Hollywood Week 3

Hello,

Welcome to the new format for themusicaddict. My wife was looking at my blog and made some suggestions. Since she has a better eye for what looks good, I trust her judgement. She both picked and changed the format for me. Thanks beautiful :)

On Day 3 of Hollywood week "American Idol" is down to 72 singers. First we had to suffer through a long preamble by Ryan Seacrest. (The news comes today that Ryan originally tried out as a judge for "AI", but they decided he'd be better as a host. He couldn't have been a worse judge than either Paula or Randy.) Seemingly the producers were only able to clear very few songs for the contestants to sing. The two main songs were the overwrought and corny "I Hope You Dance" and Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You". Although that is a much better song. There were also a lot of songs from former "AI" contestants. Strangely enough no one sang a Blake Lewis song! (sarcasm alert)

I've taken this list straight from mjsbigblog.com. Thanks to her for her excellent blog. (36) means they made the Top 36.

Adam Lambert (36)- “Believe” by Cher Lambert continues this season's theme of over singing. He needs to learn to control his voice and have a bit more nuance. Matt Giraud (36)-“Georgia” by Ray Charles I thought this was the best version of this song, at least that made this episode's cut. Both the judges and I really like him. Jamar Rogers (I am so glad he did not make the Top 36)- “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White Ts He's okay but I don't get all the love. Danny Gokey (36)- “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack Great singer but lame song. Another one of my favorite singers. Unfortunately Gokey is another singer who over sang, although he did it just a bit.

Anoop Desai (36)- “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown I really liked his version of this song, he brought the funk. Jorge Nunez - (36) “Closer” by Ne-Yo It was ok. I had never heard this song before but I really like Nunez's voice. Scott MacIntyre (36)-“Home” by Daughtry I really, really like his version of this song. Kendall Beard(36)-“Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood I have heard a lot of people sing this song, but no one comes close to Carrie Underwood. She sings the hell out of this song. My second favorite version of this song is still Teri Hatcher's version on "Idol Gives Back" last year. Beard's version was okay.

Stevie Wright (36)- “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat Not very memorable. Lil Rounds(36)“I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys First of all this is a great song and Lil sings it with a great deal of power. Rounds has an awesome voice, she sounded fantastic on this song. I love her and think she's an early front runner. Kristen McNamara “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson This is not an easy song to sing and she has a great voice. Mishavonna Henson - “Everything” by Michael Buble On my notes I wrote "great, great". 'Nuff said! As I'm writing this I am realizing how many great contestants who I love. There just seems to be a lot of great singers in this years competition.

Tatiana Del Toro - “I’m Your Baby Tonight” by Whitney Houston I was pleasantly surprised by how well she sang this song. However the drama has got to go. She is the only contestant that can drive my wife from the room. Seriously how did she make the Top 36. Alexis Grace “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood I was a little disappointed by her version of this song. She is also one of my favorite contestants.
Kenny Haufpouer (no to 36)- “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz On this song he was good not great. Jasmine Murray (36)-”Tattoo” by Jordin Sparks Another one of my favorites, this is what I mean about deep the field is this year.

Nate Marshall (36)- “Disturbia” by Rihanna Was I the only one who thought his version of this song sucked. I barely even recognized the song. After Tatiana Del Torture, he is the second ranked drama queen. Joanna Pacitti (36, but later dropped like a hot potato) - “I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys She was another one of my favorites. Casey Carlson - “Tattoo” by Jordin Sparks She is gorgeous but her singing was unmemorable. Stephen Fowler (36, but probably was a little close to comfort) -“Time of My Life” by David Cook Stephen you da man, why did you pick such a lame song?

Nick Mitchell as Normund Gentle - (36) “Georgia” by Ray Charles This was not a very good performance. He appears to be kept around for comic relief. He's intentiontally funny unlike Chris Richardson and Sanjaya. Anne Marie Boskovich - (36)“I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack Boskovich has a great voice, please pick a better song next time. JuNot Joyner (36)- “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White Ts I'm sorry this performance was not very memorable. Kaylan Lloyd - (No to 36) “I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys Leneshe Young - (No to 36)“Love Song” by Sara Bareilles Young sounded great on this song, why was she cut over Del Torture? If it's a true wild card this year, I hope she gets one of the three picks to the Top 12. Kai Kalama(36)“Part Time Lover” by Stevie Wonder Another song that I had trouble identifying. Another singer getting way too much love from the judges.

Michael Sarver (36)- “All or Nothing” by O Town Another song I have never heard before. It is by 0 Town so that explains why. (BTW is that O Town or zero Town?) Sarver has a great voice though. India Morrison (No to 36) The one who rapped in the group performance. She was one of the few highlights of the group performances.

There were 13 singers who weren't featured in this episode but made it to the Top 36. Here's the list and my grade for them from A to F.
1) Alexander Wagner-Trugman (C)
2) Allison Iraheta (C+)
3) Arianna Ayesha Afsar (B)
4) Brent Keith (C+ but I need to see more of him.)
5) Jackie Tohn (D) I have not been impressed by her at all, but the judges love her. 6) Jeanine Vailes (no grade due to "AI" not showing her yet. Huh? Couldn't we have taken some of the time devoted to Del Torture and given it to her. We won't hear her first performance until The Top 36 round.
7) Jessica Langseth (B) Apparantally she is the sister of Blues guitarist Johnny Lang.
8) Kris Allen (no grade due to limited exposure.)
9) Matt Breitke (B+) His audition round of "Ain't No Sunshine" was one of the best performances this season so far.
10) Megan Corkrey (A-) Again she is my favorite right now. Unfortunately the "AI" producers aren't giving her enough screen time. We have only seen her once.
11) Ricky Braddy (Another singer not given enough exposure to see what he can do.) 12) Taylor Vaifunana (B+)Wow she has a great voice!
13) Von Smith: A D- but he seemingly is learning to sing with control. We'll see if he learns how to do that in time. He has a great voice when he sings, he sucks when he shouts.

I'll be back later, themusicaddict