//American Idol Recap: Von Smith Pulls It Back, Scott MacIntyre Inspires, Lil Rounds Blows ‘Em Away//

The final set of 12 performed tonight on American Idol and “underwhelming” was the theme of the night. Actually, it was again songs from the Billboard Hot 100 since its inception, but I think you know where I’m going with this.

Learning absolutely nothing from the last two weeks, the contestants chose dry, gloomy songs that were not memorable or just completely the wrong song for their voices, period. But that’s not to say there weren’t a few shining moments.

With a group that consisted of the visually impaired crooner Scott MacIntyre, soul diva Lil Rounds, and powerhouse Von Smith, there were some memorable performances. It’s just a shame they were so scattered.

Let’s take a look at how it all played out and excuse me if the descriptions are much shorter than previous recaps–some people were just that forgettable.

Von Smith – You’re All I Need To Get By: Unlike the previous weeks where the opening performer was just a warm up for the rest of the night, Von came out the gate swinging. He pulled back his showy antics that labeled him that loud, indulgent kid in Simon’s eyes and he grew into a great performer. it wasn’t perfect, and he often looked a bit nervous, but the makings of a star were there. The judges showered him with well-deserved praise, though Simon compared Smith to Clay Aiken, but from his explanation, it seems he meant it in a good way. Was it enough to earn a spot in the top 12? Who knows! Maybe the change came too late.

Taylor Vaifanua – If I Aint Got You: Le sigh! Alicia Keys is a great singer and songwriter. But what Alicia does is makes songs that are just right for her. It’s nearly impossible for anyone else to do them justice. Taylor didn’t get this memo, and so she tried her hand at a Keys classic. It came off as bland as Lean Cuisine spaghetti and meatballs. Major props to Taylor for knowing exactly how Alicia performs the song when she does it in concert–she’s clearly a real Akeys fan. But she won’t be top 12 bound.

Alex Wagner-Trugman – I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues: OMG. There are few things worse than 19-year-old Alex’s performance. Mosquito bites on your butt is definitely worse, but from the way Alex was dancing, I’d say he had a couple bites that needed a little scratch-a-roo back there. The vocals were shot, the dancing uber-lame–nothing about it was great. It was like drunken karaoke. Simon called the whole thing stupid. We’ve never been so eye to eye. Bye Alex!

Arianna Afsar – The Winner Takes It All: “Cute as a button” Arianna wanted to do a little to shed her sweet little girl image, so she decided to take on an older song (by ABBA no less!) and try making it contemporary. Epic fail. The poor girl sounded beyond old fashion, pitchy, and the ending note that could have saved her was wavier than ruffled Lays Potato chips. Ya hate to see that happen! Arianna was actually one of my favs in the audition rounds, but there’s no way we’ll be seeing her again on Idol after this performance.

Ju’Not Joyner - Hey There Delilah: I’ll admit that maybe I can’t be completely fair to Ju’Not. He chose a great song. One that could easily be transformed from a modern day pop classic, to an R&B flavored ballad. And maybe Ju’Not really did do as well as the judges said he did. But I couldn’t see it. Honestly, I couldn’t get Jamar Rogers’s Hollywood Week performance of “Hey There Delilah” out of my head. TEAM JAMAR! Oops…sorry. What I did notice about Ju’Not after I slipped out of my Jamar trance was he was a bit pitchy, the tempo was a little too slow, and he totally lacks star quality. Now Jamar, on the other hand….

Kristen McNamara – Give Me One Reason: Kristen has a pretty good voice. Her major problem is, and probably always will be, her inability to figure out who she is as an artist. She says she wants to make “Kelly Clarkson/Leona Lewis” music…but, uh, Kristen, those two are nothing alike! The judges swooned over her vocal range but ripped her with the “who are you?” questions. She won’t make it. And, honestly, I won’t feel bad. I’m still not over what a brat she was during the group round. Bye!

Nathaniel Marshall – I Would Do Anything For Love, But I Won’t Do That: No more! Nick Mitchell aka Norman Gentle got a lot of flack for his crazy stage get-ups because he was clearly joking, but Nathaniel is serious and he dresses just as badly. Who’s worse!? Besides looking completely hideous, his performance was just as bad.

Felicia Barton – No One: An Alicia Keys twofer! Felicia, who is a replacement for booted contestant Joanna Pacitti, took on the new queen of R&B better than Taylor, but that’s not saying much. She was very pitchy, off key many times, voice cracked a few times–it was just not great. Simon agreed saying it was a bit too copycat, but the rest of the judges let the praise rain.

Scott MacIntyre – Mandolin Rain: I was really looking forward to seeing Scott. His audition was great and the bits and pieces we got to see of him in Hollywood Week were good, but now we were getting a chance to see another full performance. When I heard his song choice, i was psyched! When he started I was like, “OK…good good…a little off key there, but good…” and then he got into it and WOW! Yeah, it wasn’t a perfect performance, but like Kara said, when he was on, he was ON! There was a note in there during the chorus that literally sent chills up my spine. Scott, see you in the top 12!

Kendall Beard – This One’s For The Girls: Kendall is one of the few country singers to compete this season. Too bad she isn’t anywhere near as good as past country Idols like Carrie Underwood or even Kellie Pickler. Her performance of “This One’s For The Girls” was cute and peppy, but hardly vocally great. The judges gave her a bit of hope saying she was so cute, someone out there is bound to pick up the phone and vote for that alone.

Jorge Nunez – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me: Puerto Rican crooner Jorge was given a bit of advice about singing with his accent during his audition in San Juan. He took it to heart and started working with a coach to lose it. But something tells me he didn’t actually hire a coach, instead, he went to YouTube and studied Clay Aiken. His performance of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” sounded almost exactly like Clay’s version in season 2. Of course it’s the same song, but even the little ways Clay changed it up were mimicked by Jorge. It paid off for him because the judges ate it up. An adorable Jorge was so overwhelmed with joy, he began celebrating in Spanish. Loves!

Lil Rounds – Be Without You: As always, they saved the showstopper for last. The mom with the big voice, Lil Rounds, finally took the stage. She’s looking to be the next soul star, so why not choose one of the biggest to follow behind: Mary J. Blige. Though the arrangement didn’t allow for maximum impact, Lil still got the crowd on their feet with pitch-perfect vocals and glass-shattering high notes. Simon summed it up in one word: Brilliant.

Predictions: No brainer: Lil Rounds will make it through and so will Scott MacIntyre. The third spot is always where we get it wrong, but we’re thinking Jorge’s cute tears of joy secured his spot.

We’ll see if we’re right tonight on the results show!

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