American Idol - Group 2 B Or Not Better Than A C

American Idol - Top 36 - Group 2 - Performance Night

Just like Group 1, Group 2 held a lot of high expectations which sadly started deflating as the night kept going on. I hope this season doesn't become Danny Gokey's to lose.

Jasmine Murray
16 years old
Home: Starkville, MS
Audition: Jacksonville, FL
Song: "Love Song" (by Stephen Innes, Sara Bareilles, made famous by Sara Bareilles)

Grade: C

That was kind of weird. Moments I loved her voice. Moments I cringed. Was it just me or was it the feed? Or does she have a nice natural voice that just doesn't really know how to manipulate itself to get to some of the higher or low notes? She seems not to know how to control her breathing.
Listen to mp3 here.


Matt Giraud
23 years old
Home: Kalamazoo, MI
Audition: Louisville, KY
Song: "Viva La Vida" (by Coldplay)

Grade: C+

He has a nice raspy yet smooth voice but I half loved his rendition and half was bored by it (basically like how Kara felt). He couldn't quite hit all the notes but when he did, it sounded great, but overall it felt wrong somehow.
Listen to mp3 here.


Jeanine Vailes
27 years old
Home: Sherman Oaks, CA
Audition: San Francisco, CA
Song: "This Love" (by Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, made famous by Maroon 5)

Grade: D

Ouch, in the first two seconds as Jeanine started singing, I could tell it was going to go all wrong, and she briefly for a split second had my hopes high (I was pulling for the unknown) but it was yet another typical wailing/screaming performance. You could even tell in her friends looks that they were disappointed. Kara put it right on the money. "It was overdone".
Listen to mp3 here.


Nick Mitchell
27 years old
Home: Brookfield, CT
Audition: New York, NY
Song: "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (by Tom Eyen, Henry Krieger, made famous by Jennifer Holiday in the musical Dreamgirls)

Grade: B-

You have got to be kidding me right? At least in his interview, he knows that he's not going for the Justin Timberlake role. That being said, I had to admit, I laughed along with him as he sang the Dreamgirls song. And he didn't to that bad of a job. It wasn't amazing enough to make up for his act, but it wasn't cringeworthy (his singing, his act was). He just might actually get the crazy slot we all thought Tatiana might have gotten. Oh lord help us all. (And yet I say that while I'm still chuckling and shaking my head all at the same time).
Listen to mp3 here.


Allison Iraheta
16 years old
Home: Los Angeles, CA
Audition: San Francisco, CA
Song: "Alone" (by Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly, made famous by Heart)

Grade: B

She's so weird in that awkward teenage kid way. In one sense, she's got a cute David Archuleta vibe underneath all that redhaired leather exterior, but her awkwardness doesn't have the same adorability Archie managed to milk. Allison's voice though was strong, but in that rocker at the bar kinda way. Apparently singing loud and raspy is great cause the judges loved but I didn't quite love her. She has potential to be better if she tones down the screeching.
Listen to mp3 here.


Kris Allen
23 years old
Home: Conway, AR
Audition: Louisville, KY
Song: "Man In The Mirror" (by Glen Ballard, Siedah Garrett, made famous by Michael Jackson)

Grade: B+

As soon as he started, I was afraid the cutiepie-boyband-looking-wannabe was going to be just as bad as the others, but while it started a little shaky, he surprisingly did really well in the main parts, especially considering it's Michael Jackson. Plus, you know, he's cute (hence why Paula loved him, even when Kara didn't quite think he lived up to his Hollywood weeks, which sadly we never really saw, and even Simon looked like he had a little crush on Kris) AND his Arkansas accent is ADORABLE. (I swear I need to find myself a farmboy from middle America).
Listen to mp3 here.


Megan Joy Corkrey
22 years old
Home: Sandy, UT
Audition: Salt Lake City, UT
Song: "Put Your Records On" (by Corinne Bailey Rae, John Beck, Steve Chrisanthou, made famous by Corinne Bailey Rae)

Grade: B-

Why does it seem like there are so many young parents on this show? 22 years old with a 2 year old? Do singers just tend to have babies early or is it just me? Anyways, Megan hit all the notes but she has this weird knack to pronounce every little thing and bounce every syllable. It was very odd. It was interesting but I don't know if I like her or not. All the judges seemed to fawn all over her. She's real purrrty. I'd like to see her sing another song just so I can figure her out but that's not an endorsement for a Top 12 slot. Yet.
Listen to mp3 here.


