What a Sham...

In a sign that Idol has no faith in its judges nor its production staff, Idol took precautions by pre-taping tonight's Idol show, rumored to be taped because of sound quality issues and wanting to have more time for the judges to gel with one another.  What a sham!  As cheesy as a show as Idol is, having performers sing live adds a bit of legitimacy to the talent show.  Providing a taped edition?  Well that merely puts it in the same sentence as shows like "Jersey (Douche Bags) Shore" and "Real Housewives (Made of Plastic)"

Lauren Alaina started the night off with Shania Twain's ""Any Man of Mine" which surprised with a few pitchy spots and a lack of oomph, but once again showed that Alain is in her comfort zone when singing country pop by stars like Shania Twain and Taylor Swift.  Showing her age, Alaina also showed that she may be a bit too young to make it through this competition as you could tell that she has a hard time receiving less-than-positive feedback.

Casey Abrams performed the classic "With a Little Help From My Friends" and while the performance was enjoyable, he chose not to growl out some of the high notes that make the song a classic.  For me, the best part was Casey saying that Joe Cocker doesn't look that hot when singing...perfect words for a guy that looks Sasquatch's lost son.

Ashthon Jones started off pitchy and didn't quite find her way on a shaky "When You Tell Me You Love Me".  While originally a fan of Jones, it may be that she simply has the look and attitude of a diva; unfortunately for this singing competition, she needs the voice to go with it, as well.

One of my personal favorites, Paul McDonald, took on Ryan Adams "Come Pick Me Up".  Looking like a lost member of the Sgt. Heart's Lonely Club Band, I am starting to wonder if I can take numerous weeks of McDonald's eccentricities.  McDonald has a very interesting voice, but it is not extremely strong and he is going to have to be careful not to get swallowed by the band backing him up.  As for J Lo, way to show her ignorance of not knowing a singer songwriter like Adams.

Pia Toscano had me wishing for a Janet Jackson Super Bowl moment like never before when she performed in a tight sequined dress.  The good news for Toscano is that if Idol doesn't work for her, I am sure that Playboy would be extremely interested in her.  And heck, if Playboy weren't interested, I may be willing to pay for a peek.  As for her song selection (since this is a song contest, of course), Toscano took the bold step of performing Celine Dion's "All By Myself" and I am going to have to eat my words from last week in which I stated that competitors should not take on a singer like Dion because Toscano BROUGHT IT!  Wow...a great version of Dion's popular song.

Screamer James Durbin surprised me as idolizing Paul McCartney as I thought it was Adam Lambert with his almost dead-on impersonation of Lambert.  Durbin was pleasantly good in a toned down performance of  "Maybe I'm Amazed".  Durbin has an outstanding voice and should finish in the top three if he continues at this pace.  Again, he has to learn to keep that scream in check and use it only when needed.

My least favorite contestant, Haley Reinhart sung "Blue" from home wrecker LeAnn Rines and did a solid job.  While I find her to be very annoying, she knows country is her strong suit and picked a smart song for her fan base.  Like Randy said, it was a bit boring of a performance and I think I might be sent to jail for staring more at her cleavage than listening to her voice (underage?).

Not wanting to be outdone by Haley who song a song by whore LeAnn Rines, Jacob Lusk took on everyone's favorite musician who likes to urinate on underage girls, R Kelly.  Choosing the perfect song for his voice, Lusk belted out a pitchy yet powerful "I Believe I Can Fly".  In week one of the top 13, his over-the-top voice is a little too much for me and I will definitely grow tired of him soon enough...America won't be far behind.  Thankfully, Lusk chose not to urinate on 15-year old contestant Thia...that would have been simply uncomfortable.

Thia Megia showed her age when she was unfamiliar with the great silent star Charlie Chaplin when she chose the tender "Smile" made even more famous by Michael Jackson.  While I didn't hear it last week, Megia does sound much like my favorite artist Michael Jackson.  Once again, Randy said it well again when he stated that the first half of the song was much better than the jazz arrangement in the latter half.  Shame on the producers for choosing that arrangement.

Singing Stevie Wonder's "Lately", Stefano Langone failed for me simply because of the odd disco/dance beat set to this great song.  Langone has a great voice, but I still think he needs to stick with Latin where he will find his best success post Idol.  Langone only has a few more weeks left on the show so he should show his strength in Latin music soon.

Karen Rodriguez smartly chose Selena, sticking with her strong suit, however the arrangement started and continued too low and as a result, Rodriguez never found her footing.  The pitchy performance combined with the awful outfit could very well result in Rodriguez's exit tomorrow night.

Country crooner Scotty McCreery performed Garth Brooks' classic "The River" and continued to amaze me with his voice...truly amazing that he is just a high school teenager.  While the band swallowed his voice a few times, his low voice and country twang is simply amazing and I have no doubt that he will have at least one #1 hit on the country charts no matter what happens on Idol.

Dentist dream Naima Adedapo butchered Rhianna's "Umbrella" and once again I felt like I was watching Chris Brown doing his dirty work to an Idol contestant.  It was a horrible performance that was only saved by a cool Jamaican reggae twist in the middle.

After watching the entire show, I didn't understand half of what the heck Steven Tyler was talking about, but J Lo was much stronger with her feedback tonight.  The real question is whether she can do the same when the show returns live next week...and it better return live.

After week one, expect the girls to be short one contestant when either Karen Rodriguez, Ashthon Jones, or Naima Adedapo heads home.