The time has come for us to be bitter and angry. Hooray!
 
Tonight’s show opens with a group performance of Ne-Yo’s “Closer.” Could they possibly have picked worse songs for the group performances this year? As we type this about an hour later, we can’t remember much of anything about it, besides that it was boring.
 
And speaking of boring, the recap of last night’s performances is a snoozefest as usual. Then Seacrest chats with a few of the contestants. Nick Mitchell says he’s still looking for employment. Matt Breitzke has been having a blast since he got there, but that he disagrees with Simon’s statement last night that it was too late for advice. Jesse Langseth says the competition is very hard (well, no crap). Jeanine Vailes says she thinks she overcompensated last night, and less could have been more.

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Bring on group two!
 
Opening the night is Jasmine Murray, singing “Love Song.” We’re not excited, since we found her to be very overrated both at her audition and in Hollywood. Turns out she’s mostly on key, but she sounds like she’s bored and this was really not a good song choice for her. She doesn’t have enough stage presence either. Overall, this wasn’t a good performance for someone who’s up first of the night. Our rating: 6/10
 
Next up is Matt Giraud with “Viva La Vida.” This one, we’re excited about. We like the song choice, and we liked him in Hollywood. Unfortunately, this performance is definitely not his best. It sounds like his voice is weak from too much practice, and also like he doesn’t know how to breathe properly when he sings. We doubt he’s done enough to get to the next round. Our rating: 5/10

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Recap of how this round is working this year- only three people from each group go through. The top male, the top female, and the person with the third highest number of votes, regardless of their gender. We reiterate: this is stupid.
 
We begin this evening’s festivities with a boring montage of the contestants’ journeys to this point of the competition. We have not missed results shows.
 
The first group performance of the year is “I’m Yours,” made famous by Jason Mraz. This is a terrible decision, Idol gods! This song was not meant to be sung by a group. We don’t like it. And it’s like they didn’t even bother with choreography. Ack.

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It’s finally the first performance night of the season… thank God. We hate this format though- 9 of the people performing tonight are going to be eliminated before the other 24 have even performed. This hardly seems fair. But anyway.
 
First up of the season is Jackie Tohn singing “A Little Less Conversation.” We’re not excited. We didn’t like her audition, we didn’t like her in Hollywood, and we’re pretty sure we’re not going to like her now. And… we’re right. She’s not so much singing as talking. She’s either ahead of or behind the music almost all the time. And what’s with the awkward dancing/hunching over thing? We’re not impressed. Our rating: 4/10
 
Next is Ricky Braddy, who has chosen to sing “A Song For You.” Doesn’t seem like a great song choice. The song is way overdone and probably not enough to make him memorable. And… we’re right again. He sounds good, but there’s nothing there that really blows us away. Our rating: 7/10

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So, we finally have our top 36! It’s about time.
 
They are as follows:

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It’s the last night of Hollywood week before we discover our top 36. Hooray! 72 contestants await their fate in a holding room outside the theater. The judges will split them into four rooms, and then make their cuts.The first contestant to tackle his last audition is Adam Lambert, who does a very different version of Cher’s “Believe.” Who knew that song could sound good as a ballad?

Matt Giraud sings “Georgia On My Mind” and accompanies himself on the keyboard. He’s got a good, soulful tone to his voice. We like him.

Jamar Rogers delivers a sub-par performance of “Hey There Delilah,” but Danny Gokey continues his hot streak with “I Hope You Dance.” He has yet to disappoint us. More…

Anoop Desai, Jorge Nunez and Scott MacIntyre all perform well in their last auditions. We expect good things for all of them.

Kendall Beard insists upon butchering Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” Well, that’s something we’ve never heard before… at least, tonight. Ugh.

Stevie Wright sings “Bubbly,” which is a good song choice for her. Lil Rounds performs the incredibly overdone “If I Ain’t Got You,” but at least she sings it well. Kristin McNamara tries way too hard with “Because Of You,” but it’s not terrible. Mishavonna Henson sings “You’re Everything” badly.

The first group is split into a holding room by the judges. In it are Adam Lambert and Scott MacIntyre, so we’re pretty sure it’s a group that has made the cut.

