Back for another week of American Idol, this week featuring the catalog of Shania Twain night should be interesting. I am not a huge fan of hers, but she is undeniably successful.
I did not like the opening with the zooming in on each contestant. Very jerky and not one of the best.
This is a big night for Casey James more than any other contestant. He is slipping and getting complacent and he needs to do something bold if he is going to stay one of the front runners. Now for this week’s live blog:
Lee DeWyze — You’re Still the One
From the first few notes, I am blown away by this song. It could be recorded and released tomorrow and be successful. What a great arrangement and what a great job making a classic song incredibly modern and relevant. This guy is getting substantially better each week. Earlier in the season, he was on the edge of being good and being boring, but he has just blossomed over the last three weeks. (Kara Dioguardi makes a good point that, “look how far we’ve come” is appropriate for Lee.)
Michael Lynch — It Only Hurst When I’m Breathing
I’m finding Big Mike’s performance a little boring. The notes sound like they are probably in tune, but the song is not grabbing me like Lee’s did. I didn’t sense that he was connected to the song. I’m not a fan of his falsetto towards he end. It just seemed easy and safe and I wish he would have done something more daring. (I can’t tell which the judges liked better Lee or Mike, and I thought Lee was much better.)
Casey Lynch — Don’t
Very nice natural performance. He is soulful and, not really pop, but definitely not country. It was a very nice change of pace for him to sing a lot more and to diverge from the country genre. It was a different side of him and it showed that he is able to do more than one thing. I don’t know if I liked it as much as Lee’s performance, but it was definitely on par with that and coupling that with his better overall performing skills keeps him in a strong position.
I like how they are incorporating Shania into the show more than the usual mentors by letting her comment a little after the performances. It is a different change of pace, but it works well this week and it is better than the flirting between Kara and Simon.
Alicia Keys wasn’t very useful on the show this week, but there were some nice performance and the lines are becoming coming clear between the players and the pretenders. There are a few people who keep sticking around because of their past performances, but as we get down to the wire, it is harder to hide the contestants who can only sing five songs.
1) (1) Crystal Bowersox — Every week I say that contestants need to step up their game and bring something new to the performances, and Crystal keeps doing that. First changing the piano (not really impressive) but tonight with no instrument and rocking the a cappella for a little while she truly separated herself from the pack and showed re-established that she has the vocal power and artistry to finish this contest strong.
2) (3) Lee DeWyzee — Better every week and growing as an artist. I don’t see him getting in front of Crystal, but he is doing well.
3) (2) Casey James — Not much new to say, he is good, but doesn’t seem willing to step out of his comfort zone.
4) (4) Tim Urban — Very solid performance, may have reached his peak though.
5) (5) Michael Lynche — Seems to have reached his peak, nothing new to really see.
6) (6) Aaron Kelly – Took on a big song and couldn’t get it done. He has talent, but he needs to grow his voice a little.
7) (8 ) Siobhan Magnus — Not really sure how she keeps avoiding the bottom three, but she has out lived her talent. She is simply relying on long notes and not carrying a melody.
Tonight we are attacking Inspirational Songs on American Idol. I know I say this every week, but it is time for the contestants to step it up and differentiate themselves from the others. With such a wide open song library this week, they really have no excuse for a bad song choice.
Alicia Keys didn’t seem really helpful for the contestants, but I guess she tried.
Only one hour this week, so not much pre-show banter between Ryan Seacrest and the Judges. And now here is my American Live Blog for this week:
Casey James — Don’t Stop (Fleetwood Mac)
This song seems to be more about Casey’s guitar playing that his singing. It is a solid performance but it seems like hiring a really good cover band as opposed to listening to an artist. He is not progressing at all. He is not regressing, but I think he is going to get passed up. He could still probably put together a solid country album, but he is not progressing on the show.
Lee DeWyze — Boxer (Simon and Garfunkle)
Wow, that was amazing. He took a relatively old song and made it very modern and very relevant. I would buy this song if I could. If you asked me I wouldn’t have know it was a song written in the 60′s or 70′s. Lee is making a move here and the others better watch out. (I love that Simon said it was the best of the night after two performances.)
Tim Urban — Better Days (Goo Goo Dolls)
Another stellar performance on the night. These last two have really picked songs they seem to be connected to. I like the way the arrangement is building up with the strings and the solid clean vocals. Tim isn’t trying to over do the song, he just doing a solid job of delivering an inspiration song. Tim is definitely gaining momentum. (I like Simon Cowell’s comment that, “If this was the first week we saw you we would be impressed.” I guess I liked this song better than the judges.)
AaronKelly — I Believe I Can Fly (R. Kelly)
I’m nervous about this just from watching the pre-video with Alicia Keys. I do not think this is a good choice. Very unimpressed with this song. He does not sound on pitch and this song is very much too big for this kid. Maybe in a few years. He is moving around the stage a little which I think is nice. I think there were better choices for him. It ended better than it started, but it still left me wanting a lot. (Randy Jackson and Ellen both say it was good for taking on a big song, but I guess I don’t give him credit for difficulty. If you take on a song you can’t handle you don’t get extra points. Simon is keeping it real.)
