Idol Watch

American Idol cuts Thia and Naima

The line for the ladies' room in the Idol house got a lot shorter this week as Thia Megia and Naima Adedapo predictably got the boot tonight on the results show. Paul McDonald joined them in the bottom three.

Unlike last week's action-packed results show, tonight's was the typical bloated bore with performances from Fantasia and Jamie Foxx/wil.i.am. Fantasia at least belongs on the Idol stage, she won the show. But Foxx/wil.i.am sang a nonsensical song from the Rio movie whose lyrics consisted solely of the phrase, "I wanna potty/I wanna samba." People are paid millions to write drivel like this.

The sole standout: Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina sang a flawless cover of Randy Travis' '80s country standard, I Told You So. To quote Steven Tyler: "Beautiful."

Follow @HowardCohen on Twitter for live commentary on Idol and Dancing With the Stars.

 

 

American Idol Top 11 tackle Elton John

 
The theme tonight is the music of Elton John. Oh, please, Stefano, don't do Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word or any single like that. I have to cut down on my cheese intake. James, a rocker please (how cool, but unlikely, would it be if he chose The Bitch Is Back?) And Scotty, bet you can find some country in the English songwriter's canon: Country Comfort, Dixie Lily, Turn the Lights Out When You Leave, to name three. Thia, if you pick another Disney tune, The Lion King, I'm voting you off!

I'll be tweeting live commentary on Twitter and will then return here for a recap review later tonight.

 
"What have I gotta do to make you love me?" Jacob Lusk sang on his cover of the 1976 Elton John ballad, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word. I'll answer for you:

