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20Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyIdol Season 9: Top 10 -- Lee Dewyze
Breaks Out
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Read More: American Idol , Ellen Degeneres , Kara DioGuardi , Pop Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV ,
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After weeks of appearing uncomfortable, uncertain,
unhappy and lots of other "uns," Lee Dewyze finally
broke out of his shell (perhaps a pep talk from Usher
helped) and delivered the best performance of his lifeon American Idol 's r&b/soul night.
But first, Idol begins on Monday now. That's when the
latest person to depart appears on Late Show WithDavid Letterman. Paige Miles sat in with the band,
chatted with Dave and sang a confident, winning
version of Stevie Wonder's Grammy-winning song "Living For The City." If she'd sung like that on Idol ,
she'd still be on. Indeed, it was miles better than anything she'd done for weeks. It's always good to
remember that not every artist will flourish in the cut-throat, pressure-cooker atmosphere of a prime-
time competition. Maybe we haven't heard the last from Paige.
On to soul night, where Usher was a very serious mentor who focused a lot on connecting with the
audience and appeared to help a number of the competitors improve.
SIOBHAN MAGNUS -- Siobhan continues to rack up accolades from outsiders, with Usher saying "I
think she's got a real shot at being an incredible artist." I thought he might be the sort to say this about
everyone, but in fact we heard him raving most about Siobhan, Casey James and saying "wow" over LeeDewyze's vocals when Lee was leaving the room. Siobhan sang Chaka Khan's 1985 gem "Through The
Fire," one of those tunes Khan can deliver effortlessly but most other singers will sound strained and
awkward on. That's exactly what happened to Siobhan, who had a crazy braid in her hair, too much lipgloss and was piercing and off-key on the chorus. It was her weakest performance in a long time and
Simon rightly echoed what I said last week: the wailing bit she always throws in is getting boring.
CASEY JAMES -- Sang Sam & Dave's iconic hit "Hold On! I'm A Comin'," the biggest of their career. No
one had ever sung it on Idol before, which is surprising until you realize so much of the song is built on
the back and forth of those two. But Casey nailed it, looking supremely confident and happy and
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delivering an exceptional cover of the tune. My only thought was that he may have peaked too soon. To
my surprise, both Ellen and Kara found it a bit obvious. But Simon and Randy rightly praised it. Casey
should work in the blues every week, no matter what.
MICHAEL LYNCHE -- Sang "Ready For Love" from India.arie's album Acoustic Soul. Lynche had been
veering into lounge act territory, but he's righted the ship again, by sitting on a chair, strumming an
acoustic guitar and nailing a song most listeners would have never heard before. The only problem was
that the producers had him backlit too brightly so Michael disappeared in the light every so often. Very
strong vocal and though he technically went off-key a bit towards the end, it didn't matter because theperformance was convincing.
DIDI BENAMI -- Sang "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?" a classic Motown tune by Jimmy
Ruffin and covered often but still somehow fresh. (Wikipedia says Whitney Houston was gonna cover itfor her film The Bodyguard until Paul Young did it for another film and had a hit. That sent her to Dolly
Parton's "I Will Always Love You.") This was a very strange segment and I'm not sure if Didi will getsympathy for it or not; she'll need it since the performance was flat most of the way, till she picked up
some steam on the emphatic finale. First, she broke down in tears after singing the song for Usher. Then
after the judges blasted her, Ryan tried to prod Didi into revealing some personal anecdote about why thesong means so much to her but she politely refused and then looked ready to break down again. I doappreciate her refusal to mine a private moment on camera in front of millions and she looked lovely. Ijust wish her singing had been better.
TIM URBAN -- Sang Anita Baker's "Sweet Love," one of the great jazzy soul ballads of the last three
decades. Surely tackling it was no crazier than Tim singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." More
importantly, Tim smiled and smiled and smiled and looked cute during the pre-song chat, in front of the
judges and backstage. He's definitely ready for some acting roles after gliding through the whole process.Simon nailed it by saying it doesn't make a bit of difference what the judges say. But in fact I thought
Tim did a pretty good job given his limitations and had a good strong Idol -like note at the end, the sort
that plays well in the end of the show recap.
ANDREW GARCIA -- Sang Chris Brown's "Forever" (which was originally written for a gum
commercial!). After weeks of desperately trying to recreate his Paula Abdul moment, Andrew finally did
just that. He took a dance-y pop tune and did an acoustic version, sans the kitsch value of "Straight Up"
in the context of Idol . He was especially good on the bridge. I wrote down "Andrew is back!" because I
knew Randy would say that and indeed he did. Still, this wasn't revelatory, just a case of Andrew not
sucking as he has the last few weeks.
