IdolPhenomena

So overall I am not that surprised when tonight’s final verdict had Casey James going home. Ever since Siobhan started to pick some weird songs and Katie getting voted off I’ve had my eyes set on a Lee/Crystal season finale. However, at first my first notion was to say that Crystal would come out on top. Now I am not so sure and yet I still want her to win. Since day one she’s been consistent and hasn’t compromised but in contrast Lee has a grown so much after these several weeks I feel like he deserves to win as well. Decisions decisions decisions. In my opinion the Top 3 performances were each in their own league. If they were to crown a winner at the end of this week’s episode I would say hands down Lee DeWyze would be my choice. Although his song choice wasn’t the most popular or current the Leonard Skynard song totally suited him and you could tell that it meant something to him. Simon’s choice for him of Hallelujah was absolutely amazing and reminded me so much of a finale performance. Crystals performances tonight were very much her. Come to My Window by Melissa Etheridge I would say was a great choice but an awkward arrangement. While the song Ellen chose for her was a great all around performance. And with Casey you could tell was totally burnt out and in a way I feel like his performances displayed him just as a good voice. It was almost as he had given up and come to the realization that he would not make it to the finale. At this point it could possibly be anyone’s win and in my opinion it really will come down to popularity and if America decides if it likes consistency or the growth of an artist. Unfortunately I will have to watch the finale via my DVR because I work both the performance and results nights. But I think we are in for an amazing finale show. OH and just because this season has almost come to close that doesn’t mean you stop following me ;-).

Overall this songs from the cinema thing was a huge let down. Under the tutelage of Jamie Foxx I think his t-shirt giving would be a precursor to the results night as he gave out his artist or contestant t-shirts. Lee started the night off with Kiss from a Rose by Seal. Not his absolute best, but I don’t think he is in danger of going home. Big Mike was next with Michael Jackson’s Will You Be There from the movie Free Willy. And yes Simon Free Willy was about a whale an Orca to be exact and all of its four installments were too. – LOL Horrible song choice by far… however Lee’s choice was just as bad. Now for the first duet which was Crystal and Lee performing Falling Slowly. This was an absolutely amazing performance… dare I say it foreshadows events that happen during this year’s season finale. As you can tell I am totall all about a Crystal/Lee finale. - ;-). Casey took that stage singing Mrs. Robinson…. Bad bad bad. Out of all the solo performances my favorite of the night was that of Crystal Bowersox. However, I still didn’t think it was her best. Last of the night was the duet for Have You Really Loved A Woman. As performed by Casey and Big Mike… this was totally their attempt to stay in the competition. And Ellen’s response to that was, “Yes I have loved a woman.” – Oh Ellen you’re so funny. So know I am contemplating the results and I feel it really is a tossup between Casey and Mike. However I’ve been thinking about how America’s voting habits were as would say interrupted by the judges save I feel that some of these themes were totally geared towards Katie’s voice whom I had seen as the winner for some crazy winner. Me and my crazy thoughts….. an hour until this hour long results show… I wonder what this will be like. Wow that intro dramatic. Is it completely wrong to say I never liked Fantasia and tonight just emphasized that more. Her bieberific hair and that horrible song… what is she thinking???? Casey the first to make the Top 3 interesting….. Aww Daughtry I want to see you live again J Their performance was absolutely amazing. Lee is safe next … no surprise there. Up next Bon Jovi performing Superman. What an incredible performance…. So good. Is it premature to say congratulations to Crystal and goodbye to Big Mike @9:48PM ???? I would like to thank America for agreeing with met @9:53PM Thanks for making me not look stupid ;-). GoodBye Mike. You’re an incredible talent that’s right you shouldn’t be there … I hope I don’t sound like a big a-hole the judges save thing was a big joke this year. It totally just messed up things in my opinion. However, I expect great things from Michael Lynche. That’s right sing that whale song. Oh yeah and I luv this Will Young song ;-) (Leave Right Now). Next week everyone get ready for Crystal, Lee and Casey this year’s Top 3.

