Yeah I didn't really recognize anyone who's up for next week, except Nathaniel the drama queen

Some of the girls better step up next week or that is all the selection of wildcards will be coming from. If the show intends to always keep equal numbers.

I noticed Seacrest didn't let any numbers slip out tonight so we don't know who gained an automatic spot in the final showdown. I have a feeling it was either Matt or Megan but thought Kai would place ahead of Kris so goes to show what my opinion is worth.

And if they are trying to streamline and keep ratings up, these hour long shows are a bit of a bore. Brooke White is still likeable but I really didn't understand the song she did. Is it too much to ask for lyrics which clearly make sense?

Well ... I'll hazard a "pop-in" here. Even though I can't shake it: I don't like the feel of the season so far and it feels like next-to-everything I think and/or say sounds next door to heartless . I'm not even a little comfortable with feeling cold and unashamedly clinical about grieving widowers. Or even marginally talented oil-riggers who use [ahem] endearing words like "sissy" - a term I'd forgotten even existed until Mr. Sarver reminded us of it recently ...

Anyway, this week was cool. I felt, in terms of the present tense, absolutely not maneuvered by the "Idol" staffers, for a change! And did I hear the words "interesting" and "relevant" and even "current" when addressing the singers? I had to fan myself . The right ones went through as a result, too, I think. Allison is pretty much awesome. Only 16 ~ and she's another one who gets right up there as if there really weren't a few million viewers staring at her as she goes about her business. Gutsy. Adam was a lock, but (despite his propensity towards howling like a particularly stimulated wolf too often) will likely do well as the themes land. He's nothing if not versatile. I liked Kris, too - once I was done cringing at "Man In The Mirror". He sang it just fine, as far as I know. I'd have liked it much better, though, had he smartly decided to sing anything but that hot mess of a tune . < --- Just my opinion, however! I don't think anybody picked the right songs on Wednesday, though. Lord, had poor Jasmine been old enough, I'm sure somebody would've offered her a stiff belt o' Scotch after her (surprisingly bad) show. And my heretofore "watchable one" Matt Giraud? Yikes. All he didn't do wrong was pick "Man In The Mirror" to sing . If he had, it would have just heaped more misery onto "already bad". I'm hoping the judges remember him from Hollywood Week, though, and [maybe] "wild card" him. I tell ya -- I'm still liking the whole 'deal' in that Megan Corkrey, too. She's fresh and different and she looks AND sounds as interesting as it gets (despite that rendition of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel splattered up her arm ...). She deserves a Wild Card, too. As does Kai, I think - but I'm suspecting there are only so many of these murky and mysterious Wild Cards to go around, y'know? Based on Wednesday night, Giraud doesn't really deserve one, either (which irritates me endlessly). So maybe Kai and Megan stand a better-than-good chance.

Maybe it's just me, but next week doesn't seem to hold much mystery in terms of who will "go forward" and who will "get gone". But that's back to the *manipulation* bit ~ and that America will undoubtedly vote with their hearts more than their ears (which, I reckon, is all part of the set-up, yes?). Considering that I've seen Lil do everything but relieve herself in the ladies room (and, had she, I'm sure the judges would have given her a standing ovation for flushing brilliantly) - short of singing a Leon Redbone song wrong, I can't imagine her getting sent packing. Then there's the blind guy? He sings well enough to pay attention to, anyway - but I'm pretty sure America won't be letting a handicapped (or handi-capable, if you will) and heartful balladeer slip through the cracks. And Von Smith - aka Hollering Herbert - will round out the three "in", don't you think? We've got the wildly hyped Whitney Houston-ish one, the Scent of a Woman audience grabber and the other guy who, like it or not, has likely been heard by everybody in Los Angeles county by now, whether they had the TV on or not. Voices that (um) 'projected' get carried over many city blocks, I'd think. Microphones or no .

I'm predicting that the forthcoming Wild Card episode will, hands down, end up the very most exciting show of the year. By a mile. Not to be grumbly, but none of these episodes of Season Eight have been all that electrifying so far, in my humble estimation. The ones picked to return (and especially since the judges are picking, NOT the phone callers) could make for a wildly eclectic one-surprise-after-the-other couple o' hours!

