Top 12 Revealed and Perform:Their Audition Songs

Welcome back. Tonight American Idol is back in Los Angeles but still not live, that won't start until tomorrow, that's due to there being a lot to get to in only an hour.  Let's run through what's going down this episode and a look ahead to tomorrow real quick:

1. The Top 5 Men and Women America voted into the Top 12 will be revealed
2. The Judges will then pick 2 wildcards from the contestants that were not voted through automatically (only eliminated contestants from this week can be chosen, not past contestants)
3. As soon as the contestant is revealed to be safe and into the Top 12 they will perform for America's votes with the Theme: Their Audition Songs
4. Tomorrow (3/12) 1 Contestant Will Be Eliminated and the Top 11 will perform for America's votes during the first 2 hour performance show of the year with the Theme: Party Songs

Confusing enough for ya? Hopefully that little run down will help keep everything a little less crazy, even though it still is. The fact that there is no results show is making things tougher to keep things as organized as it has been in the past, but we will go with it.

Although only 4 contestants will be eliminated tonight due to the 2 Wildcards, 6 contestants would have been eliminated. Our Predictions from last week on the 6 contestants that were not chosen by America were:
Men=Daniel, Mark and Adam  Women=Alexis, Adanna and Maddie.

So with all that being said, let's begin the craziness:

America's Votes Revealed and Performances

Sarina-Joi Crowe (Love Runs Out-OneRepublic)-I am so happy that she was picked for the Top 12. She has been amazing thus far this season. Unfortunately, I feel tonight she was off. She sounded great, because she has an unbelievable voice but she wasn't matching the band. She was very much ahead of it at times or behind it, the backup singers came in a little too loud and in front of her. Plus the music was either to soft or too loud. It was sort of a mess, I am not gonna blame all of it on her, because it could have been a band issue, plus her voice is still killer and one of the best in the competition.
Judge's Comments= Keith-Has to hear pitch and the band, super comfortable up on stage. Jennifer-So excited for her. Needs to be strong in the beginning. Harry-Very talented. This is gonna be a great competition. 
                                            Our Grade=B-

Rayvon Owen (Wide Awake-Katy Perry) I loved Rayvon's take on this song during his audition because he made it his own and really stripped it down to its just beautiful lyrics. His voice is so on point tonight. His voice is like butter, really smooth. There is one note that he hits and holds for a long time, it stays in tune the whole time and its' so perfect. Well done by him vocally. He still can improve performance-wise.
Judge's Comments=Jennifer-Felt that moment, knew it had it, it was sick. Harry-Singing in shape, sounded terrific. Keith-Got exponentially better at the end. Great song choice.
Our Grade=A-

Daniel Seavey(Straight Up-Paula Abdul) This kid is gonna keep making it and making it. There have been "cute" contestants before on this show that have done well just because they are "cute" but shouldn't really be there. I think Daniel is gonna be this season's Sanjaya(Season 6) Tim Urban(Season 9), Sam Woolf (Season 13), Aaron Kelly(Season 9) and so many more "cute, but not too great" contestants that stick around way past when they should. Tonight Daniel starts this song with a lot of focus on his voice, and doesn't perform with his guitar. He backs off some notes that he hit during his audition, and goes off the lyrics a little, he recovers but it's not great, in fact it's not good at all.
Judge's Comments=Harry-Young and experienced and compared to others and his performance as of late hasn't been good, and tonight really proved his inexperience is being shown. Keith-If he finds an emotional song he will kill it. Jennifer-Wants him to play to his strength to be strong all the way.
                                            Our Grade=D

Maddie Walker (Suitcase-Gwen Sebastian) Other than Alexis Gomez who is sorta country, Maddie is the only country singer in this competition, so all the country fans only have her to vote for, that's a huge advantage, country fans love reality shows, the country contestants win The Voice all the time. Tonight Maddie sounded pretty good, she was in tune and on the pitch pretty much the whole time. She hasn't, or wasn't able to pick country songs the past couple weeks, so this was better for her, she seemed more comfortable. It was a little boring, but not terrible.
Judge's Comments=Keith-love that she chose it stylistically, suited her even though it's not known to people. Jennifer-Don't think too much. Harry-The song was too in her head, but it was still a solid performance.
                                           Our Grade=C+

