Hollywood Week Part 3

It's like a "Lost" episode! The judges are deliberating on who to keep, but while that story's going we're going to see flashbacks of what they're deciding based on!

We're down to 72 contestants, and they each get one last performance before the judges. Ryan tells us that the best will move on (they show us a picture of Lil Rounds when we hear that line. Real subtle) and the rest will be going home. They draw numbers to choose performance order, and cuts get made at the end of the day.

First is Adam Lambert, who wants to take a song everybody knows and do something new with it. Which song does he choose? "Believe" by Cher. Well, that's certainly bold. He does a slow-paced piano version, which I guess is something different. It doesn't make "Believe" any less crappy a song though. His voice is powerful but a bit too high-pitched. You know what song I'd like to see this guy do in the voting stages? "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness. It's been done on other versions of "Idol," so why not on the American version? It seems like it'd suit him perfectly.

Matt Giraud is next and plays the keyboard for "Georgia on My Mind." As much as this guy bothers me, I can admit that this is a good vocal performance. They replay Simon's comment about reminding him of Elliott Yamin, and it doesn't seem any less ridiculous this time. I haven't spent a ton of time on the internet seeing what others are saying about these hopefuls, but what little I have seen concerning Matt hasn't been positive. The judges can pimp him all they want, but I doubt he's making the Top 12.

Danny Gokey and Jamar Rogers are nervous backstage. This "best friends" storyline is getting old. We get it. They support each other and are in this experience together. Won't it be so heartbreaking when one of them gets cut? Oops, I hope I'm not spoiling anything! Then again, am I actually spoiling anything? I guess you'll find out tomorrow!

Jamar sings "Hey There Delilah." It may be his least shouty performance, but I still think he sort of half-talks when he sings. Jamar just isn't that great. Danny tells him it was incredible after it's over, but Jamar knows that he biased.

Danny sings "I Hope You Dance," and they spend a lot of time showing his performance. Is it just me, or is this guy the most pimped contestant this season? I can't think of any other contestant who's gotten as much positive screen time as he has. Not that he isn't talented, but at this early stage I feel like he's already the favorite to win. One thing I've enjoyed about this season so far is that the pimping hasn't seemed as over-the-top as it was in the past, but I still feel like Danny's being set up to win this thing. Anyway, his voice is a little strainy (that's what makes it soulful, brother!), but he sings it well.

Anoop Desai sings "My Prerogative" and is awesome. Go Anoop!

Jorge Nunez sings "Closer" (Ne-Yo, not Nine Inch Nails) kind of muddle-voiced and is good but boring.

Scott MacIntyre sings "Home" (Daughtry, not Michael Buble), which we're all sick of hearing on this program. It's a little off-key, but whatever. He reminds me of Theo Tams, last year's "Canadian Idol" winner. His voice is similar and he seems most comfortable behind the piano. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I'm not a fan.

Kendall Beard is the first girl they show us. We see a flashback to her audition, where her bubbly personality made the judges fall in love with her. She even did a "happy dance" after getting through. She sings Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats." It doesn't sound that good, as it's sort of half-talked like Jamar's.

Stevie Wright sings "Bubbly," and sounds...competent.

My brother keeps saying "she's gone" after each audition he hears. My bro just ain't impressed by these folks.

Lil Rounds sings "If I Ain't Got You" and tells us that she won't be defeated. Great, but you're still only here to fill the "diva" slot in the Top 12, and you won't win.

Kristin McNamara, who looks kind of like Penny from "Lost" (dang that show I'm going to have to miss tomorrow!), chats with Ryan. Ryan tells her that Nancy Wilson, her groupmate that she kept fighting with, is there to apologize. In actuality it's a "PSYCHE!" This is cutthroat and don't you forget it! Kristin sings Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You." She has kind of a cool grit to her voice. This girl could be a real contender. I'm more impressed with her than any of these other girls we've seen today.

We're introduced to Mishavonna Henson, who tried out last year but got cut in Hollywood. Her family loves her singing, but of course, so do most of the bad auditioners' families. She sings Michael Buble's "Everything" and once again, yep, talk-singing. Newsflash: crooning does actually require some breath support.

They show us a montage of Tatiana Del Toro not shutting up. Remember folks, you're supposed to hate her! She sings "I'm Your Baby Tonight," and boy, does this girl love her runs. She even ends the song with a long melismatic flourish. Despite my semi-mocking, she does sound pretty good. Tatiana's extremely happy with herself after the performance is over. Is she cocky or just confidently exuberant? Aw, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt...for now.

Alexis Grace does "Before He Cheats" and it isn't good. More talk-singing.

Kenny Hoffpauer does "I'm Yours" and sounds OK.

Jasmine Murray sings Jordin Sparks' "Tattoo" unremarkably. What's with all these songs by former "Idol" winners?

Nathaniel Marshall sings Rihanna's "Disturbia" with a guitar, and of course, they flash back to all the Hollywood drama he was involved in. That's all they're going to remember him for, isn't it?

