American Idol: down to the final three

Lee 5½
A Kiss From A Rose will always be Seal's track and Lee could only kind of appear in his reflection. Not impressive enough to make us pay attention. Well sung, but no character and he didn't make the high notes well. Nor did he seem at one with other people backing him. On his own, he could be good, doing his thing his way. Much will depend on how Casey and Mike perform and I have a feeling they will turn it up and turn voters on more effectively. 4th is probably way higher than he ever imagined he'd get, though, and he'll gain a lot from the Top 10 tour. I just don't see his album in the charts for more than a week or so after its release.

Mike 7
Great start. This sounds like his typical brand and suits him well. I'm Only Human was, I think, the title of a track I've not heard before, apparently from Free Willy. Very, very short, though and he just never got going with it. Good as far as it went but . .  that wasn't far. Maybe not far enough. He did work so well with the choir and backing track, though, and should be safer than Lee.

Crystal & Lee 8½ & 9
Falling Slowly duo saw Lee back doing what he's good at. Crystal seemed to carry him along and yet wasn't as noticeable which sounds odd now I've written it but I know what I mean. Nice track and may have rescued Lee's earlier lack of star quality. Good choice but not stunning.

Casey 7½
Singing Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs Robinson just seemed lame and nothing in the heart of that tune from the 1960s came through. I liked the relaxed style and notes were accurate and fairly cool. It could have been something added to an evening session but not really a main number designed to electrify people to make those important calls. He could, with just a bit of effort, have turned it into something special and, for a moment, I thought he was going to but he didn't. He could be in trouble and may, barring a super performance with Mike coming up, possibly have saved one of the other guys.

Crystal 15
I'm All Right was back there in the Crystal zone. Totally at home and everything worked. Again, like most others, the track was way too short and she had just got going and got us grooving along when it stopped. This has got to be addressed for AI10.

Casey & Mike 7 & 11
When You Really Love A Woman saw this odd duo on stage. Both may have done this really well individually but, together, I'm not so sure. Strong song and Mike made a good job, the song being absolutely in his zone. In a way he defeated Casey which probably means everything between the three guys finishes up even and it could be anyone's guess as to which one goes.

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The results show kicks off with AI3 winner Fantasia and I was dying to hear Randy tell her it was 'pitchy' but people applauded politely and she went away. She would have had trouble reaching the last 24 this year.

The Final 5 got Lady Gaga so these guys must have felt pretty hard done by for a while, not that the producers would be too worried, having made their cut of the 37 million calls the good people of the States made the night before. They later revealed they'd spent a bit of it on Daughtry and a massive amount on Bon Jovi, though.

Nice shot of Crystal reading Ryan's prompt card. 

Chris Daughtry was impressive, showing Lee how it should be done with another of his consistently classy acts over the years since coming 4th. Compare the audience reaction to Fantasia's.

Mike or Crystal? Really no competition and, sure enough, we bid farewell to Big Mike.

American Idol: 5 become 4

An impressive performance by Lady Gaga tended to take our attention away from the task in hand. Maybe the producers had seen her UK Brits Awards act a little while ago and were worried about revelations upsetting the good old American viewers as there was an abundance of smoke and the camera man seemed to have instructions not to zoom in at any cost and to avoid any below waist shots. Once I'd managed to get over the annoying and pointless audience clapping and cheering at various points I was struck by how much this young lady resembles Madonna in originality and turning tracks into mini almost operatic ideas. She was good.

Back to the five still standing after the night before. They kicked off with a far smoother and less awkward joint rendition with the compulsory few seconds each has to sing alone. Crystal was the lady who is a tramp to the four crooners and you couldn't help thinking that the set gave her a nice high profile: basically it was Crystal and The Others, which isn't far off fact anyway.

Lee gets let off the hook before Lady Gaga appears and we have some very cool Harry rehearsal shots and even cooler singing the Lennon & McCartney And I Love Her which I adore. I can only assume that Lee's doc had written in to the teachers to say he was likely to crap himself on stage if Ryan Seacrest did the usual misleading of Lee thing yet again this week.

Crystal must be wondering whether she'll ever get a chance to sing the stuff she really enjoys ever again and, although she is looking so much better these days, I do hope she can kick some ass in the final few weeks. The last five sing-a-long was rubbish and they'd have been better just getting on with the results for my taste. *Eventually, though, they did, and after Mike and Crystal are duly relieved we're with Aaron and Casey staring at the ceiling.

