American Idol - The 3rd Dozen

It's Tuesday night which can mean only one thing, American Idol is on! Tonight, we are going to get to see what that last 12 of the original 36 finalists have on offer.



Von Smith kicks off the night and, honestly, I do not remember him in the least from the auditions or Hollywood week. Zero star quality from what I can immediately tell from his interview. He picks Marvin Gaye's You're All I Need and I am waiting for Captain Stubing and Gopher to show up and welcome me to the Love Boat because this guy's future will find him touring the high seas. The judges loved it, even comparing him to Clay Aikien which I didn't get either. Once again, I am reminded to make that appointment to have my hearing checked because I must be listening to someone else massacre Marvin.

OK, one of my biggest gripes with Idol is that they never stick to their word. Remember on day one of Hollywood week, Simon said that anyone who forgot their lyrics would be let go immediately, well, Taylor Vaifanua was one of the many, who flubbed their performance and still was spared the hook. She's up next and tackles Alicia Keyes' If I Got You. For me, it was just blah, no star quality and the voice wasn't that great. Truly, forgettable.

Alex Wagner-Trugman (now that's a mouthful) takes to the stage. Talk about the Clay Aiken effect, at least, Clay was endearing and had one hell of a voice. Alex looks like he's 12 and just has zero charisma. He opts for Elton John's That's Why They Call It The Blues. I've got to give him credit for giving it his own spin but he took it all too far with the overdone Joe Cocker impersonation complete with the knocking down of the mic stand. At least, Joe was usually drunk when he was on stage. I'm not sure how the vote will pan out for Alex especially since he's Vote for the Worst's pick this week. If these three are anything to go by, it's going to be a very long two hours tonight.

Well, doesn't Arianna Afsar fancy herself the little diva? Who actually utters on international TV that they don't want to just get through the competition because they're as cute as a button? Lucky for us, we won't be seeing Arianna any time soon. She went for Abba's The Winner Takes It All and went from button to bottom in the blink of an eye. That was just painful. Buh bye, button, I'm thinking you should maybe try out for one of those child pageant shows, after all you seem so concerned about people judging you solely on your looks.

I'll admit I don't remember Junot Joyner from the earlier rounds and I am not in the least bit familiar with The Plain White T's Hey There Delilah so I am at a lost as to what I feel about his performance. It felt safe and lackluster to me but after watching the train wrecks that have preceded him, I would say he's one of the better that we have seen tonight.

Kristen McNamara hits the stage with Tracy Chapman's Give Me One Reason and finally tonight, someone has peaked my interest. She has soul in her voice and stage presence, however, the arrangement is horrible and she is need of some styling tips, which she was woman enough to admit. As of this moment, Kristen will be getting my vote and is the front runner for one of the top 3 coveted spots tomorrow night.

I didn't care for Nathaniel Marshall from day one. He's just one of those over the top kids who takes things too many steps, too far. I get that he's gay living in a small town and I admire him for being out of the closet, but there's being camp with style and, then, there's the Nathaniel way complete with blue metallic headband. To add to the madness. he insanely picked Meatloaf's I Would Do Anything and butchers the hell out of it. Think bad karaoke and you get a small glimpse of how dreadful it was.

Finally, someone who can sing! Felicia Barton chose Alicia Keyes' No One and works it. I am noticing that the backing singers are actually distracting to almost all the performances. I also will state that Felicia will be coming back either from tomorrow's results show or the Wild Card round on Thursday.

Scott McIntyre is up next. Remember Scott? He's the blind piano player who is pretty damn talented. He belts out Bruce Hornsby's Mandolin Rain and has a few shaky moments but, for the most part, I would describe it as safe at most. I'm thinking the judges will bring him back on Thursday if he doesn't get through the voting process.

Isn't Kendall Beard just the sweet little thing. She goes with Martina McBride's This One's For The Girls and you can tell she's having a good time with it. Good song choice if you ask me, not too young, not too old. She's most definitely marketable in a safe blond kind of way, but I'm not entirely sure she will make it to the Top 12 especially when Paula tells her how great she looks tonight. When Paula starts commenting on your outfit, that's a definite sign that she wasn't that crazy about a performance. Time will tell.

From Puerto Rico, Jorge Nunez stands at the mic to sing Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down and for me, his accent is detracting from the song but the boy can indeed sing. I give him props for not picking a Latin song or singing in Spanish but I'm not sure just how far he can make it in this competition. He will most probably get through tomorrow night.

Last Up Lil Rounds hits the stage and I have someone worthy of developing carpal tunnel for. The whole package and by far, the best of the night. She works her magic on Mary J Blige's Be Without You. Fantastic!

Our predictions for tomorrow night:

Top Female: Hands Down - Lil Rounds

Top Male: I'm going with Jorge Nunez despite the accent.

Runner Up: Felicia Barton

Honestly, apart from Lil Rounds, a very disappointing show tonight, don't you agree??