American Idol - Week Two- 3/2/10

Quite a shake up this week, wasn't it?
Did it throw you off?

Honestly, it shouldn't matter, mostly because all of the contestants usually have their performances all ready to go by Monday. But some of the guys last night needed an extra day however. I was worried that one of my favorite girl contestants. Crystal Bowersox, had a medical emergency and might be out. But it was a diabetes emergency, which required her not to perform last night. Much as I love her, her health should come first. Bravo Idol producers!

As for the night, I agree with most of the judges this week; though some of the boy contestants were vastly improved over last week, some took a step back. I was shocked that Tim Urban was safe last week, and though he was a tad better this week, I don't like his chances of sticking around. Plus, is it just me, or does he look like he's about to cry almost every time he's on camera?

The judges and I can't say this enough: song choice is essential to getting people to pick up the phone! What goes through some of these contestant's minds when they come to choosing a song? I mean, I really like Casey James, but you see a song that was done to death already...and you pick it anyway?! Ugh, so disappointing.

Anyway, as usual, I've chatted enough. I know what you people want...what you really really want...

The performances begin with:

1. MICHAEL LYNCHE – sung “It's a Man's Man's Man's World” - I'm still not a fan of Michael's. Now granted, it was a great song choice, and not only did he sing it well, he performed a great version of this classic James Brown tune. I'm just not "gaga" yet, and I think I need one of those standout performances from him to make me a fan. You know the kind of performance I'm talking about; the kind where the next time you can say to your friend, "hey did you hear that version of that song that Michael Lynche performed last night on Idol? It was awesome!". I'm waiting for it Michael, and I'm sure I'll see it eventually because you're definitely safe this week. SAFE

2. JOHN PARK – sung “Gravity” - How John and Tim escaped last week, I'll never know. What drove him to choose this song? It's not a bad song choice as last week, but damn, get off the ballads John! I'm still not getting any emotion from this guy when he sings, and I couldn't agree with Kara more: there is a complete disconnect when he sings. I don't believe he even knows what he's singing, because I find it bland and boring. There's no spirit behind it. John seems to be a very nice guy, but I do not see this guy lasting past this week. He has a weak personality to boot, and though he could have developed that, his bland singing is what's gonna put him in danger tonight. IN DANGER

3. CASEY JAMES – sung “I Don’t Wanna Be” - I agreed with Kara and Simon on this one 100%; I think Casey took two steps backwards with this performance. Let's start with song choice: in your pre-performance interview with Ryan, you admitted that you looked up this song, and saw it was performed a number of times, with a variation of versions. So instead of saying, "hey, maybe I should pick another song at this stage, so I don't wind up being compared to past performances", you pick the song anyway. Casey's performance was mediocre at best, and I agree with Simon's assessment of his performance best: it was like an Anytown, USA bar performance. It's a singing competition, but I think for this performance, Casey's guitar playing took center stage instead of his voice. Regardless though, he's going to be around next week. SAFE

4. ALEX LAMBERT – sung “Everybody Knows” - I'm really feeling sorry for this poor guy. His nerves are killing him, and though I agree with the judges that this week's performance was 1,000 times better than last week's, his anxiety is still apparent. I thought his performance was heartfelt, and like the judges pointed out, his confidence has definitely improved. He seemed comfortable this week, and I think it had a lot to do with his guitar. Though I thought he might have been in trouble normally, I think the fact that people are rooting for this kid to get past his nerves is what will get him by. I think he's gonna be around at least another week. SAFE

5. TODRICK HALL – sung “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” - Kara put it best with Todrick's performance; just sing! Stop making special arrangements of every song you choose! You don't need to change a song to show you got talent, you just need to sing, and I think that's what Todrick is not getting. As you readers know, I've always said this: sometimes a song is best as is, you don't need to change it, you just need to sing the heck out of it. This Tina Turner classic did not need anything more than for Todrick to sing it masterfully. He didn't, and the arrangement just completely distracted me from enjoying the performance. I'm disappointed, because Todrick is the type of performer that has the potential to do well on this show. He is one of the few I've seen from any season who can combine singing and dancing (real dancing, and not those horribly choreographed messes they call "group performances"). He falls somewhere in the middle, and though I think he could be in danger, I'm gonna say there were worse performances than his last night. SAFE

