American Idol 2010 -- Top 9

Tonight is Lennon and McCartney (the Beatles) Night on American Idol.

(As I found the song list on the Vote for the Worst website, I’ll be forecasting what I think will happen with each performance, and then comment on what does happen.)

Aaron - The Long and Winding Road – One of my least favorite songs by the Beatles.  It is such a drab and dreary song that plods along.   And this song is even more unappealing to me coming from Aaron.  Please let this be the song that sends him on the “long and winding road” home.

(ASIDE:  I really wish the judges would ignore the people in the crowd.  Nothing slows the show down more than having Simon turn around and look at who “boo-ed” him after he told someone they did a poor job.  Sheesh.)

Katie – Let it Be – One of the most cliché songs by the Beatles.  It has been played to death.  Not looking forward to this performance one bit.  She’s trying to “make it her own,” which is always important to the judges, but she took no real risks on her vocals.  She did nothing to hurt or help her position in the competition.   

Andrew – Can’t Buy Me Love – I’ll be interested on what kind of arrangement Andrew does with this one.  If he sings the Beatles version, he’ll be quickly forgotten.  If he can somehow modernize the song without completely destroying it, he could win the night.  Andrew tried to pull the song out of the 1960s, and only managed to get it to the 80s.  It wasn’t great, but it was much better than if he’d have tried to make it exactly like the original.

Mike – Eleanor Rigby – this should be a hot mess.  Ok, it wasn’t a complete hot mess.  He turned it into an R&B song and it kinda worked, but he could have done the same thing to some different song and it probably would have translated better (maybe something like Sgt. Pepper’s LHCB?).  But, it was probably better than I’ve giving it credit, because I don’t like R&B for the most part. 

(ASIDE:  I’ve been muting the show between songs so I could listen to the Beatles songs in my iTunes library, which means I’ve been missing tonight’s video packages.  Well, I just listened to the package for Crystal, where all the other contestants talk about one person, and it was kinda creepy.  It felt like a memorial tribute one might make to honor someone who’s just died.  Creepy.)

Crystal – Come Together – The second most cliché Beatles’ song being performed tonight.  She turned it into a Country version (with some dude playing a didgeridoo beside her which is odd).  This was probably the most entertaining song of the night.  

Tim – All My Loving – one of the earliest Beatles songs being sung tonight.  It will either be really good, or really bad.  I’m betting it’s the later.  Ummm…..hmmmmmm………uhhhhhhhhh.  Ok, imagine if Jason Mraz and Brian Setzer reproduced and their kid made it to the Top 9 of American Idol.  Got that in your head?  Good, because I’m pretty sure that was what Tim was going for, but, unfortunately he just fell short of his goal.  At least he still has the Vote for the Worst crowd’s support, because he’ll need it. 

Casey – Jealous Guy – I was unfamiliar with this song, so I listened to it on youtube.  This song does not have a guitar on the recording I listened to, so maybe Casey puts the 6-string down for once, which should be quite awkward.  Nope, he did it with the guitar.  He was wise to pick a relatively unknown song, because then he could get away with singing it exactly like the original, although I don’t remember Lennon being quite so liberal with goat-vibrato in his version.  This guy is a joke.

Siobhan – Across the Universe – I didn’t recognize the song from the title alone, but after listening to it online, I remembered it, and it fits Siobhan’s personality to a “T”.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t translate through the television.  It was a dud, in my opinion.  The song had zero personality or flair.  I hope her off-stage personality will keep her in the competition for a few more weeks.  She needs to step her game up.

(ASIDE:  Ughh, they are obviously stalling for time because there is 15 minutes left for one performer.  They are asking the contestants beauty contest-style questions and allowing weirdos from the audience to come on stage.  All of this filler is insufferable, and it makes me long for the return of the 1-hour shows.)

Lee – Hey Jude – My favorite Beatles song of the night by my favorite contestant remaining in the competition.  I’m cautiously optimistic.  (Note: I would promise to vote a hundred times a week if Lee would learn how to properly wear a stocking cap).  He’s doing an adequate job with the song, but he went to the chorus way too early.  And what the hell is up with the bagpipes?  Totally distracting, totally unnecessary, a total gimmick, and, ultimately, they ruined the song for me.  Which is a bummer, because he was on track to be my favorite of the night.

Disappointed that no one sang the following songs, all of which are better “performance” songs than most of the ones done tonight.

• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
• Day Tripper
• Lady Madonna
• Ballad of John and Yoko
• Get Back
• Help!
• Drive My Car
• With a Little Help from my Friends
• Yellow Submarine, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, or I am the Walrus – any of which I would have preferred Siobhan to have sang instead of the borefest that was Across the Universe.
• Anything from my favorite Beatles album, “Rubber Soul”, could have easily been updated and modernized and knocked the judge’s and audience’s socks off.  Lee could have killed The Word.  Crystal would have nailed In My Life.  Aaron might have pulled of Drive My Car.  Siobhan could have screamed her way through I’m Looking Through You.  Andrew might have pulled off Michelle.  Kinda bums me out that no one attempted a song from this album. 
• Also surprising was that no one attempted any McCartney/Wings songs.  No one wanted to do Maybe I'm Amazed, Live and Let Die, or Band on the Run?  Hard to believe, unless they weren't allowed to choose from those songs, which would be odd during "Lennon and McCartney" night.

After the replay, I’d have to say my order tonight was:

TOP:  Big Mike, Crystal

MIDDLE:  Lee, Katie, Casey, Siobhan

BOTTOM:  Tim, Aaron, Andrew

After the reply, I'm also convinced that this year's contestants are horrible at song selection.  Why no one has called me to come produce this show is beyond me.

American Idol -- Top Ten Performances

Usher is the mentor.  What, Justin Bieber was busy?

So they’re singing R&B/Soul songs tonight, which is one of the few genres of music with which I’m unfamiliar.  Odds are, no one will impress me, just because I don’t particularly enjoy this type of music.

Siobhan is “wicked nervous” to sing in front of Usher.  She’s singing “Through the Fire” by Chaka Khan.  And she is SUPER PITCHY DAWG!  She sounded off key the entire song.  And, of course she does her patented “scream” to end the song.  Yikes, she may have hurt her chances of winning the show after that performance.  I think a lot of voters are going to lose faith in her singing ability.

(ASIDE:  Crap, they are really stringing this episode out.  We’re twenty minutes in and have only heard one person sing.  They spent what seemed like 10 minutes talking to Siobhan.)

