American Idol Recap: Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk Own The Night As Top 12 Guys Perform

Casey Abrams - Fox

“It’s season 10, the remix,” Randy Jackson declared before the real competition got started on American Idol last night. Remixed the show is indeed. As the top 12 guys prepared to hit the stage to sing for America’s votes for the first time, it was announced that after the voting was tallied, the five guys and five girls with the most votes would make it into the overall top 12, with the judges picking the final two with a wild card vote. This formula gives the guys (and girls tonight) just one chance to impress before the top 12 is completed. No pressure there.

For the most part, the guys did well. No one truly bombed, though a couple, like Robbie Rosen and Jovany Barreto, disappointed with sleepy, forgettable performances. On the flip side, a couple singers lived up to their pre-big stage hype, like an ailing Casey Abrams and Jacob Lusk, who both ruled the stage with their powerful pipes.

Here’s a rundown of how the top 12 guys did:

Clint Jun Gamboa – Superstition: First thought: could he have chosen a more overdone song!? Ugh! Clint tried to employed a healthy dose of swag to liven up with OMG-overheard Stevie Wonder tune, but with noticeable nerves and the band overwhelming his voice, the performance was just OK. Nonetheless, the judges were impressed. “That was brilliant,” Steven said. “There’s no karaoke singer in the world who’s got that kinda vocal talent,” Randy told him.

Jovany Barreto – I’ll Be: The Latin heartthrob whipped out yet another overdone, karaoke classic. Unlike Clint who at least tried to add something new to his song, Jovany played it straight — and it was super dull because of this. Not to mention he was as stiff as a board on the stage. We get it. It’s a ballad, but at least sway! The all too positive critique from the judges reared its lame head again for Jovany’s judging. “Holy shipyard! You brought it again. That was beautiful,” Steven said. Thankfully, Randy chimed in with some truth. “It felt very karaoke,” Randy said. “It was just OK.” Jennifer fired backed: “I disagree. It was great. First performance on the big stage. You should be very proud.”

Jordan Dorsey – OMG: Finally! Someone breaks out a current pop song. Idol is looking for a star who can compete with the likes of Usher, right? So it would only make sense to see how these guys would do performing pop hits. Too bad this version from Jordan was as corny as it comes! Jordan’s vocals were all over the place and the arrangement washed the song out. “You had the moves but it wasn’t my favorite performance of yours,” Steven said. “I’m not sure if that’s who you really are…you’re a soft R&B guy who does these amazing things with his voice. I don’t want you to be anything else,” Jennifer told Jordan. Jordan admitted the song is not him. So, dude…why did you choose it? He did more harm than good admitting that. Now he looks like a poser. Lame. Bye, Jordan. You’re done.

Tim Halperin – Streetcorner Symphony: Tim has a lightweight Gavin DeDegraw-ish vibe while performing the Rob Thomas track, which means we kinda dug it. He was happy-go-lucky and had fun on stage, but the performance overall was a big pile of forgettable. “I’m not sure if that song did you any justice,” Steven told him. “I would hate to lose you over that,” Jennifer said, expressing the same concern as Steven. “You’ve been much better before…you didn’t bring anything exciting or new to it,” Randy chimed in with. Looks like Tim could be in trouble.

Brett Lowenstern – Light My Fire: Brett chose a song as fiery as his gorgeous red hair. He started out too soft and a bit pitchy, but soon picked up the pace and powered through the performance with strong vocals and kick-ass sassy hair-whipping. “You were on fire,” said Steven. Jennifer’s critique was probably the best ever: “That was more hair-tossing than me and Beyonce put together in the past 10 years!” She added, “I love that you are who you are.”

James Durbin – You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’: Two points goes to James for bringing Judas Priest to Idol. -3872627923 points to James for being the most blatant rip off of Adam Lambert, like, ever. The guy’s got pipes. We’d be boobs not to admit that, but our disdain for James deepened with this performance. From throwing up the rocker devil horns to his high note at the end…it all screamed desperate poser. The ick factor grew to new levels with the judges’ critiques. “That was crazy good,” Steven said after unleashing a firestorm of expletives. “I love the way you perform…it’s organic…it’s real,” Jennifer said. To this, we say, HAAAAAAAAAA! “This is right here how you do it…that was great,” Randy finished with. Are they serious?

