American Idol Season 8, Wednesday, February 25

There were several things that caught my eye tonight.  One was the realization that I like the new format more (except for all of the talking).  By having three groups of 36 go through, the producers of Idol have forced the Idol voter to vote for more different people.  By the time the top 12 rolls around, people who actually vote every week will have voted for four different contestants.  In this way, they will not be as entrenched with a favorite by the time we get to the top 12.

Also, it looked like it took about 30 minutes for the Zanex to kick in for Paula.  For the first three contestants she was as loopy and out of it as ever.

Ryan needs to be told that it is stupid to ask if a person deserves to go through after the first performance of the night.  What an idiot.

In the end, last night’s group was an overall disappointment that made the one really good singer stick out like a sore thumb.

Jasmine Murray- “Love Song”- I had high hopes for Jasmine coming into last night.  She had received a lot of camera time, she was cute, and she sang well up to this point.  Unfortunately, she- like half of the girls that go onto the show- picked a song that was too low for her, and was nothing like the singer we had seen perform successfully before.  The song did nothing to showcase her talent even if she had done a good job of it.

Randy found it pitchy.

Kara thought it was all over the place and too low.

Paula Agreed.

Simon was disappointed.

Matt Giraud- “Viva La Vida”- From the beginning of the song, I was not sure if he was channeling Freddy Fender or just nervous with all of that vibrato.  He was just nervous.  He sang badly.  He could not hit the high notes.  And, he had a bad attitude about the criticism.  No one will miss this guy.

Paula’s remark was complete and utter nonsense.

Simon said that it verged on horrible and was badly performed.

Kara said that it was not his type of song.

Randy agreed with the others.

Jeanine Vailes- “This Love”- The first thing I thought was, “She picked that song?”  It very pitchy and proved to be an irritating mess by the end.

Paula was possibly drunk at this point, but I was not sure.

Simon thought it was terrible and the wrong song.

Randy agreed and said that the best part was when it ended.

Kara thought it was overdone.

Nick ‘Norman Gentle” Mitchell- “Living Without You”- This guy is a total mess and a joke.  And, just so you know Randy, No, he is not entertaining in the least.  He never proved that he could do the Idol thing, and I personally think that if he could have, he would have.

Simon said that it was one of the most atrocious performances ever on the show and prayed that America would not put him through.

Randy found it entertaining, but the vocals were not there.

Kara thought it was not terrible and enjoyed it.

Paula (whose meds had kicked in by now) said that he is a true performer and found him memorable and fun.

Allison Iraheta- “Alone”- She was just as screechy and ‘screamy’ (not a word) as I thought she would be, and I do not like her voice at all.  It was obvious that the judges were getting a little desperate at this point by their comments.

Randy thought she blew it out.

Kara said that she was serious, and did not know how good she was.

Paula thought she was the best so far.

Simon said that she was the best by a clear mile.

Kris Allen- “Man in the Mirror”- This Michael Jackson song was not as iconic as the one from the week before.  It had a nice syncopated style, and he hit all of his notes.  It was pretty good, but not great.

Kara thought it was the wrong song, and that the end was better than the beginning.

Paula disagreed completely, and thought he nailed it.

Simon agreeing with Paula thought he showed confidence and personality.

Randy thought that he did it well.

Megan Joe Corkery- “Put Your Records On.”- I think she stole that tattoo from the inside of a gothic cathedral.  It was vomitous (not a word either).  It thought this song was extremely cabaret and affected.  She hit the notes, but I hated the presentation.

Paula thought that she did everything right.

Simon thought that she over-sang the second part of the song, but asked America to vote for her.

Randy agreed.

Kara thought that she could be on the radio.

Matt Breitzke- “If You Can Only See”- I thought it was a good performance.

Simon hated the boring song.

Randy thought it was a cool song with a boring performance.

Kara thought that it fell flat.

Paula did not like the song choice either.

Jesse Langseth- “Betty Davis Eyes”- It was nice to hear a song that I know this season.  It was a little affected, but she hit her notes, and for the most part it was good.  I also thought her personality during the judging was great.

Randy thought it was OK, but not exciting.

Paula found her to be captivating with an identifiable sound.

Simon thought it was forgettable.

Kara did not think she hit all of her notes, but thought it had good spots in it.

Kai Kalana- “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.”- This song was no vocal showcase, but for the most part he sang it well.  It was forgettable.

Kara thought there were pitch issues, and that it was too old-fashioned.

Paula thought that he sang good except when he was out of pitch.

Simon thought it was old fashioned and corny.

Randy found it to be safe and not hit.

Mishavonna Henson- “Drops of Jupiter”- I liked her a lot.  She was the first woman in the program to sing with strong vocals without screaming.  Unfortunately, I was the only one who thought this way.

Paula did not like the song.

Simon said that the performance left him cold.

Randy thought that she felt older than 18.

Kara thought that she was too put-together.

Adam Lambert- “Satisfaction”- I thought he would come out and sing Freddy Mercury, Sting or Steve Perry, and when I heard that he was singing this I was worried.  There was nothing to worry about.  He made the rest of the contestants look like they were in a high school talent show.  He showed me what Taylor Hicks could have been if he could have actually sung well.

Paula thought that she was at an Adam Lambert concert, and that he was leaving the others behind.

Simon thought that parts were bad, but the end was great.

Randy loved it.

Kara said that his vocal technique and ability were outrageous.

I will probably be wrong this week, but give me: Adam Lambert, Mishavonna Henson and Jesse Langseth.