First up was Von Smith, a twenty two year old from Greenwood, Missouri. He chose to sing "You're All I Need To Get By," by Marvin Gaye. I thought immediately that the song was outdated. As far as his performance goes, he reached his notes. Is that good enough? The judges all seemed to think so. Simon likened him to Clay Aiken, but last time I checked, Clay can sing. (Zing!) This was just the first of many instances where I felt like the judges and I were listening to different performances.
Taylor Vaifanua was second, from Hurricane, Utah and seventeen years old. She has reminded me of Jordin Sparks a little so far, in that she is really tall and not dainty and older looking. That's where the similarities kind of ended for me. She sang "If I Ain't Got You," by Alicia Keys, but the whole tempo was slowed down way too much. Her voice was good, but needs a lot of coaching still. The worse offense was definitely whoever prepared that song composition, and I would glady slign a petition looking into that person's gain with tampering in the competition.
Third to sing was Alex Wagner-Trugman, and while his name is stuck-up he certainly is not. This nineteen year old from Studio City, CA is just a loveable geeky guy. I just want him to never have a sad day for the rest of his life. He performed Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," and I thought he sang really well. Did he growl too much? Yes. Was the song better before he touched it? Of course! It's Elton John! The judges proceeded to rip him apart. Grrrrrr to them! And he had accidentally knocked the mic stand over mid-song, which he explained twice was an accident. But still, at the end, Ryan Seacrest threw his mic. Do you think cruelty is cool?
Arianna Afsar, a 17 year old Sand Diego, CA native was fourth up. She took on Abba's "The Winner Takes It All." She butchered it with rif's- but holy hell does she have a powerhouse of a voice! She has to have a future on singing! They hated it, but didn't focus on her skills at all! There were definitely compliments to her voice that should have been handed to her.
Ju'Not Joyner, a 26 year old guy from Bowie, MD decided to sing Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah," and I was really surprised by his song choice. It's not a song that I think should be allowed to be performed on American Idol, because it shows no range. And from an R&B singer, it should mean automatic elimination. I thought it was well-tuned and sounded pretty, but I was shocked judges loved him and bashed the belter before him! I have to say it, Ju Not Winning.
Kristen McNamara was sixth in the line up. 23 years old from Napa Valley, CA, she is a karaoke host and definitely a singer. She sang "Give Me One Reason," by Tracy Chapman, which, I think if I was doing this, I'd pick the same song. I've liked her voice from the start, and I thought she sounded perfect and commercial/radio ready. And that note! Wow. The judges wasted all of their words on her style. Blah blah, whatever.
Seventh was Nathaniel Marshall, 19, hailing from Malone, NY. Can I just say: He looked plum ridiculous! And I've never even used that phrase. "I Would Do Anything For Love," by Meatloaf, and I thought it was a really strange song choice! To give props where props are due, I thought he did what he could have done within the confines of that song. Simon said it was verging on excruciating!
Felicia Barton was 8th of the night, 26 years old from Virginia Beach, VA. She sang "No One" by Alicia Keys. I don't get it, she was cut and then back on with no official explanation? Either way, she was really, really incredible sounding! I thought she ever started stronger than Miss Alicia, but her voice her did crack. I thought she was so talented!
Scott MacIntyre, from Scottsdale, AZ is the twenty-three year old visually impaired contestant who is now infamous for the "hand slapping moment." He decided to sing "Mandolin Rain," by Bruce Hornsby. He says he wants to live in the words and tell a story with his song, and that's what I most love in music. My Aunt Brenda would totally buy Scott's CD (and then tell me what I was missing out on.) I think he falls a little flat at the end of all the sentences in the beginning, but Simon said he'd be amazed if he doesn't sail through to the next level. I love when Scott decided to give Ryan a real high-five!
Kendall Beard, a 24 year old country girl from Lufkin, TX was tenth. She sang "This One's For The Girls," by Martina McBride. I thought she sounded very, very close to the original. She was amazing, and I can't believe the judges picked up on her "issues" and "flat stuff" but didn't find it in anyone else's performances. Note to Kendall: I don't like country music. And I don't generally love the perky perfect blond cheerleader types. But you were so talented, you turned me into a fan. (Not that it will matter, more than likely.)
The Carolina, Puerto Rico native Jorge Nunez, 21, is someone I called Marc Anthony out loud before the judges did. I'm just not a big Marc Anthony fan, and we already have a Marc Anthony, so..... He sang "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John. For the record, Jorge said he worked on his accent while singing, but I don't see where he succeeded in that. He sounds more interesting and definitely better when he sang higher notes. He was really very good overall. And he was so cute as he cried tears of joy, so I like his sincerity and seemingly kind persona.
Last up was Lil Rounds, a 24 year old mother of three, from Memphis, TN. She chose Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You." Great song choice, but her talking intro was really weak compared to the original intro. However, she quickly turned it around, she could 100 percent make a record tomorrow. I thought she was superb- and maybe too little too late, Simon finally agreed with me!!
I was going into this night thinking I didn't care about this set of contestants, but how wrong I was!
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