Back to tonight--I am going to quickly review last night's performance show and then step you through the elimination process which will leave us with 8 Idol wannabes by the end of the evening.
So without anymore delays, let's start the show...
The Idols had the entire Lennon and McCartney songbook from which to chose their song and, as you know, song choice is always at issue with these budding singers.
- After being compared to Yoda from Star Wars by his Idol family, Aaron took on "The Long and Winding Road". With what is quickly becoming his signature style, Aaron gave the song a sweet Country feel and the crowd did they patented arms above the head wave in support of the 16-year-old singing a song nearly three times his age. Randy didn't like the arrangement and felt it was sleepy; Ellen thought it was a long and winding song; Kara felt it was more of the same week after week and urged him to pick up the pace; Simon quizzed Aaron on why he selected the song and then called the performance old-fashioned and boring.
- Katie, whom her Idol mates think of as fun and little sisterly, selected "Let it Be" from the thousands of songs available. As I listened to her performance, I thought back to the Simon-Kara debate about the type of artist Katie should be/become--Simon feels she would make a good Country artist while Kara thinks she is more suited for the pop/R&B lane. I tend to agree with Simon--her voice is a better fit for Country radio. Randy loved Katie's performance calling it her best; Ellen guaranteed Katie won't make a return visit to the B3 (as she has done the past couple of weeks); Kara gave her props for coming back from some pretty good thumpings from the judges; and Simon took the credit for her success tonight backing me up on my argument that she sounded more Country than R&B (in spite of Kara's doing her best Mariah Carey impression)...the debate continues!
- Our next performance was courtesy of Andrew Garcia whom his fellow Idols think has the most personality--which flies in the face of Simon saying he has no personality which constantly puts him in a jam with the voters at home. To try to win a few of your votes Andrew went with "Can't Buy Me Love" and opted to perform it on the little stage-like area behind the judge's table. It was an interesting interpretation--kind of a upbeat, jazzy style and pretty catchy. Randy thought it was a little "corny" at times; Ellen loved it calling it the "perfect song choice"; Kara wanted to like it, but didn't "see anything new this week"; Simon compared it to going to a "wedding and having the lead guitarist sing a song" and then further saying that both he and the band "got it wrong this week".
- Michael Lynche was compared to a big Teddy Bear and generally loved by the other Idols. His song choice was "Eleanor Rigby" and chose to perform it surrounded by the string section. It was quite dramatic especially when you consider the red and blue lighting. Randy had a love/hate relationship with the performance; Ellen gave him credit for changing the song so much; Kara called the vocals "on fire" and stole my "drama" description; Simon thought the song was more appropriate for a musical and didn't move Big Mike forward and admitted confusion about the type of artist he will become.
- Idol front-runner, Crystal Bowersox, or Mama Sox to her Idol cast mates, performed "Come Together". Accompanied by a man playing a Didgeridoo (a long wind instrument created by the native Australians), Crystal gave her typical solid performance. As usual the judges loved her and gave her serious props (well-deserved), the only negatives were Randy's distraction with the Didgeridoo and Ellen's struggle to find new ways to tell Crystal how great she is. Kara thought it was her best performance of the night and Simon credited her with being true to herself.
- Teflon Tim, or the Idol with Nine Lives as I like to think of him, was praised by his fellow Idols for always being upbeat and smiling. To earn your votes and to escape the judges negative feedback, Tim selected "All My Loving". I thought his performance, while likely his strongest to date, was still far below the others. The judges comments were generally positive--a first, but Randy's were the most interesting: he decided to judge Tim based on a what he called a "Tim Performance". But most of Randy's time was spent commenting on Tim's Beatles-do. Ellen said it was his "second-best performance after "Hallelujah"". Kara and Simon both felt he did much better this week; Simon disagreed with Randy's rating scale and gave Tim credit for taking all of the criticism from previous weeks "like a man"--good point, Simon, but I still don't think it was a performance worthy of Tim still being on the show.
- The resident heart-throb, Casey James, was compared to a Soap Opera star by the other Idol contestants and outed for what apparently is an overly-boisterous laugh. With the echos of his laugh still reverberating backstage, Casey hit the Idol stage with his acoustic guitar and a cello player and gave his all on "Jealous Guy". Randy called the performance "heartfelt"; Ellen thought it was his "best performance to date"; Kara said he "showed a level of vulnerability...depth" and implored him to go deeper. Simon told "Goldilocks (aka Casey)" that he just delivered the performance of the night.
- Siobhan was called "amazing" by her cast mates and credited with having a great voice--even "ridiculous" as Katie called it. Siobhan went with a subdued version of "Across the Universe". As has become her custom, Siobhan couldn't help but climb the ladder and hit a high note or two, but she did show some restraint and kept it just a couple and delivered a very controlled performance. Before offering his thoughts on her performance, Randy noted that "no one else in the competition screams artist more than you (Siobhan)" based on her outfits and style, but also said the performance was a little sleepy. Ellen found the performance beautiful. Kara gave her props for hitting the notes, but didn't groove on the control and restraint which she showed--it confused her because it was different than what she grown accustomed to seeing from Siobhan. Simon started his critique by asking Siobhan what she was connecting to while singing to which she told the story about not allowing this contest to change her.
- Lee closed the show, but not before we learned that the rest of the Idols called him the resident Worry-Wart and that he and Andrew are all tight. For his number, Lee chose "Hey Jude" because he felt he could connect with the song. As Lee was about half-way through what was a pretty solid performance, Lee was joined on stage by a lone 'Piper! While giving their critiques of his performance (generally good), the judges couldn't help but add their thoughts about Lee's "band mate": Randy found the Piper "funny" and confessed that he (Randy) almost wore a kilt (SCARY!); Ellen offered to help "that guy who got seperated from his parade" find his way back; Simon questioned what the Idols have been drinking ("first with the Didgeridoo and now with the Bagpiper"), but also complemented Lee on a strong performance (at least until the 'Piper walked down the steps).
And so another performance show is over and now it is time to pick the unlucky three who will be in the Bottom 3. My predictions are: Andrew, Tim, and Katie with Andrew going home--Tim's still got the "Vote for the Worst" vote in his hip pocket, so there's no getting rid of him until a few more weeks.
Tune in again in about 60 minutes to see who was safe and who went home after your votes were tabulated.
Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to!
Charlie
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