Shock and Awe in Hollywood, Round One

Ellen officially joined the Idol judges table tonight in what turned out to be an array of amazing talent mixed in with a dollop of disappointment and a smidge of shock. Ellen provided comedic relief, as we'd expected, but also displayed a kindness that Paula would have, but still stuck to her guns when telling contestants that they didn't have the stuff. No drama with Simon (yet) although the press sure wants this to happen.

The field of hopefuls was cut in half tonight as the number went from 180-something to 90-something, as I understood things. Out of those 90 who made it through (to the next Hollywood round), we got to "see" way less than half....which means there still may be lots of Kris Allens in the bunch. And as we saw tonight, kids, better keep taking those guitar lessons because it looks like they come in handy when auditioning for American Idol (and the keyboard, not so much).

I must acknowledge a few of my early favorites who did NOT make the cut tonight. Maddie Curtis has a sweet voice and I just know there is an amazing songstress in there, with the heart to go along with it, but alas, her song choice just didn't showcase. Love to Maddie and her family, and Mom is right....you're only 16! Come back.....

How can you not root for Vanessa Wolf, who clearly had a Fox camera person shadow her the day she took her first arrow plane flight from rural Tennessee to Hollywood (awkward)? Her voice didn't make the trip as well as she did, and American Idol isn't her thing, dawg....but gosh it was nice to meet her and I wish her the very best! And Justin THE CANCER SURVIVOR....sounded much better in White Chocolate. Wish you the best, bro.

Also, in the film we saw that Jason Castro's brother Micheal made the cut, as well as my early fav Ashley Rodriquez, but we did not hear them sing tonight. (small yay! Not about the not singing, but about the making it).

Now....there were some seriously gifted performers tonight. I don't even know where to start. First off, Katie Stevens....an early fav of mine....did not disappoint. I think she has a Kelly Clarkson vibe....lots of power and clarity in her voice but lots of control to go along with it. Watch this girl!

Everyone else, basically, played the guitar and sang. I have my favorites. First and biggest Idolmama shout out goes to Andrew Garcia for his veeeerrry David Cook-esque (NOT Adam Lambert-esque as Kara suggested) stripped acoustic version of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up".....utterly brilliant. He could record that TODAY and sell records, singles....I mean downloads. It was really, really good ....heck, I'd download it right now if it was available! Only problem is, could be the editing for tomorrow night's footage, but it sure looked like Andrew gets dumped.....something about him begging.....please let it not be true?!

Beyond these two, there were a slew of very talented singer/guitar players, among them Janell Wheeler, Haeley Vaughn, Micheal Lynch and Casey James. Which of these, if any, do I see in the top 24? It's hard to say....Janell is good but somewhat generic. Haley has a pocket no one else fills, although she is young...big guy Micheal has a charm and smoothness about him, but will it endure? And Casey fits in the country/blues pocket, but what about versatility? (for homework on this, see Covington, Bucky). (But then go and see Bice, Bo). Hmmm.....

I am not a fan of "Rocker Mom" and to prove it, I don't even know her name. I wish her no ill will, but I just don't see an AI future for her. I think she squeaks in under the Allison Iraheta banner but doesn't have what it takes. And I was most disappointed, speaking of rocker moms, that one of my early favs, Danelle Hayes, got her Golden ticket at the Denver auditions but never made it to Hollywood. How, you ask, is this possible? Read here for the story. Apparently, there are many reasons...one of which is failing to pass a criminal background check, for example....:(( Danelle, talk to me!!!

Finally, there were some downright talented ladies tonight who are incredibly gifted, and it seeps through their very pores...but I'm not sure they are AI material. Lilly Scott, Didi Benami and Crystal Bowersox are very talented ladies, but can this talent survive the Idol experience? Lilly's song was beautiful, but not really pop material. Didi clearly brown-nosed with her Kara-penned song, and well, Crystal does have those piercings and tattoos (not that there is anything WRONG with that, I'm just pointing it out! America is still kind of squeamish).

Bottom line: no dearth of talent this season. In fact, I predict a cat fight to the finish! And it looks like tomorrow's group rounds show us that no matter how talented you may be as a solo artist, if you "don't play well with others", you may have a rough road ahead.