Tonight the American Idol 2013 votes are again in your hands America. This time, the Top 10 guys are up and they’re fighting for five spots in the Season 12 Top 20. Tomorrow night we will learn the finalists and also find out if there will be any surprise wildcards.
Now that we’re in the real competition (sort of), I’ve revived my grading scale. I’ll review each performance and assign it the letter grade I think it deserves. Oh, and be warned, I’ve decided to not be so easy on the contestants this season. So don’t be surprised if I don’t hold back.
And as always, you can chime in and let us know what you think in our comments section below.
The Top 20 Performances Night Two: The Guys
Elijah Liu, Stay. That was a pretty decent way to start the night, as far as vocals go. It wasn’t very high energy and I always think that this early in the game, singers need to be upbeat or at least give us some big notes (if they’ve got em). I’m not so sure he’s going to make it in the rapid fire cuts tomorrow night. Grade: B+
Cortez Shaw, Locked Out Of Heaven. Well that was a weird song for him. I was wanting something upbeat, but I’m not sure this satisfied me. It was kind of all over the place and the music was pretty irrupting. He’s got a good voice, but this song just didn’t showcase it. He could be in trouble tomorrow also. Grade: C+
Random thought: So is Nicki the official style and hair judge? Because that’s all she seems to focus on. Are they seriously paying her to be a judge? Wow.
Charlie Askew, Mama. Um. I have no idea what that was. I thought it was awful. All of it. From the look to the performance. Bad. Bad. Bad. And then the way he takes criticism makes me uncomfortable. Poor guy. He’s a sweet guy. But this wasn’t good. Grade: F
Nick Boddington, Iris. I liked this. A piano version of the Goo Goo Dolls wasn’t what I was expecting, but it worked. I love when a contestant plays in instrument, so he gets bonus points for that. It was also a pretty emotional performance. I hope we can hear him do more. Grade: B+
Burnell Taylor, I’m Here. I think this guy is great. It all seems so effortless for him. And his voice has a unique sound. I didn’t love the song, but I really liked the performance. I hope America sends him through so we can hear more from him. Grade: A-
Paul Jolley, Just A Fool. OK, Paul wins the award for “Most American Idol-like Performance.” What I mean by that is, that he is the first person of the night to actually really sound like he’s on American Idol. It was a powerful ballad and I’m pretty sure he hit every note. Great, solid performance. Grade: A
Random Thought: Has anything Mariah said tonight made any sense? And also, has she ever had her OWN opinion? She just repeats everyone else. And tonight she brought up something from last week! And again, she’s getting paid MILLIONS for nothing, basically.
Lazaro Arbos, Feeling Good. Ugh. Every single season someone sings this song (sometimes more than once a season) and every single season I express my annoyance with this WAAAAY OVERDONE song. Basically when it starts I want so stop writing and assign a big fat F. But I’ll refrain. But I’m going to go ahead and say it right now. The next person who does this song gets no review, just a big fat F. Now that I’ve wasted too much time complaining about his song, choice, I’ll get to the actual review. It was pretty good. He’s a great performer and has a great heart to match his great tone. Grade: B+
Curtis Finch Jr., I Believe I Can Fly. See last post for the same rant about this song. Ugggh. As for the performance, it was pretty good. I don’t like some of the things he does with his voice and I never get into the gospel boys so it’s hard for me to not just throw my computer across the room. Grade: B+
Devin Velez, It’s Impossible. I’m not so sure him doing such an outdated song when five guys will be cut this week was the best idea. But he is still one of the best vocalists in the contest. I do hope he doesn’t always plan to break into Spanish. That’s cool every now and then, but some of the people who vote for Idol will not be too interested in a Spanish-singing contestant. I’m not saying that’s my opinion (because it’s definitely NOT), but it is some people’s. Sadly. I liked the performance. A lot. But I still think it was a bad idea. Grade: A-
Vincent Powell, End Of The Road. This was the pimp spot? Yawwwwn. I mean it wasn’t bad. He’s a great vocalist, but wow, how boring. Sorry, but a high screech isn’t enough to get me to pick up my phone. Idol couldn’t be more obvious with their effort to insure a guy does not win this season. Grade: B+
What did you think of the guys tonight? Who are your favorites?