Idolites -
Sorry for the hibernation last week. I was swamped at a trade show and had virtually no extra time to make my commentary, much less see my pool go down in flames with Andrew's departure. Guess I'll be relying on Presley's pool from now on. Although with Siobhan continuing to confuse, I think Lucky is the front-runner in the Pool Boy household.
Given the theme last night I was actually relieved that Andrew wasn't there any longer. I don't think I could handle watching him struggle yet again. Alicia Keys, though I'm not a huge fan of her music, was the perfect mentor for Idol Gives Back Week. So nice...and so inspirational herself...tonight's show should be quite good.
As for last night, everyone seemed to be on their best behavior since this was the first performance show of the Top 12 to last just 60 minutes. Didn't leave much room for Seacrest to lose his mind or for the judges to ramble.
CASEY - "Don't Stop" With the field narrowing, Casey is starting to show why he isn't going to be around for much longer. Again, he goes for the road house bar scene performance. If I closed my eyes during his song, I thought to myself, "Why is Bob Seger covering Fleetwood Mac?" I think he chose the song for the guitar riffs, not the vocals. It seems to me he really isn't trying to win. He has gotten his exposure and will make a living with his music, so he's determined to audition his sound each and every week. He'll finally sniff the bottom 3 this week.
LEE - "The Boxer" Great song choice! Here is an example of a similar type of artist to Casey, but one who wants to win. If it weren't for Crystal finishing the show so strong, this would have been the performance of the night. Everyone in our household had goosebumps during this one. Lee continues to improve week to week and has put himself in the position to challenge Crystal for the title. Lee can win this thing.
TIM - "Better Days" I think that was the song? Another that was good 'for Tim' performance. Peter Brady has ridden the train into the Top 7. His hair is slowly taking over his head as it clings to his face and neck, slowly swallowing him up. Sanjaya made it this far before finally going home. Will Tim have the same fate? Or will the house money be enough for him to play one more week?
AARON - "I Believe I Can Fly" A 17-year old singing R. Kelly just seems wrong. At least it was a boy. Aaron has a great name. He's a sweet guy and he does have a nice voice, but his mediocre karaoke covers are starting to get a bit boring. Can't really call him an artist. He's a good singer...with about one to three weeks left at most.
SIOBHAN - "If You Believe" I'm finding that Siobhan is surprising me in ways I didn't think she would....and not in a good way. She is picking songs I can't stand and delivers them in a very old-fashioned way. Again, she started the song off very weird and boring. She then picks it up during the second half. The problem I am having is that she presents herself as more edgy and weird (which I like), but delivers performances I'd expect to hear from someone like Katie, if she were still here. She's not totally out of the running, but she needs to get back to where she was a few weeks ago and bring out the creativity and originality. She is certainly getting a lot of time to explain herself though.
MICHAEL - "Hero" Kind of like Aaron, but delivered a bit better. I still don't understand why he brings out the guitar all the time. It was completely unnecessary last night and it just makes him look more gigantic than he already is. Plus, with that type of song, it didn't allow for him to truly deliver an inspirational performance. I think it held him back. He should be safe again, though.
CRYSTAL - "People Get Ready" It was about this point last season that Adam set himself apart from the rest of the pack. It was clear that he was, by far, the best performer in the competition. Crystal has done that this season. Even with Lee coming on strong, Crystal is the class of the show right now. She can do it all and has NEVER delivered a bad performance. The only thing that stands between her and an Idol win, is the fact that she was the favorite (who has never won) and a crazy voting public that could get lazy and allow her to slip when we get to the top 3 or 4. It's Crystal's to lose.
RECAP:
Best Look - Lee (like a young Paul Simon) HM - Crystal
Worst Look - Casey (getting lazy all around) HM - Siobhan (less is more...get rid of the butterflies and footwear and she's on the list above)
Best Performance - Crystal HM - Lee
Worst Performance - Tim, Casey, Aaron - Tie
PREDICTIONS:
Bottom 3 (should be) - Casey, Aaron, Tim
Bottom 3 (will be) - Casey, Aaron, Tim
Out (should be) - Tim
Out (will be) - No one...I think they'll want to end the show on an upbeat note and will carry over the votes to next week and add them to votes they get next Tuesday...yes?
Enjoy the show tonight!
Pool Boy Out!
Idolites - 
