Last night we got to see this season’s Top 12 girls perform, and tonight the guys get their chance.

Before we jump in, though, there’s a little news tidbit I’d love your thoughts on.
Legendary singer Patti LaBelle voiced her thoughts about the Idol judges in an Associated Press story, saying she didn’t think some were qualified to judge and adding, “The comments that were made, they could make you like wanna kill yourself.”
Another tidbit: LaBelle told AP that she was asked to be a judge on the show way back in the beginning of the show, although Idol hasn’t confirmed that.
So what do you think about LaBelle’s comments? How do you think Ellen did last night? Are Randy, Kara and Simon – all industry veterans – actually doing a good job guiding the budding careers of Idol wannabes?
Performing tonight (in no particular order) are:

Aaron Kelly
Alex Lambert
Andrew Garcia
Casey James
Jermaine Sellers
Joe Munoz
John Park
Lee Dewyze
Michael Lynche
Tim Urban
Todrick Hall
Tyler Grady
And here we go!
Ryan asks Randy to rate the guys, and he says that they’re a diverse group. Kara says their biggest obstacle is nerves. Ellen says she was “shocked” that the show is totally different than watching at home; the mix is different, you can hear every little flaw at home. Simon says he watched rehearsals, and he saw an awful lot of nerves, and warned the guys that if they forget the words or mess up tonight, their “career is over.”
Todrick Hall is up first, singing a funky version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone.” It’s OK, not great. He does have a good voice but this isn’t a great performance. The crowd seems to like it. Ellen says that she loved that he did something different with the song, but the singing wasn’t the greatest. Randy says he obliterated the original and it wasn’t great; it was over the top. Kara agrees with Randy, that Todrick didn’t need to rearrange the whole song to show he can sing. Simon says he looked like a dancer who can sing, rather than a singer who can dance. He says Todrick completely murdered the original and what he did was “verging on stupid.”
Aaron Kelly is up next singing Rascal Flatts’ “Here Comes Goodbye.” He has a good voice, but it’s a little weird watching a 16 year old singing a song about lost love like this. He’s too young, LOL. Simon says that bearing in mind it’s his first live show, it was quite a good performance. Simon says he looks like he’s embarrassed to be there and he needs to build his confidence. Kara says he’s her favorite kind of contestant because he has no idea how good he is; this competition will only make him better. Randy he’s got a huge voice and he agrees with Kara and Simon. Ellen says she thinks Aaron will be here a long time, and loves how humble he is.
Jermaine Sellers is singing “Get Here”. It’s not a great song choice; we’re so used to hearing a girl sing it, and he started so high that when he hits the high notes its a bit screechy. And that last note? Uh, not on key, maybe? Ellen says she’s a huge fan and she loves that song, but she didn’t think he was feeling it and was pushing too much and trying too hard. Randy says it was a weird choice – yes, it was – and it was an old song, and he was trying to do too much with it. Kara says that when he does all those runs he needs to make them meaningful. Simon says it’s the kind of song when you’re playing piano in a cocktail lounge some old person would request it, and he tells Jermaine he totally blew his opportunity.
Ryan asks Jermaine about the “drama” in Hollywood Week when he kind of threw the band under the bus. Jermaine said he got made out to look like a diva, and when Ryan asks if he and Michael made up, Jermaine says, “Who’s Michael?” Uh, that would be Idol music director Michael Orland. Jermaine is clearly embarrassed and says he was confused because he sang a Michael Jackson song. Michael Orland comes on stage, it’s all hugs and smiles.
Tim Urban is up next, and let’s see if they comment on Chris GoLightly getting the can and being replaced with Urban.
Trivia: did you know Tim Urban is an indie Christian artist? Check out all of the Idol contestants with ties to Christian music.
Tim Urban explains that when he got the call from Idol producers, he decided not to tell his family and let them see it on TV instead. They freaked out. No mention of GoLightly.
