One last shot

I had completely forgotten about David Archuleta, the 16-year-old who had had vocal paralysis. I don't know how I could have let him slip out of my mind - he's so good and so young... too young to be so good. They actually show one of the back-up singers wiping tears away while sings - I wonder if that was about him or if it's totally unrelated... but still... he's just incredible - he could win the whole thing, I think. Just such a clear and beautiful tone... really wonderful. Of course the judges all say yes, so he's through to the next round.

My adorable dork is back and he picks a great song for his voice - I think he's great, but I wonder if the judges think he might be too "geeky" to put on TV. Randy tells him that it was actually really good, but Paula says it was safe. I think they're both right... but there's nothing wrong with playing it safe - at least not this early. He picked a song that would show off his voice - where's the shame in that? Simon apologizes for storming out the other day and tells him that his performance was very good. So, he gets a yes from all three judges and he's through, too.

Jeffrey Lampkin, the super energetic guy who had tried out with his sister doesn't do so well - he's kind of pitchy and a bit over dramatic during his audition. Paula tells him, "I believe you know it kind of fell apart."

Joey Catalano, who I think I really enjoyed during auditions, is kind of dull this time around and they send him home.

Syesha Mercado, the girl who had kind of lost her voice during Hollywood week somehow works it out and really kills it in her final audition. The judges love her and she's through to the next round.

Australian Michael Johns sings "Bohemian Rhapsody" and it's insane!!! I love that song anyway, but what a great job he did with it - beautiful. Judges send him through, of course. Simon even tells him it was the best audition of the day.

Carly Smithson is through, too. I'm not sure about her yet. I mean, I like her voice and everything - there's just nothing really interesting about her yet. But she sings beautifully, so I'm sure there will be plenty of time to know more about her.

Asia'h Epperson, the girl whose father was killed in a crash while she was on her way to the audition, is through, too, but Brooke Helvie, the girl Simon said was annoying, is cut.

Josiah Leming is the last one to audition and because of some misunderstandings, he hasn't had time to go through his song with the band. He does a smart thing, I think, when he walks into the audition. Instead of feeling like the band screwed him up, he asks them to let him audition by himself. Unfortunately, he picked "Stand By Me," which is a beautiful song when accompanied by music. I think this guy felt too much pressure way to early to make the song his own and I just can't imagine they'll let him through - the audition is just not really good. BUt they do et him through, based on his other performances. Interesting.

Well, that's it... tomorrow's the big day. I'm kind of getting excited again. Tonight was a good show - so much better now that the garbage is gone - it was just talent tonight and it was really nice to see.

And the cuts begin...

I have a real weakness for adorable dorks and can you get any more adorable than Kyle Ensley, of Valliant, Okla., who got assigned to a hotel room with two girls in it? He's just too cute for words - he actually reminds me of Patrick Dempsey in "Can't Buy Me Love," before he grew up and got all hot and sophisticated. Anyway, he's just super cute and Paula seems to like him, too, so I'm hopeful we'll see more of him. Well, Paula tells him his performance was a little corny, but that there's always a spirit like his needed in the performance arena. Simon tells him it was abysmal. As Paula goes on about his spirit, Simon gets annoyed and walks out. And they don't tell us Kyle's fate just yet. I'll keep my fingers crossed for him, although it doesn't look good.

But for now, we're on to the last-shot singing round, where the people who didn't get automatically sent to the next round have one last shot to sing for their lives, and how sad that Suzanne Toon and Perrie Cataldo are both here. They are both single parents who talked about giving their kids better opportunities and I was rooting for both of them. But it's over for the two of them and they handle it really well - no drama, just disappointment.

Amy Flynn, despite being very young and a bit pouty, is a little endearing. She really is as innocent as she appears - she's the girl who preaches abstinence - and there's something very refreshing about the purity of her character. But they actually send her home and I'm a little surprised - she actually has a very nice voice. I would have liked to see more of her. I can only venture a guess that they thought she had time to grow - she's only 16 - maybe she'll be back next year.

