American Idol Season 9

[CrimsonFox]

I am very surprised that all of them are either rock or alt rock types. None of the bubbly generic pop crap. Maybe a couple crooners. None of them grabbed me.

[Thomkal]

was not impressed with this group of women all through the auditions. I think Idol is desperately wanting a strong female challenger this year after two straight seasons of men in the final two. And so they are pimping them up. I am so tired of them saying year in and year out, "best talent we've ever had on Idol" Let's let them actually perform in the top 24 before we say that alright?

Only ones that interested me Siobhan, Michelle, and Crystal. I didn't think Lacey Brown was that bad actually compared to some of the others, but I think she only made it this season instead of last because the talent actually isn't as strong as last year's women.

Ashley was the big disappointment for me, she was the woman I thought would go the furthest coming out of Hollywood week. Haeley is the one that has to go for me-credit to her for the different take on that Beatles song, but everything else from the outfit to her voice was awful. She seemed to have no clue what she was doing up there.

Let's hope the men doing a better job, though I'm not holding my breath.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

1. Lilly Scott. From the first bar of her jazzy and thoroughly original rendition of a relatively obscure Beatles tune, I knew this was something different.

One of my lesser favorites really. I think her pulling a lesser known Beatles song help A LOT last night.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

2. Siobhan Magnus. She was pleasant surprise number two tonight. With a distinctly feminine voice, she started out Chris Isaak's Wicked Game in as low a register as I've ever heard from a woman.

It wasn't a song I would have picked for her. I think it's just really difficult to do, but she did well enough with it. On the playback I heard the band, but when she performed I thought she did almost all of it by herself which made it all the more challenging to pull off.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

3. Katie Stevens. With endless features, extra interviews and the coveted last-song spot in the season opener, Idol has placed considerable hope in the 17-year-old New Englander.

Lives in the same town as my brother and his wife, so they are big fans. By far one of the best ones this year, and everything said about her has been dead on.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

4. Crystal Bowersox. Even money she walks off the stage and kicks Simon in the kneecap before this season is done. Simon was right, though. You can hear that sort of Alanis Morissette knockoff in every college bar north of the Mason-Dixon line.

She'll probably be the most consistent one, but I don't think she's really going to stand out doing other people's music. She has to have one of her own songs in there somewhere and she needs to put that sort of thing out there. She's already been labeled "the outsider." Might as well run with it.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

5. Didi Benami. Oh, you know me. I am a true sucker for this type of performer. Of everything performed in the history of Idol, very little of it would ever appear on my MP3 player. Ingrid Michaelson, though? Absolutely.

I think it was the best copy of an artist last night. Doesn't mean she wins, but it will be interesting to she her outside of that song.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

6. Michelle Delamor. Picking Alicia Keys was a bad mistake. She ended up sounding like a backup singer.

(nods) She sang it decently enough, but she pretty much had to be Alicia's equal for vocals to pull it off and she couldn't.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

7. Katelyn Epperly. Imagine, if you will, Shirley Temple as a teenager, trying desperately to be sexy by lowering her voice.

I honestly have the hardest time remembering this performance. I think that sums up what I thought about it.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

8. Paige Myles. Some would put her at the top tonight. The judges probably would.

I thought she had the talent even if it was a horrible song for her, but after the recaps she came off as way less impressive. She's got a performance in her that's going to smoke everybody else and I think that's why the judges rank her so high.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

9. Janell Wheeler. I normally don't focus so much on appearance early on, since there's plenty of opportunity to do so later on when the critiques become a little more repetitive on many singers.

Wait, no this was the least memorable performance of the night.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

10. Ashley Rodriguez. This is a true surprise. Ashley was considered a threat to win the entire competition.

Having only seen this performance of her, what? Nothing, but bland and boring.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

11. Haeley Vaughn. Haeley put out a very unusual arrangement of I Wanna Hold Your Hand, from the Beatles.

100% fact. When they talked about the Beatles covers I said, "Well, at least nobody has done 'I Want to Hold Your Hand.'" Oops. She showed every bit that she's 16.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

12. Lacey Brown. What to say? Yes, she has unusual light-colored eyes. Simon nailed that. She is a horrible singer, though. I don't know how she made it through to the semifinals.

