Top 11(11-5) British Invasion Night

Time to break out the British Sound on Idol...liked the Paula/Simon riff raff to start the show...Haley up first tonight. "Tell Him"...going to be aggressive...hmmm
Haley...good start, great stage presence. She seems a lot more comfortable on the stage. She's hitting her notes, like the little 'agressive' vocal change, great smile, and the dance moves were okay....Judges, Randy: perfect song for her, back in the competition, Paula: perfect song, flirtation was great, Simon: different side to you, it was fun, young, people are going to be talking about a lot more than her singing....I agree with Randy, her best so far. Second of the night, Chris Richardson, Mr. Justin Timberlake...."Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'"..
Chris...with just a guitar...nice start...nice job slowing it down this week. Is on his notes, sounds good. He' s hitting his higher notes tonight. It's good to hear Chris do a slower song, rather than the last few weeks where he was kinda everywhere. Good song choice....Judges, Randy: showed a different side to him, every note was in tune, Paula: all about being smart, arrangement very sexy and charming, Simon: I think that was your best performance ever, excellent control, did his own slant...Stephanie next. "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"...looking for her to knock this one out of the studio tonight!
Stephanie...liked the little horn section intro...little rough on the start, but she worked it out beginning of the second verse. It was alright for me, she had a few problems, lets see what the judges said. Randy: not best performance, pitchy, hard when people sing a lot of uptempo songs. Paula: loved what she is wearing, picked the right song. Simon: thinks she is losing her edge and her soul, bit nightclubby, not necessarily her, is becoming far to old for herself..Simon hit in the head, the song was too old for her, but I loved the dress...Blake up next..."Time of the Season"
Blake: well, he's putting his own spin on it...good start, they're up and dancing. Nice vocals so far, he has some major stage presence and confidence with this song tonight. Vocal is great. Ooh, like the beatboxing, originality..what will the judges say on that one...like the arrangement from the band...nice job. Blake's best performance...Judges, Randy: edgy massive yo factor of a song, made it current, much props, Paula: really raised the bar, at a concert, Simon: million times better than last week, think this week chose the right song without messing with the melody, strongest performance so far....I again, agree with Simon, strongest of the night so far, it was fun, entertaining and he was having fun with it.
Lakisha next..."Your My World", a first this season, a song switch for Lakisha, "Diamonds Are Forever"..good stage presence and she is channelling "Ursula" from the Little Mermaid at several points of her performance, not a Disney performance, but she stayed within the constraints of the song...the song seemed to go on forever and I feel she is at risk....Judges, Randy: not his favorite, didn't feel enough Lakisha in it, Paula: think she made the right choice, wearing a million dollars worth of diamonds, Simon: this was Lakisha in fifty years time, wasn't his favorite performance..Phil next, "Tobacco Road"
Phil..little rock edge...nice start, audience is up...solid stage presence, vocal was solid, liked the little riffs toward the end, good ending. Judges, Randy: it was pretty good for me, Paula: good choice of song, some pitchy parts, liked the vocal range he showed, Simon: wasn't crazy about it. Kind of a third division bar band performance, didn't hear any grit in his voice.
Putting the wrap on the first half, Simon said Phil is being outsung tonight, and I have to agree. Blake, Haley, and Chris did the best out of this group and showed off their range and their skill the best. Lakisha wasn't as amazing as she has been in previous weeks, but gets the Disney vote from me. Stephanie had the opportunity to lay down the law tonight and she didn't take the chance, and Phil I didn't get...good thing for Steph, there is another singer's name that starts with an S that has yet to sing...