‘American Idol XIV’ review: Jess Lamb, Lovey James impress; Savion Wright, Sarina-Joi Crowe return

Tonight, “American Idol XIV” continued its auditions, and kicked things off once again in the place otherwise known as music city: Nashville. If there were a ton of duds, we’d be really worried about the state of the season. Luckily, we feel like the show still brought quite a bit of talent and then some on its massive two-hour episode.

Tonight, there were “lucky eggs,” single moms, big egos, and a blind country singer who can also apparently perform Selena songs. Take a look at some of the (positive) highlights below.

Andrew Annello – He is a little all over the place, and Harry Connick Jr. even called him “silly.” If he can get his voice together, he could be something in the upcoming rounds.

Loren Lott – She was in some ways the female Andrew in that she was all over the place, and we actually think that he was a little bit of a better singer than she was at the end of the day. We wouldn’t have put her through, but she got enough of a vote of confidence from the other judges to go on.

Trevor Douglas – We remember profiling him earlier this year, hoping that his voice would match the personality that he showed off in commercials. Luckily, he did, and he may be one of our favorites. His “Sing” was so original and a blast to watch.

Piper Jones – She’s got a BIG voice. You have to in order to perform Jessie J effectively. We don’t know a whole lot else about her yet, but we’re not fretting about that too much at the moment.

Kelly Kime – This had to make it on the show, just because of her daughter singing “Let It Go” for the judges. Her voice was sweet enough, but was it really special? We’re not sure just yet.

Garrett Miles – We love almost everything about this audition, from his voice to his personality to his easygoing way of communicating with his judges. The fact that he is blind is secondary. This guy’s a real inspiration that regardless who you are, working hard at your craft can make you into something special.

Clark Beckham – There are great notes in here, but he’s performed so much on the streets so much that he has a few bad habits that he needs to break (facial expressions, consistency). There was still enough here to move him on.

Gina Venier – She’s a one-man band! She really figured out how to get around the limitations for musical accompaniment, now didn’t she? She’s a decent singer, but the other stuff was a distraction.

Alex Shier – Watch out for Alex. This is the sort of good-looking, guitar-playing guy that has a tendency to go very far in the competition. We didn’t even remember him from last year!

Cody Fry – He probably tried a little too hard to get his point across that he can sing, but sometimes we are okay with that. We cannot hate him for “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Not for one second.

Hector Montenegro – In addition to being seemingly obsessed with all of Jennifer Lopez’s hair and makeup choices, the guy can really sing. Let’s chalk him up already on the people to watch list.

Sarina-Joi Crowe – She has developed a cult following of sorts among longtime fans of the show, mostly because this is the fourth time that she has tried out for the series. She’s never really had a real shot at getting screen time, but that changes tonight. INCREDIBLE audition. What were we missing the whole time?

Savion Wright – Savion is back! He had such an emotional story last year, but he is so much more than that. He can totally sing, he his voice moves us.

Zach Kaltenbach – One of the bus auditions. A good singer, or at least someone who has that back-home charm. We probably wouldn’t have put him through.

Naomi Tatsuoka – We really don’t get this one. Way too over-the-top and at times campy. We don’t really get what makes her interesting at all other than the big personality.

Jhameel – Despite Harry trolling him before the audition, an odd move given his OCD, he was a very good, unique singer. Not the best vocalist, but his imperfection makes him interesting.

Lovey James – Do you know how she got the name? This was a funny little portion of the episode learning a little about how Keith Urban tunes out during auditions. Probably the closest thing the show has to a genuine pop vocalist so far.

Jess Lamb – Really cool. One of those performers who we love, mostly because we can follow her path with every note. She closed the night, and she also convinced Harry to perform with her for a minute or two at the end.

Who did you love on the “American Idol XIV” episode tonight? Share below, and be sure to catch our review for Wednesday’s episode! Also, sign up now to get some further TV news worth a song or two, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)