I believe this was the one that I thought really needed to do something like a song by The Sundays only for a judge to say the same thing. At best, a cute, but weak voice with no real range. At best.

[Alan T]

I just got through listening to last night's show. I honestly didn't find one of them that I liked at all. I don't think I remember a different season when I couldn't at least find one that I enjoyed.

Hopefully the guys are better tonight, or I might not even make it to next week for Idol watching.

[Mustang]

Gotta love Vote for the Worst's recaps

Crystal Bowersox has never seen the show before and didn’t think this was for her. She changed her mind because she wants a bigger paycheck for her son. Unlike Lilly, prostitution was never an option for Crystal because the whole dirty, unwashed hippy thing doesn’t attract many clients. She sings “One Hand In My Packet” and we get plenty of close-ups on her bad teeth that seem to have been whitened a little. She’s a good singer, but the whole busker harmonica thing didn’t guarantee Taylor Hicks a career, so it’s probably not gonna work on the Idol stage for Crystal either. Ellen calls Crystal “fresh” (I guess rather than “expired”), but Simon says that there are thousands of people doing this same thing outside of a subway station at the moment. He criticizes Crystal for doing a “sound alike” performance and tells her, “You’ve gotta do something that’s you.” Crystal shoots back, “They don’t allow originals on the show though.” See, I knew I liked Crystal. She is already annoyed that the show is throwing everyone under the bus and she won’t stand for it. That puts her in contention as a future VFTW pick for speaking her mind. Unfortunately, she tries to mask that she’s upset by agreeing with Simon to sing David Bowie or something. But as she fake smiles, you can tell she’s regretting her choice to appear on the show, especially when Kara calls her “just a coffeehouse performer.”. So if she can really throw caution to the wind and abandon all effort, I’m all about voting for her later on. You can do it, Crystal. VFTW will be waiting.

[path12]

I liked Lilly a lot, and also liked Katelynn and Crystal. Generally it seemed there were about four or five girls who seemed much better than the others but it's usually like that at this point.

[Ksyrup]

Figure I'd slip in to see what Jim had to say. Entertaining as usual...

You guys know all I really enjoy is the background stuff that doesn't even make the show (or comes out much later). And without me around, I guess no one's really keeping up with it all (or cares). But man, you guys are REALLY slipping because I thought for sure someone would have posted about this:



This info's been around since late last year - apparently Janell is Tebow's on-and-off GF (whenever they have time for each other, I guess). They dated regularly in college. So if her shaky performance wasn't enough to send her home, perhaps if this gets out, she'll be more hated than Carly Smithson.

Later!

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Figure I'd slip in to see what Jim had to say. Entertaining as usual...

Thank you.

apparently Janell is Tebow's on-and-off GF (whenever they have time for each other, I guess).

In other words, she was great at the college bar level, but doesn't have much hope of signing a lucrative professional music contract.

[law90026]

Personally, I didn't think the judges did well last night.

Don't get me wrong, the contestants were not fantastic. The only performances I really liked were Didi's and Crystal's ... and that's largely because I liked them from the initial auditions and Hollywood week.

But the judge's comments? Ugh. Like saying Paige has the best voice, complimenting one singer for being special / unique (Lily) and then saying that Didi sounds too much like Duffy ... it's just somewhat contradictory.

[Drake]

Casey James sounded remarkably like a young Bob Seeger on that song.

[Mustang]

Lee, Casey, Andrew, Alex, Michael, Aaron... the rest can go.

Pretty shitty that they were THAT distracting to Casey though during his performance.

[CrimsonFox]

Oh Darling is my least favorite on the Abbey Road album. When they talked about her screaming the sone in places, THAT'S the SONG! Paul McCartney screamed the whole thing, going for that ole 50's sound obviously but I think it sounds terrible. She actually did a better version of it when she herself didn't scream. Then she got sucked into the original version of it.

[Thomkal]

Well I didn't think the men would be worse than the women, but sadly I was wrong. Casey would be the only one I would place above average, the rest average or worse, most in the worse area. Very disappointed in this season's singers. Has Idol tapped out their talent pool?

[Mustang]

I think they went very raw this year with alot of singers more so than previous years. People like Haeley, Aaron and Alex. I think alot of them can grow, but not sure how quickly.

