<p>Pretty much agree that Ashton should have been cut…she’s a decent singer, but she’s WAY too boring to hold my attention for more than 30 seconds. Don’t understand why they chose her as a wildcard in the first place.
My favorite is definitely Pia-LOVE her voice and song choice. Casey is an amazing musician but I’m not really a fan of the whole Joe Crocker thing (just my personal preference).</p>
<p>I thought Ryan Seacrest did an absolutely awful job of trying to build suspense. It is handled much better on Dancing with the Stars.</p>
<p>The first three people came up for their results. He says something like “You’re all safe…”–crowd and the three contestants go wild–then he hastens to add “except for you, Karen.” What?!</p>
<p>And when he was talking on and on to Lauren before giving her result, going over what the judges thought was her lackluster performance last week compared to how much they seemed to love her before–she was starting to break down crying on the spot! Thank goodness he had the sense to quit blabbering from the script and tell her she was staying. Geesh!</p>
<p>^Speaking of “Dancing With The Stars”, their special guest entertainment on the results show is also superior, imo.</p>
<p>Agree with you, jshain–but this is my first season of AI and I am trying to be open minded.</p>
<p>This show is my guilty pleasure.
- I’m really starting to like James. I’m impressed with his wide range of notes that all sound great. His performances feel real.
- I’ve always thought Casey was amazing. Like another poster said earlier, he’s the nerdy, geeky kid that always pursued music, and his skills show it. He needs to continue to show us all his hidden talent (upright bass was incredible) and how he can out-do everyone else in showcasing the massive talent he has with complex songs and keys. Definitely a musician that will be in it for the long haul, Idol or not.
- Pia’s voice and that way she dresses makes her a star, but her facial expressions don’t relax me when I watch her. Maybe her hair or makeup can be changed to make her look more fun? Recently she has really impressed me with the power and quality to her voice.
- Lauren is the most natural star … I thought she sang and performed better than the judges gave her credit, but she does need an outfit makeover; her face is lovely and her personality is perfect. Her country voice is amazing … a real gift.
- Naima really impressed me … I think once she gets add’l voice tuneups she has a ton of potential.<br>
- I’m not sure about Jacob; his God Blessed the Child bought him a few weeks, but there are parts of his voice that I don’t like when he sings too loud.<br>
- Yes, Ashton did need to go … she’s reaching for Diana Ross and her voice isn’t there yet, but I actually did like her attitude and performance.<br>
- Paul seems too affected … teeth too white, songs too karaoke, voice too much like a piece of Rod Stewart … he must have some A&R rep that’s already tried to sell him as something; plus his dancing is distracting … much better for a small club so he can’t wander around too far.<br>
- Thia does have an amazing voice, but I suspect she doesn’t have the deeper musical sense that someone like James has; she may need to just get some more jamming experience to really feel the music that is locked up inside of her.
- And the girl that sang Alicia Keyes and then Blue definitely has a great voice and she can do great things with it, but she’s not realizing that we really don’t want someone that can sing anything, we want someone that can sing a genre and really represent it widely and deeply. R&B to Country is too different for me to want to see her concert. It just starts to come off as really good cover songs. She needs to find her identity.
- The Latino girl is very good, and has a cute face, but she seems more like a mini-Selena wanna be and I don’t see her uniqueness. Voice is very good, just not incredibly powerful.
- The low voiced guy does have a great voice for a narrow set of songs … I’d love to see what else he can do and how deep his knowledge is of music beyond cover songs. </p>
<p>Looking forward to next week … a glass of wine and Idol after a day of work. Good deal.</p>
<p>OK got the glass of wine…am watching for the first time in years and years. Yes to James, no to Pia just too beauty pagentish, maybe for Haley. James and Haley have the most unique voices so far…1/2 way through.</p>
<p>momof3, that was Thia who has already sung. Pia is up next after Stefano. 
</p>
<p>I enjoyed James tonight.</p>
<p>Whoops messed up Pia and Thia! You are right…here comes Pia…</p>
<p>Wowser where did that great voice come out of that Scotty character. I’m not a country/western fan but what a voice!</p>
<p>I just think Haley is awful. I think she has to go this week. Thia & Karen(? the one who always sings in Spanish) are kinda boring, but they sound so much better than Haley to me. Speaking of Karen, we get it that you’re Hispanic, you can stop with the Spanish now…gimmicks are better in small doses.</p>
<p>I’m not excited about any of the guys, but I thought Stefano was good and I always like Scotty.</p>
<p>I don’t think Haley has picked the right song yet, but I don’t know what the right song would be. I thought Naima was horrible this week and last week.</p>
<p>West coast here.wine poured. James is ridiculously good. Not feeling Thia.</p>
<p>Haley needs to go. I hope the vote for the worst crew doesn’t keep her around.</p>
<p>I think Naima is horrendous. She is rarely on pitch. This is a singing competition. She needs to go.