• In Jacob's case, just sing straightforward and skip the dramatics. Also, ignore what Randy Jackson told you tonight. Don't go for the glory notes. Just sing. The opening half of his performance was soulful and on point. Gotta add this tho: Love Elton John. My favorite male pop star since I bought my first EJ single in 1973. But I've never loved that song. Just this side of dreary to me and I've felt that way since its release 35 years ago.
• Scotty McReery. Just keep on singing and performing. You, more than anyone else, are the entire package. As Randy noted, Scotty is ready to make an album now, ready to give his own concert now. Amazing when you note he's only 17. But he's good for any age. Love his shoutout to his grandmother in the audience and his performance of Country Comfort was just right. But do note, Scotty: Elton John has written dozens of true country songs in his 40+ year career. You chose the predictable 1970 LP cut, Country Comfort, because it had the word "country" in it and figured that was the only country song Elton cut. A little homework for you. Pick up EJ's Peachtree Road for starters and work backwards.
• Jimmy Iovine, just keep on giving your pointed, astute, excellent coaching advice to the contestants. No other mentor has ever been more forceful and honest and, thus, valuable. Is this how you were in the studio producing Stevie Nicks (Bella Donna) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Damn the Torpedos), Patti Smith (Easter) and Dire Straits (Making Movies) back in the late '70s-early '80s? No wonder these rock superstars did their best albums with you.
• Naima Adedapo. You earned the love, or, at least, a measure of respect for taking EJ's bouncy Pointer Sisters-inspired I'm Still Standing and introducing it to Island Girl, reggae-style. I fear America won't get it and you'll probably be one of the two sent home Thursday night, but go home with grace because you tried something different and it was an interesting arrangement that worked better than I expected.
• James Durbin, listen to Iovine. When he warned you of the dangers of starting a song off stage and not knowing at which point you would hit the stage, his fears were well founded. Your vocals on the locomotive Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting were way too mannered when you were off stage. At no point did you ever truly capture the manic energy of the young 26-year-old Elton John when he first cut that song on 1973's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album but when you did hit the main stage, you were much more convincing. James is still one of Idol's best-ever rockers.
• Thia Megia, do what you did tonight and tell us why you picked the song you did. When it was announced Daniel was the teen's choice, I was nervous. Daniel's storyline might be vague (the missing verse reputedly tells us who Daniel was, something only lyricist Bernie Taupin knows and he didn't tell in 1972 and he ain't telling Idol, either) but we do know the song is adult and moving. Thia explained she was singing it for her brother whom she misses when he's away from home. Armed with that info, the emotion in Thia's tender vocal delivery connected with the lyric and the song worked. Viewers might agree with Randy that it was yet another "safe" ballad and send her home, but if she does leave, she leaves without ever having hit an offkey note. Nice job.
• Lauren Alaina, we've been loving you for what you've been doing these last few weeks but never moreso than tonight. That country-styled redo of Candle in the Wind sounded like it could have been lifted off the Dixie Chicks' Home album. Consider that high praise. That a teen can approximate the knowledgable, emotionally resonate vocals of Natalie Maines when Natalie's on her game is quite impressive. The night's overall best performance.
• Pia Toscana should hope for a Carly Simon Theme week. She could do You're So Vain because this song is about this snooty girl. At this stage, there's nothing that can really make me love pageanty Pia, this season's Katharine McPhee. Every song is a ballad, every song is shouted at the end, every song is delivered devoid of passion, soul, feeling, life or style. Please, America, let the sun go down on Pia soon and don't let her win this whole darned thing.
• Paul McDonald, hit the yellow brick road and take a toothpaste commercial because not all the charisma you muster can make up for your raspy, baby-Rod Stewart voice and sugary songs. That Rocket Man was totally lost in space.
• "What have I gotta do to make you love me?" Haley Reinhart, sing a song without growling your way throught it. The only parts that worked on that cutesy, contrived, junior high school talent show-level rendition of Bennie & the Jets was the B-b-b-b-b stuttering part. B-b-bad. Randy must have sipped the drugs in Steven Tyler's cup when he pronounced that performance the night's best.
• Speaking of the judges, J.Lo, SHUTUP! Stop interrupting Randy (and everyone else) whenever he's talking. You're rude even though I bet you think this show is about you. And Steven Tyler, stop being Ellen DeGeneres. As a judge, you're useless. And where's the hoped-for unpredictable character we met during auditions?
• Stefano Langone smothered Tiny Dancer in Velveeta and turned millions of people's favorite Elton John song (not mine) into a boring, nothing song. "What have I gotta do to make you love me?" you might ask? Go home with grace Thursday night.
• Casey Abrams, lose the attitude you try to mask. You're cocky. You're never going to be a sex symbol. And you aren't nearly as good as you think you are (and not as good as I thought you were during the auditions). Though Iovine cautioned against overdoing it and though you listened, for the most part, that Your Song was still full of pitch control potholes, overly affected vocal gimmicks and a decided lack of charm. Should the judges have saved Casey last week? Sure, he'll be something different on the tour. But that's all the love that is required. Any time he leaves is OK by me.

American Idol's dramatic results: favorite Casey Abrams out, then in; 11 to tour

 
In the most dramatic and jampacked American Idol results show yet, a favorite contestant found himself in the bottom, axed out of the Top 10 summer tour, Stevie Wonder surprised judge Steven Tyler with a rendition of Happy Birthday and wrestler Hulk Hogan punched Ryan Seacrest in the face and sent him sprawling into the audience.

Nope, the last bit there wasn't some fantasy come true but, like wrestling, was a bit of amusing fakery. We learned that James Durbin and Paul McDonald are big wrestling fans so Hulk was brought out to announce the results: both singers are safe and on tour. Afterward, he gives Ryan a fake punch and the host goes bottom up in someone's lap in the front rows.

Tyler looked like a kid on Christmas morning when Wonder rolled onto the stage to sing his Motown oldie but that's probably because in the '70s, during Wonder's heyday, Tyler was too stoned to see Wonder. The show then settled into its usual Results episode banalities. Pop stars like Sugarland and Jennifer Hudson came on to shill their lousy new songs, the Idols pretended they knew who guest mentor Marc Anthony was, and Ryan ladled out the results.