Tyanna Jones (Wings-Little Mix) She has been one of the standouts this season, so I am so happy she has made the Top 12.  This song allows Tyanna to really get into the song. She was right on the money with the band and backup singers from note one. She owned the stage and sounded amazing. She has been great every episode she has had to perform in front of the audience. Really great job tonight.
Judge's Comments= Jennifer-Phenomenal vocals and has incredible composure. Harry-So comfortable on stage. Great job. Harry-Moves, sings and act's like a star, she's a star.
Our Grade=A

Nick Fradiani (In Your Eyes-Peter Gabriel) He was one of the best last week and has been consistent so far this entire season. He just goes out there with his guitar and all the focus is on his voice for the first part of the song. The band comes in gently towards the middle to backup him up. I almost would have preferred him to just stay with the guitar and no backup, because he is just that good. It's still amazing. He is comfortable up there and found a great groove.
Judge's Comments=Harry-You're almost twice as old as some of the people he is competing with, and what's interesting is that he brings experience. Keith-Great look and voice, and needs to believe in himself. Jennifer-Strong performance wants to pick a song that every part of it suits and is undeniable.
Our Grade=B+

Jax (I Want To Hold Your Hand-The Beatles) Her audition was one of the more memorable ones of not only this season but in more recent seasons, so it's great she gets to perform this song again. She starts tonight's performance in a similar way, where she is sitting at the piano and all the focus is on her, no band, backup singers, just her, but then she gets up from the piano and the band comes in to play the more Beatles-eque version. I think I would have preferred to see her just do what she did in the audition, just piano. She was more comfortable there, and sounded more original. It was still real good, but it could have been unbelievably amazing.  
Judge's Comments=Keith-Clear to see why America voted for, could have taken the whole song at the piano, so beautiful up there. Jennifer-No question why she is here, as compelling as ever. Harry-Didn't need the band at all, really nice work.
                                          Our Grade=B

Qaasim Middleton(Sir Duke-Stevie Wonder) He takes the song almost gospel in the beginning of the song and we get to hear that he has a beautiful voice, but then the band comes in and you lose some of that quality in his voice. Again, like most weeks, his performance skills are off the chart, but his voice is not as strong when he is running around and playing with the audience. I think it would have been brave if he just made the song into a gospel-sounding song, and made it his own, rather than rely on the band again. The scatting he does at the end with the falsetto at the end was cool. But in some parts he is getting sort of predictable at this point.
Judge's Comments=Jennifer-Energy is so contagious and amazing. Owns the whole stage. Harry-Did sound nice, but wants to know if we will ever hear less than an explosion of energy. Keith-Showed everything he can do in a small, compact space.
                                           Our Grade=B-

Clark Beckham (It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World-James Brown) Clark's voice is probably one of the strongest in the competition, period. He has had issues with going off pitch or lacking in performance, but his voice has been so beautiful. Tonight everything was on the money. He hits a few particular notes that seemed so difficult but he made it so easy. He has that sultry, gritty voice that makes you feel so pumped to hear. Best performance in a couple weeks.
Judge's Comments=Harry-If he can take one of the most chauvinistic songs and make him forget it's quite an accomplishment. Keith-Amazing, killer. Jennifer-Vocal of the night, amazing.
Our Grade=A

Joey Cook(King of Spain-The Tallest Man on Earth) She doesn't have her squeeze box, like she had in her audition, but she has a little ukulele and she sounds like she has always sounded. She's a very stylistic kind of performer, she's device that way, either you like her style or you probably don't. I think she was as consistent as she has been this season. Her voice was on point for the majority of the song, and the last second of the song she goes without the band and you can hear her voice is really nice when it's pure and simple.
Judge's Comments=Keith-Little sharp up there. Jennifer-Filled up the big stage, one of her best performances. Harry-Stylized, but she might be finding a spot up there.
Our Grade=B

Who Didn't Make America's Top 10 out of 12? Quentin Alexander, Mark Andrew, Adam Ezegalian, Adanna Duru, Loren Scott and Alexis Gomez 

