V-A-G-A-S, Baby!

Hello out there in American Idol world. Tonight is a two-hour episode, and as EPIC as I'm sure it will be *rolls eyes*, I happen to have a life outside of VFTW. Shocking, isn't it? I bet you thought we were all teenage nerds living in our parents' basements, didn't you? Thus, tonight's blog entry will be a relatively short one, but hopefully more entertaining than this season has been so far.

Now that Hollywood week is over, there are 70 contestants left, and they're going to LAS VEGAS!!!!eleventy!!! This is a fine place to send 70 karaoke singers, as between 65 and 70 of these people will probably wind up working here eventually. For this segment of the competition, the singers split into groups, get into costume, and sing hits of the 50s and 60s on the Elvis stage at the Aria hotel. What a theme - this ought to get Meemaw in a tizzy, huh? At least AI is catering to it's core fan base.

Group #1: Cari Quoyeser, Chase Likens, Colton Dixon, Skylar Laine

Song: This Is Dedicated To The One I Love

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I particularly liked the way the four singers harmonized, but overall the performace lacked OOMPH. The judges loved it overall, but for some reason Cari got thrown under the bus and was sent home.

Group #2: David Leathers, Gabi Carruba, Jeremy Rosado, Ariel Sprague

Song: Rockin' Robin

Again, nice harmonizing, nice choreography, but nothing I'm going to remember tomorrow. All four are through...for now.

Group #3: Brokey, Erika Van Pelt, Shelby Tweten, <3 Angie Zeiderman <3

Song; Great Balls O' Fire

Brokey was on the piano, making faces like he was shitting great balls of fire. However, he and the girls delivered a fun performance with the OOMPH I've been looking for. Angie Zeiderman's hair, glasses. outfit, and dancing were fantastic. I still want that spinoff called the Angie Zeiderman Quirky Variety Hour. The judges liked it, gave them kudos for their teamwork, and then sent them to the next round. Yay, Angie!

Group #4: Brielle Von Hugel, Colton Dixon's sister, Mollie Hunt

Song: Why Do Fools Fall In Love

Apparently, the girls thought the theme was the 1940s, as they were dressed as WACs. Brielle hogged the performance, which is no surprise, but it was a cute performance. Mollie gets shitcanned as the others make it through.

Group #5: Eben Fraubaitwicz, Haley Johnson, Elise Testone, Reed Grimm

Song: The Night Has 1000 Eyes

They 'modernized' this Gene Pitney song by making it sound like the theme from 1980s sitcom Night Court, but with words. Nothing else bad to say, though. Reed is still scatting, Elise Testone is amazing in a non-VFTW way, Eben still looks like the kid from Two And A Half Men, and Haley Johnson is...well, she's pretty. But to be fair, she had a decent ending. Best performance of the night so far. The judges cream and send all four of them to the next round.

Group #6: Richie "Dick Cowboy" Law, Jermaine "Milk Chocolate Crunch" Jones

Song: Make It Easy On Yourself

Holy crap. These dudes have DEEP voices! Jermaine, however, is clearly the stronger singer Richie looks like he's going to shit a brick at first, and later on misses a note or two. Randy calls it a Righteous Brothers song, which is funny because it's actually a Walker Brothers song. (See, Meemaw? Insane knows his oldies). Somebody please give Richie the hook and take Randy with him. Good for Richie and Jermaine for making it work, though. They both make it through.

Group #7: DeAndre Brackensick, Jessica Sanchez, Candace Glover

Song: It Doesn't Matter Anymore

They change the song up and make it unrecognizable - it's so modernized, you would think it was the present day. It's 1979, right? Anyway, maybe it's the fact that I'm watching this at midnight after a long day and my guard is waaaaay down...but these three did a great job. And much like Willow Smith, DeAndre likes to whip his hair back and forth. VFTW victory! Aaaaaand all three are through.