Casey is singing “Hold On, I’m Coming” and he’s playing an electric guitar without an amp during his one-on-one with Usher.  He doesn’t even recognize how ridiculous he looks.  And his performance on the Idol stage was odd.  It was filled with his usual goat-vibrato and electric guitar.  He continues to take no chances just to stay in the game. 

Michael is singing “Ready for Love” and is using a guitar (which looks like a ukulele in his big ol’ mitts).  It was slow, sensitive, and weird.  But it is performances like that one that make me miss Paula the most, because she would have been going batshit crazy after that performance.  His stock is rising.     

Didi is singing “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”, and is singing it exactly as I would imagine Michelle Branch or Colbie Caillat to sing it.  She doesn’t have the pipes or the “soul” to pull of this kind of song.  It was entirely forgetable.

“Teen Beat” Tim (which is a better nickname then “Teflon” Tim, if I do say so myself) is singing “Sweet Love” and Usher doesn’t “believe” Tim while he sings.  So Usher asks Tim if he’s ever been in love.  Tim shrugs and says yes.  (I imagine Tim’s thought bubble in that moment would be, “I love my grandma, apple pie, and Jesus.  Those count, right?”)  The song is weird, the performance dull, the vocals adequate.  I’m sure the Vote for the Worst crowd will continue to support him and will probably carry him into next week.

Andrew is singing “The Wrigley’s Double Mint Gum Jingle” by Chris Brown.  He’s still trying to recapture the “magic” from Hollywood week, and this was as close as he’s gotten so far.  I wonder if the judges can stop referring to his Hollywood performance now.  Well, even if the judges can, Not-Brian-Dunkleman will continue to bring it up.

(ASIDE:  It is official.  I will not watch next year if Not-Brian-Dunkleman is the host.  He thinks this show is about him.  He is fixated with ensuring his dumb face is always on the camera.  And I’m tired of it.)

Katie is singing an Aretha Franklin song which could be a death wish.  If her vocals are not perfect, she’ll be trashed by the judges.  She’s wearing some weird overall-shorts and leggings.  Her vocals were fine/average because she took no chances with her vocals.  

Lee is going to sing “Treat Her Like a Lady” because it has a lot of soul.  This is a great song choice for him because it is easily converted into a rock song, which is his wheel house.  He should be able to sneak his way out of the R&B week in better position than he entered it, which I might not have guessed going into his performance.  His vocals were spot on.

(ASIDE:  And now it feels like the judges are rushing though their critiques because they wasted so much time on the front end of the show.  Pick a pace and stick with it people.)

Crystal is singing “Midnight Train to Georgia” and is turning in the guitar for a piano this week.  She doesn’t seem as confident behind the keyboard.  And for the first half of the song, the backup singers did as much singing as she did.  And she’s even more awkward when she steps out from behind the piano.  She doesn’t know if she should dance.  She doesn’t know what to do with her hands.  She’s smiling more than a song like this one would call for.  The vocals seemed really weak to me because she picked the parts of the song that didn’t allow her to sing with full power or emotion.  I was not a fan of her performance tonight.

Aaron is singing “Ain’t No Sunshine” which I believe is contractually mandated to be sung by at least one Idol contestant every year.  It was adequate at best.  This was a lame way to end the night.  The dude has no soul (musically, not spiritually.  Although his eyes are fairly vacant, so who knows.)

After tonight:

TRENDING UPWARD
Lee

Michael

Andrew (barely)

SLIPPED A FEW NOTCHES BACKWARD

Siobhan

Crystal

MADE NO FORWARD PROGRESS

Casey

Katie

Didi

FREE FALLING

Tim

Aaron

Bottom Three:  Aaron, Tim, Didi

Going Home:  I would support any of those three leaving this week, but I could see Didi leaving this week, which would be fairly surprising.

(UPDATE:  And ALOTTFMA just reminded me that there is an Immunity Idol in the Judge's possession which may need to be used to save Siobhan this week after her off key performance.  And I imagine she is the exact person they are saving it for.)

American Idol -- Top 11

Miley Cyrus is mentoring tonight.  What, Raven Symone was busy?  I sense that I will be using the mute button often tonight.

Lee DeWyze - The Letter – singing it in the style of The Stray Cats (big band/rockabilly).  It’s fine.  I don’t see any reason why he won’t be here next week unless people forget about him because he went first. 

Tim Urban - Crazy Little Thing Called Love – this should please the Vote for the Worst crowd.  I’m not sure it’ll be the worst of the night, but, as the Wife said, “he’s become a caricature of himself.” 

Paige Miles - Against All Odds – ugghh, one of my least favorite songs that someone sings every year, and no one ever does it well.  And Paige is no exception.  I hope this is enough to finally send her home.

Aaron Kelly - I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing – while talking with Not-Wayne-Brady, Aaron admits he has laryngitis.  And he says he’s singing “Aerosmith’s” version of the song, but he’s obviously singing the country cover version of the song.  If Paige wasn’t still in the game, I’d be rooting for him to go home this week.

Crystal Bowersox - Me and Bobby McGee – could she be any more predictable with her song choice?  We get it.   You’re a Lilith Fair, girl-power rocker.  I can see people getting bored with her if she doesn’t challenge herself as an artist.  But she picked a great song, sang it well, so she’s a shoe-in to next week.

(ASIDE:  Kara’s advice for Crystal to put down the guitar next week is idiotic.  She’s a guitar-playing musician who sings well.  Why she’d get away from that is beyond me.  I don’t want her to stop playing the guitar – I sometimes wish everyone had to play an instrument while they sang – I just want her to sing a song that is out of her comfort zone.)

Michael Lynche - When a Man Loves a Woman – great song choice for him (although I prefer the Michael Bolton version).  He sang it well, but was did some weird runs at the end.  He should be on to next week.

Andrew Garcia - I Heard it Through the Grapevine – he’s singing the Marvin Gaye version (which is probably my least favorite version) and Miley suggested he sing without the guitar.  It’s karaoke at best.  I won’t be sad when he’s booted out of the competition.  He was once on top and he’s in a free fall.

Katie Stevens - Big Girls Don’t Cry – (the Fergie version, not the Four Seasons’ version that is the into to Dirty Dancing.)  The first half of the song was an exact mimic of Fergie, but the back half was very pitchy, dawg.  But it was a great song selection on her part.  She should make the Top 10.

