American Idol: Hollywood Round 3

Hello folks! We're progressing even closer towards LIVE IDOL. We just have to get through this week. And tonight we've seen even more promise for the top 36, and even top 12 (still mostly dominated by powerful male singers). But tonight just seems like a stepping stone to tomorrow's episode when we will reveal our top 36. We split the hopefuls into 4 rooms, had some drama with crazy Tatiana and Norman Gentle. And at the end of the day 3 of the rooms moved on to Round 4. We didn't get an official number but it's somewhere between 36 and 72 (split the difference maybe??) So since tomorrow night we will reveal our top 36 and try to pick our top 12 from that, I'm just going to do a quick highlighting of who is still alive and kicking.

Here goes:

1. Adam Lambert - 26 - Rocking Theater Guy. I thought he has been great in the Hollywood rounds and tonight I finally remembered him from the auditions. He sounds very Broadway. But he's too good to not let through. And he might just be able to break through that Broadway mold with his talent. Although, his aspirations to take twists on songs you wouldn't expect sounds very David Cook copy cat'ish. Although, I don't think even Cook would've tried to remake a Cher song. He stuck with Mariah Carey tunes exclusively! I can see this guy as a top 12'er but there's some stiff competition.
2. Matt Giraud - 26 - Dueling Piano guy. Well, finally seeing this guy behind the piano sold it for me. He is AWESOME! His rendition of "Georgia" and his skils on the ebony and ivory (or plastic in this case) are fantastic. Definitely a new one to watch, and I may be rooting for him!
3. Jamar Rogers - 26 - Danny Gokey's friend took a step down in my book this week. Not that he's been fantastic all the way through, but his version of "Hey There Delilah" left something to be desired. What was with the short notes in some spots? Did he think that sounded good? Apparently the judges did too! Oh well, top 36'er most likely, but he may be parting ways with his buddy before the top 12.
4. Danny Gokey - 28 - Still awesome. Interesting choice of doing "I hope you Dance" (or maybe it's just called "Dance"?), but it would seem they only had so many songs to choose from. And he nailed it, and got Paula to start making her googly eyes and stand-up/arm raised poses and dreaming of watermelons and strawberries and everything under the rainbow! Danny has been the favorite for me so far, and I think Matt Giraud just pulled up to even keel for me. Let's see how this pans out!
5. Anoop Desai - 21 - Man, I like this guy too! He likes pulling out the old school jams, Boys II Men, Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" and he knocks them out of the park. This guy HAS to be a top 12'er too. I'll be disappointed if he isn't.
6. Jorge Nunez - 20 - Didn't see a lot of this dude, but i think Idol is pimpin him to stick around for a bit. We'll see. (I struck a nerve with an anonymous commenter when I said he was better than Anthony "Sergei" Federov on Jon Secada's "Angel" so since I struck that nerve, expect me to give this guy even more compliments just for the heck of it! Because if there's one guy from the past that I don't mind continuing to make fun of...it's ol' Sergei!)
7. Scott Macintyre - 23 - We finally got to see the partially blind Scott in his comfort zone playing piano and rocking out to Daughtry's "Home." (well...maybe not rocking) He sounded good and I'm sure he's a shoo-in for the top 36 (maybe even top 12), but I can't say his voice or piano skills were as polished as Matt Giraud. But it's tough to compare the 2 since one is blind and the other is not. It makes me look shallow to even try! So, for now I will continue to support Scott! (and also because he sang Billy Joel in his audition!)
8. Kendall Beard - 23 - didn't see much of her but she sang Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" I have in my notes that she auditioned in Puerto Rico but she's from Texas and my reaction to the snippet was "...eh..."
9. Stevie Wright - 16 - Did Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" and sounded okay. Not much heard again.
10. Lil Rounds -23 - one word in my notes for her version of Alicia Key's "If I Ain't Got You" ...."ugh"... She's a top 12'er and I already hate her.
11. Kristin McNamara - 22 - butchered Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" but it's okay, she survived the drama from Group night so she gets a pass from the judges! She will probably be a top 36er that no one votes for.
12. Misharonna Hensa - 18 - Season 7 Hollywood Girl continues her dream for one more day. We'll see if she continues. I didn't hear much either way to be able to judge her. I don't even know if I spelled her name wrong. But her first name sure looks like "My Sharona!"
13. Tatiana Del Toro - 23 - I've had enough of this girl. But the judges haven't apparently. I guess she can carry a tune, but she does it in an annoying way, and her personality is a "-23" on a scale from 1-10.
14. Alexis Grace - 20 - Didn't see much but she did a decent rendition of "Before He Cheats"
15. Kenny Huffpaur - 16 - Weird rendition of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"
16. Jasmine Murray - 16 - okay version of Jordin Spark's "Tattoo" but she's been good up until now, so she gets a pass. But remember, she's only 16! Any sign of weakness is a bad one!
17. Nathaniel Marshall - The male counterpart to Tatiana. Get rid of this guy. He keeps singing girl songs like Rhianna's "Disturbia." Oooh he tried to butch it up with the guitar. Didn't work man. Why don't you put that music back in your skin!? (I mean seriously, who says that???)
18. Joanna Pacitti - 23 - If she continues to progress towards that top 12, she will continue to be criticized even more for having a previous record deal (even Kara recognizing her during the audition!). It will be interesting to see if the masses will vote for her knowing her prior experience. Or if the masses won't care, or don't remember! Oh and she forgot her lyrics but continues on.
19. Casey Carlson - 20 - Forgot lyrics, but continues on.
20. Stephen Fowler - 26 - Sang David Cook's "Time of My Life" but pretty much forgets ALL of the words. He plays piano though and is a decent singer. We'll see what happens tomorrow!
21. Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle) - Seriously, they let him through again? If they send him to the live rounds, they better watch out! Vote for the Worst will have a field day with him!
22. Ann Marie Boscovich - 22 - Didn't hear much.
23. Ju'Not Joyner - 26 - Interesting take on "Hey There Delilah." I kinda dug it.
24. Kai Kalana - 26 - Lost his voice, but got through.
25. Michael Sarver - 27 - Oil guy is still sounding good and moving on. Looks like he'll be singing for his life tomorrow night.

Others who we saw make it in but not really featured:

Arianna somebody, Frankie "I think I'm Amy Winehouse", Matt Breitzke (Baldy), T.K. Hatch, Jackie Tohn, etc....

Farewell to:

• India - rapper girl
• Leneshe - Slumdog Natti-airre
• Jason Castro's Brother - Michael?? Eh who cares he's gone!

So I wonder if it's safe to say the 25 we saw featured will be in the top 36 or if they're going to throw some unknowns at us? I know I've developed some favorites already so we'll see if any twists come with tomorrow's new format to unveil the top 36. I'm also not sure if we have to stick to the same rules as we have been sticking to since season 4. Ever since then, we've had 6 guys and 6 girls in the top 12. But they ensured this would happen by splitting the girls and guys up in the semi-finals. It appears we will be returning to season 1-3 format where all spots are up for grabs. And if that's the case, get ready for 11 guys and ugh...Lil Rounds! I know I know...I exaggerate, but probably not by much!

I think I've blabbed on enough for tonight. Tomorrow's blog will be short and sweet (hopefully!). It's a 2 hour episode, but I will list the Top 36 and pick my top 12 and then we'll move on to bigger and better (or potentially worse) things! See you tomorrow!