Pbmom's Blog

Five top girls and five top guys will be revealed from our votes. The final two spots are judges’ choice. I wonder if the judges can bring back contestants like Savion Wright? The theme tonight is to sing the song with which the contestants auditioned.

Sarina-Joi Crowe is the first name revealed. She sings “Love Runs Out” by OneRepublic. She is flat. I love her but this was not a good performance. She was warned about that her pitch last week. Keith tells her to be careful with her pitch but it was a great way to start. Jennifer is excited for her. She mentions the pitch as well. Harry is happy she is here and says she is very talented. I guess he did not feel the need to mention the pitch again.

The next person making it into the top 12 is Rayvon Owen. His song at the audition was “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry. Goosebumps. It was perfect! He is so awesome. Jennifer said he felt that moment and tells him that they had a close-up on him. Harry said he sounded terrific. Keith said he got exponentially better at the end.

Scott Borchetta announces Daniel Seavey as the next finalist. His audition song was “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul. His performance was rough. I imagine his nerves were on overdrive. He was awkward. He didn’t know where to place his hands. I think he thought (or maybe they were told) to just stand in one place, but he felt out of place doing that. He forgot a few of the lyrics. He loosened up a bit when he got the audience to clap. By the end of the song he seemed to find a groove, but his intonation was still a little off. Harry said he was going to be honest with him. Daniel is young and inexperienced. His performances haven’t been strong of late and as cute as he is, his inexperience is showing. Keith said he thinks if Daniel finds an emotional song, he’ll just kill it. Jennifer agrees. She says whatever he picks, let’s make sure he is strong the whole way through.

Maddie Walker is now in the top 12. They do need to have a country presence. Her song was “Suitcase” by Gwen Sebastian. This is the best I have heard her since her audition. Oh wait! That’s because it is her audition song and she probably practiced it a few hundred times before the audition. I do love her hair tips. Keith said it was great from a stylistic standpoint. Jennifer saw her getting into own head about the singing of it. If she loves a song, just sing it and it will come out exactly as you want. Harry agrees the song was kind of in her head but he thought it was a solid performance.

Ryan lets someone in the audience read the next name: Tyanna Jones!! Oh yay!! She sings “Wings” by Little Mix. She walks around the stage and I enjoy seeing that. She belongs on that stage and I had goosebumps by the end. Jennifer what strikes her besides her phenomenal vocals which are undeniable but her composure on stage at 16 years of age? Harry applauded her comfort on stage. Keith said if you move like a star, sing like a star, and dress like a star, you ARE a star.

Nick Fradiani makes it through to the top 12. He sings one of my favorite songs of all time, “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. When he is playing his acoustic guitar he reminds me of Chris Daughtry with a little Rob Thomas thrown in. Harry said he brings a lot of experience to it and they (the audience) screamed at the end which they should have. Keith said he has a great look and voice but he thinks Nick needs to believe in himself as much as America. Jennifer said she wants him to pick a song where every part of the song is undeniable. I don’t think that is really fair to the contestants because they don’t get to choose the song this week.

That leaves 2 spots for both the girls and guys left before the judges’ picks.

Jax advances (thank GOD). She sings “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles. She starts off slow and then speeds it up which is a bit different from her audition song. She reaches down to hold someone’s hand in the audience. Keith said it was very clear to see why America voted for her. He would have been fine with the whole song at the piano. Jennifer said she is just as compelling now as the first time she sang the song. Harry thinks she didn’t need a band at all. I think Jax was trying to switch it up because last week she heard that maybe she needed to branch out from her trademark style.

Qaasim Middleton is in the top 12. He is singing, “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder. He starts off slow and moves into his Qaasim style. He is a great performer. Jennifer loves his energy. She jokes, “He’s going to own all of this stage. We get it.” Harry wonders if they are going to hear an entire performance that is not just an explosion of energy. Keith said he made the best of the moment. Qaasim showed everything he could do. Keith felt that he killed it.

Clark Beckham also is in the top 12. His song was “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” by James Brown. That boy’s got soul. Jennifer is grooving to the performance. That is how Clark needs to sing EVERY WEEK. He reminded me how much I loved him. Harry said if he can take the ultimate most chauvinistic song in the world and make him forget about the message and enjoy the performance, that’s quite an accomplishment. Nice job. Keith reminds Harry that it says “it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman” in there. Keith tells Clark it was an amazing job—it was killer. Jennifer said it was so, so great and for her that was the vocal of the night—amazing.

The next person who goes straight through to the top 12 is Joey Cook! Woo-hoo! She sings “King of Spain” by The Tallest Man On Earth. I enjoyed that performed without the accordion. She is talented. She doesn’t need that as a crutch. Keith said she looked shocked to be up there and she agreed she did. Jennifer said she wondered what her performances would be like on the big stage and she thought she filled it up great. It was one of her best performances. Harry said as much as he likes her style, and she is really stylized, after what he saw today she might be finding a spot up there.

The judges save Quentin Alexander first. He sings “Royals” by Lorde. That was a smart choice. When he sings the word “royals” I got goosebumps. And then I got all misty-eyed when he started crying. Qaasim comes out and gives him a hug. Jennifer says to him, “You know that you deserve to be here.” (He does!) His emotion is part of what makes him a great artist. She cannot wait to see all the performances and all the colors they will get from him this season. Harry said his favorite part of Quentin is how deeply in touch Quentin is with his own artistry and emotion. Were there pitch problems? Did it matter so much? No. Keith said he brought a real spiritualism to that song. Keith is so glad he is here.

Keith announces the next person: Adanna Duru. Too bad they couldn’t have saved another guy. I would have picked Mark if American Idol didn’t feel constrained to splice in down evenly in gender. She sings “You and I” by Lady Gaga. There are those Bollywood hand movements again. I think I’ll just close my eyes and listen to her instead. I like her voice when she isn’t screaming for notes and notes at a time. Harry said she has to find a way to take that energy and channel it through a very specific musical place because it was really, really out of tune. If she can do that, then she’ll be fine. Jennifer said it was amazing, but the only thing she is going to have to work on is really having control of her performance. Keith said when she gets like that and she gets her fellow competitors up out of their chairs, she’s got something going on.