American Idol Top 36 Round 2

We're back once again for another round of American Idol. I had a dream last night that I auditioned for this show. I didn't make it. But these people did! Lets see how this week's bunch fares.
Jasmine Murray kicks off the show singing "Love Song". She starts out really low, lower than I think the song warrants. She doesn't show off or try to wow anyone, she just sings the song (and OWNS when she gets to the bridge). I liked it. The judges don't agree with me, but I won't hold it against them. After the break, Matt Giraud sings "Viva La Vida"...because we haven't heard enough of that song. I'm not sure his voice fits the song...his is very low and raspy and Chris Martin's is...not. It starts off awkward and then becomes worse thanks to a series of poor decisions on his part. He sings almost too....perfectly (perfect diction, perfectly hit notes..like you do when you're first learning a song. In theory a good thing, but not enjoyable to listen to), then throws some unnecessary vocal tricks, hits a falsetto and does a really good Justin Timberlake-esque crooner impersonation. He's all over the place, like he's trying out every music style in this one song. Next.

Jeanine Vailes sings a sassy version of "This Love" (hey, three songs in a row that I actually know! as opposed to last week). Um...yeah. She gets an A for effort. It sounds a bit karaoke at times, and other times oversung and shouty. I don't know what else to say...I really want to come up with something positive and feel like I should defend her (especially since the judges pretty much just flat out said she's not coming back next week) but I just can't. Oh man, Nick Mitchel/Norman Gentle is next reprising that Dreamgirls song. I'm not even going to try. He camps it up and hams it up and he's a shoe-in for next week because he's "entertaining". He's a culture jammer's dream....participating in the show, using the shows rules while at the same time taking himself and the audience out of the show to show you how ridiculous the whole thing is. They should have him come back every week to sing this song. That would rule.

Next we have another person I don't know: Allison Iraheta, singing a song by Heart. She's...good? I think. I get it that she's this year's "Rocker Chick". I liked it, but I couldn't tell you why (I agree with all the judges that she's the best so far tonight). Though I think I could get sick of her very quickly. Quick segue to Kris Allen, another person I don't recognize. His song is pretty lifeless at first and then picks up at the end, but I was honestly turned off from the get go. He sings with that white-guy-imitating-a-boy-band-member character that a LOT of guys on this show slip into. It just feels forced and smarmy and is always an instant turn off for me. Okay half-way mark; six down, six to go (Unless you count Nate/Norman as two people in one, in which case it's seven down, six to go).

Megan Corkrey sings "Put Your Records On" next. I think I remember liking her during the audition rounds. Not so much here. The little party dress and the sleeve tattoo are jarring. She sang the song well, but I just think her voice is too deep for this song. She's not as bad as Matt G, but I just think with a different song she would have really wowed me. Matt Breitzke the welder-guy is next. I'm pleasantly surprised he made it this far. He's singing "If You Could Only See". I like this guy; he's my favorite of the night so far. I think he does pretty well with the song (and I'm completely disagreeing with Simon and Randy here). I like how he doesn't care what the judges think; sometimes the best performances are the ones where the contestant is just having fun. Matt's shuffled off stage so Jesse Langseth can perform. She's good. Boringly so. She didn't wow me, she didn't make me cringe. She was just good, but in a forgettable way. Seems like the judges and I are on par with this one.

Home stretch. Viewer fatigue setting in. Kai Kalama. He's like a mix of Jesse and Kris. He's forgettably competent and confident while being a little creepy/smarmy at the same time. I have nothing else to say about this guy. Two more to go! So of course, lets have a commercial. Mishavonna Henson (I keep thinking Ryan's saying Mishabarton Henson). I think I'm just lowering my expectations because I though it was good.. She puts a fresh spin on this tired old song, so I liked it. But again, it wasn't overly memorable.

Adam Lambert closes out the show singing the Stones. He looks like an Emo Zac Efron. I really wanted to like this kid, but man what the heck was that? He's this week's Jackie Tohn. Just a bit too over the top without really showing how well he can sing. Randy describes him as: Steven Tyler meets FOB meets Robert Pattinson meets My Chemical Romance. Huh? I'm just confused. I'll chalk it up to having to sit through this for two hours.

My predictions for who goes through:
None. Okay I have to pick some people.
Guy: Adam
Girl: Allison
WildCard: Nick/Norman. I'm not feeling any of these choices, though. Results show tomorrow.