Lil Rounds- (The Way you Make me Feel) I liked Lil’s rendition, she flipped the script and personalized a song that frankly is hard to imagine anyone but Michael Jackson singing. Good strong performance out the gate, the hardest position to be in on the first week. I am looking forward to her singing a bigger song in the near future because she has a great soulful voice that needs to be shown off as often as possible.

Scott McIntyre- (Keep the Faith) Okay I have been waiting for Scott to get to play, and he did not disappoint me. I enjoyed his performance it was the best I have heard him, but it wasn’t electrifying, I think he has to bring more vocally. As far as song choice, although the song was not one of the more well known ones from the MJ catalog it was the right one for Scott to showcase his talent.

Danny Gokey- (P.Y.T.) I loves Danny’s vocals. I think he can sing just about anything. Somehow he managed to “take it to church” while singing P.Y.T?? I think that’s just who he is, and it comes out naturally when he sings; I loved it. In a way he reminds me vocally of Elliot Yamin, just a natural soulfulness in his timbre. He has been my favorite male contestant all along and I hope he goes all the way.

Michael Sarver- ( You are not Alone) I really like Michael he seems like such a genuinely nice guy. He impressed me in the early rounds and he is what Idol use to be all about, an unknown with no experience, that has a gift and has yet to be discovered. His rendition was powerful and pleasant and as Simon said, showed a lot of heart. I think he will be safe this week, but right now I don’t know if he can win it all.

Jasmine Murray- (I’ll be There) This is the first time I have heard her. A nice delivery but really safe and not spectacular. Not really memorable until the last ten seconds. Jasmine has a great stage presence and she is cute as a button but we have yet to see her personality and on Idol personality gets votes. I’d like to see her stick around for a bit because I think she, more than any other contestant could really grow as a performer as the competition moves along. I am worried though that she may go home, but she may also be this years Syesha Mercardo.

Kris Allen- (Remember the Time) Kris is another contestant that I have not heard before. Weird song for an acoustic guitar. Kris has a strong voice and a funky little vibe that sort of reminds me of Dave Matthews. Unfortunately he could not display his guitar playing on the tune he choose tonight as he was drowned out by the band. He also needs to work on stage presence as he seemed dwarfed by the size of the stage, of course true to AI they didn’t do him justice visually, choosing to go with mostly wide shots. I think if he had stripped down, close-up performance and went for the daring, different thing he would have stood out more. I hope he gets the Jason Castro camera- in-face, treatment next week.

Allison Iraheta- (Give in to me) This was the perfect song choice for her voice and her personal style. Impressive pipes for a sixteen year old. Right now I like her but she will have to diversify a bit as the weeks go by. As we know Rocker girls who refuse to compromise, have not faired too well in the past on Idol. She should take a page from the Kelli Clarkson handbook and show her range as a performer if she wants to go all the way. For me right now it is a two woman race between Allison and Lil.

Anoop Desai- ( Beat It) This song was too big for him. I think he was going for Michael Jackson but ended up doing Weird Al; and that is another reason why he should have stayed away from that tune, the comparisons are inevitable. Anoop has a good voice but for “Beat it” you need stage presence, and he is not there. A mid-tempo song would have been a better option. He has a huge following and a winning personality so he will most likely make the cut this week.

Jorge Nunez- (Never Can Say Goodbye) Well, this was slowed down too much for me and it left me with an feeling ambivalent about the performance. I mean I hear a really nice voice but a horrible arrangement that gave him no place to show off what he could do vocally. That coupled with unfortunately no stage presence, made for a lackluster performance. My other question is why did AI ask him to tone down his accent? I think it makes him uncomfortable not being able to be himself vocally. He should not listen to them on that point in fact if he sticks around he should sing in Spanish next week.

Megan Joy Corkrey- (Rockin Robin) Another contestant that I have never heard before tonight. Another pretty girl but Rockin’ Robin’ really? From the first note I’m thinking this cannot bode well for her; and unfortunately I am right. That is a song for a ten year old or an acapella do-wop group; and that “caw caw” thing at the end was hideous. Despite all of it she will be somehow be safe.

Adam Lambert- (Black or White) The ready-made rock star. Now I know he has the ability to pull of this song off but I so wanted him to do “Dirty Diana”. He has the most stage presence and also the only contestant with camera presence so far. Now I don’t know if I want to hear that end note every week and that may be his personal challenge in this competition; to diversify his performances enough to keep people engaged for the entire season, but as of now he is the early favorite. Right now everyone else is playing catch up with this guy. There are others with great vocals but no one else has the total package as of yet.

Matt Giraud- (Human Nature) The Musician...One of my favorites of the night one of my favorite songs as well, a wonderful choice for Matt as it gave him a chance to play and sing. He is a very subtle performer but if you listen he’s pulling off some very impressive vocal acrobatics, an no Randy he was not pitchy! The piano playing was impressive and his falsetto was flawless.

Alexis Grace- (Dirty Diana) Again I have not heard her before. I like her look, but this song should have been arranged differently for her. More sexy, sultry and slower at the beginning. I mean they gave her the whole sexy look and lighting but then didn’t slow the song down at the beginning. She has big voice and could get better and better as the weeks go by. I think Alexis could be in trouble for a really strange reason.. Her dial in number is totally different than the rest. If that becomes a factor that would be a shame

Predictions to go home: Jasmine and Jorge