das Monkey

"You Suck" - zzzzz ... good outfit for her body ... much better than the black thing she wore last time ... first thing I thought of was Burger King too
"Hoo-rah" - very solid job
"'Sup 'Sup Dogg" - "I'm gonna bring it!" ... zzzzzzzzzzzz ... did he say something?
Melissa Ethridge - Who knew John and Patsy Ramsey had any children other than Jon-Benet? In what part of Motown did you find that outfit? Not bad. Not great.
"Hercules!" - Perfect song selection - I guess some people hate his voice, but it was a great choice for his style
Trash-bag Ho - FOR? FOR??? And take those shitty boots with you. It's a shame, since you have a good voice, but Butchering the National Anthem is a sin of the highest level
American Idol - It was OK ... and by OK, I mean he kicked everyone's ass
Center of Attention - Not too bad, but she's trying too hard with the "spunk." Liked the outfit.
Sideshow Sideshow - Speed problems, and what's with the "ah ... ah" mid-song. Still a good performance and great crowd interaction.
Who Let You in Here? - May want to stay away from words with "H" sounds ... and singing.
Pre-Crack Diana Ross - Can't hit the high notes. Otherwise great performance ... should sound good on Boston Public next season
No Numbers, No Wear - B'ham in the hizzle mah nizzle

das

zuffy

What's the point of having Randy, Paula, and that motown dude if they're not gonna give a genuine critique? I thought some of them suck... like Hercule, Kimberley Locke, that super high pitch dude.

YOU GO CLAY! He's gonna win damn_it!

btw, I think Fox is trying to make Simon look bad at every opportunity. And with some of his reactions, he's losing creditability.

Da Thrilla

Clay obviously did the best tonight. His voice is simply amazing. Ruben did great too.

Patman

Okay, finally got to watch the 2-hour premiere:

1. Clay - I think he's going to win the competition, but Ruben might also pull enough votes to win the big prize. Clay has got this connection with not only the crowd, but with the song, and the crowd really responds to his performance.

2. Trenyce - while she does lack that last octave of range, she does everything else very well.

3. Ruben - the guy is just dripping with charisma and a commanding presence in the room. I still don't enjoy his voice (meaning, it's so low to middling, the wrong song choice could expose this deficiency). Please, Ruben, no more 205 shirts.

4. Julia - needs work on the presentation portion, but I dig the vocal quality of her voice. She will need to rein in the temptation to go nutty with the notes and be a little more reined in and controlled. And I think my prediction came true, she lost like 5-10 pounds in the past months after moving onto the real competition round.

5. Rickey - great song choice, was in key, and did his thang. The white pants gotta go, though.

6. Vanessa - actually does have a stage-y voice, big and with good range. Also, fun stage presence. She'd be better on Broadway Idol.

7. Corey - sang a bit fast, but I think the backing music/vocal track was also a tad fast. His falsetto was in good form, and didn't labor with the high notes. Paula loves this guy. (Justin Guarini wishes he had Corey's falsetto).

8. Carmen - I find her notes and phrasing awkward (though unique). Improved stage presence, and might just sneak into the top 6 due to her "unique" singing style.

9. Joshua - I almost didn't recognize the melody or chorus of the song he sang. He's not a Motown voice. He reminds of of watching David Boreanaz (Angel) singing sometimes due to the hairstyle and physique.

10. Kimberly Caldwell - obviously Motown ain't her forte, and she's already losing her voice (there some rough spots in her performance).

11. Kimberley Locke - she's loud, but her range isn't smooth, and she didn't really click with the song. If Charles wasn't in the competition, I'd boot her out tonight.

12. Charles - I still don't why is in this competition. He seems too flippant and happy-go-lucky, absolutely no intensity in his performances.

Simon seems bored as hell during the performances. You could see that he was barely paying any attention for many of the singers.

I pity the people sitting right behind Paula because all they saw was Paula's arms all night long.

MrX

I think Charles or Kimberley Locke will be gone tommorrow. Charles voice was pretty weak tonight and I thought Kim just didn't sound that great. They were still better then the craptastic Jim and AJ from last year.

I figured Simon was going say something about Julia almost falling out of her shirt.

das Monkey

• Quoth MrX •<HR SIZE=1>I figured Simon was going say something about Julia almost falling out of her shirt. <HR SIZE=1>

He did, and being an idiot, she thought he was criticizing her performance. She said something to the effect of, "your opinion doesn't matter."

das

Patman

Simon is just a creep to his non-favorites. It's like he has no "decency" gene.

Jadzia

I had to laugh at Josh doing his Jack Palance impersonation with the push-ups.

Patman

And then Joshua put a boot on scrawny Ryan's back as Ryan did the push-ups. Joshua has a shot in comedy.

Roto

Watching Trenyce now...so far the only one that has sung with any subtlety. I think it was Clay who Simon said it sounded like Motown the Musical. I thought they all sounded like that. I think Trenyce edged out Clay in this one just a little bit.

Corey and Julia would be my next picks, but they disappointed me a little. Julia has a great voice and she couldn't have picked a better song but she performed like a stiff. I think Corey just should've picked a different song, something with a little more funk, but he does good with the high stuff.

Rueben, the football jerseys have to go! He looks like a slob. I think if one of the guys had shown up in a suit (especially doing Motown) they'd just about get a guaranteed pass to the next round.

Groucho

I'm not going to try to figure what the "code names" mean in the original post.

Anyway, Charles is gone tommorow. Carmen managed to sing her way to the next round at least.

Joeboo835

I just don't get what people see in Rickey. I think he's by far the worst. Otherwise, I pretty much agree with you all.