Wild Card Picks and Performances

Quentin Alexander(Royals-Lorde) The fact that he wasn't initially picked to be in the Top 12 gets me nervous for his Idol life on the show, but if he performs week to week as strong as he has been, and a couple males falter (i.e David) then Quentin can keep getting through. Tonight he takes the song into a spacey, kind of futuristic, groovy place. His voice is so good and his artistry is amazing. He, like Jax, can take a song and flip it on its head. Quentin makes it almost until the very end before he breaks down emotionally and starts crying, he kept himself composed up until right then. Nice job all around.
Judge's Comments= Jennifer-Deserved to be there. Emotion is part of what makes him a great artist. Harry-Favorite part of him is he 's deeply in touch with his emotion, some pitch problems but that's not a problem this time. Keith-Brought a real spiritualism to that song. So glad he's here.
                                            Our Grade=B+

Adanna Duru (You & I=Lady Gaga) I am not upset about this pick. Adanna is one of only a couple contestants that can have a powerhouse-big number. She hasn't been as consistent week to week as I hope, but when she is good, she is real good. Given that she not only had to perform last after waiting all night and seeing so many great performances, but she was last picked from the judge's and America, with that being said she kept her composure pretty well. Her voice hits some of those big notes flawlessly. She goes off a little, but her emotions were probably going crazy. Overall she proves that she is Top 12 worthy.  Keith gives her a standing ovation.
Judge's Comments= Harry-Brings a lot to this competition. Needs to take all the energy and some of it was really out of tune. Jennifer-Needs to work on having control of her performance. Harry-Has got people out of their seats.
                                          Our Grade=B

Eliminated=Loren Scott, Adam Ezegelian, Mark Andrew, Alexis Gomez

Our Favorite Top 12 Peformance= Tyanna Jones. She owned the song, the stage and delivered on every front from the first note. She has been consistent every week and if she stays as good as she has been, she can go a long way in this competition.

Our Bottom 3 Predictions=Daniel, Adanna, Maddie
Our Going Home Predictions=Daniel

Final Thoughts

*Other than Daniel Seavey out and Loren Scott in the Top 12,  I am so excited by this crop of contestants. There are at least 7 incredibly strong contestants left that could win this whole thing. 7!  And there are at least a few others that if they put a decent run together could have a shot too. When has there been that many standouts in one season? Sometimes you get 4 or even 5, but this many standout contestants is so exciting. This should be a great season, and with only one person getting eliminated at a time now, the pace of the show will hopefully slow down a little. This season has the potential to be amazing every single week.

*Several performances tonight were pretty good, but sometimes doing too much is actually too much. Jax, Qaasim and Nick for example could have gone sans band and just focused on their voice or their particular instrument, but they had the band join in and make the performances more standard. There is a big difference between being good and being great and although a lot of these contestants are having good performances, they didn't have a moment, a moment that proves that they could win this whole thing. Once that moment comes we will all know it, and feel it, and I can't wait for that to hopefully happen. 

*The show having to reveal 12 people, do a short video package of in-house mentor Scott Borchetta and have those 12 people perform was so hectic. Remember in every season other than this one, this show would have been done in the course of 3 hours. The reveal of Top 12 would have happened in the results show (1 hour) and the Top 12 would have performed the next episode (2 hours) So we are getting 3 hours of content in only an hour. I know it's Season 14, and the ratings haven't been strong the past couple years but that's just way too much. I feel before "live"/pre-taped episodes started they should have knocked the contestants down to a Top 10, because 12 is way too much in one hour. Tonight we were supposed to see how the contestants grew from their auditions, but we could barely get a small clip of how they sounded during  their audition and compare that to tonight. It's unfortunate that on such a strong season like we have this year, we are getting the least amount of content, such as behind the scenes stuff with Scott Borchetta and learning about who these people are.

*The judge's kept talking about the contestant's song choice tonight, and I feel like they didn't remember that the contestant's had zero choice in songs. They had to sing the song that was their initial audition. So it might be good advice to say in general "pick songs that do X, Y or Z", not "this wasn't a good song choice".It made me annoyed hearing them say that. It's a small nitpick.

That's it. That was a lot of stuff tonight. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it. Tomorrow the Top 11 will be revealed and they will perform. So come on back after that episode. So until then, see ya!