Nicki still has the side-part-blonde-with-black-roots hair. She's wearing a lemon yellow sleeveless dress with a black and yellow skirt. The armholes appear to be edged with bicycle chains. Randy is in a red blazer and matching glasses. Mariah has nude lipstick, and cute hair- I think it's lighter than before. It's certainly more full, and softer looking, and longer. She's wearing a black dress with a dangerously low, loose neckline, but at least there are straps tonight.
The remaining 10 Guys rise from the depths. There are a couple of fairly new faces in the bunch.
#1. Mathenee is 26, and a return from last year. He's a dancer and a choreographer, originally from the Bahamas. he's wearing a black leather jacket with the sleeves pushed up, over a white tee, and a sideways ball cap. I hate sideways ball caps. He's singing A Little Less Conversation, and it's not awful, but I have no fondness for this song (or for Elvis in general), or for the dancing. Mathenee's voice is thin and kind of screechy on the high notes.
Keith: compliments Mathenee's range and entertainment value but cautions not to let the entertainment overpower the voice (translation: stand still)
Nicki: thinks Mathenee tried too hard
Randy: questions song choice
Mariah: likes him as a person but didn't love the performance
Note to Mathenee: if you survive until voting opens, you can think about arguing with the judges then. When your fate is in their hands entirely, it's a good idea just to smile and say thank you.
#2. Gurpreet, The Turbanator, explains that he's a Sikh, and he demos turban wrapping, which is actually pretty fascinating. He's wearing bright yellow pants and a matching turban, a white shirt and a black vest. He sings some bluesy song that highlights every one of Gupreet's weaknesses (no volume, no depth, no stage presence). My guess is that he'd be fine in a small venue, but he's totally unsuited for even this size audience.
Keith: not a good song choice
Nicki: Hell no!
Randy: dude, no, really, honestly, that was terrible
Mariah; slightly disappointed
#3. Vincent is a worship leader (one of hundreds on the show this year, it seems). He has also sung backup for many famous singers (including Whitney Houston). He's wearing black glasses, a black velvet blazer, and a dark eggplant shirt. He looks every minute of 39 years old. He's singing something slow and sultry, and he ventures a long way into falsetto city. This is a very controlled performance. Vincent is in charge.
He gets a Standing O from Randy, Mariah, and Keith.
Keith: acknowledges the crowd's overwhelming approval
Nicki: says that Vincent is an old soul, and that 40 and 50 year olds will be throwing their panties at him, like that isn't a horrifying notion
Randy: first time this year- In it to win it!
Mariah: finally, someone singing well!
Note: Zoanette is in the house tonight, and her enthusiasm reaches levels that may involve the need for outside restraint. With tasers.
#4. Nick Boddington, 27, is a bartender, and he looks very like a tall, bald contestant from several seasons past, whose name escapes me at the moment. I don't believe we've seen him without a hat. Tonight he's wearing a jacket with the sleeves pushed up way above his elbows, a white shirt, no tie, and a fedora. His voice is 100% Boy Band, and once again I reflect that the show really really wants a girl to win this year.
Keith: likes the vocal timbre but thinks there was no connection to the song
Nicki: still loves the voice but expected more
Randy: bad song choice
Mariah should really not bend over: says the same thing as everyone else
#5. Unfortunately Josh Holloway is a brunette farm boy from Texas and not Sawyer from The Island. I would watch him every week. This Josh has that very thick, bushy kind of hair that sticks straight up when it's short. He's wearing a blue jacket over a white v-neck tee. He starts out at the piano, and every few notes, he takes his hands from the keys and taps his chest twice. It's weird and annoying. About halfway through, he leaves the safety of the ivory, bouncing and prancing and singing very adamantly. I don't know this song, but I don't think he hit a single note properly. This is a really terrible performance for this stage of the competition.