Didi Benami - You’re No Good – and Not-Tom-Brokaw mispronounces her name before she sings.  The guy is a jackass.  She picked a lousy song and does nothing relevant with it.  She sings fine, but the performance is lacking anything noteworthy.  But, it’s too early for her to exit the competition (although, that’s what I thought about Lilly and look how that turned out, so who knows).

Casey James - Power of Love – he tells Miley that he likes the “power” and “passion” of the song.  I wonder if that is why Huey Lewis and the News liked it initially.  And I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to enjoy anything the guy sings because I can’t get past his goat-vibrato.  It just grates on me.  And he did fine, but it was a fairly weak performance overall.  Yet he shall survive this week.

Siobhan Magnus – Superstition – my lady gets the pimp spot, but I’m nervous for her with this song choice because, while I have no statistical data to back up this assertion, NO ONE EVER PERFORMS STEVIE WONDER WELL!  Hell, I’m not totally convinced Stevie does Stevie Wonder well.  She sang it straight (no wacky antics) and sounded good.  And just as I typed that last sentence, she went all Adam Lambert with the last 15 seconds of the song.  Odd, but not going home. 

Rather than rank their performances tonight, I’ll rank them in terms of my favorites: 

1.  Siobhan   
2. Crystal  
3.  Lee 
4. Didi 
5. Katie 
6. TIE – Michael, Andrew, Tim, Paige, Aaron, and Casey – I don’t care when these people go home, just so long as they go before any of the above five are booted.

I Can't Get No Satisfaction with the Idol Top 12

The fact that I love to gamble should be evident by the fact that for the second year, I've entered into a wager with my cousins (and their posse) on who we believe will go the farthest in the American Idol Top 12.

Here is who we have selected this year (Initials shall be used to protect the guilty):

LB – Crystal

C – Casey

EB – Big Mike

Me – Siobhan

JB – Didi

R – Lee

Also worth noting is that The Wife and I have our traditional Idol bet going where we each pick a guy and a girl at the start of the Top 24 and bet a dinner on whose people will go the furthest.  The scoreboard on that bet reads
The Wife: 2 remaining (Katie and Andrew)
Me: 1 remaining (Lee)

So I am currently rooting for Lee and Siobhan to go a long, long way in this competition.  Now, on to the show.

Big stage, big production, big announcer voice.

Not-Alex-Trebek gives his monologue before introducing the Top12 and the Stone’s video montage. 

The contestants are singing Rolling Stones songs tonight.  The Stones have a huge catalog of songs (50+ albums, 40+ number one songs), so song choice cannot be an excuse tonight.  Too bad Adam Lambert isn’t still in the competition, because he would have totally sung “Shattered” and would have created quite the uproar at the water cooler tomorrow morning. 

EB’s selection “Big” Mike tells us about how music helped him get through his mother’s death.  Mike’s singing “Miss You” and has arranged it into an R&B song (similar to how it would have sounded had Michael Jackson covered the song, assuming MJ never did cover it).  Not a spectacular vocal, but he was entertaining and enjoyable.  Good song choice, he’ll be fine this week.

And Not-Conan-O’Brian and Simon are having an uncomfortable moment together (I have it on mute because I don’t care what is being said), which should waste JUST enough time to cause everyone who is DVR-ing the show to miss the final performance.  Excellent production value, this show has.

JB’s selection “Tall Blonde” Didi is being quizzed by Not-Pat-Sajak on stage, and then they show her video package about her family (mainly her mom).  Didi is singing “Play with Fire”, she starts on the stair case and the mood is all serious.  She has a pleasant voice but her facial expressions are not very appealing.  I keep hoping the song will pick up the pace, but it never does, which leaves me puzzled as to why she chose it.  Great vocally, but lacking in entertainment value.  I liked last week’s performance more.

C’s selection “Pretty Boy” Casey grew up with his mom and brother and is singing “It’s All Over Now” which is not the song I would have picked for him.  There are too many long notes for him, which leads to his patent-pending “Goat Vibratto”.  But he plays the guitar well, so he’s got that going for him.  He tried to turn this song into a country song (which was smart) with a blues feel, which I liked, but I don’t like his voice one bit.  Good performance, awful voice.

(ASIDE:  Ellen is incredibly funny when she throws out a one-liner.  Reminds me of the great Paul Lynde and how great he was at this skill during Hollywood Squares.)

Some Red-Haired Lady sang something by the Rolling Stones, but since she made it to the Top12 instead of my girl Lilly Scott, I’m going to talk to my cousin LB on the phone during her performance.  And it looked like the judges were none too impressed (at least their facial expressions didn’t look “off the hook”).  And what the hell is she wearing?  It’s like Where’s Waldo meets Xtina.  Weird.

“The One-time Favorite turned Underdog” Andrew tells us about his family (his father thought he’d grow up to be a janitor because Andrew liked keys as a kid) and his parents seem sweet.  Andrew is singing “Gimme Shelter”.  He is putting no emotion into this song, and this song’s lyrics have a fairly intense meaning behind them, which is lost on Andrew.  Not a good vocal and his stage presence is lacking without his guitar.  He was wooden with the microphone stand.  Not good.  

“Youngster Girl” Katie sang “From this Moment” at someone’s wedding when she was 10 (which was something like two years ago I think).  Tonight she is singing “Wild Horses”.  She’s not singing it in the style of the Stones (which is smart) but she needs to get to the chorus soon, because it’s dragging along.  When she gets to the big part, she sings it well.  Great song selection on her part, and she should be fine to next week.

Not-Larry-King tells us to go online to download the songs tonight (yeah, I’ll pass).

“Teen Beat” Tim apparently has a big family and was often mistaken for a girl as a child.  He’s singing “Under My Thumb” with a guitar and is singing it in the style of reggae and it is just awful.  This should insure he receives the “Vote for the Worst” vote tonight and for all eternity.  Yikes.

My Gal Siobhan is apparently from a place where they divide where people live into “towns”.  I must look into this “town” thingy after the show.  Tonight she is singing “Paint it Black” which I’m pretty sure has been sung at least once every season of Idol.  She’s singing it in the style of “Phantom of the Opera” to start, and then the lights go psychedelic and she picks up the pace.  The middle is fine, but the final note before her quiet ending was shrill.  Interesting.  Very interesting.  Where she’s not the most talented vocally, at least she’s entertaining.