But Ryan promised at the top of the hour "a surprise" result which could only mean that Haley Reinhart was not going home. How surprising would that be? The first surprise came when we learned she wasn't even in the Bottom 3. (She sure should have been.)

Instead, young Disney princess Thia Megia joined Stefano Langone and Fozzie Bear aka Casey Abrams in the Bottom 3.

Given that outcome, for Ryan's "surprise" to register, it would have to mean Thia's is safe. Though she can sing pretty and never seems to go out of tune, she's also not seasoned enough for this competition and needs a few more years of practice and study to truly embody her performances and song choices. But the "surprise" is real. Thia's safe.

This leaves Stefano and Casey as America's bottom two. Truly, after last night, this is not a surprise. Stefano's cheeseball ballads and antiseptic, plasticized overemoting on ballads has run its course. Casey, who started out as the most musically knowledgable and gifted Idol contestant had quickly degenerated into a freak show, given to creepy facial expressions, growling, unmusical vocals and a bit of an attitude that he was above it all.

 Photo: Michael Becker/FOX
America slapped him down. Casey was out. Unless the judges were to use their one-time save.

Of course, you knew they would when Randy Jackson said, "Wow!" when Ryan read the result and handed the mike to Bigfoot so that he could sing for his life. Randy raised his hand before Casey could hit the chorus to announce the obvious: the judges were using the Save.

Casey then proceeded to have a heart attack and mawled poor Ryan who really was getting the business on this stuffed Results show. The dramatics were a bit much, to say the least, but, in a moment that felt scripted, Casey asked the question every viewer had to have at that moment: How does this affect the summer tour? After all, only 10 go on the Idols Live Tour.

Ryan had the answer as DVRs across America clipped the last moment: "It was already preordained that should this happen, 11 will go on the tour." In addition, next week, two contestants will be sent home.

This is the only fair outcome. Had they done a combined vote total and eliminated from the tour the lowest scorer next week, what if that person was someone who already had sailed into the top 10 this week? This way, 11 tour, producers are happy, and promoters have a hook to hawk tickets for the summer tour.

So why was Casey, a previous favorite, dismissed so early by America's vote? J.Lo and Randy explained it succinctly. Casey needs to stop with the facial expressions and gimmicks "and get back to being a musician," J.Lo said. Randy added that he needed to stop the growling. Both are correct. Last week's manic Nirvana cover, with the buggy possessed eyes, and last night's Motown horror deservedly plummetted Casey to the bottom.

This outcome was the best wake-up call America could send. All ends well enough (although this means I'll have to suffer another week of Haley's irritating growling and entitled aura.) By all expectations, Haley and Thea will find themselves on the outs next week.

American Idol Motown Night

 
Motown night on American Idol. Really, Idol? So much for trying to make changes from the passe format of the previous nine years. Teenagers will still be singing outdated songs from the 60s and criticized for not sounding current.

Hopefully, some of this year's talented crop will transcend the tired theme. Follow for live commentary on Twitter. I'll post a wrapup here at some point tonight.

Three contestants transcended the moldy Motown karaoke theme tonight: Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina and James Durbin.

 
Producers had promised that unlike previous seasons, contestants wouldn't be forced out of their style to fit a theme. They didn't keep their word but only Scotty, the 17-year-old country baritone, truly delivered on that promise even as he did stretch a bit. Scotty proved he'd have been a hit in any decade. He chose Stevie Wonder's cornball lounge tune For Once in My Life, an overexposed ditty that has never been done particularly well on Idol. At least, it's never been interesting once removed from its lounge roots. He put a bit of pop in his country, though, and sounded like a Glen Campbell No. 1 record circa 1969. Scotty is, by far, the best singer in the finals and one of the best ever in this show's history. That's because he just sings. No needless gimmick, shtick or overreaching for earsplitting glory notes. He won't win. The best seldom do on Idol. But he'll be the first to score a major label deal and will no doubt make the best, most honest and mature, albums in a lengthy career.

