Above is Lil Rounds' Top 36 performance of Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You." She did a great job & I'm pretty sure she's my favorite contestant this year. All-in-all, the third & last group of 12 vying for a spot in the Top 12 was the best. Not because anyone in particular, with the exception of Lil, was outstanding, but because the talent was more evident throughout the entire show. This is why my three picks are Lil Rounds, Ju'not Joyner, & Arianna Afsar (not really based on her performance this week, but, again, mainly her talent). That's not to say she's Top 12 material in general, but her performance wasn't as bad as the judges made it out to be. Here's my two cents about the remaining contestants that didn't get through:
Von Smith: Poor guy's got a voice, but he doesn't quite know how to use it.
Taylor Vaifanua: ...is no Alicia Keys, despite what she may think.
Alex Wagner-Trugman: I kinda feel bad for him cause he's almost as good as Anoop.
Kristen McNamara: She might have a pretty good range to go along with her nice tone, but I couldn't tell from her performance.
Nathaniel Marshall: Blegh.
Felicia Barton: I'll admit that I was already annoyed with her because of the Joanna Pacitti situation (girl would've been one of the three or four best contestants this year), but she isn't Alicia Keys either.
Kendall Beard: It's pretty sad that they feel it necessary to include a Carrie Underwood wannabe every single year, especially since that one trick pony ran outta steam with Kristy Lee Cook last year.
Anyway, Lil Rounds took her rightful place in the Top 12 last night, along with Scott MacIntyre, who is just not good enough, & Jorge Nunez, who oughta thank his tear ducts.
Now, for the Wildcard round. Did anybody else think the eight, at first glance, that performed on tonight's show look like a better Top 12 than (the majority of) the actual one? Well, here's what I thought:
Jesse Langseth: Simon was right on the money calling her "indulgent." Eh.
*Matt Giraud: He's not as great as they say he is. Think Elliott Yamin without everything that makes him the least bit likable.
*Megan Corkrey: I actually like her, but she doesn't belong on this show. She can't apply her talent to the multi-themed format of Idol.
Von Smith: My above comments apply here as well.
*Jasmine Murray: Now THAT's what I'm talkin' about!
Ricky Braddy: R.O.B.B.E.D. You just don't get natural talent as polished as this everyday.
Tatiana Del Toro: I won't even reward this pathetic ratings stunt with a comment.
*Anoop Desai: Sanjaya Malakar 2009. They sure have been mean to him this week though!
* = Top 12... err... 13. That's right: Top 13. Btw, if I had to pick three more people to complete the Top 12, which I can't really do without going against some of my comments, I would choose Mishovanna Henson, Megan Corkrey, & Kristen McNamara. There's just not much to choose from this year.
As we enter the finals, I have to get this off my chest. When this season started & the old format was returning, I was very optimistic. I thought we might finally revert to the times when Idol was genuinely fair & about talent. However, with the inexcusable difference in airtime & pimp spot placement of certain contestants (whether I like them or not), I soon realized this show was worse rigging-wise than ever. The judges' desire for the Top 12 to include so much "variety" is a joke; it gives them an excuse to put through crazier people in place of more talented singers. Don't be fooled: American Idol is not a singing competition at heart. The Idol producers do what they THINK they have to do to get ratings, no matter what it is. Don't they realize their show already has the largest audience on television? Imagine if they put through good singers who actually sold records like they used to?!
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