StoneRose Valley

Here we are again; another twelve hopefuls will be performing tonight. I will be typing this review up in real time…adding each contestant as they finish their performance so you can follow right along with me!

Jasmine Murray will be starting off the night with “Love Song”. The start is kind of iffy. Her performance is fairly good, but really does not stand out. I don’t think this night will turn out good for her. I do like Jasmine and think she is quite talented, but this year might be too early; can she and Stevie Wright come back next year?
Randy thought it was the wrong song choice, and a little pitchy at times.
Kara thought the range was too low for her; not her best performance.
Paula has to agree with the others. But likes her confidence.
Simon likes her. But he thinks it’s a couple of years too early to really see what she can do.

Matt Giraud comes next. Singing “Viva La Vida”; honestly, I wasn’t too sure about this song choice. There is something I like in his voice…but I don’t like how breathy his tone is. The song just isn’t right for his voice.
Randy thinks Matt has ‘mad talents’. His advice: “Go for Ray Charles. Chris from Coldplay wouldn’t be singing Ray Charles–Matt, you can!”
Kara thought the bluesy soulful guy was lost in the song.
Paula really liked him a lot in Hollywood. She thought it a risky song to pick. She saw his rehearsal and thought Matt’s performance tonight was far better than the rehearsal.
Simon thought it verging on a horrible performance; “You turned from someone very cool to a wannabe pop star.”

Jeanine Vailes is next up, performing “This Love” by Maroon Five. Honestly, I’m already put off, as I really dislike Maroon Five. But she sounds pretty good. Well, the verse was good. The chorus sounded pitchy to me. Was daring at the end. But overall….ah. This is a not-so-good night for these contestants.
Paula didn’t get anything out except that Jeanine has good legs…? This is a singing competition, not a beauty pagent Paula!
Simon thought it was terrible for Jeanine. “Everyone is choosing the wrong songs tonight!” he exclaimed.
Randy agreed with Simon that it was the wrong song choice.
Kara called it overdone.

Nick Mitchell is next….oh, this guy really gets on my nerves. He mentioned having an identity crisis–yeah! He makes me think of another Taylor Hicks….he might be entertaining from a stage, but come on, honestly folks! would you buy an album of his? Would you not change the radio station if you heard this come on? My sister compared him to a floor show…and I think she’s right. Please, people, don’t cause one of the better singers to leave by keeping this floor show fellow in the competition!
Simon prays he does not go through to the next round. He called it “one of the most atrocious performances we’ve ever had; it was like a horrific comedy!”
Randy thought it one of the most entertaining performances ever.
Kara laughed; “at least we remember you. You wear the same shirt like Simon every week. You’re not a terrible singer, I don’t see you in the music market but I enjoyed you.”
Paula contributed this to the conversation; ‘This is America and we get all types of singers. You are a true performer, this may not be the stage for you, but there is a [proper] place for you.’
PLEASE!! Vote him into some comedic platform…he is really good at what he does, but this is not the competition he should be in.

Allison Iraheto, only sixteen, is singing “Alone” by Heart tonight…Ramiele Malubuy sang this last year extremely well. Allison reminds me a bit of Gina Glocksen. I like this girl-definitely the best of the night so far! I love her husky tone; very nice performance indeed.
Randy thinks this is a funny show tonight. “Now we have real singing. You’re jumping it off tonight!–blew it off the box; hottest of the night so far!”
Kara thinks Allison doesn’t even know how good she is. “Keep getting comfortable on stage. With the right song you can have a big hit on the radio.”
Paula brought back this familiar phrase from last year “You can sing the telephone book. By far the best of the night!”
Simon disagrees with Randy-”Randy said you might be the best of the night-no, you ARE the best. You need a little more confidence and to show a little more personality. But that was good.”

