The pre-credits sequence remembers to re-humiliate Kristen O'Connor for her exit last week and then there's a montage of the remaining Top 12 -- both on the show and in their younger days -- with the names of their hometowns on the screen. I'm not getting them all now, but don't worry, I assume we'll see the names of all those towns again as we work our way through the evening.
Ryan comes out and works the crowd, posing in group selfies with the audience because he's got his finger on the pulse, y'all. He introduces the top twelve on the couches, and the judges who enter upstage. And yes, Jennifer forgot her pants again. Harry returns Ryan's compliment about how good the judges look, and as always when he compliments Ryan it's hard to tell if he's taking the piss. Ryan reminds us that this week's theme is "Home," which is also one of the better X-Files episodes ever. Ryan interviews the judges, making sure to call Harry "Junior," and says voting is already open. I think we can call make an informed decision now, don't you?
Jena Irene (Farmington Hills, MI) is starting us off tonight with KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" because she remembers listening to it in the car on road trips with her family. Maybe "Home" isn't the best theme for someone for Detroit, which must be why Jena's singing something that reminds her of getting away from it. She talks about how supportive her family is, which probably includes them consistently pronouncing her name correctly. Before hitting the stage, she chats with Ryan and -- like all of the finalists -- gets the pre-song splitscreen window that was wasted on Randy Jackson last week. That's a step in the right direction. The balance of the screen will focused on each singer's family members present in the audience, in case anyone but that singer cares. Anyway the singing. This is a quick, bouncy song, which doesn't really fit with Jena's usual M.O. of singing every note with her whole head because there's no lingering on the notes, but it's not bad or anything. Keith likes her stage presence and doing something new, but wasn't sure about the song choice for her. Jennifer thinks any song lets her show off her tone, which as we saw is not especially correct. Harry liked it but wanted more energy, especially on the two and four. More rich tone! More bounciness! Do what you just did, but better and different!
Alex Preston of Mount Vernon, New Hampshire gets to show off his painful awkwardness in an edited interview segment, talking about his small-town home an hour from Boston. He's singing "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw, who Alex once shared a bill with in Boston and who gave Alex some positive feedback at the time. Alex hits the stage rocking an electric-blue suit (with capris as always, because apparently he's just too tall to be able to find pants that fit) and an off-white Stratocaster, which he starts right off scratching at like a mellower Stevie Ray Vaughn while singing the song. He appears to have taken last week's advice, seeming less in his own head and actually directing his eyes at the audience for long stretches at a time, but his singing isn't quite as captivating as usual. Jennifer likes the suit, including the pants (which are rolled up, meaning he wants them to look that way), but she didn't dig the arrangement or the vocal all that much. Harry appreciates how he ended on the nine again, and thinks he's better at the intimate, introspective stuff than what he did tonight, and agrees with Jennifer that he was a little overpowered by the arrangement. But he also liked how Alex stretched out some. Now if he would only stretch out his pants. Keith thought it was a little unstable, and he noticed some breath and pitch issues at the end of phrases, but he's still all over Alex's originality. Alex admits to Ryan that he was less nervous and outside his comfort zone, but he's glad he did it. He'll be fine.
Jessica Meuse is, as you might remember, from Slapout, Alabama, population 250. And she's going to bring them all onstage with her tonight! Not really. She talks about the animals back home, and Dido's song "White Flag," which she's been singing at her gigs for years. She gets to give a shout-out to the folks back home (all 247 of them, because in addition to herself, there are two of them in the audience tonight), and then goes out and sings it probably very similarly to the way she does it at the sports bars and VFW halls, with minimal accompaniment other than her own guitar. Harry thought it was a little understated and blasé, per her entrance to the stage. Plus it was sharp throughout, and her high note didn't even get a round of applause like they always do on this show. Keith still loves how she sings, and demonstrates that passion can overpower pitch issues (by singing a few lines himself and freaking everyone out), but that didn't happen for her tonight. Jennifer also seems underwhelmed, saying Jessica still doesn't seem that comfortable and even she noticed that it was sharp. When Ryan comes out to get her reaction, Jessica isn't defensive, promising to watch it back later. Then maybe she'll get defensive.
The judges are still debating it when they come back, but eventually we're gearing up for Dexter Roberts, from Fayette, Alabama. They've only got a few stoplights there, which makes it a bustling metropolis compared to some of the burgs we've heard of tonight. He credits his supportive fans back home for getting this far, which ties into his song selection for tonight: "Lucky Man" by Montgomery Gentry. Also he's been engaging in the frequent reality show contestant activity of missing his babies, by which he means the puppies that one of his dogs just had. With his acoustic guitar, he cops a squat on a stool at center stage and gets right to twanging out the slow country ballad, with all of his usual effortless competence. Keith calls it the perfect song, and that Dexter's voice was perfect for it, and he finally made it his own a little. Keith also spotted a near-screw-up that he even liked because it showed Dexter's vulnerable side. Jennifer hearkens back to her first season listening to Scotty McCreery, and says that Dexter needs to do what he did. Win and then vanish? Harry says it was the best vocal of the night, but half-seriously dings Dexter for not changing the lyric about the Bengals to the Saints. Yeah, Dexter, learn to pander already.