R’s selection “Grungy Dude” Lee is talking with Not-Regis-Philbin on the stools and is being asked stupid questions.  (Fun Fact:  Lee is a Junior).  Lee is singing “Beasts of Burden” which is one of my favorites.  He’s singing it how I would imagine the Counting Crows would cover it, which is another way of saying he is nailing it.  (Just googled it to make sure that the Crows didn’t cover it, and from my two second research, they did not).  Great song choice, great arrangement, great all around.  Best of the night so far.

Another girl who should not be in the competition when Lilly Scott is out is going to be singing “Honky Tonk Woman” and is trying to make it into a country song.  AND SHE’S CHANGING THE GENDER SPECIFIC WORDS AROUND!!!!!!  Very little annoys me more than when a guy or girl sings a song by a person of the opposite gender and switches around the gender specific words.  Just sing it as it was written.  Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggg!!!!!  I should have just muted it, because that was awful.  Why is she still in the competition?  

“Chicken Little Part Deux” Aaron was adopted as a young child.  He is wearing cowboy gear in all of the pictures from his youth, which would explain the song choices he made the past weeks.  Tonight he sings “Angie”.  He’s playing this one pretty safe and is singing it like the original version.  Not great, not horrible, just enough to make it to next week.

LB’s selection “Feather in the Hair” Crystal was raised by a single father, who seemed like a great, supportive guy.  She’s signing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in her “Lilith Fair” style.  She does a fine job as usual, but I wouldn’t say that it was spectacular.  She’s almost too solid of a performer.  She is going to have a hard time improving and she needs to hope that it takes everyone more than 11 weeks to catch up with her (which I predict will happen).

(ASIDE:  I hope LB reads my blog so that he can be reminded that Simon said that My Gal Siohban did a better job tonight than Crystal.  So, Crystal may not have as big of a head start as one might have thought coming into tonight, which is nice.)

Tonight I would rank them:

Lee

Siobhan

Crystal

Katie

Andrew

Didi

Mike

Casey

Aaron

Tim

Bottom Two:  The two girls that are the reason that Lilly isn’t in the Top 12

Goes Home:  I don’t care who does, so long as it is one of this girls.

(But I’m not bitter at all.)

_____________________________________________________
SONG:  Tie -- "It's Only Rock and Roll" and "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones -- which were the two best Stones' songs that were not performed tonight.

American Idol -- Top 16 -- Fellas

Wishes-He-Was-Jeff-Probst tells us that “This………..is American Idol” after creepily announcing the male contestant names.

“Grungy-Musician” Lee is singing “Fireflies” (apparently by Owl City who I’ve never heard of but googled) on his guitar.  It’s a modern song, which suits him.  But I’m not sure that this is the version to sing the week before the Top 12.  The vocals are nice, but I’d have liked a stronger song musically (something the band could jam out to while he wails away on his guitar and rips the vocals).  I could see him singing a DMB song (something off their new album) later in the competition.  It would be awesome.  (Also, I use the term “grungy” not as in “dirty” but in “unpolished” or “raw”.)

“Mullet-Hair” Alex is singing Ray Lamontagne’s “Trouble” while strumming his guitar.  His voice suits the song well.  Boring, but this kind of song is in his wheel house and should keep him around a few more weeks.  It won’t win him the competition, but it should put him to the Top 12.

“Teen Beat” Tim is singing “Hallelujah” (which has been covered by so many acoustic guitarists that the original artist is now unknown, similar to how no one knows who originally drew the awesome “S” that everyone drew on their notebook in junior high).  He sang it well.  I was bored and I won’t remember he sang it in two weeks.  He should make it to the Top 12.  

  

(ASIDE:  I believe that “Teen Beat” Tim may be the contestant that certifies into law ALOTT5MA’s “Grand Unified Theory of Idol, #2”.  The theory suggests the following:  

Whoever you think is the best singer during the round of 24, or who seems most fully-formed as an artist will not win American Idol. The winner of American Idol will be the singer who demonstrates the most development as an artist during the competition, and over whom the audience can claim more ownership and from whom they will derive more satisfaction as the competition progresses.  

 I think “Teen Beat” Tim is going to be a force to be reckoned as the competition moves along because he seems to be improving week by week and he has a good look to him, which the judges/producers love.)

“Chubby Guy with Drew Carey Glasses” Andrew is singing Christina’s “Genie in a Bottle” with his guitar and without the backing of the band.  It would seem that he is going back to the “Popular Teen Girl Songs from the ‘80s & ‘90s” well a little too often and that well is running dry.  This was the kind of song that will lose him fans.  No one will remember this in a few days.  Nothing special.  

(ASIDE:  Coincidentally, Andrew is the guy who will help Tim prove the above theory, because three weeks ago, he was already presumed to be in the Top 2 with Crystal.  He has been tracking downhill ever since.  He peaked too early.)

“Goat-Boy” Casey is singing Keith Urban’s “You’ll Think of Me” with his guitar (I’m sensing a theme tonight).  While I don’t particularly care for Casey, he has a knack for picking the right song, and this song is a good one for him.  Except when he has to hold a note for longer than two beats, and then he goes lives up to his nickname.  (Seriously?  No singing coach can help him get rid of that?)

“Youngster” Aaron is singing a Lonestar song (“I’m Already There” I find out later).  And not well.  Yikes.  This guy has got to go.  He obviously has a large tween-girl following, because I can’t figure out why he continues to hang around.  Odd.  

(ASIDE:  The large tween-girl following –which leads to large texting profits – might explain why Simon is constantly praising the guy, week after week.  Simon has said he’s not a huge fan of his voice.  So why keep the kid around, except for ratings and voting?)

“Dancer” Todrick is singing “Somebody to Love” by Queen.  And he’s off key from the start.  He doesn’t have the range (or voice, for that matter) for a Freddie Mercury song.  And the background singers are not helping him out.  He isn’t really singing it as much as talking the words.  Horrible song choice that proves he doesn’t know who he wants to be “as an artist” (as the judges are so fond of saying).  He might go home.

“Big” Mike is singing “This Woman’s Work” by artist unknown, and is making weird noises at the beginning of the song.  Looks like he’s trying to fill the R&B void this season since Todrick won’t go near R&B with a 20-foot pole.  He’s a really poor man’s Ruben Studdard.  

