Judging the Judges: Semifinals Week 2

SIMON

True to form, Simon did not share Randy and Paula's enthusiasm for Phil Stacey's take on ''Missing You,'' calling it unoriginal and a ''very, very good karaoke performance.''

Ace: That's what the whole show is, karaoke. You're singing other people's songs. So I think Phil understood that and he related it to his family and his new baby. I thought it was perfect to compare that to his life right now. Simon wanted to go for a ride that was different than the original. Simon really likes it when you change up the song just to make it your own.

Anthony: I didn't get that. I thought he did a great job with the song, and Phil has a very commercial voice.

And whereas Randy and Paul were all about Blake Lewis' attempt at Jamiroquai's ''Virtual Insanity,'' Simon thought it a ''copycat performance.''

Ace: I thought he did a great job. I'm a huge Jamiroquai fan. I put Virtual Insanity, the whole disc, in my car, and I don't think I've taken it out in years. If you copycat Jamiroquai, I think you do it justice.

Amy: Well, I think [Simon] clarified, actually, that [Blake] made the middle original with the beatboxing, and then he lost it at the end. Yeah, I think [Simon] was right on there, really.

Anthony: Obviously there were similarities, but I think he killed it. There was nothing, like, bad copycat about it.

Brandon Rogers' explanation that his simple take on ''Time After Time'' was due to his desire to ''feel'' the song was, to Simon, ''nonsense....Wow us.''

Amy: Yeah, I agree. [Brandon] may not have been happy with his own performance, and that might have been his excuse. I think any time you veer from yourself or what you are or what you do, and then someone criticizes you, the best thing to do is fix it. You can't be all over the board.

When [Brandon also said] ''Happy birthday, Dad,'' and Simon was like, ''Yeah, happy birthday to my mom, in November'' — I thought that was, well, rude, but hilarious. I would've done the same thing — like, ''Hey, mom!'' — but I think Simon was just so thoroughly unimpressed that he was like, ''Whatever — you [are] trying to deter from the point that you're not so good right now.''

Ace: I think Brandon's an old soul, and we've just gotta let him know that he can celebrate on that stage, pick some songs that are a lot of fun. Because he can sing anything. I think Simon, just like myself, was waiting to see him just go free and let it all out. I'm excited to see what he does next week.

Anthony: It may have been wrong song choice, but I strongly disagreed with Simon on this. One of the biggest misconceptions that singers tend to learn while they're on Idol is that it's all about hitting high notes and singing as high and as loud as you can. It's not. I actually struggled for quite some time after I got off Idol to really put a lot of emotion into my singing. As I'm coming into my own and recording original material, I'm starting to get an identity, putting my heart and soul into songs. I thought Brandon did the right thing; maybe his diction wasn't all there, and he wasn't pronouncing certain things, but I really felt what he was singing.

Simon on Alaina Alexander's ''Not Ready to Make Nice'': ''It's like Randy trying to run the 100 meter dash; you run out of steam halfway through.''

ANTHONY: I thought that was hilarious. [Simon's] comments, you've got to take them with a grain of salt. I mean, he speaks the truth, but at the same time, he's Simon. When he told me I had as much Latin flavor as a polar bear, I was laughing — you can't take this kind of stuff seriously. But I thought that was the quote of the night.

Ace: I was more caught off guard that Simon and Randy didn't have more conversation about that statement. One of the reasons a lot of America watches the show is to hear what Simon's going to say. So when he included Randy in his statement as a put-down, I was stuck — I wasn't going to defend Randy, but I was waiting for [Randy] to do it [himself]!

Of Simon's two favorites from the ladies' night — Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones — Simon had only one negative thing to say: LaKisha's short jean skirt and bright orange top were, well, ''distracting.''

Amy: It was. That was a reee-heally short skirt. I think there are length limits, especially when you're on TV and you're on a stage and people are looking up at you. I just hope she had underwear on, for her sake.

Ace: Well, if it caught Simon's attention, I would say congratulations! You only have a minute-and-a-half to sing the song and look the part, so apparently Simon couldn't get past the part. [Laughs] Which is a good thing — you want that!

Anthony: I don't know if you should take style advice from Simon. He's a very knowledgeable guy, but style is not one of his attributes. When he said LaKisha was a phenomenal singer — I agree with him 100 percent, I've just never heard him say anything like that. I don't think he's ever said that to somebody, that you're a phenomenal singer.