Mike can't believe his luck again and you have to start wondering what on earth can make people vote Aaron off after some pretty nondescript weeks. Casey's had some good moments but it's becoming increasingly clear that his time's going to be up sooner or later with Cara if not the rest of the US population. will it be tonight?

*I actually wrote this before knowing how the last four would divide up! Hmmm. Didn't see that coming, did I?
Mike still can't believe his luck again. And my initial review was right after all. Bye Aaron.

American Idol: The songs of Sinatra

Really great mentoring by Harry Connick Jnr. I feel Siobhan could have drifted easily through this week (well, assuming she'd agreed that screaming wasn't on for Sinatra) and definitely the wrong person went last week.

Aaron 4
This should have been a good week for Aaron but this was a nervous performance, notes wobbling and being missed. Not good at all. Certainly not the kind of stuff expected of one the last 5 out of ¼ million applicants.

Casey 5½
Well out of his zone but, mercifully and maybe luckily for him, not out of tune. Again not at all impressive.

Crystal 18
Beautiful. Totally at home in this genre which I didn't expect. Gentle and she seemed to mean the words. Very smart and infinitely better than the first two guys, neither of whom came within a mile of her appeal. You could tell that she can react to the band and was part of a whole as well as being the star that she surely will be, albeit in a totally different way.

Mike 6½
Now I'm expecting him to wow the audience this week. He could have picked a huge big band number and crack out of the gloom that he is almost permanently in these days and had huge applause and respect. Instead we got another slow-mo. Sped up after a while but wasn't the song to speed up without losing its whole point and the feel was totally lost and all in all, just amateur and not something anyone should pay to hear. Response was one of the best of the night, though, so maybe I missed something.

Lee 18½
Dressed, finally, to look so much smarter than the car mechanic image presented to date, he has a chance to put this week safely in the bag and move on to that big Last 4 night.  He took it, he made it. He even pushes Crystal, tonight at any rate, into 2nd place. Cool, cool performance. well done.

American Idol Top 6 Review

This is a big week as 6 become 5 and things really should be starting to heat up a bit. Shania Twain certainly contributes to some of the heat but I can't see how the competitors are going to take her songs and really inspire us but let's see what happens. Hoping to be surprised . . . much depends on how Siobhan and Casey manage to claw back what I reckon has been quite a significant drop in screen impact over the last few weeks. They haven't come across as real potential stars as they so did at the outset but I have a feeling one or both should make that break to put some distance between them and Aaron and Mike who, by talent reckoning, ought to be the bottom two and heading home. Can't see Lee closing the gap on Crystal this week.

poll by twiigs.com

Lee 8
A good earthy performance, cut short as ever in these programmes, which didn't really allow him to get going. Sounds like the kind of thing he could do himself. Doing Shania Twain was never going to be an easy ride for Lee but he did pretty well. Simon was absolutely spot-on too. Star quality lacking tonight but 8/10 for what he did.

Mike 7½
Another of his high-end-of-the-range efforts. The guy gets the crowd on his side all right but I didn't know this song and couldn't really latch on to it at the same time as watching this big guy on the screen. A quality job but did it work? Needed a few more verses again. Just cutting these tunes in half to allow for the ads is very annoying and doesn't give them much of a chance. Loved Simon's comment of 'wet'. No-one there seemed to get it but I did and agree totally. Summed it up very very nicely! Will phoneland like it? Probably. But Mike needs to pull something heavier out of the bag if he's to get much further.

Casey 17
At last, the guy's done something right! His best of the series. Casey's back in the running.

Crystal 7½
Have to say I didn't really get this at all. Would have been better without the support musicians but she did 'country' so there you go. On another week she'd be in trouble but hopefully she'll be around to make up for this another day. I suppose there is a risk that Aaron doesn't screw up and Siobhan makes the most of what ought to be a cool week for her and she's dropped in the doo doo with someone with a large fan club like Mike. She could have made herself a lot, lot safer.

Aaron 17
Actually a very mature and smart performance. Looked good and he's competing with Casey on style and presence. That could even be bad news for someone.

