American Idol - Week Nine - The Top 7 Compete

Okay, it's confession time: I was looking more forward to watching Glee's all Madonna song episode last night than watching Idol. There, I said it.
That aside, I didn't hate this week's crop of songs, but in general, with the exception of maybe Crystal and Lee (who I'm starting to see in the finale), no one really stood out for me. No one else was memorable, and I really didn't see "star quality" in anyone else. My best friend Tom put it best, when he posted "Would Idol just give the friggin' season to Crystal, and be done with it already?" Kidding aside, I'm beginning to agree. Crystal seems to be in a whole other class than the other contestants.

I thought Alicia Keys was a decent "mentor" this week, but I have to question some of the song choices made by the contestants. Really, Siobhan, I understand why you chose the song you did, but being afraid of doing a song, and not having the experience or talent to perform it are 2 different things. Alicia's pointers were valid, but overall I don't think her suggestions could have helped some contestants.

Tonight is a two hour results show, because it's Idol Give Back. Plenty of musical guests on, but I do suggest watching the show about an hour in if you're gonna DVR it, so you can fast forward the musical guests you don't like. At least that's what I do. Heh.

As usual, let's get to the individual performances, starting with this season's eye-candy, that being:

1. CASEY JAMES – sung “Don't Stop” - I think Kara summed up for me what my feelings about Casey are: he's consistently good, but he hasn't been great. He's getting left behind by Lee and Crystal. Though his vocals were pretty good, I think he's making his guitar playing the highlight of his performances, and not his voice. His song choice wasn't really memorable, and as a result, he didn't stick out. Simon called Casey's song choice, and I tend to agree. It was safe, and he didn't really change it up. It sounded almost like the original, and as we've learned on Idol before, copycat performances don't get you very far. I can't believe I'm about to do this, but I think I need to put Casey in the danger zone tonight. IN DANGER

2. LEE DEWYZE – sung “The Boxer” - If I'm going to be honest, I will admit, I knew the song very well, I just never knew the name of it. I always liked this Simon & Garfunkel song, but the title always escaped me. And what a way to find out the title! Simon was 100% right when he said Lee modernized the song, and made it sound fresh and new. It sounded just enough like the original for me to recognize it, but Lee put a great rock vibe to it, and made it sound contemporary. He looked totally confident on stage and throughout his whole performance, I felt he totally connected not only with the song, but the audience as well. Lee has grown so much in the last few weeks that I think I can finally see who is going to be in the finale with Crystal. That's right Lee, it's you. SAFE

3. TIM URBAN – sung “Better Days” - Well, appropriate song choice, since Tim has had "better days" last week. Seems to me though it wasn't terrible, it was definitely a step backward from last week's performance. I could be wrong, but I think Tim went off key a few times, especially in the beginning. It was a bit all over the place for me, and the arrangement was a little weird. Love him or hate him, you have to admit, Tim is one of the more likable hold outs that Idol has had. Hey, he could have been another cocky Sanjaya! Tim takes the judge's comments and suggestions and he runs with it. Even though he has improved immensely over the last 3 weeks, I think last night's performance sort of put him back in the danger zone. Sorry Tim, you might be in trouble. IN DANGER

4. AARON KELLY – sung “I Believe I Can Fly” - Big song Aaron. He pulled it off I think, though it definitely wasn't his best performance. What saved Aaron's performance last night was the second half of the song, which I thought was fantastic. The beginning of the song was "rough", as Randy loves to say, but by the time he got to the middle of the song, his vocals took off. That ending was phenomenal, and you got to give this kid credit for taking on such a big song. It could have gone very badly very quickly, but except for a few stumbles in the beginning, he did a pretty decent job. Aaron is lucky he's cute, because that's what I think will get him through this week. His talent, like Casey's, is getting overshadowed by more experienced performers. I think you might be in the clear this week Aaron, but you need to step it up, or you might be gone next week. SAFE

5. SIOBHAN MAGNUS – sung “When You Believe” - I mentioned it before in the beginning of my blog, and I'll say it again. I understand her reasons for choosing this song. She said she loved the song, and didn't want to be scared of doing it, because of who the artists were. BUT, my issue with that is, just because you like a song, and don't want to be intimidated by the artists who sang it, doesn't mean you have the talent to pull off a good performance of it. Siobhan is good, no question about it, but a Whitney AND Mariah song?! REALLY? Mariah and Whitney alone are what we call "untouchable" artists on Idol, especially if you don't have the talent to give their songs a great performance. Siobhan made a mistake, and she should be thankful her vocals were spot on. It's probably what saved her from being in the bottom three this week. SAFE

6. MICHAEL LYNCHE – sung “Hero” - Yawwwwwn. I'm yawning, so it must mean Michael is performing. Seriously, I know Big Mike has his fans, but must he forever do soft and slow ballads? This was a completely forgettable. YES, as usual his vocals were great. He hit every note and connected with the song. But wow, was I bored. Compared to other performances last night, even Aaron's performance was more exciting. I think Michael has ridden this train as far as it will go. People are starting to see the same old thing from him week after week, and since everyone else is changing their game, Michael is getting left behind. Sorry, Mike, I think you may be in danger tonight. IN DANGER

7. CRYSTAL BOWERSOX – sung “People Get Ready” - Do I really need to review her? Come on, what can I say about Crystal that hasn't been said already. She not only did something different by singing sans instrument (See Michael?), but her performance was so heartfelt, so emotional that it completely blew every other performance out of the water. It was almost appropriate that they ended the night with Crystal, because in a sense, Crystal sort of showed them all "how it's done". Her tearful last note just brought it all home, and brought the performance to a new level. Seriously, not only is she safe, she can pretty much guarantee her finale spot at this point. SAFE

My Bottom Three Picks: I know what you guys are thinking. You're all saying I made some surprising choices for the bottom three this week. Except for Tim, you probably think that both Michael and Casey don't belong there. And heck, you may be right. BUT I was right last week, wasn't I? Makes you think, no? My choices this week: Casey James, Tim Urban and Michael Lynche.

My Pick(s) to be Eliminated Tonight: I want to say right off the bat, I want it to be Tim. I really do. I think he's gone as far as he could go, and it should be Tim going home this week, because the other two are far more talented then he is. But he's not going home yet. I know, I know, but it feels like a "surprising" elimination kind of night. It could go either way, but I'm gonna say of the two remaining, it's Casey James time to finally go home.

What did you guys think this week? Were you bored? Do any of you see finalists at this point? Take the poll below!

Until next week my readers, I bid you farewell for now!!