Why have judges for this thing? Paula and Randy "What up dog" (god thats getting so old) are just worthless. Randy at times makes a comment like "It wasn't your best", but never realy critiques or give reasons. And paula loves everyone.

And can we stop with the "I hate Simon" crap. They milked it last year and they're milking it again this year. The guys honest, for better or for worse. He certainly is a lot more entertaining than the 2 idiots next to him. Besides folks, you wouldn't even be watching this show if it wasn't for him (he's the creator).

Lastly, what was the point of the celebrity judge (that i never heard of)? He said the exact same thing to everyone. "Very good" or "You have great stage presence". I like the addition of another judge, but get someone who is going to say something of value.

Patman

That celebrity judge, Dozier, has 76 top 10 hits to his name in terms of songwriting and producing.

Groucho

I don't understand this comment.

RenoGQ

Simon Fuller is the creator, the judge's name is Simon Cowell.

Jadzia

I said something very similar last night when I was watching the show: Simon said he's l ooking for someone for a "long-term" recording contract, but Ruben looks like he could keel over any minute.

I guess I'm not seeing what the big deal is with Ruben. He sings pretty good, but he has not blown me away. I also agree he should have worn a suit. If he is going for a Luther Vandross type vibe, he needs to at least look like a gentleman.

I think most of these contestants had really bad style advice. Josh was also severely underdressed. With Motown, you would have thought the men would have tried to evoke more of the period.

Kimberly's get-up seemed stolen from Gwen Stefani and Nikki McKibbin. I was surprised she didn't wear a nice dress or something. The clothes seemed wrong for her, like she is trying to be someone she is not.

Here is my personal order, from good to bad:

I still love Clay the best. I usually agree with Simon, but he was dead wrong about Clay. I hope Clay goes all the way.

I also liked Trenyce. She toned down some of the odd facial expressions and hand gestures. I do like listening to her with my eyes closed, though. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something "mantis-like" about her that is sort of scary.

I love Corey's voice. I want him to go farther in the competition. I wasn't loving his look last night. He looks better when he is invoking Prince rather than Snoop Dogg.

I lalso enjoy Carmen's voice and I think she has great stage presence. I hope she makes it farther int he competition because I want to see her doing different styles of music.

Ricky was also a lot better last night than I thought he would be. I enjoyed his performance.

Kimberly Caldwell-- she's not bugging me too much anymore, although I think she needs to work on developing a fashion style. Ithought she was very energetic last night and I enjoyed watching her (for the first time).

Ruben -- good, but I don't get the hype.

Josh sounded pretty good, but he didn't do as well as I thought he would.

Vanessa-- not bad. I like her voice. I don't think she's in danger of winning this thing, but she has the personality to stick around a few weeks.

Kimberly Locke was a major disappointment. I know the girl can sing, but she didn't show it last night. It sounded like she was singing too low or something. She was doing that low growl that Madonna often does instead of hitting the high notes. Maybe she should have chose a different song? I had to laugh at Simon's Burger King commercial comment.

Julia's performance was boring and seemed phoned-in.

Charles was lack-luster and bland. I really liked him in Round One-- I thought he shined that night, but he blew it last night.

Skorp

Randy and Paula (especially) are really doing a disservice to the competitors with their constant adulation. In the face of their praise, it would be very easy for the competitors to think they're truly wonderful and that there's nothing they need to work on. Unless the judges provide more specific feedback off the air, how do they expect them to improve?

Simon at least makes some valid criticisms, though they can get lost because of his snarky attitude. His differing standards can really bother me sometimes, though. For example, he'll tell Josh that he needs to lose weight, or that so-and-so needs to perform or dress better, yet he doesn't criticize Ruben for standing there like a big "205" beachball with only 2 arm movements.

My picks from last night: Trenyce (who surprised me, since I haven't cared for her before) and Clay (Motown may not be his thing, but he did a really good job with one of the tougher songs).

Deserving of the boot: Either Kimberley Locke (off-key, loud and grating) and Charles (small-ish voice, boring performance, no intensity). "I'm gonna bring it." Uh, when, Charles???

Daytripper

I know, what was that all about!? Maybe she was just nervous and expected Simon's usual barbed critique.

Patman

I think all of the contestants are predisposed to be on the defensive when Simon starts spouting his agenda-driven drivel.

I think Clay will be the most versatile performer.

On Entertainment Tonight, Vanessa said she's dropped 5 pounds since round 3 due to Simon's comments, and wants to drop another 5 pounds. And she's doing it by limiting carbs in her diet.

breaux124

I think Clay was the Best. He's a little dorky looking, but his voice and singing are amazing.

Surprisingly I thought Carmen did a pretty good job. I was completely shocked, cause last week I didn't think she sang very well. But she needs to calm down on the makeup.

das Monkey

Good job for Vanessa. You don't have to be thin, but just dropping those few extra pounds around the edges can do wonders, even if you're a "big girl." I thought she looked great last night.

das

Booth

I agree it was a disappointment. Then I remember that thus far we have only heard her sing "Over the Rainbow" which, as her video profile mentioned, is her favorite song. She's probably spent years perfecting it. When it came time to do other songs, I think she may have more difficulty. It was disappointing because I had expected her to do better.

Jadzia

Didn't Kimberly L. sing a duet with Frenchie? I can't remember what song it was, but it was uptempo and she sounded great.

That's why I thought she would have handled Motown better.

Patman

I can't get the Burger King reference out of my head whenever the topic drifts to Kimberley Locke.

Jadzia

"Cause I'm flame-broiled........"