I didn’t get to start the show until about 8 P.M. (Central), so sorry for the delay. In my business I missed the “controversy” regarding Crystal Bowersox and whether or not she’d be able to perform tonight. I can say with the utmost confidence that the producers knew well before Ryan’s official announcement about 15 minutes before the show started that Crystal would be performing, but they in classic Idol fashion, they milked it for all it was worth. Stay classy, Idol.
Pre-show Judge Banter: ”The guys were hot last night… I’m hoping the girls show up like that,” says Randy. ”Song choice is everything. I once sang “Who Let the Dogs Out” at my grandma’s funeral; wrong song choice,” says Ellen. Since Paula is gone, the show is trying to stage some annoying love affair between Kara and Simon. *Sarcastic laughter*. ”This to me is more important than last week.. you’ve got to show that you can deal with the pressure,” says Simon.
Crystal Bowersox- “As Long As I See the Light” by Creedance Clearwater Revival- Crystal has a twin brother named Carl, whom she calls a square. That’s nice, Crystal. I like Crystal’s personality quite a bit. Crystal says she used to perform on the Chicago subway, and she doubts Simon has ever ridden a subway. True that. Crystal takin’ it to church tonight! I admire that she’s said next to nothing about her time in the hospital. I HATE the sympathy card. This is much better than last week; she actually stands out with this song. Crystal should infuse this much blues and soul in every performance. ”You are the truth, you do what you do. I don’t care if you’re still that girl in 50 weeks, I LOVE THAT GIRL,” says Randy. ”That is pure, raw, natural talent. I’m so glad you’re hear today, we need you here,” says Ellen. ”You completely recovered from last week, this is who you are. It was effortless, centered, and focused. You hit a new level,” says Kara. ”What’s great about you is that you didn’t play the whole sympathy thing. I completely ‘misunderestimated’ you (alright, Dubya). This is like the moment we had with Kelly Clarkson where we realized we had a serious artist,” says Simon. A-
Haeley Vaughn- “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus- Haeley makes her headbands. Coooool. Haeley seems like a sweet girl, but everything about her annoys; even the spelling fail in her name (Haeley? That just looks wrong.). I like her spunk, I guess, but this is not for her. By this I mean being on my TV. Gosh, she is like a giant vortex of suck tonight. I mean Haeley needs to understand that just because she can physically make herself hit, and I use that term VERY lightly, those notes, doesn’t mean they should be hit. There is nothing pleasant about her voice. It literally hurts my head. Splitting headache. ”It didn’t work for me, that was excruciating. So pitchy, so just not right. No connection,” says Randy. ”Don’t ever stop smiling, and you’re adorable. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel you connected with that song,” says Ellen. ”You’re like Alex Lambert. People are rooting for you. You’re real, you’re a really good performer. You a year of strengthening your instrument,” says Kara. ”It was a complete and utter mess. In theory it should have worked. There’s a certain irony about you singing about climbing when you actually fell off,” says Simon. F
Lacey Brown- “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer- Lacey is such a nice girl, I really like her. Lacey enjoys restoring old furniture and antiques. She’s sorry if she bored America last week. We appreciate the sentiments, Lacey. This song totally suits Lacey, but I’m worried she might be one that’s not great at being innovative with songs. In the post-Cook/Allen era, you can’t really make it terribly far without changing things up. Regardless, this is miles better than last week. She kind of loses herself in the end, but overall it was good. ”Except for one or two moments I was looking for the words to flash across the screen like karaoke,” says Randy. ”You didn’t change it up or anything, but I thought it was adorable,” says Ellen. ”You did do some things, but you have to step it up. We’re back to Lacey,” says Kara. ”I get the feeling from you that you are more competing than trying to showcase who you are. We’re not going to remember it,” says Simon. B-
