Scotty: Swingin' - I nearly did a spit-take when he reminded me that he was only 17. He's so ridiculously good. I am wondering though about the microphone placement though after that video opening. If he isn't in the bottom three, after going first and getting slightly negative feedback from the judges, then he will WIN. Those are two strikes that others have not been able to battle against.
James: Uprising - Great song. Marching band? Really? Up the octave. Wow. Wowowowowow. Pretty stinkin' awesome.
Haley: Rolling in the Deep - This is the song I featured back in episode 49 of my podcast… She was awesome for me. But, will it grab everyone? Hard to know given the mixed reviews I've seen.
Jacob: Dance with My Father - The video piece built it up much more than his performance pulled off. Until that last note of the build. That was great. Too emotional for anyone to really give decent criticism…
Casey: Harder to Breathe - He did what he does, and it was great, particularly the scatting off the solo - but this song is not great, and he didn't go beyond it to become great. Loved the JLo kiss.
Stefano: Closer - A great effort, his eyes were open more than they've ever been. Is it enough? Hard to tell.
Lauren: Born to Fly - Great job, not my favorite song choice but she is berry good still.
Random Notes:
Why The Face with the castoffs performance at the top of the show? It's just a subtle reminder that when you sell your soul to the AI machine, that they own you and can make you do anything.
"You'd be surprised how expensive it is to look this cheap." - Steven Tyler. You never got that rapier wit from Paula.
Anyone else surprised that Stephan is still around?
Steven Tyler showed us a little Paula love by repeating his "I've been trying to do that for months" about the Casey kiss, but went from 2 to 4 months in the joke upgrade.
Who's going home????