READ MORE | View all of our Project “Idol” recaps from each episode this season and last
Thursday’s “American Idol” episode was again peppered with “snippetizing” of final performances. So there’s really no true and accurate way to report on how folks did on their way to the Top 24. I continue my protest about that.
Despite the useless vignettes, and although I still miss some of the past judging panelists, Tyler, JLo and Randy seem like they’ve found their collective critical voices, and what roles they play in the whole. That’s made a big difference in choosing the right people to move next week into the live show for America’s votes.
Biggest surprises: A tie. At the end of the evening, producers whittled us down to a choice between the plus-sized teen Jacee, baby faced fauxhawk Colton and “Gay Carrottop” Brett (top photo). Despite a major drive from Colton—and what I thought was going to put him over the hump—the judges went with Brett. It was a bold choice, and we’ll see how it plays. Brett’s compelling backstory and originality may have favored him. Handled well by the judges. Tatynisa forgot lyrics and absolutely massacred “Unbreak My Heart” in the snippet we saw, so her advance into the Top 24 is a mystery to me. She’s a decent singer who didn’t have a single standout performance, so I 100 percent disagree with her selection. Look for her to exit early unless she pulls it together.
Standout snippets: Robbie “John Travolta” Rosen, who seems like a true crooner, took on an Elton song with flair and great tonal quality. Tim Halperin (middle photo) seems to have emerging star quality and sounded great in an original song. Country heartthrob (and clearly emerging as my crush) Scotty picked up the guitar and showed some originality. Lauren Turner, the Cher-coiffed bluesy singer, could be a dark horse and sounded great. Stefano’s final song, an original tune, was the most emotional and strongest performance of the evening. He can show off his scars anytime he wants.
Odds & Ends: Kendra did an audition repeat with her Alicia Keys song; it was just as OK the second time. She still made it through. Man-Diva Jordan’s personality bugs the crap out of me, but I will say he’s got a vibe and sound in the Trey Lorenz and Taye Diggs vein.
Slutty-dress memo received: The gals’ outfits were pretty outlandish (read: trampy). Vixen and French maid Julie rocked the gams. Seven-time auditioner and Posh Spice girl-wannabe Jessica looked like she tried too hard. Georgia peach Lauren Alaina clearly stole her dress from a Pepto-Bismol-sponsored Texas brothel (bottom photo).
Oh it is so on now. Bring on the Top 24, the live shows, and hopefully continued good performances.
Will Pollock is an Atlanta-based freelance writer, photographer and artist. He is founder and director of ARTvision Atlanta and writes “Emo.Intel” for EquallyWed. Pollock is also working on a number of books, including one on emotional intelligence in men. He blogs about politics, pop-culture and other nonsense, and you can follow him on Twitter.
