This has certainly been the week for Idol drama. There's been so much behind the scenes drama this week you would have thought that Paula was still on the show. For those who didn't hear the girls were supposed to perform on Tuesday night but word got around that one of them was sick enough to be in the Hospital. Crystal Bowersox, one of the best girls and considered to be one of the front runners to win was taken to emergency room on Tuesday Morning do to complications for having Type I Diabetes. In an unprecedented move Idol switched the kids around and had the boys perform on Tuesday night and the girls on Wednesday this week only. I was asked by a fan (thanks Mondo) what I thought about this bending of the rules. Honestly I was fine with this decision and really didn't think they did this just for Crystal . It was still in the semi finals and luckily it gave her an extra day to recover from a serious illness. I'd rather have had that then her going into a seizure or worse on Tuesday. If she had only a cold or wasn't feeling well then I would have had a problem but being in the hospital her condition was a lot more serious this time. It will be a different story when they enter the top 12 and can't really switch the days but at this time I didn't have a problem with it. Also it's not really like the boys would suddenly have gotten better if they went on the night they were supposed to.
Okay, on with the show. Ryan walks a very pale tired looking Crystal to the front and addresses the issue without giving away a lot of detail and she lets him know she's a tough cookie. Then the show starts.
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX “As Long As I See The Light” by Creedence Clearwater - Standing center stage I can't stop thinking that Crystal looks like a young Jodie Foster. I think that there was so much drama behind this that in a way made this performance an Idol moment. Looking pale and tired Crystal came out behind her guitar and bared her soul for us. I didn't know the song but I felt the emotion pouring out of Crystal and that strong everyday woman's voice. She reminds me a little of Bo Bice and a little Taylor Hicks as I think she has this southern soul in her that there really is no one like her out there. I don't know how current she could be but there are women like Patty Griffin, Lily Allen, Nellie McKay who do very well for themselves in that style of singing.
HAELEY VAUGHN – “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus - In her interview clip, I thought she was like able even while being annoying. Haeley's smile could almost make you forget how bad her upper range is. That is until she decided to use it in song and show us that she really loves to use it, and use it loud . I was worried when I heard she was doing this song because this amazing song even seems to give Miley trouble when she does it live. I felt she didn't know how to deliver the song, which could have been nerves since she wasn't able to hide behind her guitar. She had a LOT of problems during that song with the lower stuff and then when she got to the top part of the song she was yelling flat notes that could really put her in danger this week.
LACEY BROWN – “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer – Lacy looks so much like 1st season contestant Nikki McKibben. She has stunning eyes that I think along with her quirky personality are the only reason she is still in the competition. I didn't think her "Landslide" from last week was so awful but just done in with an overpowered band and a case of the nerves. I think this song was much better then last week, however Lacey's tone was too similar to the original. Another issues I had was it seemed like when it mattered on the song she was on key and sounding great but on the parts of the song she was flat and out of breath. I think she has a distinct sound to her voice but not really much of a singing voice. I always hear a lot of bum notes, lack of breath support and her going flat a lot. She's someone who you would really need to autotune her voice to get it record nicely but when she sings live it's Taylor Swift.
KATIE STEVENS – “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae – I'm so glad that she ditched the black dress red belt outfit that was from the final of Glee. I thought last week I was watching the finale to Glee instead of Idol. It's interesting that you find out during these video clips that Katie Steven knows how to say kiss me in 6 languages. Who knew that Katie was such a slut? You know I'm always tired of these "what you don't know about me" clips. It's not like anyone is going to say that they like S/M bondage, water boarding, or crack cocaine. Sorry, I forgot that this was about Katie. I get the impression that Katie is used to pageants, talent shows, choir, and all those public performances. She probably comes out and sings a song that older people like and performs well but not great. This was adequate performance. The song is nice but not a knockout handled by her and it leaves you with a why attitude? I get that Katie is cute, I get that everyone likes her, but what I don't get is any excitement from her. Also I'm shocked she can't be smart enough to pick a Demi Lovato or Selena Gomez song.
DIDI BENAMI – “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers – I liked this a lot better then the judges did and thought they were unjustly harsh on her. Didi started off with a jazzy take to this classic. I also loved how confident she looked and didn't give us the standard belted version of this song. I thought that she made the song work for her distinct voice and built the performance up in an original way. I think between last week and this week the judges have been unfair with her and are missing what is special about this girl. I think what Didi's problem is that with Crystal and Lily she's coming across as the third wheel and I wonder if she's ever going to be able to do something that the judges like (well, that is until they decide to compliment her knowing it'll get her voted off).
MICHELLE DELAMORE – “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed - She's doing Creed???? I feel like that should be the entire review. I will say that I loved the gloves but I'm not sure about the curtains that she's using as a skirt. She does remind me of Leona Lewis. I do like Michelle. I like that since we have so many folk/country singers there's still a diva. The problem with her is that it's the same thing it was with Lil Rounds. It sometimes feels like we're settling for her as a diva. I did think she started the song beautifully. I loved the breathy sound she brought at the beginning and I thought she was doing really well. Until she lost it in the middle and went from some weird strained notes out to that final big note that just cracked all over the place and you could see the look on her face after it was done. I applaud her for picking a song like this. I think she was able to start it out well but then in the middle of it is when she lost it. It really needed a throaty belt that she just doesn't have in her voice.
