Top 12 Perform

Okay, so the Top 12 were named last week: Didi, Siobhan, Paige, Casey, Tim, Lee, Crystal, Michael, Lacey, Aaron, Andrew, and Katy. The only surprises to me: I thought they’d keep curly-haired chick because she was cute and quirky, and I thought Alex would be in the Top 12 because he’s really talented.

But, as we all know, there’s no trying to understand the way the public votes. It’s possible some, if not most, of the people who vote might be just like the clueless people at auditions who truly can’t sing but are convinced that they can!! Who’s in charge at the asylum??

A confession: I watched both shows via DVR late Wednesday night, but took notes (as I always do) and have recorded everything today exactly as I wrote it originally. My prediction was made immediately after the performance show was over, before I started watching the results show.

In any case, the show continues, starting out week #1 with a Rolling Stones theme. My co-worker, an avid NON-AI fan, remarked that he was thoroughly disappointed that the Stones were connected in any way to “that show that you watch”. Thanks, Mick Jagger, for helping me piss off my co-worker!

The video theme on Tuesday night was family; Michael opened the show with a video story that brought me to tears, all about his mom who died and footage of him with his brand new baby and his wife. He really is a big teddy bear!

Michael chose “Miss You”; he turned it into an R&B-style love song. It was a really strong performance, his vocals were good and he really worked the stage well. Kudos to Ryan for getting in Simon’s face --- Simon deserves for someone to make HIM feel uncomfortable!

Did was out next singing “Play with Fire” after the uncomfortably awkward video footage of her mom. I liked the arrangement she used because it suited her vocal style, but there’s something slightly annoying about her vocals for me. She starts out, I think “she’s got a kinda cool sound” and just when it should “take” I just start feeling annoyed. Don’t know what it is. She forgot the lyrics twice and yes, she rebounded but really, at this point everyone should know the words. It was just “aight” for me.

Casey’s video footage told an amazing story of a very, very sick child who grew up to be a pretty talented musician. He chose “It’s All Over Now”; really banged it out country-rock style. This was the first time I really, really enjoyed hearing him sing. He’s a cutie, and the girls adore him, and he can really play guitar, but up until now I never appreciated his vocal style.

Lacey’s story was about her Victory Church parent pastors and growing up singing in the church. She chose one of my favorite Stone’s tunes, “Ruby Tuesday”. I wanted to like the arrangement she used, and might have if someone else had used it, but she managed to make it sound to me like a little kid singing it while skipping through the park. It was weird to me. Might have had something to do with the very strange outfit she had on. In any case, she was really pitchy.

Andrew’s video footage was more of his family’s tough story. His dad is great: the ex-gangbanger with a marshmallow heart. But his mom just made me nervous --- just sitting there like a mute. She had nothing to say? Andrew sang “Give Me Shelter” --- I love all of his vocals, but he looked awkward and uncomfortable and just wasn’t able to pull of manipulating the mike stand.

Katy was out next, with an embarrassing video of a horrible performance she gave as an 8-year old. She sang “Wild Horses” which was a really good choice for her. She sang it as a ballad; it was the first time she sounded as good to me as she did in her original audition.

Tim’s video was all about his huge family (10 kids). They all looked alike, and reminded me I haven’t watched the Duggars recently. He chose to sing “Under My Thumb”, another of my favorites. He took a big risk using a reggae arrangement, and he just wasn’t able to pull it off. I agreed with the judges; acceptable performance if you were at a beach resort (and had a couple of MaiTais under your belt), but not the knockout performance he needs at this point.

Siobhan’ s video showed her extremely Irish family (apropos for St. Patrick’s Day). She sang “Paint it Black”, my all-time favorite Rolling Stones song. She started out a little nasal-y, but I loved the arrangement she used. Paired with her outfit (strapless black girly-girl dress with Doc Marten-type boots) she managed to pull it off. She was a little pitchy partway through, but finished off with an Adam Lambert-esque ending.
Lee’s video talked about how embarrassed he was to sing as a little kid. He chose “Beast of Burden”; I love his voice, and loved this particular rendition, but he looked a little awkward and embarrassed. This kid needs to realize how good he is.

Paige’s story was tragic; all about her paralyzed father who eventually died, and growing up singing in the church, actually boosting attendance on the days she sang. She sang “Honky Tonk Woman”. I liked parts of this performance, but didn’t like other parts. I think Paige is having problems figuring out who she is as a performer and I’m hoping she finds out before she gets booted.

Aaron’s video talked about how he was adopted at 5 years old and how his mom (Kelly Kelly) can’t sing. It’s hard to take Aaron seriously because he’s just a kid, and can’t really pull off anything tough or gritty. He reminds me of David Archuleta --- great voice but just not old enough to pull of anything serious. Aaron sang “Angie”. I was a little worried, but this kid can sing, so he managed to be believable.

Crystal’s tough-guy dad broke down during her video, talking about a song she wrote as a teenager where she said she loved him. She chose “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. This is a young girl with an old, old soul, who channels Janis Joplin. She’s like Joplin reincarnated, but somehow a kinder, gentler Joplin. I love her, I love that she knows who she is and sings what she wants how she wants to. The judges kept talking about how she seems to act like she’s “got this in the bag”. I’ve never gotten that impression of her (and I’m glad she had a chance to refute that on the results show).

Lacey, Tim and Paige had the weakest performances (for me). I predict they’ll be in the Bottom 3 at the end of tomorrow’s results show and the Lacey will go home.