Kris Allen is one of my early likes. Singing“Man in the Mirror”, he is, in my opinion, the best of the guys so far. Really enjoying this performance. He puts me in mind Chris Richardson from season five. Oh, yeah!! This guy is good!
Kara thought the back half was way better than the front; and thought it was the wrong song.
Paula disagreed completely with Kara. “You showed personality; and nailed the song! You looked harming up there.”
Simon agrees with Paula! YES! Saying Kris is “not the best singer in this competition, but what you did tonight was good. You made an effort. I was quite proud of you!”
That’s the review I’m looking for! Quite a hit!
Randy thinks Simon was partly right. “You can do it without the guitar. Nice jump-off.”

Up next is Megan Corkrey singing “Put Your Records On”. This is another of those ’safe-songs’. But it is suited to her voice. She lacks stage presence, but no denying she has a good voice. I would like to hear a little more support beneath her voice though. So far tonight, I’d place her in the top three.
Paula; “You won us over in Salt Lake. Picked the right song; you did everything right tonight. I loved you.”
Simon called her “a funny little thing. It started off really well. But you oversang the second part of the song.” Simon said he hopes that America votes for Megan; but just wished the vocals were a little bit better tonight.
Randy loves the smokey jazz tone of her voice.
Kara said Megan is “a packaged artist. With the right song/video, you could do really well.”

Matt Breitzke is singing “If You Could Only See” by Tonic. To me, his performance seems to lack passion. I was a bit bored. Nice vocals though.
Simon really likes Matt. But hated that song. “I’m frustrated because you were one of the few guys I remembered. This was boring and didn’t suit you.”
Randy thought the performance was boring and didn’t show “the great Matt from Hollywood. But I like you. Good luck.”
Kara agreed; “we all like you, but this didn’t show us any side of you. You can sing, so this was about poor song choice.”
Paula echoed everyone else, saying “you have a real nice voice…just not the right song for you.”

Jesse Langseth, a single mom, chose “Bette Davis Eyes”. Well, she’s better than many others we’ve had tonight. She, like Megan, has that bluesy-jazz quality to her voice. I like her actually. But her performance was also a bit boring. I wanted to see her move about a little more; draw us in.
Randy thought it an ok performance. “But it wasn’t really exciting. I want to see you stretch yourself.”
Kara said “this is your best look…You also took some risks tonight; this wasn’t the most rangy to show yourself off, but there were some moments.”
Paula told Jesse “I have found you captivating throughout. You have an identifiable sound; I remember you. You’re cool.”
Simon disagreed with Paula, saying “I think you’re forgettable. You have quite a nice voice though.”

Kai Kalama is singing “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”. Nice vocals…but I’m bored so far…is getting though. Kai does have some good tone. But this is just a safe performance.
Kara told Kai “I just like you; you’re a really good guy. There were some pitch issues, and it was a little old fashioned. But there were some moments.”
Paula said she could tell Kai likes the throw-back songs, calling him quite the performer. “You have the chops to do really do well in this business if you work hard.”
Simon thought it very old fashioned; comparing it to a hotel performance. “There was nothing distinct, original, or memorable about it. You’d make a good back up singer.”

Mishavonna Henson, with “Drops of Jupiter”, has a very different voice from what we’ve heard so far. Love the verses, but the chorus has been fairly bland. Until that last one. That was nice.
Paula is a fan of Mishavonna’s voice, but that song wouldn’t have been Paula’s choice for her; “That song just didn’t excite me.”
Simon said the song was a great one, but thinks Mishavonna’s too serious; though technically a really good singer. “But that left me very cold. I want to see a younger and funner side of you.”
Randy thought Mishavonna feels so much older than 18. “And this song didn’t show your voice off.”
Kara didn’t mind the song but wants to see her loosen up a bit.

Adam Lambert chose to sing “Satisfaction”…and I really don’t know what to say. I don’t like his song choice. Has a good voice….but I really don’t like this. I’m very dissapointed.
Paula doesn’t even have words to express…”I feel like I’m watching the Adam Lambert concert. In a league of your own.”
Simon said “I am really finding this difficult. There were parts that were terrible, and parts that were quite incredible.”
Randy loved it! “Here’s why, you’re one of the most current artists we’ve seen. You gotta’ watch, don’t overdo it though. It was the bomb!”
Kara told Adam “Your vocal technique is outrageous. You have a crazy range in a good way.”

