Katelyn Epperly

Tim Urban (‘’Hallelujah”) and Alex Lambert (“Trouble”) didn’t make it as easy as I expected with their performances last night on Idol. They still aren’t great but I think one of them is safe. I fear that singer/dancer Todrick Hall was given the kiss of death when Simon suggested that Broadway material was his best choice. I don’t disagree, and unlike the judges, I thought his take on Queen’s “Somebody to Love” was weird. And, though teen angel Aaron Kelly was pitchy as hell on Lonestar’s “I’m Already There,” I think he holds on for another week.
The no doubters for survival remain Casey James, Lee Dewyze, Andrew Garcia and “Big Mike” Lynche who brought Kara to tears.
So who goes for the guys? Todrick Hall and Tim Urban.
As for the ladies, Paige Miles just had a horribly off night with “Smile” and I fear she will be smiling through her tears when she is eliminated tonight. And, as much as I love Lilly Scott, she frankly butchered a song by one of my all time singers, Patsy Cline. “I Fall To Pieces” describes her pitchy presentation. Still, I think she is safe.
Didi Benami bounced back nicely with her impressive rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘’Rhiannon.” I wouldn’t be shocked if she was sent home for her body of work, but she did make it tough.
Katie Stevens might be in trouble since she did what the judges asked, did a “young song,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway,” and made it forgettable. However, I think the lady joining Paige will be Katelyn Epperly, whose version of Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move” was exactly the type of karaoke performance that Idol haters insist is the norm and the not the exception.

Atlantic City has been a regular tour stop for the American Idol Tour for the last few years, but this year an Idol star is jumping the gun.
Singer-songwriter and Idol judge Kara DioGuardi will be taking a break from the show to remind fans she has talent as well. She’s coming to the Borgata to headline on Friday, April 9, 9pm, and Saturday, April 10, 8pm, in the Music Box. Tickets are $45 and $55 and go on sale this Saturday, March 13 via Borgata’s Web site.

John Park: He'll always have Shania.

It looks like America agreed with me as three of my four choices were sent packing on Idol last night. I was very happy we don’t have to listen to Jermaine Sellers anymore, who is sure God has a plan for him; it just wasn’t to win American Idol. It was obvious despite her pitchy vocals that teenager Haeley Vaughn was much beloved by her fellow contestants. The director had a blast showing all the tears on the faces of the Idolists, especially fellow teen Katie Stevens, when Haeley was given the heave-ho.

It looked like John Park expected to go home; he did a nice job singing afterwards, showing he could handle the decision. It was a mild surprise that Michelle Delamor was sent home, considering how badly Didi Benami was trashed during her performance Wednesday. Perhaps it was classic reverse psychology; fans decided that the judges were mean and gave Didi enough votes to hang-on. I’m glad; she really does have talent and perhaps she will bounce back next week.

Crystal Bowersox

After the ladies performed last night, one has to conclude that the guys made more improvements than the ladies. That said, the top gals — Crystal Bowersox, Paige Miles, Siobhan Magnus and Lilly Scott, are still a cut above top guys like Casey James, Andrew Garcia, Lee DeWyse and Michael Lynche.

Bowersox is such a fresh presence in the competition and her take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ”Long as I Can See the Light,” started the night on the right note. It was pretty sweet considering she had been in the hospital with diabetes complications the night before. Scott did her jazzy thing nicely with Sam Cooke’s ”A Change Is Gonna Come” and Miles provided a solid take on Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away.” Simon’s favorite “little thing,” Siobhan Magnus, went for a big song with Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and she nailed the big note much to the delight of Mr. Cowell.

So who’s going home? I think it is time to send Haeley Vaughn home for more seasoning. And, while I think she had talent, the fact that Didi Benami couldn’t handle the harsh and justifiable criticism, shows that she isn’t ready for more of he same.

My fav guys from the night before are topped by DeWyse who did Hinder’s “Lips of An Angel.” DeWyse fronted his own band pre-Idol and the experience shows. “Big Mike” Lynche had fun with a classic James Brown cut, ”It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” and while James slipped a little with his take on Gavin DeGraw’s ”I Don’t Want to Be,” his guitar work covered up the flaws. Garcia has mad skills as Randy would say, but he hasn’t stepped it up completely, although I enjoyed his version of James Morrison’s ”You Give Me Something.” I also liked adorable one Aaron Kelly’s by-the-book version of “My Girl.”

As for who should go, Mister Over-the-top-all-the-time Jemaine Sellers should be chopped, joined by — sad for me to say — John Park. Even Tim Urban was better than Park this week.

Casey James

Simon Cowell has said that he thinks this year’s American Idol will be a female. After seeing the guys last night, I’d have to agree. The first performance of the 24s is usually nerve-racking, but it seemed to be particularly difficult for the guys last night. There were plenty of deer-in-the-headlights stares and nervous vocals to match. Even “Big Mike” wasn’t on his game. Sexy blues rocker Casey James, who went low-key with a ballad, Bryan Adams’ “Heaven,” turned in the only truly solid performance of the night. He would have been in the middle of the pack if the rest of the contestants had not come up so short. Since they did, his average vocal turned out to be the highlight of the evening. And I don’t even want to go into all the silly sexual harassment shenanigans involving Kara.

