Right. I watched the 12 men and decided like this:
Casey
Scotty
Jacob
Paul
James
Stephano
I wonder if I am close.

I loved Robbie too . Oh dear!

I heartily agree with that, with just one wee exception. I thought Stefano (especially in a field of such firecrackers, and wherein every performance will matter greatly at the gate) kinda blew it. He was pretty good, but I kept thinking how much better he's capable of. The judges gushed for him, though ... so what do I know? Another "coulda done better, a LOT better" one was Tim. On that one the judges agreed with me. He missed notes all over the place, which seemed unexpected for his generally spot-on self. In truth, the biggest miracle is that they all didn't fall apart into quivering masses of bulldozed nerves, being the first time in a venue like that with that many folks gawking at them. Hopefully that's what tripped up Tim, and he'll get a chance to get used to things. If I had to pick, I'd hands-down have to call out James as the best of the lot last night. He puts on a great show (and he's controlling that vocal monster of his nicely, too, as things get started). I can't get enough of that Paul, either. I think it's official, now ... he's the (semi-odd duck) contestant I'm going to support and stick to like glue this year. Good luck to him, huh? My [unimportant] support has sank many a ship in 9 years of Idol history . He's just so different AND compelling to watch/hear, however, in my estimation. A friend of mine insists that he's *hot*, too? OK, OK. I'll give her that. As long as she gives me, too, that his alleged *hotness* is slightly eclipsed by those huge mega-white teeth in his head. But (ahem) this IS a singing contest, yes? So on that topic he is fascinating, hot and/or blinding choppers aside. I think I might be lapsing into Boy Band moments in some other places as well, I should say. I liked Robbie (again), too. I love that song he picked, and he sang it nicely --- despite all those octave gymnastics he tried. And I was enjoying Giovanni as well. Neither missed a note, both gave it their all and either one could effortlessly sell an issue of Tiger Beat magazine were their faces on the cover of it. Casey's yet another fascinating performer, isn't he? He's surely not likely to ever get boring this year. I liked his take on Screamin' Jay last night (a lot), but I missed his bass fiddle (or whatever other instrument he might have employed). Not HIS fault, my missing it. It's pretty clear he does just fine, better than fine, standing on his vocal chords alone.

I might as well get the snarky comment out of the way, one night of performances in. Here it is: I really can't stand anything about that Brett kid. All I can think when I watch him is of Woody Woodpecker having really bad muscle spasms in his neck. Very distracting getting beyond that, when it comes to him. But, again, what do I know?

Yes I agree about Brett. That head jerking really gets me down.

The only performances I really, really liked last night were Jacob, James, and Casey, in that order. Even Casey's performance was a bit of a letdown for me, perhaps because I vastly prefer the Creedence Clearwater Revival version of that song. I felt Casey was a little over the top (although so was Screamin' Jay Hawkins himself) ~ the phrase I usually reserve for Jacob. But I agree, Gats, Jacob reigned himself in just enough to be absolutely stupendous. I think he'll be with us for a very long time. James also managed not to screech, and I found his performance quite refreshing in the middle of a long stretch of common ballads. Who'd have though we'd ever see a Judas Priest song on Idol? I guess the only bad thing I could say about that was I found myself wishing I could see Adam do that song!