My top two guys would be Kris….and Kris. Was really dissapointed in the guys tonight. But I’m going to predict Kris and Adam as the top guys. As for the girls…Would definitely be Allison and Mishavonna.

I would love to hear what your thoughts on tonight are; leave me a comment!

The twelve opened the show by singing Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”. It was fun and fancifree. Some of the ones who had some trouble last night looked much more comfortable on stage.

Here come the results.

First up is Casey. And she will be leaving the competition.
Next, we have Stephen…..and…..he also will be leaving us. I like his humor though–”Picked the wrong song…as long as you can’t say I sound bad!” That’s true.
Alexis Grace is now on stage…I think she’s going to be staying, but….as they run over last nights performance we are all waiting to hear the result. Alexis will be staying on!! Congratulations, girl! And she gets to sing again. She deserves this place.

Now we have Jackie and Ricky standing on stage….I’m feeling extremely nervous–WHAT!!! Ricky is not in the top? He’s got to be excepted into the wild card stage. I can’t believe this…
Jackie isn’t in the top either.

Up next is Anoop and Michael. Oh my! I can’t believe this; Michael is going on and Anoop isn’t?! Ricky didn’t?! I really like Michael, and I’m glad he has this chance; but somehow I feel bad about this result.

What a wonderful surprise!! Carly Smithson and Michael Johns appear to perform “The Letter”. Wonderful to see these favorites from last season again.

Now we have Ann Marie, Brent, and Stevie. None of these will be continuing on tonight.

Last to come up is Danny and Tatiana. Nerves are at an all time high…and of course we have to wait till ‘after the break’. Both of these sang extremely well last night…Personally, I think it should be Danny moving on–but I think Tatiana deserves a wild card chance. Oh, oh, oh please, commercials end!!! We have nine minutes left, and the commercials drag on and on.
Finally, we are back–wait, no. False alarm; it’s only more commercials!! Agh, I want to scream!!
Now we are back. Tatiana and Danny are waiting for the verdict. And Danny is going on!! I’m so happy for him. But Tatiana really does deserve another chance; she has an amazing voice.

Next week is a whole new group. I’ll get that list posted soon.

For now, Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Danny Gokey will be in the Top Twelve. Congratulations, guys!

Here it is, the week I’ve been both eagerly anticipating, yet dreading. Dreading because there is so much talent here in the first round, and yet only three will be able to progress.

I’ll be typing this in real time, so forgive me in advance, as I know I will miss some details.

First up is Jackie Tohn. This girl has a ton of personality. She chose to sing “A Little Less Conversation”. This is definitely not one of my favorite performances…she was really energetic, in her favor–as Kara said, she really knows how to work a stage; but I don’t think her tone is one I like. Not bad, but just not my kind of thing. But that is just personal preference–nothing concrete.
Simon thought she played the clown…unfortunate for Jackie.

Ricky Braddy is next up in the spotlight. Singing “A Song for You”, Ricky blew me away. I was NOT expecting this. Will he take the spots I’d previously imagined for Danny and Anoop? If not, he should definitely make the wild card.
Randy said this was the start of season 8-the way to jump it off.
Kara called it amazing and effortless. And a hard song to sing.
Paula said he deserves to go very far.
Simon isn’t ‘jumping out of [his] chair’, and doesn’t think Ricky has the self-belief and the charisma to be a star and needs to believe in himself.

Alexis Grace; “Never Loved a Man” was her choice and what a choice it was! Perfect for her! This is a little girl with a big voice. All I could think is ‘Way to go, girl!’. She’s going to go far, whether she continues on this show or not.
Randy is “loving [her] right now”.
Kara is “digging it”.
Paula loves her quiet confidence; calling it a fantastic performance.
Simon thought her the best by a mile so far. He called her a potential dark horse; comparing her to Kelly Clarkson.

