The top two finalists will sing three times tonight. 1. their favorite song from the season so far. 2. selection from the American Idol producers and 3. the new song that will become their first single if they win. Crystal won the coin toss and she selected to sing second. :)
Lee's favorite song from the season was the Simon and Garfunkle's The Boxer. All season he has lacked any emotion and personality and this performance was his typical sleepwalking presentation.
Crystal's favorite song from the season was Janis Joplin's #1 smash Me and Bobby McGee. This was the perfect song choice that illustrates why Crystal has been the front-runner all season long. She has passionate vocals and she also demonstrates that she is an accomplished musician as well.
R.E.M hit #29 in 1993 with Everybody Hurts. The American Idol producers somehow thought that this sad ballad would elevate Lee DeWyze into an area that is remotely interesting, but it didn't work. The best part about this was that a large gospel choir got up on stage with him and sang loud enough to drown out his dismal vocals. He needs all the help he can get up there as he has learned nothing about showmanship in all these weeks in the competition.
Alannah Myles spent two weeks at #1 in 1990 with Black Velvet. This was a wonderful selection on the part of the producers for Crystal Bowersox. This song allowed her to showcase even more of her range and abilities. She looked great rocking a sultry little black dress and she completely owned the stage making a grand entrance down the stairs and then interacting with the crowd.
The first single released by Lee DeWyze will be Beautiful Day and he took the stage to introduce the world to it. Once again this big song was saved by the impressive orchestration that accompanied Lee's strained vocals. Much of it just came off as painful screams. Not just painful to the ears listening to it, but the pained look on Lee's face as he tried to get through the whole song. He looked totally out of place wandering aimlessly at center stage with his eyes glazed looking out into the crowd.
The first single released by Crystal Bowersox will be Up To The Mountain and she sat center stage with her guitar and shared this emotional story with the audience. It was an outstanding connection in every respect. Her voice has been great all season long, but she managed to raise it up another notch higher and sound even more pure and vulnerable. It was definitely an example of saving the best for last!
I can't really say this is a prediction, but it's clearly my preference that Crystal Bowersox becomes the Season Nine Miss American Idol winner over Lee DeWyze. She has star quality in mass quantities in comparison to his dreary drop in the bucket.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Results - Judges Choice
Perez Hilton found a video of Travis Garland online one day and now here he is performing on the American Idol stage in front of millions of people. Perez says Travis is better than Justin Timberlake, but with only his new single Believe to judge by, he's just OK. This song may grow on us over time, but it didn't make an immediate WOW impact. This really is the true test of the American Idol bump. The world will be watching the sales and airplay charts closely...
The top three finalists all get the chance of a lifetime to go back to their hometown and get treated like a rock star. They have the police stop traffic for them, stadiums filled for them and they get to perform for thousands of fans screaming for them. It's an emotional ride that will be coming to an end for one of them tonight...
Justin Bieber is a baby-faced Canadian teen idol and at just 16 years old he has scored a nomination for a 2010 Black Entertainment Television award. He's up for Best New Artist and tonight he took the American Idol stage to show off his R&B musical style. His songs are very fun and catchy and he's sure to be riding high at the top of the charts for a long time to come.
Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox will be competing next week in the finals leaving Casey James to finally be sent home for good.
The top three finalists all get the chance of a lifetime to go back to their hometown and get treated like a rock star. They have the police stop traffic for them, stadiums filled for them and they get to perform for thousands of fans screaming for them. It's an emotional ride that will be coming to an end for one of them tonight...
Justin Bieber is a baby-faced Canadian teen idol and at just 16 years old he has scored a nomination for a 2010 Black Entertainment Television award. He's up for Best New Artist and tonight he took the American Idol stage to show off his R&B musical style. His songs are very fun and catchy and he's sure to be riding high at the top of the charts for a long time to come.
Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox will be competing next week in the finals leaving Casey James to finally be sent home for good.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Top 3 sing the judges choice
The top three finalists will each sing twice tonight: one song of their choice and another selected for them by the judges.