Robbie Rosen – Angel: Robbie has a beautiful voice, but this Disney-esque drowsy version of “Angel” was a real snoozer. And that’s not tough to achieve considering the original version could very well double as a lullaby. It was his job to liven the song up, or at least offer some amazing vocals to make it memorable. That performance didn’t show us anything we’d want to see again, which is sad. Robbie’s got one of the best voices in the competition. It was forgettable deluxe. Steven and Jennifer offered fluff for their critiques. “You can sing a ballad like nobody’s business. That was beautiful,” said Steven. Jennifer pointed out how the notes weren’t perfect, but loved the way he “felt” the song. Randy played the honest hardass, thankfully. “It didn’t all quite work and the notes were really pitchy.” Fingers crossed voters remember Robbie’s excellent performances from Hollywood week.

Scott McCreery – Letters From Home: Back when Scotty auditioned, the judges said he could be legendary. On the big stage for the first time, did Scott live up to his “legendary” hype? Well, here’s the thing. We’re not fans of Scott’s one-trick-pony voice, but he stays true to who he is. Scott is who he is and he plays to his strengths well. That’s commendable. The judges agreed and swooned in delight for giving the country boy a shot. “I don’t think you could have picked a better song to represent who you are…that was so beautiful,” noted Steven. “You’re born to sing country music. God bless you,” Jennifer said. “I’m a big fan,” said Randy. His unique voice and sweet personality is going to take Scott far.

Stefano Langone – Just The Way You Are: Cheers to another dose of current pop! This time it’s Stefano with Bruno Mars’ outstanding pop masterpiece. But, uh, whoa, pitchy! Stefano is one of the only true pieces of male eye candy, so the judges aren’t going to ruin the show’s chances of having a swoon-worthy pop star. “I loved it. You are so good,” Steven said. “There’s nothing awkward about you up there…you’re a beast!” said Jennifer. “The high note was a little sharp but it doesn’t matter about all of that, you had us rocking. This kid could be on the radio right now,” Randy said. See what we mean?

Paul McDonald – Maggie May: Paul hit the stage singing Rod Stewart’s classic like he was an old pro. He made the performance come alive with his quirky voice and even quirkier, yet charming, demeanor. It was joyous and fun. “You got a real character about your voice and I love that,” said Steven. “You have real character in the way you move too,” piggybacked Jennifer. “You are just so unique and different. I love the possibility that Idol could embrace this kinda singer…it bodes well for us.” said Randy.

Jacob Lusk -A House Is Not A Home: We saw this coming. Jacob predictably broke out a Luther Vandross song to perform on the big stage. He quickly got to work showcasing his wildly wide range. The vocals were crazy — in the best way possible. Powerful and passionate. Controlled and captivating. The judges all loved every second of Jacob’s performance.”Divine intervention brought you here…you make me cry when you sing,” Steven praised. Jennifer took her love a little bit further, and possibly too far. “[Luther] is gone…but now we have you.” “Luther would be so proud of you. We’re lucky to have you on here.” Randy added.

Casey Abrams – I Put A Spell On You: Casey left a hospital where he was being treated after experiencing sever stomach pains to tape his performance. Maybe that would explain why he spent 80% of his performance screaming instead of singing. We kid — a little. Casey definitely did more screaming than singing, but what stood out above that was his larger than life stage presence. He owned the stage with his persona and, dare we say it, sexiness. The judges couldn’t get enough. “You are in your mind good and out of your mind unreal,” Steven said. “That was as good as it gets.” “You’re sexy, Casey.You’re gonna redefine what this whole thing is. You came out with the hunger and fire and you just ate it. I loved it,” swooned Jennifer. “You transformed yourself into the spirit of that song,” said Randy. Casey will be around for a long time.

The top 12 girls perform tonight!