KATIE STEVENS -- Sang Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools," a song about a woman realizing she's
been duped by a no-good dog of a man. Now I don't care how old you are, if you can sing a song you can
sing it. 14-year-olds can deliver a nice version of a song about a dad proud of his new-born son. Why not?
But Katie was all attitude and no depth, bopping her head in that soulful manner but looking more like a
kid playing at dress-up than someone feeling actual anger or pain. Randy mentioned a disconnectbetween the lyrics and her singing and that's what he meant: she didn't seem to have a clue as to what the
song was about, attitude notwithstanding. Very beauty pageant, as Simon might have said.
LEE DEWYZE -- Sang "Treat Her Like A Lady," the #3 hit from 1971 by the sibling act Cornelius
Brothers & Sister Rose. Usher actually said "wow" about Lee's singing after a rehearsal when Lee was
heading out the door and couldn't see him. And no wonder. Lee's voice has always been very distinctive,but he was light years better last night than he's ever been before. In the past, he's seemed like a deer
caught in the headlights and generally miserable. He's repeatedly been told he needs to have more
confidence in himself. But how the heck do you give yourself more confidence in a week? Obviously, Leeknows the answer since he was confident, soulful and absolutely commanding. Since Simon had beenpushing him to "have a moment" I was certain that one or all of the judges would say, "You just had a
moment." Maybe the others left it to Simon. But he went one better, saying, "This is the night your life
may have changed forever." Suddenly, this competition is getting very interesting and despite the judgessaying it's the year of the women, it looks like Crystal will be battling Casey and Michael and Lee and
Aaron for the finale.
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX -- Sang "Midnight Train To Georgia," the sole #1 pop hit by the vocally
brilliant Gladys Knight & The Pips. One of my favorite songs of all, Crystal delivered it at the piano
complete with backup singers before standing up to finish it off. We learned she hadn't played piano inyears, so I'm not sure if I would have known why this performance was slightly off. But having that info,it certainly explained why she was a little tentative and staring down at the keyboards so intently. Plus,
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Bump...Crystal had way too much makeup on. She shined at moments and it was only off compared to her
flawless singing every other week. Crystal was still better than all the other women combined. The song
was hardly a radical departure for her, but Simon was right to warn Crystal about losing her way.
Bizarrely, Simon said she should have done the song without the backup singers, which is a little likesaying you should do "Hit The Road, Jack" without backup singers. I suppose it could be done but thebackup singers are intertwined with the song and inextricable from its appeal.
AARON STEVENS -- Sang a Bill Withers song and as soon as I heard that I depressingly knew it would
be "Ain't No Sunshine." It's a great great song, but Withers has such a good, country-ish vibe that many,
many of his tunes would fit the country-leaning Aaron better than this one, which has been overdone onIdol . Aaron's been growing by leaps and bounds so it's no surprise he would stumble. It wasn't disastrous
by any stretch; just much weaker than usual for him.
That brings me to song selection, often a bewildering demand from the judges. But look what happened
this week. The people who chose obvious songs (often done repeatedly on Idol ) stumbled: "Ain't No
Sunshine," "Chain Of Fools," "Through The Fire." Those who chose something contemporary but put aspin on it did well: "Forever." Those who chose songs rarely or never done on Idol and songs most people
wouldn't even know shined: "Ready For Love," "Soul Man," "Treat Her Like A Lady."
So who goes home? It seems unlikely that the bottom three would all be women, but the three weakest
performances were definitely Siobhan Magnus, Didi Benami and Katie Stevens. I'll throw in Tim sincehe's lived in the bottom three. The bottom three will be Tim and Katie and Didi. It'll come down to Katie
and Didi and Didi will go home.
Thanks for reading. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of
celebrity interviews and his weekly music radio show at Popsurfing and enjoy the weekly pop culture
podcast he co-hosts at Showbiz Sandbox . Both available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and
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Who is Aaron Stevens?
I'm predicting Lee and Crystal in the finals. There is a chance either Big Mike or Casey could make
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178 Fansthe finals. If Lee gets his confidence going, look out. He and Crystal are the best vocalists and
Crystal has a lot of performing experience . Lee should take a cue from Big Mike and work on his
personalit y. Don't see how Tim could survive another week but the voting is hard to predict because
so many factors come into play.
