American Idol Review: Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Group 3 finalists performed tonight with songs from Billboards Top 100 List. Lil Rounds the last performer of the night was also the best performance of the night according to Simon. The 23 year old mom from Memphis sang Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You." Simon said her performance was brilliant and Randy said she is one of the best singers this season. Kara and Paula agreed calling her a powerhouse and a first class performer.

Once again, this week, just like the last two weeks, the judges seemed to prefer the guys over the girls. Von Smith, 22, kicked off the show with "You're All I Need To Get By" by Marvin Gaye. Randy said it was a hot performance and a great way to kick off the show. Kara said he was coming into his own. And, Simon said he sang well and reminded him of Clay Aiken. Paula's comment, as usual was that she loved it. Ju'Not Joyner, 26, from Bowie, MD sang a rendition of "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's. Randy said he loved the way he switched up the song and Kara loved his smooth voice. Paula said it was a nice vocal and Simon said it was better than he thought it would be. Scott MacIntyre, 23, the sentimental favorite, sang Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby. Randy thought it was well done and loves his passion. Kara said he could move mountains and loves the way he sings from the heart and Paula said he is one of the finest. Simon said he wasn't crazy about the song, but said everyone will remember his performance and he thinks he will sail through to the next round. Jorge Nunez, 21, from Puerto Rico sang Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." Paula said he is fulfilling his dream and Simon said he has a really good voice and said they were wrong in telling him to work on his accent. Kara said he was born to sing.

The other two guys did not fair as well. Alex Wagner-Trugman, a 19 year old from the LA area, sang another Elton John song, "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues." Paula found him entertaining and fun. Simon said he was fun to watch, but not to listen to and compared him to a hamster wanting to be a tiger. Randy found his crazy moves to be distracting. Nathaniel Marshall, 18, from Malone, NY, sang, "I Would Do Anything For Love." Simon said it was excruciating and said his headband reminded him of Olivia Newton John in an exercise video. Randy, Kara, and Paula all said he picked the wrong song and they preferred his fun side to his serious side.

Taylor Vaifanua, 17, sang "If I Got You." Kara said there were some issues with song and she would like to see more personality. Paula said she has a beautiful voice but questioned why she sang a song that she performed earlier in the round. Simon said he couldn't remember her and she was too generic and Randy said it was nothing special and it was boring. Arianna Afsar, 17, sang Abba's big hit, "The Winner Takes It All." All four judges agreed that it was the wrong song choice and they would like to see her act and dress her age.

Kristen McNamara, 23, sang "Give Me One More Reason." Once again, all four judges said it was the wrong song choice and would like to see her sing more Kelly Clarkson-like songs. Kendall Beard, 23, sang "This Ones For The Girls" by Martina McBride. Kara liked her personality and said the song sounded good at times but there were problems with it as well. Paula said she did a good job and had the best outfit of the night. Simon said she looked cute, but halfway through the song he couldn't wait for it to be over. Randy said the song choice was good, she looked good, but it was not her best performance.

Another female standout was Felicia Barton, 26, who replaced Joanna Pacitti, one of the original 36 contestants, performed "No One" by Alicia Keyes. Paula said it was an unbelievable performance and she was glad they brought her back. Simon said it was good, but sounded too much like the original. Randy thought she looked hot and has an amazing voice and Kara she will certainly get noticed.

Tune tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST for the results show where the top three contestants will make it into the Top 12