tlwizard

Which guy dropped out so that the other guy got called in?

mraw

Chris Golightly was disqualified because he supposedly had an active recording contract. He swore that he was released from it, but he lost the paperwork and the record exec stated otherwise. After Tim Urban was picked up, the record exec found the release papers, so Chris was correct, but it was too late for him. Talk about drama.

Patman

Todrick Hall - took far too much, undeserved, liberty with his song choice. Not the way to start the show, it was alien-sounding.

Aaron Kelly - not ready for the big time yet, felt like he was straining on the big notes, and seemed out of his depth.

Jermaine Sellers - sung well if he was trying to sing to cats. What a wash-out for his opening performance.

Tim Urban - prescient song choice, as it was too late to apologize in having to endure his performance.

Joe Munoz - felt too much like a glee club performance, but very ernest, and needs better song selection.

Tyler Grady - reminds me of an awkward looking female basketball player, unfortunately, he was there to sing, and his vocals are mushy and lack oomph and impact.

Lee Dewyze - was unintelligible, but he looked comfortable singing unintelligibly. Simon was off his rocker with the praise he lavished on Lee, who sounded goat-like in spots.

John Park - was totally horrible, I couldn't understand any of the lyrics, and confused passion for a song's message with actual emotional commitment to the song itself.

Michael Lynche - truly bad song choice, why in the world would a guy twice the size as the Maroon 5 singer choose a song that would shrink his vocal presence even further?

Alex Lambert - a mediocre, uncomfortable, mess if you watched him sing, but didn't sound too bad if you closed your eyes and just listened to him.

Casey James - the male version of Carmen Rasmussen, was it nerves or the cougar stalking him with her eyes, or just the way he really sings? That trailing vibratto he sings with undermines the rest of his presentation (looks).

Andrew Garcia - the total opposite of fun and enjoyable, but he can really enunciate well, and is suited to be a good storyteller in songs, but not a recording artist.

tlwizard

Whoa. That sucks.

mraw

That seems to be the most accurate story thus far, but they are going back and forth about the specifics.

Daytripper

Who cares! It's a win/win for us. Not having to look at that hair week after week. Like Sideshow Bob from Season #1.

mraw

That's the funny part. This guy is holding press conferences and stuff like we care. I just happened to read an article about it. He possibly could've been better than some of the performances tonight, but so could have many others who were cut.

And I'm not a fan of Mary Powers at all, but she's gone from the show and they are still trying to make her out to be a witch.

dino88

I think if that crazy bitch from last season (del toro???) was on this year, she could have a real shot at winning. Even just by singing that same annoying song over and over. This lot is 90% shit.

Phod

eh, it's still early. I can't recall ever watching the top 24 perform and thinking, holy crap that person is gonna win for sure. And the people who end up winning or getting a top position weren't necessarily nailing it out of the park in the first few shows.

I think there are probably 5-6 quality contestants in this group, mostly girls.

jeffkjoe

Tatiana singing Saving All My Love for You

Daytripper

Huh!? "They" are still trying to make her out to be a witch?? "They" don't have to. America has eyes (and ears). "She" made herself out to be a witch. Bitch actually. Because she was.

mraw

The point I was getting at was why are they still talking about her and she's yesterday's news? She was the only contestant they harped on who wasn't in the top 24. This is my first time watching the show from auditions through the first few live nights, so maybe that's how they do it. I honestly didn't want to see her face at all tonight.

big whoppa

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! Just about all the girls and guys. So, the girls get up and do inferior karoake versions of songs and when the judges tell them they need to sound original, the guys go and change the songs into unrecognizable messes. This season and this group of singers are about the worst they've had since the beginning of Idol. And 4 judges is one too many. Just too many talking heads taking up airtime. It's really exhausting.

tommy28

agreed. so far anyway.

creekdipper

Great point, bigwhoppa.

And astute observations by Patman...IMHO, right on the money about each contestant. The enunciation problem has been particularly bad so far. The funny thing is that many performers "lose" their accent when singing. It seems that it comes out more with some of these guys (Park was especially bad). Several others just mumbled or slurred their words, as if they'd had a shot of courage beforehand. On a related note, although he enunciated well, my R.N. wife thought Casey James' eyes looked really dilated.

I've changed my mind about watching this season after sitting through most of an episode. It's kind of sad to perversely enjoy the train wreck that AI has become, especially when it comes at the expense of the anxious, confused contestants. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them had a total meltdown onstage. When the guy said that previously he had only sung in front of people "3 or 4 times", I thought I'd choke on my popcorn.

On the other hand, one or two of them could actually progress & emerge as a real talent.

Either way it goes, it's a win-win for the audience.

creekdipper

Great point, bigwhoppa.

And astute observations by Patman...IMHO, right on the money about each contestant.

I've changed my mind about watching this season after sitting through most of an episode. It's kind of sad to perversely enjoy the train wreck that AI has become, especially when it comes at the expense of the anxious, confused contestants. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them had a total meltdown onstage. When the guy said that previously he had only sung in front of people "3 or 4 times", I thought I'd choke on my popcorn.

On the other hand, one or two of them could actually progress & emerge as a real talent.

Either way it goes, it's a win-win for the audience.

ytrez

God Damn this show makes me angry! Every time Randy or Kara open their mouths I want to blast my TV with a shotgun. Why do I subject myself to this drivel? Damn family. I miss Paula

freshticles

I couldn't believe Simon's comments on that Lee Dewyze douche. Holy shit, he was fucking awful. Couldn't hit a note in that song. Just came off like, I can't believe I'm saying this, but a WORSE David Cook.
Everyone else was horrible as well. Probably the only performance I didn't mind was Andrew Garcia, even though they all semed to hate it. I think what he did with that song was incredibly brave and it was really complex and hard to sing and I think for the most part he pulled it off. The main fault was that it was a Fall out boy song.

Heat

I wasn't impressed by this year's group, hopefully next week will have some better performances.

And four judges is one too many. I like Ellen, she usually keeps her comments short. Kara needs to go.

Mok

I hate Kara she really needs to keep it short, you can see Simon tapping his fingers while she speaks.

Daytripper

Kara needs to go!? Next to Simon, she's the only one on that panel that offers any real and constructive SINGING comments and criticism. Randy is nothing but "You got mad vocals dog". Or "Too pitchy". And I lost count how many times Ellen said the contestant had a good look. WTF!? It's not about the way they look Ellen. She stinks as a judge. Just what everyone feared the moment her name was announced to be on this show. Can't stand her here.

jeffkjoe

In terms of sheer vocal talents, Clay Aiken is by far the most vocally talented guy that's ever graced the AI stage.

And these guys don't come close.

Merkin Muffley

I agree. Kara has really come into her own this season. Ellen still has a ways to go.

big whoppa

Not just Ellen but all the judges do that. One of the girls she complemented looked like a hooker to me. Ellen did hit on the obvious truth that they don't often mention. If the boy with the huge bangs makes it to another week, it's going to be because all the young girls think he's cute.

Plus Simon and the rest go on and on about how likeable they are. Personally, I couldn't care less if the contestants grew up broke and had to eat dog turd and drink water from the toilet to survive. I only care about whether they can sing or not but I guess I'm still in the minority or the show's producers wouldn't waste so much of the show giving us details about their lives.

Heat

Going home:

Janelle Wheeler
Ashley Rodriguez
Joe Munoz
Tyler Grady

No complaints here though I would have liked to have seen Grady another week, but he was destined to not make the Top 12. The voice just wasn't there.