Emily Piriz's horizontal-striped top matches Ryan's horizontal-striped tie as he asks her a viewer question: "Do you have a boyfriend?" In fact she does, and he's a Marine, and he sent her a video message of support that they play on the big screen for all of us to see. Good thing he kept it clean. She doesn't have a small-town story, being from Miami via Orlando, but she talks about her extended family that is probably larger than Slapout, Alabama. She'll be doing Jennifer's own "Let's Get Loud," which reminds her of her Cuban heritage back home and singing it with her cousins. As she performs it, somewhat overpowered by the band, Keith looks even more into it than Jennifer, who looks more nervous for her than anything. At least until it's over, at which point she's all excited to start off the judging. She loved it, and says she always closes with it to get the crowd on their feet and that was clearly what Emily was going for. Harry gives her credit for singing a J. Lo song in front of Jennifer, and says that with a song that powerful, she needs to drive it instead of being a passenger. "The production was too big for you tonight," he says. Keith just loved it, as we already saw and just tells her to be more confident. Jennifer agrees, suggesting a hair-whip, a move Harry browbeats Jennifer into demonstrating. If Emily's lucky that'll earn her a few more votes.
Caleb Johnson is from Asheville, North Carolina, population 83,383. I spent a couple of days there years ago and loved it. Seeing it again and hearing Caleb talking about its mini-Austin vibe just makes me want to go back. Tonight he's singing "Working Man" by Rush, which he used to listen to a lot in high school. Like everyone did. Anyway, the song seems like a more interesting stretch for the band than it is for Caleb, who could email this performance in and still nail it. And he's not emailing it in. And thus it's somehow more interesting to watch the suit-wearing sexagenarian in the orchestra pit tear out an Alex Lifeson riff without getting up from his chair. Keith and Jennifer are on their feet, even as Caleb collapses on the stage at the end. Harry tells Caleb that he's the most consistent performer, but suggests that he might need to make it less predictable. Keith flat-out calls him one of the best singers he's heard in a long time, and points out that this was a band song, but Caleb needs to be more on his own that one with the band, as good as they were. Jennifer loved it too, and Ryan remembers to give a shout-out to the bass-playing bandleader, at least. Someone needed to.
After the break, Ryan uses the monitor backstage to show us some real-time results of the online voting as it currently stands. Dexter's currently in the lead, with Jessica in second, Caleb in third, Jena fourth, Alex in fifth and Emily in sixth. In other words, nobody anywhere knows anything at all.
M.K. Nobilette (San Francisco) is singing Train's "Drops of Jupiter," which I did not expect, but she grew up with it and says it was the first song she learned to play on the piano. It's shit like that that's constantly reminding me how young these people are; a song that's an oldie to them might have come out after my son was born, at which point in one's life oldies become all one listens to. M.K.'s family story includes her two separated adoptive moms, their current partners that are now her stepmoms and a slew of stepsiblings. She explains to Ryan that Train is from San Francisco and shows of her tattoo of California on her leg, then heads out with a big old acoustic guitar and starts out with a kind of campfire vibe that grows as the band swells and finally kicks in hard behind her. The problem, as so often happens, is that the shortened time window forced a rush to the big finish, which ends up coming off awkward as a result. Keith starts it off by saying it was a good song choice and her vocals were "fine," but she needs to sing how she looks, whatever that means. Also, he advises her to swing the guitar around behind her when she's not playing it because it looks cooler and less distracting that way. Jennifer doesn't think it was the breakout performance that's called for that this stage of the competition, and Harry cuts right to the bone, saying he gets the feeling that M.K. doesn't really want to be here. On the bright side, he also says she'll improve if she works on practicing the things that make her uncomfortable. That's going to be a lot of practicing.
After Ryan and Randy plug tomorrow's show, C.J. Harris tells us about Jasper Alabama, population 14, 352. He claims you'll like it if you try it, but he obliquely refers to an ongoing general problem in the South, so he's singing "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer. You know, that empowering anthem that called on a generation to hope things would eventually get better on their own. Like a lot of people tonight, he's playing his guitar as he sings, and his vocals are as strong as always. Jennifer appreciates both his message and his look and his performance. Harry, as usual, is the one who points out what the words actually mean, but he uses C.J. as an example of someone who sang consistently sharp but showed enough emotion to get away with it. Keith just wants C.J. to figure out how to make songs more his own instead of covers, so good luck with that, dude.