Lauren was an early highlight tonight by transcending the karaoke nature of the dreaded Motown Night by showcasing a rich voice, poise and performance ease that is remarkable given her age -- 16.

James, like Scotty, also honored his gift by delivering a rock-edged vocal on Stevie Wonder's Living for the City. The song's arrangement wasn't rock but James' high, controlled hard rock voice was not unlike Axl Rose's. If Slash wants to relive the glory years -- without the madness -- he could do worse than hiring this guy. Before Guns N' Roses fans overreact and suggest that the names James Durbin and Axl Rose should never be said together, I'm not saying that James has Axl's edge and who knows if he has the writing talent Axl displayed in the late 80s and early 90s. But the vocal tones aren't all that far removed and James is one of the most convincing rockers Idol has had on its stage. He's not the Adam Lambert wannabe I thought he was during the auditions. He's actually a more convincing rock vocalist. Adam was always more glam rock than hard rock.

Fourth best was Naima Adedapo. She -- like Jacob Lusk -- is inconsistent. (I thought Jacob was a mess tonight.) But tonight everything worked for her on Dancing in the Street. Her vocals were in the pocket, her African-inspired dancing was expressive and she had flair. Naima earns another week and her place on the tour of the Top 10.

The news isn't quite so good for my bottom three: Casey Abrams, who is falling faster than Christina Aguilera's career this last year, Haley Reinhart and Stefano Langone. I'd make it a bottom 5 by adding Paul McDonald and Pia Toscano to the dishonorable mentions.

Casey's shtick has worn thin. From my favorite to near least favorite in a mere few weeks. His facial expressions are creepy. He's hard to watch and he's getting too cocky. His overbaked, forced, growling style of singing has gone from jazz influenced to obnoxious novelty -- Taylor Hicks passing a kidney stone. His grating I Heard It Through the Grapevine was the hardest to take ...

Unless you consider Haley, a constant bottom 3 dweller, who similarly growls instead of sings and has a irritating, entitled persona. She's going home on Thursday's results show I'd bet.

Stefano seems like a nice son as he constantly gives props to his mom. Maybe he should let his mom sing instead. He has such a cheeseball overproduced vocal style he rendered Lionel Richie's pretty Hello unrecognizable, inert and plastic. Oversinging does not equal soul. Even the easily pleased judges noted that he failed to connect emotionally with the song and with the audience. If they were being honest they would have said what I did: plastic and cheeseball.

Speaking of shtick, Paul's sole attribute, a megawatt smile, is all he has to offer. Alas, this is not Dental Idol. His chipmunk raspy delivery of Tracks of My Tears could be like what flu-stricken Rod Stewart might have sounded like had he performed in the tour-opening concert with Stevie Nicks that he cancelled on Saturday at BankAtlantic Center. (That's if you buy that "flu" excuse.)

Pia also has worn her ballad style into the ground and I'm fed up with her predictable end-of-song screaming. She has a lovely, if pageanty, vocal style for 2/3 of a song but always ruins a nice moment by screaming a few words at songs' end. Between being a boring, one-note ballad machine with little performance ability (shades of Season 5's Katharine McPhee) and a screamer, this front-runner and likely Idol winner is starting to work my nerves.

Speaking of annoying: the judges tonight were hysterical with overpraise, J.Lo keeps trampling over Randy whenever they differ and Steven Abdul Tyler needs a dictionary so he can learn another word other than "beautiful." If Randy could learn a few new words beyond "pitchy" (it only took him 9 seasons) there's no reason Tyler can't pick up a few.

This leaves Thea Megia. She chose an uptempo tonight for a change (Heat Wave) and though it's yet another Motown song I never ever want to hear again, by anyone, she proved she has a sweet, controlled voice in uptempo mode, too. But she could also find herself in the bottom 3. Much as I like her, she's forgettable among the bigger personalities.

