Read on MJsbigblog that Paige still has no voice. Even if she recovers and sings...I'm wondering if there may not be any elimination tomorrow and then AI will do two next week. After they do a huge build up, of course. They have three acts for tomorrow night to fill up the show: David Cook singing Jumpin' Jack Flash, Kesha singing Blah, Blah, Blah, and Orianth singing her hit.

Poor Paige. I hope she's able to continue. It would really be bad for her to have to drop out because of laryngitis!

Belle Book

and show spoilers are here

http://community.realitytvworld.com/boards/DCForumID44/2821.shtml#32

MJ's also has a bit of info about how well they did in rehearsal.

Drink of the night

vodka martinis

snack of the night

prosciutto, selection of hard cheeses, olives, hot baguettes and garlic butter.

Stirred not shaken.

Hmmm, baguettes and garlic butter.

shouldn't we be drinking guinness...ya know, for practice?

Given that it's the Stones, I'd think it'd go beyond mere libations.

Guinness it is!

mmm bag u ettes...pastries

Everything they worked for..
Tonight is their debut.

This is American Idol.

All weirdly lit. The evil stairs in the back all ruddy like blood.

Oh back to the judges walking across the stage thing.

Live right now reintroduce you to the big stage. This is when we begin the count down to the finale.

Cheers for the jidges.

450 fans
cameras and light galore platform for a super star.

Tope 12 come out as a group.
Get set we are going to get started.

Take on a super group...off to tape.

Video package of back home. Mom got sick and died, music saved him during that time.

“Miss You”

If Curtis Mayfield did "miss you" this is what it would sound like. Very entertaining

starts out falsetto. R&B with some Michael Jackson woo hoo sort of things.

No knee squats but does this wide legged sea lion move.

Randy. time to knock it out of the box. Been good every week. Wasn't crazy with the arrangement but you slayed it.

Ellen. What's not to love. At some point I'll be disappointed but not yet.

Kara. First night big stage. Have to fill up the stage. Stones were great performers. You delivered that tonight. Conveying the message and being hot on stage and you did that.

Simon. Confidence up. If I am being honest I thought the dancing was corny. You sang it well, but when you watch it back it was verging on a tiny bit desperate.

I said the same thing about his 'moves' before Simon did;
however, I love his voice.
If they had not said it was a Rolling Stones song I would not have recognized it tho

Ho-hum generic arrangement (really, this one could kick 'a'), but his vocals come right through. He still owns the stage.

I'm surprised one of the judges didn't say this: with so many of the other contestants still working out their stage identities, Michael knows exactly who he is. Accept him if you want to, America -- this is what you get, and I don't think he's interested in changing for you.

I giggled at Big Mike at first the way he was bopping around the stage. Then I got over my giggles and got a little bored. He would probably be popular on a cruise ship though.

Walrus dancing aside, I still think he did a good job on the vocals.

Walks up to the judges, Simon backs up.

The performer who might have improved the most this year? Ryan.

I almost believed he meant it.

Almost.

Ryan with a pair... who'd a thunk it?

The extra $22 million or so helps a lot.

I'm very much tired of Ryan...

Gets an interview on the coke stools of doom.

Mom can't watch her perform, and she doesn't want to see her get judged. She's the middle child. Mom living in LA for the duration.

"Play with Fire"

Starts on the bottom step of the stairs.

Did she have a lyrics glitch with the second verse, started strong but didn't seem to finish well.

Randy. Got one of the greatest band. What song you going to pick. I think for the first time in weeks you are on fire.

Ellen. you lost your way but you got it right back. Made fire two syllables. Ger-ate.

Kara When you push you lose your way. Intensity and that is what the lyrics about and you went dark. Two steps in the right direction.

Simon. What I like is you are beginning to show us the artist. Thought you were going to lose it. I've been a fan of your the last couple of weeks. Solid but you can do better than that.

"Big Stage Syndrome" is kicking in.

LAST EDITED ON 03-16-10 AT 10:09 PM (EST)

Is it just me, or was her video kind of unflattering? Mom talking about her as a screaming baby took up most of the clip.
That combined with the #2 spot - (4 out of 12 singers who went second so far this season have been eliminated)... might not be great for Didi.
Hope I'm wrong, because I really like her performance tonight

I think she gave a good, understated performance.

Stepping down from the cruise ship stairs...

Ok, good performance from her, passable even, but where was the Stones sound?

Kind of a real up and down performance. Parts of it I really liked and other times she lost it.

Improved -- but I don't know what her chances are of picking up extra voters: at this point, the major camps may be just about set, and the undecideds may be a very small part of the voting population.

Even so, maybe everyone should room with Siobhan for a week.

Mom and Dad divorced when he was 4. Bad reaction to a vaccine, lots of seizures. Hummed tunes before he talked.

“All Over Now”

Looks like Kara is back to fantasizing...I didn't mind it, was kinda fun

Rock a billy with the electric guitar. A lot of strumming with the other hand completely off the guitar.

Like this better than I usually do.

Randy. Excited. Back to the Casey that I love. You could bluesy rocky you are back for me.

Ellen. I think for most women their hearts will race looking at you. For people like me, blonds, I thought it was fantastic.

