'American Idol' recap: Group Therapy

Share this article

• Tweet

BYRD HAS THE WORD

You do not interrupt the Idol vocal coach!

All About

American Idol

Get the latest photos, news, and more

Neapolitan, the tattily attired archrival of ''Destiny's'' (I put that word in quotes, so as to not offend Beyoncé, Kelly, and Michelle), wasn't a whole lot better. When Simon declared, ''in its own way, that was good,'' I like to think he meant ''in its own way'' in the broadest possible terms. As in, ''if we don't define the quality of your vocals to any of the people who will actually be making the top 24, then that was good.''

For the night's remaining highlights, let's break it down fast and furious, much like the pacing of tonight's telecast:

Phoenix: Really liked Jeff Goldford's growly tone, but suspect he's not finished paying for interrupting vocal coach Debra Byrd. Jermaine Sellers got mad love from his fellow contestants for ridiculously mauling his glory note on ''Wayward Son,'' but the Romans used to cheer at the Colosseum, too, which didn't make the barbarism any less horrific. As for poor Moorea Masa, while she was correctly schooled for dubbing her group-performance experience as ''a hardship,'' at least this year, producers popped her name up on the screen. (Last year, when she was part of the Danny Gokey Experience, producers inexplicably failed to I.D. the girl!)

Faith: Not sure Charity Vance took Shania's advice to hone in on the better parts of her voice between her audition and Hollywood week, because I'd have sent her home for that feathery assault on ''Irreplaceable.'' Ashley Rodriguez, on the other hand, was actually pretty good. I wonder how their comrade Michelle Delamor felt tonight seeing how the average sneeze lasts longer than whittled-down footage of her solo.

Lee Dewyze: Funky snippet of ''Get Ready'' (with Crystal Bowersox on backup!!!) has me thinking he's an under-the-radar contestant to watch.

Mighty Rangers: Sorry, Mark Labriola, but you need to soak in the wisdom of Kara DioGuardi: ''We've all heard no more than yes.'' (And, no, I wasn't being facetious there. Srsly.) Also: Is it wrong that I cheered Danny Jones' elimination on the sole basis of hating his hideous rehearsal headband? Or that I wanted Maddie Penrose to join him along with her ''look how quirky I am!'' green glasses?

Tasha Layton: The producers may have suddenly decided to reduce the nighttime preacher's season 9 journey down five-second snippets, but I'm gonna keep the flame burning by giving her a paragraph of her own.

Randy Jackson: Anyone remember anything significant the dawg said tonight? Fifteen ''save the rocker'' points to the first person who can come up with a convincing example!

''The Sweet Escape'' What in the name of all that's holy would possess any contestant to choose this rapid-fire song to advance his or her Idol cause? I almost wonder if next year, Ken Warwick should add a booby-trapped song to the ''approved'' list — say, ''I've Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates'' or maybe ''My Humps'' — and automatically DQ any singer who picks it.

What did you think of tonight's show? How is this season comparing to last year? Do you have a favorite heading into next week's Top 24 announcement? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and if you're on Twitter, do feel free to follow me @EWMichaelSlezak!