Ryan gives a couple of shout-outs to some ex-Idols in the audience, as well as the show's "Spiritual Advisors" that I had managed to forget existed, but who Ryan publicly mocks more than even I care to at the moment. Then Sam Woolf talks about moving from West Bloomfield, Michigan to his grandparents' in Bradenton, Florida eight years ago. His song is "Just One" by Blind Pilot, which reminds him of trips up north and whose obscurity isn't likely to hurt him, given the way the girls in the audience are already screaming. Coming out with a guitar and a shirt buttoned to the neck and a dorky Ed Norton hat, he comes out and does his thing, right in the girls' faces at the end of the stage, as if daring them not to vote for even this lame-ass song and the fact that he looks like an idiot right now. Harry liked the lyrics and thought it was a pleasant performance, but needs more emotional dynamics from Sam, saying he's been on one beat the whole time. Keith agrees, but isn't worried about Sam going anywhere because of the tone of his voice. Yeah, that's the reason. Jennifer's with Keith on that, but also with Harry, I think. It's hard to tell.
Malaya Watson is from Southfield, Michigan, which she misses but is glad to be here. She's hoping to avoid being in the bottom three again this week, saying those stools aren't even comfortable. They certainly don't look it. She's singing the first gospel song she ever learned, "Take Me to the King," which reminds her of home. After discussing last week's negative judge feedback with Ryan backstage, she heads out in a white dress and straightened hair to get behind the piano. She does well there for the sad opening verse, but when the song suddenly goes big she stands up and takes it up an octave or three, hollering out the finish high and strong. Keith loved it, particularly the dynamic and emotional range of the performance. Jennifer had goosies and tears, and Harry said that unlike past performances, Malaya was really focused this time and kept it on track. When Ryan joins Malaya on the stage, he tells her that he always gets nervous before Harry speaks. I think the finalists probably get that.
Ben Briley of Gallatin, Tennessee, is singing "Turning Home" by David Nail, who should get a Grammy just for his name. And props to Ben for being the first one on "Home" night to pick a song with that word in the title. Ben tells us that he's got a family of about 120, and figures that their votes have kept him in the competition. That may be an exaggeration, but it is not something I am prepared to disprove. Before heading out onstage, he tells Ryan how much he misses deviled eggs and other delicacies from home, which will be important later. In the place of the shots of the hometown folks who have been in the audience for everyone tonight, we get a look at two empty chairs in the audience as Ben lamely jokes that his people got confused and are watching at home. Well, maybe that'll make it easier for them to vote. He deploys his usual twang for this Ray Charles-y power ballad, taking it up pretty high there on the closing chorus and finishing it up with a big high note. Jennifer says he was a little off with the piano early on, but it came together at the end. Harry didn't connect with it, saying it felt shouted. He's pretty much holding out for something knockout tonight, and hasn't heard it yet. Keith says it was too technical and focused on range and notes for him to connect with the story, and says Ben has the kind of voice where he could do that. Ben should be a lot less happy after that than he suddenly is, and a wide shot suddenly explains his elation: Ryan has followed him onto the stage bearing a plate of deviled eggs, which Ryan shares with him and the judges. He should have done that before the comments.
The last singer of the night is Majesty Rose, from Goldsboro, North Carolina. She misses her preschool class (her students, not her classmates), who have come through with a video message and a hand-colored banner. Her song from home is "Fix You" by Coldplay, which takes her allll the way back to her teenage years. She goes out with her beat-up gray acoustic -- which I think she painted herself at one point, now that I'm looking at the way the finish is coming off here and there -- and does some nice fingerpicking along with the song's slow, quiet opening. Then the climax starts, and she was clearly paying attention earlier to Keith's tip to MK about what to do with the guitar when you stop playing, because she does that. Unfortunately, she's also doing some great big notes that are a lot longer than they are steady. So that's not as good. Harry says she looks like she belongs up there, and wishes she'd stayed quiet like in the beginning. Jennifer agrees that you "don't always have to go for the big thing," especially because it didn't quite work. Too bad that's how the song goes. Keith doesn't have anything to add other than that she'll be back week. That was nice of them to figure out how to not end on a down note. Like Majesty did.
Then there's the clips of tonight's performances, alongside clips of each finalist supposedly living their everyday lives with their dedicated voting numbers. Before signing off, Ryan shares the current rankings, which show C.J. in the lead of the performers from the second hour of the night, followed by Sam, Ben, M.K., Malaya, and Majesty, for what that's worth. The finalists at the bottom should get a nice panic-bump from their fan bases, at least. Ryan asks Jennifer what they want week, and she immediately says they want powerhouse performances, which suggests they didn't get them tonight. I don't disagree; let's hope that this time week finds us all a bit more whelmed than we are now.
M. Giant is a Minneapolis- based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, follow him on Twitter, or just e-mail him at m.giant[at]gmail.com.