(ASIDE:  maybe my bias against Mike and R&B in general is clouding my judgment, but the judges/producers must really, REALLY need Big Mike to stick around BECAUSE KARA IS (probably fake) CRYING AFTER THE SONG!!!!!!!!!  SHE’S STILL (fake) CRYING AS SIMON GIVES HIS GLOWING CRITIQUE!!!!!!!  In the words of Joe Schmoe, “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!”  Such an odd chain of fake events.)

I’d rank them:

Lee (I’m biased, what can I say.  Also, everyone else was boring or weird.)

Casey

Tim (The fact that the “Vote For the Worst” has been supporting Tim, but is now thinking of picking someone new to support should tell you how much improvement he’s been showing.)

Alex

Mike

Andrew

Todrick and Aaron (should) go home tomorrow.

And the judges were insufferable tonight.  INSUFFERABLE!!!

American Idol -- Top 16 -- Girls

Simon and Not-Brian-Dunkleman argue over how important tonight is for the contestants.  Also, I believe we’re down to an hour-length show (which should cut down on the filler and fluff).

(NOTE:  I’ve decided to nickname the contestants with the genre/cliché/niche they are filling.)

“Youngster” Katie is singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway”.  The first half of the song was mediocre at best.  The chorus is better, but nowhere near good enough for this far along in the competition.  She will never be as good as “AHHHHHHH Kelly Clarkson”.  I imagine it should be enough for her to make it to next week.

“Wall-Flower” Siobhan is singing “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals.  She’s singing it like it would be sung in an off-Broadway production.  She is not a rocker, so it’s odd hearing her sing a rock song.  She’s working really hard to make it good, and it’s not awful, but it’s odd, which is the pigeon-hole she (the producers) has put herself in.

“Spikey-Hair” Lacey is singing a song from Brandy Carlile which I don’t know and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it before.  I have no idea why this is the song she picked.  I am pretty sure she is auditioning for the “Vote for the Worst” vote with that performance.  She sat on the edge of the stage while a piano/guitar minimally backed her.  I don’t like her voice or style (which might explain why I’ve been predicting her to go home the past two weeks.)  And from the judges’ critiques, it sounds like they want her to stick around.

“Curly-Hair” Katelyn is singing Carol King’s “I Feel the Earth Move”.  She’s standing behind a keyboard and is singing fine, but no one outside of Carol King has ever been able to sing this song with any relevance.  No one is getting their spouse out of the other room to drag them in to hear her sing.  Not good. She should probably go home for this one.  Weird decision on her part.  

“Tall Blond” Didi is singing Fleetwood Mac’s “Rihannon”.  The first relevant song so far.  She’s strumming her guitar and her voice suits this song very well.  (She sounds like Ingrid Michaelson’s twin sister).  Best so far, hands down.  She has a great modern voice and she molded the song to match her voice.    

“The Black Girl” Paige is singing “Smile” (artist unknown to this blogger).  She sounds like she’s just going through the motions.  Very uninspired.  The band can’t keep up with her as she plods along.  She kinda dragged them along just so she could be done.  I think this was her throwing in the towel.  (As the judges quizzed her about it, it seems like she has a deep emotional connection to the song.  I wonder if she picked it because of this connection, then realized that she’ll never be able to finish the song unless she walls off those emotions, which lead to the uninspired performance.  She made a bad call not switching songs once she discovered this flaw.)

“Presumed Winner” Crystal is singing Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason to Stay Here” (not sure if
 this is the actual title).  Again, a solid performance.  I would assume that she is doing enough to stay in the lead and is saving anything special she has up her sleeves for when the guys and gals combine.  There is no reason for her to burn out too early.  She is a seasoned performer who has her “voice” as a singer (something the other women lack).

“The Silver Fox” Lilly is singing “I Fall to Pieces” (artist unknown to anyone under the age of 73).  Worst song choice of the night in my opinion.  (It’s probably because I love her so much, I wish she would have picked a better song).  This song does not meld with her voice at all.  She could have sleepwalked into the top 12 if she would have just picked a safer song.  I don’t get why she picked tonight to tempt fate.  I fear a lot of people won’t get this performance.  

I’d rank them:

Crystal

Didi

Lilly

Katie

Siobhan

Katelyn

Lacey and Paige go home (because I don’t think they are Top 12 material).

American Idol -- Top 20 -- Girls

Not-Brian-Dunkleman asks the Dawg how the fellas did last night, and the Dawg apparently blacked out during last night’s episode, because he seems to remember that “the guys were HOT last night.”  And he says it with a straight face.  He must have found Paula’s secret stash of happy pills.

“Dreadlocks” Bowersox – singing CCR’s “As Long as I See the Light” – and she says she’s giving it a gospel twist.   Her vocals are very nice.  It was a great way to start the night and the girls who follow have a high bar to clear if they want to be the best of the night.

“Balloon Boy” Haeley – singing “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus – of course she’s singing this song.  Of course.  But it is a good strategy, because any amount of decent vocals should be better than the original.  And then she started singing, and I was wrong.  Someone could have worse vocals than Miley.  (And now I’m wishing I would have nicknamed her “Smiley Cyrus”.  Crap.  If the “Vote For the Worst” crowd can keep her to next week, that is what she will be called.)

“HGTV” Lacey – singing “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer – she’s sounds like she’s singing it in a different key than the original.   It’s way better than last week, but not memorable.  She set the bar low enough last week that she should be safe this week.

(Aside:  The judges are harping on Lacey that she needs to step it up and take her songs to a new level, but I guarantee that if she had fiddled with her song more than she did, they would have crucified her and demanded that she just sing the song – like Randy did to three or four contestants last night.  “Do less.  Do less.  Do more.  More than that.  Etc.  They are so busy micromanaging this year that we have no idea who these singers are as artists because the contestants are too busy catering to the judges every wish and demand.)

“Proud of Her Worthless Talent” Katie – singing “Put Your Records On” by some current artist – she has a great voice, there is no disputing that fact.  But will she win this competition?  I’m not yet convinced that she can. 

“Meow Mix” Didi – singing “Lean on Me” by Bill Winters – she too has a great voice, but is she going to be the next American Idol?  Unless the Singer/Songwriter genre makes a huge comeback, I don’t see how she is going to be a mainstream success.