Simon didn't tell Crystal she shouldn't have had backup singers; he told her she shouldn't have
backup singers standing by the piano.
Hmm. Simon said, "The backing vocalists shouldn't have been there because it made it old-fashio ned." I agree it's vague and you could interpret that either way: they should have
been off to the side OR they shouldn't have been part of the arrangemen t and Crystal
should have done the vocals alone. Given Simon's track record, I don't think it was thestaging but the arrangemen t but you're certainly right in pointing out it was vague and not
clear exactly what he meant. Here's the clip for anyone wh wants to make up their ownmind: http://www .youtube.c om/watch?v =aHiasC-6e NI
Thanks for commenting .http://www .huffingto npost.com/ michael-gi ltz/emidol em-season- 9-
top-10_b _520118.ht ml#
Lee and Crystal are by far the best. I think Usher put a little flame under Lee and I was thrilled tosee it!
Well, that's that. Didi's out, absurdly.
Once again, the teenyboppe rs choose. That's really the lamest part of this show -- the lowest
common denominato r factor.
But then, I guess that's what "pop stardom" means, really. Which is why Crystal isn't going to win
this whole thing, no matter HOW much the judges try to make it happen; when teenaged girls rulethe phones, it ain't gonna be a dreadlocke d, gap-toothe d Janis Joplin revival artist taking it home.
You're probably right. Crystal may come in third, which is where Melinda Doolittle toppedout. Despite that, she will have a more solid long-term career than whoever wins the titlethis year.
Wow. Did someone let the judges do his thinking for him? To often the actual performanc e is
forgotten after the judges go through their routine.FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST
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quivira 11:59 AM on 4/01/2010
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6 FansI am convinced that the judges get direction from the producers. "This week bring down Casey a
notch, especially you, Kara, be critical of him." "Pump Lee and Andrew this week, we want to keepthem in the competitio n." "No matter how much Tim improves and how much charisma he has, be
sure to completely dis him; he was supposed to not make it into the top 20, much less the top 10!""Stay on the 'got to be contempora ry' jag with Katy, even if she gives a stella performanc e."
In my opinion both Andrew and Lee have outlived their welcome. As for Lee needing confidence ?
Wow someone again is buying into the producers' narrative. Lee is so arrogant I can't stand him. He
reminds me of Danny Gokey. But it is obvious the judges on the producers' orders want to put him
in the top three.
The judges job on this show isn't to give advice to the contestant s. The judges job on this show is
to shape the opinion of the audience. Sometimes they are so off it is obvious they are acting on the
producers' input.
In a just universe, Siobhan would go home. ENOUGH. And if not her, Tim Urban or Katie or frankly,
Aaron Kelly. I am baffled as to why Aaron Kelly is so popular -- other than that ridiculousteenyboppe r thing, which just drives me insane. Ugh. Siobhan's one trick pony routine is officially
crazy-maki ng, Tim Urban is cute but utterly out of his league and Katie, while definitely talented, is
simply not ready for prime time -- she needs at least another year of seasoning.
Those are the bottom four of the top Ten, the four who simply do not have what it takes to be stars
Right Now.
If Didi were to go, it would be, simply, a travesty. The judges have been ludicrousl y unfair to her,
week after week. She has an extraordin ary voice, she is GORGEOUS, she picks songs (with the
unfortunat e exception of last night, more's the pity) that are outside the box... Didi could, with just
the teensiest bit of guidance, be a star.
I wish to hell Simon would give that girl the proper push. But I swear, Randy, Ellen and Kara are
hellbent on seeing her kicked off the show. For whatever reason, they have wanted her gone fromDay One. It's depressing .
I hope to god she makes it through this round and one of those four goes home, because any oneof them deserves to leave more than she does.
Part of the problem is, imho, that this is a very weak season for talent. Out of the Top 12,there are, perhaps, 3 possible contenders and none of those, again jmho, is strong enoughto make a lasting mark on the industry unless something happens to radically change theirabilities.
As for Did - lovely girl. Very attractive , nice voice, seems very sweet into the bargain.
Unfortunat ely, she can't seem to sing in tune for more than a couple of bars. She has had
one or two reasonable performanc es throughout . The rest were, frankly, attrocious . Sorry,
but that's reality. The reason she is now gone is because it was these weak performanc es,
on on top of the other, culminatin g in that debacle Tuesday night. We were actually
embarrasse d for her and cringing during that mess.