Casey James selected OK, It's Alright With Me for himself. He explained that he feels this is the kind of song he would write for himself. It was plain, simple and bland. There was no showstopper moment and no energy in this performance.
Crystal Bowersox selected the Melissa Etheridge hit Come To My Window for herself. She used this performance to showcase what a great live performer and musician she is. She played both her guitar and her harmonica while at the same time bringing the song to life with a thoughtful interpretation of the lyrics.
Lee DeWyze selected Lynard Skynard's Simple Man for himself. This was a simple performance for the simple guy who has no desire to expand beyond being the generic rock guy that he's been all season long. He is completely unable to convey any personality or showmanship when he is on stage.
Daughters by John Mayer won the 2004 Grammy for Song of the Year and Randy and Kara selected this song for Casey James to sing. This was never a very interesting song, so it is the perfect choice for Casey who hasn't been able to do anything interesting all season. The song requires no vocal range so that was a good fit for him, but it does require an emotional connection and Casey just wasn't convincing at all.
Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney hit #10 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1977 and Ellen selected this song for Crystal Bowersox to sing. For the very first time this season a finalist has given the audience a fantastic showstopper to be excited about. Crystal put all the instruments down and just let her outstanding vocal range speak for itself. She took us with her to every high and low and made us feel amazed every step of the way.
Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah has already been performed this season by finalist Tim Urban, but that didn't stop Simon from selecting it for Lee DeWyze. To be honest, Tim's version sounded better vocally and more sincere than Lee's. What Lee had in his favor was a much bigger and more dramatic arrangement with many back-up singers and swelling instruments to cover for his lack of vocal talent. To the untrained ear, one could be fooled into believing this was a good performance, but it was all smoke and mirrors unlike the true talent that Crystal was able to deliver.
It's very clear that Lee and Crystal should be in the finals and Casey should definitely be sent home. It's more than just a prediction, it should be considered an inevitability.
Casey James selected OK, It's Alright With Me for himself. He explained that he feels this is the kind of song he would write for himself. It was plain, simple and bland. There was no showstopper moment and no energy in this performance.
Crystal Bowersox selected the Melissa Etheridge hit Come To My Window for herself. She used this performance to showcase what a great live performer and musician she is. She played both her guitar and her harmonica while at the same time bringing the song to life with a thoughtful interpretation of the lyrics.
Lee DeWyze selected Lynard Skynard's Simple Man for himself. This was a simple performance for the simple guy who has no desire to expand beyond being the generic rock guy that he's been all season long. He is completely unable to convey any personality or showmanship when he is on stage.
Daughters by John Mayer won the 2004 Grammy for Song of the Year and Randy and Kara selected this song for Casey James to sing. This was never a very interesting song, so it is the perfect choice for Casey who hasn't been able to do anything interesting all season. The song requires no vocal range so that was a good fit for him, but it does require an emotional connection and Casey just wasn't convincing at all.
Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney hit #10 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1977 and Ellen selected this song for Crystal Bowersox to sing. For the very first time this season a finalist has given the audience a fantastic showstopper to be excited about. Crystal put all the instruments down and just let her outstanding vocal range speak for itself. She took us with her to every high and low and made us feel amazed every step of the way.
Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah has already been performed this season by finalist Tim Urban, but that didn't stop Simon from selecting it for Lee DeWyze. To be honest, Tim's version sounded better vocally and more sincere than Lee's. What Lee had in his favor was a much bigger and more dramatic arrangement with many back-up singers and swelling instruments to cover for his lack of vocal talent. To the untrained ear, one could be fooled into believing this was a good performance, but it was all smoke and mirrors unlike the true talent that Crystal was able to deliver.
It's very clear that Lee and Crystal should be in the finals and Casey should definitely be sent home. It's more than just a prediction, it should be considered an inevitability.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Results - Movie Music
The Season Three Miss American Idol winner, Fantasia, has been working hard to get back on the top of the charts. Most recently she exposed her entire life in the reality show, Fantasia For Real, where we learned that she was financially supporting her entire family. The season wrapped up with the members of her family finally giving her a Thank You for all that she does for them. Tonight she returns to the American Idol stage to perform her new single, Bittersweet. It's a wonderful R&B ballad that should hopefully get a nice American Idol bump on the sales and airplay chart after this high profile performance.