Tonight, Tim’s singing “Apologize” by One Republic. He isn’t hitting the high notes … at all. Poor Tim. He’s a cutie and with a better song I think he’d stick around for a while. This was a bad song choice, and he’s doing this wide-eyed, deer in the headlights look into the camera. Simon says congrats on coming back but he thought that they made the right decision the first time around to not keep him in the competition. Simon says he doesn’t think Tim’s voice is strong enough, but if he goes through he needs to get things together. Kara said the music swallowed him up; that in Hollywood it was more organic just him and his guitar. Randy says it was just really the wrong song, he didn’t pull off the falsetto, and he thinks Tim is better than that. Ellen says it was smart to choose a song people like and know, but it was the wrong song, although he’s adorable and he may get a lot of votes just because of that.
Well, unless someone really drops a stink bomb tonight, Tim might be in trouble.
Joe Munoz is up next, and he and Tim have one thing in common: viewers really don’t know much about them. We can probably put Lee Dewyze in that group, too.
Have we even seen Joe Munoz sing? I don’t remember any of this audition clips. Well, he’s singing Jason Mraz tonight. Wow, he’s good! You can tell he can also sing fluently in Spanish. He’s adorable; I wish they had featured him more during auditions. Ellen says she can tell he’s so comfortable on stage; I agree. She liked it. Randy says it wasn’t quite the perfect song choice but he has a great voice and he did a good job with it. Dawg. Kara says she liked that he picked a song she wouldn’t have picked for him. She says he’s been the best so far. Simon kind of agrees, but with this show you need to get out of the bubble, and he’s not the kind of artist who can sell records all over the world; he says Joe failed to use his few minutes to prove he can be a star. Simon called it “limp” and “unforgettable.”
Tyler Grady is up next, with his own rendition of “American Woman.” It’s stripped down at the start and then launches into full on rock. LOL, this kid is comfortable fronting a band. He can sing, he’s great on stage, he can work the crowd. Simon says on the plus side, people are going to remember that performance. On the downside, he comes over as somebody who’s gone to “pretend to be a rock star” school; he’s cliche. He says he needs to stop being so predictable. Kara says he does have a frontman personality and can be a star, but he needs to bring it into this decade. Randy agrees, and it’s time to change the game. Ellen says he’s going through the motions without “being that person”. Randy tells him to “be an original.” One thing that’s interesting: the judges have see way more of Tyler than we have, so they may be overdosed on his 70s persona; but I feel like we saw it for the first time finally and I wasn’t sick of it at all. If he does it every week? Well, yeah. But he’s fresh for us, if not for the judges.
Lee DeWyze is showing us what he does best: plays the guitar and sings, performing Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”. Lee has this great, raw voice, even if he’s pitchy once in a while. I love him. Ellen said it was a really good song choice except when he started screaming it a little bit. But she loves the tone of his voice and that it’s distinctive. Randy says, “Aw, Dawg.” He didn’t like the song, thought it was too rangy, and thinks Lee is more rocker and this song was too pop/rock for him. Kara says he tried to change the song up too much to give it enough range to suit his voice and it was almost unrecognizable in parts, and next time he should pick something like Bad Company. Simon disagrees with Randy and Kara and says Lee is a naturally good singer, he fought for Lee to be there, he still believes in him, and thinks he has an authentically good voice and he’ll do good in the competition. He advises Lee not to do Bad Company,but to follow in David Cook’s footsteps and find a song and make it his own.
Can I just say that I’m glad that Ellen and Simon agreed on Lee? It proves first, that they’re not at odd, and second, that Ellen does know something about music. I’ve agreed with almost all of her thoughts so far. She may not know how to produce an album or write a song, but she knows what people like.
Ryan asks Lee what it feel like on the stage, and Lee says, “It feels like I don’t ever want to lose this feeling.”
John Park’s video recaps the comments Shania made about John during his audition. That was hilarious; he said he’d marry her. Haha. John’s singing “God Bless The Child”. Hmm, John has a good voice, but maybe this wasn’t the best song for him. Although it’s getting better once he worked the nerves out. Simon says a singer needs an incredible song to take on that song, and John doesn’t. He called it flat and emotionless and a pointless performance. Kara agrees with Simon; she says John has a really big voice, but it got loungy, sleepy and indugent. Randy says when he hit the bridge and did the runs, it sounded like the John from Hollywood, but his voice didn’t suit this song. Ellen says that song isn’t going to get a lot of young girls to pick up the phone, but she liked his performance and she likes him a lot.