As for the others: Scotty was fine, he was note-perfect, and he's got a great country voice. It just didn't blow me away. I hope he makes the Top 12 (or 13, or whatever) because I'm dying to watch him during the upcoming theme weeks (which will not be country). He is so deep into his niche that he blew it during Hollywood Week doing a country song that wasn't part of his usual repertoire. He claimed he didn't know the song, and I don't know how that's possible ~ "I Hope You Dance" is played constantly down here in the land of country music. That said, I still support him ~ he deserves to have a career in country music. Paul and Robbie did fine. Nothing wrong with their performances. Paul's voice is still a little too weird for me, and Robbie's performance I found a bit lackluster. Same goes for Jovanny. The rest of the bunch were a bit karaoke for me, if you'll excuse my borrowing from Randy's dictionary. I thought Stefano was off-key quite a bit, especially in the end, and I was shocked the judges didn't see that. Poor Tim suffered from poor song choice ~ I love Rob Thomas, but that song did nothing for Tim. And speaking of song choice, can we please ban "Superstition" from Idol, at least for awhile? Hasn't that one been done at least once every season? Clint didn't do a bad job of it, but I don't think it was enough to overcome the devil edit he got during Hollywood Week. Our other "devil", Jordan, just brought nothing to the table at all with his Usher song. And then there was Brett. Oh, Brett. At our house, we laughed all the way through his performance. I'm a huge Doors fan, so it was quite painful for me to watch. So painful that I chose to laugh instead of cry. He should have chosen a ballad instead of trying to be a rock star. I might be able to tolerate Brett if he avoids Doors songs in the future, and if I can listen to him with my eyes closed. (I got through an entire season of Taylor Hicks with my eyes closed.) I don't think we'll have to worry about that. I can't imagine he'll make it to the top 12.

I'm going to echo Ren for the most part. I think James, Scotty, Paul, Jacob, and Casey are a lock for the Top 12. Who's the last spot going to? I think that's a toss-up.

There's a lot of conflicting information floating around about how we're going to arrive at our destination. Joe's Place is reporting that all the singers America rejects this week will sing again next week to compete for two wildcard spots. MJ has heard that the new cast will be introduced Thursday night, which would mean the judges will pick wildcards this week. Considering the results show is a vast 2-hours long, that would make sense. Ryan's given us not a clue as to what to expect.

Looking forward to seeing the girls sing tonight, but not as much. I don't know most of the songs they've chosen to sing.

It's a little late, but I just realized no one had posted the girls' song spoilers for tonight. Here they are, courtesy of MJ's Big Blog:

1. Ta-Tynisa Wilson – “Only Girl (In The World)” by Rihanna
2. Naima Adedapo – “Summertime”
3. Kendra Chantelle – “Impossible” by Christina Aguilera
4. Rachel Zevita – “Criminal” by Fiona Apple
5. Karen Rodriguez – “Hero” by Mariah Carey (sung half in Spanish)
6. Lauren Turner - “Seven Day Fool” by Etta James (Jully Black’s version)
7. Ashton Jones – “Love Over Me” by Monica
8. Julie Zorrilla – “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson
9. Haley Reinhart – “Fallin” by Alicia Keyes
10. Thia Megia – “Out Here On My Own” from Fame
11. Lauren Alaina – “Turn on the Radio” by Reba McEntire
12. Pia Toscano – “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders

Current ratings at WhatNotToSing have the top five guys as these, in order:

Jacob
Casey
James
Paul
Scotty

(Guess who's in 6th place? Brett!)

The girls, in order:

Pia
Thia
Lauren T.
Lauren A.
Naima and Karen (tied)

DialIdol's predictions are completely different!

Their top 5 guys are:

Scotty
Jacob
James
Stefano
Paul

And DialIdol's girls:

Tatynisa
Julie
Lauren A.
Pia
Thia

Both Scotty and Tatynisa have a strong lead over the person in the number 2 spot.

I don't know how accurate DialIdol is this early in the season, but those predictions seem a little screwy to me...

Just watching the men's one now and I like Jovany who hasn't seemed to been mentioned yet! Also liked Scotty and Casey too. Really I didn't mind most of the others either though! lol
I don't like the redhead .. is that Brett?

I liked Gat's idea of Scotty being in the themed weeks! Could be very interesting but really, he's a country singer and I can't see him being fantastic outside of that genre.

Well I watched the Girls and it was hard to choose.
I didnt like Ta Tynista at all
Naina is on my lst though, as is
Karen (WOW)
The first Lauren
Ashthon
Hayley (WoW!)
Thia
Pia although she shrieked a bit too much for me.(I liked her before.)

I think I really liked Karen best, the Spanish did it..
I think I probably am not a great judge as I haven't heard quite a few of the songs sung by other people, so can't tell if they did it better, the same or worse!

