I listened in to the press conference today with Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre and Jorge Nunez. I’ll provide details on that tomorrow though I did learn Lil is really her name, not some sort of pretense like Lil Kim. Let’s focus on wild card for now tonight!

It’s a big surprise with FOUR in and not three. So we have 13 next week. Much to chew over Friday! Eight guys. Five gals. Good night all!

First in: Jasmine. I don’t think she deserved it but they wanted her in so she’s in.

Ricky’s out. I’m not surprised though I’d put him in.

Megan’s in but of course, it’s all about Tatiana’s tears. Sniff. Snort. B-bye!

Jesse is out. Too bad. “You nearly did,” Simon said. True. Von Smith is gone, too. No surprise there.

And a big surprise: Matt Giraud makes it through… and so is Anoop! “We decided recently we’re going to make this a top 13″ Simon said.

In this case, order of performance does not really matter because we ain’t voting!

First up: Jesse Langseth (Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Tell Us Something Good.”). She starts a bit weak but she quickly gets into the zone with a very bluesy version of this R&B classic. She’s slinky and sexy. And they brought the band back into view! It’s very short (time constraints) but very good. Good enough to make the top 12? Not sure, unfortunately. Randy: “It was an interesting song choice. I don’t know if you sung it well.” (No vote from him!) Kara: “You had some notes that were not on key. But what I like about you is a swagger.” (Agreed!) Paula: “I’m so impressed with your tenacity. You’re coming out here strong as can be.” Simon: “You’re totally last minute. You were the last girl we chose. I’m glad we did. It was a lot better than we saw the first time. My criticism, the song and performance was self indulgent.”

Second: Matt Giraud (R&B hit “Who’s Loving You” Jackson 5.) He goes all bluesy soulful. And wow, what an improvement over last week’s disaster. He’s got a great look (cool scarf!), a confidence and that “swagger” Kara likes. He came out to win it this time. Kara: “You can riff amazingly. A little bit over the top at points.” (Can you blame him at this point?”) Paula: “This is the right zone you picked. You did an amazing job.” Simon: “It was again a billion times better than last week. You went back to what you did best. I hate what you’re wearing… I saw bits of Taylor Hicks coming through.” (That’s an insult nowadays, apparently!). Randy: “You made everyone sitting in this whole place, you might enter this competition and give them a run for the money.”

Third: Megan Joy Corkrey (”Black Horse & The Cherry Tree” KT Tunstall). She’s much better than Kat McPhee – and no need to go to the ground and dance on her knees. I love the tone of her voice. It’s so different and cool. Mmm… another sexpot in our midsts! Paula: “You picked a song that fit your personality.” Simon: “I’ve always liked you. I think you’re terrific. You are current… This show can get a bit karaoke. I don’t get that from you. You have originality. You’re quirky. Wasn’t the best vocal but it doesn’t matter.” Randy: “This song choice was you back in the right range. This is the artist you can become. Nice choice.” Kara: “I think that we need you. You give some variety to what’s already up there.” She’s in!

Fourth: Von Smith (”Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” Elton John). He starts really shaky. His mouth movements are bizarre. No way, even with that final note. He’s a goner for sure. Simon: “You are beginning to become a bit boring.” Randy: “I’m not even sure I was crazy about the song choice.” Katy: “It’s serious but got really dark. Really-you have what it takes. You haven’t dialed it in yet.” Paula: “When you are too concerned about the notes and the technical part of what you sing, you’re not letting the pure essence of Von Smith out.” In other words: Where’s Ju’Not????

Fifth: Jasmine Murray (”Reflection” Christina Aguilera) She goes the ballad route and a song that wasn’t a big hit. Jordin sang this two years ago. It’s a pretty boring song in my opinion. She sings it well, naturally. I’m bored. Randy: “This song is a little too big for you… some bright spots.” Kara: “I’m now confused. I didn’t even know you had that big of a voice.” Paula: “You picked a beautiful song. You were determined up there.” Simon: “I don’t think you’re giving this girl enough credit. That was pretty special compared to what we heard before… you put yourself back in the running.” (Paula gets in Simon’s face.) Simon is a fan. This is going to be a tight one!

Sixth: Ricky Braddy (”Superstition” Stevie Wonder). A bunch of “Idols” have tackled this, most memorably for me Bucky Covington. Tough song. Ricky vocally is far better than Bucky. I so wish we could get Kris or Michael out of there and insert Ricky now. Sigh… Kara: “You can sing your butt off. You came out… good job!” Paula: “I love the way you loosened up!” Simon: “I thought the performance itself was a bit clumsy. I don’t think you made the impression you made there. I”m a bit disappointed.” Randy: “That song was not the right one for you. Tried to do a bit too much with it.” He’s screwed.

Seventh: Tatiana Del Toro (”Saving All My Love For You” Whitney Houston) Why is she singing the same song again? That’s a death sentence! I am going to penalize her for her inability to come up with a new song! Paula: “You grew an accent I’ve never heard before!… Once again. I’m not a huge fan of people who repeat songs.” Simon: “We’ve heard you sing that three times? That was the same song. What happens and it’s country week. You sing the same song with different style. Why did you choose to sing?” He gets into a pointless argument with her over the same song. Randy: “It’s a mixed bag of tricks.” Kara: “Who’s this personality?”

Eighth: Anoop Desai (”My Prerogative” Bobby Brown) Immediate points off for repeating a song, too. He did a great job with Bobby during Hollywood week but come on, Anoop. A great vocal performance but verging on what Simon calls “self indulgent.”. Simon: “Not the best singer but people like you. We’ve got to cast the next stage. Not just put the boring singers through. We have to put some personality through.” Randy: “You did better this time than the last time you sang it. I was having a good time.” Kara: “This is the best you’ve ever did it.” Paula: “You are the show man. You whipped out some moves that were nasty.”