Siobhan 7
OK, she can do the long high notes but somehow this didn't quite work. Looking good and she certainly tried but I'm not so sure she'll be such a hit with the voters. Bags of talent there and she looks great but seemed all a bit mixed up. Again, I have a feeling that, given a full length of the track to get people tuned in to what she's doing and to start joining in, tapping feet or whatever, she'd have gone down a storm. As it was, this was a shower, albeit a pretty cool shower after which I need a cold shower!

This is most definitely not a week I'll be betting on. I guess the results are out now in the States and it'll be really difficult not peeping into Tweetdeck tonight or tomorrow. If I have to plump for someone, though, it's between Mike and Siobhan, with gasps from the audience and the big guy on his way home.

[Surprised to see Casey in the bottom two and Mike must be thinking he had a lucky escape. Sorry to see Siobhan go but watching her farewell performance you can see that the squeal that has become her trademark was actually what spoilt an otherwise superb and inspired version of Think. She'll get plenty of opportunities though and will be popular on tour where I predict Didi will also come into her own and make a great career.]

American Idol Top 7 Reviews Pt I

Casey 5
Don't Stop a risky choice and he sounds strained at the top end, not only during practice with Alicia either, unfortunately. Performance lacked character, although he himself comes across well. Difficult to judge as he's first up and he's been well-supported so far. I was disappointed as I'd seen him as a winner but don't now.
Lee 16
The Boxer a great song, one of my all-time favourites. Cut ridiculously short but what there was was so much better than Casey's effort and moved him well ahead of that rival in this competition. Improving every week and no sign of stopping. Looking better too.
Tim 7½
Better Days suited him well and would be his kind of song. Again, way too short to have a proper impact but well-presented and believable. A little plain. Good but plain.
Aaron 7
If I Can Fly was one big risk. Seemed hurried, a song that needs to be laid out for us to consider and move with. Passion appeared and you could tell that he'd been singing this for years in a pretty professional performance. He might get away with it but someone has to go and he may not have taken the best bet for this week.
Siobhan 7
When You Believe Multi-patterned and quite beautiful in places. A tough song which worked well for her but may not appeal to a wide enough audience or fan base. She spoke really well afterwards which was courageous and intelligent.
Mike 6½
Hero was a bit muddled and, whilst a cool choice yet again, it wasn't his best week. Eventually he took control and got the song in order and, as Randy said, 'it worked out'. Just.
Crystal 20
With People Get Ready, taking a further step away from her comfort zone of playing tracks she knows well on a dusty stage with friends as backing singers and an audience a few feet away, a fantastic performance, worthy of the competition just stopping now and celebrating her brilliance. Emotion at the end just showed how real she is. Totally different league to everyone else tonight.

American Idol Top 9 (again) reviews

Crystal 10½
For some reason this didn't seem to suit her, excellent though she was in almost every way. Kinda thing you might find on a B side. Top marks for quality and solid performance but no extras this week. I wonder how the public voters will take it, bearing in mind the big teenage fan numbers building up for one or two others who really ought to be going but may not.

AndrewG 4
So good to see Adam Lambert being so honest. This was not good. OK, in tune but eminently missable. I've never rated this guy who for some reason was favourite at one point. With two departing this week, surely he has to be one of them, and I'm writing this without having yet seen the others.

Tim 14
That worked well. Possibly his best effort so far and making up for several weeks of average. Again, great advice from Adam who seems to be right on contestants' wavelengths. His fans will like that and the judges' complimentary remarks will boost his confidence of making the final few. Need to see what Aaron comes up with, though, who could split his support vote. People will remember that and I can see him going down a gentle storm during the tour with that simple track. He always looks a bit out of place doing the Glee smiley stuff, as does Crystal but for different reasons.

Lee 8½
If this track hadn't already been done that way a few years ago this would have been brilliant. Unfortunately, it had been and he just seemed to be doing a copy, admittedly very competently. Not a good week for him but not a bad one either. Solid, not inspiring. Judges seemed to love it so maybe it was better in the studio that on the screen.

Aaron 7
Hmm. Where's he going with this. Break half-way through made a difference and just rescued it. No mistakes and a decent performance although he just couldn't really grab the song and make it his, which would have been damn difficult anyway. No idea about this one really. He may be in trouble as Tim did so much better. Way better than AndrewG though.

