Hello all. As you all know last week there was a dramatic twist of events as the save card was used to keep Mike Lynche in the competition. Now that the save card is gone two will be eliminated on the results show. Ryan asks "are you ready?". This is American Idol.
A nice welcome to the judges and Ryan follows before Ryan welcomes us to the show. He greets several of the audience members in the mosh pit with handshakes. I noticed throughout this show that Ryan seemed to be spending a lot of time in the audience on this night. He appeared to be acting quite goofy also throughout the show I thought. That aside, we now greet our top 9.
I was thrilled to know that tonight's theme was going to be the music of legendary Elvis Presley. That was until I actually heard what songs the contestants sang. Everybody on here knows I am a huge Elvis fan so where on earth was some of his biggest hits like "All Shook Up", "Teddy Bear", "Heartbreak Hotel" and my personal favorite "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" just to name a few. In keeping with the theme we hear of the poor boy Elvis who grew up in Tupelo, Ms. We also hear of the great success he has had with over one billion in sales of his music. I know I own most of Elvis's music not to mention the tons of memorabilia I have that could easily move me out of my house.
It appears that Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas is doing a tribute show to the King. Our top 9 were flown there to see the show and to meet this week's mentor Adam Lambert. I have to say that Adam did a great job with the contestants by giving them his honest opinion of their talents, flaws and some constructive advice. Some followed his suggestions, others did not. Adam says that although he was just starting his career, he felt honored to have been given this task as mentor. Speaking of which Adam is doing great in his career as his album "For Your Entertainment" has gone gold and is still selling quite well. I personally love the album. I thought the interchange between Ryan and Adam was cute when Ryan tried to sing Adam's song "Whataya Want From Me". However it got a little nasty when they got on the subject of the tongue. Let's move on, shall we...............
Crystal Bowersox is first and will be singing the song "Saved". Elvis actually performed this song on his "68 Comeback Special". It was written by the team of Lieber and Stoller. Crystal once again does a great job by giving the song a bluesy vibe and making it her own. Randy loved it and called it dope. Ellen says fantastic. Kara calls it a solid performance. Simon is glad that she did not pick an obvious Elvis song and feels the lyrics are something he can relate to. I personally would have loved to hear Crystal sing Elvis's song "Love Me" but do think she was quite good on this song as well. My grade: A
Andrew Garcia does pick a traditional Elvis song called "Hound Dog" (a hit for Elvis in 1956). Adam is brutally honest by calling Andrew's rendition boring on the first run through of the song. Andrew tries to take Adam's advice during the actual performance by showing more stage presence but overall the song was just okay. Randy says it was not good karaoke. Ellen liked it but would have like to see more swagger. Kara felt he used his mic like a crutch and wanted more from him. Simon calls it lazy and predictable. Again I think Andrew is in danger this week. My grade: B-
I was pleasantly surprised to hear Tim Urban do a nice renditon of the song "Can't Help Falling In Love" from the 1961 movie Blue Hawaii. With guitar in hand, Tim sits on a stool behind the judges. He did make the song his own and gives a sweet performance in my opinion. I actually liked it. Randy also liked it. Ellen compares Tim to Tequila (it gets better with each shot) and calls it beautiful. This was Kara's favorite performance by Tim. Simon says Tim has gone from zero to hero in the last two weeks and liked the clean arrangement. My grade: B+
Lee DeWyze shows he can really changed it up by giving a terrific performance of the song "A Little Less Conversation" from the 1968 movie "Live A Little, Love A Little". He showed more personality also as he once again played the guitar. I loved his vocal on this number. Randy calls it great and amazing. Ellen feels he made the song current. Kara also loved it. Simon thinks he totally nailed the song. My grade: A
Cutie Aaron Kelly shows us some swagger with a decent vocal of the song "Blue Suede Shoes". Carl Perkins actually had a hit in 1955 with this song. It was also a hit for Elvis a year later from his first studio album in 1956. I liked how Aaron showed some stage presence and gave us some bluesy vibe to his vocal. Randy also liked the bluesy part. Ellen says nice job. Kara felt Aaron was out of his comfort zone and liked it. Simon on the other hand called it karaoke. My grade: B+
Siobhan Magnus is singing the 1969 hit by Elvis called "Suspicious Minds". Adam picks up on the fact that Siobhan is making the song sound sleepy. He has her re-do it and it sounds better the second time. Sadly, Siobhan does not follow Adam's advice and the first half of the song during the performance was boring and sleepy. The second half was so much better. Randy and Ellen both agree the second half of the song was good. Kara is confused with how Siobhan seems to be two people when she sings. Simon called the performance very erratic and screechy. What bothers me about Siobhan is she always seems to have an excuse for how she performed which is really getting old with me. My grade: B-
Before the next number we hear about Idol Gives Back which will air next week. Ryan will be on the idol stage with Queen Latifah in Pasadena.
Mike Lynche really wants to redeem himself this week after his almost elimination of last week. He is performing the 1969 hit "In The Ghetto". This song was written by Mac Davis. I thought Mike did a very passionate performance of this song however I did like how Taylor did it better. Randy called the song sleepy but thinks Mike has hot vocals. Ellen is glad they saved him. Kara thinks he did well. Simon says it was a million billion times better than last week's song. My grade: B
Katie Stevens is performing another song from the "68 Comeback Special" called "Baby, What Do You Want Me To Do". I thought her vocal was okay but for some reason I got the robotic feeling from her. She did have a brass back-up which did sort of over-power her vocals I thought. Randy calls it a nice vocal. Ellen jokes it was horny (meaning instrumentally) but calls it great. Kara thinks Katie really showed the judges (showed them what Kara?). Simon says it was loud and annoying. My grade: B-
Hey, the Glee cast is in the audience. Now aren't you glad you know that?
:sing: I totally love Casey James vocals as he chooses to sing another song off of Elvis's first album called "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy". He made it his own with his southern bluesy vibe however I felt no real excitement watching him perform this. He totally needs to get some stage presence going. Randy sort of agrees and says he did nothing different but called it a solid performance. Ellen like me wants more excitement when he sings. Kara says it fell short for her. Simon adds he wasted an opportunity by picking this song. My grade: B+
Final thoughts:
I found many of the performances okay to good tonight so picking the bottom 3 is sort of rough. I do believe Andrew is the most vulnerable. I am going to go with Katie and Siobhan as my other two although I think Aaron might also be at risk. With the exception of Aaron I actually would not cry if any of my other 3 got the axe as I am tired of them.
Adam will be performing on the results show which makes me happy. I welcome your thoughts as always. So now will close until later when I re-cap the results show. Take care all!
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Subject: Top 9 Perform Again - 4/13/10 
Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:12 pm
