Yeah, it's funny, I didn't think Danny sounded good. I never really loved how he sounded, maybe I just forgot. He just sounded pitchy and out of breath and goaty, to me.
Your recap of his patter was great.
Oh, I almost forgot... I need to say something about Ellen. Her comedy is falling flat (just as I thought it did on SYTYCD -- that was the show, right?). It's not especially funny, but also, the timing of it is wrong. Like the way she tried to riff on Simon's pronunciation (when Ryan said it, it was drily funny. But it only needed to be said once, not ten times). I don't think interjecting comedy into the comments works. If you are judging, be a judge. Maybe something funny will come out, but it should be natural or spontaneous. Not forced, or (it seems, sometimes) scripted or rehearsed. She can't be a judge and a comic at the same time. Or, shouldn't.
Then there's the tension that seems palpable between her and Simon. It may not even really be there, but we the audience sense that one of these people has to win against the other. Maybe because unlike the other two, they're big stars. Ellen has her own show, she's the star of it, she controls it. She's huge. It must be weird for her to go on a show where she's just one of four judges and she isn't in control of anything. And where Simon is the star. And he seems to pay no attention to her at all.