I didn't like Ta-Tynisa, either (and I hope I never have to type her name ever again; I'll never get it right if required to). And I was also enjoying Naima ~ even though I was terrified upon hearing that she was doing "Summertime" (it seemed inevitable that she'd fall flat under comparisons to Fantasia doing it so memorably years back). Happily, she didn't do such falling, and didn't deserve to. Very different way to offer that song, though -- but it worked. After all my note scribbling was over and done with, I ended up having three big *stars* drawn beside three ladies' names. Two went to Pia and Thia (what? ... no Mia, Rhea or Gia on the roster to give us a matching set?). Young Thia was, in my view, flawless doing that song from Fame. No razzle dazzle about it. Just a clean delivery, popping right on the mark with each note. Pia sang what I consider a rather difficult tune to try, but she was pretty well awesome as it went. Someone reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde on the 'Idol' stage? I'm on that like white on rice, indeed. Then there was that hugest (albeit poorly sketched by a non-artist ) star next to [I'm with ya, Sara!] Karen. Everything was right about her performance, I thought. And, for some reason, I noticed one major thing about it: so many of the other girls seemed to try to slink around, 'sex' it up, purr/growl like vixen-ish kittens, and so forth. Karen, though? She just stood there and nailed it, while looking like a million bucks in a proper dress. And, to me? She was, no contest, the 'hottest' of all as she did that. The Spanish interlude didn't hurt, no question about it, but her vocals are ever-so-nice in whatever language might come out of her, is my hunch. I can easily see her going to the Top Five. Or higher. There were a few others that were noticeably good, but those three stood out the most, at least for me. Was Rachel the biggest disappointment of the pack to anyone else besides myself? I thought she tanked badly. It looked like some odd mix of off-Broadway/karaoke/strip club to my surprised eyes. And sounded even worse! I'm pretty sure she is another who can do much better than that, and is also another that may not get the chance once they start clearing the stage tonight.

It's not on here til this evening but I don't like Ta-Tynisa just becuase of the name

Well, a pretty good top 13 despite some of my faves missing

I like Paul, but I would have traded him for Robbie. It was interesting for me to see both Stephano and Robbie singing for a wildcard placement. While Stephano has a bigger personality and more versatility, Robbie, to me, is the more talented singer/musician. I loved his sensitivity too!

Ack, the women! I really wanted to see Lauren Turner and Kendra up there. I'd take out Haley (one-trick-pony) Rheinhart and Karen (what's all the hype?) Rodriguez. I'm not a big fan of Ashthon either. I kept hoping she'd actually sing something, instead of all that screaming and shouting.

Still, the cream will rise to the top in this bunch. I can see Casey and Lauren going all the way.

So we have our top 13! Not too many surprises tonight. The guys were pretty much exactly what we expected. The only real surprise for me was that Lauren Turner didn't even get asked to sing. I thought she deserved a second chance. ALL of the wildcard singers were better tonight than they were on Tuesday and Wednesday. Made me feel like they all deserved another chance.

Heads up! Adam Lambert will be performing on the March 10 results show!

For some reason I just can't get into it this year. I started watching the guys night, and thought out of the first 3 or 4 singers only Clint actually could sing. I'm not talking about perform, I'm talking about having the ability to actually carry a note and sing (and Clint has already been sent home). I turned it after that. I didn't even watch the girls or the results tonight. I think it's a combination of the new judges and the 5 minute commercial breaks every 7 minutes. It gets old...almost as bad as the NFL.

Anyway...I might change my mind when theme weeks start, which I think start now. We'll see I guess. Otherwise, I guess I'll bow out of the discussion and viewing this year.

Hmmm. The following is from MJ's BigBlog --- it's a 'Power List' of the Top 13. I'm not sure about much of it, personally. I like Scotty plenty (and all that) but for him to be at the top? That seems a mighty stretch. Jacob seems a bit lower on the list than he ought to be, at this point, too. I have a private hunch [well, not so private anymore ] that he'll wear thinner and thinner as the season goes ~ but, right now, he's a major favorite. God bless Luther Vandross, to whom Jacob already is being compared, but a little bit of him went a l-o-n-g way, at least in my house it did. In many ways, Jacob's as 'niched' as Scotty is, just in a different genre. But I never know about how these things might go, as I've often proven in seasons past. Anyway (and for whatever it's worth), here's an early *Power List* ...

