Tomorrow night: Fantasia!!! Daughtry sings his new single, “September” plus, Bon Jovi performs.
So tonight? Meh. Crystal Bowersox had the best performance. Turning the tired and treacly “I’m Alright” into a bluesy rave-up was total genius. And thank jeebus she’s back in the judges good graces! I officially declare Crystal back in the running for the crown. The lyrics of the song seemed totally apt. Crystal always manages to get her message out there, one way or another.
Lee DeWyze was a big disappointment tonight. “Kiss from a Rose” was not the song for him. It’s really hard to sing, with lots of range and crazy intervals to navigate. Lee took on more than he could handle, and that surprises me, because he always struck me as someone who knew his own talents. Maybe he doesn’t hear himself go out of tune. The duet with Crystal–I’m not one to believe that certain songs should be off limits after an Idol has a moment with them. Sorry to say, most casual viewers may not even remember that Kris sang “Falling Slowly” last year. I loved the arrangement, and the passion, but wish their voices blended together better, and again–Lee’s pitch problems. Eep.
Mike Lynche had me falling asleep during “Will You Be There”. Just a really boring performance that even the gospel choir couldn’t save. I thought Casey James’ solo “Mrs. Robinson” was better, but man, the judges are trying to bus him! But, part of the blame goes to Casey for picking that song. “Mrs Robinson” loved his bluegrass inflected arrangement, but dude was just asking for all that Kara Dioguardi cougar-bait nonsense to start up again. The judges were back to treating Casey like a slab of meat. Totally undermined him.
Casey and Mike’s duet really showed off Casey’s impressive guitar playing skills. The two sounded really good together too. Good stuff.
Some solid performances, but except for Crystal, nothing very earth-shattering. At this stage, I’m expecting more. Oh, and Jamie Foxx was a bit smarmy and egotistical, but a decent mentor nonetheless. I lvoe the way he gets up in the contestants faces…
Live blog and Videos after the JUMP…
The Top 4 take on the songs of the cinema, with the help of mentor, Jamie Foxx. In addition to performing solo, the kids will be pairing up for duets: Crystal Bowersox will perform with Lee DeWyze and Casey James will croon with Michael Lynche.
After introducing the judges and the Top 4, Ryan Seacrest runs the Video package, featuring Jamie Foxx, tonight’s mentor. He’s a movie star AND a multi-platinum R&B artist. He’s the perfect mentor! Music is a the soundtrack of our lives, says, Jamie. Lets figure out what we have now, and elevate it.
Jamie is sitting in the audience. He brought the kids t-shirts. Oooh. Are you a contestant or an artist? After they are done singing, he’s going to present them with a t-shirt that will either say “contestant” or “Artist” depending how they do…
Lee DeWyze – “Kiss From A Rose” by Seal from Batman Forever – After his mentoring session, where Jamie gets all up into Lee’s face to get him to connect to his audience, Jamie gives Lee an artist’s shirt, but says, “Don’t make me take that away from you.” Lee is playing his acoustic guitar tonight. This is a really hard song to sing. Really easy to lose pitch. Hm. Bandzilla is drowning him out. Don’t think I would have picked this song for Lee. This performance is really underwhelming. It’s time to step it up, contestants! Randy says, “For me, you did nothing with that song, pitchy in spots–choose a rock kind of song, be who you are.” Ellen says, “There could have been more done with the song, but you’re so good, I loved it.” Ellen says, “You had a great week last week, it’s one of the most difficult songs to sing, having the arrangement, you got lost a little lost, but you are still great.” Simon says, “I’m with Randy. There are so many brilliant songs, and so many opportunities to make it your own. That was karaoke, you tried too hard to make it sound like the original. I would give you the contestant shirt.” Lee felt really good about his performance. 1-866-436-5701 – 1-866-436-5705 – VIDEO
Michael Lynche – “Will You Be There” by Michael Jackson from Free Willy – He’s sitting with Ryan at the Top. He talks about the pressure of getting into the Top 3. And how, a year ago the Top 3 was his goal. He’s trying to bring it home to his city. Oh. Jamie is giving him the contestant shirt! Cause he didn’t know his words. Michael is on the stairs to begin. He’s got a six-singer choir behind him. Choir is descending the steps. I should be bowled over by this, but for some reason I am not. I think the song is a little too big for Michael. I’m not feeling it. Randy says, “I didn’t love this for you either, I wish you had chosen some R&B song. It didn’t take off.” Ellen makes a “Free Willy joke, and then, “Your goal should be to win. It was a little bit predictable”. Kara namechecks Mike’s memorable performances like “Womans’ Work” and says, “Those were songs where I had goosebumps. I didn’t feel that from you. You played it safe. I know you have more. I want you to go back to those moments.” Simon doesn’t know what Free Willy is. “I think that you could have chosen…at least you gave it 100 percent, and I kind of felt that you meant it….” That was ridiculous. They spent half the time arguing about how the song lyrics have nothing to do with whales. 1-866-436-5702 – 1-866-436-5706 – VIDEO
Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze – “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová from Once – Yes. They went there. They’re both playing guitar, facing each other. If you forget Kris Allen and his beautiful rendition last year, and just take this on it’s own merits. It’s really quite lovely. ETA: I watched this again, and didn’t like it as much as I thought. I like the energized arrangement a lot–it’s very passionate–which is what I got caught up in the first time I heard it. Listening to it again, I can hear some dissonance, and their voices not blending as well as they could. Crystal is the better half in this duo. It’s so weird that Lee can’t sing live. I really like his records. Randy says, “What a difference a couple moments. Unbelievable. Amazing. That’s what I’m talking about.” Ellen says, “You’re the new Captain and Tennile! That was great” Kara says, “One of my favorite moments of the entire season, I loved the chemistry the support, you brought out the best in both of you.” Simon says, “I don’t know if I’d call that a good song…I’d call it a fantastic song.” Crystal and Lee says the interaction was a little awkward at first. Crystal told Lee at the Chicago auditions that he was her musical crush. – VIDEO
Casey James – “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkle from The Graduate – Jamie tells Casey to “seduce him”. Casey says it was an intense moment. Casey gets an artist shirt. He’s playing the mandolin. He totally re-arranged the tune and it’s AWESOME!!! Wow. Casey pulled it out when he needed it. That was terrific. Randy wants to know why he picked the song. Oh No. Here we go again. MORE KARA JOKES. CRITIQUE HIS VOCALS PLEASE. Randy, not that impressed, finally says, “I thought that you sounded cool on it” Ellen says, “I wish they would have given you a big boy guitar. I liked that you came back and did something different with the song, I wish you would have taken it further, but I liked it.” Kara says, “This is you fighting to stay in the competition. This is difficult for you. It was a good choice.” Oh my god. They aren’t talking about his performance. This is ridiculous. Simon says, “I didn’t think the song or the performance had the substance required for this important night. It was lazy. You could have made more of an impact. I think there have been some really strange song choices, and that was one of them.” It’s official. They are busing Casey. 1-866-436-5703 – 1-866-436-5707 – VIDEO
Crystal Bowersox – “I’m Alright” by Kenny Loggins from Caddyshack – Jamie gives Crystal the artist shirt after he tells her to look straight at the audience with her pretty green eyes. Crystal is doing a bluesed up version of a pretty crappy song. She’s improving it, but not sure why she picked it. Oh yeah, most of the songs on the list SUCKED! Vocally she’s pretty awesome. She’s making the song her own, as they say. Lots of bluesy wailing. She’s really letting loose. Randy says, “You are an artist, I loved that you tried to switch it up. Nice job.” Ellen says, “The song just got Crystalized. You took that song, and made it better” Kara says, “You made it better…I agree with Randy–Artist!” Simon says, “After that performance, You are back in the game.” Ha. Crystal’s boyfriend Tony was dancing in the audience. 1-866-436-5704 – 1-866-436-5708 – VIDEO
Casey James and Michael Lynche – “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” by Bryan Adams from Don Juan DeMarco – Casey starts with some nice Spanish guitar licks. Mike comes in on the second verse, he’s also playing guitar. Nice harmonies. Casey’s guitar playing is impressive. The performance is sweet, tender–very nice. Randy says, “I love the guitar playing….you guys sounded really good.” Ellen says, “Yes I have loved a woman.” That’s all she says. She doesn’t bother to critique. Kara says, “The duets tonight were incredible they were better than the solos.” Simon says, “I think we should give the artists t-shirts to the duets tonight. That was really good. Well done. Jamie thinks it was a great night and advises the contestants, “Next week, let go and do your thing.” – VIDEO