I have no idea what's needed to get her shaped up - vocal lessons, tranquiliz ers, self-estee
m counseling ? Can't really say. Very unfortunat e, but there it is. Bottom line, she deserved
to be gone and so do most all of them.
Right on review Michael. I've been a fan of Dewyze since day 1. Who knows why he has sufferred
from low self esteem - it might be a pretty bad episode in his childhood (one never knows), so tosee him pull himself together was great.
I do think Katie would be great at Martina McBride songs.Permalink | Share it
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14 FansThe Idols redeemed themselves from last week. My grade:
Dewyze: A
Andrew: A-Crystal: B+Michael: BCasey: B
Arron: B-
Siobhan: CKatie: CDidi: CTim: C-
If you haven't already, checkout Lee's 2 pre Idol CD's they are really good!
http://itu nes.apple. com/us/art ist/lee-de wyze/id259 611566
I knew he'd bring it! Casey is good but the GRIN..ugh!
I think Tim will finally be sent packing. Can't say why, really, just a feeling, but his time has come. I
think Ryan over-stepp ed in his prodding of DiDi, I do not think I ever heard multiple judges call out
for him to stop something at the same time. I think she wants to win or loose based on her ability,not on some sentimenta list issue. I actually admired her for trying to demure and answer without
answering. I love her voice, but her song choices have been poor.
Lee rocked the house last night, and all because Usher removed his glasses and looked him in the
eye. But as always I'm with Crystal, she has more abilities and talent than I thought she had. Whoknew she could tickle the ivories too?
I know. Ryan can be so obnoxious. I liked the old days when he really seemed to care.There's hints of the sweetness now and again but he crosses the line too much.
Casey James did NOT sing Soul Man. He sang Hold on, I'm Coming.
Crystal needs to be cutting albums and going on tour - and not with these people.
I've listened to some of Crystal's original material online. Very cool. She will be making
great records once her time on Idol is over. I'm glad she came on the show. Otherwise, Imight never have discovered her for myself.Permalink | Share it
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TankGirlz 03:18 PM on 3/31/2010
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470 Fans
163 Fans
59 Fans
43 FansYep. Odd mistake to make, re: Casey.
I'm getting REALLY tired of Casey. Talk about wearing out a routine... Every song he sings
sounds the same now. And he swore he was going to use the guitar EVERY TIME?Sheesh.
I know Crystal wanted to test herself but I think Simon was dead-on. This is one time
where someone doesn't need to "show her range." Stick with your true self. The make-up,the heels, the skin-tight dress -- it all rang so false, I was very uncomforta ble watching it. It
was like, "Um, okay, now we know you can do that -- can we go back to the real you now?"
Interestin g that you feel Crystal should not change anything, but rely on the same
things she has always done, not branching out or experiment ing - mic, guitar, rug,
sing.
For Casey, however, you say you are tired of the way HE performs. "Is he going to
use the guitar every time? Sheesh!" A little exasperati on there? Not a fan,
perhaps? No problem, but what I see when I watch Casey is a classic front man.That's who he is. That's what he does. That's the album he'll record. He shouldstick with what he knows and who he knows himself to be, as should Crystal andall the others, many of which won't and that will be their downfall - that and a lackof talent.
Whoops. It was indeed their OTHER big hit. Thanks for correcting me. Crystal will be; nodoubt about it.
Last night's show felt like a balloon losing its air.
Siobhan was a mess, something I never thought I'd say. But it seems whenever you have one of
these kids sing a song they don't really know, they don't have the confidence to do it forcefully .
More often than not, they're feeling their way through the melody. Siobhan sang it forcefully only toseemingly realize she didn't know it that well.
What the hell was Ryan doing badgering Didi about what that song meant to her? He asked, and
she demurred, and anyone not an idiot would have left it at that. Didi seems to be morphing fromsinger to actress before our eyes. Katharine McPhee did it, as evidenced by her excellent turn asChevy Chase's stepdaught er on "Community " a few weeks back.
Why not? It pays better. You keep more of the money you generate, and it certainly is a moredependable industry than the music industry, which has gone in the tank.
Crystal and Casey...st ill the ones to beat. Siobhan should be in the mix, but only if she picks songs
she's comfortabl e with, and gives the screaming a rest.