And I'll shut up now ....

Also --- I agree. Brooke White's song wasn't very good, was it? Too bad, too - since I, as well, still like "her", but the tune wasn't (as per her description of it) even a little bit 'catchy' . I could be wrong, but it seems that she's doomed to be one of those singers whose songs either land in a very "happy" place or in a very "far-from-happy" place? No middle ground, usually?
In retrospect, her stay on "Idol" last year was like that, too, I guess .

I want the wild cards to include Anoop, Jorge, Ju'not and Jamar.
I have not really been bowled over yet
Alison and Adam I guess are the closest to it. I have decided I only like Simon.

I'm agreeing with most of the comments here - my overall feeling about this year is that I'm not enjoying it at all. Maybe it's because I haven't seen anyone who really impresses me yet. David Cook didn't really 'emerge' from the pack until fairly late in last year's season, so maybe there's still hope.
I really don't care for the "top 36" format, 12 singing, picking 3, dumping 9, possible 'wild card', etc.

The problem is with Gat's prediction (which is very likely) if Lil goes through and then 2 more guys you will have six guys and 3 girls sitting in the chairs. If American Idol continues to keep an even male/female split that means all the wildcard spots go to girls as the boy's tractor seats are all filled.

So I wouldn't be surprised if next week, like magic, 2 girls are in the top vote getters leaving one wildcard for a leftout boy.

Oh the susupense... NOT.

Good to see you back Gatsby. I was beginning to think we'd lost our resident judge.

I agree with Tredici about seeing two girls go through this week. The seats are being filled with guys at the moment and they have to even it up don't you think?

There may be a surprise or two as there are a few girls that may just fight it out for those spots..

This weeks group:

Felicia Barton
Kristine McNamara
Scott MacIntyre
Von Smith
Lil Rounds
Jorge Nuñez
Arianna Afsar
Ju'Not Joyner
Alex Wagner-Trugman
Taylor Vaifanua
Nathaniel Marshall
Kendall Beard

I've revisited the videos to jog my memory as a few of the girls I couldn't remember. Taylor, Arianna, Felicia and Kristen all have good voices, my pick is maybe Felicia to take the second girl's place (if there are 2 girls going through) as they already have a 16yo girl with Allison from last week. It really depends on who goes for it on the night and who buckles under pressure (and of course who the judges want to go through).

I think you are spot on with Lil and Scott Gatsby, they should be a shoe-in. Not to sure about "Hollering Herbert" aka "Shouty McShouter" just yet, maybe he might be a wild card candidate.

My bet is that Simon will put two girls in for the wild card, Megan and Jasmine come to mind.. I like Simon too (Ren and Jordandog), at least he says what he thinks even if it is a bit harsh sometimes.

The thing is, they said they were not going to do the even amount of girls/guys this year. I think they just want to have the better singers rather than worry about a Sanjaya going through just because it has to be 'even.'

Ahhh.. thanks SilverMoonsong. I hadn't heard that. But really Sanjaya shouldn't be their excuse. There were plenty of other guys to choose from but that was the "drama" year where picking him over his sister who really wanted it was such an edgy thing to do.

Oh, my . After seeing that list (thank you for posting that, choco_nut!) I realized I'd forgotten to consider the entirely inspired Jorge. Or Hor-Hay. Or whatever they'll finally settle on calling him this week. He's red-star excellent! and I hope, hope, hope you're right, SilverMoonsong - about the "shouldn't matter if the boy vs. girl head count matches". It really shouldn't factor in now any more than it did at the cattle call auditions at first, if you ask me. I tell ya. Even though the rules about these Wild Cards sound kinda sorta clear, it still seems all grey to the likes of bleary old me . Maybe they're making the details up as they go ?

Tredici,

Sanjaya was my excuse, not theirs. I could also have used Kellie Pickler, Haley Scarnato, Antonella Barba... I'm just tired of seeing someone go through because they are cute instead of based on their talent. It's a talent show, darnit. Bikini girl should have just tried to get on Top Model (or maybe she did try and they didn't want her either!)