Ellen DeGeneres’s little quips after each song as getting a little old, too much slap stick.
Adam Lambert did a great job with these contestants. The karaoke effect was very small and they, for the most part, all brought something new to these songs. It was a good week and the cream is rising to the crop.
1) (1) Crystal Bowersox — Really brought her A-game this week and kept herself in the lead position. If she keeps getting better and showing more of herself each week she is going to be tough to catch.
2) (2) Casey James — Solid performance, but not improving. He can hold on to the second ranking, but to some extent it is based on potential and not his performance. He needs to step it up or Lee is going to pass him.
3) (3) Lee DeWyzee — Growing in confidence each week and performing well. He needs to keep growing in confidence and building a fan base.
4) (7) Tim Urban — Had a break through performance this week and moved from pretty boy status to serious contender.
5) (4) Michael Lynche — Simon said it, “a million, billion times better than last week.” Great performance with good vocals and a whole new side of big Mike.
6) (5) Aaron Kelly – It seems like his age is catching up with him. His performances are not getting stronger each week at this point. He needs to overcome this plateau or else we are going to be seeing him in the bottom three repeatedly.
7) (6) Katie Stevens — Not as good as last week. Not a bad performance, but by comparison it was not one of the best.
8 ) (8) Siobhan Magnus — Not impressive. She is going down each week and needs a revival to survive.
9) (9) Andrew Garcia — Showed more personality, but not better singing. If he isn’t one of the two sent home I will be shocked!
Visiting the songs of Elvis this week should be interesting. I am not familiar with a lot of his songs outside of the standards, so I may hear some new stuff. One of the problems of course is that with popular songs you have to make sure that you don’t sing karaoke, but you have some originality. I am looking for the front runners to step their game up and keep opening the gap.
At this point, you really have three contestants who are in the front of the pack which would be Crystal, Lee, and Casey. Before even seeing the show I would expect Andrew to go home and possible big Mike.
Ryan Seacrest opens up really well again with a funny interview with Adam Lambert, who is a fantastic choice of mentor for Elvis week. (Although I would have preferred if they would have brought Elvis out of hiding.) I see Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) and William Schuester (Matthew Morrison) behind them from Glee, good cross promotion and Glee is coming back tonight. (Yeah!)
Alright here we go with this week’s (delayed) live blog.
Crystal Bowersox — Saved
Brings the fire again this week. The decision to switch to electric was a good one. During the first half of the song, I was worried the song was kind of too easy and not special enough, but half way through she stepped it up and brought her own flavor to it. Fantastic performance and I have talked about the need for her to keep improving herself every week to stay in front, and she did just that.
Andrew Garcia — Ain’t Nothing but a Houndog
Going for a smooth, slower version of the song. This is not a horrible rendition, but it is not contemporary, it is really a Sinatra type style to the song which is not what I am looking for. One of his better performances (he is really showing some personality). This performance showed some weak vocal ability but I thought the performance was okay.
Tim Urban — Can’t Help Falling in Love
(I am pretty excited for this song.) (Did Ryan really call him T’Urban?) The second verse taking the vocal in a strong direction was really nice. Excellent guitar playing along with the vocals. This was a really strong performance and could be a break out moment for him. He didn’t smile during the song which was okay but he look so emotionless it kind of bothered me. I would like him to get a hair cut as we go along here, but this was a really great performance.
Lee DeWyze — A Little Less Conversation Very contemporary and rocking. This could be on country radio right now. Good vocals and good beat. I liked the Ricky Minor on bass addition. I would like to see him move a little bit more. He seems to still be hiding behind his guitar. He needs to get out and show a little more flair. (I agree with Kara, he really attacked the vocal but he should be looser and have passion (thanks Simon, no skipping.))
Time for the live (well slightly delayed) blog for this week’s American Idol playing the Lennon/McCartney song book. Hopefully there will be some songs from this century. I am impressed that they 35 #1 hits but they are old fashioned and it is hard to say if they can come across as fresh.
I still remember David Archuleta singing Imagine back in season 7 which was his defining moment. I know that wasn’t a Lennon/McCartney Week, but it was still a Lennon song and it was great. I know he sang it in the finale but this was the first performance and set him in place as a front runner.
Kara says the songs and themes are still relevant today. Simon seems pissy should be a good night.
Aaron Kelly – Long and Winding Road
My first thought is that this song (or at least the presentation of it) is not befitting of his age. I expected one of the faster upbeat songs. He seems to singing it well but I am falling asleep. (Randy agrees and I like his idea to make it cpuntryish.)
Simon called Aaron sweety, funny.
