Are We in Heaven . . . Or is it Too Late to Apologize?

Casey (Space) Joe, Big Mike, (Tiny Space) Lee, Aaron, Tyler, John, Jermaine, (space)Todrick

Now that I've watched the girls . . . I'm onto the boys, which is, where I like to be :) Please, Please, Please be better . . . and, oh yeah, I get to see Casey James. :) Hooray!

THIS is AMERican Simon stop talking . . . what the hell?

Um, Randy, the girls did not blow it out last night.

Simon is not thrilled after watching the rehearsals . . .

1. Todrick Hall - He's doing the origial Kelly Clarkson, "Since You've Been Gone" . . . he is definitely putting his own spin on it . . . and I'm really not sure this was a good idea. Original . . yes . . . something I'd listen to again . . . no. Ellen thought it was original, but the singing was rough. Randy thought it was crazy. Kara thought it was crazy. Simon thought it was crazy.

2. Aaron Kelly - I missed what he's singing . . . clearly something country . . . he looks awkward on stage . . . and he's kind of forcing some of these notes . . . and kind of screaming a bit at the end . . . that was somewhat painful for me. Kind of yikes-esque. Simon disagrees with me and thought it was good. Kara loves him. Randy thinks he has "all those pipes". Ellen dittoed the rest. I love his humility as well, but I really feel like I heard something completely different.

3. Jermaine Sellers - He's doin some Oleta Adams "Get Here" . . . Some pleasantt moments and then he begins to scream and screech and all is lost . . . Sweet Lord! Someone please sing in tune and not crazy! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ellen didn't think he felt the song. Randy thought he was trying to do too much vocally, dawg. Kara thought he was trying too hard. Simon thought it was old and screamy. Jermaine's in trouble.

4. Tim Urban - He was sent home, and then poof a scandal, he's back! He's doing apologize which is one of my FAVORITE songs and so VERY meaningful to me and my bestest friend . . . Oh Sweet Jesus . . . WHY? WHY? WHY? Lawd in the mornin! Can I get a note on key? Simon thought it was awful. Kara thought he was buried under the beat. Randy thought people were trying to leave. Ellen thinks he's adorable. As bad as he was, I think he will probably stay.

5. Joe Munoz - He's doin something Jason Mraz . . . I'm not in love with him, but there's a good voice there. . . . especially compared to that travesty we just heard. He got more confident as the song went along . . . I like him. Ellen really liked him. Randy thinks he has a great voice. Simon kind of agrees . . . thinks it was ok. Um, did Simon just call him "limp" . . . just like our host . . . that was funny.

6. Tyler Grady - American Woman - He's trying to do the Jim Morrison thing . . . and here comes Lenny K. He's really missing some notes, but given the competition, it's gonna be good enough to go into the next round. . . But it was kind of a hot mess. Simon thinks he went to rock star school. Kara thinks he can be a star but it's too much schtick. Randy thought it was style over substance. Ellen thinks he's going through the motions.

7. Lee DeWye - He's doing Snow Patrol . . . which makes me melt into a pool of mushy goo . . I hope he's good . . . He's VERY pitchy, but he's re-arranged the song a bit and has some good energy . . . but man, he's pitchy. Ellen thinks he should stay. Randy didn't like the song. Kara acknowledged that he changed the song up, but didn't like it. Simon thought it was the best performance of the night.

8. John Park - God Bless the Child - already I'll say . . . wrong song choice . . .rough start . . . a wee bit low in his range . . . Song got better as it went along . . . but very boring. Simon thought it was flat. Kara agrees. Randy liked it a little better. Ellen didn't like the song, but thought he sounded great.

9. Big Mike - I heart Big Mike. I really hope he does well. Maroon Five's "This Love" . . . He's on key and he's got a great energy. I think the judges are going to complain that the song doesn't have very much range . . . but I kind of dug it. Ellen loves his personality. Randy agrees with Ellen. Kara thinks he sparked the energy level. Simon thought he was the support act before the main act.

10. Alex Lambert - What a Wonderful World . . . Oh LORD! He's got a voice in there somewhere but he is all over the place . . . I love the scratchy tone . . . but he needs to find some consistency. Wow, unless the last two pick up, this may very well be the worst Top 24 I've ever seen . . . I agree with Simon, he's got a good voice, but that was terrible. Kara is pimping him a bit. Randy continues the pimping . . . and Ellen loves that he is holding onto the mullet . . . and thinks his banana isn't quite ripe . . . or something like that.

11. Casey James - Why Brian Adams? But I heart him . . . so here we go with some heaven . . . I think it's funny that he's getting tickled at Kara. Ok, y'all know I like this boy . . . but, trying to be as objective as I can, I think it was the most complete performance of the night. Ellen seems a little pissed with Kara, but liked him. Randy agrees. Simon thinks he was honest and sincere . . . and called Kara a cougar . . .

12. Andrew Garcia - A little Fall Out Boy . . . nice . . . He's taken a song and re-worked it a bit . . . slowed it down . . . he's a little pitchy, but I kind of dig it . . . and I especially liked the end of the song. Simon was looking forward to Andrew, but was disappointed. Kara thought he took a strange risk. Randy thought the arrangement was strange. Ellen agreed. However, they all love his voice.

Ok, we're at the end of the first performance week. Overall, it was horrific . . . but a few stand out performances. I think tonight, Casey, Andrew, and maybe Joe were the standouts.

I'm gonna have to think about this before picking the bottom two . . . it's difficult because so many of the performances were boring or just plain bad . . . again, I kind of think it's one of the worst Top 24 weeks I've ever seen. I hope it gets better. . .