Canadian Idol: Second 12 Of Final 24 Are Better

The second half of the top 24 Canadian Idol contestants provided some competition for the first group. Like usual, there were some flops on Tuesday night, but the remaining 12 provided mostly good song choices and interpretations of classics.

Self-professed pop-rocker Jesse Cottam rated a "meh" from me. I was once a bigger fan. Judge Sass Jordan thought he was great. But counterpart Zack Werner disagreed and made sure to let Cottam know that Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" wasn't the right choice before yelling "Next!"

Mark Day, who's usually right on, chose to sing Heart's "Alone" in a tone too low for him. He didn't quite hit it, though he still managed to prove he has a powerful voice. The back-up singer kind of ruined it by turning the performance into a duet by singing much too loud for her role. Day lost more points with me by playing the "fat card" after judge Farley Flex commented on Day's "big" personality.

The night's first standout performance was Jessica Sheppard's cover of Oleta Adams' "Get Here." She's really good. Her voice was controlled and she both hit and held notes.

I really like Shaun Francisco. He said he wanted to do his own adaptation of whatever he picked. Well, his take on Coldplay's "Yellow" was pretty similar to the original, minus a few strong moments from the band. Either way, he's just so natural and cool on stage.

In typical Idol manner, if a good singer performs, a bad one is near. Lindsay Robins was up next. Her rendition of Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep Mountain High" was pretty bad. Robins' bio said she loves to sing high notes. She shouldn't.

Then there was Omar Lunan, who did an OK take on The Police's "Every Breath You Take." There were definitely strong parts, but there were some not so strong ones, too. Jordan said Lunan's performance "transcended" time. While he was good, I think his emotional purge may have unconsciously bled into judicial decision-making.

Just like the "No singing Whitney Houston songs" rule, a similar proviso needs to be implemented for Amy Winehouse tracks. Marie-Pierre Bellerose attempted "You Know I'm No Good." It's not that she was no good, there just were too many not-quite-right moments. Flex said Bellerose was missing some of Winehouse's "sticky stuff." While I know we can all think of a few sticky substances that Winehouse may have, I think this is one Bellerose should dabble in.

Sebastian Pigott is hot. He owned the stage, beginning by sitting on the steps, lightly tapping his foot and singing a distinguished interpretation of Amanda Marshall's "Dark Horse." I thought he was great. The judges thought so, too, but in a backward way. Werner said Pigott uses his inability to sing in a good way. They all agreed he was a movie star, though. I hope he stays.

Opera singer Theo Tams played the piano while singing an angry version of Timbaland and OneRepublic's "Apologize." The judges loved him. Jake Gold even said Tams is the best they've seen so far.

Going by Amberly Thiessen's performance, you'd never know she grew up a Mennonite and didn't learn about music. Her barefoot, soul-baring performance of Nora Jones' "What Am I To You" was natural, honest and just really good. She reminded me of Emmylou Harris in a way.

Next up was Adam Castelli, "the over-analyzer." I think his anxiety-ridden character snuffed out his appeal. Albeit good, his version of Ray Charles' "Mess Around" wasn't dirty enough for me. The judges loved it. Gold said Castelli stayed true to his blue-collar roots, while Werner said he has a unique voice. I'll give in to him picking the right song.

Number 24 (finally) was Katelyn Dawn. Her performance of Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" was good, but not much else. The judges didn't think a lot of her either, and Gold said the song was too big for her. Ouch.

The highlight of the night came when Jordan commented on how good the show is this year, saying, "I think I would even watch it."

The four people I pick to go home: Oliver Pigott, Drew Wright, Jesse Cottam and Lindsay Robins. We'll find out on Wednesday night.