I don’t get the hoopla about Jacob either. Often off pitch. Lots of passion but really???
I don’t get the judge’s enthusiam.
Paul is just painful to watch. I have to DVR fastforward through him.</p>
<p>Also West coast here, glass of Syrah, my DVR is a hummin, and my Asus Netbook is poised for some action…</p>
<p>What the ____, the music producers are BACK??? They did such a great job last week, they were invited to return this week to give overly generic advice. What am I missing here, please tell me.</p>
<p>No adjustment of your set is necessary, Naima and Paul stunk. Paul supposedly has a cold. I think it was a poor song choice.</p>
<p>Thia was at least in pitch… she’s not the next pop star, but maybe Muzak or Otis elevator will use some of her cuts.</p>
<p>I thought James was a little off-key and his worst performance to date. The judges “overlooked” a sub-par performance tonight, imo.</p>
<p>Haley- The effort was there, but she is still deperately searching for an identity and polished performance.</p>
<p>Stefano- Great song choice and he delivered the best performance of the evening so far! (Oops, you’re going to think I copied Randy and Jennifer)</p>
<p>Pia- A very good performance, but I didn’t love it as much as the judges. She actually showed some emotion which was nice!</p>
<p>Scotty- If this was a likability contest, he’d win hands down. He’s sticking around.</p>
<p>Karen- Good enough, but going home soon.</p>
<p>Casey- I love the risks he takes. I cannot wait to see what he pulls out of his bag of tricks each week!</p>
<p>Lauren- She was good but didn’t knock my socks off. Luckily, she doesn’t have a lot of other women who are better.</p>
<p>Jacob- Broadway is calling. The judges are giving him false hope. He may be the next guy to go home. </p>
<p>I think I’ll have another glass of wine…</p>
<p>I’m not seeing a lot of love here for Stephano! Along with James these are my two favorites! Stephano has consistently had good quality singing and performance weeks. Jlo appears to be “crushing” on him. His enthusiasm and energy are refreshing. And I just love his voice.</p>
<p>Jump on the Stephano train!</p>
<p>^abasket, I voted for Stefano because I thought he did have the best performance last night.</p>
<p>I’m still on the James & Casey train! I actually do like Paul if only they could get him to stop moving around - I kinda like that raspy, unusual voice of his. Don’t like Pia - a little too pageanty for my taste, don’t feel a connection at all, and don’t really like Jacob either. </p>
<p>And what is with the judges constantly telling some contestants to break out and do something different and others to keep doing the same thing every week?</p>
<p>Love Casey’s parents - this would totally be DH & I…!! LOL</p>
<p>I kind of look at it like “would I want to hear this song on the radio or is this person interesting enough to see in concert?” The only ones I can answer yes to are Casey, James, and Paul. For some reason, none of the girls is doing anything for me. I agree ^^^ that Pia is way too pageanty!!! Thia picks pretty songs that are way to boring-too much like she is singing for a high school talent show. Can’t stand Scotty although I’m sure he has talent and would do well on the C-W circuit. Naima needs to go although I wanted her to do well- she is so off pitch! Don’t like Jacob. Really don’t like the young southern girl- good voice but just too cocky and obnoxious for me. No doubt Stephano has a great voice, but his style doesn’t appeal to me. Oh, and the hair on the Selena wanna-be last night made her look way too old and boring. </p>
<p>I think Casey is that all-around talent who really knows music and will be successful somehow in the music industry. I love Paul’s raspy voice but he is a little uncomfortable to watch on stage sometimes and his teeth ARE too white- is that possible? And LOVE James- although I didn’t as much at first. He knows who he is, has a great voice, has tons of personality, takes chances, and is so much fun to watch.</p>
<p>James had never done it for me before, but this week… yep, he was great. Casey is special… every time. Paul hasn’t done a song I like yet, but I could love that raspy voice - I’m just not a Rod Stewart fan and he keeps going there (or similar). None of the girls have staying power that I can see.</p>
<p>I figure Scotty for great success in a genre I don’t follow. I’d like to see him try something else, just out of curiosity. But other than to win AI (I think) everythying else is irrelvant to him and his future.</p>
<p>I do like Jacob, but not last night. And like Stefano as well.</p>
<p>But I think James and Casey are well in the lead so far.</p>