Gats,

I've always said it shouldn't matter on gender - talent should be the important thing. It's not always going to be evenly split, so why try to make it that way? You end up with garbage.

Antonella Barba was another of the drama season. -- And Sanjaya was a good example WMS and I know you didn't pick him. (-8

But both of those two were part of back stories of how the person they came with was the one who wanted to audition so it was like the judges, or producers, or whoever - deliberately selected the other one of the two. So when both of them turned out to be something less than Idol material it wasn't too surprising.

The only thing I worry about is, at least for audience vote, you aren't gauranteed the best talent because 11-12 year girls vote for the cute guy. (The grandma factor doesn't kick in until later and we end up with Taylor Hicks.) Or this season, Danny. Who is still an improvement over Taylor. As example did Kris really do a better job than Megan?

But at least it adds something different to the show and the format was getting a bit stale.

Boy, Paula is really having trouble stringing a sentence together, isn't she?

It's not over yet, but so far I like Ju'Not best.

I actually like Nathaniel as a singer, so I hope he gives up his drama queen image a bit if he makes it through. And weird song choice, given how he looks/dresses.

Kristen bugs me, but good singer.

Wow. I missed the first four singers (one of which was Hollering Herbie --- how'd he do? Any small earthquakes or minor tidal waves happen as he went this time ?) but, yowza!! That back half of the lot tonight was pretty darned impressive in spots, or so I thought. Felicia is very strong. And she's also likable AND now has the "underdog/second choice" badge, too (neither of which are a bad thing, right ... this year especially?). She sings really well, though. Then along came Scott ... who is also the kind of "package" one likes before he even finds the microphone. Up until now I, for one, have been more swayed by the way he's announced with trumpets and what often looks like a clip of "Little House on the Prairie", Season 2, Episode 7 . Not that he shouldn't benefit from such handling, eh? Others are, so he should as well. I gotta say, however, that I haven't heard him hit a song out of the ballpark (once or twice he made the infield, I suppose ). Tonight he did the best I've seen from him -- but, really, I still can't imagine America not voting for him. It would just seem some sort of a "hellfire and damnation" sin to vote against him ... and calling in for somebody else would be pretty much the same thing, wouldn't it? I'm never sure if I have the 'etiquette' right in matters such as these, o' course. But I'd be OK if he went through. He was aw right, dawg. He had it goin' on like dat. But I digress ... then there was Jorge . Oh, I gotta say it. He was [in my untrained summation of singers and the way they do it] absolutely awesome! OK. Kinda crappy in the 'song choice' department (no worries, though -- that's a Season 8 theme so far), but he just rings out right all over the place to me. And 'Bravo!' to Simon for getting those others off the "dialect coach" nonsense . Jorge sounds just right as Jorge. He needs to start sounding like he's from Texas? I don't think so. Personally, if I were to choose, I'd rather he sound like himself and have that (more annoying nightly) Kara woman start sounding like she's anything more than a fourth chair "Idol" judge on an unnecessary test run. Bah. Finally, along comes our Lil Rounds. Every time we got to see her four times per episode for weeks now, I thought she was going down like a sputtering rocket (in my opinion of it) from her impressive start. Just TOO much "stage ripping". Or something? Tonight, though? She nailed it. One of those times when it seemed OK to say "She's back!" Also, one of those times when she kinda sorta deserved a standing 'o'. And didn't get one, for some reason. By now, I suppose we all know that she's in the Top 12 without too much exercise necessary, and can collectively stay seated. So (unless America does uncharacteristically right and picks Jorge instead - AND justifiably does so, at that) I still say Scott's through. And Lil. But who's the third one gonna be? I guess the bigger and most urgent question is: which gender are we needing here, to keep quotas right.

And what was up with heretofore "sweetheart" Kristen ? Yikes ... what a bump-n-grind! I was waiting for her to wing a seductively slithered-out-of garter belt at Randy's head! Very weird. But [um] noticeable, I reckon ...

I was thinking Kristen was trying to "dirty herself up" at bit -- after all, it worked for Alexis Grace!

