Like last night, we saw an awful lot of footage we've already seen. Despite this, they still managed to put through a couple singers who I can't remember ever seeing before. The episode was only an hour long though, which automatically made it better than the previous night's show. When it comes to wasting our time, less is certainly more.
The producers tried to make us think we'd miss faces in the Hollywood crowd like the Square Pegs girl and the obnoxious white guy from group night's Destiny's Wild (the obnoxious black guy from Destiny's Wild, Todrick Hall, made it through, as did that group's Siobhan Magnus). The only sad cut was Angela Martin, who can't seem to catch a break.
Unlike previous seasons, there was no drama surrounding the last two contestants. For the ladies, we were supposed to wonder if the heavily featured Haeley Vaughn had something to worry about against someone some of us barely remembered from her just okay audition in Denver. The men provided an even more laughable showdown between Andrew Garcia—easily one of the season's frontrunners, and self-enamored teenager Thaddeus Johnson, who I frankly thought was terrible in his first audition in Dallas.
As far as the Top 24 goes, the girls seem a lot stronger than the guys. My personal favorites are the hippie chick, Crystal Bowersox and the jazz singer, Lilly Scott, both of whom are offbeat and just really good. Bowersox has a rough quality to her voice but still manages to sound lovely. Lacey Brown is also quite good but I wonder if her vocal similarity to the more memorable Scott may hurt her.
Didi Benami has grown on me, but I really hope we won't be hearing about her dead friend all season. It got to the point with Danny Gokey last season where it felt like his dead wife was his "hook" and it was more than a little sickening. The judges are crazy about the potential marketability of young attractive Latina Ashley Rodriguez, though I thought her initial audition was just alright and they haven't really shown her much since. Haeley Vaughn has been erratic but as the black girl who sings country music, she remains one of the season's more intriguing contestants.
Katie Stevens wowed Kara in Hollywood, but I've yet to be blown away by the girl next door. I'm also ambivalent about Katelyn Epperley, who had a decent initial audition but seems so dreary. I think Janell Wheeler keeps getting through more on her looks than her just okay voice and I have found Siobhan Magnus to be downright annoying in Hollywood. At least I've heard of her though. Paige Miles and Michelle Delamor are complete mysteries to me.
Ditto Joe Munoz, who I swear just showed up. I vaguely remember not being impressed with Tim Urban at some point early on, and the judges continue to send through the lyric-forgetting energy-challenged Alex Lambert. I actually liked the last audition of the arrogant Todrick Hall, but his attitude grates.
The judges are betting that little Aaron Kelly will be more Jonas Brother than Chicken Little—we shall see. He's so deer-in-the-headlights right now. I liked John Park when we first saw him but haven't seen him sing since and remained unconvinced about church singer Jermaine Sellers. Big Michael Lynche has a story and a physique that are both bigger than his merely pleasant voice.
In theory, I like the rock backgrounds of Tyler Grady and Lee Dewyze, but Grady has always seemed more doofy than sexy to me, and Dewyze has a schlubbiness that bugs me. My favorite guys are bluesy Casey James and the aforementioned inventive and passionate Andrew Garcia.
But, first impressions are just that. No one knew who the hell Kelly Clarkson was at this point in the show, so I'm looking forward to at least one of these question marks turning into a really nice surprise next week.
