “you were serious; sang Disturbia and that made you cool! That was a bold choice, this song takes that coolness factor away though”.

Felicia Barton chose another Alicia Keyes song, “No One”. You already know how I feel about Alecia Keyes-great artist, but don’t take her songs on right off. I thought Felicia did a good job. But it’s hard to get people past thinking of those current artists, such as Alicia. Felicia did not stand out to me. I kept thinking of the original artist. Felicia has a good voice…just bad song choice.
Paula thought Felicia’s talent, her gift, is unbelievable. “So glad we brought you back!”
Simon thought the first half was better than the second; also calling it a bit copycat.
Randy said Felicia has an amazing voice. “You have something a little different in your voice than Alicia, go with that.”
Kara said it was “by far your best look. Attitude, presence; noticed you for the first time. You stepped into it!”

Scott MacIntyre chose “Mandolin Rain”. Started off iffy to me, but he more than redeemed it. This guy is amazing! His voice, and his life! Wow! I’m nearly speechless.
Randy is unable to speak for a while due to the cheers. “The parts that were great were really great. I can feel the passion poring out of you. Job well done!” He declared.
Kara admired Scott, “you do what you love; you’re passionate about it, and you don’t have issue’s!”
Paula said she was so happy and proud that Scott made it this far! “You’ve blessed us all with your gift and you’re one of our finest.”
Simon wasn’t crazy about the song, but declared that Scott was growing on him. He thought “there are better singers in this competition, but in a sea of forgettable people tonight, you aren’t. I’m going to be amazed if you don’t sail through tonight”.

Kendall Beard chose “This One’s For The Girls”. She does have a good country sound. I actually like this better than Martina McBride’s…and I’m a huge fan of Martina’s.
Kara thinks she showed big personality, and picked the right lane in country. “But”, she said, “there were some issues with the notes…however, you got that personality that we really like.”
Paula gave her the prize for the best outfit tonight (typical of Paula); saying “I hope you enjoyed it”. (wha-?)
Simon thought Kendall probably did the right thing tonight. “Though honestly, halfway through I couldn’t wait for it to end; was a bit shrilly towards the end. You could have picked a better song. Just not my cup of tea.”
Randy likes country, and thought it a good song choice and that she looked good. But said it “wasn’t your best vocal performance. You did tell us who you were tonight”.

Next up is Jorge Nunez singing “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, and all I could think of was David Archuleta singing this last year and totally knocking it out of the park. Jorge has talent, though. And I didn’t notice any problems with his pronounciation tonight. Was touching; he really showed his vocal talent tonight…even if he isn’t Archie.
Paula said she is “so proud of you. You took our advice; you worked so hard and sound so good!”
Simon admitted they were wrong to say Jorge shouldn’t sing with an accent, “because why should we? That’s who you are”.
Randy said “it’s the vocals that matter. That wasn’t the perfect vocal, but it was really really good”.
Kara said Jorge was born to sing.

Lil Rounds finishes up the night with “To Be Without You”. I’d forgotten about Lil temporarily; and she has quite the voice. No way she isn’t walking away with the top girls vote. And she would deserve it! Every season there are a few contestants that stand out head and shoulders above the others, and this girl is one of them! Great performance by Lil.
Simon comes to the stand with a grin on his face, calling it brilliant. “Wouldn’t have chosen that song, but I think you have great great prospects in this competition. You are undoubtedly one of the best singers we’ve found so far.”
Randy agreed with Simon. Complimenting Lil with “you kept your swagger; got unbelievable vocals; and we know who you are. I loved it!”
Kara called Lil a “powerhouse”; saying it was great, “you have been steadily you”.
Paula said Lil was “first class. I think we’re going to see you for many more ‘lil rounds’!”

That’s it folks! I’m calling Lil and Scott in safe; with Von rounding it out. But Jorge and Kristen might give Von a run for his money.

Well, my poll indicated that Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, and Megan Corkrey would be our top three tonight…most of you now know that it was almost completely correct…well, two/thirds correct. Adam, Allison, and Kris Allen will all be moving on to the coveted top twelve.

No, I still don’t get all the hype surrounding Adam…maybe it all boils down to personal preference. I did like his performance tonight much more than last nights. And I liked his audition and during Hollywood week he sounded stellar. Maybe that’s why I was so dissapointed last night; because it was just so different than the Adam I had previously seen and enjoyed.

Allison and Kris, to me, didn’t perform as well as they did last night. But they both completely deserve to be in the top twelve…and, upon reflection, so does Adam. Sure, I didn’t enjoy hearing (or seeing) him perform “Satisfaction”, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has incredible range and good vocals. So, yeah, tonight I’m very happy with the results.