Casey James is the first finalist to make it into the top three.
Chris Daughtry, The Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd runner up, refused to listen to any of the mentors that tried to work with him each week. No matter what the theme of the week was, Chris performed his standard rock song time after time. While the judges loved him, he ended up being a surprise elimination and didn't make it into the top three. When he released his first album, he showed everyone that it doesn't matter if you win or lose as it became the best selling album of the year for all of 2007. He came back to the American Idol stage tonight to sing his latest single.
Lee DeWyze is also safely taking his place in the top three.
One of the best rock bands of all time, Bon Jovi, came to the American Idol stage to sing their latest hit single, Superman Tonight. Bon Jovi has successfully evolved from 80's hair metal band to a top selling classic rock band of today.
Crystal Bowersox gets the last position in the top three leaving Michael Lynche to be sent home. He was saved by the judges and he made good use of it surviving all the way up to the final four!
So there was no surprise elimination tonight as I had predicted. So much for any excitement getting added to this season.....
Casey James is the first finalist to make it into the top three.
Chris Daughtry, The Season Five Miss American Idol 3rd runner up, refused to listen to any of the mentors that tried to work with him each week. No matter what the theme of the week was, Chris performed his standard rock song time after time. While the judges loved him, he ended up being a surprise elimination and didn't make it into the top three. When he released his first album, he showed everyone that it doesn't matter if you win or lose as it became the best selling album of the year for all of 2007. He came back to the American Idol stage tonight to sing his latest single.
Lee DeWyze is also safely taking his place in the top three.
One of the best rock bands of all time, Bon Jovi, came to the American Idol stage to sing their latest hit single, Superman Tonight. Bon Jovi has successfully evolved from 80's hair metal band to a top selling classic rock band of today.
Crystal Bowersox gets the last position in the top three leaving Michael Lynche to be sent home. He was saved by the judges and he made good use of it surviving all the way up to the final four!
So there was no surprise elimination tonight as I had predicted. So much for any excitement getting added to this season.....
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Top 4 sing Movie Music
Tonight, Jamie Foxx, the Oscar winning star of Ray and DreamGirls (in which he co-starred with Season Three Miss American Idol finalist and also an Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson) is here to work with the Top 4 as they attempt to interpret songs from the silver screen.
Seal won the 1996 Grammy for Record of the Year with his smash that hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 for one week in 1995, Kiss From A Rose. It was featured in the movie Batman Forever and Lee DeWyze sounded completely off-key and flat during this dreary performance. He is still completely lacking any personality so this was just sleep inducing instead of energizing.
Michael Jackson took Will You Be There up to #7 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1993. This inspirational gospel choir ballad is from the film Free Willy, but it didn't really give Michael Lynche a chance to truly shine. His voice is very good, but with the songs arrangement having so many layers the voice ended up getting a little buried within it all.
Falling Slowly won the 2008 Oscar for Best Original Song from the movie Once and tonight Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox joined forces to introduce it to the American Idol audience. They both faced each other as they played their guitars, but where her vocals were pristine and flawless, his were mumbled and unintelligible. Crystal did a wonderful job saving this duet from being a total disaster.
Simon and Garfunkle spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1968 with Mrs. Robinson from the movie The Graduate. Casey James sat on the edge of the stage with a ukulele and proceeded to tragically drain the life out of this fantastic song. His vocals were bland and laid back and the energy was totally lacking.
Kenny Loggins hit #7 in 1980 with I'm Alright, the theme from Caddyshack. Crystal Bowersox put on her own Lilith Fair music festival with this rousing acoustic rendition that was highlighted by her exceptional vocal range and talent. It had a fun and high energy vibe that was completely entertaining and infectious.
Bryan Adams spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1995 with Have You Ever really Loved A Woman? from the film Don Juan DeMarco. It was a dreary song back then and it was even more dreary with Casey James and Michael Lynche trying to make something of it. They also stood there with their guitars, but the song didn't allow them to really show off their voices. Casey just fumbled and once again the material let Michael down.