I went back and looked at the comments the last few years and the top 24/36 were never glowing comments so, we shall see.

[CrimsonFox]

I thought it was funny the judges even pointed out that a bunch of em were sounding alike with similar styles and song choices. It's like....WTF you CHOSE these people!

[CrimsonFox]

More detailed analysis... the following ranks mean nothing. Just kinda random.

Lily Scott - "Fixing a Hole" - Great song selection especially for her voice. It started out interesting and good . Paul's tunes are well suited for altos considering how high and breathy he sang things. Halfway thru she starts to lose me. Hit the beat! Hit the tempo! SING THE SONG! She fails to do this. Don't SAY the song. SING the song. Very safe

Siobhan Magnus "Wicked Game" - Excellent song choice. Memorable song that's liked by many (something important). Simon is totally wrong about the song choice. It is not "dreary" but haunting as she says...now the proof is in the pudding of CAN SHE MAKE it haunting and not dreary. Again I am left saying "Keep on beat! Keep the rhythm of the song intact. Stop talk-singing". Again a mediocre version of a great song. But songchoice alone will probably save her. Very safe

Katie Stevens - "Feeling Good" , - feeling forgettable. Bad song. After another watch another of the old time crooning songs. Not totally on key. TOO MUCH acapella. That's very bad. And when the music comes in she's not totally on key but at least she's on tempo. Overall very blahhhhhh. IN DANGER

Paige Miles - "Allright now" - I barely like this song when it comes on the radio. It's just boring generic guitar rock and I LOVE MY guitar rock. Her voice isn't bad but I so couldn't wait for this karoke to be over. IN DANGER

Lacey Brown - "Landslide" - this song would have been great for several others who could handle it. Lacey could not and the sing-talking continues. Just Sing a song. Well, this song already has singtalk elements in it and Lacey showed she can't do a song like this. Low songs are idol-killers. Go high or go home. IN DANGER

Crystal Bowersox - "One Hand In My Pocket" - The best performance of the night hands down. I dreaded the song choice as it was one of those songs where everything in it sounds the same and the lyrics are all cliche. But she aboslutely nailed it. Good playing too. I like people that play their own instruments. I think it relaxes them. Good rock voice without trying to SOUND Like a rock voice like many of the others. VERY SAFE

Katie Epperly - Oh Darling. HATE this song. Worst song on that album for my tastes and I'm totally a Beatles fan. Was funny hearing SImon making fun of her screaming the song. That IS the song. Paul screams the whole damn thing in a 50's scream-crooning style and it sounds terrible. Actually she did improve the song a whole lot when she was just singing and not screaming. Then got lost in the song. I think she's safe simply because many were worse. Kinda safe

Didi Benami - "The Way I Am". Don't remember at all.Just watched it again. More singtalking. Does no one know how to sing? This girl reminds me of Shirley Bassey singing a bond theme. I wanna hear her belt the hell out of something. But this isn't bad. SAFE


Ashley Ordrigues - "Happy" I actually likes this performance. It was sweet-sounding and nice tone and a little quirky. I've NEVER heard the song before tho. They jumped down her throat for this. I really dislike Simon's music taste. All he listens to is pop crap that's obvious. Which is why I think he jumped down her throat. IN DANGER because lemmings listen to Simon.

Hayley Vaughn - "I want to hold your hand" - Started out unique and different with her unique arrangement. Then immediately jumps ship, tempo and shark. STAY ON TEMPO! STAY ON KEY! STAY ON PITCH! This arrangement is terrible. Oh gawd make it stop. IN DANGER (PLEASE SEND HER HOME)

Janell Wheller - "What about Love" not only a popular song but a popular song for idol contestants who want to prove they have a big voice. She didn't sing on key and didn't prove she could sing a big song like this. THe changed key really hurt this song. I really disliked this. IN DANGER

Michelle Delonar - "Fallin" - An old classic crooning tune. Really bored by this but that's more the song choice. SHe does a nice job. I think she's safe.



Results: Bottom 3: Lacey, Haley, Paege
I send Paege back to safety
I send home Haley.

If only the world really worked this way...

