Welcome to the first Idol Anal-ysis show of the 2011 Season. Joining me on my quest is Mr. Jason Block, as well as the beloved Grandma Pepper. We'll be having some special guests drop in from time to time...

LOS ANGELES
CBS Television City

...but right now, we start with Clint Jun Gamboa, with 'Superstition'. Going first in these things usually is not a good sign, and he may have reason to be superstitious...

The Good: He didn't pick a bad song to start with. It's a challenging piece of music and the lyrics section is strong if that's what he focuses on.
The Bad: Unfortunately, he doesn't. I hated the edit of the song. There was a lot of screaming of the lyrics up there - and the screaming wasn't in tune. It was almost like he was running for the high screaming notes, lyrics be damned. Jennifer said that he had some jitters, but it didn't affect his vocals. I beg to differ.
The Jason: Not a good way to start as he mumbles the lyrics and looks like a Harry Potter wannabe. He doesn't look like comfortable and is screaming up there. The judges loved him but I didn't.
Grandma Pepper: Good kickoff! Keep it going.
The Verdict: If you're the first singer up, you have to give the voters a reason to remember you. I don't think this performance is going to be good enough to do that.

Jovany Barreto wants to escape the shipyard. He's hoping Edwin McCain's 'I'll Be' will help him do it.

The Good: I liked the runs when it was at the end of the song, and not the beginning of it.
The Bad: When you have an end note, it has to go up in pitch, not down. When The pitch, especially at the start of the song, was horrific enough to shatter some hulls.
The Jason: This I liked. Not loved. It felt a little Vanilla to be. Technically sound but needs to FEEL this a little more. Randy was spot on.
Grandma Pepper: I'm with Steven and Jennifer. I love Jovany.
The Verdict: I have to agree with Randy. It was very Karaoke and Jovany did nothing with it. And for a first performance where potentially less than half in the group will move on, I don't think his performance will be good enough.

Jordan Dorsey was all over the place during Hollywood Week, and that's attitude included. Can he redeem himself with 'OMG'?

The Good: ...if Usher needed a backup dancer, Jordan is available.
The Bad: And I say that because he's not going to be available for singing performances on the show. The vocals were all over the place as he looking like an over-caffeinated jumping bean and sounded like someone who had way too much coffee. The title is a very good representation of the performance. What? Was? That?
The Jason: OMG alright. This is a total bad KARAOKE version of the song. Way over-enunciating his words. This is not looking good for the guys.
Grandma Pepper: Jordan has done and can do better. I'm hoping he will if the voters allow him, but I don't think they will.
So grandma thinks he was terrible.
Grandma Pepper: I really don't want to say it the way that you're saying it. I'm saying the same thing, but in a nicer way.
The Verdict: This is the first time that I truly miss Simon, because he would have said something that would have accentuated the disaster that was this performance.

We get out first sit down interview with Tim Halperin, who thinks all of his competitors are his brothers. Can he get his brothers behind his 'Street Corner Symphony'?

The Good: He did show some life near the end of the song. I'd say the last 15%.
The Bad: The first 85%, however, he was a zombie. He needed some of the caffeine thst Jordan had. This was a flat, emotionless performance that he added absolutely nothing to. And that is the standard version of karaoke.
The Jason: Meh. Average. Didn't do anything for me.
Grandma Pepper: It's always unfortunate when a wrong song choice is made.
The Verdict: I really like his vocals, but I completely agree with the judges. If this is the first time that America is listening to you, you're in a lot of trouble.

Brett Loewenstern is the 'Green Apple' in the pile of red apples.

The Good: You know, I liked this. Maybe it's because it was original and unique after listening to 5 mediocre performances. Or maybe it's because I've run out of whatever Charlie Sheen is taking right before he addresses the media.
The Bad: Pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch, and he missed the second money note. And if he continues to do the hair sashays, he could be a contestant for RuPaul's Drag Race if this whole Idol thing doesn't work out.
The Jason: WTF is this? Is this a joke? While the judges loved him, I don't. I see him as the Sanjaya of 2011.
Grandma Pepper: The hair worked okay with the rendition. But I liked the hair better.
The Verdict: I'm going to completely disagree with Jason. This was the first performance I actually liked. I thought the performance aspect was bizarre, but if you closed your eyes and heard the vocals, it was the best performance of the night. That being said, he has zero chance of advancing without the judges help and I really hope this isn't the best performance of the evening or Idol is going to be in a world of trouble.

James Durbin is going to be a rock star. We hope, because he's going to do some Judas Priest.

The Good: He's got this 'Adam Lambert, but masculine' vibe going on. He absolutely nails the money note in the middle of the song. It's a great song choice, because no one's ever done it before and he did it well. And he got some cursing from Steven Tyler, so if you got him to do it, that's a good thing.
The Bad: I'm not going to rip James, but I will rip the background vocals, which seemed to drop out while he was singing. So maybe we need to use his tail and strangle the audio coordinator with it.
The Jason: This is the first person who showed stage presence, passion, energy and potential to be the next American Idol! I sensed a lot of Adam Lambert's
vocal style. And I liked him.
Grandma Pepper: Way to go James, and I'm sure the audience is going to agree.
The Verdict: I think he's a lock to advance. There's no way he doesn't get in, either by the judges or the fans - but I think the fans will put him in easy.

No, Robbie Rosen is NOT the person who lost on the first question on Millionaire (that's Robbie ROSEMAN), and he's looking to not duplicate that feat with 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan.