(Aside:  Why the hell did the judges pick these people to be in the Top 24 if they weren’t happy with them as artists?  They heard each one sing 4+ times before the final selection, they knew who these people were.  If there weren’t 24 people who they liked, why not start out with 12 solid singers, rather than putting out a 2 hour episode of four judges bitching and moaning about how horrible each singer is.  It seems to me that as much grief Paula got for always giving sappy/positive feedback to the contestants, it was a necessary feature that helped people stomach Simon’s harsh/truthful critiques.  Now, without Paula, there are just four people nitpicking each and every person.   I don’t know if I can make it all the way through to the end.  It’s getting tougher and tougher.)

“No-Nickname” Michelle – singing “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed – I love this song (and Creed for that matter), so it’s going to be interesting to see what she does.  The arrangement is awful and she doesn’t have the vocal strength to do with the song what she envisioned it would be in her mind.  I get what she wanted to do, but she doesn’t have the talent to make it work.  And the last note was horrid.

(Aside:  And the Wife just bailed.  Guess she’s going to have to come to my blog to see what happened during the last half of the show.)

“The Silver Fox” Lilly – singing “A Change is Going to Come” by Sam Cook – she tells us she’s using a 12-string guitar tonight.  This is not as good of a song choice as last week, and she’s doing weird things with her voice tonight.  I’m not loving it, even though she is my favorite girl still in the competition.  But, it should be enough to keep her around until next week.

“Curly Sue“ Katelyn – I missed what she said she’s singing – she’s sitting behind a piano and playing chords on the keys.  Such…..a…..slow…..arrangement…..of…..a…..song.  Nothing special about the vocals, and I never did recognize what song she was singing, which was unnerving (and I don’t think that’s a good sign).

“Shar Jackson’s Twin Sister” Paige – singing “Walk Away” by Ahhhhhhh KELLY CLARKSON!!! – So far, this is the worst decision by a contestant this year.   Why anyone would try to tackle a song by the greatest American Idol is beyond me (but I may be biased).  Maybe, just maybe, one of the guys could have pulled it off, because it is hard to compare cross-gender performances.  She may go home after this performance because she doesn’t have the voice for that song.

(Aside:  Was informed by Randy that Kara helped write “Walk Away”, so +1 for Kara.  I guess Randy, though slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose.)

“Little Miss Personality“ Siobhan – singing “Think” by Aretha – she did not “Think” about how her puny voice would sound while singing this big song.  She is fine during the verse, but the chorus is lacking because she can’t quite hit the top end.  It will probably get praise from the judges, but I didn’t like it.

I would rank them for tonight:

Bowersox

Lilly

Katie

Katelyn

Didi

Siobhan

Michelle

Haeley

Paige and Lacey go home.

American Idol -- Top 20 -- Guys

Not-Brian-Dunkleman tells us that “Dreadlocks” Bowersox is in the hospital, so the guys are performing tonight and the girls will perform tomorrow instead.

“Big” Mike – “This is a man’s world” by James Brown – great song choice for him.  His vocals were much better than last week.  (The Wife couldn’t get past the lyrics to make a rational judgment on his performance)

“English as a Second Language” John – “Gravity” by John Mayer – he picked the wrong John Mayer song.  It’s too slow and he’s too breathy.  Better than last week, but not good, and with performances like that he can’t win this competition.  

(Aside:  The Wife wanted me to note that Ellen is dressed like a zookeeper.  I think it is her showing support for the lady that was eaten by the whale at SeaWorld.  I mean, I guess there is a possibility that she is supporting the whale, but it seems less likely.)

“Shirtless-and-Feathered-Hair-Guy” Casey – “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw – he made it a little more Rock&Roll musically than the original, but the vocals are much weaker than the original version.  I can’t get past his goat-vibrato voice.  

“Business up Front and Party in the Back” Alex (who I’m certain was the quarterback in “Friday Night Lights: The Movie”) – (some song) by John Legend – He’s using the guitar to calm his nerves, which helps.  He’s of the Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson/Dave Matthews/Brett Dennen school of male singers, which would be fine if Kris Allen hadn’t won last year.  His vocals were fine, but not memorable.

“Backflipper” Todrick – “What’s Love Gotta Do with It?” by Tina Turner – (It should be noted that it is a great strategy for him to sing songs originally done by women.)  Awesome song choice.  Decent vocals which are heightened by his superior stage presence.  Another memorable performance.  

(Aside:  The judges are on crack with Todrick.  Why the eff do you put him through to the Top 24 if he’s such a lousy singer?  They couldn’t say enough good things when Adam Lambert and Blake Lewis and David Cook were rearranging songs in past years.  So Todrick follows suit and gets run over each week?  LAME!!!  And then, Simon gives praise to Tim?!?!  IS THIS REAL LIFE?!?!)

“Farnsworth Bentley, Jr. ” Jermaine – “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye – Automatically can’t win for the week in my book.  But it wouldn’t have mattered any way, since it’s a weak vocal.  His falsetto sounds similar to Adam Lambert’s regular singing voice.  Not good.

“Chubby-Guy doing Skinny-Guy Dance Moves” Andrew – “You Give Me Something” by James Morrison – Sans guitar, he seems unsure what to do with his body while he sings.  Very good vocals.  Not going to be the song for which he’s remembered.

“Chicken Little Part Deux” Aaron – “My Girl” by Everyone and Their Dog – Worst song choice of the night, but he’s giving it his all, which is something.  Should keep him in the middle of the pack.  Also, the over/under on the number of times his age is mentioned is 3.   (And if you took the Over, you’re a “Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”)

“Teen Beat” Tim – “Come On Get Higher” by Matt Nathanson – He won’t make it past this week.  This performance is very high school variety show.  

“Voted Most Likely to Not be Mistaken for a Contestant on American Idol “ Lee – “Lips of An Angel” by Hinder – Still my favorite guy in the competition.  Not the world’s greatest vocalist, but he’s the most relevant and modern guy in the competition.

I would rank tonight’s performances:

Lee

Todrick

Casey

Alex

Andrew

Mike

John

Aaron

With Jermaine and Tim going home.

And this clip from one of The Wife's favorite movies gives a good idea of how the Judges were judging tonight:

American Idol -- Top 24 -- Guy's Night

Not-Brian-Dunkleman does his usual introductions and tells us that tonight they separate the men from the boys.

Todrick Hall – had a great original song for his audition.  He’s singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone”.  He reworked it into an R&B version.  I liked the verse more than the chorus, but it was memorable, which is what the judges always want.  He received a round of applause from The Wife.  Ellen liked everything except the chorus.  Dawg doesn’t understand what song he sang.   Kara agrees with Randy and doesn’t think he should be as crazy next time.  Simon thought he was being a dancer trying to sing and it was verging on stupid what he did. 

