American Idol - Rounding out the Top 12, sorry Top 13

Finally the night I have been waiting for is here - the Wild Card round. I love that they just got right into the show. No horrid lipsynched group number! So let's see how they do. For the record, I am rooting for Jesse Langseth and Megan to kick up the estrogen levels of the finalists since we only have 3 females in the finals so far and I predict that Anoop is a shoo in. So on with the show.



Jesse is up first and I thought she nailed it with her rendition of Rufus' Tell Me Something Good. That's my girl! I think she might just get in!

Matt Giraud is up next and I didn't remember him at all when he took to the stage and was ready to dismiss him but I was very impressed with his take on the Jackson 5's Who's Loving You. I could see him making it to the finals.

My girl, Megan picked the brilliant song choice of KT Tunstall's Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. I absolutely loved it. Was it flawless? No, but she has all the makings for a future in this biz and if she cracks that top 12, she will be receiving many a text vote from me if she keeps doing her thing like she did tonight.

Von Smith is up next and was singing "what can I do to make you love me" and all I can think is stop singing for starters! And if that wasn't bad enough, he looked like he was constipated throughout the performance. As you can tell, I don't think his version of Elton John's Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word was good. See you, Von.

Jasmine Murray joins in with what is way too big of a song choice for her, Christina Aguilera's Reflection. I'm really not too sure why she was picked for the Wild Card round since her last performance was lackluster and she definitely didn't do herself any favors tonight.

Rick Braddy is back and must have thought he was performing at a wedding with his rendition of Stevie Wonder's Superstitous. This was so not good but apparently it's that old hearing problem that I seem to be developing if I am to listen to new judge Kara, who, by the way, I really don't care for, gush over this kid. I just don't see what Kara is exactly adding to the show. I never thought I would actually be a self-admitted Team Paula member but it turns out I am.

Tatiana del Toro is back and once again shocks us with the fact that despite she's barking mad, the girl can freaking sing. Not many people can tackle Whitney Houston's Saving All My Love and nail it as easily as she did. But as Paula and Simon point out, this is the third time she has performed it for them. Do I think producers added her to this round just for ratings? Absolutely. Did she deserve to come back based on talent? Yes. Will she make it through? No!

Oh no, Anoop Desai opts for Bobby Brown's My Perogative. This could be very uncomfortable to watch to say the least. Sure, he's having fun but I'm not loving it. I do think that the judges will put him through because they have loved him from the beginning and he was robbed during that first round and as some have insanely suggested he could ride the Slumdog Millionaire streak solely based on his ethnicity. I won't be too upset if he gets through to the finals though.

So who did the judges pick?

Jasmine Murray - WTF?!?!? I just don't get it apart from they think they can maybe model her to be a less talented version of Idol success story, Jennifer Hudson. I am not a happy camper to say the least.

OK, my mood was just lifted with not only Tatiana's tearful breakdown but the addition of my girl, Megan to the top 12!!!! WOO HOO!

Rounding out the top 12, Matt Giraud. I kind of saw this coming since he did kind of redeem himself this week a bit but I would surmise that he was picked more for his market ability than anything else. At least, it wasn't Rick Braddy who I thought they were going to go with.

And then they throw the curve ball that this year they are going with a top 13!! I was right Anoop proved to be such a favorite with the producers and judges that they changed the rules to accomodate him. This pissed me off since they told Jesse that she was a close runner up. Well then why didn't they just make it a top 14 and add her!!!

So there you have it, folks, our top 13. Who are you rooting for??? Let us know and we will see you next Tuesday for the proper start to this the eighth season of American Idol, chock full of commercial breaks, bad Ford product placements and those horrendous group numbers.