Tuesday's performance show was yet another reminder that the more American Idol changes the more it remains the same.
Yes, there's a spiffy new 360-degree stage. Yes, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler still have a slight whiff of newness about them. Yes, there's a whole new group of contestants singing for votes.
What remained the same was the disappointment one feels every year when hopefuls who had it going on in Hollywood crash and burn their first time on the big stage. Frankly, the first third of the show was just one disappointment after another. 
Things didn't pick up until James Durbin (right) came on, complete with back-pocket scarf and rock star attitude, to belt out Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'." Yeah, that's right: Judas Priest on the Idol stage. Go figure.
If you've been reading the blog so far, you know I've been hard on James, but at least the guy gave a bona fide performance, which is more than I can say for Jovany Barreto, Jordan Dorsey and Tim Halperin. Clint Jun Gamboa's show opener was marred by nerves and Brett Loewenstern commanded attention, but not in a good way.
The fellas hit mostly high notes after James (really high in the case of Stefano Langone) until ending with my favourite, Casey Abrams.
So here's a rundown on who did what, what the judges said and how I think they did.
Clint Jun Gamboa: The contestants got to pick their own songs for this performance and they came up with some clunkers. Clint's choice of "Superstition" was one of them. There's no point in doing this one unless you sing it as if your life depended on it. For much of the number, Clint just went through the motions as he danced around the stage. And the singing was perfunctory until the very end when he launched some vocal fireworks. Steven called the performance beautiful, but JLo was astute enough to call out Clint's jitters. "Now that we got those little bits of nervousness out I expect a lot," she said. Randy Jackson said Clint, a karaoke host, had risen above karaoke because "there's no karaoke singer in the world that's got that kind of vocal talent." Except that karaoke was just what it reminded me of, at least at the beginning.
Jovany Barreto: The ship builder's choice of "I'll Be (Your Guiding Shoulder)" was ho hum, performed in a stand and deliver style, and with a voice that was pleasant but not particularly memorable. Jovany won over Steven and JLo, who told him "I'm happy because people got to see you, I think, for the first time, really see what you can do." Randy was more credible when he told Jovany it "felt very karaoke."
Jordan Dorsey: The music teacher rubbed me the wrong way during the Hollywood auditions with his arrogance. Apparently, he forgot to eat his humble pie before taking the big stage. But leaving aside the silliness of him stripping off his jacket like he was God's gift to women, why oh why would he choose Usher's "OMG" for his first performance? That's not a song, it's a dance routine with words, not to mention a heck of a lot of Auto-tuning. Jordan's voice was shaky throughout, especially on the falsetto. The judges agreed that it wasn't a good first outing. "I'm not sure that is who you really are," said JLo. "For me, you're Nat King Cole. You're the soft R&B guy who does these amazing things with his voice." Jordan tried to explain away the fumble by saying the song wouldn't have worked if he sang it like a ballad and he'd do "a whole lot different" next time. Too little too late, I think.
Tim Halperin: Tim showed such promise in Vegas during his Beatles duet with Julie Zorrilla, but I guess promises are made to be broken. His voice was positively swallowed up by the orchestration on "Streetcorner Symphony" and he seemed to be straining for some of the notes. "I'm not sure if that song did you any justice, man. It really let me down," Steven said. Jennifer and Randy agreed, although JLo was gentler, telling Tim he sang it well, "but I just don't think that's your strength."
Brett Loewenstern: I want to love Brett, if for nothing else than the fact he happily lets his freak flag fly, but I found his rendition of The Doors' "Light My Fire" just weird. He was pulling faces, the dancing was odd and the constant flipping of his long red hair was really distracting. And the singing? The distinctive tone was still there, but it sounded a bit "lounge lizard" to me. The judges' praise had more to do with the fact Brett was being himself than with the quality of the singing. They also commented on the hair. "That was like more hair tossing than me and Beyonce put together in the past 10 years," said JLo. "You need a fan. You need a video."
