'American Idol' Season 11, Episode 4 Recap - Best and Worst of Aspen

Seacrest has his parka on, which can mean only one thing: the gang is in Colorado. The appeal to a sense of Americana is so desperate that they try to liken the trip to a family vacation in the station wagon. Not sure I buy that, especially in a swanky town like Aspen.

In a matter of minutes, Steven both makes an Aspen-Aspirin pun, and marvels at nature, calling the scenery "God's paintbrush." Let's hope we get some limericks after this too, just to complete the trifecta.

Will we see more of the trend so far this season, with a heavy emphasis on the "good" and less on the "bad?" Let's find out.

Good:

Our first contestant, Jenni Shick, is obnoxiously energetic, but she gets a pass because she teaches music to young kids. Then she tries to get a kiss from Seacrest for her boyfriend, and gets SHOT DOWN. Cold. She also tells Steven that he's on her list of celebrities she can kiss without it being cheating, and he pretty much ignores her too. Then she sings well and she gets her kiss. And then walks off the stage in the wrong direction.

The use of "Campus" by Vampire Weekend was confusing to me (these guys know about Vampire Weekend?) but overall a positive.

Curtis Gray has a kind of deep crooner thing going on. He's no Scotty McCreery, but he's good. The judges vote quickly, and Jennifer calls him good-looking. Bonus for him.

Speaking of Scotty, Richie Law is Scotty redux. He's followed by Devan Jones, who's a poppy R&B singer with nice range, Mathenee Treco also sings with good range and does a kind of churchy version of "Hey Jude."

Hailey Smith literally lives in a log cabin. She's also a vegetarian (not surprising) working as a sausagemaker (surprising). Even more surprising is the sound that comes out when she starts singing. It's bright and strong, but is also loaded with character and feeling. It's very classic. Steven notes that she's right out of his generation, and is practically moved to tears by her sound.

Shelby Tweten is being billed as an inspirational story because she's dealing with bipolar disorder, which she claims singing helps her through. Fair enough I suppose. She has a nice country tone and nice phrasing that impresses the judges.

Jairon Jackson sings an original song with a very melodic, plaintive voice. The song itself isn't bad either. He gets three easy yeses. The best part though, is how crazy he goes afterward, breaking some of the lightbulbs at the exit. It's a miracle he didn't cut himself.

Angie Zeiderman calls herself a "vintage glitter queen" and idolizes Lady Gaga. She seems to have gotten the tone of the show wrong, as she sings showtunes and rolls around on stage. Then she sings some Roy Orbison, actually pretty well, and changes Randy's mind.

Bad:

Tealana Hedgespeth is tired of being in her twin sister's shadow, and hopes to shine on her own. But then she starts singing, and it's... well, kind of a mess. It's legitimately sad to watch her dreams get crushed. Then again, it's hard to feel bad for people who have never listened to themselves singing on tape. Really? You jumped straight to auditioning for "Idol?"

Elena Snare's hook is that she's a waitress at a bar that sells rocky mountain oysters. If you think that's gross, you should hear her sing.

There's definitely a bit of heavier focus on the bad ones tonight, as we've had two bad contestants already before a particularly awful montage of terrible auditions, including a girl who awkwardly beatboxes.

Magic Cyclops is from Davenport, Iowa, and has a terrible fake British accent. But he talks about his impressive air guitar collection and wins me over. He charms me further by explaining the accent by saying he watched a lot of BBC programming when he was younger, and refers to Jimmy Buffet as James Buffet (pronounced buff-ay). And yet, for all that build-up, his performance is a little lacking in zip. And then he closes out by requesting the theme music from "The Incredible Hulk" as he walks away. You know what? He might deserve to go in the "Good" column.