Top 12 Guys - Bring on the Averageness!

So now it's the guys' turn. After reading some of the other blogs from last night, it looks like I was more charitable to the girls than most people were. I try not to let the opinions of others influence my ratings, though perhaps a second viewing would've made me agree with the harsher critics out there. Oh well. Let's see how the men fare in their first turns on the Idol stage. We have a lot more acoustic guitar-player types this year. The big question is: will they be cool, creative Kris Allens, or will they be gimmicky, moderately-talented Jason Castros? Tonight we may get a glimpse into the answer.

Leading things off is playwright/scam artist Todrick Hall from Arlington, TX. His song choice? Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone." Wow. Bold. I'm sure Mike V. is going to hate this. Todrick switches it up and makes it into some smooth, jazzy type of soul thing. The vocals aren't the greatest, but the creativity adds some spark to it. As much as I want to hate him for scamming people out of money, I gotta give him credit here. It was nice to see some real originality. The judges all like his talent, but aren't fans of the new arrangement.

Sonestown, PA's Aaron Kelly takes on "Here Comes Goodbye," performed by Rascal Flatts and co-written by former Idol contestant Chris Sligh! Aaron sounds like a less-lispy, country-tinged Kevin Covais. You can tell the kid's nervous. While this performance has a very amateurish feel to it (not totally inappropriate, since he's obviously not a professional singer), it's much better than I was expecting. I gotta give him some props. The judges all concur that he was good enough to deserve another week. Aaron sure likes to smile. I guess that'll give him the likability factor.

Next is Jermaine Sellers, a church singer from Joliet, IL. Nice town. I took a train visit there this summer. Which former Idol contestant's song is he going to do? His pick is "Get Here," popularly done by Oleta Adams. Sooooo...Justin Guarini then? Jermaine starts off sounding too soft and slightly off-key and has moments of sounding breathy and strangled as it goes on, before finally reaching his screechy upper register and overbelting. Sorry, Jermaine. I'd love to see a fellow Illinoisan have some success on this show, but that wasn't good. The judges seem to be more critical of the song choice than the performance itself. Whatever. Neither was all that inspired.

Tim Urban, who replaced the whiny Chris Golightly, didn't tell his family he was called back for Idol because he wanted to surprise them. There's a prank for the ages. The Duncanville, TX native reminds me of Jon Peter Lewis. Is that good or bad? I dunno. He's doing "Apologize" by OneRepublic, and the head voice parts are weak. I didn't think he was anything special back in Hollywood, and he's not changing my mind here. His control needs some work. He's clearly got some talent, but it's not up to the standards of an Idol. The judges all agree it didn't work.

Joe Munoz, this year's no-screentime, blatantly-fodder contestant, is from Huntington Park, CA. Based on the Hollywood clips he seems like another guitar guy. He takes on Jason Mraz' "You and I Both," forgoing the guitar. Hmmm. This guy's actually a good singer. He reminds me a little of David Hernandez, but I won't hold that against him, since David was actually somewhat likable before he got eliminated and started famewhoring it up. Joe sounds weak on a few notes, which are probably nerve-related. It's not a great performance, but definitely a solid one. The judges are all generally positive, and Kara even calls him the best of the night so far. Simon, knowing that this guy isn't supposed to succeed, tries to bury him by calling him forgettable. I think Joe might be in some trouble due to his lack of screentime, but I think he deserves another week.

We have an interesting old-school rocker in Nazareth, PA's Tyler Grady. He's doing "American Woman" by The Guess Who. Ehhhh. I kind of want to like this guy, but this performance doesn't do anything for me. It's a heavy rocker, and this muted backing track sounds too wimpy for it to be believable. Vocally I hear nothing special. The judges all want to see him add his style to something that'll connect with a modern audience. That's probably the best advice if he wants to succeed on Idol.

