American Idol, Week One–Results!

Alright, y’all. Dim the lights, and…here we go.

 

Scotty and Robbie, head to the middle of the stage. America has voted, and…Scotty, congratulations! Robbie, you…are headed home.

 

Next up, Jordan,  Giovani and Clint. After America’s vote…Clint, and Jordan, you are headed home. Giovani, you are not top 10 either. Head to the stools.

 

Cut to commercials…and we’re back! Scottie is hanging out, solo, on the comfy “safe” couch. Now, let’s see if a few girls will join him!

 

Pia and Lauren Alaina, come on down! (Oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please…Pia got me voting last night. I NEVER vote when there are this many contestants.) Lauren, you are in the top 10! Pia, you are also in the top 10!!!!

 

Ta-Tanisa and Julie, come to center stage. Ta-Tanisa, you are headed home. Julie, you are not top 5 either. To the stools with you.

 

A few commercials…and welcome back! (Yes, I’m live blogging. Heh.)

 

Kendra, Ashton and Karen, come on down. After the vote, Ashton, you have not made the top 10. The person in our top 10 is…Karen! Kendra, off to the uncomfy seats with you. (Good choice, on Karen.)

 

Tim, Casey, Jacob. Jacob, you are top 10! Casey and Tim, one of you is in the top 10…congratulations, Casey! (Again, I’d be ticked if he wasn’t!)

 

Naima, Thia and Lauren Turner! One of you is in the top 10, and two are not. Naima, you are not. Thia, you have made it to the top 10. Lauren Turner, you have not. (Folks, that is just WRONG.)

 

Brett and Paul. One of you is a Yes, one of you is No. Paul, congratulations! Brett, so sad. (I agree with this one. Brett, you’re fun…but not quite what I’m looking for…)

 

More commercials…and we’re back!

 

Hayley and Rachel, join Ryan Seacrest at the center of the stage. And the final girl in the top 10 is…Hayley. (Oh, Rachel, bless your heart. She’s been trying for this for YEARS. And it finally came to America’s vote…and she lasted one night. Ouch.)

 

Stefano and James. One more spot in the top 10 for the guys, and it goes to…James! (Stefano…welcome home to Seattle. I guess. I’ve heard you have a sort of a reputation around here. Heh.)

 

And there it is. Your top 10. Scotty, Lauren Alaina, Pia, Karen, Jacob, Casey, Thia, James, Hayley and Paul.

And now for the wild-cards. Six people are brought back by the judges, 3 guys, 3 girls.

 

Ashton is up first, and she is singing I am Telling You. (This is perfect…she totally reminds me of Jennifer Hudson.) Love the cute little touches…”And you, and you, and you, You gonna love me!”, pointing right at the three judges. Cute. Powerful performance. Definitely singing for her life!

Steven? You brought it like you brought it before.

Jennifer? I felt your passion, and know you deserve to be here.

Randy? I still LOVE the attitude.

 

Next – Stefano, singing I Need You Now. Interesting song..interesting technique. This is a little weird for me. It sounds like talking, somehow. Not my favorite, but he did a great job.

Randy – I love that you chose this song, and you did it justice!

Jennifer – You guys are making me more nervous than I am for my OWN performances! When you needed to come through, you came through.

Steven – You brought it. And you brought everything I love about your voice, into one song.

 

Kendra, you’re up. With Georgia on my Mind. Wow…this starts out SUPER low. She’s much better up higher…and that’s where she takes it. A nice high note, a great growl and a big finish. Man, I would NOT like to be in the judges’ shoes tonight!!

 

Randy – It started low, and you ROCKED it at the end.

(And that’s all the feedback we have time for.)

 

Giovani, Jennifer chooses YOU to sing next. Singing “God Sent Me an Angel” (I think. I didn’t quite catch that. Fox, can you do something about that? Like posting the song titles at the bottom of the screen, along with the contestant’s names? That would really help us bloggers out!) A great voice..adding in some Spanish (taking a note from Karen’s book??), but not quite hitting it on all cylinders. The transitions between the two languages is not as seamless as Karen’s, and the whole song feels a little rushed and Frankenstein’d.

 

Jennifer – You did a good job, and did all you could do!

 

Steven, pick our next singer. Naima! That means Julie, Lauren Turner, Rachel and Ta-Tanisa are headed home. (Noooo! I loved Lauren Turner.)

 

Naima, with We’re All We Know. Hrm. She is singing this so very carefully, so very thoughtfully. Each note is carefully executed. This is definitely her, but I’m not sure if it’s the right song to keep her in the competition. If she stays, it will be because the judges love her, and her style, and what she brings…because this song just doesn’t catch me. (And now that she’s done, she is sobbing. That explains part of it. Good on her for getting through it!)

Steven – Naima, you came from deep down inside, and you brought it. Good job.

 

(BTW – my daughter is “sleeping” on the couch, and just added, “Mommy, she’s beautiful!” So cute.)

 

Randy has the last pick…and it’s Robbie. And Brett runs down to give everyone a hug goodbye. Robbie, with Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word. Oh dear. Again, low and slow. Beautiful, but not sure it’s very memorable. (Oh, but Randy is grinning…I think he’s daydreaming! He looks all nostalgic and…proud. haha) Ok, Robbie you are picking this up..and I take it back. There is not one face on camera that doesn’t look like they are about to cry. Good job, dude.

 

Randy – Robbie, VERY nice. Very tender. This is the toughest night ever.

 

And now…who gets another shot? Judges, we need your decision…after the break. (Jennifer looks like she wants to throw something. Three minutes is NOT long enough to make this decision. Nearly everyone was amazing!)

 

And to the judges – are you ready? And…no. They’re not. So, we’ll watch Jennifer’s new music video instead!

 

Judges, have you got your results now? Yes. Great! Let’s go to another commercial break.

 

We’re back! There’s your top 10 sitting over there…and here are a few more. Randy, who is in? Ashton! Good job. (Oh, the look on her face is PRICELESS.) Jennifer, how many more? Two more. Ok, second person? Stefano. (Aw well…Stefano, Seattle will see you later, I suppose.) Steven, who is the final wild card? Ryan, I wish we could do all of them, but…Naima, you’re in. Congratulations, top 13! That gives us seven girls, and six guys.

 

Final roster:

Scotty McCreery – Country boy with a DEEP voice

Lauren Alaina – 16 year old country girl with FLAIR

Pia Toscano – The whole package – gorgeous face, body and voice.

Karen Rodriguez – Lots of latin SPICE.

Jacob Lusk- Big voice, big emotions. Prone to tears. Easily excited.

Casey Abrams – Looks like a lumberjack, sings like a blues bar star. Crazy on the bass.

Thia Megia – Our “young ‘un.” 15, beautiful clear voice.

James Durbin – Unique and over the top.

Hayley Reinhart – Long gold hair, needs some work on stage, BIG voice. Blue-sy.

Paul McDonald

Ashton Jones – Big hair, big voice. Makes me think of a young Beyonce.

Stefano Langone – From Kent, Wa. Which makes him our “hometown hero.” Two of my siblings went to school with him and said that his voice, and his ego*, were legendary. Confidence aplenty in this one!

Naima Adedapo – An “exotic flower.” Very Ella Fitzgerald, in tribal dress. Judges love her.

 

See y’all next week!

*I hesitate to publish any “behind the scenes” negativity about any of the contestants. Yes, both of my siblings confirmed that he is quite the peacock. That said, it takes a certain amount of that kind of self-confidence to go on stage, week after week, and COMPETE for America’s votes. So I don’t think his Large Ego is a trait un-shared by many of his fellow contestants.