Then, group two is announced. Included in this group are Michael Sarver, Alex Wagner-Trugman and Tatiana Del Toro, who never shuts up.

Alexis Grace also sings “Before He Cheats,” but at least she does it well. We can forgive her for taking on a Carrie song. Kenny Hoffpauer is unremarkable. Jasmine Murray’s rendition of “Tattoo” is boring. Nathaniel Marshall performs an acoustic version of “Disturbia.” There’s something about him that we like, and we hope he makes the top 36.

Joanna Pacitti, Casey Carlson and Stephen Fowler all forget their lyrics. Stephen is given the chance to start over, forgets again, and simply walks off the stage.

Meanwhile, Tatiana has been called out of the room she was placed in earlier. The judges are reconsidering her. Drama ensues.

Nick Mitchell/”Norman” is back. Joy. Well, he’s about as bad as he always is. Once again, this is not Last Comic Standing.

The judges have chosen their final two groups and sent them to their respective holding rooms. In room 3 is Leneshe Young. In room 4, we have Nick Mitchell and Ann Marie Boskovich.

Speaking of Ann Marie Boskovich, her rendition of “I Hope You Dance” is pretty, but we’re afraid it may have been a bit too safe. Ju’not Joyner sings “Hey There Delilah,” and while he sounds good, he has no stage presence.

Tatiana Del Toro gets relocated to room 4, and now everyone else in that room is paranoid. We don’t blame them.

Kaylan Loyd forgets the lyrics toward the end of her song… not to mention she picked one that was way too big for her. Leneshe Young also comes across as highly overrated. Kai Kalama FINALLY gets some screen time, but unfortunately his audition does not go very well. Michael Sarver’s performance of “All Or Nothing” isn’t bad.

Simon leaves early to catch a flight to London, leaving the other three judges to break the news to the four rooms full of contestants.

In room 2, Nathaniel ponders his odds based on the contestants he’s surrounded by. He can’t decide, but then the judges arrive to put him out of his misery. This room has made it to the next room! Besides Nathaniel, this room also includes Kai Kalama, Michael Sarver, Jasmine Murray, Alexis Grace, Joanna Pacitti and Stephen Fowler.

Room 3 turns out to be the unlucky ones- they’re cut. In this room were Leneshe Young, India Morrison, Michael Castro and Kaylan Loyd.

Room 1 has been waiting the longest to find out their fate, but now the time has come. They’re safe! Here we find Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai, Jamar Rogers, Jorge Nunez, Jackie Tohn and Lil Rounds.

And proving our theory to be correct, room 4 also makes the cut. This includes Ann Marie Boskovich, Matt Brietzke and, unfortunately, Nick Mitchell and Tatiana Del Toro.

Tomorrow, our top 36 is revealed!

It’s time for group night of Hollywood Week, and this promises to be one of the most drama-filled episodes of Idol we’ve ever seen. 40 contestants have been cut already, leaving 107 to face this round of auditions.
 
Some people have trouble finding a group to join- Tatiana is one of them. Big surprise, or not. When she does finally join a group, she immediately designates herself the leader. An hour in, there’s already drama.
 
Speaking of drama, Rose, Lauren, Jasmine and Katrina have formed a group and it’s already going badly. Why are we not surprised that Bikini Girl doesn’t play well with others?
 
Meanwhile, in the hotel’s kitchen, Danny and Jamar’s group is getting along swimmingly and their rehearsals are going well. Shock! Awe!

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Finally, it’s the first night of Hollywood Week! 147 contestants have made it this far.
This year, things have changed a bit. The week begins with “Idol Boot Camp,” which allows the contestants time to work with stylists and vocal coaches. They also get a chance to meet with mentor Barry Manilow.
 
On the first day of eliminations, half the group will be auditioning and the other half has the day off. Groups of eight people will take the stage and sing a cappella, and then the judges will reveal their fate.
 
In the first group onstage are Dennis Brigham and Lil Rounds. Lil performs with a lot of power, but she doesn’t have a very pleasant tone. Kara tells her she’s “bold and brave.”

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