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 FOX Tonight’s episode is another jam packed hour – Wahoo! Right to the performances. Lee’s up first.
Lee Dewyze, “Fireflies”: I’m definitely a Lee fan, but I was quite uneasy when Ryan announced what he would be singing. Once it got going, though, Lee did work it out. He managed to take a rather hokey song and turn it into something interesting. He deserves props for that. (I, too, would like a thousand hugs, from ten thousand lightning bugs.) I don’t think it was as good as last week’s performance, but it was still “solid,” to use Kara’s words. Oh and Kara delivered said remark whilst digging her arm into Simon. So. Over. It. All the judges clearly like Lee, and he gets mostly positive comments. They all seem to agree that it wasn’t his best performance, but I still think he’ll safely make it into the Top 12.
Alex Lambert, “Trouble”: I love the Ray Lamontagne lane for Alex. That soul in his voice is just ridiculously good. Alex seems more nervous this week than last, but his vocals are still so great. The mullet is still intact, as well. All the judges call him out on his nerves, but it’s clear they like him a lot. Kara even tells him that what’s keeping him from winning this thing is…himself.
I’d say so far thing are pretty even. Neither Lee, nor Alex, gave their best performance, but both were still very good. Unless there are some real stinkers later, tomorrow’s results show is going to be dramatic like whoa.
Tim Urban, “Hallelujah”: That hair. That Boogie Nights hair. Whatever you do, Tim, don’t ever cut that hair. Ok, what is this? This is good! How can this be? It’s official. Tomorrow night is going to be ba-na-nas! Tim is like the male Didi. Last week at this time, I was sure they were both toast. This week, they’ve given two of the best performances out of both days combined. This song is super risky, but Tim managed to pull it off. I’m not sure how he did it, but he did it. If he made it through the last two weeks with ‘horrible’ and then ‘pretty good’ performances, he seems sure to make it through after a much one. Right?
Andrew Garcia, “Genie in a Bottle”: Oh dear. I may have officially lost hope in Andrew Garcia. He had almost a month to give us something as good as “Straight Up,” and it didn’t happen. And Simon hit the unfortunate nail on the head when he called Andrew’s performance ‘desperate.’ It felt like he was just following the same formula as “Straight Up” and expecting it to work. This lackluster performance only further complicates tonight’s voting scenario. Andrew’s performance has certainly been the weakest thus far, but is there really any realistic scenario in which Andrew is NOT a part of the Top 12? Possibly.
Casey James, “You’ll Think of Me”: I’m really struggling with Casey. He’s sort of turning into Idol furniture for me. Whenever Ryan announces that he’s next, it’s just like, “Oh yeah - him.” Am I the only one? His performance is pretty much like any other Idol performance of a Keith Urban song? Too slow and lame. Two weeks ago, Andrew and Casey were probably the frontrunners amongst the fellas. Tonight, they’ve clocked in with the two weakest performances of the night. And there are only three guys left.
Aaron Kelly, “I’m Already There”: Again, I feel like I’m in a party of one here. Am I the only one that hates this song? Even Simon apparently likes this “beautiful” song! Whagga Whaa??? One of the lyrics in this song is “I’m your imaginary friend.” I simply can’t get behind that kind of ridiculousness. Randy and Simon loved this. I, on the other hand, did not. Not at all. I don’t think Aaron has any idea what he’s doing with the lower part of his voice, and I hate to agree with Kara (I really do!), but she’s right about it being totally freaking weird that he is a sixteen year-old kid singing about calling his kids and telling them he’s the ‘whisper in the wind’ and their ‘imaginary friend.’ It’s just so…ew. The performance got better once Aaron got up off the stool and started pointing to Jesus. He’s almost always better on the chorus than the verse, a fact that is directly related to his age. I think he has a hard time connecting to the words in the verses. That being said, I think he’s been strong enough, and shrugged his shoulders enough, to make it on to the big boy’s stage.
Todrick Hall, “Somebody To Love”: If I was choosing Todrick’s songs, I would’ve gone with “Where is the Love?” This guy hasn’t been able to catch a break up to this point. He didn’t do anything funky with the arrangement, this week, so that should please the judges. I’m sure they’ll still hate it, somehow. Randy, Ellen and Kara all give him moderate props, even if Kara does call his performance the dreaded ‘D’ word: Dramatic. Simon’s comments for Todrick have made an already confusing evening, even more of a head-scratcher. First, Simon tells Todrick that he’s better off a Broadway star. That’s generally a complete kiss of death. But then, he tells him that he may have done enough to squeeze into the Top 12, after all. I have no clue what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I expect some tears. I demand them.
Michael Lynche, “This Woman’s Work”: Nothing I can say will do this justice. It was, in my opinion, one of the best performances Idol has ever seen. I absolutely love this song, first of all, and Michael completely reinvented the tune and sang it beautifully. His falsetto opening (and closing) seemed effortless, but the true highlight of this performance was in the middle. When Big Mike started belting his heart out and stomping around that stage like Donkey Kong on crack, I knew we had one helluva performance here. It was just flawless. Watch out, Bowersox!
Let’s see, am I forgetting anything? Did anything else of note happen tonight? Hmm…I don’t think so. Oh yes, that’s right. There was that tiny, insignificant moment when Kara had a total freaking meltdown! Now, I was as moved as Michael’s performance as the next guy or gal – and I certainly have been known to shed a tear a two over reality TV on occasion – but Kara needs to get a friggen grip.
I wish I could be a fly on the wall of Paula Abdul’s padded bedroom when she watches Kara attempt to steal her entire existence. It all started with the uber-obvious flirting with Simon. Tonight, though, she reached all new lows heights. She even threw in some semi-lucid handclapping whereby the two hands don’t exactly meet in the center and they sort of fall past each other. It’s hard to explain. But it looks CRAZY!
It’s the end of the recap, which means it’s time for my predictions. (Pause. Pause. Pause.) I’m really having a hard time here. Michael Lynche was clearly the best tonight – by a mile – but two guys have to hit the road. I’m going with Casey and Todrick. I have a feeling Casey might pull a Michele Delamor and just sort of disappear. Andrew was worse than Todrick tonight, but I just can’t image a Top 12 without him. I think America will give him one more shot.
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