The other two groups of 12 were easier to call. Jorge and Lil did the best vocals. But now with the wildcards coming in to play I would not have voted for Lil knowing she's a sure fire candidate the judges would bring back.

To an earlier question, Von wasn't all that bad tonight, and neither was Drama Queen.

I actually liked Kendall. She sounded a little too much like Martina McBride but if Lil gets a standing ovation for doing a dead imitation of Mary J Blige then I guess soundalikes are okay.

Don't know but I think it will be hard for 2 girls to be in the top three vote getters in this group. So there is going to be a lop-sided count and nothing wrong with that. After all, America votes and always gets it right...

...and don't forget about the wild card Thursday night, so anything goes.

For the first time, I liked Lil. She hadn't impressed me much, but I enjoyed her performance last night. I also really like Ju'Not.

I agree that Scott had his best performance yet and I hope I get to see more of him. I want to see how he handles the group number.

I think Lil is through for sure, and my next two choices are Scott and either Jorge or Ju'Not. Can't quite make up my mind there. I think whichever one doesn't get in will come back in the wildcard round.

I am leaning towards, Lil,Scott and Felicia, since it is pretty certtain they will put more girls through now.Jorge was great though, and Junot. Oh dear... it's HARD!!!

Quote:

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am leaning towards, Lil,Scott and Felicia, since it is pretty certtain they will put more girls through now.Jorge was great though, and Junot. Oh dear... it's HARD!!!

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I agree with you Ren, Lil, Scott and Felicia should go through but maybe Junot or Jorge are in with a chance.

I liked Junot and Jorge too. I usually don't like it when they change songs around like Junot did tonight but he did sound pretty smooth, as the judges put it.

To be honest, Scott's song did nothing for me tonight. Bruce Hornsby .. not a fan. I thought he was off key quite a bit. I actually didn't watch him, just listened and it sounded shaky and off to me. Maybe I'm wrong and need my ears cleaned or something. He has a lovely personality though, a real nice guy. He has a huge list of achievements and has actually taught salsa, swing and ballroom dancing. Wow. I liked it when he gave Ryan the high five tonight, (payback for Ryan's slip up a few weeks ago) it shows he has a good sense of humour.

Von toned it down tonight don't you think? He actually wasn't bad at all. Poor Alex, Taylor and Arianna, that's the end of the road for them now. Gats, you missed three of the worst tonight so no great loss for you there. I'm surprised with the two girls as their auditions were good. I think the nerves may have kicked in tonight, especially with Taylor.

Headband guy channelling Meatloaf? That was funny but very mean when Simon said he should do a keep fit video.. I loved his grandma in the audience, she loves her boy alright.

Well, I'll toss my buck and a quarter in here. Von didn't do anything for me at all, granted he toned it down, but I didn't like Clay Aiken and since he did remind me of him, that was points against him, personally.

Gats, you missed nothing by not seeing numero 3, Alex Wagner-Trugman. He was awful I thought. His performance was still as overdone as a minute steak on a grill for 3 hours.

I agree with you, Tredici, liked Kendall too. If you are going to 'copy' Blige, at least do it well and she did. On the fashion side , I loved her look, but could have done without the flower arrangement on the belt. Arianna has great voice control, but "The Winner Takes It All"? Baaaad choice there and she's gone.
I think Felicia has a good chance here and I had no problem with another singer taking from a known artist. She did up Keyes song just fine in my opinion too.
The next woman I'll add is Lil and not much to say about that one other than if she doesn't get through, it's a downright 'shame on ya America'! "Be Without You" is a tough song and she was right on with the entire performance.
Ju'Not was good, I didn't expect him to do "Delilah" again so that was a surprise, but it showed a different side in his re-doing of it. I hate to sound like the 'Wicked Witch of Ohio' here, but Scott did not thrill me. He has a decent voice, but I don't think he's great. Maybe he will wow me when he has his keyboard back.

Kristen? What was she thinking? That made me cringe for her.
I loved Jorge and that guy is so grateful to be where he is. I agree that they need to leave him alone and just let him be who he is. Nathaniel on the other hand needs to change just about everything. I made a point of closing my eyes, not watching him, and I don't think he has a good voice, not good enough anyway.

