24 semifinals go in! 4 go home!
Over 24 million votes came in this week. Allison Iraheta's gonna be performing, and Kris Allen will be doing some sort of Haiti benefit thing.
Group song: "American Boy" (Estelle)
Siobhan is safe.
Haeley is safe.
Michelle is safe.
Katelyn is safe.
Of Katie and Janell, one's going home. (Janell, I'd guess.)
Randy says he doesn't know which is leaving.
Janell's done; Katie is safe.
Janell is very gracious, saying it's been a good experience and so on, before singing "What About Love" again. (And she does a better job this time, I think.)
Next up, Allison Iraheta, whose debut album is the best thus far released by last season's Idol finalists. She performs her new single, "Scars."
On to the rest of the girls!
Paige is safe.
Lacey is safe.
Lilly is safe.
Crystal Bowersox -- and Ryan uses her full name, perhaps because "Bowersox" is really fun to say -- is safe.
Down to Ashley and Didi. (I'm guessing Ashley goes home.)
Ellen advises whoever's going home that this is a beginning, not an end.
Didi's safe; Ashley goes.
Ashley thanks everyone who's supported her, and reprises "Happy." (Last night's mike issues with sibilants and plosives continue, and the rest of the singing isn't really improved.)
On to the boys... but first a clip from rehearsals, in which Tyler showed up in a bathrobe, not realizing that there wasn't going to be a chance to dress before the performances. Okay, then!
Mike is safe.
John is safe.
Aaron is safe.
Todrick is safe.
Down to Tim and Joe. (Hmm. Neither was good. Tim sucked more, but might have gotten more sympathy votes?)
Kara wouldn't say they should be the bottom two from that group.
Tim is safe; Joe goes home. Score one for the sympathy vote.
Joe repeats his performance of "You and I Both."
April 21st, the return of Idol Gives Back. Kris Allen was just in Haiti. Ryan asks him a few questions about it, and announces that Kris's song will be available for sale with the proceeds going to Haiti relief, plus people can donate via the American Idol website or texting.
Kris sings "Let It Be" while a Kris-in-Haiti montage plays in the background.
(For the next 24 hours, all donations via the Web or text go to Haiti; after that, they go to Idol Gives Back.)
Casey is safe.
Jermaine is safe.
Lee is safe.
Andrew is safe.
So we're left with Tyler and Alex. (Tyler was better, Alex might have been more sympathetic. Is there room for two sympathy reprieves tonight? I'm guessing not.)
Simon thinks, based on the vocals, Tyler's going home.
Simon's right. Alex is safe. Tyler is gone, and something just got censored, as the sound cuts out for a few seconds.
Tyler is rather less gracious than the other three departing semifinalists; he thinks the judges might have been more helpful before it was too late. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Tyler...
Montage of the bottom four.
Tyler reprises "American Woman," or starts to before the show runs out of time. (I think it still went slightly over, actually.)
"This... is American-- Simon, stop talking." Cute.
Todrick Hall, "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson)
Holy crap.
Great concept. The singing itself wasn't all that, especially in the non-rap bits, but... the concept was GREAT.
(I disagree with Randy. Changing the arrangement is fine; the key is to change it to something that uses your vocal abilities well. This one didn't work so well. Still, he did a better job of swinging for the fences than anybody last night.)
Aaron Kelly, "Here Comes Goodbye" (Rascal Flatts)
Eh. Not my preferred sort of voice, and generally forgettable.
Jermaine Sellers, "Get Here" (Oleta Adams)
Hmm. This was Justin Guarini's song. Is that a good sign or a bad one?
...okay, that was painful when he started going for the high notes. Sharp all over the place. They could put this in a multimedia dictionary to illustrate "pitchy."
I'd suggest that he not talk back to Simon, but honestly, I couldn't make out what he was saying enough to tell whether he did. But the rest of the banter... hmm. Y'know, we just might have this season's Sanjaya.
(And after last season, I wonder whether I'd actually welcome that.)
Tim Urban, "Apologize" (One Republic)
...I'm not actually saying he sounds like a lovelorn moose, but that wasn't good.
Joe Muñez, "You and I Both" (Jason Mraz)
Kinda shaky.
Tyler Grady, "American Woman" (The Guess Who)
Maybe my standards are eroding, but I didn't hate that. Well, until the end, anyway.
Lee Dewyze, "Chasing Cars" (Snow Patrol) [on guitar]
...we still have 55 minutes to go, huh?
Simon thought this was the best so far? Has he gone tone deaf? Or are the acoustics just really bad in person? Or... actually, I guess "the best so far" really isn't saying much tonight, especially if you hated the first song, as Simon did.
