VIDEO: American Idol's Siobhan Magnus gives "Performance Of The Night"
March 17 2010, Published 1:35 p.m. ET
Tuesday saw the first performance of the American Idol Top 12 - boys and girls together - and to kick it off in style and give it a bit of a rock edge it was Rolling Stones night!
It was inevitable that rock chick Crystal Bowersox, who Simon has already branded "the one to beat" would, well, knock the socks off the competition - and she didn't disappoint, but in a surprise move Siobhan Magnus came out of the gate and raced ahead, garnering rave reviews from all the judges and even getting rare praise from Simon, who called her the "standout performance of the night".
First off for the night, and getting the show off to a good start, was Michael Lynche, singing Miss You. Michael shared a moving home life story, explaining that it was the dbeloved mom's death . Michael received mainly positive reviews from the judges, with the exception of Simon who commented, “I thought the performance at times, particularly your dancing, was kind of corny. It was verging at times a tiny bit desperate.” Randy raved though, “It reminded me how great a performer you've become. You slayed them. Way to start the show!” Ellen chimed in, “What’s not to love about that Mike? At some point I'm going to be disappointed, but not yet. Good, good, good.” And Kara weighed in, “You've got to fill up that stage, you delivered attitude and swagger. You were hot on stage.”
First awkward moment of the night was when Ryan Seacrest faced up to Simon Cowell and demanded he "help Mike out" and tell him what part he thought was corny. Ryan walked right up to the judges' desk, forcing Simon to move back his chair and tell Seacrest, "Back off now, back off." As usual, it all ended in jest with Simon quipping to Ryan, "We can sort this out later in my trailer."
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Next up, Didi Benami showed us her home in Los Angeles, saying she moved there four years ago from her home in Knoxville, TN. Didi shared that she was the middle sister of three girls, and that she was always the "artistic dreamy one". Didi said, "I'm actually the person that pushes myself the most in my family" before going on to perform her version of Play With Fire. Randy raved, “I think for the first time for me in weeks, you are on fire tonight. That was one of your best performances.” Ellen commented, “You have an amazing voice, you lost your way but you got right back in the song.” Kara wasn’t quite sure, saying, “I think sometimes when you push on your vocals you lose your way a bit. But I like your intensity. For me It was 2 steps in the right direction. You are moving towards who you are as an artist." Simon pretty much summed it up with, “You are beginning to show us who you want to be. I have been a fan of yours for the last 2 or 3 weeks and again it was a very solid but not brilliant performance.”
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Kara’s cougar favorite, Casey James, grew up in an "itty bitty town" called Cool in Texas. Casey's mom said that when he was a baby he was very sick and the doctor told her he would be brain damaged and never speak. She went on to say that she knew that wasn't the case when she heard him singing in his crib. Obviously close, Casey admitted, "I wouldn't be where I am today without my family." Casey nailed his take on All Over Now. Three of the judges were in agreement with their praise, Randy said, “I'm excited about this. I loved it, you are back to the artist I loved, I loved it. You are back for me.” Ellen agreed, jokingly saying, “Most women, their hearts are racing right now, but then for women like me.....blonds...I thought it was fantastic.” Kara raved, of course, “Tonight you were a rock star. It had a country kinda twang but it had blues and soul and that is what I have missed from you. This was your best performance since we met.” Simon though begged to differ, “I actually don't agree with that. For me that was like an audition performance. You've got to push yourself, it has to be more than that. Just be a star"
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Lacey Brown told America she's from Amarillo, TX, and that she comes from a very supportive family. Lacey, whose dad is a pastor, said, "The church has had a big impact on me musically." Her dad said she's always been shy so it's amazing to see his daughter "up there on the stage, looking into the cameras and performing." Unfortunately though, Lacey wasn’t so lucky with the praise tonight. She gave a lack luster rendition of Ruby Tuesday that garnered her lukewarm reviews from all of the judges. Randy said, “I wasn't jumping up and down about it vocally, it wasn’t a wow moment but you kind of held it together.” Ellen commented, “You like to sit on the edge of things, don't go to the Grand Canyon. It was a tiny bit sleepy for me. But I'm a fan of yours.” Kara agreed, “It was 50-50 for me. Hearing your voice up there is great. But there were some issues where you didn’t hit the notes right. You can do better. You could of put more into it.” Simon got straight to the point, as usual, “You perform like an actress. Everything is really, really precise. Nothing wrong with the vocals, the song was OK. You need to stop over thinking this, and let yourself go a bit.”
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Andrew Garcia talked about how he grew up around gangs, and how his parents never had any money when he was young. He went on to say that one day he "just picked up a guitar, I wanted to known for something but I never thought I wanted to be a singer." Andrew kept the mixed reviews coming with his performance of Gimme Shelter. Randy said, “I love the song, I love the Stones and I love you but it was pitchy everywhere, man, it was pitchy everywhere..” Ellen disagreed, raving, “What do I know? I think it was your best performance yet. I loved it.” Kara was undecided, commenting, “There were elements that we heard what we have been missing. I wanted to feel what you were talking about. I felt it at times but most of the time I didn't. The connection bothered me the most out of that performance. I wanted more intensity.” Awkard moment of the night number 2 followed with a fight between Kara and Simon over the intenstity of Andrew's performance and of the Rolling Stones. In the end Simon was also undecided though, saying, “I am in the middle. You gave it 100% but my gut is you were better in rehearsals than tonight. I genuinely hope you su