'American Idol' Judges Speak Honestly About Performances

"American Idol" had 12 contestants sing tonight and judge Simon Cowell didn't seem blown away with the singers, calling one performance "forgettable."

The first performer, Jackie Tohn, sang Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" but it was her black leggings and high top sneakers that got the most acclaim. Judges Paula Abdul and Kara Dioguardi called her performance "fun!" "Perfect is sometimes boring," Paula told Jackie. Simon was not amused. "I don't think you did yourself any favors … and by the way I don't like the trousers," he said to Jackie.

Ricky Braddy performed "A Song For You" by Leon Russell and Kara praised his singing calling it "effortless." Simon, however, said he still doesn't see the "star quality" in Ricky.

Alexis Grace performed Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man" and she was praised by all the judges. Simon called her "the best contestant" so far. "You have self belief," Simon tells her. Randy Jackson said, "You found the dirty and you found the soul." "The genie is out of the bottle," Kara calls Alexis' performance.

Country boy Brent Keith sang "Hicktown" by Jason Aldean but the judges weren't blown away. Simon called his performance "forgettable" and said he "may have blown a massive opportunity."

Stevie Wright sang Taylor Swift's song "You Belong to Me" and the judges were not impressed. "That was not hot for me," Randy told her. Simon simply called the performance "terrible."

Paula compared Anoop Desai's singing style to musical artist Bryan McKnight. He sang "Angel of Mine" by Monica, and Simon said he has "massive likeability." "America has already connected with you," Paula said.

Contestant Casey Carlson chose a song that makes her "feel good," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police. "That was not good for me," Randy said. "Everything about that was wrong," Kara told Casey of her performance.

Gavin DeGraw's song "I Don't Want to Be" was sung by the "likable" Michael Sarver, and Kara said it was a "crowd pleaser" but not his "best performance." Simon said he hoped "America does pick up the phone" and keep Michael in the competition.

Anne Marie Boskovich said she was trying to show people who she is with her performance of Aretha Franklin's song "Natural Woman." Paula called her performance "better." "Your voice is not good enough for that song," Simon told Anne Marie.

Stephen Fowler vowed not to forget the words before he sang Michael Jackson's "Rock With You," but Paula said singing that song was a kiss of death. "I sort of wish you would've forgotten those lyrics," Simon said of the performance.

The "most talked about contestant" Tatiana Del Toro sang "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston, and the judges said the performance had it's "moments." "You are a complete and utter drama queen," Simon said of Tatiana. "You are desperate to be famous."

Danny Gokey's performance of "Hero" by Mariah Carey earned him a standing ovation by Paula. Randy called him the "redeemer of the night," but it was Simon who brought down the hype calling the singing "good" but not "fantastic."

"Idol" is down to 36 contestants and tonight 12 of them performed in hopes of making it to the final 12. America votes for their favorite performers and the results show of Fox's "American Idol" airs on Wednesday night.