Final 9: Reboot

Well, has everyone recovered from the "shocking results" of last week's show? Do you feel Michael Lynch was the right choice for the Judge's Save? In my opinion, the "shocking results" of last week's show was the judge's decision to use the save on him. With favorites (an better overall contestants) like Crystal, Lee and Siobhan still in the competition the judges choice is a risky one to make with 4 more weeks of saving eligibility. If they truly wanted a girl to win and that girl is Crystal, I am baffled why they would not hold off. With so much time left to play their trump card and the obviously unpredictable (and sometimes foolish) voting results, this was not a wise move in my mind. I guess we will just have to see how this plays out now.

Enough about that, let's talk about THIS week. It's Elvis week and "Glambert" is the mentor. I have to say, it is kind of fitting since he had moments last season where he looked like a young Elvis (on the weeks he would forego all the eye makeup and spiked leather outfits, haha). At any rate, I think Mr. Lambert did a good job mentoring and he brought the aspect that a lot of them are missing this season...connection and stage presence. Not all of them heeded his advice, but at least we had someone who was honest and gave relevant advice to the contestants. Let's look at how it played out (in my opinion).

Lee DeWyze ♪♪♪♪ - I think at this stage of the game Lee and Crystal are neck and neck for top honors. I believe that if Lee continues with this momentum he could quite possibly surpass Crystal and have a shot at winning the whole thing, especially if young, teenage girls are controlling the voting results as some are speculating is the case this season more than any before. The thing about Lee is that his voice is radio ready; he is by far the most current and commercial male we have seen on this show. He continues to grow in confidence which, in turn, boosts his stage presence. He nailed this performance and his vocals, to quote Kara, were FIRE!

Crystal Bowersox ♪♪♪♪ - This was a great way to start the show. Crystal, once again, was spot on and she seemed to really let go in this performance which is what she needs to continue to do. As I said in my comments about Lee, I believe she and Lee are neck and neck; the difference is that Lee is someone we have watched improve and grow stronger during his time on the show. Crystal has always been great. America tends to buy in more to the "underdog" and Crystal is just awesome every week; even the judges have run out of things to say to her. I am not saying this is a bad thing, I'm just saying that sometimes consistency breeds complacency with the voting public on this show. I would hope that Crystal has already proven she is worthy of a spot in the Final 2, because I believe she has done just that.

Michael Lynch ♪♪♪♪ - Ok, ok...I know this is probably a shock to some of you, but I feel this was Michael's best performance on the show. He gave a sincere, totally stripped down performance that was honest and believable and allowed him to show his voice without coming off cheesy or over the top. I really liked his version of this song because it was current and soulful and the message was relevant. Although I still hold true to my opinions and thoughts on Micheal and his place in this competition, I will give him props for pulling of a great performance right when he needs it. Obviously his fans are going to be voting in overtime to keep him safe this week after last week's drama, but I am willing to bet that it won't be long before we see Michael in trouble again. Matt Giraud was saved from elimination last season on the results night for the Top 7 but it only bought him a week's safety as he was voted out the week after the double elimination (Where Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai were voted out) at 5th place. I believe we will see a similar thing happening for Michael, as I have always said that I believe the farthest he will advance is 5th place.

Casey James  ♪♪♪ - I think Casey is making wise song choices for himself. He knows his niche and he stays in that while still bringing something new and different each week. This was not my favorite vocal from him as I felt his warble was a little too prominent this week, but overall he held his own. He needs to continue to challenge himself vocally and continue to find ways to show his versatility like he did last week.

Siobhan Magnus ♪♪♪ - Suspicious Minds was a song that Chris Daughtry did a great version of during this theme week on Season 5, so Siobhan had a lot to live up to in my eyes. I think she did a decent job. I think Chris Daughtry made it a little more contemporary when he did it, but Siobhan still did a respectable and soulful version. One thing I noticed was the changes in tempo did not seem to flow together well, especially when she went to 1/2 time, seemed disjointed. I agree with the judges that parts of this did not seem like a typical Siobhan performance but I do not agree that it started off sleepy or that overall she has "lost herself". I think Siobhan is proving that she is versatile, which is something the judges liked about her in weeks before. Do I think it was her best vocal performance we have seen? No. But I still think she did a good job in comparison to some of the other people we saw tonight. I still love me some Siobhan!


Tim Urban ♪♪♪ - Another shocker, I know, but Tim is not in my bottom rankings! I think he did a very real and honest performance this week. I think his money is in it being just him and a guitar. When he tries too hard he comes off as a joke, but he does have some vocal ability hidden in there and tonight we got a glimpse of it. He is showing improvement at just the right time, let's see if it continues.

Katie Stevens ♪♪ 1/2 - I like that Katie is finding some personality in her performances and choosing songs that stretch her a little bit vocally. However, I agree with Simon that this was a bit shrieky (if that's a word). By the middle of the song it just became a big jumble of over-singing and yelling. She tried too hard in this song and at moments she even pushed so hard her voice cracked. I truly believe that she is making a mistake by not listening to Simon's advice and going the country route because her voice lends itself to a country sound whether she realizes it or not. However, I think she is set on being the next pop/r&b diva...which I do not see happening for her out in the real world.

Andrew Garcia ♪♪ - It's just a bunch of the same. I have a feeling Andrew has given up either because he is over trying to live up to that past moment he is continually reminded of, or because he truly has lost his sense of who he is as an artist. Either way, I think this week is finally his time to say goodbye. I don't even remember anything about his performance other than I think he had an old fashion mic, which was cool. Bleh.

Aaron Kelly ♪♪ - It's never good when you start out by saying in your video package that this is completely the wrong song to choose; although he was completely correct. Aaron is back to picking songs that are too big for him. He chose a very well known song that is fun and up tempo and basically walked around the stage while singing it. He added nothing to the song and did nothing to make it his own, per usual. I think this is because he does not know who he is as a singer/artist and we have to remember he is only 16, and he has time to learn, but on American Idol is not the place for it. To me, he is just a kid singing songs, there is no connection or believability in what he is doing.

So, 2 go home tonight since the judge's used their save last week. In my opinion the bottom 3 is Andrew, Aaron and Katie. If they have a bottom 4 (because 2 are going home) I would include Tim or as another "shocker" Siobhan. Either way I think we will say goodbye to Andrew and Aaron this week. As we all know, I have not had the best luck with predictions, so we will see what happens!