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Michael Giltz
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Posted: March 31, 2010 12:00 PM
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20Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyIdol Season 9: Top 10 -- Lee Dewyze
Breaks Out
What's Your Reaction:
Read More: American Idol , Ellen Degeneres , Kara DioGuardi , Pop Music , Randy Jackson , Reality TV ,
Ryan Seacrest , Simon Cowell , Entertainment News
After weeks of appearing uncomfortable, uncertain,
unhappy and lots of other "uns," Lee Dewyze finally
broke out of his shell (perhaps a pep talk from Usher
helped) and delivered the best performance of his lifeon American Idol 's r&b/soul night.
But first, Idol begins on Monday now. That's when the
latest person to depart appears on Late Show WithDavid Letterman. Paige Miles sat in with the band,
chatted with Dave and sang a confident, winning
version of Stevie Wonder's Grammy-winning song "Living For The City." If she'd sung like that on Idol ,
she'd still be on. Indeed, it was miles better than anything she'd done for weeks. It's always good to
remember that not every artist will flourish in the cut-throat, pressure-cooker atmosphere of a prime-
time competition. Maybe we haven't heard the last from Paige.
On to soul night, where Usher was a very serious mentor who focused a lot on connecting with the
audience and appeared to help a number of the competitors improve.
SIOBHAN MAGNUS -- Siobhan continues to rack up accolades from outsiders, with Usher saying "I
think she's got a real shot at being an incredible artist." I thought he might be the sort to say this about
everyone, but in fact we heard him raving most about Siobhan, Casey James and saying "wow" over LeeDewyze's vocals when Lee was leaving the room. Siobhan sang Chaka Khan's 1985 gem "Through The
Fire," one of those tunes Khan can deliver effortlessly but most other singers will sound strained and
awkward on. That's exactly what happened to Siobhan, who had a crazy braid in her hair, too much lipgloss and was piercing and off-key on the chorus. It was her weakest performance in a long time and
Simon rightly echoed what I said last week: the wailing bit she always throws in is getting boring.
CASEY JAMES -- Sang Sam & Dave's iconic hit "Hold On! I'm A Comin'," the biggest of their career. No
one had ever sung it on Idol before, which is surprising until you realize so much of the song is built on
the back and forth of those two. But Casey nailed it, looking supremely confident and happy and
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delivering an exceptional cover of the tune. My only thought was that he may have peaked too soon. To
my surprise, both Ellen and Kara found it a bit obvious. But Simon and Randy rightly praised it. Casey
should work in the blues every week, no matter what.
MICHAEL LYNCHE -- Sang "Ready For Love" from India.arie's album Acoustic Soul. Lynche had been
veering into lounge act territory, but he's righted the ship again, by sitting on a chair, strumming an
acoustic guitar and nailing a song most listeners would have never heard before. The only problem was
that the producers had him backlit too brightly so Michael disappeared in the light every so often. Very
strong vocal and though he technically went off-key a bit towards the end, it didn't matter because theperformance was convincing.
DIDI BENAMI -- Sang "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?" a classic Motown tune by Jimmy
Ruffin and covered often but still somehow fresh. (Wikipedia says Whitney Houston was gonna cover itfor her film The Bodyguard until Paul Young did it for another film and had a hit. That sent her to Dolly
Parton's "I Will Always Love You.") This was a very strange segment and I'm not sure if Didi will getsympathy for it or not; she'll need it since the performance was flat most of the way, till she picked up
some steam on the emphatic finale. First, she broke down in tears after singing the song for Usher. Then
after the judges blasted her, Ryan tried to prod Didi into revealing some personal anecdote about why thesong means so much to her but she politely refused and then looked ready to break down again. I doappreciate her refusal to mine a private moment on camera in front of millions and she looked lovely. Ijust wish her singing had been better.
TIM URBAN -- Sang Anita Baker's "Sweet Love," one of the great jazzy soul ballads of the last three
decades. Surely tackling it was no crazier than Tim singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." More
importantly, Tim smiled and smiled and smiled and looked cute during the pre-song chat, in front of the
judges and backstage. He's definitely ready for some acting roles after gliding through the whole process.Simon nailed it by saying it doesn't make a bit of difference what the judges say. But in fact I thought
Tim did a pretty good job given his limitations and had a good strong Idol -like note at the end, the sort
that plays well in the end of the show recap.
ANDREW GARCIA -- Sang Chris Brown's "Forever" (which was originally written for a gum
commercial!). After weeks of desperately trying to recreate his Paula Abdul moment, Andrew finally did
just that. He took a dance-y pop tune and did an acoustic version, sans the kitsch value of "Straight Up"
in the context of Idol . He was especially good on the bridge. I wrote down "Andrew is back!" because I
knew Randy would say that and indeed he did. Still, this wasn't revelatory, just a case of Andrew not
sucking as he has the last few weeks.