I am sorry (though not surprised) that Jasmine did not make it through. The judges did hint that we’d be seeing some of the same faces from tonight in the wild card round…maybe we’ll see Jasmine again?

Speaking of the wild card round…I understand that the following might possiblly be the case: The judges each pick two of their favorites to come back to perform for the wild card round; from which three are then chosen (as in the auditions) to progress up to the final twelve.
Who will be in this wild card round? Well, without having seen the last group, it is certainly too early to tell. But here are a few of my guesses. Ricky Braddy (absolutely), Anoop Desai, Megan Corkrey, Matt Giraud. With possibly one of the following thrown in there somewhere; Tatiana Del Toro, Anne Marie Boskovich, Jasmine Murray, and Jesse Langseth. “But that’s nearly all of them!” you say. Yeah, I know. There’s a lot of talent this year.
Of course, we havn’t heard the last group yet, so as I said, it’s still too early to tell.

And that leads me on; the last group of twelve. They are, in alphabetical order:
Alex Wagner-Trugman
Arianna Asfar
Felicia Barton
Jorge Nunez
Ju’Not Joyner
Kendall Beard
Kristen McNamara
Lil Rounds
Nathaniel Marshall
Scott MacIntyre
Taylor Vaifanua
and Von Smith

My early predictions are that we’ll see (and hear) some great stuff from Lil Rounds, Scott, and Von Smith…those three are going to be hard to beat. But anything is possible (gah-I sound like some cheesy comercial!) at this point. I think Alex and Felicia may come in swinging…and honestly, I don’t remember either Taylor or Arianna, so completely possible that they could take me by surprise.

One things’ for sure, I am (and probably all of the contestants are too) so ready for next week to be over! Then we’ll know our top twelve…but I guess the pressure’s still on then…the consequences aren’t quite so severe, though, in that only one will be leaving per week versus the nine so far.

So much for this week, now we’re on to the next!

As always, I welcome your feedback! (hint, hint–Come on, I know there are a number of you, surely someone has something to say!)

Tonight was tough for many young people. For others, it was the start of the realization of a dream.

Here are the top thirty-six:
Anoop Desai
Von Smith–I think he has a great voice, but is far too dramatic; if he can just tone it down a little.
Alex Wagner Trugman–was one of those who were required to participate in a “sing-off”.
Adam Lambert–No surprise there!
Taylor Vaifanua
Jasmine Murray–Don’t know her personally, but I am really excited to see her progress through this competition; she is, after all, representing my hometown!!
Arianna Asfar
Casey Carlson
Megan Corkrey
Mishavonna Henson
Stevie Wright–this girl was a favorite of mine from the first.
Joanna Pacitti
Kendall Beard
Kristen McNamara–one of the unfortunates picked for the “sing-off”.
Alexis Grace
Scott MacIntyre–I really like this guy.
Lil Rounds–great talent.
Jesse Langseth–another of the “sing-off” victims.
Allison Iraheto
Danny Gokey–Danny is my early pick absolute favorite!! I was so happy to see him progress; and heartbroken with him when Jamar didn’t make it.
Ricky Braddy
Matt Giraud
Jo’not Joyner
Jorge Nunez
Brent Keith
Stephen Fowler
Nick Mitchell aka “Norman Gentle”–I think he is capable of quite a lot…but at the time, I’m under the impression that he’s a joke. Could not believe he made it through when David Osmond did not….
Tatiana Del Toro–She really does have a good voice. I feel sorry for her; she doesn’t seem too well liked. I think she’d find it extremely helpful to tone everything down a bit. Too emotional and loud. But real talent in her voice.
Jackie Tohn
Nathaniel Marshall–another “emotional”. And somebody needs to give him some style advice.
Jeanine Vailes
Kai Kalama
Anne Marie Boskovich
Kris Allen
Matt Breitzke–was in a “sing-off” with Michael Sarver….and both made it through.
Michael Sarver–another of my favorites…he is such a nice, gentlemanly fellow. I fell in love with his voice and who he is.

Those who deserve acknowledgement but didn’t make it through to the top thirty-six:
Cody Sheldon
T.K Hash
Chris Chathem
Regg Beasley
Jenn Korbee
Frankie Jordan
Felicia Barton
Ashley Hollister
Devon Baldwin
Jamar Rogers
Shera Lawrence
Derik Lavers
Jackie Midkiff

*My apologies if I mispelled any names or left anyone out in the acknowledgement.