Tonight’s episode of American Idol gets an 8 out of 12. And that’s not just a subjective number. Indeed, I counted eight contestants tonight who gave themslves at least some small chance of scoring viewer votes or a possible Wild Card performance spot on Thursday. To recap, we saw singers get praised by the judges (Von Smith, Scott MacIntyre), play to smart niche demographics (Kendall Beard), receive special lighting/loving closeups from the producers (Jorge Nuñez), expertly reinvent their songs (Ju’Not Joyner), storm the stage with a purpose (Felicia Barton, Lil Rounds), and even overcome hideous arrangements through pure vocal talent (Kristen McNamara). A few of those folks, in fact, fit more than one category! That’s probably not good news for the entertaining Alex Wagner-Trugman. And it’s a crushing blow to those who were either forgettable (Taylor Who, Nathaniel Marshall) or unforgettably awful (Arianna Afsar). But in any event, Group 3 Semifinal Performance Night was actually pretty entertaining. And on that jaunty note, I’m off to write my full TV Watch recap, which should be live on EW.com early tomorrow morning. In the interim, do watch our latest two episodes of Idolatry — they’ll play back-to-back — embedded below, then hit the comments section with your own thoughts on which three singers will and should advance during Wednesday’s results show!
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Comments (1-30) of 129 Add your comment
Lil Rounds was by far the best – it was frickin’ obvious. She sang and performed like a pro up there. It was the first time I heard my dad say (and he’s a tough critic) : “She could win.” She obviously blows previous idol divas (Syesha, Trenyce) out the box, as Randy would say, and she’s prettier than, say, Lakisha and Melinda, so she could DEFINITELY break the top 3 or even top 2.
However, I’m not sure about her market potential. Is she edgy enough to be a superstar?
Her vocals are really good though. I find them to be among the most pleasant of all previous idol divas – and that’s quite a compliment.
Wow, this is tough. It’s definitely a “I can only have three?!!” moment…
My Tops: Felicia, Jorge, Kristen
Felicia, in my opinion, sang her heart out more than Lil, Jorge was adorable with a nice pure voice, and Kristen, whose personality I don’t love, SHOCKED me with her great voice.
But in all honesty, anything could happen, and I’ll be okay with it as long as MISHAVONNA GETS A WILD CARD. Or at least a chance to sing again… I’m still not over how the judges totally didn’t give her the props she derserved.
No, Michael it wasn’t entertaining. That was almost as bad as last week, which was almost as bad as the first week.
These singers aren’t singers.
what happened to this week’s power list?
The power list is here
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/20-von-smith-ne.html
I agree that the performances were more plausible, but I liked everyone less personally. Felicia was the only one I liked but I think the Lil/Scott/Jorge train is unstoppable.
will: Lil, Scott, Jorge
should: Lil, Ju’Not, Felicia
I agree that the performances were more plausible, but I liked everyone less personally. Felicia was the only one I liked but I think the Lil/Scott/Jorge train is unstoppable.
Lil had me until she changed the lyrics of her song “Call this show, if you can’t be without me”. Annoying as hell.
Also, for what it’s worth, I HATE this Top 36 format. We lose lots of good singers really fast…
All forgettable performances!
As long as Matt G and Megan Joy get a wild card I will watch.
Wow, this is hands down the best idol group out of the three. Can we just take Michael Sarver out and add someone extra from this group in?
Favorites:
Kristen–probably not the best song choice, but damn that girl can sing. She deserved much better critiques from the judges. I’m afraid she’s not going to make it, but technically she was by far the best contestant (IMO).
Scott-cheesy song, LOVE him though.
Lil Rounds was great, yet a little over praised. Like her personality more than her actual singing. And why in God’s name did she sing Mary J. Blige–someone the judges unanimously compare her to? Jorge was adorable–not my favorite performance vocally though. Felicia rocked it–good for her. Ju’Not was good, although I found him a little boring.
It will be tough to see who makes it. I’m guessing:
Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Jorge Nunez…
…should be Lil Rounds, Scott, Kristen McNamara
This season is missing the innovation that we saw with the contestants on last season. a good handful of those singers were artists and not just performers. maybe it’s too soon to tell, but i’m not seeing any david cooks, carly smithson, michael johns, jason castros, or brooke whites this year. but you’re right, tonight was better than last week. but do they really need to be so obvious with their choice on who performs last?
