Crystal Bowersox kicked everyone’s ass tonight. Lee Dewyze was good, but overpraised. Siobhan Magnus was also good, and under-praised. Kill me now, but I liked Mike Lynche tonight. I don’t understand why Casey James is phoning it it. And finally: Really, Tim Urban and Aaron Kelly? It’s time to go home.
The Top 7 sing songs of Inspiration!
Ryan says, “This is the time when we give back….and THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL!” Didi and Lacey in the house! Seats still available at Ticketmaster for IGB at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Ryan introduces the Top 7. He introduces the video package from mentor, Alicia Keys. She meets the kids. “Music is so amazing…to be able to talk about how to bring out that emotion and that truth is really cool.” Alicia is happy to be part of IGB.
Live recap and videos after the jump…
Casey James – “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac – Alicia encourages Casey to connect with the song, and if he does, he’ll do well. Casey is playing electric guitar. For a minute I thought he started in the wrong key. Still: Stiff rigid Casey with the competent vocals and decent guitar skills. Even the vocals are not quite up to par this week. (Don’t think he’s been feeling well, though). Oh Casey, you have to bring us more! Randy says, “Not your best, every week we see the same thing, step out of that comfort zone.” Ellen says, “Great guitar playing, I have to be tougher, you have to be great, you’re consistently good, but nobody is going to be talking about that tomorrow” Kara is frustrated, “Jealous guy you were, vulnerable, amazing, and tonight’s it’s a jam band, you made yourself like everyone else.” Simon says, “That wasn’t particularly inspiring, zero emotion, you sang the song like the original, it was a lazy song choice.” Casey is not stepping it up. But he is playing Lindsey Buckingham’s guitar – 1-866-436-5701 – VIDEO
Lee Dewyze – The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkle – Gets a sitdown with Ryan. They talk about his bro, Andrew. He chose “The Boxer” because it speaks to Lee–it got him to play the guitar. Alicia asked him to recite the words–she tells him not to lose sight of what the song’s about. Lee’s playing acoustic guitar. The guitar playing kicks in on the chorus. He’s got an orchestra behind him. Beautiful phrasing, lots of passion and emotion. But, I’m not sure the song is a good candidate for the 1:40 treatment. It had some great moments but I still don’t think Lee has had a “moment” yet. Randy says, “I’m one of your biggest fans. You are a great artist, you’re going to have a big career.” Ellen says, “Beautiful song choice, so much soul and depth to your performance, we’re seeing better and better from you, best performance by far.” Kara says, “I think you had your moment tonight. It shows the difference when somebody feels connected to the song, and when they don’t.” Simon compares Casey unfavorably to Lee, “That was sincere, that was emotional, inspirational. You made it sound like it was written a week ago. Absolutely brilliant.” – 1-866-436-5702 – VIDEO
Captain Sully is in the house! All net proceeds from IGB iTunes this week go to the charities.
Tim Urban – “Better Days” by Goo Goo Dolls – Alicia really likes Tim! OHHH Pitchy! He doesn’t have the chops to go belting out songs like this. No no, Tim, you’re going out of that 5 note comfort zone that’s been working for ya. This is too much. The vocals are not good. But he seems all sincere-like. The tweens will love it. Randy says, “Interesting choice, it was good karaoke” Ellen says, “It’s like the soup of the day. Sometimes I like the soup, today I didn’t like the soup, ” Kara says, “This is where you belong, but it wasn’t the best execution.” Simon says, “If this had been the first time we’d seen you, we’d be impressed. This may have been a step too high for you. You’ve improved over the weeks, but this has been a little bit of a let down.” – 1-866-436-5703 – VIDEO
Aaron Kelly – “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly – He’s been singing this song since he was 5. Alicia tells him to sing passionately. Orchestra is backing him. He’s trying to move around the stage a little. The vocals are OK, but nothing spectacular. The big notes are a little too big for him, but he’s singing his little heart out. I’ll give him that. The crowd loves him. Randy says, “You got a huge voice, you’ve got pure vocal talent good job with a giant song” Ellen makes a drug joke (about believing she could fly for a short time in the 70s) “I believe you can fly, and you’ve got a big voice, good job.” Kara says, “Watching that was like taking off…once you got to the bottom of the runway, you took off.” Simon says, “You gave it your all, but in the real world, if I’d heard it on the radio I would have turned it off in 10 seconds.” – 1-866-436-5704 – VIDEO
Ryan pimps the Auction. It closes at 3 ET!
Siobhan Magnus – “When You Believe” by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey – Siobhan demonstrates her soprano, and Alicia calls it “money”. Siobhan is doing the diva thing this week, and she’s in tune. The soprano at the end is very pretty. Much better than last week. She pulls it off. Randy says, “You picked the toughest song, It was just OK for me.” Ellen says, “I disagree, more confirmation why you’re here. Kara says, “Technically, very well sung, but it’s not a musical. I’d like to hang out with you, more than buy your record. I still don’t know who you are.” Simon says, “I don’t think that was the right song for you. Very old fashioned. The leaves distracted me on the closeup. A bit odd, a bit all over the place. It’s a shame.” (Siobhan was wearing butterflies on her arm. Wow I don’t think Siobhan was expecting to hear that. Siobhan didn’t want to be scared off by the song. The meaning is why she’s here right now. She’s just happy to have the chance to sing it. I have to say, it’s true, she’s not commercially viable, and she did sound very theater geek tonight, but she pulled off a very difficult song. The judges may be de-pimping her. She’s not commercially viable? I think the judges are officially over Siobhan. – 1-866-436-5705 – VIDEO
Michael Lynche – “Hero” by Chad Kroeger – Mike gets a sit-down with Ryan. Mike came into the competition with a playbook–200 songs he would sing on Idol. This is one of those songs. Alicia tells him to take people to “that highest point.” Michael’s playing acoustic guitar. Whoa this is soulful, very powerful. Great song choice for Michael. Really shows off his chops. The orchestra kicks in and it’s a real moment. Wow. Wasn’t expecting that. Randy says, “I was worried about this song choice, you held your own with it.” Ellen says, “You did a great job.” Kara says, “You did not cut through, the song became unrecognizable.” Simon says, “I think you sang it pretty well, that was about Spiderman right? It felt artificial to me. Didn’t quite gel for me. Still think you’re going to be around for next week.” – 1-866-436-5706 – VIDEO
The judges are racing to finish on time.
Crystal Bowersox – “People Get Ready” – Alicia says Crystal is one of her favorites. Crystal puts down the guitar. She is sans instrument for the first time. She begins a’cappella. I am getting chills. This is everything I hoped for when I suggested she sing it. Soulful, powerful, gorgeous. OMG she’s choking up at the end. So am I. That was just amazing. Randy says, ‘Been a fan since day one. Unbelievable.” “You have never looked more beautiful, you keep evolving and growing.” She’s using her mic stand from back home, kinda looks like a floor lamp! Kara says, “Thank you for putting down your guitar and taking a risk, they call you Mamasox because you just schooled all those contestants.” Simon says, “That was inspirational. I’m happy to see you emotional. You have closed down a little bit. You sang it fantastically. It was in a completely different class from everything we heard.” Crystal’s dad is here. Aw she and Ryan didn’t have a sit down, but they had a very sweet moment at the end. – 1-866-436-5707 – VIDEO
The show was supposed to end at 8:58 tonight, because Glee is running a couple extra minutes. FAIL! The show ran over about 3 minutes. Alicia takes the stage. She says she really enjoyed mentoring the contestants.
