American Idol: The Judges Choice and my picks....

Today the Idols went back to their hometowns for their superstar treatment. As opposed when they are eliminated and go back as losers with no looking at them and going back to work bagging grocery's (Yes I'm talking about you Charles Grigsby.) This happens every year and at this point the Idol will find out in public which judge picked the song they have to perform next week and which song it is. Except for last year in previous years on final three night they would have to do three songs. One the judges pick, the second was the contestants pick, and the third would be Clive Davis pick but since he can only come out from his crypt at night and he always choose something like "Open Arms" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" I think they've decided just to make it two songs for this week.

These are always very important picks Kris Allen won the competition last year by smartly choosing Kayne West's "Heartless" and Simon gave Katharine McPhee the moment of Season 5 by giving her "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to sing. So let's see what contestant had what judge and what song did the judge pick for them to do next week and my thoughts on the song.

CASEY JAMES

Judges: Randy & Kara as they share the same brain.

Judges Song Pick: "Daughters" by John Mayer

As much as I hate this song and I think this was chosen because of the stupid overdone joke about Casey and Cougars I think this is a great song for Casey. Casey is at his worst when he does bar songs (which I'm sure is going to be his pick) and he's had his moments doing softer songs that show his sensitive side i.e. Jealous Guy, Better, Mrs. Robinson. So with him singing this I think he's going to be able to give us the side of Casey that we connect to.

LEE DeWYZE

Judge: Simon (At this point is when I think the show is pimping Lee because Simon usually gets the person that he wants to win i.e. Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Adam Lambert notice a trend here.)

Judges Song Pick: "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen

Honestly as popular as this song is and heck it's such a great song it even got Tim Urban into the top 12 I think this was a lazy choice. Simon used this song for one of the winners of the British X-Factor, his group Il Divo recorded a version of it and Jason Castro did this two years ago. This is the type of song that no matter how Lee sings it he's going to make the top 2. I expect him to have some great moments with it and his tone will sound nice and he'll be allowed to hide his lack of personality but I'm sure we'll here the pitch problems he's had on every single song he's done on Idol.

CRYSTAL BOWERSOX

Judge: Ellen

Judges Song Pick: "Maybe I’m Amazed" by Paul McCartney

At first I was worried when I heard this was the song as it's very gender specific type of song. However I then listened to a few different versions and think this is the best song pick of the three. It hasn't been done before and I can see Crystal adding blues riffs into this song to make it special. Unlike the other two songs which are filled with emotion that you have to bottle up this is going to give Crystal a chance to let it out and could really be the Idol moment we've been begging for.

Well those are the Judges picks. The contestants then have to pick a song either past or present that they feel represents them the best way. This is where it gets tricky last year Kris Allen was smart enough to chose a contemporary song you would never have expected him to sing like "Heartless" and gave him the chance to hit his peak at just the right moment. The two front runners Danny chose "You Are So Beautiful" and Adam chose "Cryin" two great old songs that made them seem less then current and I think is the reason they ended up losing the show (that and many other reasons.)

If I was the Idols and had a chance to pick anything in the world to sing I would go with:

Casey James: "I Need you Now" by Lady Antebellum or Spinning Wheel by the The Allman Brothers - I know it's a duet but it's a well known song that would allow Casey to show his popular emotional side but also allow him to rock it out a bit.

Lee DeWyze - Either "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's or something from the Dave Matthews Band. Songs that can play up to the female voters and show a sensitive side of Lee that aren't vocally difficult.

Crystal Bowersox - I would love to hear Crystal sing "Bring Me Some Water" by Melissa Ethridge, "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon, or "One of Us" by Joan Osbourn. I think Crystal should look for songs that she can let loose that blues rocker that we love about her.

At this point there is no room for a mistake the singers have to stay true to themselves however make it accessible to the voters and show people they can have a career after Idol. No pressure.