This is it - the night of my big and bold prediction! I see Casey and Lee being in the bottom two and the shock of the season will be that Lee is going home.
Seal won the 1996 Grammy for Record of the Year with his smash that hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 for one week in 1995, Kiss From A Rose. It was featured in the movie Batman Forever and Lee DeWyze sounded completely off-key and flat during this dreary performance. He is still completely lacking any personality so this was just sleep inducing instead of energizing.
Michael Jackson took Will You Be There up to #7 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1993. This inspirational gospel choir ballad is from the film Free Willy, but it didn't really give Michael Lynche a chance to truly shine. His voice is very good, but with the songs arrangement having so many layers the voice ended up getting a little buried within it all.
Falling Slowly won the 2008 Oscar for Best Original Song from the movie Once and tonight Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox joined forces to introduce it to the American Idol audience. They both faced each other as they played their guitars, but where her vocals were pristine and flawless, his were mumbled and unintelligible. Crystal did a wonderful job saving this duet from being a total disaster.
Simon and Garfunkle spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1968 with Mrs. Robinson from the movie The Graduate. Casey James sat on the edge of the stage with a ukulele and proceeded to tragically drain the life out of this fantastic song. His vocals were bland and laid back and the energy was totally lacking.
Kenny Loggins hit #7 in 1980 with I'm Alright, the theme from Caddyshack. Crystal Bowersox put on her own Lilith Fair music festival with this rousing acoustic rendition that was highlighted by her exceptional vocal range and talent. It had a fun and high energy vibe that was completely entertaining and infectious.
Bryan Adams spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1995 with Have You Ever really Loved A Woman? from the film Don Juan DeMarco. It was a dreary song back then and it was even more dreary with Casey James and Michael Lynche trying to make something of it. They also stood there with their guitars, but the song didn't allow them to really show off their voices. Casey just fumbled and once again the material let Michael down.
This is it - the night of my big and bold prediction! I see Casey and Lee being in the bottom two and the shock of the season will be that Lee is going home.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Results - Sinatra
The top four boys opened the show with a medley of Frank Sinatra hits. The first one was The Lady Is A Tramp and Crystal was quite noticeably absent from the performance. Thankfully, her wonderful voice and talent was saved for a grand entrance leading to the second verse. She proved once again that she's the only finalist this season with any star quality.
Lee was the first to learn that he has safely made it to the Top Four.
Lady Gaga has successfully accomplished the impossible feat of teaching millions of fans on dance floors all over the world to chant "Ra Ra ah ah ah, Roma Ramala, Ga Ga oh la la" at the top of their lungs on a repeated basis. It's amazing that her smash hit Bad Romance only peaked at #2 on the Billboard HOT 100 while it's still a huge crowd pleasing popular favorite. Tonight on the American Idol stage, Lady Gaga brought her impressive avante garde style of performance art to introduce the world to her latest single Alejandro. It's sure to be the latest in her ongoing string of hits.
This week's mentor, Harry Connick Jr., then took the stage and stepped away from the Sinatra songbook to sing a song from his latest CD. This time he is interpreting a song from another legendary songbook. The Beatles hit #12 in 1964 with And I Love Her and Harry's version was just as classic and jazzy as you would expect. The Top 5 finalists then attempted to entertain us with a medley of Harry's music, but their efforts fell flat.
Crystal and Casey are both safe leaving Michael and Aaron as the bottom two. After weeks of hoping for this to finally happen it turns out that Aaron Kelly was the lowest vote getter and we are finally through listening to his whiny little voice.
While I predicted that Casey would be going home, I am very pleased that I was wrong and Aaron is being sent packing instead.
Lee was the first to learn that he has safely made it to the Top Four.
Lady Gaga has successfully accomplished the impossible feat of teaching millions of fans on dance floors all over the world to chant "Ra Ra ah ah ah, Roma Ramala, Ga Ga oh la la" at the top of their lungs on a repeated basis. It's amazing that her smash hit Bad Romance only peaked at #2 on the Billboard HOT 100 while it's still a huge crowd pleasing popular favorite. Tonight on the American Idol stage, Lady Gaga brought her impressive avante garde style of performance art to introduce the world to her latest single Alejandro. It's sure to be the latest in her ongoing string of hits.