Ryan asks him why he chose the song, and he says the song has meaning for him because of his parents.
Michael Lynche, who got oodles of attention during Hollywood Week because his wife had their baby while he was in L.A., sings Maroon 5’s “This Love”, giving it a funky vibe. With all of thos muscles (he’s a personal trainer), Lynche does not have that “guy with a guitar” look, LOL, but he’s so good. Ellen says Mike has so much personality that it’s bursting out of him. She thought it was a great song choice. Randy agrees with Ellen, likes his energy, his personality, but when he picked Ellen and Randy up in Hollywood, he hurt them. haha. Kara said it was a little depressing in there until he came up. She said if there had been more great performances tonight they’d be more critical, because it wasn’t a great performance. Simon says he was like the support act before the main act, and that he delivered so little with that performance. He says that we’re interested because of his personality but his performance doesn’t deliver, and that he’s better than that.
Ellen tells Ryan that everyone already loves Michael because of his wife and the baby, but he shouldn’t rely too much on that. He needs to pick good songs.
High school student Alex Lambert is up next, and he comments about group auditions when Mary Powers called him “the weakest link”. He’s another adorable contestant. Alex is singing “What A Wonderful World”. He starts out OK but he seems really uncomfortable on the stage, and he has moments when it seem likehe remembers people are watching. I hope nerves don’t get the best of him. He has a good voice but his inexperience is showing a bit. Simon says, “I dont know who was happier for that performance to end, you or me.” And he talks about Alex’s naturally good voice but his nerves showed. Alex calls him sir, and Simon says he doesn’t have to call him sur. Kara says she wants to give him a hug. She says his tone is crazy and he’s switching up melodies, and it’s all there but it’s just not together. Randy say he’s got the voice and has great tone, but he needs to pull it all together. Ellen likes him and that he’s holding onto the mullet and she’ll support him in that. She likens him to a not-quite-ripe banana … which is a weird analogy but it’s exactly right. All of the judges say they like Alex and they want him to stay.
Alex tells Ryan he’s performed three times in coffee shops for maybe 20 people, so his nerves are understandable. Hopefully next week he’ll be more at ease on stage.
Casey James is up next, and he’s good, but I’m sick of the whole “isn’t he hot” thing. No, he is not hot. And no, Kara doesn’t like you. He says in his video he might be singing to Kara. Oh grow up. Casey sings a Bryan Adams song, and while he’s good, I just can’t watch him. Button that shirt, Casey. Shave, get a hair cut. This whole sexy guy with a guitar thing is gross. Maybe the problem is just that I hate this song. And I don’t like it any better now. Kara goes first, and she’s acting like an idiot. Ellen says she could feel Kara undressing him with her eye so she couldn’t focus. Seriously, Ellen says she’s sorry about the goofing around but he’s going to get mad votes so there’s no worry. Randy says he likes him, too, but not like Kara does. Kara says, “Seriously, all jokes aside, you are eye candy, but you are ear candy, too.” Simon says that he understands that they both were cursed with good looks, hahaha. Simon said it was a good song choice, he’s likeable, and it was the best singing he’s done so far in the competition. The judges think he’s a great singer.
Ryan jokes that tomorrow is Kara’s HR meeting. Hahaha, remember Paula’s little romantic asides? Not so funny to play around like that.
Closing the show is Andrew Garcia singing “Sugar We’re Going Down” by Fall Out Boy, just him and the guitar. The band and back up singers come in a bit. I love love love Andrew, but this song sounded just a little bit too high? Boring? But what do I know. Simon says he was looking forward to hearing him more than anyone else, but he was disappointed, calling it too serious, too indulgent and forgetable. Simon is really, really disappointed. Kara said it was a strange rick on that song because it’s not meant to be acoustic. Randy says the arrangement was strange, but he’s a fan and wants him to go back to being himself. Ellen says she’s a fan and is thrilled that he’s on the show. But is looking forward to him performing a song that’ll let him open up more.
Good grief, when they do the play backs? Jermaine is horrible. Wow.
So who do you think is going home tomorrow? I think possibilities are Todrick Hall, Tim Urban and Jermaine Sellers.
Tomorrow night, 2 guys and 2 girls go home, and we get performances from Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen.
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