Matt Breitzke
27 years old
Home: Bixby, OK
Audition: Kansas City, MO
Song: "If You Could Only See" (by Tonic)

Grade: B-

Matt had a decent voice but I'm glad Simon pointed out that it was a REALLY BORING SONG and that his performance was so boring. Vocally he's better than I thought he would be and on a night like tonight, it was one of the better singers, but yawn... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I kept looking at the beads of sweat on his bald head and amazed at my new HDTV.
Listen to mp3 here.


Jesse Langseth
26 years old
Home: Minneapolis, MN
Audition: Kansas City, MO
Song: "Bette Davis Eyes" (by Donna Weiss, Jackie DeShannon, made famous by Kim Carnes)

Grade: C+

Another single mom? Seriously. Like Randy said, it was okay. I'm with Simon on this. It was forgettable and she was too cool for school, and her performance seemed off-putting and too cabaret to me. Like a younger Sandra Bernhard (I know, she's a gay icon but I just don't love her singing. Comedy yes, singing no). It was a very distant performance.
Listen to mp3 here.


Kai Kalama
26 years old
Home: San Clemente, CA
Audition: San Francisco, CA
Song: "What Becomes Of The Brokenheart" (by William Weatherspoon, Paul Riser, James Dean, made famous by Jimmy Ruffin)

Grade: B-

I'm totally shallow because while he had a decent voice, I just could not take that hair. I also didn't love the song choice. I loved Paul Young's version but I thought Kai's was kinda boring. For once, I'm glad the judges agreed. I thought they were totally going to love it since he mostly stayed on pitch. Glad I'm not the only shallow one.
Listen to mp3 here.


Mishavonna Henson
18 years old
Home: Irvine, CA
Audition: Phoenix, AZ
Song: "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" (by Train)

Grade: B

See, Allison and Megan and Jesse had distinctive voices but Mishavonna has a distinctive voice that I really find myself liking. Bad song choice but she still made it pretty darn good with her voice. Simon really had a go at her but I thought Kara had it better, in that she just needs to loosen up a bit and less put together. Still, of all the girls tonight, she's my favorite.
Listen to mp3 here.


Adam Lambert
26 years old
Home: Los Angeles, CA
Audition: San Francisco, CA
Song: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, made famous by The Rolling Stones)

Grade: B

He's got the prima donna rocker performance down pat but I thought it was a bit self indulgent. I want to like this theatre dude but I didn't love it all (and he's been losing points every time I see him since debuting so well at the auditions). I was kinda with Simon who thought parts were "excruciatingly bad" and some were "brilliant". It was a bit too Kiss for me.
Listen to mp3 here.

Best of the Night: Kris Allen
Second Best Male of the Night: Adam Lambert
Best Female of the Night: Mishovonna Henson

Who will get voted in:
This is really hard because I thought pretty much everyone was kind of bleh and even judges "faves" were rockers who oversang it (Adam, Allison). Plus I think because we've barely seen Mishovonna and Kris before this week, the two Matt's and Kai might get more sympathy votes. Or will VFTW get Nick through?

Top Girl: Allison Iraheta
Top Guy: Adam Lambert
Third Pick: Kris Allen (I decided to be hopeful here and hope all the teen girls are voting for this cutie and enough to overcome those amused for Nick)

Will get asked back for Wild Card Week: Mishavonna Henson, Megan Corkrey.

For more on American Idol:
Click here for the most recent posts.
Season 8:
Top 2 Performance
Top 3 Performance, Top 3 Results
Top 4 Performance, Top 4 Results
Top 5 Performance, Top 5 Results
Top 6 + Matt (Top 7 Redux) Performance, Top 7 Redux Results
Top 7 Performance, Top 7 Results
Top 8 Performance, Top 8 Results
Top 9 Performance
Top 10 Performance
Top 12 Performance, Top 12 Results
Top 13 Performance, Top 13 Results
Top 36:
Group 1, Group 2, Group 3
Wild Card, Wild Card Results
Pre-Top 36:
Who Are You Going To Vote For?
Handicapping the Alleged American Idols
Thanks again to Rickey for the mp3's.
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com