American Idol Top 12 Year They Were Born Show

 Idol judges, James Durbin/Photos: Getty Images
Tonight, the 12 American Idol finalists perform songs from the year they were born.

 
Follow live commentary on http://twitter.com/HowardCohenand return here for a review later tonight. There was no column last week as I was on furlough and there won't be live commentary or a blog item to advance Thursday results show as I will be reviewing the Kiss concert at Hard Rock Live.

Hit and miss performance show tonight. Former favorite Casey Abrams earns points for bringing Nirvana to the Idol stage (much as James Durbin earned points a couple weeks ago for introducing Idol families to Judas Priest) but Casey's screaming, demonic troll through 1991's Smells Like Teen Spirit smelled like garbage left out in the sun for a week. On second viewing, it was even worse.

Not the night's worst tho, at least Casey was OK on the verses. Worst of night dishonors -- and most likely to go home -- belongs to show opener Naima Adedapo for a woefully offkey, pitchy, whatever you want to call it, molestation of Tina Turner's 1984 comeback hit, What's Love Got to Do With It? Or, in Naima's world, What's Pitch Got to Do With It? Ike Turner's coming back to beat her for that atrocity.

Also on the chopping block: Haley Reinhart for a soulless, vanilla tapioca dip into Whitney Houston's 1990 hit, I'm Your Baby Tonight. Karen Rodriguez played the Spanish card once too often (at mentor Jimmy Iovine's urging) but was bland again on Taylor Dayne's 1989 snoozer, Love Will Lead You Back. No one can do a thing to make Dayne's dreadful catalog palatable but that performance will lead Karen to a seat among the Bottom 3.

I wasn't hot for Thea Megia or Pia Toscano tonight. Both have pure, clear voices. But Thea, once again, sang a pageanty ballad and is on the verge of boring everyone to the point they'll forget to vote for her. Pia sang her 1988 Whitney number, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, well all the way until the end but then oversang the last few bars and it grated.

Also, I'm a stickler for dates so, sorry, Pia or Idol listmakers, but that song was released on Whitney's second album in the summer of 1987. Ditto Paul McDonald's choice of Elton John's 1983 tune, I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues. Paul was told it was from 1984. He should have done Elton's 1984 hit Sad Songs (Say So Much) if he had to sing Elton. In any case, it was pretty bad. His raspy, tiny voice made him sound like a baby with a head cold. I guess that's why they call it the blues. He's so darned likable, tho. He'll be safe another couple weeks.

Stefano Langone "cheated" a bit by selecting a pop classic from his birth year of 1989, but since there weren't many pop classics released in that lame year for pop (aside from Madonna's magnificent Like a Prayer, which no one chose), Stefano chose Simply Red's cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' 1972 hit, If You Don't Know Me By Now. Stefano's a nice young man, loves his mama, but I find everything he sings and his whole style so cheesy.

So who stood out? Once again, country baritone Scotty McCreery reigned with his confident, pitch perfect reads of older country songs. He's so young, tho, 17, his choice, Travis Tritt's 1993 number Can I Trust You With My Heart wasn't old at all. Scotty is so ready to record a classic country album already. Nashville has to be panting to sign this guy. Even Scotty's parents can sing, as we saw in a videoclip. No wonder he's so gifted.

Lauren Alaina finally redeemed herself after showing such promise in her auditions and disappointing so far in the performance shows. But tonight, despite the flu, she rocked out on Melissa Etheridge's 1994 hit, I'm the Only One, and put a slight country lilt into it. Most importantly, she made the tired song feel fresh and hit all the right notes. She also is a born entertainer. I love how she tosses in verbal asides in her songs to engage the audience. She knows what she's doing.

