9 of 12

I'm cool with the voting results.  I think that Jorge was a surprise to the judges.  I think they expected Felicia.  A lot of people did.  I also think that if Felicia had gotten through Jorge would have been a wildcard contestant (in place of Jessie, who as the judges said, was a commercial break change... based on the voting results from last night).  Even though the judges said they finally noticed Felicia and that she proved she had a right to be there last night, they didn't give her the wildcard (again... they didn't put her through to the Top 36 or put her in a sing-off, so there's stuff they saw that we didn't... after all, she didn't get a ton of screentime... that didn't make them want to put her through).  Anyway.  /bitter (kinda)

Let's talk wildcard people.

Anoop - d'uh.  He was barely the 4th place vote getter behind Michael Sarver in Group 1.  And the judges love his vibe and personality.

Megan - Very pretty girl who didn't pick the correct song in the semis, but we've seen her be much better.

Jasmine - Very pretty girl who didn't pick the correct song in the semis, totally choked, but we've seen her be much better.

Matt - Good looking guy who, like Jasmine, previously wowed but choked with song choice.  Plus, he plays an instrument, which if he makes the Top 12, mixes things up.

Brady - Good looking guy who got no screentime, sang early in his Group semifinal, and got screwed.  An obvious choice for a second shot.

Jessie - IIRC, she was told by Simon that she wouldn't win the competition in her sing-off.  However she did surprisingly decently in her semifinal performance and she proved she knows music by being specific and asking questions.

We here at Travis Yanan Watches TV are cool with all six of the above wildcard picks.

And then there were the head scratchers (for me).

Von Smith - He shouts.  His style is lacking.  But Kris occupies the "cute male who is an extreme longshot but will get by for a while on a decent voice and his looks" category.  Also Kris is much cuter than Von and has a better fashion sense.  And compared to the other people in the middle of the pack from Group 3 (here comes the bitter), he would NOT have been my pick.  In fact, that he's the ONLY ONE from Group 3 who got a wildcard pick SHOCKS me.  We're clearly missing stuff about Von and about girls like Kendall and Kristen that puts Von over those two (not to mention Felicia).

Tatiana del Toro - I have to admit, she surprised by singing well in Week 1... she was the second best female out of a DEEP pool of SUCK.  But she didn't get voted through because she's SO GODDAMN ANNOYING.  A friend of mine lives on the same floor of her apartment in LA (I've discovered since her apparently temporary elimination) and the crazy, annoying Tata is COMPLETELY the real Tata.

Now.

Let's be honest.

The Top 12 right now has 6 guys and 3 girls.  The 8 wildcard picks are 4 guys and 4 girls (which is a potential reason any/all of Kendall, Kristen, and Felicia were passed over).  The judges won't be forced to pick 3 girls.  But, tomorrow night's performances unheard, I suspect that 2 of the people moving forward will be women, and the guy is going to be Anoop (unless he is epic fail, in which case probably Matt Giraud?)  Again, tomorrow's performances unheard, I'm guessing Megan and Jasmine.

What does the Top 12 need on the female side?

We've got Alexis Grace, the small girl with the big voice.

We've got Allison Iraheta, the young girl with the big voice.

We've got Lil Rounds, the R&B ringer.

We're lacking a country singer (would've been Kendall, but... Megan comes close?  I just don't think Jessie's going to make it).

We're lacking a pop princess.  Here's where I think Jasmine can fit in, though her wheelhouse sort of coincides with Allison (young girl) and with Lil (R&B).  Jasmine has to sing something Pop tomorrow night.  I recommend Beyonce's  "Halo" or "If I Were A Boy," or Rihanna's "Take a Bow".

We're lacking a rocker chick (would've been Kristen, but... well, no one based on what we've seen... oh, hell, I'll go there, Adam Lambert is our female rocker LULZ).  Okay, Allison is a little rock.