As for the others, the very talented Andrew Garcia did an odd interpretation of Fall Out Boys’ “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” and while “Big Mike” Lynche looked confident, his choice of Maroon 5’s “This Love” didn’t highlight his powerful voice nearly enough.

I hope that John Park, who did an awful rendition of “God Bless the Child” is around for another week, but I suspect he and Tim Urban are the first cuts for the guys tonight.

As for the girls, I just don’t get the fascination with Haeley Vaughn, but I don’t think she is going home tonight. I do think Lacey Brown and Lilly Scott are in trouble, the latter because she has a Megan Joy vibe although she has a lot more talent.

Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

First off, I was apparently very wrong about interest in the Olympic Winter Games, as discussed in my last Hump Day Report. The ratings are a ratings bonanza for NBC and in fact, coverage of the games even toppled American Idol. Last Wednesday when American Idol was revealing its Top 24, Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Shani Davis had TV viewers switching to the Games. It was Idol’s lowest ratings night since 2004. Overnight ratings showed the Olympics with 30.1 million viewers (9.0 rating/22 share) to American Idol’s 18.4 million (6.9 rating/17 share). Idol had nearly 7 million more viewers for the comparable show in 2009. However, the night before, when America’s big stars weren’t in the spotlight, Idol did win the time slot. And, yesterday’s overnight ratings had Idol averaging 24 million total viewers, compared to 20.8 million for the Olympics during the same 8-10pm timeslot.

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Katie Stevens

Speaking of Idol, I’m on the fence when it comes whether this year’s contestants are as good as or better than previous years. I will, however, join the “Paula Who?” bandwagon and vote for Ellen DeGeneres as the best addition to this year’s show. She is funny, honest and talks in a language we can understand.

As for the contestants, since we saw the ladies last night, my favorites so far are the two women at the extremes of the competition. Folk rocker Crystal Bowersox is the anti-Idol. She is not an Idol type and has admitted she never watched the show that much before she decided she needed to get a bigger paycheck. She is in it for the money and the exposure and she has the talent to stay around, but not the “cute” factor to keep the Twitter generation coming back for more. Still, you can’t deny the talent she showed with her version of Alanis Morissette’s ”Hand in My Pocket.”

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Season Six American Idol runner-up Blake Lewis, the Idol beat-boxing king, performed at Caesars’ Dusk on Friday night. Lewis performed songs off his new album Heartbreak In Vinyl in front of a packed house. Blake dined at Mia restaurant prior to his performance and sipped champagne with his fans late into the night at the nightclub.

Blake Lewis beat-boxing. (photo by Nick Valinote)

Does he seem nicer?

American Idol has returned this week as the swan song for Simon Cowell. Is it just me or does Simon seem less vitriolic than in previous seasons? Of course it is early. I don’t usually watch the auditions since I know I’ll see the best singers in Hollywood and frankly, I’m embarrassed by the bad ones. Why do their parents encourage some of these obviously horrible singers to audition? Are they as self-deluded as their kids? Tearstained contestants are not my idea of fun television.

As for the new vibe with no Paula Abdul, I can’t say it feels that much different. Victoria Beckham, considering her status as a former Spice Girl, was a pretty bland substitute. She hardly said anything during the Boston auditions.

Mary J. Blige, who filled in as the fourth judge during the Atlanta auditions, brought something to the judges’ table.

And, I know they like to have fun with the bad singers, but did we really have to see so much of Jesse Hamilton with his three “near death” experiences that were then reenacted like some bad YouTube footage. Gee, and you wonder why Southerners are sick and tired of jokes about marrying cousins.

Simon Cowell

As if the return of American Idol tonight weren’t a big enough event, Simon Cowell has announced that this will be his last season on the show. Last summer, Paula Abdul announced that she was walking away from the show. Popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was then hired as the new Idol judge.

Perhaps all this behind-the-scenes shakeup is necessary in order to keep the American Idol brand alive and well. Last season’s duel between eventual winner Kris Allen and wildly popular runner-up Adam Lambert will be a hard act to follow.

Cowell is leaving Idol to launch his own new series currently popular in Great Britain. Cowell is being paid nearly $175 million for launching his X Factor show in America next year, according to reports. On Idol, Cowell was merely a hired hand, but he owns X-Factor, a show he hopes will pass Idol in popularity. Among the differences in two shows is that there is no age limit on X-Factor and there are different categories, including in recent seasons, vocal groups, singers over 25 and singers under 25. The biggest winner so far from X-Factor was pop star Leona Lewis.

Daughtry arrives Nov. 6.

Atlantic City is a major hub for current and former American Idols. The current Idols performed here at Boardwalk Hall on Aug. 7 (go here for my review). David Cook has become a regular headliner at the Borgata, scheduled again Sept. 26.

Now Trump Taj Mahal has positioned itself as the Idol casino hotel. Already scheduled for the fall is David Archuleta, opening for Demi Lovato Nov. 1 at Trump Taj Mahal (the show postponed from Aug. 22). The Taj is also presenting Kelly Clarkson on Oct. 10. Now it has just been announced that Daughtry will be making its AC debut on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Taj.

Chris Daughtry and his band are launching a 36-date U.S. arena tour this fall to support the group’s new studio album, Leave This Town. The opening acts will be main support Theory Of A Deadman and opener Cavo. The Taj arena will no doubt be one of the more intimate arenas Daughtry will be playing on the tour.