While never a fan of the Rolling Stones, I didn't realize how much I disliked them until I was forced to listen to the schlockiest sh-t this side of the Atlantic.
Tonight, we went back to the too-long, overly produced (translation: more back stories) two-hour round as the top 12 performed. As I fast forwarded through 3/4 of the show, I realized that even though the DVR was invented prior to Idol, this hokey show was just the reason that they invented it in the first place. I mean seriously, does anyone actually sit through this show live and enjoy it?!
The night began with Michael Lynche's mediocre performance of "Miss You". The vocals were good, but it was Lynche's personality that keeps him as a contender for the top 5 (and maybe the top 3).
My personal favorite (more and more only for her looks as the weeks go on), Didi Benami, performed a lackluster "Play With Fire". While the judges seemed to really like her performance, I am growing tired of her sub par song selection. Of most interest was her offhanded comment about "Siobhan rubbing off on her" since Magnus was her roommate this week...that thought will keep my mind in the gutter for a bit.
Casey James followed with a very country/blues rendition of "It's All Over Now". James is definitely most comfortable (and talented) singing this type of music, especially when jamming on his guitar. Prior to Simon mentioning it, I too observed the fact that James has to start to own the stage and use it to his advantage. James, like others tonight, simply stood behind the microphone and did his thing.
Lacey Brown, most likely the contestant to go this week, was pitchy and shaky once again while singing "Ruby Tuesday". Brown got better as the song went on, but it was far from the original.
Andrew Garcia continued his downward spiral with a very boring and, at times, pitchy performance of "Gimme Shelter". Garcia wins the award for "Peaked Too Early" when you look at him versus his fellow contenders and even against past contestants. Unless Garcia steps it up quickly, we will be saying adios to this muchacho.
Idol's most insipid contestant, Katie Stevens, actually hit more correct notes tonight during "Wild Horses" than she did all season, but ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Bor-ing.
Tim Urban was verbally raped by the judges when he performed a surprisingly fresh feeling and reggae-esque version of "Under my Thumb". As someone who likes very few Stones songs, Urban's rendition didn't bother me nearly as much as it did the judges. Granted, it didn't wow me and once again, Urban followed the new trend of being boring while standing behind a microphone stand, but this performance didn't seem that much different than some of Kris Allen's performances last year. Sadly, it looks like Urban will find himself singing on cruise ships and in college bars soon enough.
With Lilly Scott gone, Siobhan Magnus took on the roll of biggest contender with favorite Crystal Bowersox. Performing "Paint it Black", I actually disagreed with the judges tonight as I didn't get the song choice and I thought the outfit and hair style were bloody awful. In fact, I thought the stagehands were the best feature of this performance for the lighting work during the song. With all of that said, Magnus sure has pipes!
Lee DeWyze continued his trend of underwhelming the crowd yet still receiving positive praise from the judges. Okay, we get it, you need at least one male to really champion...but is this the horse you really want to latch yourself to? Like his competitors before, DeWyze stood behind a microphone and sang his song ("Beast of Burden"), however with little to no personality or confidence, DeWyze simply bores the audience to sleep. Unless DeWyze can find it within himself to believe in his talent (which I am still not sure really exists), he will be heading home much sooner rather than later.
Paige Miles finally brought some type of life to the show with "Honky Tonk Woman"...definitely not the best performance of the night, but she did a solid job amongst a bunch of amateur singers.
Showing the biggest change since the contestants could use stylists, Aaron Kelly took a step away from complete dweeb with his new look. The judges really enjoyed his "Angie" performance and while it was a fine job, I kept waiting for Kelly to open the song up. I am not sure if it is Kelly's youth or not, but he really needs to find a stage presence if he wants a shot at winning the season.
Closing the night was Simon's front runner, Crystal Bowersox, strumming out an excellent version of "You Can't Always Get What You Want". For the first time, the judges looked her less as a deity and more as a contestant with flaws. Me? I looked at her for the first time as someone whose album I would highly consider purchasing.
If I had to make a guess, we'll be saying goodbye to Lacey Brown in less than 24 hours.
One interesting observation tonight: did anyone else notice that Kara mentioned on numerous occasions that she had to "agree with the guys" when only Randy and Ellen had provided feedback? While I can understand saying that one agrees with these guys, using the word 'the' infers that Ellen is a dude. Granted Ellen doesn't like dudes and seems to be the man in her marriage, I found this to be an odd and almost insulting phrase to use.
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