Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds Impress Judges During 'American Idol' Competition

Access Hollywood - March 4, 2009 6:13 AM PST
Story photo: Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds Impress Judges During 'American Idol' CompetitionScott MacIntyre and Lil RoundsGetty ImagesAccess Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- "American Idol's" third and final batch of 12 contenders vied for a Top 12 slot on Tuesday night and a few of the hopefuls went from contestants to stand-out-stars in the making.

Von Smith, 22, from Greenwood, Missouri, opened the show with "You're All I Need To Get By," and his sunny disposition and big vocals caught the attention of judge Simon Cowell , who compared him to an "Idol" legend.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'American Idol' Top 36 Semi-Finalists

"You remind me of Clay Aiken ," Simon said. "You've got the same dress sense... You look appalling, but you actually sang quite well."

While Von attracted praise, the most lauded contestant of the evening was Lil Rounds, a 23-year-old mother from Memphis, Tenn., who brought down the "Idol" house with her rendition of Mary J. Blige 's "Be Without You."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Former 'American Idols'

Lil Rounds commanded the stage like no other performer of the night, singing her heart out and changing one lyric in the song to "Call this show if you just can't be without me, babe!"

And despite her bold move, even Simon admitted he was a fan.

"Brilliant," the British judge, who spent most of the evening unimpressed by the contenders, raved. "My favorite performance by a mile... I think you have great, great prospects in this competition and I think you are undoubtedly one of the best singers we've found so far."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Anything But Dreadful! Hot Shots Of Simon Cowell!

Another standout was Felicia Barton, who was originally rejected from "Idol's" Top 26. But, when producers disqualified Joanna Pacitti in February, Felicia got the call and began practicing, only to wow the judging panel on Tuesday night.

"I'm really happy that you're back. You've got an amazing voice," Randy Jackson told Felicia. "I thought it was hot man!...Welcome back baby."

Scott MacIntyre, the 23-year-old contender from Scottsdale, Ariz., who is legally blind, performed without his piano. But, his rendition of Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain" was also a judges' favorite.

"I'll be honest with you, I wasn't crazy about the song... But I have to say Scott, you're growing on me, because I think you're starting to believe in yourself," Simon said. "In a sea of forgettable people tonight, you're the only one I'm gonna remember."

And Scott gave Ryan a non-singing moment to remember after his performance.

"I think you need to give me a high five, a stationary target," Scott laughed, referencing the moment during the audition phase of the competition when Ryan attempted to high-five the blind contestant after he was put through to Hollywood Week.

"A comedian too, I love it," Ryan laughed.

Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Access Search Engine: Latest Three Top 12 'Idol' Finalist (March 2, 2009)
PLAY IT NOW: Dish Of Salt: More 'Idol' Contestants Join Top 12 (Feb. 27, 2009)

MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: American Idol - Simon Cowell - Randy Jackson - Reality TV - Clay Aiken

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  • Rita
    What about Jorge? He was good too and he's so sweet.
    report abuseposted March 4, 2009 6:28 AM PST
  • jazzy g
    either Lil or Danny is the winner....Jorge is going to make it big in the Latino world! Paula has a crush on Jorge that's all that is,i loved it when Simon called her out on the "say something" comment!
    report abuseposted March 4, 2009 5:55 AM PST
  • Pamela H
    I like the show much less with Kara. The horrific chemistry between her and Simon is distracting.
    report abuseposted March 4, 2009 5:08 AM PST
  • krystyl c
    AI was great tonight! It's sad that some really good talent will have to go because there is not enough slots. I really don't like anyone from the top 12 so far. The puerto rican guy was amazing and was not mentioned.
    report abuseposted March 4, 2009 1:25 AM PST
  • Jordan F
    I thought that Lil was fantastic! I loved Scott, anyone who can overcome something like being blind deserves some recongnition. I just can't stand Kara Dio Guardi! Everytime she talks she thinks she has to pound the table that her microphone is on! Verry annoying and bad televison. This season is definately down from last year. But hey, It's still #1!!
    report abuseposted March 3, 2009 10:50 PM PST
  • Chalyn C
    I gotta say the last group was way more talentedand easier on the ears than the first two groups. It might be a little hard to pick who goes through. But I'm sure we'll see some back to compete for the wild card with Anoop.
    report abuseposted March 3, 2009 10:25 PM PST
  • Chalyn C
    I also can't beleive how blantantly ridiculous Paula was with Jorge and asking him to say something with his accent for her amusement. Okay and I know that this is going to sound bad but when Nathiel was singing all I keep hearing come out his mouth was a lively rendition of " It's Raining Men". Lil did as I expected excellent.
    report abuseposted March 3, 2009 10:23 PM PST
  • Chalyn C
    I don't think Scott was good. I'm quite sure that if he had his site the praise that he keeps receiving would be non-existent. I give him unbelievable props for commanding the piano the way he does but I think there were alot of other people who have a better voice. I think Ju'Not was really good I loved his rendition of "Delia". It was so smooth and i
    report abuseposted March 3, 2009 10:20 PM PST

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