And now...the OMG SHOCKING TWIST! There are ten more groups to perform tomorrow. If they do as well as the Day 1 singers did, they'll have to come back and make more cuts. OMG!!! WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN??!??!?!?! *rolls eyes again*

Group #8: Clayton Farhat, Scott Dangerfield, Adam Lee Decker, Curtis Gray a/k/a Sha Na Nightmare

Song: Jailhouse Rock

These four used the grease from Adam's face to slick their hair back and look like some Sha Na Na nightmare. The choreography was pretty good, and the douchebaggery was everywhere. Curtis hit a major bum note at the end. J Lo gives singing advice, which is hilarious considering the amount of autotune she uses in her songs. And - Scott, Clayton, and Adam are through.

Group #9: Joshua Sanders, Caleb Johnson, Lamar LaTrelle River St. James, some girl whose name they didn't show.

Song: Burning Love

These guys were VFTW-awesome as they were like two Jack Blacks, the gay guy from Revenge Of The Nerds, and some chick. They were too wonderful for the entire song to be shown. Robbed!

Group #10: Curis Finch, Joshua Ledet, Shannon Magrane, Amber Somethingorother

Song: Blue Suede Shoes

They didn't show the whole song again, so the only thing to note is that Joshua did the Fantasia Chicken Dance, or at least a variation on it. He also screams like Fantasia. Could he be the true 'Mantasia'? Because that would be kind of awesome.

Group #11: Courtney Williams, Britnee Kellogg, Jessica Phillips "The Trannies Neopolitans"

Song: You Keep Me Hangin' On

They decided to rehearse without the band, because they sing for a living. They give a ridiculously over-the-top performance, making them look more like a comedy act than a singing act. Sometimes less is more, girls...but more is VFTW! Thanks for the chuckles. The judges didn't feel it either, but they still let them through....except for Sob Story Jessica! But Randy! She's an actual artist! She says so herself!

Group #12: Lauren Gray, Wendy Taylor, Mathenee Treco

Song: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

This has a scene with Peggi Blu screaming at Lauren...who wound up sounding really good in the end, as did Wendy and Mathenee. Mathenee's contorting singing faces are VFTW love. The girls are through, Mathenee is out.

Group #13: Phillip Phillips, Heejun Han, Jairon Jackson, Neco Starr

Song: I Only Have Eyes For You

Neco starts off a little weak, but very tran-tastic. The harmonies are good, like with the other groups, but the performance overall is awkward...and now is as good a time as any to note that Phillip Phillips can NOT dance to save his life. This should be a fun season of group songs. All four are through to the next round.

Group #14: Nick Boddington, Aaron Marcellus, Creighton Fraker, Jen Hirsh

Song: Sealed With A Kiss

I can say that they harmonized extremely well (again), but I could barely hear them over the band, except at the end when they all started going over the top with their singing. It was still better than most finalist-results-night-group songs from previous seasons, though. What the hell is happening tonight? All of them make it except for Nick.

And now...THE CARNAGE!! <evil laugh>

The judges were unable to cut anyone because the talent was OMG SO AMAZING!!!! Actually, I have to admit that this is the first really decent episode since the season premiere, so I'll give them a pass this time. So, they now have to pick a bunch of people to have their dreams crushed. Included in this group are Britenee Kellogg, Gabi Carruba, and Colton's sister, who all have meltdowns. Oh wait...that's not Colton's sister having a meltdown, it's Colton!

Other highlights/thoughts:

---Yay for Heejun being the first thing shown tonight!

---Peggi Blu is love. She screams at the contestants like a drill sargeant and gives them the dose of reality that they so desperately need. Nigel, please fire all three judges and let Peggi Blu jump from seat to seat, giving three harsh critiques per song. Thank you for the best moment of the season so far. <3 <3 <3

---I want to note that tonight's groups have been especially good at the harmonizing. They should give lessons to the Top 10 of the last four seasons.

Oh well, we're now down to 42 contestants. I'll be back next week to recap their final performances before the voting rounds (finally) begin.