AI: Lil Rounds, Jorge Nunez and Scott MacIntyre Impress the Judges

It was another rocky start for the top rated show in America. Ju'not Joyner was the first to have a really powerful performance. The other outstanding performances belonged to Lil Rounds, Jorge Nunez and Scott MacIntyre.

Lil Rounds did as was expected of her. Closing out tonight's show with Mary J. Blige's Be Without You. Lil Rounds can sing. She definitely has what it takes to go far in American Idol. It was a relatively safe performance since she sounds just like Blige, but she put energy into the end and had the audience up dancing with her. Being the last performance of the night I'm sure Lil left an impression.

Jorge Nunez lit up the AI stage right before Lil Rounds. He is another hidden treasure of Season 8. Jorge sang Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me by Elton John, an Idol favorite. Apparently the Idol judges told Jorge to work on his diction and accent. Ridiculous advice, as Simon Cowell pointed out tonight. He has a great voice. Jorge was a little tight tonight, but I think he did enough to get the needed votes. He's really cute too, that matters on American Idol.

We had to wade through the nervous performances of 4 American Idol hopefuls before we got to Ju'not Joyner. He took Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's to a whole 'nother level. Put a little Brian McKnight mixed up with Marvin Gaye on it. I was completely surprised by Ju'not Joyner's performance. If he doesn't get the votes this week he has a shot at the wildcard.

Scott MacIntyre is another much talked about AI hopeful. I don't understand why he performed without his keyboard, but Bruce Hornsby's Mandolin Rain was missing something. If you are doing Bruce Hornsby, you need the keyboard. It freaked me out when he stood up, that stage is very small. I like Scott and hope he gets through to the next Idol round, but maybe in a wildcard spot.

Disappointments tonight include Nathaniel Marshall. I had high hopes for Nathaniel, and still do... just not on the American Idol stage. Nathaniel chose I Would Do Anything For Love by Meatloaf. This was the wrong song on so many levels. It just did not gel with the headband and tattoos. I really like Nathaniel Marshall and we might still see him on the final show, or in his own spotlight.

Von Smith did a decent job to start the show, but I don't think it was memorable enough to move on. That group includes: Taylor Vaifanua, Alex Wagner-Trugman, Arianna Afsar, Kristen McNamara, and Felicia Barton.

If there is a surprise tomorrow night, it might be Kendall Beard. This years answer to country loving Idol watchers. Kendall sang This One's For the Girls by Martina McBride. She is a pretty little thing and looked comfortable on stage. Kendall was followed by some big voices though.

The top 3 at this point overall (after one performance) is Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, and Danny Gokey. Now I have to say top 4 and put Allison Iraheta in that group. So much happens in a season of American Idol. Can't wait to see how it all comes out.