Guy’s night. 60′s theme. 5 hours of American Idol this week, so let’s get started…

David Hernandez, 24
Glendale, AZ

“The Midnight Hour”

David sang effortlessly with great tone. Not bad for being the very first of the season to step out on stage! I would hate to go first! He seemed a little nervous and stiff, but still sounded good.

• “He can definitely blow… The competition’s on” – Randy
• “You’ve got brilliant vocals to rely on… you color it up… it’s lovely… perfect vibrato” – Paula
  “Better than I thought it was going to be… you’ve got to loosen up a bit.” – Simon

Chikezie Eze, 22
Inglewood, CA

“More Today Than Yesterday”

Chikezie returned from last season after working hard to improve. He has a great smile on camera and can rock an orange suit (you know that’s unique). The beginning verse sounded a little flat in his lower register, but once he got to the chorus, his voice warmed up and his vocals were smoother.

• “You gotta remember for you what’s going to help you is to make it new, fresh, young…You can definitely sing” – Randy
• “You’ve come a long way… you’re here, you look great (he’s lost weight). You are a throwback to great R & B and you’re infectious” – Paula
• “I absolutely hated the whole performance… the suit is hideous… it was old fashioned, corny, cheesy… ” – Simon, who cracks me up with his name mispronunciations (He called him Jacuzzi!?) and as a fashion critic (he was wearing whit, grey, and black)

David Cook, 25
Blue Springs, MO

Showed shots of David’s “I’ll Be” audition which I loved. He says: I’m glad he [Simon] said no because if he said no I would have had too much of a comfort level. It’s nice to have people outside your circle say “Hey, you don’t suck.”

The crowd was up on their feet for David’s edgier performance of 60′s classic “So Happy Together”. Once he started singing, he looked very comfortable. It was a little bit forced to me, but enjoyable if I looked past that. Original and strong stage presence.

• “You made a rock joint out of Happy Together. I thought if he could pull this off, he could do anything” – Randy
• ” You rocked it. You made something original” – Paula
• “I thought it was good… shouted a little bit in the middle. You almost made it believable” (meant as a compliment, I think) – Simon, who cannot remember if he said “wordy or worthy”…

Jason Yeager, 28
Grand Prairie, TX

“Moon River”

It was sweet to see Jason’s audition with his son since we saw none of it in the previous city-hopping audition shows. Loved the key change mid-song since it was a safe song choice. I thought I was watching a classic Disney movie. This was the only time I’ve seen him, and I’m sure he’s a great guy, but it wasn’t a strong performance for him to get votes. If he makes it through, I hope he steps it up next week.

• “That’s a tough song to sing. Make sure you don’t lose concentration while you sing.” – Randy
• “The simpler the song is, the harder it is to sing.” – Paula, who did her first ballet recital to Moon River
• “It was a very cruise ship performance. You’re like a dependable old dog” – Simon, who comes up with the most interesting analogies
  • “We Love Dogs!” – Randy

Robbie Carrico, 26
Melbourne, FL

“One”

Robbie has been singing since 16. In fact, he toured with Britney Spears  in 2000 while in a boy/girl group. Not an outstanding performance, but not completely terrible either. I liked his earlier auditions.

• “One of my favorite joints from Three Dog Night. You moved me baby” – Randy
• “You picked the perfect song for you. You’re authentic and you stay true… The vocals weren’t over top. They were right in the pocket. The way they should be” -Paula
• “It was the only performance we’ve seen tonight which has any semblence of making sence. It is the only current performance” – Simon, who is unsure of the difference between a pop singer and rocker
• “Dresses like a rocker, but kinda looks like Justin Timberlake” – Ryan

David Archuleta, 17
Murray, UT

“Shop Around”

In auditions, David sang “Waiting on the world to change” (with Randy as back-up) and “Heaven”. Once again he sounded effortless with an upbeat, original rendition of this song. David is very likable and talented for such a young guy.

