Idol Recap: Top 12 Men Perform

Next came Brandon Rogers, the background singer for Chrisitina Aguilera and Anastasia. He auditioned in LA at the Rose Bowl, a place he must have passed a thousands of times because its right near his hometown of Altadena, California. He went with a Michael Jackson song, "Rock With You". Randy said he was "pitchy". Paula thought he did a great job but agreed with Randy for him not to do too many runs in his songs. Simon thought "it was a safe and predictable song to do."
Dish of Salt thought: He sounded nervous and he'll do better next time. Plus, he's cute.

The frontrunner, at least in airtime, Sundance Head had a lot to prove tonight but his slow, boring rendition of "Nights in White Satin" has thrown him towards the bottom of the heap. Randy told him he had abandoned his soul vibe and that he was pitchy the whole way through. Paula agreed and said his pitch was all over the place telling him he picked the wrong song tonight. Simon says "You have gone right off since we were first saw you. You came in great voice, as Randy said, very kind of bluesy and we love that. Tonight you were like dad at a wedding.. very old fashioned, very uninspiring and the whole performance for me was flat." Sundance listened intently looking like a wounded puppy.
Dish of Salt says: "Is it possible that Sundance cannot handle the pressure of the spotlight?

Mr. "I won't be wearing shoes this whole season", Paul Kim was up next and took on George Michael's "Careless Whisper". Randy told him he too was pitchy but that he still sees a lot of potential. Paula made it clear he was nervous and told him he "over sang the song". Simon suggested he "put his shoes on next week." He also told him that to me "it sounded like a third rate version of the song."
Dish of Salt agrees with Simon that Paul needs to put his shoes on. The gimmick is a lame attempt at doing something different to stand out. How about just be a great singer?

Chris Richardson took comparing himself to Justin Timberlake one step further by busting out with a similar JT style with his suit, tie and sneakers. He went with Gavin Degraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" and so far was the best of the bunch. He was the first guy to receive some positive feedback from both Randy and Paula who both liked his arrangement of the song and the energy he brought to it. Simon disagreed telling him, "I thought your voice sounded very small. I thought it was a bad vocal personally."
Dish of Salt says: Simon did have it right on the money when he said that the girls would vote for him. He's already got a large fan base on the internet.

Nick Pedro came into this show with the least amount of performance experience and it showed in his lack of confidence and stage presence. He sang "Now and Forever" and Randy prolonged his harsh comments but then finally proclaimed "it wasn't good for me dude". Paula thought he lost his magic. Simon shockingly disagreed and told him he wasn't bad just that he had lost his confidence.
Dish of Salt says: Simon clearly was not paying attention and when he watches it back later will realize he was wrong and Nick sounded bad.

He is by far the most popular contestant on the internet and Blake Lewis upped his likeability even further last night as the first unique voice of the show. He sang "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane and I could see little girls everywhere going crazy. Randy told him he dug it. Paula told him she was proud of him and he was "spot on.". Simon told him it wasn't the best performance he had ever heard in his life but "the difference between you and everybody else tonight is that you are the first person who has come out and actually sounded like someone in 2007."
Dish of Salt says: Look for Blake to be leading the march into the Top 12.

Like Kevin Covais last year, Sanjaya Malakar, has certainly got the under 12 vote but after tonight he may have a tough battle to stick around. He took on Stevie Wonders' "Knocks Me Off My Feet" which Randy told him, "I didn't think it was very good" and that this was a perfect example of bad song choice. Paula asked that more of his personality come out. Simon told him that "Without question it was the most dreary performance we have had tonight. How long did that last a minute and a half it seemed like an hour."
Dish of Salt says: Don't worry the little girls will sail him through to the next round but that will only get him so far.

Unlike Sundance, Chris Sligh, has lived up to his hype singing "Typical." Randy told him he was rushing but "I am a Chris fan. I loved it I liked you." Paula told him he was ahead of the chorus but so what. Simon told him he felt like "I was at some weird student gig" but couldn't really describe what he meant by the comment. Chris was the first contestant to fight back saying, "This kind of music is popular right now. Just because I don't sing Il Divo or Teletubbies doesn't mean that I'm not a good singer." Simon then made a snide comment referring to Chris's size.
Dish of Salt says: "Wait a minute? Simon is the man behind Teletubbies? " This must be researched further!

Jared Cotter in his taped piece mentioned that he had some catching up to do since America has not yet really seen him. He sang Brian McKnight's "One". Randy told him it "was pretty good but it was alright." Paula told him she thought it sounded a lot like Brian McKnight would interpret it and "I feel like there is more to you." Simon thought he "sounded a bit nasally" and told him he needed to take more risks.
Dish of Salt says: He won't get the chance because most likely he is going home this week.

AJ Tabaldo wins the award for the most energy tonight with his upbeat rendition of "Never Too Much." It's obvious he has done some performing in the past and he thrives on it. Randy sort of complimented him. Paula told him he could definitely sing. Simon thought it was good but told him it was a "kind of a theme park performance." Dish of Salt says, "Is it just me or is it hard to tell Rudy and AJ apart?" I see a nice career performing on cruise ships in AJ's future.

Phil Stacey ended the night on a high note with "I Could Not Ask for More." He started a bit rough but then sounded great as he got towards the middle. Randy told him, "Phil from the dawg you get the best vocal performance of the night." Simon agreed it started rough and thought it was just "okay".
Dish of Salt thought: The cutaway shots to his wife looking all proud and in love will win him major bonus points with the older viewers.

Bottom-line: I think you will see Jared Cotter and Rudy Cardenas, who both suffer from a lack of airtime getting voted off this week. Nick Pedro, AJ Tabaldo, Sanjaya Malakar, Paul Kim and Sundance Head are in dire need of stepping up their game. Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Phil Stacey, Chris Sligh and maybe Brandon Rogers are heading towards the Top 12.