American Idol Top 4 - "Let's go to the Movies"

Sorry this took so long but when the excitement of the night turns out to be a song from Caddyshack you know your in trouble! About two columns ago I predicted that the singers would get standards and Movie theme. I've decided to play the lotto this week as I now have the power of seeing into the future. Seriously out of nine seasons the only repeated themes that we did not get this year was disco and songs from the year they were born. I really wish that next year with everyone jumping ship they decided to do a year of themes never before done on Idol. I think themes of One Hit Wonders, The Songs from Hair bands, Song from Current Broadway shows, Songs on the radio this year would be much better choices the what we've gotten this season. Anyway tonight is songs from a movie and a little secret I haven't told my reader is that this year after each week's performances they announce the song list that the contestants can choose from for the next week. So I run down the list and think which song will so and so pick and which song is there just for a joke. Movie Night's theme had these classic winners and death marches: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, A Whole New World, Arthur’s Theme, Beauty and the Beast, Bohemian Rhapsody, Danger Zone, Don’t You Forget About Me, Evergreen, Eye of the Tiger, Footloose, Gangsta’s Paradise, Ghostbusters, Jai Ho, Let the River run, Lose Yourself – Eminem, One Night Only, Purple Rain, Separate Lives, Superfly, Up Where We Belong, We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) just to name a few. I can't understand how anyone presented with a list like that could ignore the moment of the season a song like "Purple Rain" could have provided. Some songs have to be jokes Lose Yourself, Jai Ho, Ghostbusters????? But there were songs on the list that would have been better the what these kids sang tonight. So with that said let's see how they did.

Lee DeWyze A Kiss from a Rose (from Batman) - You know I think people forgot how easy a song Seal and the studio made this sound. This is a song that you need someone completely in control of what they can do with their voice. They have to be able to move easily from their low, middle, and high range in a second and Lee just isn't able to do that. Lee hasn't been able to do in a single performance on much easier songs so as soon as I heard he was ding this I knew this was going to be a disaster and I was right. It's funny though after watching it back I realized this was the first time that Lee worked the camera. He looked up, smiled, used his eyes, I think he has spent so much time working on that he didn't bother with the notes. It was probably one of the worst vocal performances of many a season but I thought that he did a great job with his performance skills so it felt like a seesaw.

Michael Lynch Will You Be There (Free Willy) - His opening speech made me think that he was pandering for votes. His video made me think that this was his first time singing and his performance made me think that I should have thought this was a moment but was just a desperate please to stay in the competition. He seemed ahead of the music at one point but had some nice notes (note) in there but the song is about emotion and Mike has issues with that. It just felt like it was a so what performance that I had to watch twice to even remember it. I did remember Jennifer Hudson sang this at Michael Jackson's memorial and that was moving this was blah.

Crystal Bowersox & Lee DeWyze Falling So Slowly (Once) - I bet my sister Julie a diet coke that they were going to sing this song. Yay for me!!! This song just got them into the top 2. I love this song, I loved Kris Allen's version last year and I loved this version too just not as much as Kris's. I think it was a great song choice for them though I didnt care for the face to face because the standing was a little odd but it was smart enough that it kept the camera on them the entire time. There were times I thought Lee tried to overpower Crystal a bit but I think Crystal understood that there are some songs you just don't overpower and sang it softy and achieved more from it without powering though it. Also did you notice that when the judges were giving their comments Lee kept lifting his guitar in front of Crystal and she kept having to push it down.

Casey James "Mrs. Robinson" (The Graduate) - On the internet I've seen Casey has a fan base called Cougars for Casey and I think that was the reason he picked this song. He wanted them to get out and vote for him this week and since I'm already posting late it was obvious that worked in his favor. With that said I thought this was an interesting arrangement of the song. It was nice, and even parts were moving I just didn't think it was a wow type of performance. It was probably the best male solo of the night but on another night would have easily sent him home. What I think helped him is with Mike's song we expected that out of him and the pandering for the votes was a turn off with Casey I got the feeling he was trying something for himself and at this pint that does mean something.

