American Idol: As I Heard It!

Woohoo, AI is back!!!  And therefore, so is my armchair quarterbacking! 

It seems a little unfair that those who sing on Thursday get two extra days to practice. 
 
This should be interesting.  I was kind of disappointed at some they didn’t put through and couldn’t figure out why some did get through.  Oh well.
 
Tough odds if only 3 of each 12 get through.
 
Jackie Tohn — A Little Less Conversation — For starters, of all the songs she could pick, why that song?  On a scale of 1 to 10, I give her a 3.  And she’s annoying.  How about focusing more on vocals and less on bopping around the stage.  Lame outfit, too.  She will NOT be going through.
 
*Ricky Braddy — A Song for You — Wonderful song choice.  He sang it well, but it’s not exactly contemporary.  It sure beats Jackie though.
 
Too much chatty time between songs. I don’t like Ryan and don’t want to see/hear him natter on.
 
*Alexis Grace — Never Loved a Man — Good song, if you can handle it.  She sang it well, but it seemed to lack excitement.  She has personality — I don’t know what was missing, maybe some power from the band?  She has a voice though.  Whoa, daddy’s got some looooong hair!
 
What are Ted Danson and Doogie Howser doing in the audience?
 
Brent Keith — Hick Town — Well, I don’t like that stuff so . . .  I guess he sang it ok.  Next. 
 
Does Bucky Covington have a career?  I’m glad Simon just asked Paula because if he does, I haven’t heard. 
 
Stevie Wright — You Belong with Me — Don’t know the song.  Poor girl, she’s awful and so’s the song.  It’s a shame she took the place of a more deserving person.
 
Anoop Desai — Angel of Mine — Well sung but I didn’t like listening to that particular high pitch. 
 
Casey Carlson — Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic — What a weird performance.  The attempted sexiness, the weird faces and mouth movements. She needed to focus more on her voice than on these uncomfortable stage shenanigans.  And she was flat several times.  Awful.  She’s a cute girl — I thought she’d come out all cutesy and light.  You can see the poor thing just wants to sink through the floor.
 
Michael Sarver — I Don’t Want to Be — Great song.  Ok, he’s kind of creeping me out.  This is not turning out well.  Bo kicked ass with that song.  This guy kicked his own ass with it.
 
This night is pretty much sucking.
 
Ann Marie Boskovich — Natural Woman.  What was she thinking picking that song?!?!  Her voice is NOT suited to this song, and she had quite a few off notes.  It seemed like she wanted to come out big and blow people away, but lacks the chops.  I expected her to do a little better.
 
Steven Fowler — Rock with You — Is MJ relevant today?  Didn’t he have some funk and soul during the auditions?  I lost of chunk of his performance — DVR glitch or Comcast madness?  He started off weak and then he got better, but nowhere near enough.  Then again, in a night of bad performances . . . .
 
Tatiana Del Toro — Saving All My Love — The ultra annoying one.  This is kind of weird.  She’s a young girl, but she’s acting and sounding kind of oldish.  She has a good voice and with some direction, she could do well, but this is just a little bit strange.  She should have aimed younger.  She was one of the better singers tonight, sadly enough, but will anyone vote for her after being so terribly annoying during the auditions?
 
*Danny Gokey — Hero — This guy can sing, and there’s something so likable about him.  I think this is my favorite performance of the night.  He’s more professional sounding than most of the others and did things to make it his own. 
 
I think the three I highlighted with an asterisk will, or at least should, get through.  For judges’ choice, lord help me but I think the 4th best was Tatiana — curses!
 
So what did you all think?