James Durbin once again did a good job but of all the viable Bon Jovi tunes from 1989 to choose from, why did the rocker pick the wimpy ballad, I'll Be There for You? At least James put some Axl Rose-like grit into his delivery. It worked and redeemed the Bon Jovi ballad, but I wish he'd have selected Bad Medicine instead. But, now that I think of it, both of those songs are from Bon Jovi's 1988 album, New Jersey, the last decent Bon Jovi album. James would have won me over with, say, Motley Crue's 1989 rocker Dr. Feelgood.

Jacob Lusk continued his inconsistent ways by shining tonight on Heart's 1987 rock ballad, Alone. He navigated the night's most challenging vocal number by riding all the key changes in the song with skill and he's always at his best when he dials it back a bit and sings the melody straight without over-ornamenting. For the most part, Jacob was in the pocket. One week I can't stand him, the other, he wins me back. Thus, I'm worried about next week with this guy.

So, four top notch performances. And even two hours of subpar Idol this season is better than any episode of tone-deaf Glee lately or last year's Idol. Even the turkeys from Naima, Casey and Haley tonight far outscored anything "winner" loser Lee DeWyze did last year. In fact, they are better than 2008's "winner" Kris Allen, too.

Plus, J.Lo and Randy's judging was excellent, especially J.Lo who offers astute constructive criticism. The only disappointment is Steven Tyler who has become inhabited by the ghost of Paula Abdul. He might not be as loopy and is much more quotable, but he's also way too nice. And when he told James "not to get too poppy on me" I about dropped my Twitter. Memo to Mr. Aerosoftie I Don't Want to Miss a Thing: the same can be, and should be, said about most of your entire post '70s Aerosmith output.

American Idol picks baker's dozen for Season 10 finals

 
Photo: FOX

American Idol kept the cliffhangers coming by first revealing, bit by bit, who America selected as the 10 sure finalists.

Voters, some 40 million of them Ryan Seacrest announced at the top of the show, made the right picks into the Top 10 when you consider the five guys who sailed through: Scotty McCreery, James Durbin, Jacob Lusk, Casey Abrams and Paul McDonald.

These were the right picks. Scotty, the 17-year-old country baritone, won't likely win the entire competition because the best contestant seldom wins Idol. (It's only happened once, 10 years ago, when Kelly Clarkson won.) Scotty will be the first one to get signed to a label, tho, I would bet. And he probably will sell the most CDs if he gets the traditional country songs he deserves.

Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk and James Durbin are also deserving. These are three of the most interesting Idols yet. Casey is a musician's musician. Jacob and James could be polarizing if they go too far over the top, but there's no denying Jacob's rich voice and James' metal edge. He might not be an Adam Lambert retread after all. Given his convincing and welcome performance of Judas Priest Tuesday and his stated fondness for metal, he has more rock cred than Lambert's glam style. Rock on, metal guy. Paul's a bit of a happy surprise. I wasn't hot for his Rod Stewart cover Tuesday, but he has a mellow '70s Kenny Loggins voice and look and a smile that radiates.

The voters' choices for the girls, however, were wack. Lauren Alaina, Thia Megia and Pia Toscana were smart picks. Pia could even be the darkhorse to win the entire competition. But Haley Reinhart, who has an entitled air about her and an out of control voice, and pageanty, bilingual bland Karen Rodriguez have no business on the Idol stage. Not when superior talents such as Lauren Turner have to go home.

The judges didn't help too much when they selected six of the non-picks to sing-off for a chance at a Wild Card save. They played it safe and let three boys, three girls, sing and picked wrong. Twice. First, they gave Ashton Jones another shot and then compounded the mistake by putting her into the Top 13. Ashton delivered attitude, but also the worst, weakest, most feckless rendition of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going I have ever heard. Two weeks ago I judged the semifinals of the Young Talent Big Dreams city-wide competition at Actors' Playhouse and an 8-year-old sang the Dreamgirls song and it was 10 times more convincing than Ashton's tepid take. The song's a stunt by now, anyway, but Ashton really is the wrong choice. And, sorry, m'dear, but that's not a Jennifer Hudson song. It's a Jennifer Holliday song. Get it right.

