Jessie Langseth — Tell Me Somethin’ Good by Rufus and Chaka Khan
I will forever associate this song with That ’70s Show where Eric catches his parents in a ‘delicate situation.’ I like her voice, but it’s not the best. For some reason the camera guy keeps focusing on her hippie parents. Randy & Kara call her on being pitchy. Paula loves her. Simon’s glad they picked her & she’s a lot better since last time, although indulgent. By the way, in HD that girl’s got great skin. It’s pretty sick.
Matt Giraud — Who’s Loving You by The Jackson 5
Jason Segel is singing for us tonight. Just kidding. It’s Matt. But man, doesn’t he look like Nick Andopolis? I keep expecting him to talk about his excessively huge drum kit & wax nostalgic about John Bonham. Kara thanks Matt that the bluesy Matt is back, rather than the bland Matt. Paula thinks he’s in the zone. Simon keeps tweaking Paula. Simon calls it a billion times better than last week, but he hates what he’s wearing. It’s too try-hard & Taylor Hick-y. Randy thinks everyone is scared of him.
Megan Joy Corkrey — Black Horse And The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
Would someone give this girl some lessons on stage presence? Seriously. She’s beautiful, but the spastic dancing is really distracting. Glue that girl’s hands to the microphone. Paula makes many references to what she looks like & how she dances. Simon thinks she’s terrific & quirky. Randy agrees that it’s not the best performance, but she makes a good choice. Kara thinks she brings variety to the competition.
Von Smith — Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word by Elton John
Von goes with one of those songs that starts slow & builds to a big note dramatic finish. It’s pretty much the same song he sang last week, just with different lyrics. Simon wants him to stop being Mr. Serious & Safe. Randy reminds Von of his hat from last time. What that has to do with anything, I don’t know. Kara thinks he got too dark. Paula has been studying the way he performs. Ok, that’s a scary thought as it is. But she counsels him to, essentially, be confident. Well, that’s good advice, at least.
Jasmine Murray — Reflection by Christina Aguilera
Ballad. Snore. Kathy calls it the safe teenage girl’s choice of a Disney song. Jasmine can certainly sing, but these ballads don’t really lend themselves to an actual performance. The contestant gets to stand and sing. That’s it. Just stand & sing. Randy thinks it was better, but still too big. Kara’s confused. Paula says she looks lovely. I don’t think Paula’s voting for anyone that she says looks lovely. Simon thinks it was pretty special compared to before. Paula gets all uppity with Simon. She beats on him like a big brother. He tells Jasmine that she’s back in the running.
Ricky Braddy — Superstition by Stevie Wonder
He sure does hope his personality gets him through. Well, golly Ricky, I sure hope so too! What is with this season with the lack of black male contestants & the dearth of soulful white guys? It’s a bit bizarre. I think Ricky does a good job & all but I’m still kind of ‘meh’ about him. Kara says he sings his butt off & has good chops. Paula loves the way he loosened up. Simon thinks he sounded good BUT… Simon thought the song was a bit lightweight & the song a bit karaoke. Randy thinks he can blow, but he agrees about the song.
Tatiana Del Toro — Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston
Tatiana is addicted to sparkles. Sparkly dresses, sparkly makeup, sparkly Paula Abdul jewelry that she HAD to have from QVC. Two words for you Tatiana — matte finish. It can be your friend. She loves to sing. *SOB* Ok, not quite sob, but she gets all misty in her intro reel. Nothing says ballad like sparkly dress. Her dress reminds Kathy of a finger puppet. A very sparkly finger puppet. Ok, so the girl can sing, but can she sing anything other than a ballad? Can she bust out with U & Ur Hand? I don’t think she can. Paula says Tatiana has an accent Paula’s never heard. That’s saying something. Tatiana gets all excited when she does her psychotic laugh. Simon calls her on singing the same song for the third time. Randy calls her a mixed bag of tricks. Kara’s confused again. She falls to her knees and Ryan says she doesn’t have to get up for him. Yikes! Family show!
Anoop Desai — My Prerogative by Bobby Brown
I don’t believe Anoop when he says he’s nasty. Sorry, Anoop. Jai Ho, Anoop. Jai Ho. What he doesn’t bring in nastiness he does bring in fun. The Anoop fan club is in the house. Simon calls him an enthusiastic dog with a cat’s chorus. Simon also admits that he’s got to put personalities through, and not just good singers. Randy thinks Anoop does better with the song than he did the last time & calls him Anoop Brown Dog. Kara actually wanted to dance. Anoop throws down a Duke – North Carolina action, which Kara also appreciates. Paula’s glad that he went back & redid the song. Anoop gives a shout out that it’s the anniversary of Eve Carson’s death & that he’s thinking of Chapel Hill. Way to stand up, Anoop. He better be in the top 12.
So I was wondering how they would do this. Turns out that it only takes the time of a commercial break to decide the fate of 8 people. Good to know.
Jasmine Murray — in
Ricky Braddy — out
Megan Joy Corkrey — in
Tatiana Del Toro — out
Jessie — out
Von Smith — out
Matt Giraud — in WHAT?!
Anoop Desai — in
It’s a Top 13! Anoop makes it in! Eight guys vs. five girls. The competition begins.