KATIE STEVENS -- Sang Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools," a song about a woman realizing she's
been duped by a no-good dog of a man. Now I don't care how old you are, if you can sing a song you can
sing it. 14-year-olds can deliver a nice version of a song about a dad proud of his new-born son. Why not?
But Katie was all attitude and no depth, bopping her head in that soulful manner but looking more like a
kid playing at dress-up than someone feeling actual anger or pain. Randy mentioned a disconnectbetween the lyrics and her singing and that's what he meant: she didn't seem to have a clue as to what the
song was about, attitude notwithstanding. Very beauty pageant, as Simon might have said.
LEE DEWYZE -- Sang "Treat Her Like A Lady," the #3 hit from 1971 by the sibling act Cornelius
Brothers & Sister Rose. Usher actually said "wow" about Lee's singing after a rehearsal when Lee was
heading out the door and couldn't see him. And no wonder. Lee's voice has always been very distinctive,but he was light years better last night than he's ever been before. In the past, he's seemed like a deer
caught in the headlights and generally miserable. He's repeatedly been told he needs to have more
confidence in himself. But how the heck do you give yourself more confidence in a week? Obviously, Leeknows the answer since he was confident, soulful and absolutely commanding. Since Simon had beenpushing him to "have a moment" I was certain that one or all of the judges would say, "You just had a
moment." Maybe the others left it to Simon. But he went one better, saying, "This is the night your life
may have changed forever." Suddenly, this competition is getting very interesting and despite the judgessaying it's the year of the women, it looks like Crystal will be battling Casey and Michael and Lee and
Aaron for the finale.
CRYSTAL BOWERSOX -- Sang "Midnight Train To Georgia," the sole #1 pop hit by the vocally
brilliant Gladys Knight & The Pips. One of my favorite songs of all, Crystal delivered it at the piano
complete with backup singers before standing up to finish it off. We learned she hadn't played piano inyears, so I'm not sure if I would have known why this performance was slightly off. But having that info,it certainly explained why she was a little tentative and staring down at the keyboards so intently. Plus,
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Bump...Crystal had way too much makeup on. She shined at moments and it was only off compared to her
flawless singing every other week. Crystal was still better than all the other women combined. The song
was hardly a radical departure for her, but Simon was right to warn Crystal about losing her way.
Bizarrely, Simon said she should have done the song without the backup singers, which is a little likesaying you should do "Hit The Road, Jack" without backup singers. I suppose it could be done but thebackup singers are intertwined with the song and inextricable from its appeal.
AARON STEVENS -- Sang a Bill Withers song and as soon as I heard that I depressingly knew it would
be "Ain't No Sunshine." It's a great great song, but Withers has such a good, country-ish vibe that many,
many of his tunes would fit the country-leaning Aaron better than this one, which has been overdone onIdol . Aaron's been growing by leaps and bounds so it's no surprise he would stumble. It wasn't disastrous
by any stretch; just much weaker than usual for him.
That brings me to song selection, often a bewildering demand from the judges. But look what happened
this week. The people who chose obvious songs (often done repeatedly on Idol ) stumbled: "Ain't No
Sunshine," "Chain Of Fools," "Through The Fire." Those who chose something contemporary but put aspin on it did well: "Forever." Those who chose songs rarely or never done on Idol and songs most people
wouldn't even know shined: "Ready For Love," "Soul Man," "Treat Her Like A Lady."
So who goes home? It seems unlikely that the bottom three would all be women, but the three weakest
performances were definitely Siobhan Magnus, Didi Benami and Katie Stevens. I'll throw in Tim sincehe's lived in the bottom three. The bottom three will be Tim and Katie and Didi. It'll come down to Katie
and Didi and Didi will go home.
Thanks for reading. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of
celebrity interviews and his weekly music radio show at Popsurfing and enjoy the weekly pop culture
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Who is Aaron Stevens?
I'm predicting Lee and Crystal in the finals. There is a chance either Big Mike or Casey could make
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23 Fans
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178 Fansthe finals. If Lee gets his confidence going, look out. He and Crystal are the best vocalists and
Crystal has a lot of performing experience . Lee should take a cue from Big Mike and work on his
personalit y. Don't see how Tim could survive another week but the voting is hard to predict because
so many factors come into play.
Simon didn't tell Crystal she shouldn't have had backup singers; he told her she shouldn't have
backup singers standing by the piano.