The judges also wasted shots on Sly Stallone-lookalike Jovanny Barreto (sappy Secada song), Robbie Rosen (Elton John's dreary 1976 ballad, Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word) and Kendra whose screeching Georgia was NOT on my mind. When your chances are on the line, singing "What do I gotta do to make you love me?" before celeb judges just reeks of desperation, Robbie.

Happily, Naima Adedapo, the quirky jazzy throwback seized the opportunity on her second chance and earned her way into the finals.

This means that Boca Raton's amiable, but too quirky for voters, Brett Loewenstern, was out without any second shots. He went to hug the judges, anyway, and it was a nice ending. I'd have given him a chance to sing again instead of the boring, personality-free Jovanny and sleepy Robbie. Robbie's only a junior in high school, he'll have other chances. I'm a bit surprised early judge's fave Clint Jun Gamboa wasn't a wild card pick, but that's fine. Didn't like him from the start. Maybe karma bites the karaoke singer back for booting the charming 15-year-old Jacee Badeaux from his group during Hollywood group rounds.

 Here is who you will see next Wednesday in the finals:

Top 10:
Casey Abrams
Lauren Alaina
James Durbin
Jacob Lusk
Scotty McCreery
Paul McDonald
Thia Megia
Haley Reinhart
Karen Rodriguez
Pia Toscano

Wild Cards:
Naima Adedapo
Ashton Jones
Stefano Langone

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American Idol Top 12 Girls Disappoint

Would it be alright this season if we just had an all-male American Idol?

No one wanted to see a girl win Season 10 more than I did. We haven't seen a female win Idol since Jordin Sparks four seasons ago -- an eternity in pop music. But after 12 uninspiring song choices and/or bland, ordinary, forgettable or off-key performances from the Top 12 girls, I'm convinced a guy's winning Idol again.

 I'd hate to be stuck on a long car ride with any of these girls if they had control of the radio. Their taste in music is awful. A bilingual Hero. ¡Que horror! Alicia Keys' banal Fallin' on the Idol stage. Again. Zzzz. The Pretenders' sappy I'll Stand By You. An unrecognizable Fiona Apple song. (Natalie Cole did a good cover of Criminal on one of her CDs. Listen to that one instead.) Christina Aguilera. It's 12 Steps Into Musical Hell.

Of the 12, five automatically make the finals based on viewers' votes. That should mean Lauren Turner, America's Got Talent contestant Thea Megia, Naima Adedapo, Lauren Alaina and Pia Toscana move forward. No one else deserves a Wild Card save. The judges should give two of the guys the Wild Cards if they must use them.

 
Of those five, Naima has the most imagination. She chose the overdone Summertime, forever owned by Fantasia on the Idol stage, but she did it as an uptempo, jaunty swing number and it was at least fresh. She has some flair.

Thea, the youngest at 15, has the best voice. She chose the tired 1980 Fame ballad, Out Here on My Own (a song her parents probably slow danced to in junior high) and she sang it sweetly and in tune and with some nuance. Still, it wasn't exciting. She's talented, though.

 
Turner has the most potential if she can really tap into her inner Bette Midler. J.Lo had compared her to the younger Divine Miss M, but she needs to own it considerably more than she revealed tonight. Her jazzy cabaret-like number, Seven Day Fool, was the right kind of song for her voice but it lacked sass and attitude. If Turner can tear the inner bawdy babe from within, she'll be worthy.

Pia sang that godawful Pretenders ballad I'll Stand By You and Alaina chose the all-time worst Reba single, Turn On Your Radio, and both were major step backs from the huge promise shown in the audition rounds.

The rest of the contestants really don't merit a mention. What does merit mention, however, is the much improved performance of Randy Jackson as a judge. Randy's bringing it this season. The dawg's a JUDGE! His criticism is constructive. He's really listening and he's demanding. Steven Tyler, however, proved he can't say no to a lady. He was useless tonight.