Aaron Kelly – (aka Chicken Little Part Deux) – sings “Here Comes Goodbye”, which is fitting because he has a similar voice to the chipmunk who is the lead singer for Rascal Flatts.  The Wife says it’s a carbon copy of the original version, which is fine, but not great or original, which is what the judges always want, which means they’ll love him.  Simon says it was a good performance but notes Aaron is lacking stage confidence/presence.  Kara loves his raw, natural talent.  Dawg says he has a huge voice, the chorus was pitchy, and he lacks confidence.  Ellen thinks he’ll be around for a long time.

Jermaine Sellers – promises he won’t throw anyone under the bus anymore.  Singing “Just Get Here” and that’s exactly what I’m hoping for with the ending, just get here.  He’s not good at falsetto and he sounds very off key.  Not a good performance.  Ellen felt he pushed a little too much.  Randy was surprised with the song choice and he did too much with it.  Kara didn’t think the runs were meaningful or special.  Simon thought it was a cocktail bar performance and it didn’t work.  Simon thinks he blew his chances with that song, but the other judges don’t agree.

Tim Urban – (no relation to Keith Urban or Urban Apparel, from what I’m told) – was a replacement after Chris Golightly was kicked off the show for already having a contract.  Singing “Apologize” by New Republic.  He does a carbon copy of the original and is nowhere near as good of a singer as the original version.  He keeps missing the higher notes.  Mediocre at best.  Simon says the vocals were weak and they made the right choice initially about not picking him for the Top 24.  Kara says he was over powered by the music.  Dawg says it was the wrong song for him because he doesn’t have the falsetto.  Ellen said he may get a lot of votes because he’s adorable. 

(Aside:  New Glee commercial = the Wife has to change into a fresh pair of panties.)

Joe Munoz – (I need to find the little “n-yeah” symbol to put over the N in his name to make it official) –Singing Mraz’s “You and I Both” in the style of Enrique Iglasias.  Nothing special or noteworthy about the performance.  He’ll be fine this round.  The Wife loved him.  Ellen liked him.  Dawg likes his voice but wasn’t sure about the sound choice.  Kara never would have thought he’d sing a song like that, and she thought he was the best singer of the night so far.  Simon thinks he’s not a star with a performance like that one. 

Tyler Grady – has a throwback/70s style.  Not sure if that will help or hurt him.  Singing The Guess Who’s “American Woman.”  He starts it like the Guess Who version and then kicks into the Lenny Kravitz version, and he does both very poorly.  He never really sings, just screams the words “American” and “woman” over and over.  Simon thinks people will remember the performance for the wrong reasons and that he’s a pretend rock star.  Kara feels similar to Simon and that he obsessing over the 70s too much.  Dawg thought it was style over substance.  Ellen doesn’t think he has enough charisma to go with the poses he does on stage. 

Lee Dewyze – His performance with his guitar at Hollywood week was pretty good.  Hope he uses the guitar tonight.  Singing Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”.  He has the guitar.  It has a country/alt-rock feel to it (similar to Darius Rucker).  I like it.  Ellen thought it was a good song choice, but felt he screamed parts of the song.  Dawg didn’t like the song choice, it wasn’t hard enough Rock enough for his taste.  Kara agreed with Dawg and Kara.  Simon disagreed and thought it was the best performance of the night. 

(Aside:  The Wife and I would like to petition Idol to give the contestants 30 more seconds to sing and have less Ryan & Judges filler.  It is so frustrating that they seem to be killing time, but the songs are only a minute long.  Annoying.)

John Park – Shania Twain made him blush in the audition.  Singing “God Bless the Child”.  A jazz standard.  I can’t understand a word that is coming out of his mouth.  The first couple of lines I thought he was singing in Japanese.  I did not like this one bit.  Simon thought John’s voice was not incredible enough for that song, and was emotionless.  Kara agrees.  Dawg liked parts of the song, but the song made him seem old.  Ellen was confused by the song choice but liked the performance. 

Michael Lynche – became a father during Hollywood week (birth, not conception.  That would have been weird to make publicly known).  Singing “This Love” by Maroon 5.  He does a more R&B/jazz version than the original.  Vocals are nothing special.  Ellen likes Mike’s personality.  Dawg liked the energy.  Kara thought it brought the energy in the room up.  Simon thought he delivered so little for such a big guy.    

Alex Lambert – (Not related to Adam Lambert or Bill Laimbeer, according to my sources) – Singing “Wonderful World” by James Morrison.  He’s rocking a mullet and a jeans/suit jacket combo.  The song is fine if you close your eyes.  He has no stage presence.  Simon was quite happy for it to end due to the uncomfortableness of the performance, but likes his voice.  Kara likes his voice tone and wants to hug him.  Dawg liked him.  Ellen likes his mullet.

Casey James – He’s singing “Heaven” by Bryan Adams.  He tries to make it a country version, but doesn’t commit to it and it comes up way short.  He has a goat vibrato on notes that he holds for longer than 2-beats, which is very annoying.  The entire Casey-Kara banter is growing very old and stale.  Ellen jokes about the Casey-Kara dynamic.  Dawg thinks it was good.  Kara says he’s ear and eye candy.  Simon says they’re both cursed with good looks.  Simon says he chose the right song. 

Andrews Garcia – He cries a lot.  He’s singing Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar We’re Going Down” acoustically and toned down.  It’s a nice arrangement, but his voice is nothing special.  He’s more of a musician than a singer.  Simon was disappointed with the seriousness of the song.  Kara thought it was a strange rendition and that he was a risk taker.  Dawg agrees about the arrangement and is a fan.  Ellen says she’s a fan but was not blown away.

I would rank them (from best to worst)

Todrick Hall

Lee Dewyze

Andrew Garcia

Joe Munoz

Casey James

John Park

Michael Lynche

Alex Lambert

Tyler Grady

Bottom three is Tim Urban, Jermaine Sellers and Aaron Kelly 

And Tim and Jermaine go home. 

The wife and I usually pick one guy and one gal each and then see whose contestants last the longest. This season:

The Wife picks:  Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens

I pick: Lee Dewyze and Lilly Scott

American Idol -- Top 24 -- Girls Night

(These are my notes from tonight's American Idol)

Ryan introduces the Judges and notes that Ellen isn’t sitting by Simon anymore.  Ellen says that Simon is too handsy and has proof on video.  Hilarious.