Hmm. Simon said, "The backing vocalists shouldn't have been there because it made it old-fashio ned." I agree it's vague and you could interpret that either way: they should have
been off to the side OR they shouldn't have been part of the arrangemen t and Crystal
should have done the vocals alone. Given Simon's track record, I don't think it was thestaging but the arrangemen t but you're certainly right in pointing out it was vague and not
clear exactly what he meant. Here's the clip for anyone wh wants to make up their ownmind: http://www .youtube.c om/watch?v =aHiasC-6e NI
Thanks for commenting .http://www .huffingto npost.com/ michael-gi ltz/emidol em-season- 9-
top-10_b _520118.ht ml#
Lee and Crystal are by far the best. I think Usher put a little flame under Lee and I was thrilled tosee it!
Well, that's that. Didi's out, absurdly.
Once again, the teenyboppe rs choose. That's really the lamest part of this show -- the lowest
common denominato r factor.
But then, I guess that's what "pop stardom" means, really. Which is why Crystal isn't going to win
this whole thing, no matter HOW much the judges try to make it happen; when teenaged girls rulethe phones, it ain't gonna be a dreadlocke d, gap-toothe d Janis Joplin revival artist taking it home.
You're probably right. Crystal may come in third, which is where Melinda Doolittle toppedout. Despite that, she will have a more solid long-term career than whoever wins the titlethis year.
Wow. Did someone let the judges do his thinking for him? To often the actual performanc e is
forgotten after the judges go through their routine.FOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST
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quivira 11:59 AM on 4/01/2010
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Michael Giltz 01:52 PM on 4/01/2010
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MaryscottOConnor 10:07 PM on 3/31/2010
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libwingoflibwing 09:58 PM on 3/31/2010
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6 FansI am convinced that the judges get direction from the producers. "This week bring down Casey a
notch, especially you, Kara, be critical of him." "Pump Lee and Andrew this week, we want to keepthem in the competitio n." "No matter how much Tim improves and how much charisma he has, be
sure to completely dis him; he was supposed to not make it into the top 20, much less the top 10!""Stay on the 'got to be contempora ry' jag with Katy, even if she gives a stella performanc e."
In my opinion both Andrew and Lee have outlived their welcome. As for Lee needing confidence ?
Wow someone again is buying into the producers' narrative. Lee is so arrogant I can't stand him. He
reminds me of Danny Gokey. But it is obvious the judges on the producers' orders want to put him
in the top three.
The judges job on this show isn't to give advice to the contestant s. The judges job on this show is
to shape the opinion of the audience. Sometimes they are so off it is obvious they are acting on the
producers' input.
In a just universe, Siobhan would go home. ENOUGH. And if not her, Tim Urban or Katie or frankly,
Aaron Kelly. I am baffled as to why Aaron Kelly is so popular -- other than that ridiculousteenyboppe r thing, which just drives me insane. Ugh. Siobhan's one trick pony routine is officially
crazy-maki ng, Tim Urban is cute but utterly out of his league and Katie, while definitely talented, is
simply not ready for prime time -- she needs at least another year of seasoning.
Those are the bottom four of the top Ten, the four who simply do not have what it takes to be stars
Right Now.
If Didi were to go, it would be, simply, a travesty. The judges have been ludicrousl y unfair to her,
week after week. She has an extraordin ary voice, she is GORGEOUS, she picks songs (with the
unfortunat e exception of last night, more's the pity) that are outside the box... Didi could, with just
the teensiest bit of guidance, be a star.
I wish to hell Simon would give that girl the proper push. But I swear, Randy, Ellen and Kara are
hellbent on seeing her kicked off the show. For whatever reason, they have wanted her gone fromDay One. It's depressing .
I hope to god she makes it through this round and one of those four goes home, because any oneof them deserves to leave more than she does.
Part of the problem is, imho, that this is a very weak season for talent. Out of the Top 12,there are, perhaps, 3 possible contenders and none of those, again jmho, is strong enoughto make a lasting mark on the industry unless something happens to radically change theirabilities.
As for Did - lovely girl. Very attractive , nice voice, seems very sweet into the bargain.
Unfortunat ely, she can't seem to sing in tune for more than a couple of bars. She has had
one or two reasonable performanc es throughout . The rest were, frankly, attrocious . Sorry,
but that's reality. The reason she is now gone is because it was these weak performanc es,
on on top of the other, culminatin g in that debacle Tuesday night. We were actually
embarrasse d for her and cringing during that mess.
