Group Day: Where Was the Drama?

Rah Rah Ah Ah Ah. Roma Roma Ma…

As if I wasn’t obsessed with that song already. Thanks “Idol”…

How cool was it that the groups got to rip out some Lady Gaga. Of course, I think one group took it a little too seriously…

In fact, I’d say all the groups took things a little too seriously. Where was all my beloved Group Day drama? Where were the catfights and the power struggles? Instead we just got lots of singing. And what fun is that?

I’m kidding. Sort of…

For those of you who missed it and don’t remember, the contestants must break into groups of their choosing and then choose a song to sing. This all happens after day two ends, which this season was 11 p.m.—which means most contestants rehearse all night…

After some small dramas involving two groups singing the same song (the aforementioned “Bad Romance”) and a slight power struggle in one group, we got right down to business with the 96 singers left after round one. I think in future seasons I’m going to have to start making flash cards from the audition rounds so I can better recognize the faces we see so quickly.

And there are some faces we still haven’t seen, but we’ve still got next week…

The first group up was Faith—Michelle Delamor, Charity Vance, and Ashley Rodriguez—doing “Irreplaceable.” Their good harmonies were rewarded with all of them advancing to the next round…

Team Awesome—Michael “Big Mike” Lynche (whose wife gave birth moments earlier), Seth Rollins (who has the autistic son), Tim Urban and Michael Castro (Jason’s brother)—did “Get Ready.” After our first “after the break” of the season, the judges revealed that only Big Mike and Tim were through…

Neapolitan—Liz Rooney, Thaddeus Johnson, Jessica Cunningham and an unnamed fourth—were one of the competing Lady Gaga groups. They all went through. Destiny’s Wild—the other who accused Neapolitan of going a cappella because they decided to first—gave a performance Ellen called “weird.” But Todrick Hall, Theri, Jareb Liewer and Siobhan Mangus were all through, which shocked me since Theri sounded so bad…

In fact, we saw a lot of people go through, but we didn’t hear them all sing…

The Mighty Rangers—Tori Kelly, Maddie Penrose, Mark Labriola, Kimberly Kerbow and Danny Jones—had some lyric problems with “Closer.” Tori and Maddie, the only ones to remember all the words, went through while the others went home—despite Mark’s pleas to the judges…

Phoenix—Jermaine Sellers, Ben Honeycutt, Jeff Goldford, Moorea Mesa and Cat (?)—had some pretty big problems throughout the night. Especially when vocal coach Debra Byrd told them they didn’t know what they were doing. But those problems got worse when Cat suddenly decided to quit because she didn’t want to humiliate herself (Uh, too late sweetheart.). Ellen tried to stick up for them, but there was just no saving their version of “Carry On My Wayward Son.” Only Jeff and Jermaine went through…

The toughest song for everyone to sing on Group Day was Gwen Stefani’s “Sweet Escape” with its difficult lyrics on the bridge. Which begs the question. Why even pick that one? Sheesh…

Big Dreams with Matt Lawrence (who had been in jail) and Amanda Shectman (the actress who begged Simon for her spot) was one of those groups that miserably failed with “Escape.” None of them advanced…

Also out were Lea Lorente, Carmen Turner, Kimberly Carver and Dave Pittman (who I think was the contestant with Tourette’s Syndrome)…

Loved the Brooke White music for the montage…

Middle C—Janell Wheeler, Jermaine Purifoy and Casey James—all went through with “Closer”…

Three Men and a Baby—Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens, and J.B. Ahfua—nailed “No One” to all advance…

Dreamers—Mary Powers, Hope Johnson, Margo May, Alex Lambert and Erin (?)—provided the most drama on Group Day as the others struggled to deal with Mary taking charge—including “Idol” pianist and arranger Michael Orland (Bad move, Mary.). They butchered their song, but Mary, Hope and Alex managed to make it through…

All in all 71 advanced to the next round…

We then got a list of some familiar faces that advanced, but unfortunately I don’t write that fast and I didn’t have the good sense to hit record in time. But I did catch that my guy Tyler Grady is still in it…

Last night I said I’d be keeping my eye on Tyler, Andrew, Lilly, Didi and Crystal. Tyler and Andrew we know got through and I think I saw Lilly and Crystal advance, but I’m not sure about Didi. If anyone did see what happened to them, let me know…

And now I’m adding Casey to that list to watch…

Next week we get the final performances before the judges make their decisions, which is of course accompanied by the waiting in the separate rooms. And then next Wednesday, we finally learn the identities of the Top 24 in the episode affectionately dubbed “The Green Mile episode”…

And I have to say that thus far, I feel good about Ellen DeGeneres on the panel. Granted, she hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to talk, but when she does it’s good stuff. It’s clear she’s taking her responsibility seriously. And I for one appreciate that…

What do you guys think? Do you have favorites you’re rooting for to make it through to next week? Feel free to leave a comment and start the discussion…