Possible 'American Idol' Top 36

Adam Lambert (San Francisco): We finally get a full-length audition of a GOOD singer. Not just a decent singer, but an honest-to-God talented singer. Adam Lambert, who kind of needs a haircut, sings "Bohemian Rhapsody" and is great. Of course, he's been in the cast of "Wicked" for the past year and a half, so he's a bit of a ringer. Still, very nice voice. Simon thinks he's a bit theatrical and Kara jumps down his throat. She needs to back off a bit, maybe. He's through unanimously and I'm now scared of Kara.

Alexander Wagner-Trugman (Phoenix): Alex is our cute Clay Aiken-guy from Studio City, CA. He used to sing in the closet but now he is out. Heh heh. I beat Simon to the "closet" joke by about 30 seconds. Snerk. He sings "Baby Come to Me" by James Ingram. This is one of the rare contestants who surprises the judges. This voice is totally unexpected out of this guy and it's pretty good. He gets through on "yesses" from Randy, Kara and Paula.

Alexis Grace (Louisville): Our next stay-at-home-mom auditioner is Alexis Grace and she's adorable and has a husband in the military and a 2 year-old girl. Alexis is totally going to make it. Sigh. She sings "Dr. Feelgood" and Paula starts to recognize like an African-American preacher. She wants to see more stage presence, though. Based on voice along, though, all the judges put her through. Kara does advise her to "make love to her fiance," which is kinda creepy. Kara's gettng a little dirty.

Allison Iraheta (San Francisco, but only in a montage): Anyway, in the montage we get ... Allison Iraheta burning down "Natural Woman."

Anne Marie Boskovich (Jacksonville): Anne Marie Boskovich comes back and she's got tousled hair,  different shoes, no jacket and more makeup. It's totally the end of Grease. She sings "Bubbly" and it's good. All the judges are grinning from ear-to-ear at her. She's through unanimously, though they advise her to work on her star persona.

Anoop Desai (Kansas City): To save us from these wretched women is Anoop Desai and he sings "Thank You" by one of my favorite groups, Boyz II Men. The smoothest R&B voice comes out of this kid, holy cow. Seriously, it's like if Kumar got back from White Castle and could sing like Bryan McKnight. Awesome, I love him. The judges send him flying through.

Arianna Ayesha Afsar (Phoenix): Arianna is a 16 year-old from San Diego who founded Adopt a Grand-friend, which is teenagers performing for seniors in nursing homes. Oh my goodness. Can't even hate her, that's very sweet. She's so smiley and good-hearted. I call Top 10 right now. She sings "Put Your Records On," which is pretty secondary to her beautiful face and Adopt a Grand-friend program. Hahaha. Simon is gazing at her with dollar signs in his eyes and she goes through unanimously.

Brent Keith (Louisville): They do then get to hear Brent Keith sing "Can't Get Enough" and it's very much Keith Urban singing a 70s rock song. It would be very popular on country stations today. The judges love him, except Simon wants more emotion and this implodes into a giant judge clustf*#k on national TV and it's kind of gross. Paula and Kara are both "going down" and I'm suddenly crying into my blanket because I'm so scared. Good lord.

Casey Carlson (Kansas City): Casey comes into her audition in boots and a scary babydoll dress but she does a nice version of "1000 Miles." She has a very musical theatre and/or country voice, as opposed to a pop voice, but that's cool. The judges love her, with her curly brown hair and wide smile and corn-fed good looks.

Danny Gokey (Kansas City): Danny is next. His story is that four weeks prior to the audition his wife passed away from a heart condition she was born with. Danny cries while talking about it and it's very sad. Poor guy. He sings "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and it's great. He makes the leaps into the falsetto really well. Funny that Jamar sounds like Clay Aiken and Danny sounds like Marvin Gaye. He is through unanimously, touted as one of the best they've seen so far. Cool. Good on you, Danny.

Jackie Tohn (New York): NYC Rocker ChickJackei Tohn sings "I'm Yours" and she has a VERY interesting voice. LIke Amanda Obermeyer if Amanda didn't sound like she smokes two packs a day. Simon asks for another song and she launches into "I'll Do it All," which I'm not familiar with, but it's awesome. Randy says "good husky tone," which is spot-on. The judges love her and then the windows fall down. Hahah. Jackie is through unanimously, woot woot.