For more, follow @HowardCohen on Twitter

American Idol's Top 12 guys have 4 of the best yet

American Idol has been promising the "most talent yet" and we've heard that claim so often every season we've stopped believing. But given the performances tonight from Scotty McReery, Casey Abrams, James Durbin and Jacob Lusk, I've become a believer. And we haven't even seen the girls yet.

Idol hasn't had four talented people in its cast since Season 5. Last year there wasn't even one talented artist. It's hard to believe this is the same show that has crowned drips like Lee DeWyze and Kris Allen recently. 

Perhaps that's because Idol finally has three judges who seem to care about finding talent to showcase as oppose to calling attention to themselves with forced, tiresome quips (Simon Cowell, I'm talking to you) or looney tunes from C-list '80s pop singers (Paula Abdul). Steven Tyler and JLo, I applaud you on this first live show of the season. Even Randy has never been so astute and on the game. The judges' constructive criticism, engaging banter and professionalism was a breath of fresh air. Best panel in years.

Top of the class:

 
Casey Abrams. Could well be the most purely gifted, most naturally voiced and musically accomplished contestant Idol has found in 10 years. Though he went just a touch over the top on Screaming Jay Hawkins' I Put a Spell on You, the growls served the blues tune. No one has ever looked like Casey, 19, on Idol and no one has had this broad appeal. Win or lose, he's the real find the judges have promised. Unlike Season 8's gifted Adam Lambert, he's not polarizing or overly full of himself, either.

 
Scotty McReery is the heir apparent to country legend Randy Travis. And he's only 17. In fact, in terms of vocal range, style and the kind of voice one can listen to for hours on end in a swank country club, this solid country baritone is better than country star and one-time Travis heir, Josh Turner. McReery sang John Michael Montgomery's Letters From Home and made it sound like a new country standard -- a true country standard, not the kind of bland country-pop or contrived cornpone country radio favors these days. This kid is the real deal. Nashville should sign him up no matter his fortune on this program. With once-great country stars like Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw coasting on past glories with one bland, formulaic release after another, and overhyped, offkey stars like Miranda Lambert collecting the awards, the country music industry needs a voice and persona like Scotty's right now.

 
James Durbin has gone from the most annoying to the show's most convincing rock star. For once, James reigned in the misplaced screeching and used his high range to good effect on a Judas Priest classic, You've Got Another Thing Coming. I'd give him points for introducing the routinely bland Idol to the almighty Priest in the first place. But he wowed me with his natural flair for performance and personality on this British steel classic. He followed a handful of generic performances from some Idol hopefuls who were dwarfed by the big, live stage (Clint, Jovanny, Jordan) and proves he's got some more weeks coming to him.

 
Jacob Lusk was my fourth standout. He's always had a velvet smooth, beautiful voice. But his manic, over the top, nutso performances during the auditions have always made me dread his appearance on this show. Tonight, he sang the overdone A House Is Not a Home and did it as well as Luther Vandross ever did. If he can continue to sing like this without over ornamenting, he's going to become another favorite.

By comparison, everyone else can go home. Boca Raton's Brett Loewenstern is an original, but his Light My Fire was mostly a fizzle. Considerably worse, Robbie Rosen and his limp Sarah McLachlan ballad, Jordan Dorsey's ill-advised Usher cover, Jovanny Barreto's boring, seen-it-all-before Idol cliche, I'll Be (he won't), Tim Halperin's overproduced and vocally anemic Rob Thomas tune, Stefano Langone's lame Bruno Mars mauling, Paul McDonald's soulless (but curiously likable) take on Rod Stewart's Maggie Mae, and Clint Jun Gamboa's generic, passe and nerve-rattled Stevie Wonder oldie.

 
In any other season, Brett and
Paul and even Clint would be worth another look, that's how strong this season seems to be. If the girls have an equal amount of talent Wednesday night, we're going to be in for a fine season.

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