Crystal Bowersox "I'm Alright" (Caddyshack) - I was hugely disappointed that Crystal didn't try "Purple Rain" since it was on the list and I think she would have killed that. I thought this was simply amazing. Crystal took a fun upbeat song that everyone knows and has a good time with but no one thinks of as a song to use in a competition and made it completely her own and tied it in with her Idol journey. I felt like she even confronted her feelings toward Idol with the lyrics ''I do what I like, doing it naturally/ But if it's too easy, then they're gonna disagree/ Who do you want, who's it gonna be today?/ And who is it really makin' up your mind?'' This was taking a song that felt like it was put on the list as a joke song and Crystal being the blues singer star that she is was able to make it sound like a hit song.

Casey James & Michael Lynch "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" (Don Juan De Marco) - This is the song that every straight guy seems to sing to impress a woman because it's romantic and shows the emotional side (which makes me wonder why Casey is singing it.) I worry for the two of them because this was the song that killed Matt Giraud last year right before the judges save. I like that they start the song right in front of the audience bringing it closer to home then Lee and Crystal did but there's something just not right with it. I thought as a duet type of song they should have gone bigger since both their solo songs were low key. It would have been smarter on their parts to finish the night off with a bombastic type of duet to remind us why they're still there. This felt like a smoke break and I don't even smoke.

All in all I don't understand on Movie Night Theme the best they could come up were songs from Batman, Caddyshack, Don Juan, and Free Willy!! I also thought it was interesting that on results show it felt like Idol was hammering home to the remaining contestants that they really have to step out of their box and perform like their life depended on it because at this point I feel like all of them are on the show to be themselves and nothing more.

On Friday They will annouce the judges pick for each of them which usually means each judge gets to pick a song for the contestant to sing. Whoever gets Simon gets the golden ticket. As he picked "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for Katharine McPhee, "On the Radio" for Vonzell, and One for Adam Lambert. It used to be whoever had Paula had the song of death so I'm interested to see who gets what and from who.

I can't wait to see what the judges pick for the final three. I'm thinking Crystal is going to get a little Melissa Etheridge, Lee will get a Creed song and Casey will get something to do with Penguins, remember when poor Syesha Mercado had to sing Hit Him Up from Happy Feet because the judges wanted her out and then they spent the time complaining about the song choice that they picked for her. I'm thinking for Casey they're going to give him a kiss of death song and then complain about how he performed it.

TOP 5 Sing Frand Sinatra: They did it their Way---Why????

You know it's a lackluster season when at 12:27 you just start typing your review of tonight's show. Actually it's not like I couldn't have written the review a few days ago. Heck I even predicted last week that they would be doing standards soon. Wait, I'm sorry not Standards but "Songs from the Frank Sinatra collection" otherwise known as, he must have a CD out soon.

I then went and did some work which was yet another sad thought. I would prefer doing actual work then watch four guys devoid of life and personality and one really good performer. What was worse was the fear of knowing that most of the musical vocabulary consisted of songs that were either played at your local elevator or would be better served with a bowel of peanuts and lots of beers. I was really worried that they would be out of their comfort (????) zone tonight and sing songs that require rhythm, melody, more interpretation that a fist bump, and a huge level of staying on pitch. I was also scared when I heard that they weren't allowed to play an instrument tonight. I felt like that was cutting of those poor musicians arms which in turn, I would have gladly offered my ears to be cut off. Actually with the amount of bad singing this season maybe I should have had my ears cut off since January.

I was glad to see Harry Connick Jr. really going out and helping the kids with arrangements, accompanying them, humor to get them at ease and if he then happen to be able to get a bunch of screen time then all win. So on with the show. Now I've seen the list that they were allowed to pick from and regardless of the performance I will still throw out the song I fell he/she should have sang tonight.

Aaron Kelly – "Fly Me to the Moon" From the start of this I could tell it was doomed. He was pitchy, looked uncomfortable, and turned on the same generic pop gestures he does in every song. I could tell when he was going to move and when he was going to pull the one arm back and he took out the coolness of the song and that's what this song is all about. I know he want's to be country boy and I've even heard that he a "high school student" but he should have picked something youthful and fun like "Somethin' Stupid" which he could have fun with and not try to sound like he was singing for his deaf grandfather (the lucky one.)