Katie Stevens – Let It Be
The pink dress and shiny necklaces doesn’t seem to fit. I would have thought more somber colors would be better. She does a very nice job building the song up to a crescendo in the middle and them bringing in the background singers at the end. Overall pretty nice performance. Not show stopping but high quality. (I like what Ellen said about her just changing the song enough but still being respectful. I did not hear the country Simon is talking about.)
Andrew Garcia – Can’t Buy Me Love
I can’t tell what is up with his hair very tall and annoying. He seems to have gone with a swing version of the song. I honestly can’t decide what I think. I like the creativity like last week but I feel like he is detached or something. I feel like I should like this song more but something is missing for me.
Michael Lynche – Elanor Rigbey
This is a contemporary remake of this song. He is bring out some soul along with some nice strings. Mike is hitting his notes and is bringing a new element to his repetoire. This is everything the judges keep asking for.
I like Kara’s dress, she looks good tonight.
Crystal Bowersox – Come Together
I didn’t know (or at least I forgot) that she is a mother. That makes me like her even more. Wow, a didgeridoo, I like it. She is definately being true to herself. I think the deep sound of instrument complements her voice very well. This is another great performance by Crystal of a classic song. She definately put a nice rock twist on the song while staying faithful. I wasn’t blown away by because it is what I expect of her. I like that she picked the song just because it was going to be fun. It is going to be hard to knock her out, but she is still going to have to step it up a level to win because Lee or someone else could catch her. I did enjoy how confident and at east she seemed and the fact that Simon spent as much time talking about the didgeridoo as he did about Crystal’s performance is a good sign for her.
Tim Urban – All My Loving Tim signs this as Beatles tribute it seems like. He does a really nice job and if this were a Beatles cover band competition, he would win, but this is a show to try and make a contemporary song, and this was not that. He sang it really well and it was fun, but I don’t know that it is going to blow anyone away. (I’m surprised Simon thought that was current. Guess I was wrong.)
Casey James -
Nice work by Casey with the guitar. This is a country performance I would want to listen to right now. He sings this song with passion and conviction. The big not he hit in the middle was excellent. He is dressed nice sounds great. Can’t say much else, but great job. Probably my favorite of the night.
Siobhan Magnus – Across the Universe She made a good decision to take this performance in a new direction from where she had been. It is a little too operatic for my tastes. If I was driving and it came on the radio I think I would literally fall asleep. She again demonstrates her good voice, but she needs to somehow reestablish herself as a contemporary artist and be a contender. Her pass from the judges last week because she is a good signed may be about up if she doesn’t do something high quality next week. (I like Kara’s description of the song as very polite.)
Lee DeWyze – Hey Jude I understand that he is trying to sound raspy at the start but it sounds forces and unnatural and flat a few times. I like the arrangement and for the most part the way he is singing it. HOLY BAGPIPES! First a didgeridoo, now this. My favorite part was the last part after the bagpipes come out and he goes without the guitar for a minute. The raspiness went away and it was just him singing. Good performance. I liked last weeks better, and it wasn’t the best of the night, but it was solid.
Conclusion No one really stood out as having a horrible night so it is hard to say who will go home. If I had to choose, I would say Andrew is ready to go, he has stopped growing and is one of the weaker contestants. Katie is on the precipice of leaving, but her solid song tonight may keep her going, but she may not have enough fans left to keep her out of the bottom three. My ranking of tonight’s performances:
1) Casey James
2) Katie Stevens
3) Crystal Bowersox
4) Lee DeWyze
5) Tim Urban
6) Aaron Kelly
7) Michael Lynche Siobhan Magnus
9) Andrew Garcia
Last nights R&B show was a little disappointing. Either me or the contestants were the confused. I was expected songs from the at least the 90′s like songs by Usher or Kanye West (who I still do not like) or at least Luther Vandross. In any event I am prepared to release my first American Idol Rankings:
Crystal Bowersox — Crystal needs to make sure she stays true to herself or she is going to become the same as everybody and get based by more confident singers.
Casey James — Knows who he is and how to perform. He needs to work on more challenging songs.
Michael Lynche — I am not a huge fan of his, but the judges adore him and maybe I am not getting it.
Lee DeWyzee — Really good singer and he is willing to take risks with the arrangement. Could go deep and move to the top with some more poise.
Aaron Kelly – Very talented, but very young. Time will tell if his voice can make the long haul.
Tim Urban — Good, we will have to see if he can expand his audience beside middle school girls.
Katie Stevens — Good singer. Not the best, but maybe she could move up.
Andrew Garcia — I like him sometimes, but he needs to be a little more diverse.
Siobhan Magnus — Had a rough week, so I this probably a little low, but I’m not sure what to do with her.
Didi Benami — I think she is good, but if I have to pick a worst of the 10, it would have to be her.
Post-Script: I guess the smiling didn’t pay off for Tim. Too bad for Didi, I think Broadway may be calling her.
Siobhan Magnus