Katie Stevens- “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae- Katie says that every time she’s on TV it snows and her friends can’t all get together to watch. Yeah Katie, everytime I try and breathe it’s snowing, so I feel your pain. Katie can say “Give me a kiss” in 6 different languages. Well, good deal. Katie stresses that we shouldn’t think badly of her for being able to do that. Katie says she screams “YOU ARE AWESOME” before she performs, like the crazy lady that auditioned earlier this season. That was funny, good joke Katie. Let me be the first to say, I don’t and have never gotten the obsession with this girl. She always sounds like she’s singing out of the back of a dark cave while avoiding the guano falling from the bats overhead. I didn’t see the power the judges constantly reference. Having said that, I think this was much better than last week and there were a few moments towards the end that were really good. ”The one bright moment for me was right after the bridge when you went into your upper register. You’re at a place where you can tackle things that are more challenging melodically,” says Randy. ”I think you have a great voice.. I just want to see you be younger. I don’t want to hear something I’d hear in my dentist’s office,” says Ellen. ”I’m so frustrated because I see so much in you. At the end of the song you started opening up.. you’ve got to be doing that from the first time you open your mouth,” says Kara. ”It’s very frustrating.. You’re not telling us what kind of recording artist you want to be,” says Simon. B-
Didi Benami- “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers- Didi was the mascot for her middle school for two years before she made the cheerleading squad. Before she hits the stage she prays and meows. I really really like Didi. She’s one of my favorites; personality-wise and vocally. I’m a little concerned about the song choice though. Eh. I actually like this, I didn’t realize Didi had such a strong voice. The beginning is definitely far better than the end, where she kind of gets lost in the song. All in all, I think this was good. ”I don’t what’s going on, I would not have chosen a soul song for you. I don’t think it worked. It shows what you can’t do rather than heighten what you can,” says Randy. ”I love your voice, you have a great, great voice. You tried to stuff with it, but I don’t if that was really the greatest song choice,” says Ellen. ”It wasn’t good. You said you’re a singer-songwriter.. what I’m missing from you is consistency. It felt kind of like a karaoke bar. You lose the uniqueness of your voice when you go up to the notes like that,” says Kara. ”It sounded like a cat, it was all over the place. Bad choice of song. It’s frustrating, you get this fantastic opportunity and you do something very generic. It’s a wasted opportunity,” says Simon. Didi is struggling to keep it together after their comments, which I understand. They were too hard on her. The song choice was jank, but she did sound good for the most better. B
Michelle Delamor- “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed-Michelle says the judges asked her to take some risks, so that’s what she’s trying this week. Michelle works with kids at her churches children’s choir. She lovers them kiddies. Before every show she prays and meditates and visualizes everything she wants to do on the stage. Oooohh I like this a lot. Michelle is a really good singer, and if she continues with stuff like that she could make it far. She’s got the package deal, so my guess is we’ll see her in some form after Idol. Only problem: she missed the last note, and you can tell on her face that she knows it. ”First, the outfit is dope. You didn’t do enough with it,” says Randy (I disagree). ”You do look fabulous, I felt like you did do a lot with the song. For a few moments I forget it was a rock song,” says Ellen. ”My. Favorite. Performance. Of. Yours. Ever. It may not have been technically perfect, but you took a risk and I appreciate that. You did something very different, but you believed in it and I bought it,” says Kara. ”I thought the first half was much stronger than the second half. But I agree with Kara. You kind of got 80% of it right,” says Simon. B+
Lilly Scott- “A Change is Gonna Come” by Lilly Scott- Lilly, along with Didi and Siobhan, is one of the ones I really like this year. Lilly says she worked on trying to connect with the camera during rehearsals and start opening her eyes more. Lilly plays a load of interesting instruments that I’ve never heard of. Tonight she’s treating us to a 12-string guitar. She says she uses a throat spray before she goes on stage. This is a really captivating performance. Lilly is so unique that I can honestly say I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone like her this far in the competition, and I love that. Great performance, I loved it. ”This is the season of the most unique singers,” says Randy. Then he pronounces Bjork like “Bee-york” and I can’t stop laughing long enough to hear what else he says. ”I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but you’ve got it. I forgot this was a competition, I thought I was just a fan in a seat. Best performance of the night,” says Ellen. ”You had your first moment of the competition. I was riveted. You are going to change the game,” says Kara. ”This makes the point of how you become relevant. I wasn’t crazy about this one like the others. I thought you over sang a bit of it,” says Simon. A-