Casey James – "Blue Skies" – Must be some friend who didn't know that Casey was on American Idol. I wonder though if that's going to cost him votes because it seemed like he was knocking the show. Maybe I've just seen too many conspiracy theory movies? However to add to that last theory I think thanks to this performance this will be Casey's last week. He looked like he was forced to sing this song and looked excited when he finished it. He sounded like he had more pitch problems then Lee and that's never a good sign. I guess in Casey's world we either get the rock band bar type of performance or the sensitive acoustic guy. The problem is the audience doesn't seem to car for rock band performance and at this stage I think it could be fatale. It's sad because my choice would have been "As Time Goes By" or "You Do Something to Me."

Crystal Bowersox – "Summer Wind" – The first thing that I know is on everyone's mind is Crystal looks incredible tonight. A much better look then last weeks magenta attack. I love that she starts he song sitting at the piano with Harry because it gives it a whimsical feel to it. The only problem though is due to the constraints of the gown Crystal is not able to get there fast enough so she starts behind the music and I think she's thrown off. I think by the middle and end she's Crystal again. I love the song however it's not a wow type of song and with the show pushing Lee, Crystal really needs to put a little bit of diva in her performance and songs. I think she would have killed on "My Funny Valentine", "I've Got a Crush on You", or even "One for My Baby" (that would have been perfect!)

Mike Lynche – "The Way You Look Tonight" – I have to hand it to Mike. He knows what he wants and he'll play by all the rules in hope of getting there. I had a strong feeling he was going to do this song and even look that particular way, though he could have also just as easily scored with "My Funny Valentine," or "I've Got You Under my Skin". Though it's funny because Mike has swagger to spare, even too much and could have easily done Aaron's song. I think he's playing the safest game but also the smartest. He sounded great and let his voice just flow all over that song. I hate to say this but I think he's safe this week.

I love right before they cut to commercial they show Lee DeWyze and he still can't look natural. He looks like he's going into a courtroom.

Lee DeWyze – "That’s Life" – I almost wondered if Harry steered Lee to this song because he sounds great and is more relaxed then I've EVER seen him. I think he benefits by being right next to someone so the attention isn't entirely focused on him. He then moves away and he comes to life. It's like he finally achieved some confidence. Sure it took top 5 and it was for one forty five seconds but those are all quips. His tone works beautifully for this type of music but that was a no-brainer. There is a moment where it seemed everyone got lost including he band but it was a decent performance. I think it was a great song choice though I would have really liked him to sing "My Kind of Town" vocally and I think it would have been in the right direction of a challenge for him to see the song.

Okay after hearing the judges when Lee was done you would have thought he was the second coming. You know I get the appeal and why the judges love Lee. He's young, mid-west all American boy, non-threatening rebel, straight guitar player that looks like he's got that indi vibe with a similar to very popular, very rich, and very generic Creed. All the bad notes that are ALWAYS there can easily be auto tuned and in the right lighting in a music video he'll look better and at least 10lbs thinner. The problem is the man has NO PERSONALITY!!!!!!!! Interviews with him will be like teeth pulled. I know I've said this before but he stands there like he's up against the wall in a tense moment and he has to pass gas. However I'm starting to get the feeling it's him, Crystal and possibly Aaron Kelly final three.

With that said my pick for the bottom two will be Casey James, and high school Student Aaron Kelly and I think Casey James will be able to play in that mediocre, off the highway bar with coupons on the all you can eat buffet.

I will give this weeks top picture to Mike Lynch. Mike you should be proud of yourself. You sang on key, stayed awake on stage, picked a good song, dressed the part tonight (though the fedora couldn't have been more predictable.) I was equally impressed and proud of the lack of finger pointing, chest pounding, lips puffed, and smug looks on his face and I thought his wife appeared slightly less annoying tonight. At least keep up the good work this week and then you can go.

On Wednesdays show we get to see Harry Connick show everyone how it's done and we're going to get an extra special performance from someone who has nothing to do with Sinatra but it's Lady Gaga and this probably was the only night she was free. Wouldn't it have been AMAZING if this weeks theme had been GaGa instead. I'm sure with this group it would have been a massacre but at least it would have been like driving by a crash site.

Steven