Brent Keith had to take the stage after Alexis’ amazing performance, as well as a technical glitch with his video, and he didn’t do bad by a long shot. Singing “Hick Town”, he wanted to show everyone who he is. As a country singer, I really like him; unfortunately, I don’t think he’s good enough to compete with some of the others.
Randy liked the return to the country roots but with a new edge to the old stuff.
Kara thought he played it a little safe, and that he has more than he showed tonight.
Paula thought he took more risks at audition.
Simon said what we all know, you only have one shot; and he thought Brent blew a massive opportunity and was forgettable.

Stevie Wright is my favorite girl so far. She chose “You Belong with Me”, and starting off, you could really hear the nerves. I would love to see her in a later season–is that possible after she’s already appeared here in the top 36? There were some breathy issues.
Randy said it was safe…and not hot.
Kara thought she picked a song with nothing to do with her. Identity crisis.
Paula had to agree with the others. Said she has better skills than that.
Simon called it terrible.

Anoop Desai sang “Angel of Mine”, and it was as good as we knew it would be. But…in a way, it seemed safe. Personally, I was looking for more from him.
Randy thought it an interesting song choice. He called it a little sharp; and thought it never quite settled; it wasn’t Anoop’s best but still has a fan in Randy.
Kara did not think he has the rifts or the ability to sing that particular song. But still, she likes Anoop and connected with him.
Paula said “the world has connected with you. I think Anoop dog’s here for a while”.
Simon said it was too old and serious. “We’ve heard you better but you have a massive likability factor going for you”.

So far, I’d pick Ricky, Alexis, and Jackie. We’ll see how the others fare.

Casey Carlson picked a Police song, “Everything He Does”…it sounded a little weak, but I like her tone.
Randy let out an oooh. He thought it completely wrong, and weirdly kareoke.
Kara thought the song was wrong, wrong; overdone and had high hopes.
Paula said the phrasing was weird. Again, it was the wrong song, just didn’t work.
Simon was glad she had fun; thought she looked good. But, the singing was atrocious, and said she could not have chosen a worse song. He called it “kareoke, and it doesn’t tell us who you are”.

Michael Sarver sang “I Don’t Want To Be”. I really, really like him. There seemed to be some problems with the sound…don’t know if that was overall, or just my TV…
Randy thought he could definitely sing but it started a little bit off in pitch.
Kara called it “a great crowd pleaser song”. But she enjoy seeing him sing “what’s true to you”. But we’ve seen better.
Paula said he did a “real good job. This is a different side of you”. But she was confused and distracted by the mic changing hands. Paula was sure, though, that he did Gavin McGraw proud.
Simon: “This show gives you an opportunity…You are a good, honest guy…We’ve heard a lot worse tonight, but this was not the best either”.

Singing “Natural Woman”, Ann Marie Boskovich wanted to put her “own natural twist to it”. And yes she did!! Ann Marie brought it tonight. She and Alexis are going to be battling it out. And she brings the house to it’s feet!!
Randy asked her how she thought she did-her answer: pretty good. But not according to Randy. He said it was the same old problem as nearly everyone else that night: the wrong song choice; “Didn’t get the song choice at all”.
Kara was quite empathetic, “you have to kill this song if you do it. It feels old-fashioned; you should do something girly”.
Paula said that, “compared to Hollywood and auditions you did better! This song requires a tremendous amount of soulfulness. You gave it your all”.
Simon thought her voice not good enough for that song. “This performance was not good enough for the real world. You may have ruined your one chance.”
I completely disagree!! Her mom said she thought she was awesome and I agree wholeheartedly.

Oh, look; there’s a new X-Men coming out May 1st! Oh, the things they have while you’re waiting for A-I to return.

