American Idol: Season 15 - Top 24 First 12

Hello Idol Nation!  We're back for one final season!  We had some commentary on the auditions and Hollywood week.  I had reservations of starting to recap this week since the show is still prerecorded and America isn't voting.  But you know me.  Eventually, I just get the bug and have to say something!  So I jotted down some brief thoughts on each contestant.  I won't be recapping duet night on Thursday because the judges will be making their cuts on the same night.  So, I'll give some early thoughts on who stands the best chance to be eliminated.

Then, Thursday night we can just sit back and enjoy the soothing sounds of these amateurs with Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Nick Fradiani, Caleb Johnson, Lauren Alaina, Scotty McCreery.  Yep, I made the same groaning noise.  Maybe we're building up to the better Idol alum guests!  Better get Kelly out there before her 3rd trimester!!

Okay, enough of my rambling.  My brief take on the 1st 12 of the Top 24 are after the jump.

1. Stephany Negrete - "Mama Knows Best" by Jessie J - Not bad.  Rubs me the wrong way.  But she sang it powerfully.  Room to grow. 
2. Mackenzie Bourg - "Say Something" by A Great Big World - George Stephanopoulos hits the Idol stage!  This kid is going to do well.  Talented guitar dude.  They always do.  But, it comes as no surprise that I don't want another one like him to win!  
3. Jeneve Mitchell - "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan - Rocking the harp like a true rock star!  Pretty rendition of the tune.  Rhythm was a bit bizarre, but she's got an interesting sound.  Still confused how she knows all of these pop songs living in a house with no power.  My wife tells me they probably listened in the car.  I still smell some fibbing on her part! 
4. Jenna Renae - "My Church" by Maren Morris - Thought the beginning was amazing then the end got a little shaky and I started to think the background singers were bailing her out.  Harry mentioned the pitch issues and I picked up on them near the end as well.  She's an interesting one to look out for though!  
5. James Viii - "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West - Has some skills with the axe.  Liked the riff he played with the melody of the tune.  Girls love him.  Voice is aight. Judges made a good point on song choice.  Not a range of skills shown off in that tune.  
6. Sonica Vaid - "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift w/ Civil Wars - Pretty voice.  Boring song.     Distracting hand motions. 
7. Gianna Isabella - "I Put a Spell on You" by Annie Lenox - She has some inside baseball advantages with her mother the 90s pop star guiding her along, but I already saw her as an early favorite.  (Even if the Idol machine is trying to convince me of that anyway)   She put on a great performance again.  Last note was a little rough.   
8. Emily Brooke - "I Am Invincible" by Cassidy Pope - Really was pulling for her and her comeback story this season.  She seemed to have really improved.  It would be a shame for this performance to be the end of the road for her, but that was really rough.  Song choice was awful (shout out to Voice winner Cassidy Pope).  Hopefully, her duet will do better tomorrow.  
9. Avalon Young - "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber - Kudos for the Phillies logo on her skateboard.  She's really good.  I agree with Harry that she should've mixed it up at the end.  Kind of got old by the end.  Key candidate for "surprise makeover" during the top 12.  But, I'm sure her fans would cry that she sold out! 
10. Jordon Sasser - "All By Myself" by Celine Dion (really it's Eric Carmen Idol folks!) - House V. is not about the Sasser.  Come on, we all know he's an annoying reality TV personality, right?  Performance wasn't very good either.  
11. Thomas Stringfellow - "Creep" by Radiohead - I get he's got a unique voice and it's supposed to be a little off center.  But, it can be a little off-putting at times too.  Still, might be interesting enough to keep around.  5 need to go though.  Judges and crowd loved it so what do I know? 
12. La'Porsha Renae - "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner - Well of course she was good!  Girl can sang.  Does it matter she did a carbon copy Tina performance?  Nope.  She's really good.  Performance, Vocal, Presence.  Everything.  She's got it. 

As mentioned, with the duets Thursday night the best I can do is take an educated guess at the cuts.  (Based on the previews tomorrow's episode already happened!)  Here we go: 

Elimination Picks: Stephany Negrete, Jordon Sasser, James Viii, Sonica Vaid, Jenna Renae

I think Emily Brooke will bounce back in her duet.  I liked Jenna's performance until things got shouty with pitch problems at the end.  And the judges weren't too kind to her.  

Like I said, this could all change by tomorrow night, but this is my initial take!   We can comment after Thursday night's show in the comments here.  And before we know it we'll be hitting that series finale (In April this year?  Ryan said less than 2 months).   It'll be sad to part ways with this blog, but I think I'm ready for it!  Hope you enjoyed my brief ramblings and I'll see you next week!