[MJ4H]

Casey and Andrew only two I even remember. The rest can go away afaic.

edit: oh yeah Joe was ok, too. Wanted to like Lee, but he was really flat on way too many notes.

[Solecismic]

It's a good thing we have Olympic hockey to watch tonight. The quarterfinal round is taking place, and it's, quite frankly, a treat and a half. The best players in the world, and they care quite a bit about the games.

Not so psyched about tonight's American Idol. The men took the stage for the round of 24. I know I've ranted in the past about evenings that seemed like quite possibly the worst in Idol history. Tonight was. Not even close. It was an unmitigated disaster from the opening note of Todrick Hall's r&b-club aberration of Kelly Clarkson all the way to the closing strum of the endlessly-hyped Andrew Garcia's take on a folk song from the collection even Cat Stevens won't remake.

A couple of production notes. First, I'm glad they've abandoned the 36-person format of last season. We lost too many decent singers who needed a couple of weeks to grab an audience.

Second, I like Ellen DeGeneres. I didn't think I would, but she plays the role of an interested, intelligent outsider quite well. As the season goes on, I hope she stops parroting Randy Jackson (who always takes his cue from the audience reaction). But she's a better Randy Jackson than Randy Jackson.

Third, Kara DioGuardi may know music. Or she may not. But she's all wrong for the role she plays.

And fourth, the production still has trouble with the basics. For a show with 30 million viewers, you'd think they could tell the judges who is commenting first. And they could tell Kara that by pounding her fists and elbows on the stage desk, she's thumping the microphone like it's amateur hour at a dance club.

As I type here, the Czech Republic just went behind, 1-0, late in the third period. You'd think a country named after a hockey term would be a little stronger on the ice.

I'm a little hesitant to write the rest of this piece, as it's going to be very negative. Can't help that. Yesterday set an unofficial record with four performances that belonged in my Hall of Shame. That record was broken tonight. In fact, if they sent all 12 men home tomorrow, I don't think I'd feel I've missed anything.

Here are the rankings for the round of 24 men:

1. Casey James. He has a nice stage presence. His voice is a little high. I think he'll need to show off a lower range if he wants to be around in the later rounds. Maybe I was just so desperate even for mediocrity that by the time Casey came on the stage, 11th tonight, I was ready to praise a donkey braying the Star Spangled Banner. He had good tone, sounded light and airy, and people could start to take him seriously - something that was a bit difficult to imagine after he removed his shirt during his audition. Score of 82.

2. Lee DeWyze. Normally, a performance this uninteresting wouldn't be anywhere near second place for the evening. Lee twirled out a rather derivative Soul Patrol. He has that richer rock sound, though. And that's wildly successful on this show. I'm not certain he can stay in tune, but he has to be better than Taylor Hicks. Simon, with the advantage of having heard the other auditions, was effusive. Or desperate. The final six men are going to be the weakest ever for Idol. It would be a shame to eliminate even a mediocre singer like Lee at this stage. Score of 66.

3. Michael Lynche. He has a new baby. He threatened to punch Simon, and I'm only 50% sure he was kidding. He has, to repeat a tired Idol cliché, a lot more talent than he showed tonight. And tonight he went with karaoke Maroon 5. Maybe Maroon 2 1/2. Hard to tell. He forgot the melody in places and didn't show any range. Simon is now in the witness protection program. Michael is safe for a few weeks because his wife was willing to televise the birth of her baby. Score of 65.

4. Andrew Garcia. Andrew got the coveted final slot. He was memorable in the earlier shows, because he has a very nice voice, a gang-banger background, a dad who cries, a baby, and Seacrest absolutely towers above him. Which makes me think his gang was operating in Lilliput. Or maybe his role in the gang was to carry the water bottles. Andrew was hotly anticipated, and has enough pimping to go to the final three even if he used helium and sang from Alvin and the Chipmunks. But he wasn't good tonight. He was merely competent, and oversang a forgettable song. Score of 59.

5. Aaron Kelly. Aaron is 16 and hasn't much of an idea of how he wants to sing. Which is fine. He seems to be going the Kris Allen route, which means blending into the scenery and hoping teenage girls enjoy this musical version of Where's Waldo. There's a little bit of country in him. There's probably some talent somewhere, but the song he chose was dreadful. Or maybe he always sounds like he's picked up one of those blah songs Kara writes for the finalists.

