Idol boys go to church, go bilingual and get mad

American Idol 12 - top 20

One more round of deep cuts before we finally get to the top 10. Tonight, the boys sing for your votes.

Elijah Liu: ?Stay.? HE LOVES THE LADIES. DID YOU KNOW THAT? I think all this LL Elijah they?re pushing on us will backfire. It?s alternately too precious and creepy. Just let the boy sing. He makes a good choice in Rihanna?s ?Stay.? It?s of the moment and right in his range. Much better than his last performance, but still no vocal powerhouse. And it doesn?t really go anywhere.

?I think I would be willing to stay,? Nicki Minaj says. Meh. Maybe for a minute. Randy Jackson thinks ?it stayed in first gear.? I?ll give it to him when he?s right. Also, Mariah Carey never knows how to gracefully end critiques. Awkward smiles all around.

Cortez Shaw: ?Locked Out of Heaven.? OUCH ? that clip of Cortez singing ?Titanium? last week was painful. This is barely better. Bruno Mars is the business, y?all. And this performance is not the business. No star power. He eventually gets whiny and seems bored by the end.

Done with Cortez. I have been for a few weeks.

(Side note: I?ll be reviewing Bruno?s big RodeoHouston debut Thursday night in my annual, epic Rodeo trek.)

Nicki clocks his ?long johns.? I can?t ?

Charlie Askew, Top 10 Male Perform ~ American?

Charlie Askew: ?Mama.? OK, let?s start with the critiques. Keith calls it ?not fully genuine.? Nicki doesn?t want to see his arms or ponytail or earring or mustache. ?I didn?t even get it,? Randy adds. Mariah stumbles around hating it.

?I needed to vent,? Charlie says. ?A lot of people think I?m a very happy, buoyant person a lot of the time, and the only reason I smile so much is because I feel like I have to.?

Indeed, this was a dark, strange performance. But I didn?t hate it. There was something brave about it. And I?d take Charlie on a bad day over a lot of these guys. Still, there?s definitely something going on that needs to be addressed offstage.

Nick Boddington: ?Iris.? Of course this guy is singing this song. Boddington and his bowler hat bore me to tears. His vocal is nice enough. But we?ve seen/heard this all before. For years.

Burnell Taylor, Top 10 Male Perform ~ American?

Burnell Taylor: ?I?m Here.? Let?s put aside the ?80s outfit and overly theatrical hand gestures. Burnell has the gift of pure emotion in his voice and delivery. Keith is right in that no one sounds like Burnell. The judges (Keith) keeps telling the wrong singers that they?re able to balance traditional and modern sounds. Burnell can actually do it. He?s one of my favorites.

Paul Jolley: ?Just a Fool.? Paul has a great voice. But he has second-guessed himself throughout the competition. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his performance. He?s also a little dull. This was better than last week, but still not great.

Annnnnd he wants to be the guy version of Taylor Swift. STOP IT PAUL JOLLEY. Just stop.

Lazaro Arbos: ?Feeling Good.? Seriously? This song? Now? Out of all the guys in this thing, Lazaro probably has the widest window of choices. Voters will stick with him whatever he does. He, and the song, are crowd-pleasers. But this is utterly safe, and his vocal isn?t even all that dynamic. The judges really need to start pushing him and stop handling him as if he?s made of glass. I KNOW YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING MARIAH. SAY IT.

Curtis Finch Jr.: ?I Believe I Can Fly.? Sure, this is another predictable choice. But Curtis does his thing, hits that quivering note again, and follows it with another wow note. The judges are on their feet. He certainly knows how to work a song, a word, a moment. Nicki is fanning herself. EVEN QUEEN MARIAH STANDS. We?re suddenly all at church.

I absolutely recognize Finchy?s talent. But I also think he?s a bit old-fashioned.

Devin Velez: ?Somos Novios (It?s Impossible).? Look, I?m all for switching it up with Spanish lyrics. And Devin has a beautiful voice. Probably one of the best in the competition. But let us not forget season 10?s Karen Rodriguez, who did the bilingual thing so much that it became predictable, and even annoying, after just a few weeks. It starts to seem like a trick.

Vincent Powell, Top 10 Male Perform ~ American?

Vincent Powell: ?End of the Road.? Our Houston boy closes the show. Vincent seems to be straining in the beginning, and this song choice isn?t going to help him kick the old-fashioned tag. He?s doing some great things vocally, but it?s inconsistent. He pulls the mic away when he shouldn?t and seems nervous.

?Nerves got on top of your talent,? Keith says. Nicki doesn?t like the song choice. ?It just wasn?t your best,? Randy says. Mariah saw ?moments of brilliance.?

So who?s on to the top 10? I think it?ll be Charlie (still), Burnell, Lazaro, Devin and probably Curtis over Vincent. I think. But that?s probably wrong. Maybe?

?American Idol? chooses its top 10 7 p.m. Thursday on Fox.

Catch me recapping ?Idol? during the 5 p.m. news Thursdays and Fridays on Fox!

Source: http://blog.chron.com/tubular/2013/03/idol-boys-go-to-church-go-bilingual-and-get-mad/

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