AI 9 4-20-10 Inspiring Mediocrity

Casting your vote changes lives but tonight your vote will save lives by giving back. This is AMERICAN IDOL!

Tonight we have only an hour to fill with seven singers ready to take the stage and inspire us. I am seeing a speeding train heading my way and a wreck of epic proportion and I am truly frightened.

My happy dance came out because there was no inspiring introduction of the judges or Ryan. The producers are crying with so little time to fill trying to figure out what to do.

“The Princess of Soul” Alicia Keys is here to mentor our contestants by helping them bring out the emotions in the songs and showing how they can be part of something that is bigger than they are. WHATEVER!

Let us waste no further time by getting to the heart of the matter, which is slamming the contestants wait I mean providing effective feedback.

Casey James – “Don’t Stop”

Can we start the evening with such an uninspired song choice – what is wrong with this picture? Is there a reality show for the best guitar player because Casey needs to be there? While Casey is an exceptional guitar player, his vocal stylings are not up to par. There is Casey standing on the stage smiling and executing effective karaoke. Casey did not listen to Alicia and remained totally disconnected from the song and the meaning. I did not buy this at all and clearly was not motivated to vote for him.

Randy – This was a good performance (really?) but was not your best. You give us the same thing every week. You need to do something different and special.

Ellen – You are a great guitar player but we need to be tougher now because you need to be great every week and this was not great.

Kara – When you performed “Jealous Guy” you demonstrated range and this was just jamming bammin. You did not show us what makes you different and I am frustrated but I still believe in you.

Simon – This was not inspirational and there was zero emotion. The song sounded like the original, which means there was no originality. The song choice was lazy.

Lee Dewyze – “The Boxer”

There is our mentor forcing Lee to recite the lyrics explaining people need to feel like he is that boxer. Does Lee take her advice? The answer is a resounding no. Lee instead must have been channeling the boxer who has had all his teeth knocked out because all we got was a mouthful of mumbles. Lee’s enunciation sucked the big goose egg and perhaps every fourth or fifth word was understandable. I hated the strange arrangement; Lee could not hit all the notes, and replaced the lyrics with growling. I found this entire performance to be a total mess.

Randy – I am your biggest fan and this season is about artists (really?). You are a great artist ready to make music. You are going to have a big career. (Ronald just shakes his head.)

Ellen – This was a good song choice for you. We were able to see more soul and depth (gag me) and you just get better and better. This was your best performance by far. (Ellen wake up are you nuts.)

Kara – You had your moment tonight. (What is going on?) You showed the difference between connecting to a song and not. You need to keep this up.

Simon – This was the best performance of the night even though we are only two in. This was sincere, emotional and yes inspirational. You made it sound current like it was written last week. That was absolutely brilliant. (I swear I was beginning to lose it big time!)

Tim Urban – “Better Days”

Twenty minutes into the show and I was ready to run screaming from the room. This is a freaking singing competition and this is the best America keeps around. The vocals were uneven, Tim had no breath support, and his pitch problems were astronomical. Yet we had all those screaming females supporting him. What is wrong with this picture? The entire performance was painful to endure.

Randy – This was an interesting choice of song. It was okay karaoke. I am confused.

Ellen – You are like the soup of the day sometimes I like and sometimes I do not. Today I did not like it.

Kara – You have found your lane and it is where you belong but the execution was not good.

Simon – Last week I believed you. You have improved over the weeks but this was a little bit of a letdown.

Aaron Kelly – “I Believe I can fly”

Let me first say I think it is a little creepy a 16 year old is singing a song written by an alleged child molester. This was another ridiculously bad song choice and the execution was just as bad. There were pitch problems and Aaron shouted a lot. The performance was robotic and outright boring. The time is 8:32 p.m. and all I have been inspired to do is vomit!

Randy – This was a weird arrangement. You do have a huge voice and did a good job with a giant song. (Ronald shaking head again.)

