'American Idol' 2011 Season 10: The Highs and Lows of the Top 12 Male Contestants

The Top 12 male contestants performed Tuesday night on "American Idol" - and for some of these boys their growing pains were apparent as they took the stage for the first live show of the season.

There were plenty of highs and lows when it came to the performances on Tuesday night, which may have left Judges Randy Jackson , Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler wondering if some of these "Idol" hopefuls are really ready for the big time.

Meanwhile, the fans will whittle these guys down to 5 (and that- coupled with the Top 5 female picks (they will perform tonight) and the judge's wild card picks- will round out the finalists for this season.

The Highs

Tuesday night's performances were highlighted by Brett Loewenstern, James Durbin and Scotty McCreery. Lowenstern made like Jim Morrison as he mesmerized with the Doors classic, "Light My Fire" (he even logged 14 hair flips).

James Durbin went metal with the Judas Priest heavy metal hit, "You Got Another Thing Comin'." Judas Priest on "Idol?" Yes, it's a new season. He also sported a tail (made from a scarf). Uh huh.

And Scotty McCreery's country style was simply smooth. Randy called him a "throwback country singer" and said he loves "the lowness" in McCreery's voice.

Clint Jun Gamboa sang the Stevie wonder song "Superstition" to positive reviews, while Steven Tyler gushed over Jacob Lusk. Seriously, is he getting a kickback from this guy? The Aerosmith front man talked about how he wants to bathe in whatever Lusk has got. Huh?

Stefano Langone also fared well with his Bruno Mars song, while Casey Abrams put a spell on the judges with his rendition of "I Put a Spell on You."

The Lows

OMG! Jordan Dorsey quickly discovered that Usher is not genre. He tried, bless his heart, but Dorsey was promptly told by J-Lo that he needs to stick to Nat King Cole, soft R&B style. He's probably screwed if they have any theme nights that are outside of that genre.

And Tim Halperin had an epic fail with his Rob Thomas song. Steven Tyler was especially disappointed in this one.

The Middle

The judges didn't always agree on Tuesday night- in fact Randy set himself apart from the newbie judges more than once (way to throw your weight around, Dawg!)

Tyler and J-Lo loved Jovany Barreto's ballad (Steven Tyler even quipped, "Holy shipyards!"- a play on Barreto's shipyard worker background) but Randy dubbed it karaoke. Ditto for Robbie Rosen, who the newbies hailed but who left Randy not quite so excited.

Meanwhile Paul McDonald's "'Maggie May" showed that he's quirky and unique. But is that "Idol" style?

Next up: The Top 12 girls perform when "American Idol" airs on Wednesday, March 2 at 8:00 pm ET on FOX.