American Idol Top 36, Group 2

Jasmine Murray’s version of Sara Bareilles’ “Love Song” Sounded a little flat in the opening and ended up being just kind of OK. Presentation-wise, she sang it basically how I’m familiar with it so I’m not sure if she made herself stand out. Overall it sounded rather dull.

I really love the song “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay, but for Matt Giraud to have an arrangement that is basically the same one that Coldplay recorded but to try to sing it in a jazzier way, really didn’t seem to work. He also sounded a little nervous too. I like Coldplay and I like him, but I just don’t think the two of them should get together anymore.

Have we seen Jeanine Vailes before? It seems like the producers don’t want her to progress very far because I don’t think they’ve shown anything of her in the past weeks for us to form any positive opinions of her. I think that her performance of Maroon 5’s “This Love” showed that it was a song that she knew well and was comfortable with and because of this I think she did a very good job—at least I thought it was much better than the judges thought.

Nick Mitchell is an anomaly on the American Idol stage. Usually people who come in with a gag or a gimmic aren’t anything that can or should be taken seriously, but when Nick came auditioned as “Norman Gentle” he surprised everyone by actually being entertaining. After watching him perform “You’re Gonna Love Me” from Dreamgirls, I realize that he’s a better fit for a grab bag show like America’s Got Talent than American Idol. He reminds me of Jerry Lewis when he’s playing the fool with Dean Martin.

Allison Iraheta sounds a lot more polished and much older than 16, but boy can she sing! And the way she belted out “Alone” by Heart really made think she definitely deserves to go through to the finals. It’ll be fun to see the range of songs she sings.

Kris Allen is another contestant I didn’t see featured in the weeks leading up to tonight’s show, which makes me think the producers aren’t hoping he progresses in the competition. I thought his performance of “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson was a nice clean performance that didn’t include any of the vocal ticks that Jackson is known for. I think he should do well in spite of what the judges say. So if he doesn’t make it past tonight is it because we haven’t seen him enough in the previous weeks?

Megan Joy Corkrey sang “Put Your Records On” Corinne Bailey Rae. I really liked her during the audition week, but it seemed like she sang this song in an exaggerated Corinne Bailey Rae. Almost like a vocal caricature. Her movements were kind of weird too. I’d vote for her, but hoping that she makes different, not as quirky, choices in the future.

Welder fabricator guy, Matt Breitzke sang “If You Could Only See” by Tonic. I hate to borrow a standard critique from Simon, but it seemed like a Karaoke performance. His vocals didn’t really seem all that impressive either. Maybe it was just the wrong song but I don’t think he should go through.

Jesse Langseth’s choice to sing “Betty Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes seems like an odd choice to me. She sang it much like the original, but her voice is different enough that it didn’t sound like she was impersonating Kim Carnes. It’s not the most vocally difficult song, but I think she did an ok job. She was probably not good enough to win the competition, but I thought it was one of the stronger performances of the night.

Kai Kalama sang “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” By Jimmy Ruffin. Basically he did a good job vocally, but nothing exceptionally memorable and I had was negatively distracted by his movements and expressions.

I really liked Mishavonna Henson’s performance of “Drops of Jupiter” by train and I think she should make it through to the next round. I was a little annoyed by her “ay aaaaay ay ay” stuttering parts but I definitely disagree with the negative critiques of the judges.

“Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones was not my favorite choice of songs, but Adam Lambert was able to take a song with a 5-note range and improvise enough on the melody to show his vocal talents. It’s apparent that the producers are saving their favorites for last, and I think he’s one of their them, but I’m not really a huge fan. He reminds me of an 80s glamour rocker. I’m sure Randy won over a lot of fans for him by comparing to Robert Pattison as Edward in Twilight, though.

My vote tonight would be for two people, Allison Iraheta and Mishavonna Henson. I’m sure the two of them will be in the group of three to proceed to the finals with Adam Lambert being the guy in that group. I don’t have a Wild Card pick from this group.

So far I don’t think that this season’s contestants are measuring up to what they were promising during the audition weeks. Maybe they sent some of the wrong ones home? I can think of a couple that I would have rather seen, like the blonde-haired earthy girl with no shoes, Rose Flack—I think she got a bum deal.