The Good: He's the first person to slow a song down and try to appeal to the women in the audience. And for that he should get some kudos.
The Bad: But this song? You know how I feel about guys doing women songs. And on this song, the vocal range is why - he clearly doesn't have the range to hit this song. And without that, it doesn't matter how much emotion you put into it - it sounds like a muddled mess.
The Jason: Nice take on the song. A few missed high notes, but he will have time to grow. This kid has IT.
Grandma Pepper: I'm with Randy on this one. I hope Robby gets the vote he's looking for because he has the vocal range, but he didn't do a good job.
The Verdict: I'm going to disagree with Jason again. Yuck. I hated this. If he's the only person who sings in this genre, he's going to get in because the women will vote for this. However, I agree with Randy that he could have some problems on Thursday.

We're going to get our first country song of the night, care of Scotty McCreery. Can he bring us home with John Michael Montgomery's 'Letters From Home'?

The Good: Wow. Just wow. This is the best country voice ever on the show. EVER. This is THE first person who put everything together - great look, great song choice and great performance.
The Bad: I'm just chuckling evilly on what disasters are going to befall him when he's stuck doing Disco Night. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha.
The Jason: Best pure voice in the competition. Wow what a bass and country voice. Holy cow.
Grandma Pepper: Scotty is a joy to listen to.
The Verdict: It really doesn't matter how he does in the competition. This kid is going to be a superstar. This could be your first male country winner on American Idol.

Stefano Langone is going to be 'Amazing (Just the Way You Are)', we hope. Can he take the Bruno Mars song and make it such?

The Good: I did like the song choice. It's very relevant and the vocal range really shows off his voice. He also added a ton of emotion - something that's been lacking in most of the competitors this evening.
The Bad: It was a picture perfect performance of a song with no changes whatsoever, which means no originality. The only original part of the song were the cringe-worthy high notes that made my ear drums want to puke.
The Jason: KARAOKE, but very good KARAOKE. The money notes were off....but I don't know.
Grandma Pepper: He's a vote getter for sure. He'll get in via the audience or the judges.
The Verdict: This time, I agree with Jason. It was Karaoke, but good Karaoke. He may have issues later on if he can't adjust to that, but he should be able to make it to the next round.

Paul McDonald is ready to rock America with...'Maggie May'? Really?

The Good: It's not going to be Karaoke. And the jacket is nice.
The Bad: If Maggie May was listening to the warbly voice and off key runs he puts in the song, she would have smacked him upside the head with her purse, taken his wallet and stormed away from their picnic, with no chance of a second date.
The Jason: And the good singing goes bye bye. His stage movement and bad song choice send him packing.
Grandma Pepper: Paul's voice and his look should give him staying power.
The Verdict: I completely disagree with the judges. The character of his personality doesn't overcome the light performance that he had. However, the judges could sneak him in as a Wild Card as they completely saw a different performance than I did. The other factor: Paul was the lead singer of Hightide Blues / The Great Magnolias, so he's got a fan base that will put him in, and if they don't, the judges probably will, regardless of what I think.

Jacob Lusk is an emotional, powerful human being. He's going to make you submit to 'A House is Not A Home'. Don't even bother to say anything bad about his performance. Just submit to the music and performance that is Jacob. Submit.

The Good: Yeah, it's an emotional powerful performance. But what I liked the best was that he wasn't screaming out the notes. He also nailed the song from a technical standpoint, and that has to concern a lot of contenders this year.
The Bad: The beginining of the song didn't sound like a house. It sounded like the bottom of a swimming pool, as the vocals sounded like he was singing underwater. He needs to be really careful about that later on.
The Jason: Incredibly soulful and what Jordan Dorsey dreams he will be. Passion, energy and presence. A force to be reckoned with.
Grandma Pepper: Unique is the word for Jacob. That was truly great.
The Verdict: The scary thing is it sounded like he was restrained. Just wait until Mr. Iovine refines what he can do. He's going to be a major player in this game.

Finally, we have Casey Abrams, who wants to do something that hasn't previously been done. Hopefully, it won't be bombing from the last spot in the show.

The Good: I liked the choice of song, for a number of reasons. It's completely different from what anyone else has done and it has a huge vocal range to it. And he's got that Galifanakis look that the ladies will adore.
The Bad: He completely over-performs the song and completely underperforms (or forgets) the lyrics.
The Jason: Forced, and over the top....too much. Not a good way to end it.
Grandma Pepper: That performance by Casey will keep him around. it will be interesting to see who the votes bring in. This is a good group.
The Verdict: I think his performance is going to bail him out on this one. But I have a sinking feeling that THIS could be the Sanjaya 2011 of Idol if the judges or audience are silly enough to let him through.

Overall: This was not the worst Idol performances I have seen. You did have a handful of really good performances - which is good, because we're only allowing 5 people to go through. I thought there were only good 5 performances, so that's going to fit.

LOCKS: James Durbin, Scotty McCreery, Stefano Langone, Jacob Lusk
JUDGES CHOICES: Casey Abrams, Paul McDonald, Brett Loewenstern, Robbie Rosen
SEE YA: Jovany Barretto, Clint Jun Gamboa, Jordan Dorsey, Tim Halperin,

The Jason: IN - James Durbin, Robbie Rosen, Jacob Lusk, Scotty McCreery, and
Stefano Langone.
WILD CARD POTENTIAL- Jovany Barreto, Jordan Dorsey, Tim Halperin,

Grandma Pepper: In: Scotty, Paul, James, Jacob, Casey

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