Jasmine Murray (Jacksonville): We kick off Day Two with 16 year-old Jasmine Murray, a very cute girl with 3 beautiful sisters and a gorgeous mom. Love her already. She sings "Big Girls Don't Cry" but the Fergie version, not the Frankie Valli version. She has a nice voice, but puts on pop affectations that really bug me. However, this is a pop competition, so I'm sure that was good stuff. Simon likes her commercial-ness (read: cha-ching!) and she is voted through unanimously. Yay Jasmine!

Jeanine Vailes: DID NOT SEE

Jessica Langseth: DID NOT SEE

Joanna Pacitti (Louisville): The first GOOD audition is Joanna Pacitti. She's a horse-faced Lily Garrity, which I don't necessarily mean as a bad thing. The judges immediately identify her as a ringer, which is good considering past seasons' reactions to "ringers." She sings "We Belong" and she rocks it. I really enjoy her audition. Her switching between belting voice and head voice is fantastic. She is through unanimously. Yay!

Jorge Nunez (Puerto Rico): Our first Puerto Rican auditioner is Erik Estrada Ricky Martin Marc Anthony Jorge Nunez. He sings "My Way" in Spanish and he has a very clear, strong voice, but it's a tad theatrical for my taste. THey ask for something in English and he does "What a Wonderful World." It's nice. Some of his big notes remind me of Clay Aiken. I dub him the Latin Clay Aiken from now on. The judges love him and he's through unanimously.

Junot Joyner: DID NOT SEE

Kai Kalama (San Francisco): Our last audition of the day is Kai Kalama. HIs story is that he takes care of his mom because she has a seizure disorder. We see footage of him at home with her while the crunchy-Hawaiian-"Scrubs"-episode verison of "Over the Rainbow" plays. It's very sweet. Kai is a cutie with curly hair and rockin' scruff. He sings "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," which is a GREAT song. He does a really nice job, very good use of dynamics. Simon wants to see a better personality and showmanship, but does like the voice. The judges put him through, after Kara and Simon snipe at each other a bit.

Kendall Beard (New York, but only in a montage): Good Singer Montage: Ashley Hollister, Kenny Hoffpauer, and come-to-life-Barbie Kendall Beard. Boy, I wish we could've seen them instead of a creepy San Juan montage set to "Wicked Game."

Kristen McNamara: DID NOT SEE

Kris Allen (Louisville): I didn't comment on Kris because he was part of a montage.

Lil Rounds (Kansas City): The last contestant of the day is Lil Rounds. She is a mother of 3 whose apartment was leveled by a tornado. She has 3 cutie-patootie kids and an adorable husband. I hope she can sing. She sings "All I Do" and it's good. Very powerful. Yay Lil! Randy compares her to a mixture of Fantasia and Mary J. Blige. I can see that. She's through unanimously. Cool.

Matt Breitzke (Kansas City): Matt from Oklahoma is a big ol' teddy bear with a cute little boy. Awww! He sings "Ain't No Sunshine," which is such a phenomenal song. Matt tears it up, I can see him being really popular. Like a non-scary Sundance Head. The judges are split: no from Randy, yes from Kara and Paula and then a yes from Simon puts him through. In the hallway, he talks about being a welder and how he's a working person who just does what he does until he retires. I LOVE stories like this on Idol. Someone who just has a nice voice but who would never in a million years run off to LA to try to be a singer gets discovered at a cattle-call audition in Kansas City, Missouri. Heartwarming.

Matt Giraud (Louisville): Next we get Matt Giraud, who sings "I Don't Wanna Be" by (not originally) Gavin DeGraw. He's actually pretty good. Not a great theatre voice or performance voice, but a very good pop voice. There is such a huge difference. Simon wants Matt to believe in himself more, but he is through unanimously.

