The judges decided the top 24 in American Idol 7 Episode 10, so now it’s time for the top 12 boys to perform for America’s votes. It’s 60’s night.
David Hernandez is up first. Simon was not so sure about letting him through to this round. He sings In the Midnight Hour and has a really nice tone to his voice, with a particularly strong opening.
Randy-Liked the beginning of the song, watch the long phrasing.
Paula-Brilliant vocals, something about colors or something… hey, it’s Paula.
Simon-Better than I thought. Beginning of the song was teriffic. Loosen up a bit.
Chikezie Eze, who for the top 24 has dropped his last name, is second. He sings More Today Than Yesterday. Mostly a flat performance that’s going to have difficulty standing out from the crowd. He blames the genre.
Randy-Pretty good but old fashioned.
Paula-Loves Chikezie’s singing and thinks he looks great.
Simon-Hated the whole performance, from the hideous suit to the winking to the old fashioned/corny/cheesiness.
David Cook is still trying to figure out Simon’s vocabulary. He sings Happy Together, a sort of rock version of the song. I’m having trouble buying it.
Randy-Impressed he turned it into rock song.
Paula-A bit worthy, borrowing a word from Simon that didn’t make much sense.
Simon-Weird song but almost believable.
Jason Yeager is a singing server with an 8-year-old son. He sings Moon River, a song hard to not make sleepy, even if he has a good voice. He dedicates the song to his grandmother.
Randy-Pretty good job but lost concentration in the middle.
Paula-Agrees with Randy but did her first ballet recital to that song, for whatever that’s worth.
Simon-Wants to know how old Jason is. Reliable but not exciting.
Robbie Carrico, who is a boy bander turned rocker, or so he says, sings One Is the Loneliest Number. I don’t get it.
Randy-Very nice.
Paula-Perfect song choice. Vocals right where they should be.
Simon-Only performance of the night with any semblance of making sense because it’s the only current performance. Struggling to figure out whether he’s a rocker or a pop singer.
David Archuleta sings Shop Around. Finally we’re getting things started here. Not only is he a great performer regardless of the genre, but he’s got the kind of guy next door charm that worked so well for Kelly Clarkson.
Randy-Really brilliant, so mature for somebody who’s 17.
Paula-Brave, bold choice. Unbelievably confident, older soul.
Simon-When you got it, you got it. By a comfortable mile, best performance of the night.
Danny Noriega made it through after being cut the first day in Hollywood last year. He sings Jailhouse Rock. Seriously? Simon won’t be happy.
Randy-Knows how to have a good time. Okay vocals.
Paula-Something about colors and a safe performance. Then she starts slurring her words.
Simon-Verging on grotesque. Destroyed the song. Awful. Danny gets a bit sassy with him in response.
Carpet cleaner Luke Menard was cut in season 6 but managed to get through this season. He sings Everybody’s Talking, a song that drags and never takes off.
Randy-Pitchy throughout.
Paula-Not the best song choice. She’s happy she heard him sing before, but the problem is the audience hasn’t.
Simon-Forgettable.
Colton Berry, who believes he looks like Ellen Degeneres and sings the Teletubbies theme song in his head whenever he’s nervous, sings I Love You Too Much. It’s just okay.
Randy-Started rough but pretty good overall. Agrees with Simon it was a bit karaoke.
Paula-Nice to see a different side. Not his best performance.
Simon-Okay. Not quite as bad as the other Elvis song. Got nothing from the performance. Might have a career in musical theater.
Garrett Haley sings Don’t Take Your Love Away from Me. This is the type of performance we expect from someone this age, which is probably why a lot of people were initially shying away from David Archuleta.
Randy-Didn’t do anything with it to make it his own. Kinda boring.
Paula-Needed to make it his own.
Simon-Boring, whiny, looks terrified and haunted.
Jason Castro grew up playing drums and will be the first person in this round to play an instrument, the guitar, while singing Daydream. Without the guitar, I’m not sure how well this would have worked, but he sounds good.
Randy-It was alright.
Paula-Was blown away.
Simon-In the top two performances of the night.
Michael Johns gets the final performance of the night. We’ve seen quite a bit of him this season. He sings Light My Fire, and he obviously knows what he’s doing up on that stage.
Randy-Like a true legend rock performer.
Paula-Set everyone on fire.
Simon-Most consistent contestant but didn’t like it as much as Bohemian Rhapsody.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 7 episodes 12 and 13.