LILLY SCOTT – “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke - At first I couldn't warm up to Idol's version of a hippie Tina Yothers but tonight I fell in love. I know some people still haven't gotten her. My partner George still doesn't get her. I got her tonight and don't want to let go. I think she is the American Idol version of Courtney Love. There is something so arresting about her that I can't take my eyes off of her when she's performing. It's funny usually this is done by an exciting power belter with the message belted to the rafters. I think Lilly is the first person I've seen who flipped this song into more of a personal message song about yourself and didn't have to do the belting. She doesn't have the biggest voice on the show but she can build a performance. Also on the sheer force of her confidence she's able to stand out from the others and she makes an impression. I think she's fearless.
KATELYN EPPERLY – “The Scientist” by Coldplay - Isn't it funny that a contestant that you never really thought anything of, all of a sudden comes out of the nowhere and blows you away with her voice, performance, delivery. In other words her. Katelyn is that type of contestant. I like that she has that surprise factor in her that keeps you guessing. It's the type that wins these type of shows. I think she's very assured and knows herself as a singer and as a performer and delivers. She looked sensational tonight and I thought she worked an amazing amount of emotion behind that piano to us. This was almost at a level that you would see an established star performing at an awards show and then getting standing ovation. I even loved the tempo of the arrangement I thought this was FANTASTIC!!!!
PAIGE MILES – “Walk Away” by Kelly Clarkson - I think it's sad that she's selling herself more as a comedian/actress then a singer because she does have a good voice. I don't see this best voice of the girls but she does have a good voice. It does make me nervous when I hear someone is doing a Kelly song on Idol because for Lisa Tucker and Todrick Hall it wasn't pretty. She was eliminated and he was ripped to shreds. I think Paige is playing it smart because she chose a Clarkson song that is good but not one of her huge hits that's so identified with her voice that Paige would pale in comparison. Paige sings it decent, I guess but I don't think anything is exciting about it. There's nothing special about this performance enough to make me go want to vote for her. She just moves around a lot with a stupid smile on her face. I feel like during gospel part of the song she's giving us white bread fluff when Kelly gave us a sermon. Also she noticeably misses the big note in the middle of the song. She tries to hit it but is way under and doesn't put anything in the notes that she does hit. I like Paige but I'm starting to believe that she doesn't have anything special in her to nail a performance that will leave us talking about it the next day.
SIOBHAN MAGNUS – “Think” by Aretha Franklin - I can't get over how much she looks like Ally Sheedy in "The Breakfast Club" tonight. I have to say while watching her video package I think they're edited her to look like she has a personality because she usually so blah. In her package she's coming across as fun, cute, and nutty. It's a great package and almost like they're prepping her for a win? I would never have pictured her with a Mohawk but it makes me think of what songs she might pick in the future. Siobhan comes out and misses the start of the song (which she also did last week.) I have to say though she's injecting a ton of personality into this performance and her voice sounds fantastic reminding me a little bit of Kelly Clarkson. She has this diva voice in the body of Heather Matarazzo's (Roseanne). It's hard to believe that last week she gave us "Wicked Game" and this week its "Think" which makes me a little worried that she doesn't know what kind of artist she wants to be. However, she actually reminds me a bit of Adam Lambert as a singer and I wonder if she could pick up his fan base. I hope her confidence grows during the competition and she turns into this seasons powerbelter. She had some iffy stuff during the fast parts but her voice sounded great, distinct that power note was amazing.
I think its painfully obvious that the girls are just much better then the boys this year. I know it feels like I'm hammering home the obvious facts but It' just seems to me that the guys are lying down and playing dead while the girls are fighting for their lives each night. I had issues with some of the things that the girls did tonight but overall I would take anyone of them over any boy this year. I saw Lee Dwyze sitting in the audience looking uncomfortable and thought, how's he going to relax on stage when he can't even do it as an audience member?
I think if I had to leave a girl behind it would be Haley for many reasons but mostly so she can stop singing and make cheap headbands. Seriously, besides bad singing and making those god awful $1 store headbands it just gives me another reason not to vote for her. Isn't it funny with Haley that we usually end up talking about how great her personality is but everyone always ends up making fun of her vocals. Anyway, I think there were several sensational performances tonight (Crystal, Lily, and Katelyn) and some good/great performances (Siobhan, Didi, Paige) and still better then all the boys from last night, Lacey, Katie, and Michelle.
If I had to name my bottom three I would say Michelle, Haley, and Paige. I'm hoping that Haley has reached the end of her climb and Paige just walks away though Michelle does suffer from doing a crappy song, from a crappy band, with a crappy vocal. Her other strike is that she suffers from the worst obstacle on Idol. Question, when I said Michelle did you know off the top of your head who I was talking about? See what I mean. So I think she might be in danger too with Paige probably going home. I think Haley will be saved because she's like able and soon people will be trying to get rid of her. It doesn't really matter this week because next week everyone will try to remember who got sent home this past week anyway.
I am planning on recapping the elimination show even though I usually don't. Sadly I missed the chance last week to talk about Allison on Idol. (Please Go buy her CD!!!! You won't be disappointed. I have to say regarding Allison and her performance of her new single "Scars." I loved it. I thought her voice and that tone was perfection and I love her performance style. There's just something so unique about it. Sadly this week's performer is last season's 3rd place preacher Danny Gokey and I just can wait to hear him scream out a new song. Did you know he got just a full arm tattoo of his late wife's name with a cross and everything. Seriously, does he expect to get laid ever again?
StevenD
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