Angelica Puente, the girl who tried out to make her father proud, got cut, as did Kayla Hatfield, bthe girl who had been a bad car accident. I remember her not being that good, so I'm not terribly surprised that she got cut, although she seemed pretty shocked. She was crying so hard, she could barely breathe - she couldn't manage to get a word out for an interview.

Kristy Lee Cook was someone I could have rooted for, but I have such a problem with people who rely on one song to get them through. If all you can do is sing one song well, then you're not a singer. I'm annoyed that she chooses to sing "Amazing Grace" like she did in her audition and I kind of hope they call her on it.

Jeffrey Lampkin, the guy who tried out with his sister, is on the chopping block - his sister was already cut. And Angela Martin, the girl with the disabled daughter, is singing for her life, too. I loved her in the audition round, not so much for her voice, but really for her struggle and since that audition, her struggle has only gotten worse - her father was killed before she got to Hollywood, but she went anyway, trying to make a better life for her daughter.

Well, Jefrrey Lampkin makes it through, as does Kristy Lee Cook (totally not fair) and if I'm not mistaken, my adorable dork makes it, too. Angela Martin is cut, though, and she seems to have a good attitide - she says her daughter needs her and she's going home to be with her, so it's all good.

There's something about Josiah

Josiah Leming, the guy from Tennessee who lives in his car and who sings with a British accent, is starting to grow on me. He plays the keyboard while singing and I really enjoy his voice - he has a very cool sound that I can't really explain. The British accent actually works for him and even though his voice isn't perfectly trained and his vibrato is kind of odd, it all just comes together for him. He's completely unpolished but also kind of uninhibited on stage, so he's not afraid to take risks with his voice or performance - it's very odd, but his audition tonight would have been awful had anyone else attempted it - like I said, it all just comes together for him. The judges feel the same way about him - Randy says he's cool and that he likes him - Paula says he's magical, that he makes people smile... but no one can really pinpoint what it is. Simon tells him that out of all the auditions, this is the one he's going to remember. He gets a yes from all three judges and he's through to the next round.

I have to be a little mean right now. And I hate to do it because I actually really like Danny Noriega, but that haircut has to go - it may be stylish and fashion-forward or whatever, but it makes him look a little bit like a girl. A very pretty girl, but a girl, nonetheless. But besides the girly hair, I love his voice - can't wait to see more. They showed him in a montage with people who did well, so my assumption is that he's through to the next round, along with Ramiele Malubay, the little Filipino girl with the huge voice, Carly Smithson, the Irish girl with all the tattoos who didn't get her visa in time for last season, and Michael Johns, the Australian cutie who reminded me of Heath Ledger (not as much tonight).

Do people really Bryan Adams or do they just think their voices sound good singing his songs? And seriously, of all his songs, I'd say the most painful is "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" and it seems like that's the one people are gravitating toward. But David Cook, of Blue Springs, Mo., unlike Ghaleb before him, sings it really well, despite it being a horribly boring tune. Randy and Paula love him, while Simon thinks he'll appear vulnerable without his guitar. He gets a no from Simon, but Randy and Paula put him through to the next round. I hope they give him a haircut - his hair is just awful. Oh how funny... not even 5 minutes later, David's being interviewed by Ryan and they're talking about how Simon wasn't crazy about him and he tells Ryan, "I think he's just not a fan of my hair..." Really? Ugh...please cut it...

Oh boy... more Bryan Adams... I almost can't stomach it.... Except I do love Robbie Carrico, of Melbourne, Fla.. Just a beautiful clear tone to his voice - wow. Hope there's more of him later.