6. Tyler Grady. OK, we get it, you're Jim Morrison. Only that's one of the lowest-energy renditions of a classic rocker tune I've ever heard. He has no low range, either. And is far too happy to be a real rocker. Nice guy, but I don't see where he's going with this. Score of 54.

7. Todrick Hall. When he came out first and performed this awful, showy, dare I use the over-Idoled term "indulgent" version of Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, I figured him for a run at last place. Nope, it's seventh. That's how bad tonight was. The song was monotonous, all about the dance and the stage presence. Both traits he has. And apparently he has a voice, too, but that wasn't in evidence. Simon, however, in saying he verged on "stupid," probably galvanized a fan base. Was that intentional? It certainly went over the line, and set the tone for the night. Score of 51.

8. Tim Urban. The replacement player sang "(Too Late to) Apologize." After that horrific rendition, I'd agree. He's on the show now. He sounds odd in his higher register and he had enormous trouble with his voice modulation. His looks will probably keep him, very undeservedly, for a while. Score of 32.

9. Joe Muñoz. Joe went with Jason Mraz. Since he's from Mexico, and English is not his first language, the complex lyrics sounded a bit babbly. He was quite nervous, that song doesn't work with poor phrasing. He also looked cold, wearing a heavy coat and a scarf on what's reportedly a very hot stage. He seems quite likeable, but with a dreadful performance and no backstory, he's in serious danger of leaving. Score of 28.

10. Alex Lambert. The lesser of two Morrisons. Alex was even less convincing, with less energy. His falsetto was strained and way off key. The rest of his performance was tedious and tuneless. I'm being quite generous here. Score of 25.

11. John Park. John can sing. He, more than anyone maybe in the history of Idol, made a bad song choice. God Bless This Child is not a pop song, a rock song, a current song, and it has to be sung like a standard - way out there. John doesn't have that kind of voice. He tried to trill a little, but it just turned the performance into a comedy. Then he wrapped everything up by insulting his parents, who did look more than a little mortified. Score of 20.

12. Jermaine Sellers. Sadly, Jermaine is tone deaf. He wasn't singing, just making noise. I'm sure it sounds great to him in the shower, but I'm puzzled as to why he even made it to Hollywood. Score of 14.

Overall: It's not even close. This was the night featuring the worst singing in Idol history.

Who Should Go: Jermaine and Alex.

Who Will Go: Jermaine and Joe.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Overall: It's not even close. This was the night featuring the worst singing in Idol history.

Pretty much every night of season 3 was worse than this.

[jbergey22]

Very underwhelming.

Out of the 24 performers I could only see Katie Stevens winning this. Casey James will probably end up being a reality TV Star.

When I think of the best singers out of the group Stevens is really that only one that seems to have the charisma to win this.

Garcia, Bowersox and Scott all lack the X-factor in my opinion.

I thought James put on a great performance tonight but I dont think he has the voice to win it.

I hope I never have to hear Haeley Vaughn sing again.

[CrimsonFox]

Guys were equally boring and weak. I started writing a review, but it trickled out into just boring.

[GrantDawg]

Jim pretty much hit it. As I said yesterday, these first nights are always among the worst. Next week will still be bad, but there will be a few surprises, and probably at least a couple of good performances that will stand out. I have some hope for Lee Dewyze. I think he has potential.

[Ksyrup]

I've been watching AI since half-way through Season 2, and last night was the worst night of performances I've seen. We fast-forwarded through 4 of them and my wife fell asleep about an hour in. I thought the only 2 guys who sounded remotely competent were Big Mike (nothing special, but at least he was mostly in tune) and Casey James (his vibrato gave off a clear Will Hoge vibe, which is cool with me). Casey seems like the only one who has a chance from the guys. Tim Urban had to have been sabotaged by the producers - how can you pick a song with a falsetto chorus and not have the voice to come within an octave of the falsetto required to pull it off?

I've never disagreed with Simon (or agreed with Randy) as much as I did with Lee Dewyze. I thought he was terrible. He didn't hit a single note. The fact that so many people praised him just confirms for me that I simply cannot listen to the Eddie Vedder/post-grunge style of rock vocals that are so popular these days. I had the same feeling about David Cook, too. That vocal style is all over the place range-wise and grates on my nerves. Dewyze was a clear bottom-3 for me for him, dawg. He looks strikingly similar to Elliott Yamin, without the snaggletooth thing. I thinnk it's his jawline.