Kara. I think I said you were trying to be a rock star. Tonight you were a rock star. For you to pick this song, has blues and soul. This shows your soul and riff the best parts of your voice. Best performance so far.

Simon. Don't agree. Look great, played it well. That was an audition and not using this as a platfrom. Need to push yourself. Has to be more than that. Good artist people will like you. There has to be more. Be a star.

As one of the better of the top twelve, he performed well, but Mick he ain't. As good as his vocals and guitar play were, he still sounded like an imitation of the real thing.

There may not be two better words to describe that final guitar solo: I just wish Simon had used them.

'Look at me. Now look at your man. I'm on a stage!'

Bwahahahah!

All he needs is to perform while riding a horse. Backwards. *snort*

that gave me a giggle...

I liked Casey tonight. He did a good job and I hope he can keep going this way.

Casey's mom looks just like Katie Seagal...that got me thinking about Lost and made AI show even more boring and slow

Supportive family. Pastor parents.

“Ruby Tuesday”

still I'm gonna miss you.....not

I thought she was off key and I was cringing.

Who does most of these strange re-arrangements?
They don't do this by themselves, do they?

I think they get help from the band but they gotta decide what direction to go.

String quartet on stage.

Can the girl hold a note for any length time? Sitting on the steps half way through. But now she can hold the notes for longer.

Way too Betty Boop for me

Randy. Interesting arrangement. Pleasantly surprised. You kinda held it together. Most interesting of the night.

Ellen. Slow part standing and you like to sit on the edge of things. I would have seen you standing for the energetic part. A bit sleepy for me.

Kara. 50-50 your voice clear is great but there were some issues didn't hit the notes right. You can do better. Like the drama, could have put more into it.

Simon. You perform like an actress. Very precise. Very thought through. Nothing wrong with the vocals. Got to stop over-thinking. You are in danger of doing the same thing week after week.

How did she manage to irritate every single hair and makeup stylist at the same time?

And we're back to the dropped-out letters. 'Goobi, Rudy Tuday.' Very soon now, goodbye Lacey. Okay? Okay? Okay? Okay!

I may have just quoted. I'm not sure.

The right arrangement for her vocal abilities, but not so sure this is the right arrangement for the song. She did ok, but it wasn't a memorable performance. She needs to break out soon or she'll be out soon.

LAST EDITED ON 03-16-10 AT 07:42 PM (EST)

Lacey with the shaky voice. Then she belts out a decent chorus. Back to shaky shaky. WTF?

I like her better when she belts it out.

Gangs but Dad was a singer. Dad thought he would be a custodian. Parents never had money.

“Gimme Shelter”

I didn't like that at all.

not perfect but I liked that he did something really different...

and Kara...if you're going to be Paula, could you at least drink the happy juice as is tradition???

Kara keeps referring to the Stones in the past tense like they are dead. I know they are old. But they are still alive and performing.

LAST EDITED ON 03-16-10 AT 07:56 PM (EST)

I'll believe 'performing', but you'll have to prove 'alive'.

Five overdoses away from being a Super Bowl halftime act.

What Loree said.

I was bored by his performance. It was my cold oatmeal performance of the night.

Ok, so he only sings girly songs because he really can't do masculine? Got a little better at the end, maybe

Randy. You know I love you. I love the song, I love you. It was just pitchy everywhere.

Ellen. I think that was your best performance, yet. I loved it.

Kara. Elements where we hear the tone we've been missing. It is a song about war, I wanted to feel that from you, but most of the time I didn't. Connection bothered me the most.

Simon. Taking it so literally. To be honest somewhere in the middle. You were better in rehearsal. Something didn't connect. So much mixed criticism. I hope you survive another week.

LAST EDITED ON 03-16-10 AT 07:51 PM (EST)

Simon: "I genuinely hope you survive another week"

So, this guy is the Survivor. Nice try, but no cigar. Still, like some of the judges, I see some potential, yet I don't think he'll last long.

Could his mother have been any more bored during the backstory cell? Did they have eyelid props on standby in case it somehow happened?

As for the song: do not listen to while operating heavy machinery. I hate that he's getting automatic votes at this stage with no regard for the performance because if people were casting based on quality, he'd need a massive svckfest from the rest of the field not to be Bottom Three. As-is? Coasting on zero momentum. And that's hard to do.

Wind-up doll with a broken spring.

Wind-up doll with a broken spring.

And no music.

Katie on the coke stools of doom. Flat Katies in the audience. What song. Wild Horses because the lyrics spoke to her.

Loved growing up in Middlebury.

“Wild Horses”

That did not sound right to me.

reeeaaallly wanted siobhan (sp?) to sing this ala The Sundays...

this girlie? meh

Starts on the stool, and seems to start way too low. Stands up and gets louder. Glory note was accomplished.

Randy. Lot of misdirection. Great song, sing it well all good all the time. Some pitch things but you corrected it.

Ellen. I almost wore that. I thought it started pitchy sounded amazing once you got into it. Great song. good choice.

Kara. It is never technically perfect with you. Made some nice variations and better than last week.

Simon. Only week where you've chosen a strong song. Clever choice. Susan Boyle pimp. didn't like the second half as you lost the emotion. First time you connected with the song and gave it 100%

Well, ok performance, the right thing for her.

But not for me.

Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger. Rock and roll!

So far all night, not.