This week's mentor, Harry Connick Jr., then took the stage and stepped away from the Sinatra songbook to sing a song from his latest CD. This time he is interpreting a song from another legendary songbook. The Beatles hit #12 in 1964 with And I Love Her and Harry's version was just as classic and jazzy as you would expect. The Top 5 finalists then attempted to entertain us with a medley of Harry's music, but their efforts fell flat.
Crystal and Casey are both safe leaving Michael and Aaron as the bottom two. After weeks of hoping for this to finally happen it turns out that Aaron Kelly was the lowest vote getter and we are finally through listening to his whiny little voice.
While I predicted that Casey would be going home, I am very pleased that I was wrong and Aaron is being sent packing instead.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Top 5 sing Sinatra
The modern day crooner who is keeping jazz standards alive for a new generation is Harry Connick Jr. Tonight he worked with the top 5 finalists to help them prepare to sing the songs of Frank Sinatra. In addition, he personally worked with each one to arrange the music for their performance. And not only that, Harry is going to be up on stage playing with the band as they sing. Let's see if these kids can learn from his good advice...
Aaron Kelly is just a little kid playing dress up. His voice was mildly pleasant as he sang Fly Me To The Moon, but the performance completely lacked any integrity. His stage presence is completely diminutive and forgettable. There was nothing cool about this at all. It was actually quite whiney.
Casey James had nothing but his voice to carry him through his performance of Blue Skies. No guitar, no swinging of the blond hair, no shaking of the hips, nothing but that bland and lifeless voice. The sad fact is, without his standard gimmicks, he put in a very sad performance.
Crystal Bowersox walked out on stage in a glamorous long gown and with her dread lock hair styled in an up do to sing Summer Wind. She is showing off even more of her seemingly limitless range and versatility each week. We already know she has a great voice and this week we learned that she can be just as convincing with jazz as she is with bluesy rock.
Michael Lynche is really getting better each week. He has a wonderful ability to interpret a song and bring it to life. He did a fantastic job introducing his smooth vocals to The Way You Look Tonight and elevating the performance to a professional level.
Lee DeWyze has this empty and blank expression on his face every week and he always looks like he has very tired eyes. It's depressing that this complete lack of personality is passing for talent. His attempt at That's Life was so totally dreary and lame there are no more words to describe it.
The prediction this week is very easy - Michael and Crystal were very good and Aaron, Casey and Lee were totally lousy. Since my ideal to have a three way tie and have all three of them go home, I'll predict that it will be Casey being sent packing this week.
Aaron Kelly is just a little kid playing dress up. His voice was mildly pleasant as he sang Fly Me To The Moon, but the performance completely lacked any integrity. His stage presence is completely diminutive and forgettable. There was nothing cool about this at all. It was actually quite whiney.
Casey James had nothing but his voice to carry him through his performance of Blue Skies. No guitar, no swinging of the blond hair, no shaking of the hips, nothing but that bland and lifeless voice. The sad fact is, without his standard gimmicks, he put in a very sad performance.
Crystal Bowersox walked out on stage in a glamorous long gown and with her dread lock hair styled in an up do to sing Summer Wind. She is showing off even more of her seemingly limitless range and versatility each week. We already know she has a great voice and this week we learned that she can be just as convincing with jazz as she is with bluesy rock.
Michael Lynche is really getting better each week. He has a wonderful ability to interpret a song and bring it to life. He did a fantastic job introducing his smooth vocals to The Way You Look Tonight and elevating the performance to a professional level.
Lee DeWyze has this empty and blank expression on his face every week and he always looks like he has very tired eyes. It's depressing that this complete lack of personality is passing for talent. His attempt at That's Life was so totally dreary and lame there are no more words to describe it.
The prediction this week is very easy - Michael and Crystal were very good and Aaron, Casey and Lee were totally lousy. Since my ideal to have a three way tie and have all three of them go home, I'll predict that it will be Casey being sent packing this week.
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