by Kylene Hamulak

 

In a year of changes, American Idol continues to introduce us to new pieces of their puzzle. What's on the agenda tonight? It's the Idol Sudden Death round, where ten finalists will be cut down to just five, who will compete for our votes. No green mile this year, it seems - our finalists are about to sing before a live studio audience for the first time this season.

 

Tonight? It's the girls. And when Ryan introduces them to us, a lot of them are total strangers to me. Good luck, ladies.

 

THIS.

 

Is. A-MER-ican Idol!

 

 

HITS:

 

Teena Torres, "Soulmate" by Natasha Bedingfield

Teena is our Camp Mariah veteran. Watching her feels like she's impersonating someone - is it just me or did she look totally different the first time we saw her? What's with that hair? Her song is full and belty and Keith says, "I particularly liked the end." My my my - how far we've come! Simon would've said the same thing and meant something totally different! Nick agrees with me, telling her to change her hair. Fun Fact: Teena didn't want to see her boyfriend so that she could hold on to the feeling of longing. Say whaaaat?

 

Adriana Latonio, "Ain't No Way" by Aretha Franklin

The first Alaskan contestant, Adriana notes that people think in Alaska, there are igloos and sled dogs. Um, is that NOT true? I feel like Sarah Palin lied to me. Her performance is good and gets backing vocals from the judges (not to mention the standing ovations from half the judges and half the crowd). Nicki asks her how tall she is - what does that have to do with anything? I mean, the girl is 5'0". That's not even obscenely short.  "Little tiny thing but commands the stage from the second she walks out," says Nicki. She didn't see one ounce of fear in her. I guess THAT makes it relevant.

 

Angela Miller, "Nobody's Perfect" by Jessie J

Look, I'm not going to say anything bad about Angela's performance. She's gifted. A gifted singer, performer, songwriter. I think Idol wants us to believe she's already a star, and maybe she will be soon, but she's got to be careful - in a weird way, separating her from the pack too early is going to earn her backlash from the public. And also from me. Nicki tells her that nothing can compare to her last original song, but she warns her not to force anything.  "You're an artist. Period. Congrats." Randy thinks America is witnessing the building of a superstar, and Mariah thinks her potential is limitless. The judges are still in awe of her last original song but seem a little conservative on their praise for this week. (Edited to add: A reader let me know that her performance was NOT (as I thought), an original song - just one I wasn't familiar with. Thanks for the correction, Oh_Great_Day!)

 

Amber Holcomb, "My Funny Valentine" by Frank Sinatra

Dear American Idol: where have you been hiding Amber? She gives us the final performance of the night, and she's one of very few that seem like sure bets to get through. Keith says she knocked it out of the park, and Nicki gives her an A+++ for her vocal but wants her inner shine to come out a little more. Mariah wanted to smack her cause it was so good.

 

MISSES:

 

Jenny Beth Willis, "Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love" by Trisha Yearwood

I don't remember seeing this one before, and her performance is pure country. Keith thinks her range was great, Nicki liked her voice but didn't think she came alive until the last note - thinks nerves may have played a role; Randy thinks it felt jerky; apparently Mariah's "did you have fun?" is the new Paula Abdul "You look beautiful."

 

Brandy Hotard, "I Don't Love You Any More" by Travis Tritt

Brandy is a psych nurse - I think that gives her an advantage dealing with our nutty little panel, no? Her tone is lovely, but I think I dozed off for a minute during her performance. Keith thinks her emotional connection was inconsistent. "I wish you would get out of my head," says Nicki - she calls it a pageant delivery of the song. Mariah didn't really care - she just saw a beautiful person singing the song. She says she'd love to see her do an album of classics. Wake me up when that one's over.

 

Shubha Vedula, "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga

Shubha dubha dooooon't!! Someone apaparently told Shubha she was performing in concert tonight, and I think she got a little ahead of herself. She starts at the piano (good), then gets up and starts this, like, chant? (not good), and then closes it out trying to hit Aguilera glory notes (say whaaaat?). She took a risk, I'll give her that. Still failed, but she took the risk. Crowd seemed to like it, but the judges? Not-so-much. "You crammed a lot into that song," says Keith, before calling it confusing despite loving her voice. Nicki calls it a "mashup of Christina Aguilera and the Gangnam Style guy." Judges all agree she should've stayed at the piano.

 

Kamaria Ousley, "Mr. Know It All" by Kelly Clarkson

Does the word "yikes" mean anything to you? Kamaria says she sang back up for a lot of big stars, but I'm skeptical after this performance. Does she mean in her car? Because in that case, I've sung back up vocals for Kelly Clarkson. Not working for the judges either - Randy calls it her worst performance of the competition with nothing redeemable to be said about it. Mariah thinks she's marketable. Apparently a smile and some style is all you need to be a singer according to Ms. Carey.

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Fox Crossover? "Why is Randy dressed like a Warbler?" asked my friend Lindsay. It's a valid question. We've got at least a couple more weeks before Idol gets taken over by Gleeks.

 

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Halfway through, when I had recognized exactly one of the contestants, I wondered why I even bothered watching the auditions. Did anyone else wonder where all these people came from?

 

Breakout of the Night: Kree Harrison, "Up to the Mountain" by Patti Griffin - I turned my head for a moment just as she was starting, and I thought I was hearing Carrie Underwood. Now, I don't know where YOU stand on Carrie, but for me? That is a definite compliment. Kree comes out on stage with minimal styling - no flashy outfit, no updo. Take note, contestants - she sang the hell out of a song I don't even know. "I would be very afraid if I was any of these other girls here tonight," says Nicki.  Mariah tells her she sang the hell out of that song, so she obviously saw my notes. Judges loved her.

 

Most Tired Storyline: Isabelle, who you may know as the girl who lost both a lot of weight and her last name, wants to be an inspiration to girls. Decent performance of "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday, though pieces made me cringe a little bit. The judges are still loving her story, remarking how amazing she looks - wait, isn't that, like the opposite of what we should be telling people? You're a star and a diva now because you lost weight? Randy thinks it was a little old fashioned, so Isabelle promises, "If I come back, you'll get a contemporary song!" before adding, "WHEN I come back, Nicki Minaj told me!" If she makes it, Isabelle is going to be THAT girl talking back.

 

Five In: The judges' announcements of who is joining the Five In is totally awkward, as they try to play mind games with each contestant and then have uncomfortable hugs with the chosen ones.

Teena Torres

Kree Harrison

Angela Miller

Amber Holcomb

Adriana Latonio

 

Five Out: The only thing more awkward than the Five In is the Five Out. They plaster smiles on their faces just long enough to graciously thank the judges before exiting...and then start the ugly cry before they're even out of camera range. 

Jenny Beth

Brandy Hotard  ("Keep on being a psychiatric nurse"? That's "Don't quit your day job" in Nicki-speak.)

Isabelle

Kamaria Ousley

Shubha Vedula  (I'm mostly sad that I won't be able to say "Shubha Dubha DOOOO" anymore.)

 

I generally agree with the choices, although I do wonder if Idol will throw a couple of curve balls in and bring back a some of the better highly profiled contestants - particularly Isabelle. Amber joins Kree and Angela as front runners right now, and we'll have to wait til next week to find out who their female competition would be. My advice to the girls? If they want to win over America, we need fewer ballads and more songs the country will recognize. Everything seems to be either country or a ballad (or poorly executed Gaga), and it's going to take more than that to the best guys!

 

Catch American Idol every Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7C on Fox!

 

(Images courtesy of Fox)

 

Follow Kylene on Twitter @keepingupwithky!