Some familiar faces

I feel like we've seen David Hernandez, of Glendale, Ariz., although I can't really remember. I will, however, remember him now. I really like his voice - and for me, the guys so far this season haven't been all that great, so I'm hoping the judges like this guy because I certainly do. Paula loves him right away, she's clapping and nodding along, so I feel pretty confident he'll go on to the next round. I hope they make him grow his hair out a bit. I like men with short hair, but I feel like his hair is just a little too short - maybe a different style would add something to his face. I mean, he's an attractive guy - I just think he'd look better with something different. Anyway, Randy tells him he liked it from the first note and Simon says that he looks really comfortable on stage. Of course, all three judges say yes, so he's safe until the next round.

So Amanda Overmeyer, the rocker nurse from Indiana, is back and she's been in a really bad car accident - she broke a few ribs and has like 12 staples in her head, but she's carrying on... she sings "Light My Fire" and while I love her and liked her performance, I'm beginning to wonder about her voice - it still sounds like she wants to be Janis Joplin with that raspiness and I wonder if she'll be able to switch up her sound. But she's good enough for now - she makes it through. But first, Simon mentions to her that she needs to work on changing up her voice because right now, he knows what all her songs are going to sound like. He's right and I wonder if she'll be good enough to make it past this week.

As expected, the nerves have gotten the best of a few folks. Despite Simon's warning about not forgetting the lyrics - he even says there will be no excuses, that if they forget the words, they'll get a no - many still do.

The first guy to forget the words is Buck Smith, who we definitely didn't see in auditions, and I hope they give him another shot, because what he did sing was really, really good. Cardin McKinney, on the other hand, was not good. I don't remember what I thought of her the first time around, but this time, I'm kind of hoping they cut her - it was that bad. Natasha Blach totally blanked and let a few measures go by without saying anything at all. They'll all be back on day three...

Ghaleb Emachah, the Venezuelan guy, is back and while I just adore him, his accent is still really thick - I wish he would have just tried singing in Spanish - I feel like he could have really won them over that way... but instead, he sings Bryan Adams, who is kind of cheesy anyway, and he doesn't do a great job with it. So, it's a no for him - but there's still hope... he has one more shot.

Hollywood with a twist

After weeks of agonizingly boring auditions, 164 contestants have made it to Hollywood week. Ryan mentions a couple of times that this year, Hollywood week will be different, so I'm wondering what they'll do to change it up.

Well, we get to the first difference right away. No one is going to be cut in the first two days. In their auditions, they will hear either yes or no. But this year, no doesn't mean you're out - yet. On the third day, the people who were not let through automatically will have to sing for their lives and only then will they find out if they continue on or not.

I'm not sure who told Brooke White, the girl who's never seen a rated R movie, that horizontal stripes are flattering, but she seems to be rather fond of them. She wore a striped shirt at her first audition and here she is again, with stripes. I suppose when you're as thin as she is, you can wear pretty much anything and still look good. I'm not bitter...

For the first time this year, contestants are allowed to play instruments, and she chooses to play keyboard as she sings. I like the new addition of instruments - for one, I think it helps keep them in tune, but besides that, it's just much more entertaining for viewers - it's a real performance instead of listening to voice after voice without accompaniment. But anyway, she does a good job - I don't think her voice is strong enough to win the whole thing, but I wouldn't mind hearing her again. Simon tells her she has great potential and Paula tells her the risk of playing an instrument was worth it and Randy says yes 100%. Paula and Simon say yes too and she's through to the next round.

Lorena Pinot, whom I vaguely remember from Miami, will have to sing for her life, as will Amy Flynn, the dance captain who preaches about abstinence, and Leo Marlowe, who I know we've seen, but I just can't remember at all. That's the problem with this season - there's just no one who sticks out - at least not yet.

Apparently the intrument thing didn't work out for a few people - Simon criticizes a bunch of them - even Jake Mellema, who sings while playing the drums. I actually thought he was pretty good, but the judges hate it. I think it was the song - he chose "Hooked On a Feeling," which they didn't like. Simon tells him there was nothing redeeming about it other than the fact that they stopped it early. I think that's way too harsh - it wasn't all that bad, really... but looks like he's going to have to come back on day three to sing for his life, too.