Round One

I have to say that American Idol's week one has left me quite underwhelmed. Unlike past seasons where there'd be performances that would make me the hair on my arms stand on end and make me feel really excited, this time I was left seriously wanting.

The Ladies. One of my initial favorites, Lilly Scott, sang The Beatles' Fixing A Hole. I loved her performance even if Simon said she lacked star power. At least she sang with confidence and didn't come across as trying too hard. I was disappointed though with Crystal Bowersox's choice of song. She sang it well but Hand In My Pocket merely wasn't the kind of song to show off her singing prowess. I hope she chooses a better song next week and blow everyone's socks off. And I'm adding another one to my favorites: Siobhan Magnus. She sang Chris Isaak's Wicked Game, a song that bores me to death, and although she didn't quite pull it off, I remember her from her incredible final Hollywood week performance and I think she can be a strong contender if she steps up her game as the show progresses. I'm also hoping that Lacey Brown does better. Haeley Vaughn kind of annoys me although a lot of people seem to like her country/pop style while the rest I can hardly remember.

The Gentlemen. Ooh-la-la! The hottie that is Casey James did good. There are a lot of better singers in the group than him but he chose the perfect song, Bryan Adam's Heaven,  for his voice and did a great job. If he remains consistent in his performances, I think he can even make it to top 6 what with the ladies swooning all over him, myself included. I felt slightly letdown by Andrew Garcia's take on Fall Out Boy's Sugar, We're Going Down but I'm sure he'll be able to recover from it next week. I do wonder if he can top his own performance of Paula Abdul's Straight Up. Moving on, I was glad Lee Dewyze got the thumbs up from Simon after singing Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars although it didn't get me excited personally because I didn't think the song was challenging enough to showcase his voice. I'm optimistic about Aaron Kelly and still rooting for 70s rocker dude Tyler Grady. Todrick Hall and Jermaine Sellers reminded me why I'm not a big fan of R&B. All those runs in their singing made me grit my teeth. The other contestants were relatively blah for me.

Results Show. Janelle Wheeler was the first casualty and she deserved it after destroying Heart's What About Love. Ashley Rodriguez was next to be cut after failing to do justice to Alicia Keys Happy and looked totally pissed off. I must say I was a bit surprised that Joe Munoz got the boot instead of Tim Urban. Joe was one of the few guys who did well the night before while the latter totally bombed. I was also sad that Tyler Grady had to go. I really loved his 70s vibe.

I'm crossing my fingers that my favorites will bring it on next week and that everyone will give us a rip-roaring show.


Mood Music: Au Revoir by Flight of the Conchords