Lee DeWyze is from Chicago (yeah!). He's the first guy tonight who actually picks up the guitar, for a rendition of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars." I'm not a big fan of this song. It's bland, boring Britpop, though Lee tries to make it an American modern-rocker. I do like the tone to Lee's voice. He sounds like a potentially good singer, but it's hard to tell with all the off-key moments, particularly in the chorus. I'd kind of like to see him do well, as he seems like a cool guy with talent. The performance just didn't work. The lesser three judges hate the song choice and his arrangement of it, but Simon says it was the best of the night so far. Eh. I disagree, but I'm interested to see what else Lee can do.

John Park is from Northbrook, IL, (yeah!) and wants to marry Shania Twain. Hey maybe he should sing one of her songs! On second thought, that might be a little creepy. He's singing the jazz standard "God Bless the Child." Wow. Interesting choice. It's not the most exciting song, but John sings it competently. Pretty good, I just wish there were more of a "wow" factor. The judges all hate the song choice and feel like the performance missed the mark. What a shame. I thought it was better than that. I hope that doesn't bode ill for John.

The man who wasn't kicked out after all, St. Petersburg, FL's Michael Lynche, talks again about his daughter being born during Hollywood, since people just eat that stuff up. He's a personal trainer, so I guess all that bulk must be muscle. He's doing Maroon 5's "This Love" and becomes the second contestant of the night to pick up the guitar for his performance. Good song. The vocals aren't horrible, but they don't impress me much (don't worry John, I'm not stealing your girl). There's not much range in this song, so the whole thing comes across as a "whatever." Maybe I'm just jaded. The judges agree, however, that it was nothing special, so maybe they're equally jaded or...it actually wasn't great.

Alex Lambert from North Richland Hills, TX rocks the mullet and sings "Wonderful World" by James Morrison. There's a Gokey-esque quality to his voice, a Glambert-esque quality to his name and a Wagner-Trugman-esque quality to his comfort on stage. You can tell the guy's super-nervous, but surprisingly, I kind of like elements of his performance. His tone is nice, and if you take away the quavery moments he delivers the song decently. I think Alex has some potential, even if this performance wasn't as good as it could've been. Simon comes down on him for being so awkward, and Alex admits he hasn't performed in front of an audience too many times. It shows, brotha.

Say, did you know Fort Worth, TX's Casey James removed his shirt at his audition? I don't think they've shown the clip enough, and it'd be a shame for that vitally important piece of information to escape you. Kara DioGuardi has a huge crush on him because of it! His song choice is Bryan Adams' "Heaven," and it's probably the best performance of the night. You can tell he's a seasoned pro (he does introduce himself as a working musician, after all), as he seems totally comfortable on stage and delivers vocally. The judges give him his rightful praise, though I'm still slightly creeped out by the fact that he looks like a male Kady Malloy (does anyone besides me even remember her?).

Finally, Andrew Garcia, who I knew would get the pimp spot before the show even began, closes us out. What does the Moreno Valley, CA native choose? Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Goin Down." I don't know this song, so I couldn't tell you if he changed it up or anything, but it seems like he stays in the same zone the entire time and never strays from it. It's not bad, but it's hardly interesting. The judges all agree with me that it was nothing distinctive or special, vindicating my opinion of their chosen male.

Unlike last night, the performance recap montage runs smoothly. Glad somebody got something right around there for a change. I'm even more surprised that only four of these guys played the guitar tonight. It seemed like there'd be more.

My Performance Ranking:

Casey (7.5/10)
Todrick (7/10)
John (6/10)
Joe (5.2/10)
Aaron (5.1/10)
Andrew (5/10)
Michael (4.5/10)
Alex (4.4/10)
Tim (4/10)
Tyler (3/10)
Lee (2.2/10)
Jermaine (2/10)

My picks to go home: Jermaine and Joe

Jermaine bombed, and I don't think he has the fan support to overcome it, while I fear Simon's comment about Joe not being memorable may have some merit. Unpimped contestants like Joe have to do extra well or have a hook (e.g. a cute kid or a distinctive look) to stay in it, and he may fall short there. It'll be interesting to see how America votes with him.

For what's supposed to be a girl's year, I didn't think the girls were significantly more impressive in this first week. We'll see over time who's got it and who hasn't. See you tomorrow when four people get the axe!