March 7, 2012

Guest Post: American Idol Recap - Girls Top 12

Here's another American Idol Recap from Guest Blogger Daniel!

 
Skylar Laine’s energy, folksy charm, and powerful voice made her a stand out last night

Last night on American Idol the top 12 girls performed after a good showing by the top 13 guys the other night.

Chelsea Sorrell                      Cowboy Casanova
She is cute and she is very country. There’s the good. The bad? Her performance was plain boring. She didn’t really do anything interesting. She didn’t even have one of those solid, well-sung but unoriginal performances that we see so often (see Baillie Brown). This was just not at all interesting. Oh, but there are a few more good things, they just don’t have to do with her singing. THE JUDGES WERE HONEST. Or at least sorta. I applaud them because the other night they just loved everything the guys did and over exaggerated their praise for every song the guys sung. Also happy to see that Idol is still doing those backstage interviews they started last season. And in this interview I really admired Chelsea’s positive attitude after not great comments from the judges. C

Erika Van Pelt                                    What About Love
Uggg. Her. I literally can't believe she’s made it this far. I would not have put her through the audition, when she sang a pathetic “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."  She didn’t impress me at all in Hollywood, so I was all set to hate her. When I heard she chose “What About Love” I thought “Great song, but will she be able to sing it?” and to her credit she did a good job. Now let me be clear, I still think she stole a top 24 spot from Ariel Sprague and various other more deserving girls, but this was actually pretty good. Also congrats to the J-Lo and Randy who made a real critique yet again! B+

Jen Hirsh                                One And Only One
I know from Hollywood week that she is talented, but quite frankly this performance was a bit of a mess. At times her voice sounded a little weak and once or twice it sounded like it was on the verge of cracking. I didn’t like it at all. However, as I said before, I know Jen has talent and I hope she makes it to the next round. If she isn’t voted in, I think the judges might save her, depending on who else makes it and doesn’t make it. D+

Brielle Von Hugel                  Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay
I remember her from last season, and I liked her. I was glad to see her come back, but this year we are getting a lot of her mom, who is super annoying. Anyway, Brielle did a really great job I thought. Great, gutsy song choice. I liked the way she started with the guys on the stage. That said, at the beginning it sounded like the key might have been too low for her. But she pulled it together and earned our first ‘A’ of the night. Interesting that the guys first ‘A’ also came from the 4th singer of the night, Colton. Oh and I like her personality from her bubbly backstage interview to her telling America what her numbers were. A-

Hallie Day                               Feelin’ Good
I wanted to hate her because she has no personality. She is so boring. Really boring. That said she has a good voice and she sang well. While a few notes were kinda flat, overall she was good. She should make it to the next round, however, if she actually wants to make it, let alone win, she has to be at least relatively interesting as a person. Another problem: her facial expressions are so wooden. At times she seemed almost Mitt Romney-like in her blandness. Almost.  It wasn’t THAT bad. And like I said, she sang generally well. Also Randy said something about Lana Del Rey, right? It would certainly seem that her atrocious SNL appearance has certainly made her famous. Anyway Hallie. Um. A-

Skylar Laine                           Stay With Me *Best Performance Of The Night*
Take notes Chelsea Sorrell. Skylar did what you were aiming for. Wow. She went out there with energy and flair. She worked the stage tremendously and she showed off her SUPER powerful voice. Nothing else really to say now. She just nailed it. A

Baylie Brown                         Amaze
I enjoyed it. There was nothing particularly outstanding about her performance but it was solid and very pleasant. She had some good moments. And, as the judges said, she did look gorgeous. And wait? Did Steven Tyler just make a critique? B

Hollie Cavanaugh                  Reflection
Aww. Cute Dog! Anyway Hollie sang very well. It started off a little slow but when she got into it she really got into it. Her song choice really allowed her to show her at her best during the chorus. She clearly has talent, which, as I said before, is all we are really looking for at this stage. And she’s really cute! I loved how she let her hair down backstage. Sorry, I got lost in her adorableness. I totally agree with Randy: it wasn’t perfect, but the good moments were really great. I’ll want to keep an eye on her. A-

Haley Johnsen                                   Sweet Dreams *Worst Performance Of The Night*
Oh my God. This was truly terrible, verging on scary. C’mon! That was awful.
Don’t make me fail you Haley. I like you, I really do. I don’t wanna do this. How should I say this? Ah here, Randy just said exactly what I was thinking. It was a bit of a nightmare instead of a dream. God Bless you Randy Jackson for bringing a dose a reality to the judges panel. Anyway, I will end on a good note. As I said before, she seems like a really sweet girl. With that… F

Shannon McGrane                Go Light Your World
I really like her. She’s been one of my favorites since the auditions. I also feel like I can relate to her with the whole sports-homework balance thing. Also, she’s really pretty. They did some fun banter with her dad and Steven (of course). I was expecting big things from Shannon, and she did not disappoint. Her unconventional song choice perfectly showcased her big, beautiful voice. Also, loved her backstage reaction. A

Jessica Sanchez                      Love You I Do
Another one who seems really sweet. I liked it. That said, I wasn’t as impressed as the judges seemed to be. Don’t get me wrong, she has a great voice and she sang really well but I think the judges exaggerated a little. The only problem I had was the beginning seemed a bit off. I could tell that she had been sick recently or was getting sick. Then backstage, we learn she was sick earlier in the week! B+

Elise Testone                         One And Only One
Oh no! They doubled up on songs. That is never good. I’m not gonna blame Alice, she might have chosen the song first and Jen might have copied her. Either way, Jen didn’t do too well so its not really a bad thing. I like Elise and especially considering she was singing last I was expecting big things. Was it good? Yes. But I was a bit disappointed. At times she had too much rasp and at times she seemed out of breath. Either way, I know that she’s talented, even if this wasn’t her best performance and she seems really nice. I liked her room service flowers. Anyway, looking forward to next time Elise, because I think there will be a next time, and I think you are capable of much more than what you showed last night. B-

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