Idol Chatter: The Live Blog #1.2.

[I wanted to do this last season, but I got the idea a few episodes too late. I do admit, I watch American Idol. I really didn't start until a couple years ago, though (my mom was a much bigger fan). Similar in style to the Live Survivor Blog over at Blog Cabins, Idol Chatter (pun and all) will be a play by play of the episodes and what I think of what's happening. For those that don't know, just continually refresh this page to get new updates as the show goes on.]

Here's night 2! It's time for the guys, which I'm more excited for anyway. The guys have been much more interesting to me than the girls this season (except for maybe Ms. Bowersox). So let's get this rolling! It's time for the Top 12 Guys.

7:00: Haha, nice fake-out. Ryan: "This... is... Simon, stop talking!"

7:02: Randy: "The girls really blew it out last night!" ... Did we watch the same show? I mean, really... Randy, last night was terrible.

7:04: Todrick Hall is up first! What's he singing?

7:05: "Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. Wow... singing a girl's song. And he's totally changed it up. This is pretty cool, actually. He's made it more, I don't know... hip hop or funk. I'm digging it. Good stage presence, good voice, great mix of the song.

7:06: Ellen: "Singing wasn't the greatest, but I love that you took a chance." Randy: "You don't want to take a song and completely obliterate it." Kara agrees. Simon: "It was verging on stupid what you just did." Wow... these... um... I disagree. They beg these singers to change up songs. They praised Adam Lambert last season for doing just that. Now they're lambasting Todrick (old school puns... gotta love 'em). Whatever.

7:14: Up next... the youngest contestant, Aaron Kelly. He'll probably be this year's David Archuletta. What's he singing? "Here Comes Goodbye" by Rascal Flatts.

7:15: Not a big fan of country, but Rascal Flatts is OK. Not too impressed so far, though. Good voice for a 16-year-old, of course, but it's still a bit shaky. Nice good note toward the end. Though it was almost like a Jonas Brother trying to sing country. A bit strange.

7:16: Simon: "Bearing in mind it was your first live show, it was quite a good performance." But he needs to be more confident. Kara likes his rawness and naivety about said rawness. Randy likes him, despite a bit of shaky moments. Ellen loves his humbleness and thinks he's great. For the most part, I agree. I think he'll get better with more confidence, but this was just OK.

7:24: Here comes Jermaine Sellers the church singer. He's singing "Get Here" by Oleta Adams... his singing doesn't seem to match up with the music. I mean, he's not bad. He just seems off from the music. Ouch... that note hurt me. His voice is slightly annoying. At least in this song. And it was waayyyy pitchy.

7:27: Ellen didn't think he felt the song and overdid it, trying too hard. Randy and Kara thought he tried to do too much with his voice, and the song is too old for him. And Simon didn't like it. I'm with them.

7:35: Tim Urban is up next... Tim Urban is replacing somebody else who was cut because of a previous contract. And... I'm not sure I know who he is. But let's see how he does.

7:36: "Apologize" by One Republic. I like the song; let's see how he does. He's changed it up slightly. This song is easy to mess up on due to its strange vocal keys. And... I'm honestly not sure what I think of this. He's going the 'soft' route. He's not really pounding it out, and he's going for a ton of high notes that sound like they're painful for him to hit.

7:38: Simon: "Congratulations for coming back. Having said that, I think we made the right decision the first time..." in reference to cutting him from the Top 24. Kara: "The music overpowered you." Randy: "The wrong song." Ellen: "You couldn't hit those high notes." I completely agree with the judges this time.

7:46: Aw... they faked me out. They said Casey James was coming on, but then they went to Joe Munoz. I love Casey. But let's see how Joe does. He's doing "You and I Both" by Jason Mraz.

7:48: Good vocals. Interesting take on the song. So far the best of the night, I think. Which doesn't really say that much.

7:50: Ellen: "Great stage presence." Randy didn't know about the song choice, but liked it. Kara digged it, though not great. Simon "kinda" agrees. I thought he was good, best so far... but again, that's not saying too much.

7:53: Tyler Grady! They haven't shown too much of him, but from the little I've seen, I dig him. He's very retro and entertaining. And he's going for... "American Woman" by The Guess Who.

7:55: Very entertaining thus far... except for that one iffy note. Owns the stage. Vocals not 100%, but still fun. Totally retro rock.

7:56: Simon thinks he's a big cliche. Kara agrees (too "Jim Morrison"). Randy: "It was very style over substance." I agree... great way to put it. Ellen: "You're going through the motions, but lacking the charisma." Again, I agree.