• “I’m a big fan. I thought that was really brilliant. You were born with a gift” – Randy
• “It was a very brave and bold song for you. We’ve never seen that side of you… Unbelievably confident soul who knows what’s best for you” – Paula
• “When you’ve got it you’ve got it. That was by a comfortable mile, the best performance of the night so far” – Simon
• “You can only vote for him, you can’t adopt him” – Ryan

Danny Noriega, 18
Azusa, CA

“Jailhouse Rock”

Was cut the first day of Hollywood week last year. “Last year I tried to create a little image… I was not being myself… I want to bring my swagger and attitude on stage. I want it to be HOT, so I’m going to bring it”

So Danny did. His performance was confident and sassy. It was a different song choice than I would have expected from him, but it worked for me.

• “You know how to have a good time. The vocals were okay – it didn’t allow you to do your thing, but …I loved the performance from you”
• “Very warm, almost songs. One of the most amazing vocals. I loved hearing how your voice goes in and out of these beautiful colors. This was… a safer song, that allowed you to be the performers” – Paula
• “I don’t understand a word of what you (Paula) just said – what color was that? I thought the performance was verging on grotesque.”- Simon
• “He’s got mad vocalz” – Paula
• “Some people weren’t liking it” – Danny, with the head snap

Luke Menard, 29
Crawfordsville, IN

“Everybody’s Talkin’”

Luke auditioned in 06 but did not make it. He reminded me of Richard Marx. There were minor pitch problems – maybe he was nervous. I was disappointed because I thought he’d do better.

• “That song was very pitchy. Consistently sharp… was not great” – Randy
• “I don’t feel this was the best performance for you… (you have) Kenny Loggins tenderness” – Paula
• “(To Paula) What color was it? It was forgettable… You have to stand out and you didn’t” – Simon

Colton Berry, 18
Staunton, VA

“Suspicious Minds”

Colton sings the teletubbies song in his head when he gets nervous. As the last person in the room to see the judges with Alex (last week), he sang the tune for three hours.

• “You did a pretty good job. It started a little rough… by the end you worked it out” – Randy
• “It was nice to see a different side of you… you gave it an eager and fun attempt” – Paula
• “What did I get from that performance – nothing… I’m not looking at a recording artist… I just think if people spent more time worrying about their voices rather than their hair…” – Simon, hair stylist extraordinaire
• “That is called hopeless. That box cut you’ve got” – Ryan Secrest, who rocks the box cut

Garrett Haley, 17
Elida, OH

“Breaking up is hard to do”

Leif Garrett look-alike. Was on vacation in San Diego and decided to audition. A bit pitchy and too slow for me. I was also distracted by the peach fuzz on his lip during the close-ups. Nonetheless, he was a sweet and positive guy. I almost hope he drops out this week. I don’t think he’s ready yet and it will be a tough competition ahead. He’s too sweet for that.

• “That’s a great Neil Sedaka song… don’t be afraid to make these things your own… you gotta bring something new and interesting to it” – Randy
• “If you stay at the slow tempo, it brings the performance down. Don’t be afraid to be courageous (and change it up” – Paula
• “You need some fresh air” – Simon
• “You need to breathe. Are you breathing?” – Randy

Jason Castro, 20
Rockwall, TX

“What a day for a daydream” with guitar

For only singing in public 5 times before, Jason seemed incredibly comfortable. I never noticed him much before, so hopefully he’ll make it through so we can see more.

• “I liked the little accent with the whole guitar vibe with you strumming along with it… it didn’t blow me away, but it was a’ight” – Randy
• “You did blow me away… you picked a song that was absolutely perfect for you and your take on it, it was minimal, effortless really joyful.” – Paula
• “I thought that was in the top two performances of the night… you like David have just got it…. great with the camera, great choice of song. You made it sound current” – Simon

Michael Johns, 29
Australian, living in Atlanta

“Light my fire”

I’m a reluctant fan of Michael Johns. I don’t want to like him just because everyone else does, but really… he is talented and easy on the eyes. Australian accent nice too

• “What a way to end a great night… you’re always you. You’re like a Michael Hutchence” – Randy
• You did set everyone on fire” – Paula
• “The most consistent contestant we’ve had… you have the natural charisma of a lead singer” – Simon

Who should stay? Who should go?

My faves of the night: David Archuleta, Michael Johns, David Hernandez

Who might go home: Garrett Haley or Jason Yeager, both did not have much camera time and had safer song choices.

Let’s see how the ladies do tomorrow night!

All photos from FOX network’s americanidol.com

By TVJunkie Jenn