It's a good thing I'm going to be traveling and probably will miss next week's performances...

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've never disagreed with Simon (or agreed with Randy) as much as I did with Lee Dewyze. I thought he was terrible. He didn't hit a single note.

He would've been ok if he hadn't missed so many notes flat. Missing a note flat is far worse than missing it sharp. It sounds so much more horrible. A lot of his performance was ok, but every time he went flat on a note it was beyond painful.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jim nails 3 of 4 on who was going home. I wonder who cursed at the end or otherwise caused the audio to blanked out for a few seconds. I'm guessing it was Alex expressing disbelief at still being alive, but Tyler seemed more upset than most contestants.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm guessing it was Alex expressing disbelief at still being alive, but Tyler seemed more upset than most contestants.

I thought it went from HD to non-HD which caused the glitch. At least on my end it did.

I can't say I blame Tyler. I'm sure he has been doing what he has been doing from the beginning audition through Hollywood with nothing being said and then he gets on the show and he gets pounded like that.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by rowech

The winner will be the girl with a last name of I believe Rodriguez. Not sure about first name. Called it the first time I heard her sing.

You pick the Polish Army over the Germans in 1939 too?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Mustang

You pick the Polish Army over the Germans in 1939 too?

My wife is still laughing because I picked her and said I liked the Jim Morrison clone. It's a running thing in that just about every type of competition that the person I root for is always a goner. I'm a human jinx.

[Thomkal]

I can't believe I'm going to have to listen to the likes of Tim Urban and Haeley Vaughn again. A bit shocked Ashley is gone despite her performance, and Tyler and Joe wouldn't have been my picks to go either.

[jbergey22]

Well 3 of the 4 worst ones are still around oddly enough.

Haeley
Lacey
Jermaine
and
tyler would have been fine by me

In a contest where very few of them have great voices might as well keep the hotter ones around. Therefore Ashley and Janell needed to stay.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Mustang

You pick the Polish Army over the Germans in 1939 too?

awesome

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Mustang

You pick the Polish Army over the Germans in 1939 too?

I didn't know there was an Army of hot dogs.

[Sun Tzu]

What would "Big Mike" talk about if he wasn't 300 lbs? I swear the guys entire personality and persona revolves around being a big guy. Seriously man, do you have an answer for anybody that doesn't involve picking them up/beating them up/smashing things? It's week 1 and it's already getting annoying.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

What would "Big Mike" talk about if he wasn't 300 lbs? I swear the guys entire personality and persona revolves around being a big guy. Seriously man, do you have an answer for anybody that doesn't involve picking them up/beating them up/smashing things? It's week 1 and it's already getting annoying.

Well, I heard something about him having a baby during Hollywood week, I'm sure that will get mentioned at some point.

[CrimsonFox]

Wow 4 going home. WTF. I'm shocked they aren't dragging things out longer and kick that many people off so soon. Doubly shocked that really horrible people are still about like Tim Urban and Haeley and Lacey.
And Tyler going home? Wow! Of all the people he seems to have "IT".
The star/sex quality and a uniqueness that would have been interesting to watch. Aside from Ellen, I think this season is going to be horrible.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Well, I heard something about him having a baby during Hollywood week, I'm sure that will get mentioned at some point.

I don't think you read my post right.

[Solecismic]

Casey James has a cardboard box. This is no ordinary cardboard box. It contains a device, or a keepsake, or a memento, or a voodoo doll made to look like Simon Cowell. Or perhaps it's a small toaster oven.

We don't know. He won't show us for another four weeks. And that gives us plenty of time for speculation as we wend our way toward a new American Idol winner for 2010.

Crystal Bowersox could have been hiding in the box. Reportedly, she became ill with complications from her diabetes early today. This forced Idol producers to switch the men with the women this week. Crystal is one of the favorites, and they need to try and keep her in the competition.

And there could be a spare set of dreadlocks in the box. Crystal has her own, and, as Jason Castro proved a couple of years ago, you don't need to sing all that well to reach the final four if you have dreadlocks. You don't think admitted cougar Kara DioGuardi would love Casey in dreads?

