'Idol' Wraps Hollywood Week With Some Strong Contenders

By Joseph Brannigan Lynch, The Set | Friday, February 18, 2011, 10:30 AM

Lusk for Life: Jacob is the best singer so far.

Fox

Last night Hollywood Week wrapped up on "American Idol," and in spite of Randy Jackson's warning that you can "never forget the lyrics," many kids did just that and got a pass. The Dawg has no teeth. Some real talent began to emerge, each one with a personality foible/quirk/deficiency better than the last. Here were some of the highlights:

Name: Carson Higgins

You may recall him as: The Malibu surfer (i.e., stoner) dude with the energy, bulging eyes and flapping mouth of a Muppet. And I really do mean that as a compliment.

What he brings to the table: The uninhibited showmanship of a man who is performing not to win, but to stick around just one extra round.

Performance: He sang Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" with a fun, aggressive energy, if you can get past the way his eyes flit back and forth like a predator in a Syfy original movie event.

Outcome: He's safe! And he could make it a ways. Check out his video, which is intercut with Chris Medina singing the same song. How did the other guy do? As one youtube commenter so rightly puts it, "8 likes for Carson, one dislike for Hurley."

Name: Casey Abrams

You may recall him as:

The guy who works at a summer film camp and looks exactly like a guy who works at summer film camp, with a shaggy haircut, scraggly beard and ever-present baggy zipper sweater.

What he brings to the table: Forgivable gimmicks. He auditioned with a melodica and his solo performance last night was the first time someone sang on "Idol" while playing an upright bass, hepcat style.

Performance: Kind of like this:

Except a bit better, and you have to give him credit for his skills, beatnik or not.

Outcome: He's moving on.

Name: Jacob Lusk

You may recall him as: The tall guy who sings like his life depends on it.

What he brings to the table: There aren't too many contestants who "scat" during their performances, which is inarguably a good thing. But he does have a soulful baritone and ability to switch keys mid-tune unlike anyone else on this show.

Performance: Like a true artiste, his eyes screw shut while singing, and after pouring his heart out he collapses in his mother's arms like a limp marionette, as if he just expended his entire being. So, you know, pretty entertaining.

Outcome: Definitely sticking around. A real contender.

Name: Ashley Sullivan

You may recall her as: The girl who will not stop sobbing—so much that she almost quit the competition during the group round.

What she brings to the table: If you wished singers replaced mid-concert banter with trembling apologies and exclamations of "Oh my God," then this is your next American Idol.

Performance: Unwisely choosing to sing a tune that reminds her when her boyfriend was serving in Iraq, Ashley stopped dead multiple times and never actually got out more than a few bars in a row.

Outcome: She's safe! Is it because she has an amazing voice in spite of her nerves? Possibly. But it's probably because Ryan Seacrest likes narrating stories that begin with "Ashley Sullivan, the emotional timebomb...." Small pleasures.

Name: Scotty McCreery

You may recall him as: The Southern dude who apparently knows one song and one song only, as he's already used it for every solo audition he's had.

What he brings to the table: A deep, good-time country croon and an intimate knowledge of one song in the entire world. Literally. He didn't know any of the standards they were asked to sing for last night's solo round, so he had to learn one from scratch.

Performance: A lot like someone who had just learned the words to the song a few hours ago. Which was why he ended up crooning the lines, "Zone zoo talk, nuts of wonder." At least he's able to think up great new lines quick on his feet.

Outcome: Safe. Again, what? The guy forgot half of the lyrics and was singing about zoning zoo laws. Why they let him slide is beyond me.

Joining their audition partners in ignominy are….

Chelsee Oaks, who auditioned with her ex-boyfriend Rob, didn't make it even though she knew "She deserved it."

Jacqueline Dunford, who auditioned with her demonstrative lover boy Nick Fink, is gone—by her own doing. Apparently she felt so sick to her stomach the day of solo performances she bowed out and checked into a hospital. Yikes.

Mark Gutierrez, who auditioned with his look-alike brother. Still, he made it further, and his brother was supposed to be the "creative one." That should make holidays awkward.