James Durbin: Well, colour me surprised. Somebody's been paying attention to their vocal coach. First off, props to James for singing Judas Priest, about as far as you can get from a cliched Idolfavourite. Furthermore, he sang it well. There was some screaming in there, but it was controlled and, as Randy put it, "very nice and tasty." Not just that, the guy had serious stage presence. He was strutting, posing and really connecting with the crowd. "James, that was f--king crazy good," said Steven, who'd been given a paddle with the Idol logo by Ryan Seacrest to cover his mouth when he swore. "Listen, I think all of America agrees with that word I used anyway."
Robbie Rosen: It would be nice to say that early favourite Robbie picked up the momentum created by James and ran with it. But in trying to make Sarah McLachlan's "In the Arms of an Angel" his own, as Randy frequently urges contestants to do, Robbie went too far. There are modulations and then there's "where the hell did the tune go?" Steven and JLo were both enamoured, but not Randy. "It didn't all quite work and the notes were really pitchy. You never really quite settled in for me."
Scotty McCreery: Scotty, just 16, is an old-style country singer and his choice, John Michael Montgomery's "Letters From Home," fit his voice like a glove. I don't even like country music, but I like this country cutie. "There are some people who are just born to do something. You're born to sing country music," Jennifer told him. His distinctive deep voice is nicely complemented by the twinkle in his eye and his self-deprecating sense of humour. I'd say he's a crowd pleaser.
Stefano Langone: Although Stefano picked a song that's overexposed in the non-Idol world, Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are," it suited his high, clear voice. Apart from one clunker of a note towards the end, Stefano acquitted himself respectably and with the kind of smile that will likely get the young girls texting. "You had us all up here rocking. We were enjoying it like it was a concert," said Randy. "Like this kid could be on the radio right now."
Paul McDonald: If America decides it's only got room for one quirky guy in the top 10, I'd give my vote to Paul over Brett, just based on Tuesday's performances. Paul sang Rod Stewart's "Maggie May," a classic that's certainly not been overdone on the Idol stage. His dancing was a bit odd and urging the audience to clap along added nothing to the performance, but his voice was engaging when it wasn't lost in the instrumentation. "Well dawg, you know one of the things I love about you, you are just so unique and different, different I think from anything we've had on this show," Randy said.
lJacob Lusk: The judges laid it on perhaps a little thick in praising Jacob, but there's no question he has a vocal arsenal at his disposal. Luckily, he went with the less is more approach to "A House Is Not a Home," building steadily and with control to a powerful finish. "It's divine intervention that brought you here," said Steven. "I am honoured to be in your presence, man. You make me cry when you sing. I don't know where you get it, man (Jacob pointed heavenward), but I will bathe in it. I love it." Added Randy, "I don't think there's anything you can't sing, dude. I think we're lucky to have you on here."
Casey Abrams: I was relieved to see that Casey's medical problems of last week didn't knock him out of the competition ("My stomach wasn't in the right place," was all he told Ryan) and just as relieved that his performance didn't knock him out of my top spot. If anything, it shackled me to the Casey bandwagon. The film camp employee, who said in his clips package that he wants to "create a different American Idol mold," was spellbinding with "I Put a Spell on You." He growled, he shrieked, he stalked the stage like a man possessed then ended with an unexpected soft, high note. "Casey Abrams, man, you are in-your-mind good and out-of-your mind unreal," Steven said. "You're sexy, Casey," JLo told him (which made Casey exclaim "Yes!"). "You're gonna redefine what this whole thing is. You know what? Somebody wants it bad. Casey want it bad. You came out with this hunger, this fire. You took it, you ate it all up. It was crazy."
So the good news is the train wrecks didn't dominate the night. The bad news is that seven of these guys will be gone by Thursday night. Here's how I rank them.
- Casey
- James
- Jacob
- Scotty
- Stefano
- Paul
- Robbie
- Jovany
- Clint
- Brett
- Tim
- Jordan
What do you think? Who were your favourites and who fell short?
The girls get their turn tonight, Wednesday. You can watch at 8 p.m. on CTV, then catch the recap here.
(The photo of James is by Michael Becker for Fox.)