Katelyn Epperly- “The Scientist” by Coldplay- First of all, I love this song and I love Katelyn. Katelyn she’s not doing anything “super epic” this week. Before Idol she was studying to be a recording engineer and she’d like to open her own studio one day. On performance day she likes to goof off because you’re either ready or you’re not. Ooohh Katelyn’s doing it on the piano this week. I love a good piano song. Wow, Katelyn has a gorgeous voice. She’s one of my favorites as well. There are about 4 ladies that I think are awesome, and Katelyn is one of them. This is awesome, probably my favorite thus far. I don’t think I’d change anything about that. I hope Katelyn stays for a long, long time. ”I really liked it. It was way slow, but it was great until the last couple of notes. I really liked it,” says Randy. ”I liked that were playing guitar… err… piano. (Alright Paula). It was so slow.. way too slow. Too slow,” says Ellen. ”I understand what they’re saying, but I kind of love you. You have an incredible instrument, and you’re all over the place, but you’re really good. Seriously good. Figure out who you are though,” says Kara. ”I thought it was a smart choice of song. You’ve become quite corny when you perform, but it was a million times better than last week,” says Simon. I disagree with the judges wholeheartedly; KATELYN WAS AWESOME. A+
Paige Miles- “Walk Away” by Kelly Clarkson- Woah Paige, picking a Kelly song. That’s bold. Paige demands water because her throat is very dry. Haha. Paige likes to color, which is… cool. I feel bad for Paige because we don’t really know her personality so this is interview package is weird. I hate the backing music for this, it sounds like the 99 cent midi-tone you download for your phone’s ringtone. Vocally, though, Paige is really good. I don’t think she’s the best like Simon said last week, but she’s really talented vocally. Except for a little botched run at the end, that was really solid. Paige’s problem is showing us who she is in with such a lack of background screen time. ”I liked it.. I wasn’t over the top in love with it. There are so many words, so it was hard to really hear your voice. I want to hear you hit the big notes,” says Randy. ”I totally disagree with Randy. I loved it. I liked everything you did with it.. Everyone needs to remember to HAVE FUN,” says Ellen. ”The song is kind of a bit angry. I think you missed the reason I wrote the song. There were some moments where it went off, but I liked it,” says Kara. ”I’m going to agree with Randy. Two weeks in a row you have failed to choose the right song for you. It’s frustrating because you have such a strong voice. Next week, if you’re here, you’ve got to come in and put your marker down,” says Simon. B
Siobhan Magnus- “Think” by Aretha Franklin- I love Siobhan. She’s so exciting, yet so calm and relaxed. She’s so strange and I think it’s awesome. Siobhan says she’s going to focus on singing her heart and not focusing on the technicalities. Siobhan had a mohawk about a year and a half ago. I love this video package, Siobhan is starting to kind of show a personality. This is awesome. She agrees with Simon that she’s not predictable. It kills me how much personality she has during performances compared to how little she usually has during interviews. Siobhan MAY have started too high tonight, but overall it’s really throughout. Good gosh almighty, the last note she hit was UNREAL. I’ve been looking forward to Siobhan all night and she did not disappoint. ”You picked the dopest singer.. You are so bold, so fearless. I loved it. You slayed it,” says Randy. ”I loved it too! Man that was good,” says Ellen. ”I can’t get over that note. I don’t know how you do that,” says Kara. Siobhan thanks Kelly Clarkson because she figured out how to hit those notes singing along to Kelly Clarkson. ”You’re such a strange person. There were parts that were terrible, but that note was incredible. You’re interesting and very very talented,” says Simon. Siobhan is my new favorite. Probably my favorite since Carly Smithson two years ago. Wow. A+
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Thanks for reading!
Rick
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