Hello American Idol watchers and welcome back! I think Simon summed it up best didn't he? "Tonight was not a good night." With the exception of Crystal's amazing performance, I think there probably was something to complain about in everyone else's performance. I may not have really gotten into it below and I'll explain why in a second. But first we have to talk about the SURPRISE Guest Mentor that was announced on Monday. While we tackled the #1 songs of the Billboard Hot 100 chart throughout the years our contestants have the well versed and very experienced artist teachings of 17 year old Miley Cyrus....... wait.....what? Yep, you guessed it! Miley, with all of her age-old wisdom and always on-key singing was providing the advice for the contestants. Now, granted, she definitely is appealing to the youth and that "Party in the USA" is an impossibly catchy song for all ages. I really don't know if many of the contestants could take Miley seriously even though they said all of the right things to the camera. But, she did give some decent tips at times and at least didn't take the gig too seriously herself. She acknowledged she is performing Wednesday night and could be pitchy! Good times. Plus, as I mention below, she is a cute girl and it's hard not to like her at least a little bit!
So this is it America, whoever gets booted tonight doesn't make the Summer Tour. I fear that it might not sell out this year with the lackluster talent in the Top 10 (regardless of who goes home!). So here's how I'm handling tonight's recap. With my double duties between LOST and American Idol recapping becoming quite the task for me on Tuesday nights, I am going to try something different. The 11 critiques below are brought to you via me Live Blogging as the show went on. Hopefully, you find them entertaining as I provide commentary and sometimes argue with the judges! Enjoy and then afterwards we'll do our Elimination Picks!
The Live Blog Recap
- Lee Dewyze - "The Letter" by The Boxtops - I like that Lee brought in the horn section for this song. He changed up some of the notes according to Master Miley's advice. I am definitely hearing more of his vocal chops in these performances more than his first couple. The crowd loved it, I liked it, the judges raved minus Simon (Too Corny). Since when do the contestants have to sound like a recording when they're "performing?" (Simon's beef with the song selection). I think Lee is fine this week.
- Paige Miles - "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins - The "Idol Death Song", previously performed by Katharine McPhee and Scott Savol among others. It never really pans out well for the contestants. Miley advises to watch the pitch, because she's never pitchy? Okay, I'm listening to Paige, she's already off-pitch. As I am typing this I am already writing her farewell speech. Ouch. Who is voting for this girl? Only thing that can save this performance is a big note at the end. Let's see what happens. Oh there was an attempt at a big note, but it was painful! The judges will be ruthless! Yep, they were. Loved Ellen copping out on critiquing the music. Simon says the song may have just "killed her". Now you know I'm Live Blogging, right? How about my "Idol Death Song" call?
- Tim Urban - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen - First thought is Tim singing Queen? YIKES, can he pull off Freddie Mercury? Miley likes him, we'll see! The arrangement is the actual Queen arrangement. He is trying to change a few notes in the melody here and there. Now, I think THIS is coming off a little corny (nice slide Tim). Oh, now he's gone and jumped into the crowd. I think the ladies love this guy and I am happy he made it through to this week, but I wasn't a big fan of the performance. Better than Paige though!
- Aaron Kelly - "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith - Aaron has Laryngitis and Tonsillitis, that s not a good sign! Awwww he has a crush on Miley! And she wuvs him too! He's pulling off some nice high notes during the quiet part of the song. The band has picked up and he's struggling a bit, but he's powering through. It's hard not to like this guy. Plus the girls just want to pinch his wittle bitty cheeks!! He'll be fine! Loved how the band started playing during Kara's remarks, like the Oscar speeches getting cut off! Judges pretty much raved, but Simon called him a bit old fashioned but he and I both think he's safe.
- Crystal Bowersox - "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin - Miley wanted Crystal to his some big notes. Okay, sounds good. Well, we found out the signatures on the guitar. They are all powerful and beautiful women, so Miley signs it. The best compliment I can give her is that I didn't take any time to look at the keyboard and type comments. I was entranced by the performance. She is just awesome! She's still my favorite, I'm not saying she'll definitely win but she's my favorite. Ellen wants more personality, Crystal says she has big plans for next week if she's here. Oh, I think she'll be here! Simon says he wouldn't change a thing. Love the carpet she brought with her. Ahh good times!
