'American Idol' Recap - Showcase #1

OK, I’m back. As some of you might have noticed, I didn’t recap the Hollywood week episodes. The official reason is that, given how scattershot the performances are, it’s hard to recap, especially when most songs are spliced into 15-second segments. The unofficial reason is that I acted as a musical director for a community theater show and the tech week schedule proved too difficult. Shhh. But all that is OK, as Hollywood Week is fun but ultimately forgettable in the grand Idol scheme of things. We’re just not attached enough to the contestants yet. But now we’re getting to the fun part and I’m back with weekly recaps.

Let’s get to who got through:

Michael Simeon
While he had confidence on stage, I’m not sure Michael’s smooth pop voice stood out in the crowd enough for a Top 24 spot, especially next to someone like Cody Fry who showed much better musicality and stage presence before getting the ax.

Loren Lott
Despite performing one of the most schmaltzy, overdone songs of all time, Loren showed off some powerhouse, JHud-like vocals. That all being said, we only saw a few bars and a whole 2-3 minute song with that kind of power gets old fast, so hopefully Loren has some of JHud’s killer vocal control too.

Adam Ezegelian
I loved Elijah, Meat Loaf Jr (or Meatball, as I liked to call him), who won last year and there’s a definite comparison you can make between him and Adam. But Adam feels a bit more Tenacious D than hard rock. Still he’s incredibly entertaining.

Lovey James
I want to like Lovey, I really do. And I can tell she has potential. But in her House Of Blues performance, Lovey tried way too hard and ended up coming off like a kid playing dress up.

Adanna Duru
I’m a fan of Adanna and she surely has a big ol’ brassy voice but her “Man’s World” was messy and uncontrolled in a way that seemed sloppy rather than frivolous.

Maddie Walker
I’m not sure any good decisions could come out of an impromptu sing-off, but in my mind Maddie was the wrong choice to go forward in the competition. Her “Big Girls Don’t Cry” was quite pitchy, as was her sing-off performance while Rachel showed some grit and quiet confidence in hers. Oh well.

Clark Beckham
Clark had the best vocals I heard all night. Period. His “Georgia On My Mind” took risks and got a big reward.

Daniel Seavey
Sure the Idol-y tweens will probably swoon Kevin Covais style, but I’m 24 and think that it’s a good idea to wait until your voice finished changing before going on a national TV show.
Tyanna Jones
The Janelle Monae comparison is obvious but apt, as this very likeable teen has the vocal prowess and take-no-prisoners stage presence to do really well this season.

Rayvon Owen
For my money, Rayvon’s song sounded more like a Sam Smith impression rather than his own thing. But that all being said, his vocals were impeccable.

Shannon Berthiaume
I’m not sure what to make of Shannon. Her vocals are on point and there’s a feral quality to her performance that I dig, but her total lack of experience is a big problem when going to the live shows.

Jax
There was no more surefire Top 24 reveal than Jax. She has a unique look, great vocals and a 9/11 firefighter dad. I mean, really, did Per mold her out of clay? Jax’s “You and I” cover felt a little safe and whitewashed (it lacked the grit that, say, Haley Reinhart brought to it on the Idol stage), but worthy of the Top 24 spot anyway.

And Those Who Didn’t Make It Without Much Explanation:

Cody Fry
Reno Anoa’i
J. None
Hector Montenegro
Zack Kaltenbach
Hannah Mrozak
Rachel Hallack