Idol Worship - And then there were Three!

Here's the deal, tonight the final three Idols are going to sing two songs for your votes. The first song will be of their chosing, the other will be selected by one of our esteemed judges.

Up first and singing "OK, It's Alright With Me" was Casey James. Casey said he picked this song because he felt it represented the type of artist he is and the type of music he will record after Idol. For those of you not familiar with the Eric Hutchinson song (like me!), Casey did what he does best--put a little southern rock flair to an otherwise boring song. He sounded good and the ladies were loving him, but I'm not sure it was a "winning" performance. It would have been nice to hear him doing something that stretched him a bit more. The Big Dawg agreed with me and Ellen babbled on before confirming what I said. Kara noted that his song selection (of a relatively unknown song) wasn't a very good choice. Simon went on and on about how the song just didn't work, but ended by saying he sounded good--sounds like Simon might be reading my blog even before I write it! :)

So with one mediocre performance in the can, what would Crystal Bowersox do with "Come to My Window" to try to get the show back on track--this is the Final 3 after all. Crystal took her guitar and harmonica to the stage and gave her all to the Melissa Etheridge hit. From the first note, you knew she was singing to win--unlike Casey who seems to be a bit stuck in the "happy just to be here" mode. With Crystal's vocals soaring, the crowd clapping, and the band completing the scene, Crysal did a good all-around job with the song. The judges weren't overjoyed with the performance--Randy and Kara didn't like the arrangement. But Simon credited her with staying true to who she is and thought she delivered a good performance.

With a relatively underwelming start to the Final 3 show, it's time to see what Lee DeWyze can do to shake things up and he chose Lynrd Skynrd's "Simple Man" to do so. The song started out a bit slow, but once the band kicked into gear and Lee let his vocals loose, I thought he made a statement and "won" Round 1. Randy predicted that Lee "thinks he can win it!" Ellen went on and on comparing Lee to a number of different wild animals and avoided any type of advice or criticism. Kara echoed my comment about Lee winning Round 1. Simon said that Lee's song selection was perfect and that he "crushed it in Round 1". Why do we need judges when there's me?! Rhetorical.

Round 2 and the Judge's song selections.

First up, Casey who performed Randy and Kara's selection of "Daughters" by John Mayer. Casey strapped on his electric guitar and was joined on stage by a piano and guitar player. Listening to Casey, you can tell he has talent, but his vocal range is fairly limited. I'm not sure that vocal limit hurt him too much during this performance, but as has happened so many times before, Casey appeared to enjoy showing off his guitar skills over his vocal talents. All in all it was a decent performance. Randy, of course, thought it was a brilliant song selection and was his type of song. While Kara praised her and Randy for a good song selection, Simon was seen laughing and then he tore into Randy and Kara for picking a song that had a climax that was a guitar solo. Simon's comments led Kara to spend an un-Godly amount of time defending her song selection and trying to convince everyone that she is brilliant...in the end the judges liked the performance, but it wasn't enough to overcome his first performance.

Ellen chose "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney for Crystal Bowersox. Seated upon the Idol spiral staircase and dressed in black, Crystal started the song strong making her way to center stage and then the catwalk behind the judge's table. On the way she added a bit of a Janis Joplin sound to the song, but then she kind of lost me--I thought she was screaming the words which sounded odd. The judges thought she did really well and gave her props for doing the song without her guitar. Simon said she may want to thank Ellen for helping put her in the finals...but that's up to you the voters.

Simon went with "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen for Lee--even before Lee strummed the first chord on his trusty acoustic guitar, I knew it was the right song choice. As Lee hit the chorus, the Idol doors opened behind him and in walked a gospel octet there to offer backing vocals and provide a very rich sound for a guy who I think moved into the role of the favorite after two very strong performances. When Lee finished, he had tears welling up in his eyes and Simon looked like proud as a peacock. Randy gave serious props to Simon for his song choice, Ellen thought it was "stunning", and Kara called Lee the "heart of the show...you just owned the night". Simon told Lee how proud he was of him and said Lee "proved you are a fantastic singer and good person". I must admit that was definitely THE performance of the season.

If you are keeping score at home, you should have it: Lee - 2; Casey and Crystal - 0.

But the judge's don't determine who is going to the finals next week, you do. So tune in tomorrow to see if your votes helped put your favorite move into the finals.

Until then, I will continue watching TV so you don't have to.

Charlie