6. JERMAINE SELLERS – sung “What’s Goin’ On?” - A onesy. Really? A onesy? You should be eliminated just on the fact that you said you're proud of this. I'm sorry if some of you are fans, but personally, I'm officially declaring my dislike of this guy, both as a performer and as a person. He obviously didn't take the judge's advice from last week, when he was told to stop trying to show the judges every singing trick you know in the song. This performance of one of my favorite Marvin Gaye songs came off as completely fake. There was no passion or believability to Jermaine's performance. One of the judges asked if he even really understood the words he was singing. I don't think he did. Plus, his attitude sort of stinks. Really, Jermaine? You ask the judges what song you should sing? REALLY? Out of the history that I've been watching Idol, not once have I ever seen a contestant ask the judges what he/she should sing. Simon is right, if you have to ask the judges what artist/song you should sing at this point, then it's really not going well for you. He keeps saying that he knows he's gonna be here next week, because of God. Really? You're pulling the religion card on this show? Does anyone remember Mandisa, and how it went when she brought religion into the voting equation? Yea, glad to say I think Jermaine should be worried. IN DANGER

7. ANDREW GARCIA – sung “You Give Me Something” - Song choice. song choice, song choice!! God, Andrew is frustrating me. I like him, I really do, but his song song choices last week and this week and just so wrong. I'm annoyed, because I know this guy has the potential to be really good. This performance I think was one of his worst, because not only was it pitchy, (oh BOY, was it pitchy!) it was just awkward. I think Andrew has the popularity to keep him around next week, but if he doesn't start listening to the judges about song choice, he's going to lose that popularity very quickly. SAFE

8. AARON KELLY – sung “My Girl” - How adorable is Aaron? But despite the love I got for his kid, his song choice this week was horrid. It was not a very good choice for 16 yr old, and Simon was 100% right when he said Aaron needs to decide what type of artist he wants to be. Now granted, I don't think asking the kid if he listens to Justin Bieber is relevant, but it is a good example of what he needs to do. Aaron could be one of the first young teen pop country artists to come out of Idol, and he needs to take advantage of that. He sung this classic tune well, and I thought he had great voice control and pitch. I think his "adorability" will get him through to next week easily. SAFE

9. TIM URBAN – sung “Come On, Get Higher” - Ellen and I are on the same page with poor Tim. Though this performance was much much better than last week's, but I have to agree with Randy and Ellen; this performance was very karaoke, and was not as good as most of the other performances. But I agreed with Ellen with her suggestion that if someone as good looking as Tim got cast into a show like Glee, than he would be a star. I agree, based on his vocals alone, I don't think Tim has much chance of becoming a popular recording artist. However, combine his singing with acting, and I think he can get pretty far. Who knows? If Tim is eliminated this week, (as I'm predicting he might be), then maybe Glee producers would take Ellen's advice and give this kid an audition at the very least. IN DANGER

10. LEE DEWYZE – sung “Lips of an Angel” - Lee is the type of performer that's going to grow on me week after week. I mean it, it was the same way with David Cook for me. At this stage of the competition, I wasn't really a fan of Cook's. I didn't really jump on the Cook fan club until his later performances. So I can see Lee doing that in the coming weeks, because he seems to find his footing very quickly. It wasn't a great performance, but it was better than last week's, despite some pitch problems. Kara is right, I can "hear" Lee's voice on the radio now, and it's very telling of the type of performer he will be. Though not the best performer (yet), by far, this was the best performance of the night. Let's see what he does to win me over (again) next week. SAFE

My Bottom Three Picks: It's an easy choice this week, based on the performances. I call into the danger zone; John Park, Jermaine Sellers and Tim Urban.

My Picks to be Eliminated Thursday: Say bye-bye to John Park and Tim Urban.

Tonight, the girls take the stage. I hope my girl, Crystal is recovered enough to give a stand out performance. I'm rooting for you!! So what do you guys think this week? Agree? Disagree? Let’s chat it up!

Until tomorrow, faithful readers!