Casey James emerges as one of only standouts during the boys’ first performance night. By Gil Kaufman Casey James on “American Idol” Wednesday Photo: Fox After a number of uneven, forgettable performances by the top 12 ladies Tuesday night, it was starting to feel like Simon Cowell’s prediction that a female would win this year’s “American Idol” was a bit premature. And then the men took the stage Wednesday night (February 24), and for most of the two hours, well, they seemed determined to prove Simon right. From poor song choices to shaky vocals and clear nerves, one by one, the guys got hammered by the judges, with even front-runner Andrew Garcia drawing some fire for his somber Fall Out Boy cover as pinup cowboy Casey James appeared to slip into the pole position with his mix of good looks and strong vocals. First out of the gate was Todrick Hall, one of the most experienced singers in the competition. He took a big chance singing a Chris Brown-y funk take on original “Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson’s breakthrough hit “Since U Been Gone.” He satisfied the judge’s desire to hear something original, and Ellen DeGeneres was visibly pleased, applauding Hall’s stage moves but saying the chorus was a bit of a mess. Randy Jackson actually didn’t love how the arrangement was so different that he almost couldn’t recognize it, and Cowell said Hall came over “as a dancer trying to sing,” docking him for completely “murdering” the song. One of this year’s youngest contestants, spiky-haired 16-year-old Aaron Kelly tackled Rascal Flatts’ “Here Comes Goodbye,” showing remarkable poise and self-confidence as he wrapped his raspy voice around the schmaltzy cowboy ballad. “Bearing in mind it’s your first live show, it actually was quite a good performance,” said Cowell, who suggested that the high-schooler looked a bit embarrassed to be onstage and not confident that he deserved to be in the competition. “You’re a good singer, very likable, very cute, but you have to take control of the song,” he added. Church singer Jermaine Sellers, 27, who almost blew it in Hollywood when he threw the band under the bus, went the inspirational route with Oleta Adams’ version of the gospel tune “Get Here,” busting out some powerful falsetto amid breathy verses. Ellen liked the song choice but said Sellers seemed to be trying too hard, and Randy suggested he go more contemporary with his big voice and try a tune by Ne-Yo or Maxwell instead. Simon likened it to a corny piano-bar song and said the middle section sounded like screaming. “I think you’ve totally blown your opportunity,” he concluded. Tim Urban, 20, revealed that he didn’t even tell his family that he’d made the top 24 after initially missing the cut and then sliding into the 24 spot when Chris Golightly was disqualified , letting them find out only when they watched the final Hollywood Week episode. The floppy-haired Texan went contemporary with OneRepublic’s “Apologize,” strangely staring into the camera and displaying his limited vocal range when he reached too far for the falsetto notes on the chorus and went oddly aggressive on the verses. Cowell congratulated him for coming back. “Having said that, we absolutely made the right decision the first time around by not putting you through with that performance,” he said, calling the performance and vocals weak and Urban’s voice just not good enough. For Randy, none of it worked, and Ellen agreed, saying the high notes were just not there, though people might vote for him because he’s adorable, which she mentioned more than once. One of the least-known semifinalists, California’s Joe Mu