I'm not certain I can stop speculating about what Casey is hiding in his cardboard box. It could be Ruben Studdard's career. Or Bikini Girl's wardrobe from last season. Or just a sampling of the millions of unsold CDs from William Hung's "She Bangs" recording.

I'd better stop, and get to the Solecismic Rankings of the Men's Top 20 performances:

1. Michael Lynche. Like seven of the ten men who sang today, Michael was in far better form than he was last week. Michael went with a James Brown standard, and he was right in his comfort zone. Effortless. Michael doesn't have much range and he needs to hold his better notes longer, but he sounded quite good tonight and I can see him lasting much longer in this competition. Score of 86.

2. Lee Dewyze. Lee is becoming a producer favorite, because he emulates the sound that's very popular among "edgy" male singers these days. He does a mean Daughtry. Or a wicked David Cook. Or a far, far superior Taylor Hicks. So he received the coveted final slot tonight and did a pretty good job sounding recordable. If you looked closely, you could see a few dollar signs lighting up in Simon's eyes. Score of 84.

3. Casey James. Casey was one of the three who didn't sound as good as he did last week. Still, he's also one of a different three (including Michael and Lee) who will almost certainly be the last men standing this season. Casey went with the crowd-pleasing Gavin McGraw tune that countless rockers have chirped in past seasons. He was a bit quiet and unconvincing, but he has a good sound. I think he's all too aware of his talent, and the aw-shucks is already wearing thin. The teen girls don't tire of this stuff, though, and keep dialing. Score of 74.

4. Alex Lambert. After lots of kid-pleasing discussion of throwing up and nerves and even having his own language, which seems to be a rather offensive take on Spanish, Alex belted out a John Legend tune with his unique and odd phrasing and voice modulation. Despite a horrendous last note, he was much, much better this week than last. He's distinctive and talented. I don't much like it, but I remember him, and I think he's going to gain some fans. At least some with strong stomachs. Score of 69.

5. Todrick Hall. Remember. On Idol you need to make something your own. Unless, by making something your own, you take it away from someone else. Or it just isn't good. Or it wasn't your own in the first place. Or it belongs in Casey's cardboard box. I don't know. Todrick mangled a familiar Tina Turner tune, which upset the judges. He slowed it down and added a lot of Todrick trills. He seems quite full of himself. But he's still very talented and could come out of nowhere to blow us all away soon. So I think he has support. Score of 61.

6. Tim Urban. A completely forgettable rendition of a familiar modern tune. He has good instincts. I think he knows exactly what he needs to sing and he certainly looks the part. But he's just not very talented. He could be a backup singer. Or he could pursue the Milli Vanilli career path. Score of 57.

7. Aaron Kelly. Yes, the judges raved about pooka-shell necklace teen idol. He bleated out a soulless and entirely karaoke version of the Temptations' My Girl. He has a horrid and dangerously loud falsetto. He sounded like a goat in heat and I think the judges will be embarrassed when they watch this on television later. His looks will keep him around a while. Score of 49.

8. Andrew Garcia. Oh, my, the pre-season favorite has fallen out of favor. Maybe the magic of editing made him the favorite. He missed every single note he sang tonight. Every single one. If there were Disney bluebirds singing along with him, they would have curled up and fallen right off the celluloid. This was more a schoolkid talent-show performance than a real attempt at singing. I'm surprised the judges weren't more than "disappointed." Score of 44.

9. John Park. John is trying very hard to be something he isn't. Tonight, he wasn't John Mayer. He sounded watery and breathy. No doubt, he's a great lead in whatever chorus he sings in at Northwestern. I just don't see what he's doing on American Idol. I don't remember much after the beginning of his song, because it seemed quite easy to tune out. He's not unpleasant to hear, but there's nothing good or interesting about it. Score of 40.

10. Jermaine Sellers. Marvin Gaye was murdered in 1984. Fortunately, he didn't live to see one of his best songs murdered in 2010. Like Todrick, Jermaine slowed down his performance in a rather strange manner. Unlike Todrick, this awkward arrangement was not done tunefully. We're two weeks in, and Jermaine has yet to sing anything resembling a melody. He apparently uses a steam machine to "open" his voice right before performing. I think he needs to ditch the steamer - perhaps he can hide it in Casey's cardboard box. Score of 26.