Ellen – Back in the 70’s there was a time when I thought I could fly (drug humor with a 16 year old – very smart Ellen). You do have a big voice and this is a tough song, you did a good job.

Kara – Watching this was like watching a plane take off. It starts out in a jerky way but by the end, it makes it. You were flying by the end.

Simon – You have guts and you did give it your all. There is one part of judging where we need to remember that we like you but the other part is if I heard that on the radio, I would turn it off after 10 seconds.

Siobhan Magnus – “When You Believe”

Wow! Siobhan can sing and this performance had impeccable vocals and was technically flawless. There was subtle power and she hit the high note with no belting, screaming or screeching. There are few contestants capable of taking on the divas but Siobhan took on two of the biggest and hit the ball out of the park. This performance was a breath of fresh air after the previous four.

Randy – You picked arguably the hardest song of the night and I am not sure why. It was just okay.

Ellen – I disagree because this is more confirmation of why you are here. (Hear Hear!)

Kara – It was technically sung well but this is not a musical and this was dramatic. (This is a singing competition and therefore singing with technical ability is a reason for praise.)

Simon – I agree with Randy. This was a bad song choice. The leaves distracted me (apparently you need new contacts Simon), the arrangement was old-fashioned and too much happened too quickly. The whole thing was odd and all over the place.

Michael Lynche – “Hero”

“Big Mike” what is up with your song choice? It would have been better to sing the Mariah Carey song with this title but not this one. I was disappointed with this performance as well. I thought the beginning of the song was fantastic but when he reached the bridge it fell apart and he was not able to hit the high notes. I thought his tone was off and he sounded a little nasally as well. I thought this was a total mess.

Randy – I was worried about this song choice because “band songs” are about music rather than vocals but you held your own. You worked it out.

Ellen – We are short on time so all I will say is great job.

Kara – I am sorry Mike but this was not my favorite performance. You do not have the tone for that song and it was all over the place.

Simon – You sang it pretty well but it felt artificial and did not quite jell.

Crystal Bowersox – “People Get Ready”

Ladies and gentlemen we should just hand Crystal the Idol crown now because the woman deserves it as this performance was the standout of the night and put everyone else to shame. This was an unbelievably emotional performance and she sold this number like no other contestant. I loved how she started out a capella before the strings and backup singers joined in. The arrangement was fantastic and she sang from the heart. Crystal cracked at the high note but this just proved how you could connect to a song to make it believable. Ronald was doing his happy dance during this performance!

Randy – I was a fan from day one. Unbelievable and provides a standing ovation.

Ellen – You have never looked more beautiful. You keep growing and getting better and better.

Kara – Thank you for taking a risk by putting the guitar down. You brought this to a new level. You know why they call you Mama sox because you just schooled everyone.

Simon – That was inspirational. I am happy to see you emotional because you have seemed closed down. This song obviously means a lot to you, you sang it fantastically, and it was in a different class from everything else we have heard tonight.

We had an hour to fill and only 14 minutes of music but yet we still went over time. Crystal did not even start singing until 8:55 p.m.

I am not sure what the judge’s were smoking, drinking, taking or the fact they must have a 1000 years worth of wax in their ears but the majority of their comments were so off the mark it was laughable.

I certainly was not inspired to vote for any of the contestants and in fact, I only voted for Crystal, Siobhan, and “Big Mike”.

My prediction for the bottom three if we have one is Casey, Tim and Aaron. As much as Tim and Aaron should have been gone weeks ago I believe Casey’s journey will end tonight.

We have a two hour results show given “Idol Gives Back” and Ryan has warned us the show will go over telling everyone to set their DVR’s accordingly.

I will have to watch “Idol Gives Back” later as I have other commitments but I will check to see who was eliminated and send my full blog later.

I will end with the following:
“I Believe I Can Fly” say “The Boxer” because “When you Believe” you are a “Hero” you “Don’t Stop” as “People Get Ready” for “Better Days”.