Siobhan 10
Terrible ending. She almost went in a fabulous direction that would have had everyone raving about good she was but, instead, may have lost a lot of people. Who is she? Bit mixed up and confusing. Sheena Easton meets someone else. That won't do her much good this week but she does look fantastic and, with someone telling her what to do, this girl could be a star. Hence my marks (5+5).

Mike 11
He (or someone) is picking great songs to perform. This seemed too short to tell the story, though. Nicely presented and one of a few that have that extra spark so far this time. The 'save' made sense.

Katie 14½
That was the best performance so far. Great look and style. Well done. Not at all familiar with the track which may cause her some problems but she deserves to stick around and actually out-Crystalled Crystal in my view. I don't see her winning (unless she's dead lucky with selections and happens on some tracks that just suit her and no-one else as can happen as we know!) but heading for a place in the last few and comes across as someone who could sell records and deliver some goods.

Casey 9
Rounding off the week and with generally pretty average competition preceding his stroll on stage, he had every chance of walking off with a huge smile and securing that good solid place in the last 7 which ought to see him through to a final. He didn't really take it, just cruised, again. Pity.

The star of the show, however, has to be Adam Lambert who was really good both as a mentor and in communicating so well on screen. Amazing guy, but when is he going to break into the UK?

American Idol: Big Mike survives

Probably the right bottom three this week. I was convinced that AndrewG was going as I just find him annoying now and can't see him having a hope in hell of winning or even reaching the final three. Aaron, who was really rubbish and, similarly, has to go pretty soon, seems to have pulled in more votes with even that performance so there's hope we can wave farewell to AndrewG soon. Aaron may still pull off some show-stopping performance but I just don't see how he can ever compare to the likes of Casey or Lee if they stay on top form.

Mike was a surprise bottom runner, though, which makes you wonder just who really is voting and why. Or not, as the case may be. Impressive show of support when the judges saved him. they'll be hoping like hell now that one of Lee, Casey or Crystal don't flop with ATT-land one evening on their way to the final Five.

There seems to be several contenders with God on their side this year, or maybe it's just more noticeable with Tim and Mike thanking him on Facebook. Presumably He is one of their Facebook friends.

So it's another last 9 next week with an intriguing bottom 2 to go.

American Idol Top 9 Reviews Pt I

Aaron 4½
Long and long-winded, uninspiring. This is from someone in the top nine of hundreds of thousands in 2010?? Surely not. Saving grace: it was in tune.

Katie 14
Crystal clear and accurate, a confident performance. She looked good and you felt you were watching someone who cared. Definitely in her groove at last this week. Well done, with even some, just a little, star quality for the first time that should see her back next week.

AndrewG 7
OK, sort of. More fun than for many weeks but not much more than a sing-along really and certainly not finalist material which is just another reminder of the shortfall in expectations this year, so many seeming to peak at the auditions. He should have gone last week. May not this week, though.

Mike 16
I'm starting to expect something great from this guy, a bit like waiting for Adam to perform in 2009. And he's close to delivering the goods too. Not all of it worked and it wasn't my favourite rendition of Eleanor Rigby either but he's shown that there's a huge difference between him and the other two boys who preceded him tonight. I can see that as an album track.

Crystal 16½
Now hear is someone I really do look forward to seeing each week, and I can well imagine buying her album(s). I couldn't figure out what on earth she could do with Come Together but she built it up and up and was really getting into the groove when it stopped. Shame, but I can see that going down a storm on a real stage without ad breaks coming up. Nice work, although not so sure she should be 'nice'. Beat Mike this week.

American Idol Top 10 Reviews Pt I

Siobham 6½
Oh dear, missing important notes didn't gain her many fans. But she did look good and the song kinda worked, the screech in tune becoming a feature that she'll either live to love or regret. Something for the over 40s but not so sure about younger viewers reaching for the phone. She'll be safe, though.

Casey 19
Professional, obviously enjoying himself this week. An excellent performance but still maybe just a bit 'old'

Mike 20!
Good choice. He's becoming the dark horse. A few more great choices like this and he'll give Crystal a run for her money.

Didi 4½
I really like this girl. She began the competition so well and has a unique individual style but this was pretty awful and will put her very much in the danger zone. I see trouble ahead but, luckily, I have a feeling there'll be others not doing terribly well who are less popular out there in US Phone Land.

Tim 6
In tune unlike Siobhan but loses points because it was just noring. I think he might be on the way out if US PhoneLand prefer Aaron.