(Go HERE if you want to put a face with the contestant's names)

Paige Davis – Horrible song choice, weird outfit, and don’t hit the microphone when clapping on stage Simon didn’t like song choice, but thinks she has the best voice of the girls.  Dawg & Kara rambled on but liked her.  Ellen liked her and thought she pulled it off.  It must have sounded better live, because I did not like her voice or the song choice.

Ashley Rodriguez – (I love that Simon makes fun of Jordan Sparks’ “Battlefield”) – She’s singing Leona Lewis, which is like singing Whitney, Mariah, or Celine, you shouldn’t do it unless you have some great pipes.  At least it’s a fairly unknown song, so we can’t compare her to Leona.  “This song is eating her alive,” the wife says, and I can’t disagree.  Kara gives credit for taking on big song, but didn’t think it was great; Dawg says it wasn’t Ashley; Ellen wants Ashley to sing a different style of song and take risk; Simon thought is was clumsy, didn’t like arrangement, thinks she could be in trouble.  It’s a shame because the wife and I liked Ashley initially.

Janell Wheeler – She won Simon over in Hollywood week after his being lukewarm to her.  She’s singing Heart’s “What About Love”.  Risky song choice.  Will depend on the arrangement.  Good until the chorus, and then the song crushed her soul.  She is a decent singer, but the song was way too big for her voice.  Dawg song-choiced her; Ellen liked song choice and her performance overall; Simon says she delivered 65% and she went off key, he likes her voice; Kara said the big notes caused her to lose the originality of her voice.

Lilly Scott – Colorado girl, whoop-whoop!!!  She’s a musician, which I always love.  Singing “Fixin’ A Hole” by the Beatles with her guitar.  Unknown (to me) song.  Great song choice.  Shows off her unique voice.  Good stage presence.  Best so far.  Ellen thinks that’s what they’ve been talking about regarding song choice, she loved it; Simon felt she sang song because it portrayed her as an artist; Kara says she’s believable; Dawg likes her indie-artist style and honesty.  Best so far.

Katelyn Epperly – plays the piano in her video.  Singing “Oh, Darlin’”.  Looks/sounds like she’s in the stage production of “Grease”.  Ok performance.  Should get her though to next week.  Simon thought she was screaming and messy in parts, but he likes her.  Kara asks her questions and then compliments her knowledge of her voice, and gives fashion tips.  Dawg talks about having the runs and then likes her vibe.  Ellen like it ok and said she has a nice voice.

Haeley Vaghn – another Colorado girl.  She’s 16 and got her nose pierced as reward for making it to Hollywood.  Singing a Beatles song, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”.  Hard to watch, even harder to listen to.  Strumming the guitar.  She has an odd tone to her voice.  Weird.  Kara explains technical problems of the song, then compliments her for having “fun”.  Dawg loves her unpredictability, but doesn’t like her high notes.  Ellen mentions that she’s 16, and she enjoyed it.  Simon gets “honest” and says it was verging on terrible and a complete and utter mess.  

Lacey Brown – was in Hollywood last year.  “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac is her song choice.  Bad first line.  Doesn’t get any better.  She sounds out of tune and she’s pronouncing words oddly.  She sounds like a Cindy Lauper impressionist.  Dawg didn’t like the song choice and thought it was terrible and pitchy (drink).  Ellen thinks she’s better than that performance.  Simon thought it was depressing and indulgent and boring.  Kara thought she was forcing it and started requesting songs. 

Michelle Delamor – has a crazy family, according to her intro video.  Performing Alicia Keys’ “Fallen”.  From the first line, it pales in comparison to the original.  The middle gets much better.  Ending is ok.  Ellen thought it was fantastic and safe.  Simon thought she did very well and was professional, but was never wowed.  Kara didn’t think she lived up to her potential.  Dawg though it was ok, but that she needs to take risks.

Didi Benami – She sang one of Kara’s songs during Hollywood week.  She’s emotional and a crier.  Singing “The Way I Am,” which is a great song.  She’s singing it very close to the original, which shouldn’t matter because the song isn’t very well known.  It’s a safe song that was well done.  Simon has a problem with her trying to sound like the original artist (Adele, Duffy, etc.).  Kara gets technical and Simon interjects that it wasn’t memorable.  Dawg feels the same way as both Kara and Simon.  Ellen likes her voice, but feels it doesn’t make a good impression.   (Side note:  Brodie is snoring).

Siobhan Magnus – Is singing Chris Issac’s “Wicked Game”.  Weird, odd performance.  This song is going to win her some major “Vote for the Worst” style points.  Yikes.  It was fine, musically, but horrible for this performance.  Kara wouldn’t have picked the song, but she liked the performance.  (I just noticed Kara’s fake-tan line on her scalp—funny).  Dawg didn’t like the seriousness of the song.  Ellen loved it because it entertained her.  Simon thinks she’s a funny little thing, because she’s unknown.  He didn’t like it compared to her final Hollywood performance.    

Crystal Bowersox – Singing Alanis Morriset’s “Hand in my Pocket”.  Great song choice for her voice.  Love the harmonica and guitar playing.  She is the favorite in our house thus far.  Dawg has a bunch of reasons why she’s his favorite.  Ellen, too, is a fan.  Simon thought it was good, but says there are thousands of people doing the same thing in front of a subway (as a way to get her to quit being a sound-alike).  Kara thinks it wasn’t up to her full potential.  

Katie Stevens – is 17 and is singing “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble.  The slow intro was good.  The up-tempo middle was good.  The ending was good.  I wonder how many times they’ll bring up her age.  Ellen brings up her age and wants her to be younger and current.  Simon agrees totally with Ellen, and thought it became annoying (and he brings up her age).  Kara doesn’t think she killed the song.  Dawg thinks she was pushing too hard (and brings up her age twice).  

I would rank them (from best to worst):

1.       Crystal Bowersox

2.       Didi Benami

3.       Lilly Scott

4.       Katie Stevens

5.       Michelle Delamor

6.       Ashley Rodriguez

7.       Katelyn Epperly

8.       Janell Wheeler

9.       Paige Davis

Bottom 3 – Lacy Brown, Haeley Vaughn, Siohban Magnus

With Lacy and Haeley going home