Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I haven’t heard a note the ladies are singing tonight, but FOX has already posted photos of the pre-taped performances on its media site, so I know what they’re wearing.

That being the case, let’s slip into the role of Red Carpet Ryan for a moment.

Haley Reinhart looks stunning in her little black dress. Lauren Alaina has ditched the pink cowgirl boots for an outfit that looks suspiciously like Carrie Underwood, circa season four.

Having tamed it down, Karen Rodriquez is no longer in the running for the big hair award. Ashthon Jones is. Of course, she’ll need to beat Brett Loewenstern’s 14 head shakes.

Rachel Zevita is wearing something red covered by black mesh. I can’t tell if it’s a dress disguised as a negligee or vice versa.

Oh, heck, I’m no good at fashion critiques. Let’s get down to singing.

Speaking of which, have you checked out those new Vegas performance videos Idol posted at americanidol.com. You can listen to the final Vegas performance from each semifinalist.

Pia Toscano, Kendra Chantelle and Lauren Turner sound sensational, which changes my thinking a little as we prepare for tonight’s show.

Speaking of which, if you haven’t heard what the ladies are singing or the order they’re singing in, here’s the list. As usual, I’ll be grading every performance as it happens in this blog, then following up with a recap blog when the show is over.

If you missed last night’s blogs, what Adam Lambert is saying about James Durbin or any of the other latest Idol news, go here.

Now, the promised song list:

1. Tatynisa Wilson: “Only Girl”
2. Naima Adedapo: “Summertime”
3. Kendra Chantelle: “Impossible”
4. Rachel Zevita: “Criminal”
5. Karen Rodriguez: “Hero”
6. Lauren Turner: “Seven Day Fool”
7. Ashthon Jones: “Love All Over Me”
8. Julie Zorrilla: “Breakaway”
9. Haley Reinhart: “Fallin’”
10. Thia Megia: “Out Here on My Own”
11. Lauren Alaina: “Turn On the Radio”
12. Pia Toscano: “I’ll Stand By You”

Ta-tynisa Wilson: The 20-year-old from Louisiana kicks off the show with “Only Girl.” She was a Beyonce impersonator pre-Idol. Her performance showed lots of energy. But the vocals weren’t Beyonce-like were they? Or Rihanna -like. It seemed like a very uneven performance. Steven and Jennifer like it; Randy wasn’t part of the crowd that was “moved” by that performance. Grade: C-

Naima Adedapo: The 26-year-old from Wisconsin says “Summertime” feels like “home” to her. Problem is, she’s not home. She’s on Idol. Where any version of “Summertime” will be compared to one of the most magical Idol performances ever — by Fantasia. I’ll give Naima this, she looks exotic, hit a great note at the end and was pretty much pitch perfect throughout. Still, not the wisest song choice in my mind. Grade: B-.

Kendra Chantelle: The 22-year-old from Tennessee tackles “Impossible.” Nice bluesy voice. And, my, oh my, have these Idols learned some glory note lessons. Brave song choice by Kendra. Singing a Christina Aguilera song. Very nice performance. And combined with a brilliant final Vegas performance on americanidol.com, I’m beginning to think Kendra should get a spot in the finals. Grade: B+

Rachel Zevita: She shows up in a black cape. She flips it off. Told you I wasn’t sure whether it was a dress or a negligee. Shame the singing can’t come close to matching her show-womanship. She’s trying to play the bad girl singing “Criminal.” She might have wanted to stand still and focus on singing well. Grade: D

Karen Rodriguez: The 21-year-old New Yorker sang her entire Vegas solo in Spanish. Tonight, she tackles “Hero.” And slips into Spanish again a couple of lines into the song. The language-switching isn’t working for me. And one glory note isn’t going to make up for what’s been a pretty tortured version of this song. If you’re going to sing “Hero,” you’d better be prepared to slay it. Karen wasn’t up to the task. The judges, however, all three of them, apparently disagree. Grade: C-.

Lauren Turner: Anxious to hear Lauren, who sounded great in her Vegas video, singing “Steal Away.” Tonight, she tackles “Seven Day Fool.” More glory notes. Lots of power behind those vocals. Not as bluesy as Kendra. Not as good as Vegas. But better than I expected from the gal we’ve barely heard from. Grade: B-.

Ashthon Jones: So far, I’ve been very impressed by this 24-year-old from Nashville. Wish she was singing something upbeat and fun tonight, to match her look and personality. Instead, she’s singing “Love All Over Me.” Guess there won’t be any head shakes. But she is giving us lots of attitude. And a pretty darn decent vocal, though it seemed a bit overbaked at times. Grade: B.

Julie Zorrilla: The gal from Colombia, South America, looks like she’s ready for a pageant. And she has made one of the braver song choices of the night — Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway.” Oh, no. Oh, no. Julie’s in trouble. Her vocals are getting lost in the music. They seem rushed. Oh, no. This is going to compare very, very poorly to the original Idol. That might not have even matched Rachel Zevita’s performance. Grade: D.

Haley Reinhart: The gal from Wheeling, Ill., looks lovely and she’s delivering some blues, some sexy and some attitude, too, singing “Fallin’.” And she looks far more confident on stage than I expected her to. Way to go Haley. Fabulous. Maybe the best of the night so far. Grade: B+.

Thia Megia: The first 15-year-old to perform tonight will be singing “Out Here on My Own.” Very soft opening. Decent vocal. But I fear this is coming across as very sleepy compared to some of the more exuberant  performances we’ve seen tonight. She gets praise from Steven, Jennifer and Randy. I wasn’t quite as captivated as they were. Randy compares her to Michael Jackson. Grade: B-.

Lauren Alaina: The gal who’s been an Idol favorite to this point isn’t nearly as subtle as Thia with her rendition of “Turn on the Radio.” She, too, is getting rave reviews from the judges. Not sure that vocal was as spot-on as some we’ve heard from her. But it was a fun performance. And one I preferred over Thia’s. Picking just five girls from this group is going to be very difficult. Randy compares her to a combination of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Hint: She’s still a judges’ favorite. Grade: B.

Pia Toscano: Closing tonight’s show — the 22-year-old former wedding singer from New York. She’ll sing “I’ll Stand by You.” Nice opening. Perfect pitch. And now her vocals start to soar. To an incredible glory note. Not sure she closed as strong as Casey last night. But I think we just heard the best vocal tonight from the girls. Great job, Pia. Grade: A-

So, all the grades are in. I’ll be back with the recap blog soon, complete with my picks on who should advance.