John Park, "God Bless the Child" (Billie Holiday)
Lisa Simpson's version is better. (Okay, it did improve a bit as it went along, but not nearly far enough.)
Michael Lynche, "This Love" (Maroon 5) [on guitar]
This doesn't suck! Which puts him well ahead of the pack tonight. Though... did he actually play that guitar or just use it as a prop?
Kara's right: if there were other good performances tonight, this wouldn't have gone over so well, but under the circumstances, we'll take what we can get.
(The correct answer to "do you want to answer Simon" is always no. Gah!)
Alex Lambert, "Wonderful World" (James Morrison)
I miss the other Lambert. I feel like I'm at a high school talent show.
Casey James, "Heaven" (Bryan Adams)
It took till the penultimate song of the night, but we've finally got a solid performance. About time!
But guys, this should not be about Kara. Geez.
Andrew Garcia, "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" (Fall Out Boy) [on guitar]
Eh. S'okay, but I was hoping for better.
I'm voting for Casey (night's best performance) and Todrick (most creative concept), and I'll probably throw a vote Andrew's way just for "Straight Up" in Hollywood Week. But both the girls and the boys had better start improving fast.
We're live!
And, thank goodness, we're back to the semifinal format that works best: not picking the top three from various groups, but whittling them down gradually. Two girls and two boys to be cut each of the next three weeks.
Ellen is now on the opposite end of table from Simon, and claims that's because Simon can't keep his hands off her. This is followed by alleged tape of just that. Cute.
On to the performances!
Paige Miles: "All Right Now" (Free)
I didn't think I knew this song, but then the chorus sounded familiar. So maybe she's just mangling it beyond all recognition? I'm biased against raspy voices, but I think that was dreadful.
(As an aside, it's nice that Simon and Ellen both mentioned having seen the rehearsals. I get tired of conspiracy theories in which this is supposed to be some sort of big secret or scandal. [See also: Paula Abdul critiquing a performance that hadn't happened yet two years ago, after a last-second format change.])
Ashley Rodriguez: "Happy" (Leona Lewis)
That microphone needs a windscreen, stat. It sounds like there's an explosion every time she starts a word with a /p/ sound.
Anyway. S'okay. Not memorable, not terrible.
Janell Wheeler: "What About Love" (Heart)
First song I know well tonight! (Kids these days...)
I think this song was too big for her. Pitchy in bits, and she never had complete control of it. I want to like her, and I like her vocal quality, but this didn't quite work.
Lilly Scott: "Fixing a Hole" (Beatles) [on guitar]
Y'know, I don't think I know this one either, but I like what she's doing with it. Once she got going, this was pretty good. Best of the night so far.
Katelyn Epperly: "Oh Darlin'" (Beatles)
Well, obviously I know this one.
More by-the-book than the last one, but she sang it well. I'd still give Lilly the edge, but not by much.
(Kara? This show is rated G! We don't use that sort of language! Though I can understand the censors leaving it in, because it would have seemed like she was saying something worse than "bitch" if it were bleeped out.)
Haeley Vaughn: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (Beatles) [on guitar]
Not bad! I like the Across the Universe version better, but that one's probably too subdued for Idol. Not perfect, but fun.
Lacey Brown: "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)
She's got some trouble with enunciating, doesn't she. And kinda pitchy. Not my favorite performance.
Michelle Delamor: "Fallin'" (Alicia Keys)
Solid performance! She's good.
I agree with Ellen: that this song came across as playing it safe -- which it did -- indicates how much potential she's got. Question is how she can kick it up a notch.
Didi Benami: "The Way I Am" (Ingrid Michaelson)
Nice! This may actually be my favorite so far.
Siobhan Magnus: "Wicked Game" (Chris Issak)
Possibly not the best choice for a first song, but I did really like it.
Crystal Bowersox: "Hand in My Pocket" (Alanis Morissette) [on guitar and harmonica]
Not bad! I do see Simon's point; it's not a game-changer. But I think it was different enough for this show to keep her around. It'll be interesting to see what she does next. (Plus I loved her "but we're not allowed to do originals!" reaction. Few contestants would even think of that.)
Katie Stevens: "Feeling Good" (Michael Bublé)
Okay, I can see why they saved her for the pimp spot. Excellent performance.
...hmm. She's getting the Diana DiGarmo "you should be sounding like a teenager" reaction from the judges. I'm not so sure. I mean, it wouldn't hurt, but the negativity of the reactions seemed out of proportion to the actual singing.