Idol vs. Billboard: The first night of voting!

First week of 12 . . . We get to vote, kids . . .

THIS is AMERICAN IDOL!

Chatter with the judges . . . yo.

Paula’s eyebrows are looking a little . . . um, angular.

Hits from the Billboard Top 100 . . . since the charts began.

1. Jackie Tohn is up first – What is she wearing in the interview? She is singing A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley . . . She’s got a VERY DIFFERENT voice than what the Idol audience is used to . . . she’s quirky. But I kind of like her . . . ain’t no way she’s making the Top 12 this week. I do think she’s got a shot at the Wild Card round. Here come the judges . . . Randy wasn’t sold on the vocals but liked the entertaining . . . Kara liked her stage presence . . . Paula ditto . . . Simon thought she played the clown.

2. Ricky Braddy - He is very quiet . . . he better have a great big vocal performance. He’s singing A Song For You by Leon Russell . . . I LOVE this song! WOW . . . That was just freakin amazing. I think he was stunning. Randy thinks the season has started. Kara loved him. Paula is proud. Simon thinks he has no star quality. He has an outside shot at that third spot this week. However, I think we could see him in the Wild Card. We’ll have to see how things go . . .

3. Alexis Grace - I don’t remember Kara telling her to go home and “make love to her fiancé” . . . She’s singing Never Loved A Man by Aretha Franklin. This is a good performance, but I don’t think it is going to stand out . . and it is coming off a wee bit cabaret. But she’s got a strong voice. Randy thinks she worked it out and she “done found da dirt”. Kara thinks she released something inside. Paula is rambling a bit, but I think she liked her. Simon thinks that she is the best by a mile . . . I don’t know that I agree. . . um, he just compared her to Kelly Clarkson . . . um . . .

4. Brent Keith – a little live oops . . . “Roll the tape!” . . . He’s singing Hip Town . . . I don’t know this song. I wonder if they are not allowing them instruments in the Top 36 . . . seems like he would be playing the guitar. Uh oh . . . good voice, kind of boring. . . and he’s going a weeeeee bit flat in some parts of the song. Randy liked him. Kara and Paula think he didn’t take much of a risk. Simon blasphemes Bucky Covington and thinks he will have no impact.

5. Stevie Wright – She is singing You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift . . . way too low . . .way too low . . . she is already going home . . . not good. Y’all remember the hook from the gong show . . . I like her, but yikes. Randy thought it was not for him. Kara thought it was the wrong song. Paula agrees with the other two. And Simon is bout to rip her a new one . . . he thinks it was terrible. *** More importantly, we just got a sighting of the NPH – the Neal Patrick Harris, yo!***

6. Anoop Dogg - He has chosen . . . Angel of Mine by Monica . . . interesting choice . . . we’ll see. He sounds pretty good. He has a better voice than this song is showing . . . he has played it safe and it may cost him. I hate that because I think he definitely has one of the top 12 voices on the show. Randy thinks it was not the right song choice – kind of sharp. This is where I’m not a fan of this year’s voting. Kara agrees with Randy. Paula thinks that America has connected with him already. Simon thinks it was a little grown up for him and a bit serious. He may not get through with the voters but he is a LOCK for the wild card.

7. Casey Carlson – Cute little hat she has on in the interview . . . She’s singing Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by the Police . . . this is a song with a rough Idol history. And the roughness continues . . . do these people not watch the show?! Randy thinks that it was weirdly karaoke. Kara thinks that everything about it was wrong. Paula thinks that she is a package . . . but that the song didn’t work for her. Simon thinks the packaging was gone. Casey had fun. I hope she did because she is soooooo gone.

8. Michael Sarver – the oil rig dude . . . I heart him . . . He’s singing I Don’t Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw . . . it’s an overdone Idol song . . . We’ll see . . . It’s a solid performance . . . not perfect but solid. It was a good song choice for him. I’m not sure if it will get him through. Randy thought it started out pitchy, he wasn’t sure. Kara didn’t think it was his performance. Paula thought he did a really good job, but that his performance was a bit awkward. Simon thinks it’s tricky and likes Michael. He thinks that the vocal was okay. I think the judges will put him into the wild card show.

9. Ann Marie Boskovich – Singing Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin – Yikes this better take an upturn soon cuz she’s gonna get some comparisons to Kelly Clarkson and it aint gonna be pretty. Her high notes are pretty good, and considering the seriously bad showing by the girls, she is pretty high on the list. Randy didn’t get it. Kara didn’t think she killed it. Paula thinks that she did better than her auditions. Simon thinks she might be the best hotel singer in California. She’s gone.

10. Stephen Fowler – I remember him forgetting the words in Hollywood and not being able to believe that he went through instead of Jamar . . . let’s see how he handles Rock With You by Michael Jackson . . . perfect song for his voice . . . he needs to pick it up . . . he’s behind the music. This is nowhere near as good as it should be. I had very high hopes for this performance. Randy thought it was weird. Kara wasn’t happy with it. Paula was disappointed. Simon wishes he had forgotten the lyrics. He’s gone . . . I just don’t know that they will give him a third chance.

11. Tatianna Del Toro – Here comes the drama queen. This girl drives me nuts, but if she calms down I think she can go through tonight. She is singing Saving All My Love For You by Whitney . . .dangerous, but she could do it justice. Strangely, I think she pulled it off. It wasn’t a complete performance, but the fact that she is at the end and hit some high notes . . . I think she may get through. Randy thought she hit some good notes. Kara isn’t sure where she fits. Paula thinks she is the most talked about contestant . . . she thought it was good but a bit inconsistent. Simon thinks she is a drama queen and desperate to be famous.

12. Danny – I heart him . . . let’s see how he does amongst a group of boys who have been very, very good this week. He is singing Hero by Mariah Carey. I think this could potentially be brilliant . . . Wow . . . just wow. He is SUCH MY BITCH. I love him. Oh look, and there’s Jamar! Randy, Paula, and Kara thought he blew it out. Simon thought he was good. I HEART DANNY! He saved the show and will definitely be going through.

Well, we come to the end of the first voting night. I think we have a definite male winner in Danny. I think our female winner is going to be a mixed bag between, ugh, Tatianna, Alexis and Jackie . . . and I think Anoop is in there for the possible third place spot. I’m going to post again with rankings and predictions, but my early thoughts are Danny, Tatianna, and Anoop.