I have no idea what's needed to get her shaped up - vocal lessons, tranquiliz ers, self-estee
m counseling ? Can't really say. Very unfortunat e, but there it is. Bottom line, she deserved
to be gone and so do most all of them.
Right on review Michael. I've been a fan of Dewyze since day 1. Who knows why he has sufferred
from low self esteem - it might be a pretty bad episode in his childhood (one never knows), so tosee him pull himself together was great.
I do think Katie would be great at Martina McBride songs.Permalink | Share it
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MaryscottOConnor 06:50 PM on 3/31/2010
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14 FansThe Idols redeemed themselves from last week. My grade:
Dewyze: A
Andrew: A-Crystal: B+Michael: BCasey: B
Arron: B-
Siobhan: CKatie: CDidi: CTim: C-
If you haven't already, checkout Lee's 2 pre Idol CD's they are really good!
http://itu nes.apple. com/us/art ist/lee-de wyze/id259 611566
I knew he'd bring it! Casey is good but the GRIN..ugh!
I think Tim will finally be sent packing. Can't say why, really, just a feeling, but his time has come. I
think Ryan over-stepp ed in his prodding of DiDi, I do not think I ever heard multiple judges call out
for him to stop something at the same time. I think she wants to win or loose based on her ability,not on some sentimenta list issue. I actually admired her for trying to demure and answer without
answering. I love her voice, but her song choices have been poor.
Lee rocked the house last night, and all because Usher removed his glasses and looked him in the
eye. But as always I'm with Crystal, she has more abilities and talent than I thought she had. Whoknew she could tickle the ivories too?
I know. Ryan can be so obnoxious. I liked the old days when he really seemed to care.There's hints of the sweetness now and again but he crosses the line too much.
Casey James did NOT sing Soul Man. He sang Hold on, I'm Coming.
Crystal needs to be cutting albums and going on tour - and not with these people.
I've listened to some of Crystal's original material online. Very cool. She will be making
great records once her time on Idol is over. I'm glad she came on the show. Otherwise, Imight never have discovered her for myself.Permalink | Share it
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TankGirlz 03:18 PM on 3/31/2010
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bardgal 01:02 PM on 3/31/2010
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470 Fans
163 Fans
59 Fans
43 FansYep. Odd mistake to make, re: Casey.
I'm getting REALLY tired of Casey. Talk about wearing out a routine... Every song he sings
sounds the same now. And he swore he was going to use the guitar EVERY TIME?Sheesh.
I know Crystal wanted to test herself but I think Simon was dead-on. This is one time
where someone doesn't need to "show her range." Stick with your true self. The make-up,the heels, the skin-tight dress -- it all rang so false, I was very uncomforta ble watching it. It
was like, "Um, okay, now we know you can do that -- can we go back to the real you now?"
Interestin g that you feel Crystal should not change anything, but rely on the same
things she has always done, not branching out or experiment ing - mic, guitar, rug,
sing.
For Casey, however, you say you are tired of the way HE performs. "Is he going to
use the guitar every time? Sheesh!" A little exasperati on there? Not a fan,
perhaps? No problem, but what I see when I watch Casey is a classic front man.That's who he is. That's what he does. That's the album he'll record. He shouldstick with what he knows and who he knows himself to be, as should Crystal andall the others, many of which won't and that will be their downfall - that and a lackof talent.
Whoops. It was indeed their OTHER big hit. Thanks for correcting me. Crystal will be; nodoubt about it.
Last night's show felt like a balloon losing its air.
Siobhan was a mess, something I never thought I'd say. But it seems whenever you have one of
these kids sing a song they don't really know, they don't have the confidence to do it forcefully .
More often than not, they're feeling their way through the melody. Siobhan sang it forcefully only toseemingly realize she didn't know it that well.
What the hell was Ryan doing badgering Didi about what that song meant to her? He asked, and
she demurred, and anyone not an idiot would have left it at that. Didi seems to be morphing fromsinger to actress before our eyes. Katharine McPhee did it, as evidenced by her excellent turn asChevy Chase's stepdaught er on "Community " a few weeks back.
Why not? It pays better. You keep more of the money you generate, and it certainly is a moredependable industry than the music industry, which has gone in the tank.
Crystal and Casey...st ill the ones to beat. Siobhan should be in the mix, but only if she picks songs
she's comfortabl e with, and gives the screaming a rest.
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MaryscottOConnor 06:54 PM on 3/31/2010
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Michael Giltz 03:19 AM on 4/01/2010
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