Courtesy of MJ, here's the song spoilers for this week.

Thats a VERY interesting list I look forward to it, Casey will be awesome with "With a Little Help" Wowee.

Yikes! Even today's TV Guide 'Power List' has Scotty at the top of it this week . Pia's in second. Karen, Casey and Lauren (in that order) round out the Top Five over there. Hmmm. I count myself as a Scotty fan, rest assured .... but I'm still having a hard time wrapping my imagination around him come Motown Night. Or, worse, 'Twisted Sister' Night (just kidding ~ but some hard rock-ish theme is inevitable, eh?). Granted, there are mellow and middle-o'-the-road R&B and rock tunes out there aplenty, I know. I can't remember very many with much of a Conway Twitty "twang" included, however. James came in on TVG at #6 and Paul at #7, by the way.

I like tonight's song list, too. Casey ought to nail his and, between now and the time I see it, hopefully I won't be associating Pia with anything that will distract me with (sorry, but I'm NOT a fan of ...) Celine Dion thoughts . Didn't Eric Carmen do that song first? Let's hope so. Him I can hear singing it without grabbing the nearest sedatives.

Supposedly, the producers have said the themes this year will be "broader". I'm not a fan of that tactic ~ I've always enjoyed watching the contestants succeed at taking a song that's out of their comfort zone and make it their own. In my mind, it's an excellent way to see who's really got the talent to do anything. I fear the producers are looking for another Justin Bieber this year, and I'm not a fan of cookie-cutter, over-produced singers with little to no actual musical talent.

I made it through an hour tonight, and I'm done with Idol. After Jacob, and the judges gushing over that train wreck, I'm done. Just because a guy has strong lungs and can belt out a yell...doesn't mean he can sing. Lambert could carry the note...this guy didn't even come close.

Shucks. I got all excited waiting for the show tonight only to be left pretty much disappointed slash anesthetized - which generally happens, to me, when my anticipation level gets all jacked-up. I have to say that I didn't think ANY of the singers were bad, exactly (except maybe one) ... but none were startlingly 'sparky', either. Especially the ones I was expecting sparks from, as they followed up on their sparkiness from last week, etc.. Once again, in my opinion, the best was James! I totally enjoyed his homage to Paul McCartney, probably because I marvel at him when he corrals his vocals so ably. Very toned down Wednesday night, as was called for given the song (with just a few hints of those vocal riffs he's so good at, thrown in just because he can/could). To my utter shock I thought the second best was Haley! Haley "who's-that?", I kept asking myself. I hadn't been energized by her before, at all, but she did a nice job on "Blue" ~ and I'm pretty sure that song isn't a walk in the park to perform well. Her lower register was a bit shaky (several of 'em had that problem tonight, I noticed) but she pulled the bulk of the thing off very well, I'd say. I'll call out Casey as a close third for the evening. The judges were 100% right about him: his Joe Cocker channeling truly felt terrific as he went. I'm not terribly convinced how it got sung matters very much after one absorbs the energy from the tune. Usually I feel that same way when Mr. Cocker does it, too. It's a song, though, that I think is pretty much impossible not to like. Funny how soon most forget, including me, that it's a Beatles song first and foremost, too, isn't it? I still think it's utterly unfair to put Casey out there without an instrument to hold onto, though. I know, I know. It's a singing contest . But he seems to sing better when he's got something to do with his hands. Oh, and I'm with pyonir, too. Jacob was too much everything last night. He gets a choir so early in the season, does he? Hmph. I stand by my thought that if he keeps all 'that' stuff up, he'll get very tiring very soon. I think he's got a lot of passion and a bottomless pit of soul; I just wish he'd crank it back a little. Save some for later, maybe? Paul (still my underdog favorite) got swallowed up by the orchestra AND picked a song that might make the cheeriest audience member slightly suicidal after a few lines of it. So that was mostly a bust. Lauren's OK. I thought she was better than the judges seemed to. Pia deserved better attention from me than she got (it sounded like she nailed that song, however). Celine loomed in my head. I couldn't pay proper attention. Karen did fine, looked gorgeous! Another one who flubbed the lower notes. I wrote down: "very nice, but far short of awesome" as she was singing. Thia must never try to rearrange a song again for a while. Her "Smile" started out so ably, then went straight into some peculiar 'jazz it up' detour. She did MUCH better than that poor girl did with it last season, though, yes? Speaking of 'jazzing things up': a little less of doing that might have been a worthy consideration for Stefano, too. He wasn't bad (in fact, parts of that tune were terrific). Just too many gymnastics, vocally, too much of the time. Scotty was totally good as well. No surprises from him. He'd have made my top three had he not picked one of my least favorite Garth Brooks songs to try. He sang it great, quite frankly. I just wasn't so hot on the song choice. Maybe trying to get over the shock of his picking Garth Brooks as his Idol might have been a distraction from listening, perhaps ? He did really well, I'll admit it.