Overall: It was far better than last week, but still a little bit short of mediocre for this stage of the competition. Most of these men need to go home soon.

Who Should Go: Jermaine and John.

Who Will Go: Jermaine and John.

[wade moore]

Interesting take. I often am not speaking from as technical a standpoint as Jim. I don't hear the intricate technical details that others do - so I'm more on "entertainment" than "signing quality" a lot of the time.

For me, I can't stand "Big Mike". I'm sure he sings fine but the overplaying of his story and his boring performances do nothing for me.

I thought Casey James was AWFUL. The constant vibrato is impossible to listen to imo.

I like what Alex Lambert does. I know he definitely needs a lot of work, but when he's "on" I like what he's doing.


A side note. I generally do not like female singers as much as male singers. This year, I think there's probably at least 6 female singers that I like better than my #1 male.

[Thomkal]

Thank God the guys were better than they were last week. Having said that, I think Michael was the only one who could compare to the better performances of past seasons. But he's kinda freaking me out with big guy doing musical theatre, it's a weird image. And tip to Andrew Garcia-sing more popular well known songs.

I think Tim Urban, Adam Lambert, and Aaron Kelly need to go. None of them are ready for this level of entertainment. Tim did improve from last week, and since he showed off his spiritual side last night, probably needs to sing slow Gospel songs the rest of his time on the show. Aaron needs to sing Country songs to suit his voice, but even then he's too unpolished-they should have sent him back for a year or two for "seasoning" before making the Top 24. Adam did better than last week and maybe with all the encouragements from the judges he'll find the confidence he needs to stop looking like a deer caught in the headlights all the time. But he's not ready for this level either.

I was about to scream at the judges with their mixed signals concerning how much to change a song. I mean Randy Jackson even told Todrick to sing a song as it was performed originally, which would then mean they would criticize it as karakoke or too close to the original. I give Todrick and Jermaine a lot of credit for trying to make changes to their songs, but now I think next week they if they make it, they are going to be pretty boring.

[Drake]

Thanks for the excellent recap, Jim. I missed half of last night's episode while providing telephone PC support for my dad, so I appreciate the detailed take on what happened.

[Eaglesfan27]

I would have put Todrick much lower, but otherwise agree with Jim's rankings. However, I think John Park will get saved for another week.

[Kodos]

Haven't seen anything from this week, but last weeks shows were horrid. LOTS of fast-forwarding going on. Even Casey (who the wife of course thinks is hot) drew groans from us. This season better get better fast, or I'll tune out.

I wish people would choose more rock songs. Everyone does these boring soft songs. Mix it up a little.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I think Tim Urban, Adam Lambert, and Aaron Kelly need to go.

Alex not Adam, but I think he needs to stick around. He needs some work especially with the stage fright thing, but for whatever reason I like him the best out of the guys.

[Ramzavail]

Definitely Alex should stay, I think his performance, albeit he's a meek little thing, it was the best if not the second best last night.

[Mustang]

Plus I want Alex to stay around because I imagine it will drive that bitch Mary Powers to insanity.

[wade moore]

My god.

How is this Haeley chick on this show?

[MJ4H]

I don't think she will be next week. She and the girl that sang the Creed?? song? Can't remember her name. So far and away worse than everyone else. Not even close. I'm assuming Siobahn stays out of the basement here. She hasn't gone yet as of this writing.

I might be a little in love with Lilly and Katie, btw. And omg Lilly killed tonight. She is by far my favorite overall.

[MJ4H]

Michelle was who I was thinking of. And oh ok I might be in love with Siobahn too???

Spoiler

and dont think Katelyn wouldnt get it either

[Drake]

Siobahn is like that slightly crazy, non-sequitur-prone chick with no internal filter we all know and secretly like to hang out with because you never know what's going to come out of her mouth.

Edit: And yeah, I'd do her.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Alex not Adam, but I think he needs to stick around. He needs some work especially with the stage fright thing, but for whatever reason I like him the best out of the guys.

Yeah alex, knew I'd mess that up sooner or later.