Keith: clarifies that Josh was singing an original song.(Me: Man, he couldn't even sing his own song on key)
Nicki: should have stayed at the piano
Randy: yo, yo, yo, not wowed
Mariah: loves that Josh is a singer/songwriter but does not love this particular sing/song
(Note: edited to say that he's Josh Holiday not Josh Holloway, which ruins my perfectly good joke. Way to go, Joke Ruiner Josh Holiday)
#6. David Willis is yet another worship leader. He's wearing a red shirt, gray vest and jeans. I'm very glad he ditched his asymmetrical sculpted hair for a close-cropped do. He's playing a guitar (though he's not a White Guy, so he's safe)(for the moment) and singing Fever to an arrangement with a Caribbean beat. I don't hate this but I don't love it either. Where are the gravel-voiced guys this year? Oh yeah, off with the winners of the last four seasons.
Keith: starts with How you doing?, which is never a good sign. Not the best song choice
Nicki has no hidden thoughts whatsoever- they all flit across her face, easily translatable: didn't like it at all
Randy: boring song choice
Mariah: intrigued by the back story but not so much by the performance
#7. Bryant is 23, and he's from Hawaii, and we talk about Hawaii a lot. He's in a black long-sleeved shirt and gray slacks. Given the Hawaii emphasis, I expected him to sing something with an Israel Kamakawiwo'ole flair, and am surprised when he chooses New York State of Mind. Once again, it's okay but nothing more. He did hit one really pretty note at the end, though.
Keith: says that the audience loved it
Nicki: didn't like anything but the last note
Randy: liked everything but the last note
Mariah: admires his raw talent but not so much this performance
#8. Burnell Taylor is a hurricane survivor (lots of them this year too), and has recently lost 40lbs. He's wearing a yellow shirt, a blue jacket, a bow tie, tortoise shell glasses, black shoes and yellow laces. He bears a strong resemblance to Urkel, except his waistband isn't hiked up to his armpits. He stands at the microphone and sings with a lot of hand flinging and knee flexing. As with all of the performances that aren't outright terrible, this is okay without being special. Or particularly appealing.
Keith: looks great, the performance outweighed the flaws
Nicki: would pay to see Burnell right now
Randy: Dawg, didn't love it as much as Nicki, but did like it
Mariah: agrees with Randy
#9. Lazaro, in a pink shirt, bow tie, and black suspenders, looks very much like Chuck Bartowski. I loved Chuck Bartowski. As usual, Lazaro sings with nary a vocal hitch. He has a nice tone and depth, though I think he's rushing the song just a bit. This is my favorite performance of the night so far.
Keith: spends more time commenting on the crowd than anything else tonight. He's flattered that Lazaro sang a Keith Urban song but thought he rushed it a bit too
Nicki: ummmmm, played it safe but smart
Randy: heard a sweet spot in the chorus
Mariah also ummms: worried about Lazaro's emotions overwhelming him.
At least they've all finally learned not to finish Lazaro's words for him.
#10. Let's get this out of the way right now- Cortez, 22, from Texas, is a mighty fine-looking young man with an absolutely beautiful smile.He's wearing a silver gray windbreaker over a charcoal shirt and pants. His singing voice is much higher than I expected- he may be an alto. The band and backup singers are too loud, making it hard to hear Cortez's boy band voice. He does hit the big notes, however.
Keith: loved the song, calling it bold and brave, while noting errors in the performance
Nicki loves her some handsome young men: sexy song choice
Randy: pitchy but good where it really counted (on the big notes)
Mariah: loved it all
Tonight's performances point out, again, that the men are far weaker this year. I didn't love any of them, and I'd be perfectly happy if 8 of these guys went home. But only 5 are leaving. I think Vincent, Burnell, Lazaro, and Cortez will stay, but I have no idea who the hell might make the 5th survivor.
As with last night, there are 20 minutes left to kill. I doubt there will be as many hugs.
Mariah tells David no. Handshakes for the men, hugs for the ladies.
Keith tells Bryant no. And I guess we do have time for hugs all around.
Nicki doesn't even pretend to string Vincent along. He's in.
Randy tells Mathenee no.
Mariah tortures Lazaro, but her smile gives it away. He's in.
Keith says there will be time for Cortez to improve because he's still in, too.
There's no way that Josh is staying, and Nicki tells him so, gently
Randy gives the opposite news to Burnell (and timing alone guaranteed that).
So it's down to Nick and Gupreet, which is a no-brainer, though I would guess that Nick will be going home next week anyway.
Speaking of next week- the votes are open to the public, finally. And it'll be airing three nights running. Lord help us.
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