So that leaves two unmentioned. Naima (who I actually like bunches but, evidently, nobody else in California seems to) and Ashton ---> who was terrible, I thought. Just a dreadful diva mess last night, in my humble opinion. If I had to hazard a guess, she'll likely be the first to go.

-BUT.... I did! (scroll back . I think she is wonderful.I hve yet to watch what you have all seen (comes out a day late with us) so we shall see...

1. Lauren Alaina Missed it, got home too late but saw the clip, didnt look like I missed much
2. Casey Abrams still love him best, not only his wondrous singing, he is so sweet.
3. Ashthon Jones Awful, I agree, and soo irritating.
4. Paul McDonald Lovely, super I thought he was best, so unusual a performance, love the "dancing"!!
5. Pia Toscano – I cannot like it because I just cannot like Celine, I tried.Also she screams.
6. James Durbin OK I was not blown away as some seem to be
7. Haley Reinhart Loved it Her voice is great and she doesnt have to rely on horrible screams
8. Jacob Lusk Oh Yuk! So loud and not a lot else. He seemed a tad out of tune too.
9. Thia Megia I see what Randy means about similarity to MJ. Another one who can sing without resorting to stupid yelling
10. Stefano Langone I really liked it, Great range without the shrieks. Mind you I love that song.
11. Karen Rodriguez Nope. Loved her last week.This she was really boring I thought
12. Scott McCreery Like you Gats I want to hear some rocky stuff from him. I suspect he will remain with country as he was advised to do. Adorable guy though.
13. Naima Adedapo I really enjoyed it . She seems so fresh and unusual.
I hope Ashton goes, or Karen

Drat, I missed the first 5 singers and came upon James in the middle of his song.

I really wanted to see how Casey did too From what I saw I wasn't that impressed.

James was good (thank god he lost the "tail") and I liked Stephano.

I'm not a big fan of Haley, but for me, the yodeling is what pushed her to the positive side for me.

I didn't care for Jacob, thought he was a bit over the top. It could have been the song though, as I dislike R. Kelly.

I love the purity of Thia's voice, but like everyone has mentioned, the first part of the song was the best.

Karen's performances have pretty much solidified my view from the start on her. In other words, she's not one of my favourites. I thought she was merely imitating Selena, and not as well either.

Scotty was good, but I'm afraid I just don't appreciate country songs like that.

I thought Naima was a great package overall; she really looked like a perfomer. But her vocals did suffer a bit because of that.

Guess we'll see what happens tonight!

The only vocals I really liked were Pia (and I can not stand to listen to Celine Dion), Haley, Casey and Stefano. I though Naima was a great performer, but the vocals were a bit weak, Lauren is cute as a button and talented, but seemed draggy and Paul has a great voice, but that song was horrible. I think James and Jacob are way over rated and over pimped by the judges/producers. I thought Ashthon and Karen were simply horrible, and I really like Thia, but she butchered the second half of one of my very favorite songs. And Scott seems like a nice guy, but most country music seriously sounds the same to me.