Joanna Pacitti, the uber-plant, finally gets some Hollywood screen time. I'm glad they haven't pimped her too much. I don't like them planty folk. Now that they show her, she's slurring the words due to her nerves getting the better of her. I can't even tell what song this is. She should get cut for this. Of course, we all know that plants don't get cut (pruned?) until we stop voting for them, which the producers and judges do their best to delay.

Casey Carlson bumbles the lyrics to "Tattoo."

Stephen Fowler chooses David Cook's "The Time of My Life" and decides to accompany himself on keyboards. OK, these former "Idol" winner songs are clearly a trend. We've heard Kelly, Carrie, Jordin and now David. Where are the Ruben, Fantasia and Taylor songs? I guess "Georgia on My Mind" is sort of a Taylor song, but he only did it off the show. Wait a minute! They had "Home" in there! Silly me, I forgot! Chris Daughtry was the actual winner of Season 5! My bad. I won't do it again, producers. I promise. Stephen gets nervous and has to start over. Ryan mentions Brooke White having to start over as he watches backstage. In other words, "Please go easy on Stephen!" His nerves are shot during his second try, and the whole thing falls apart. He finally gives up and walks offstage. Brutal.

Nick Mitchell isn't sure if he should be himself or his alter-ego, Norman Gentle. Apparently he always decides who to be five minutes before he goes onstage. This time he opts for Norman. He does a really campy, melodramatic "Georgia on My Mind" and moves from sitting on the piano to begging on his knees to a long run at the end. My brother actually finds it entertaining. If this guy makes the voting rounds he might have an outside shot at winning.

Anne Marie Boskovich sings "I Hope You Dance" and is slightly off-key on the big notes. She's got a pleasant voice and seems like a nice person, but there's just something boring about her. I mean, a part of me likes her, and a part of me has a hard time seeing her as anything other than filler. I guess she'll just have to live with my ambivalence.

Junot Joyner is another guy we haven't seen before. Hey, he brought in his kid at his audition too! I guess there were so many kids that they couldn't fit them all in. This show might as well be renamed "American Parent Vocalist." He sings "Hey There Delilah" and sounds pretty good. Unless he pulls a Chikezie on us I'm not interested, though.

Kaylan Loyd, another newcomer to our screens, sings "If I Ain't Got You" and stumbles a bit. She's extremely upset with herself afterwards. How sad. If only we knew who she was.

Leneshe Young "stole the hearts of America at her audition" according to Ryan. Really? I didn't care for her that much. She sings "Love Song" (Sara Bareilles, not The Cure) and isn't bad, I guess.

Kai Kalama sings "Part Time Lover" with his guitar and his voice is incredibly strained. In his defense, all this stress can't be good for the vocal cords.

Michael Sarver tells us that this means a lot for his family's future. Pimp! They really seem to like this guy. He sings "All or Nothing," which doesn't overly impress me, but it's OK.

Finally it's time to break the news to the contestants who are waiting in the four rooms. Simon has to leave, so it's up to Randy, Paula and Kara to do the dirty work.

Room 2 is first. The judges act as if they're going to say no, but they end up saying yes. Whoa, didn't see that coming! Among those who make it through: Alexis Grace, Joanna Pacitti, Casey Carlson, Kai Kalama, Arianna Afsar, Jasmine Murray, Stephen Fowler, Nathaniel Marshall and Michael Sarver. Thanks for letting us know which contestants we're supposed to care about, producers! I wasn't capable of figuring that out for myself! Alex Wagner-Trugman is in this room, but we're not supposed to care about him, apparently.

Room 3 is next. They show a flashback to India Morrison's rough performance before the room gets cut. Michael Castro, India, Kaylan Loyd (what was the point of introducing her if she only gets cut?) and Leneshe Young are gone. They show Leneshe's final thoughts because apparently a few people still care about her at this point.

Room 1 gets the news next. The judges make them sweat by using ambiguous language, but they get through, of course. Anoop Desai, Scott MacIntyre, Danny Gokey, Jamar Rogers, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds, Jorge Nunez and Jackie Tohn are the "ones that matter."

Room 4 is insecure because they've already heard two cheers. The odds for them aren't good. Tatiana, sitting shunned off to the side, cries before the judges even tell them the news. Their statements definitely imply that it's a no. Matt Breitzke finally has the courage to ask "It's a no right?" "No, it's a yes," answers Paula. Jubilation abounds. Tatiana, Jackie Midkiff (who?), Cody Sheldon, Junot Joyner, Nick Mitchell, Felicia Barton (whom we only saw briefly), Matt Breitzke, T.K. Hash and Anne Marie Boskovich are the spotlighted ones.

Tomorrow they reveal the Top 36 at the judges' mansion. The judges have a mansion? Oh, and apparently there's a twist! Some of them are going to have to sing for their survival! How...reality TV. I can't wait to see who gets through! Of course, I have a good idea thanks to the spoilers I've read, but just in case! I'm itching to make some predictions! Thanks to reading the wisdom found on sites like What Not to Sing I hope to be more accurate this year!

Get ready for a big day tomorrow!