Let the competition begin!

Okay my Idol loving friends, I'm back! First my thoughts as I caught up on last week. A great top 24 but also, getting rid of the whittling down and going straight to a week to get to the top 10 or so is so smart.

Also loved getting rid of the small studio audience and going straight to a larger audience, much better energy and forced the contestants to think bigger. My personal favorites from last week? Guys James Durbin, Scotty McCreery, Jacob Lusk (boring song choice last week but love his voice) and Casey Adams and girls Ashthon Jones, Thia Megia (SHE IS INSANE!), Lauren Alaina and Pia Toscano (where did she come from???)

Also, loved the judges energies. Jennifer gave great criticism and advice, Steven was hysterical yet real. Randy was the only problem by bringing back what made the judges so boring last season by constantly trying to get the contestants to do something different instead of just saying the singing wasn't good enough.

Here are my thoughts on the Top 10
Scotty McCreery -- very genuine, definitely talented, but he is going to need to extend his range.
Lauren Alaina -- I thought she was a contender from Day 1. Still young, but fearless. Love that she kept it country for her performance last night, will help her with fans.
Pia Toscano -- She hit it out of the park last week because she did a ballad, but kept it modern. She is major.
Karen Rodriguez -- there always has to be one that bugs me and she might be it. She is a good singer, but seemed to be about 1000 years old last week. If I hear one more thing about being Latin I am going to lose it. We'll see.
Jacob Lusk -- He is so sweet that I can't say anything bad. He is a bit over the top, but personality is important. And he can definitely sing.
Casey Abrams -- Love his personality and his freshness, worried about him being able to sell it later.
Thia Megia -- This girl is insanely talented. Her voice is so modern and strong but I am nervous that she doesn't have too much personality when she is not singing.
Paul -- This guy has become the best looking guy in the bunch. I thought his Rod Stewart was to mimicky, but I know he is super talented.
Haley -- Great voice, but needs to fine tune the performance style, she is a bit awkward.
James Durbin -- Okay, okay, I have to say the Judas Priest got me. So different and fresh and he sings everything effortlessly but with power. I like that he is going heavy metal route - that will keep me from feeling like he is drama of Adam Lambert.

And from the wildcards --
Ashthon -- Great style, I thought I was at the Apollo with her. Agreed her song choice last week was not great which is why she didn't get voted in.
Stefano -- I don't get it at all. Not at all.
Naima -- I knew her different energy would get her through. She is definitely talented, but
worried about commercial viability.

Okay so now the first week of competition -- the grades need to come back in! The contestants perform songs from their Idols. Introduce us to Jimmy Iovine's role -- he is bringing in a roster of amazing producers like Don Was, Rodney Jerkins etc to work with the contestants on each song.

Lauren Alaina -- Shania Twain's Any Man of Mine. Agreed with Steven that the song wasn't kick-ass enough. She can sing anything, but needs to create a moment. B+

Casey Abrams -- Joe Cocker's Have a Little Help From My Friends. This guy has a great sense of humor. So talented and smooth. A-

Ashthon -- Diana Ross. It may have been too soon to go to the Diva, but she was a wild card, so maybe she needs a big statement. I didn't love this. She sings really well, but I didn't feel a connection. B-

Paul McDonald-- Ryan Adam's Come Pick Me Up. He is so great in the interviews but his dancing is so weird it distracts me. Very modern and unique but I don't know if his appeal is broad enough. Can we discuss Randy's name dropping in his critique? Wilco, Traveling Wilburys etc etc - you is cool dawg! Ryan doing the Paul dance was awesome. B

Pia Toscano -- Celine Dion's All By Myself. Pia is a gorgeous girl. Normally I wouldn't like this pick, but her voice is so rich and she isn't a copycat. Man, big notes. Randy loves to remind us that he has been on the show for 10 years -- we know dawg. Good point though that normally, not a good idea to do Mariah, Whitney, Celine, but if you can do it, you win. She is great. A

James Durbin -- Paul McCartney's Baby I'm Amazed. Smart to pick a McCartney song to get the older audience. But he keeps it fresh, very rocker cool. I realized how much I like his voice in its natural pitch. Much rounder than when he is up high. Randy once again referenced his own experience by reminding us he played in Journey. Steven said "If there was ever a review to be said about you, you just sang it." I have no idea what that means. A-

Haley -- I can't figure this one out. From Alicia Keys to Leann Rimes / Patsy Cline's Blue? She is good at picking songs that show her voice, but for me this one felt distant and boring. Randy was so right on calling that out. B

Jacob Lusk -- R Kelly is his idol. Ummm, he was accused of having sex with an underage girl... Here comes I Can Believe I Can Fly. The gospel choir came out. Something was wrong with the second verse, but amazing talent and performance. Still nervous about where he can fit on the radio... A-

Thia -- So she takes on Michael Jackson's Smile - he can't be a 15 yr old's idol. Man this girl is so talented, but she does seem young in her pieces. Charlie Chapman instead of Chaplin? Sweet, sweet voice and then she transitions it into a much more modern version. It didn't work but she showed she is not a young broadway baby. She has this cool vibe. The judges commentary wasn't great but she literally looked like she was going to cry. And then she was crying backstage. Is she victim of too young too soon? B+

Stefano -- Surprise his idol is Stevie Wonder, he sings Lately. He turned it into a thumping dance remix. HATED IT. JLo loved it and was dancing. HATED IT. I must be missing something. B- because he showed he has a voice, but no style.

Oh my god, Karen's idol is Selena. I can't watch this. She is going to do If I Could Fall In Love. This girl is 75000 years old. Did I put on Telemundo by mistake? Her singing is fine, but she is from another century. I should give it a D because I think she is lame, but will go for the C+ because she sings well. Umm I think she may be Single Latino Female -- she is a Selena and JLo Stalker.

Please let Scotty sing Randy Travis. Please. Oh he went Garth Brooks. The River is a great song. The back-up singers were a little too loud. It can be difficult to understand his words. Great when he sang without the music. See ya in Nashville Scotty. No doubt. B+

Naima - Rihanna's Umbrella. Okay good choice to show me something modern. Jimmy admits he was nervous about her. She broke out some major moves and a reggae rap. Good move for her to get rid of my worries about her place on the radio. B+

Lauren B+
Casey A-
Ashthon B-
Paul B
Pia A
James A-
Haley B
Jacob A-
Thia B+
Stefano B -
Karen C+
Scotty B+
Naima B+

So Pia takes the night and Karen needs to go. Lots of good performances, really good.

So I leave you with the words of Steven Tyler to Scotty:
"You know someone wrote a song and the lyrics go 'The carpet's all paid for, god bless the TV, let's go shoot a hole in the moon.' Roy Rogers riding tonight well you're riding high." WHAT? I had to go back 6 times to even right that down.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions...even if they are whatever Steven is on.