Stephen Fowler sings a Michael Jackson song, “Rock With You”. I think this was another bad song choice. I found myself clapping and “rocking away” with him, but that was more from the beat of the song…not really to do with Stephen.
Randy thought he wasn’t underneath the notes.
Kara reminded everyone of Stephen behind a piano, saying “with a piano you were connected. Not now.”
Paula said that “to sing ‘Rock With You’ is like the kiss of death.
Simon said “I wish you had forgotten the lyrics. Terrible arrangement. The last ten seconds were okay. But it was a bit corny”.

Tatiano Del Toro chose to sing “I’m Saving All Of My Love For You”. Tatiana can definitely sing…it’s whether she can connect with people and if they like her enough to send her on. Truthfully, I don’t think she’s presented her best side to people. She comes off looking selfish. I don’t want to believe that’s true; I prefer to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she better start working on her public relations. But she did have an amazing vocal performance tonight.
Randy thought there were some moments and was really impressed.
Kara said Tatiana is like a rollar-coaster ride. “This is a very reserved Tatiana. Who are you? Where do you fit in all this?”
Paula called her “the most talked about contestant so far. Good and/or bad.” But she was not used to the “demure Tatiana”. And thought her closing note was beautiful.
Simon, whether he menat this in a good or bad way, I don’t know; he called Tatiana “a drama queen”, and said that she was “surprisingly not bad at all. Much better than I expected.”
I liked her a lot more tonight.

At long last! the one I’ve waited all night for; Danny Gokey closed the night with Mariah Carey’s “Hero”. I like the beginning of this…This guy is an extremely talented young man. I haven’t ever heard a performance of “Hero” sung by a guy that I liked until tonight. I feel so inspired listening to him…this is like listening to the beginnings DC all over again. Standing OVATION!!!! And no one can be quiet; the crowd is wild! He was amazing tonight; totally my favorite all over!!! Even now, quite some time after his performance, I’m still breathless and excited.
Randy called him “blazing hot!”
Kara called Danny “a hero; incredible. You give us all hope. This was GREAT!”
Paula said he was “steller”, and that she could envision “sold out arenas”.
Simon thought it was good, but wasn’t fantastic. “The end was great, the beginning was good. I’m just not buying the hype right now so much.”

I think it’ll be between Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Ricky Braddy; with Ann Marie Boskovich and  Tatiana Del Toro possibly in there somewhere. But I truly think those three will be in the top runners.

First, I’ve just been informed that Joanna Pacitti has been replaced by Felicia Barton. Don’t want to get into the gossip, so that’s all you’re getting from me on the subject.

Here are the first 12 contestants to perform next week…and may I add how much I dislike what I’ve heard about the new format this year. Though honestly, I haven’t seen anything yet, it may be good after all. We’ll see.

In alphabetical order: Ann Marie Boskovich; Ricky Braddy; Casey Carlson; Tatiana Del Toro; Anoop Desai; Stephen Fowler; Danny Gokey; Alexis Grace; Brent Keith; Michael Sarver; Jackie Tohn; and Stevie Wright.

There are some extremely talented individuals in this group…next week is going to be a tough one. From what I understand three will be picked to progress to the top 12. The guy with the most votes; the girl with the most votes; and then the 2nd top vote getter (either guy or girl). I think then that one other will be up for the wildcard pick.

Taking into account voices, popularity, and air time (practically the same as popularity, but not quite), here are my likely candidates:
Anoop and Danny; one of these two are definitely going to get the top guy vote…and probably the second vote as well.
Up for the girls…it’s harder…but, I’m going to say either Anne Marie or Alexis…though I personally really LOVE Stevie and hope she makes it.
Wildcard…that’s anyone’s guess…but mine; oh, let’s just say either Anne Marie, Alexis, or Stevie. I think Michael and Brent are very good and I like them, but I think they are going to be pulling each others’ votes.

Honestly, one really can’t say for certain who is going to be going on to the top 12…after all, they haven’t even performed yet!! I’m quite nervous for this group, and am having a difficult time understanding why they put most of the best singers in one group….

We’ll see next week.

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.