8:03: Up next, Lee Dewyze. This dude looks so familiar, but I can't pinpoint how. He's alright. But it seems they're saving my favorites for the end. And he's singing...

8:04: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. And he's on the acoustic guitar. Nice. And he's changed up the song a bit. Wow, this is really good. A couple flat notes here and there, but still really good. I bet the judges are gonna like his changes (Poor Todrick).

8:06: Ellen liked the song choice but thought he screamed a bit. Randy didn't like the song choice (not hard enough rock, apparently). God Damnit, Kara ("you made it almost too unrecognizable"). THANK YOU, SIMON! He says the best performance of the night. He wants to do what David Cook did and take a song and make it his own, which is what he did. I agree. Completely.

8:14: John Park! I love this guy. They really only showed him sing once throughout the tryouts and everything, but I really dug it. So let's see how he does.

8:15: "God Bless The Child" by Billie Holiday. Great vocals. Kind of a slow song, but still... amazing vocals. Completely the best of the night so far.

8:16: Simon: "You have to have an incredible voice to sing that song, and you haven't." Shut up, Simon. Kara agrees. Shut up, Kara. Randy and Ellen didn't like the song, but liked his voice. I can see what they're saying... the song was slow and a bit 'blah', but his voice was great. But in no way flat, Simon.

8:20: Big Mike! Big guy with a big voice. Come on, Mike. Be good and let me agree with the judges on this one. What are you going for?

8:21: "This Love" by Maroon 5. Not a song I can see for this guy. But he's doing pretty well with it. Sounds kinda nasally, though. But good.

8:22: Ellen thought it was a great song choice, and he has a great personality. Randy agrees (and uses the word 'gregarious'). Kara thought it was depressing in the place until Mike showed up. Though kind of a backhanded compliment with the "if we'd had better acts tonight, we might have been harsher with you." Simon says he was like the opening act to a bigger act. I mostly agree with the judges. It was good, but not great.

8:31: Wow... a guy named Alex Lambert. You can't get much closer than that. I'm not even sure I've heard this guy sing. I just recognize the name. And he's singing...

8:32: "It's a Wonderful World" by James Morrison. Interesting tone. Has kind of a James Blunt tone. I hate James Blunt.

8:33: Simon loathed it (thought it was uncomfortable). Kara wants to give him a hug. They say he sounds like James Morrison. Whatever. It's still a James. Ellen points out that he's also rocking a mullet. Another reason to be annoyed with him. And she compares him to an unripe banana. I love Ellen.

8:40: About freakin' time! Casey James! This dude is like my favorite of the guys. And he's singing...

8:41: "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. And his playing acoustic. And he's doing fantastically. I honestly have nothing bad to say. No bias, either... this guy was great.

8:43: Kara has a crush on Casey, so she has an awkward start. Ellen is funny and loved him. Randy liked him. Kara comes back seriously and says she loved it. Simon makes a funny joke ("we were both cursed with good looks"), but goes more serious... great song choice, best singing from you thus far. This was all great. Loved it.

8:50: Finally... Andrew Garcia. He's my next favorite after Casey. He actually reminds me a lot of Danny from last season. So what's he doing?

8:51: "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy. And boy, has he changed it up. And I'm digging it. At this point, I have no idea how the judges will like the changes. Regardless, great vocals, and I actually really like the changes. It's almost reminiscent of Richard Cheese and something he would do.

8:53: Simon was disappointed. Figures. Says too serious, too indulgent, and not original enough. Not original? That was completely changed up. Kara thought it was too strange. Randy agrees. Ellen agrees. But I don't get it. During Hollywood week, he totally changed up a Paula Abdul song and made it his own, and they loved it. So he completely changed up this song and made it his own, yet they want him to completely change up songs and make them his own like he did with the Abdul song... yeah, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. These judges are on crack.

8:56: Here's the recap. Todrick was worse than I remember... so was Aaron. Jermaine was still terrible. And Tim. Joe Munoz looks like a Mexican Sylar (from Heroes). Tyler is still retro. I still like Lee. And John Park. Maroon 5 is still an odd choice for Big Mike. Alex Lambert is rockin' that mullet! Casey (love him). And I still like you, Andrew. I don't care what those judges say!

8:59: Yay! Allison from last season is gonna be on tomorrow! I loved her.

Final Notes: My guess is that Tim Urban and Jermaine are going home. We'll see tomorrow. See you then.