Megan Corkrey (Salt Lake City): Megan Corkrey is up next, a cute girl with an adorable little boy and a full sleeve tattoo on her right arm. She cries through telling us about her divorce, which isn't that sad because lots of people get divorced. It's not like her husband died or something. She sings "Can't Help Loving That Man" and she has a very theatrical voice but not a pop voice. It's too unique and all-over-the-place for this competition, but I think she could definitely try her hand at Hollywood Week. Simon likes her differentness, which is awesome. She's through unanimously.

Michael Sarver (Phoenix): Giant hulk-of-a-man Michael Sarver is next. He's a rough-neck on an oil rig, which is the 5th most dangerous job in the world. Good god. I think my panties just burst into flames. Awww, he has a pretty blonde wife and two pretty blonde children. He sings "Thank You" and his Southern twang is good on this song. The judges all agree that he doesn't sound how he looks but that they like it anyway. He's through to Hollywood.

Mishavonna Henson: DID NOT SEE

Nate McGee: DID NOT SEE

Nick Western: DID NOT SEE

Ricky Braddy: DID NOT SEE

Scott MacIntyre (Phoenix): The final audtion is a guy named Scott MacIntyre. He's a singer-songwriter who plays the piano and is almost totally blind. Aw man, I can't make fun of this! WTF, American Idol? He sings "And So It Goes" and it's totally beautiful. Aw man. Even Simon can't help but smile throughout this guy's audition. He's just so sweet and earnest. He is through unanimously. Yay for Scott! Is it a little dusty in here? Good lord.

Stephen Fowler: DID NOT SEE

Stevie Wright (Phoenix): Stevie Wright (named for Stevie Nicks) is our first good singer of the day. She sings "At Last" and it is good. Man, she sounds so much older than 16. Good golly. All the judges agree, Randy saying that no matter what her age she has it going on. No doubt. Well done, Stevie.

Taylor Vaifanua (Salt Lake City): Taylor Vaifanua is a beautiful 16 year-old Hawaiian girl and I sense a Jasmine Trias 2.0 coming on. She's also 5'11, which is kick-ass. I'm 6'0 in bare feet, girlfriend. High five! She sings "Joyful Joyful" and I space out for 5 minutes remembering Lauren Hill and Sister Act 2. One of the greatest final musical montages in all of cinema. I snap out of it and actually listen to Taylor. She's beautiful and fantastic. Simon was not kidding about Salt Lake City being a goldmine of good singers. Love her. She's through unanimously.

Tatiana Del Toro (San Francisco): Tatiana from Puerto Rico is up first. She keeps bringing her hand away from her lips as if to blow a kiss but without actually blowing a kiss. It's weird. That, coupled with her crazy-ass giggle, is really grating on my nerves. She sings "Never Loved a Man" and I'm actually surprised that this girl can sing. With the giggle and the talk about the "powerful psychic" she visited before her audition, I had her pegged as a bad audition. Simon acts like she's horrible but Paula says you can tell she can sing. I'm with Paula on this one. The girl is weird, but she can sing. Randy is worried that she's trying to be a big-voiced girl, which isn't who she is. Simon finally calls for a vote and Randy says yes, Kara hesitates and then Simon says she's going to Hollywood. That... was a really weird audition.

Von Smith (Kansas City): 22 year-old cutie spaz Von Smith sings shouts "Over the Rainbow" and it's really too bad he chose this song because he can obviously sing but he's mostly just giving us shots of his uvula. Seriously, I think I saw a tonsil. The judges like his instrument but don't advise him to tone it down a little, which is weird. Von is through with flying colors.

Here's who I am surprised and/or disappointed not to see in the Top 36:

From Phoenix: Deanna Brown, Cody Sheldon, Emily Wynne-Hughes
From Kansas City: Ashley Anderson, Asa Barnes, Jessica Paige Furney
From San Francisco: No one
From Louisville: Leneshe Young
From Jacksonville: Sharon Wilbur
From Salt Lake City: Frankie Jordan

I'm particularly sad not to see Emily Wynne-Hughes, Jessica Paige Furney, Asa Barnes and Leneshe Young. I hope we get to see in Hollywood why they aren't included in the Top 36. I also feel bad for the 9 cannon-fodder contestants whom we haven't seen yet. Hopefully they get some facetime during Hollywood Week.