This season of American Idol is not as exciting as the last two seasons have been, for me. It is not because the talent is not there, it is, but there is too much emphasis on the judges this season.
This show is supposed to be about the contestants competing against each other to win viewers over and to get them to vote for them as their favorite singer. By the time fans wade through all the commotion the judges are causing this year, we forget whether we enjoyed the contestant's performance or not.
Ellen is making an impact on the show this year, because she has that great sense of humor and her responses do not seem scripted in any way. I do not think her critiques of the contestants' performances are helping in the sense that they can take what she says and apply it to their next performance. She is merely comic relief. The real judges are not that funny anymore.
The theme last night was Lennon/McCartney, and yesterday I chose the songs I would like to see the contestants perform. Paul McCartney sent a special message to the contestants and wished them luck on their performances of his songs.
None of the contestants performed two of my favorite Beatles' songs, Hello Goodbye and All You Need is Love last night. A few of the others were, but the contestants did not sing the songs I wanted them to; others did, however.
Aaron Kelly performed The Long and Winding Road and I think he sounded as though he had a cold. He seemed to strain to reach some of the notes. I think this was a song too mature for a teenager to sing and I thought it was a little sluggish, even for a slow song. Aaron does have a unique sound to his voice and I think he was just having a bad night, which happens to all the contestants at one point.
I gave him a C for his performance and the judges agreed that the arrangement was 'sleepy'. Simon rolled his eyes at Aaron when Ryan asked him why he chose the song. Simon does not like sentimental things and I think he is too obnoxious in his critiques of the younger contestants. As a parent, I would have a problem listening to some of the things he might say to one of my teens, if mine were contestants on the show.
Katie Stevens did Let it Be and I thought she sounded pitchy, and that the song was in the wrong key for her. Each time she hit the higher notes, it sounded like she went off a little. The judges did not hear what I did with Katie's performance, because Randy thought it was her best performance ever. Simon still argues that Katie should be a country singer and Ellen insinuated that there is no way the fans will put Katie in the bottom three for the third week in a row. I am not as confident as Ellen seems to be.
I gave Katie a C for her performance as well. I felt it was what Simon calls an audition performance. I do think Katie has good vocals, but I think she has not progressed in the competition to the point she should thus far.
Andrew Garcia sang Can't Buy Me Love, and for the first time since the fans started voting, I liked Andrew's performance of the song. I did not think he should be in the top 12 based on his previous performances, but last night I felt he belonged there. I thought his vocals were good and some of that personality that his fellow contestants say he has, and that the judges think he does not have.
I gave Andrew a B+ and thought he gave the best performance so far of the night.
Michael Lynche sang Eleanor Rigby and I loved how he changed it up into a gospel, soulful song. I love his voice and like first season winner, Reuben Studdard, I do not think there will be a theme that will throw him off. Simon likened his performance to one you would hear in musicals, which I do not think is a negative comment, but Simon, as we all know by now, says that to show his disappointment in the contestant's performance. The other judges liked it, and Ellen even thought it was incredible, while Kara said it had 'fire'.
I gave Michael and A for his performance and agreed with Kara when she said it had a 'commercial' sound that would make fans want to hear Michael sing on the radio.
At this point, I had to take notice that Ryan is going overboard with his questions for the judges regarding the contestants' performances. I have repeatedly said in the past that I do not care for the backtalk the contestants give in disagreement with the judges' critiques, even if I myself do not agree with the judges. I think that Ryan doing this is inciting the contestants to say things they should not say and will make fans less likely to vote for them even if they enjoyed the performance.
Crystal Bowersox sang Come Together and she gave a perfect performance as she does week after week. The live audience cheered long and loud for Crystal and seems to be the one favored to win this season, as she should be. She is the best of both the girls and boys, as far as never having a problem with whatever theme they throw at the contestants.
I gave Crystal an A for her rendition of the Beatles' hit, and as a star, because she is definitely on her way to becoming one, with or without the American Idol title, if by a slim chance she does not win.
Tim Urban sang All My Lovin', and I always liked this song for the corny upbeat 'bubble gum' music sound that it has. I thought Tim did a fine job of the song. I think he and Michael have the best vocals of the male contestants.
The judges must have been busy on the Internet this past week, because they appeared to be sucking up to Tim after the stupid comments they made last week about how Tim is always smiling and cheerful, not understanding that the judges are telling him he did not perform well, almost every week since the beginning. I think they saw that many fans, myself included, loved Tim's response to the judges' ridiculous rants last week and they quickly did some damage control.
Simon actually told Tim that he sang the song "really well", as I did, but I think Simon did that more to lessen the anger of Tim's fans, than because he really believed it. Every season there is at least one contestant that fans know the judges do not want to remain in the competition. For unknown reasons, that contestant is Tim this season.
I gave Tim an A for his performance. It was entertaining and it I think he did sing it well.
Casey James sang the only song I was unfamiliar with, called Jealous Guy, and I still do not see what the judges, and obviously the fans, see in Casey. He does have talent, but I do not think his performance was the best of the night, or his best performance, as the judges thought. I think he has as much talent as Bo Bice did, but I think Casey believes he has more.
I gave him a B- for his performance and I think he has a set of fans that will make sure he keeps going in this competition.
Siobhan Magnus sang Across the Universe and although I do not care for this song, she did a fantastic job as she does each week. I thought it was the best performance of the entire night. Randy thought her performance was 'sleepy' but I blame the song not Siobhan for that. They do not want to give her the credit she deserves. I think Siobhan can sing Kelly Clarkson out of the water, but Simon will never admit that his first pick is not as good as some others are, such as Carrie Underwood.
I gave Siobhan an A for her performance even thought the song is boring and I never liked it.
Lee Dewyze sang Hey Jude and I love his voice and think that he will definitely get into the final. He sang it with the guitar, and although I think he is one of the best, his version of Hey Jude was a little weird for me. There was also a bagpipe player and Ellen made a joke about it saying that the guy lost his way in a parade and walked onto the American Idol stage by accident. Randy thought Lee's performance was hot but Kara pointed out a few "off moments".
I gave Lee a B for his performance, but I believe he is an "A" singer.
I think the fans will put Tim, Andrew, and either Katie or Siobhan in the bottom 3 tonight.
If I had my choice, the bottom 3 would be Casey, Andrew, and Katie, with Andrew going home. I did like Andrew's performance, but overall I believe he should not have made it this far.
David Archuleta and Rhianna will perform on tonight's American Idol results show tonight at 9 pm on Fox.
What did you think of the Lennon/McCartney performances last night?
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