- Mike Lynche - "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge - Loved the bear hug Mike gave Miley. Miley had a crush for Mike. Awwww Yeah she's not giving good advice, but she's still a cutie. Hard not to like her either. There is nothing bad you can say about Big Mike's voice or his personality. He brings it all to the stage. Very solid performance, nice powerful long note in the middle. Nice falsetto at the end. He's awesome too and will be in this for awhile. The judges were kind of mixed about it. I can see why they were saying it was kind of boring. I try to think 6 weeks from now if he's doing a performance like that would he still be in the competition? I'm not sure. But I think we'll see a lot more of him.
- Andrew Garcia - "Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye - Miley suggests Andy drops the guitar. This will be 2 weeks in a row without it. I think we all made a big mistake assuming Andrew had the chops after his one performance of "Straight Up". He just seems to be missing something from every performance. I don't even know what to say about him anymore. The judges really didn't either. Nice, Simon made a similar comment to me with the us overrating him!
- Katie Stevens - "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie - Miley and Katie are the same age so Katie is hoping to get good advice. Miley says to make it her own, wow good advice. Haven't heard that before! It's a good song though, so that is good news for Katie. Can she separate from Fergie's powerful vocal? She is singing it well. My only reservation is that it seems pretty "Karaoke" as the judges would call it. Just pretty much performing the Fergie version. She did change a few notes at the end. Anything is better than Andy or Paige tonight! Randy is recycling the "I like that you're listening to us" critique. The judges mostly like that she seems a little younger.
- Casey James - "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis & the News - Casey is aiming to take advantage of the bigger stage this week. Well, he picked an awesome song from one of the best movies ever! Back to the Future baby! Miley tells Casey to work the crowd. Actually, good advice. Love that the horn section are all wearing shades. Good times. I thought Casey sang this one really well, but at the same time I am biased by the song choice. I wish he didn't cut the bridge from the arrangement though. And when did he work the crowd? I think he missed a big opportunity there to command the stage. Let's see what the judges think. Most dislike the song choice but loved the vocal. Totally disagree with Simon that the song is old fashioned. That song is timeless! But I agree it was a carbon copy besides his guitar riffs. Either way he's fine tonight.
- Didi Benami - "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt - Miley tries to help Didi be less nervous. Let's see what happens! Ricky Minor is rocking the upright bass and the shades. What is up with the shades? Definitely a different bluesier arrangement. Now, if the judges do not make one comment about this being old fashioned, are they contradicting themselves? Decent vocal performance though. People will take notice if that's worth anything. Randy - Pitchy, Ellen - Bad Song Choice, Kara - You're playing a character!, Simon - irony to screeching "You're no Good" over and over again. OUCH! They were a little more critical than I was. Maybe bottom 3 for her?
- Siobhan Magnus - "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder - Miley wants Siobhan to bring swagger to the stage. Man this girl is so weird! But she definitely can sing! Siobhan is rocking the crazy hair tonight. I think I see a little Paulie Walnuts from the Sopranos on the sides and a little Sanjaya ponyhawk on top! She does have one crazy voice. There's that high note again, a little screechier. Can she really live off of those notes until the end? I still prefer Crystal, but I'm not going to deny that this girl is an amazing singer and could be in this until the end. 3 judges rave. Simon, thankfully made comments about the crazy high notes. It was on the verge of screeching. So, every year I need one contestant to have a nickname. Siobhan is definitely looking like our candidate this year. Before I start coming up with one myself, does anyone have any suggestions!?!
Kara's "huh?" Quote of the Week (To Katie Stevens): This is the path for you. Pop with R&B Leanings! And together we say ---> HUH????
Elimination Pick
Alright kids, let's narrow it down. Super Safe: Mike, Crystal, Siobhan
Should definitely be safe: Lee, Casey, Aaron
Don't think she's going home but I wouldn't say necessarily safe: Katie Stevens
In danger: Didi
Bottom of the Barrel: Paige, Tim, Andrew
My Bottom 3 Picks: Paige Miles, Andrew Garcia, Didi Benami Bonus Pick: Tim Urban
Elimination Pick: Paige Miles - After singing the "Idol Death Song" there's only one thing that can happen. In the words of Animal from the Muppets, "GOOOOOOO BYE BYE!!!"
The performance was THAT bad, I just can't see how she'd be saved yet again. But, even with my current hot streak on the picks, it can come to a screeching halt at any time. It's crazy though, for a season that has been so hyped up on the girls being so good, it looks like they're going to start falling one at a time! I'm sure that isn't how it will go down. But, this could be a different story if Lilly and Katelyn were still in the competition. Oh well, we'll never know!
That's all I have for tonight folks. Tune in for the results to see Miley and maybe a Jonas brother perform (ooooh exciting!). I'll be there to review as always. Hope you enjoyed my different ramblings tonight and I'll see you after the results!
Ending Credits
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