I have 'narrowed' my possibles down to Felicia, Lil, Jorge, Scott, and Kendall. Not all because I like them the best, but because the voting is fickle at times. If all else fails, we can now design our own Coke cups - how thrilling is that?!

I agree about Scott, Sandy. Sorry if it's un-PC of me, but I wouldn't vote for him, if I was able to vote. He's okay, but not fantastic. He lacks stage presence too. I agree he was better during Hollywood week when he had his keyboard, though. The judges are always after people to look the part of a pop star/ rock star, and he just doesn't.

Just because I wouldn't vote for him doesn't necessarily mean anything though. I wouldn't vote for Lil either. Not because she's not good - she's a great singer, no question. She's just not my cup of tea and she doesn't sing my kind of music. I like the David Cooks and Adam Lamberts of Idol, not Fantasias or Lils.

"I want to see how he handles the group number."

Okay, that was funny.

(-8

Hi all!

Guitargoddess, I'm with you on Lil. She sounds fine, but I prefer the rockers to the belters most of the time. I honestly didn't see anything last night that thrilled me or made me stand up and go "wow." And it's more because they were universally good (or at least okay) than universally bad. Good but not great. Nothing really made me sit up and say "wow" the way, say, Allison did last week. With the exception of poor, awkward Alex, they were all competent singers.

If I had to pick a favorite, I would probably go with Junot Joyner - I like the way he changed up "Hey There Delilah." But I won't weep bitter tears if he doesn't make it through.

I really hope people who vote for Scott are voting for him because they like his voice and not because he's blind. He certainly shouldn't get a free pass because of that. I wasn't thrilled by his singing (and I did like Hornsby), but liked the high-5 with Ryan. Cute.

So except for maybe hoping it won't be Nathaniel or Alex getting through, I really don't have a lot at stake (in my heart?) this week.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Wildcard round shakes out. It would be great if they decided they don't have to even out the male/female dynamic.

Y

Gatsby722, I like your icon - is that from Freaks?

Y

Wow, there will be some hard decisions tonight! Overall, I wasn't that impressed with group 3. I really cringed at Arianna and Alex's performances. Alex was completely schizophrenic, in both movement and song style. Nathaniel has a great voice, but he really cheesed it up with that Meatloaf song! Kendall really grated on my nerves. While I really like Scott, he was quite pitchy (and I dislike Bruce Hornsby too). Felicia was strong, but imo, didn't really set herself apart from anyone. Taylor, in the words of Simon, was forgettable.

So that leaves Kristin (I like her bluesy voice), Ju'Not, Von, Jorge and Lil. Von tried too hard in Hollywood week, but I thought he did a great job last night (nice vocal tricks at the end). Jorge was good, but was he good enough? Ju'Not -- great voice and I liked the stripped down version of "Delilah" Lil -- need we say anything? The woman looks and acts professional already!

Guess we'll see how America voted!

Well, I really like Scott. I may be the only one, but I do. I thought he did a good job.

I'm happy with the last 3 tonight - Scott, Lil and Jorge.

Tomorrow should be interesting. I was VERY happy to see Anoop, and VERY disappointed they are bringing Tatiana back for one more go. Only 8 made it to the wild card round, 2 per judge. Most I agree with, but at least 2 made me go *hunh?*

Yeah.. there were a couple of "forgettable" ones picked, to borrow Simon's favourite critique. Ricky, I think his name was? I honestly don't remember ever seeing him before.

The thing I hate about this three groups of 12 format is that you either have to put 3 through, or you can only put 3 through. It's not like I can suggest a fairer way to do it, but it kinda sucks when there's maybe 5 maybe from one group who deserve to go through, but only 2 from another. Those extra good people in the first group get screwed over because another mediocre person from the second group has to go through. The wild cards help with this problem, but it still doesn't fully correct it. One, only three more wild cards will be chosen. And two, there are people who were not selected for the wild card who I feel maybe deserve to be through more than some other people do. Jorge's really not one of my favourites. I liked him out of last night's group, but I don't like him more than some people who are not getting a second chance.