I really hope Jorge makes it in. I got to root for the underdog. Partly to balance out my other pick that has been so hopelessly pimped by the judges. This is actually the only week I bothered voting. Four times…go Jorge.
If the stars are aligned and all is right with the world, the ones who deserve to move forward are Ju’not Joyner, Lil Rounds and Jorge Nunez. They were exceptional.
This week was actually better than last week but I’m still not excited. I couldn’t even be bothered to vote. It was, however, nice to see songs not done before on idol (though a much better ABBA song could have been chosen). I expect Lil will go through and either Scott, Junot or Jorge. I am betting Felicia will get a wild card spot and whichever one of the above that doesn’t make it if they are choosing three from each week to perform on Thursday. I wonder if they will announce who on Thursday.
I would replace a contestant with the redheaded rocker Alison, but other than her, this group of 12 could easily have been the top 12 and I would have been satisfied. The group had a better ratio of stage presence to vocal talent compared to what I saw from the previous groups. I’m a little upset that contestants from this group were not spread out into the other groups where they easily would have bested the mediocre performers. The concentration of talent made for a good show, but sucks for future eps.
By the way – does anyone know, how exactly does the Wild Card round work?
Oh come on, Lil Rounds was not that great. It just seemed that way because she got the producers’ “pimp” spot going last. She is the female Adam-Danny.
My picks? Von, Jun’ot, Kristen. Especially Jun’ot. I doubt more than one of them will make it, but they were (imo) the best of the rest.
By the way – does anyone know, how exactly does the Wild Card round work?
Kara kept telling everyone tonight that they are a singer…well yes…they are singing on freaking American Idol.
She continues to annoy the heck otu of me.
This was really better than the first 2 weeks.
Lil Rounds has proved worthy of the pimp spot. I know people don’t link the obvious support from the producers to the 3 chosen one, but no one of them chocked.
Felicia is someone I would have liked to do much better than she actually did. She oversang part of her song.
I am pissed that we are probably getting a 3rd week with probably 2 men going to the top 12, for the past 2 week the women were better overall.
I really think the most overhyped performance was Jorge, if he has the first spot and didn’t cry he wouldn’t have any chance at all.
Of course I should be way more pissed at Scott who doesn’t have the vocal ability of the others, but he is such a likeable, smart men. His high five with Ryan was the funiest moment of the night
Jorge really brought it tonight, well done dude! Who saw that coming? I even got a little emotional, the guy seems genuine. Him and lil (who will end up in the top 2 with gokey, sigh) were tops tonight. Muy bueno!
Ok.. yes, Kris is like David A… yuck… and Adam… as much as I wanna like him… if he were a true rocker as he is portraying… lets be honest… he would not be on idol! and truthfully.. although I do like him.. he won’t go the distance… LOVE Jessie!! anyone who sings concrete blonde on IDOL? are u kidding me? amazing! let ssee the wild card
“I would replace a contestant with the redheaded rocker Alison, but other than her, this group of 12 could easily have been the top 12 and I would have been satisfied.”
Wow — that’s amazing. I thought the night was a complete waste of time.
Michael S. if you’re reading this, what happened to Michael Johns returning to sing on Idolatry? I seemed to have missed it. Is the video still posted?
I agree, I HATE the top 36, or at the very least how they vote everyone into the top 12. I would love to see them come back and use the critiques the judges give them so the 3 minutes of banter isn’t completely pointless.
But, there were very few train wrecks, and it didn’t seem like anyone was being shoved down my throat this week, which is a plus.
I quite enjoyed Lil Rounds, since she stopped assulting my ears. Scott sang the right song and sounded great. Also, love Kirsten and Nate, even though they didn’t do so well tonight. Felicia, Jorge, and Ju’not deserve a spot or at least a wild-card bid.
I wish that everyone could play instruments. I miss the “artist” angle, and considering that four of the top five last season played some sort of instrument, so does the viewing public.
I’m not getting all the judges Lil Round love. She’s good but not really special.
My picks..
Lil Rounds
Scott McIntire
3rd spot a toss up between Jorge, Kendell and Felicia
The “pimp spot” was finally deserved this week. with the exception of Lil, the other eleven were kinda blah. I kinda hope no wild cards come from this group.
Also can we make a new rule that if the judges are giving negative feedback and destroying some 17-year-old’s life on national TV, that they can’t make stupid little side jokes with one another? I just find that so incredibly rude, and they do it all the time.