I can't help but still be disappointed with Idol this year but I guess it's a common thing going around. For those of u new IdolPhenomena I welcome you to the site. You all rock!!! Last week we said to Lacey Brown who graced the Idol stage with incredible presence and style. So under the tutelage of Miley Cyrus this week the Idols would tackle more Bill Board Hot No.1 Hits. Tonight we saw Miley give the Top 11 some obvious advice ;-). Couple with the Hi I’m Miley- Like they didn’t know who you are. Up first tonight was Lee DeWyze singing The Letter. Personally I’m not sure if it was the best way to start the show however I am still a Lee fan. The arrangement however definitely threw me off it made Lee seem old-fashioned after each week the Judges continue to tell contestants to be contemporary. Randy thought Lee’s bluesy and soulful performance was cool and that he knocked it out of the box. Ellen compared him to her favorite pen and some things about lighting a match and licking it –awkward much? Kara believes he has raised the bar for himself as a performer. Simon of course felt the performance did not define him as a contemporary recording artist. Tackling the Mariah Carey version of Against All Odds, Paige Miles was an absolute train wreck. The performance began with her attempting to be dramatic like Lacey or Siobhan followed by the most horrific vocal to hit the Idol stage in years. Goodbye Paige you’ve just sealed your fate. Totally bottom 3 material. However, current trends may not send her home this week unfortunately. Randy was honest and told her that her performance and vocal were terrible. Ellen made a positive comment and said at least you didn’t fall in those heels. Kara feels that somewhere Paige stopped competing. It was by far the worst vocal from Paige and possibly the worst of the season. –Ouch!. Simon expressed that she is in serious trouble. He too feels that she has stopped competing and lost confidence in herself. Okay Miley Tim Urban is not all that. I can tell you have the VFTW pictures of him all over your room-LOL. His version of Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love was very karaoke. It wasn’t horrible nor was it outstanding. Dare I say that all the screaming girls in the audience were his own sisters? Randy compared his performance to bad karaoke. Ellen felt it was almost an audition for High School Musical. She said, “There are people that will like this performance, and then there’s ME.” Simon felt Tim’s performance was pointless and silly. –Way to say it like it is. Aaron was up next with Aerosmith’s I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing. Song choice is definitely something he would choose. Overall his performance was very karaoke and you could tell he was sick. Yet he will be back next week. Randy felt he was definitely better than those two that performed before him. Ellen see’s his career and feels he is really good. Kara felt that it was the best song choice of the night. Simon expresses that the song made him seem old-fashioned however there is a 0% chance that he is going home this week. Crystal Bowersox is really truly in a league all her own. Performing the Janis Joplin track Bobby McGee Crystal again shows how easy performing comes to her. I can’t help remember Bobby McGee Girl from when I auditioned in Philadelphia.-I Miss Her.-LOL Randy exclaims that what is called being a star. Ellen wants her to connect with the audience more. Kara wants to know if she was thinking tonight. She wants to see her let go more maybe loose the guitar. Simon wouldn’t change anything about Crystal. This is the first time I noticed the carpet. –Hippy much? I think it was nice how she had Miley sign her guitar and expressed how she has beautiful powerful women sign it. Michael Lynche again displays his amazing R&B voice with Percy Sledge’s When A Man Loves A Woman. Amazing vocal as usual, Mike is absolutely fantastic. Yet he still makes awkward movements on stage. Ellen felt that it was a safe choice. Kara felt his performance was boring and loungey. Simon feels that he expresses tons of charisma. As we pass the halfway point of tonight’s show Andrew Garcia takes the stage with Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It through the Grape Vine. Again taking time to lose the guitar to try something new I feel like he didn’t do it justice at all. It was your typical karaoke performance that you could hear anywhere. I am still waiting for Andrew to have that Wow moment. Randy felt that it wasn’t the right vocal. Ellen feels that his performance wasn’t fantastic Kara said that this didn’t feel like Andrew –Whatever that means-LOL. Simon expressed that the arrangement was horrific, and that it sucked the soul out of the song. So the next song Big Girls Don’t Cry as performed by Fergie was chosen by Katie Stevens. Did you know that Big Girls Don’t Cry was originally written to be performed by Jordan McCoy- Interesting Fact! Overall the performance compared to Crystal was very Karaoke. However, after it the general consensus is that Katie has the voice for Pop music with R&B leanings sort of like Jojo who is absolutely awesome. Randy liked that she is listening to their criticism. Ellen said that his was her best thus far. Simon still thinks Katie has a country voice. Tonight Casey James definitely chose a song that expressed who he is as an artist. Choosing Huey Lewis and the News’ Power of Love he took the stage this evening with great presence. You could tell that he was having fun and that he was in his element. Randy felt that he did well. Ellen expressed that it was the best vocal of the night. Kara feels that he should produce records like this and Simon still has to be negative. Comparing Casey’s performance to that of an 80s cover band. Almost finished there are two contestants left. Didi Benami takes the stage singing You’re No Good. I can’t help but agree with Miley in saying that I like the vibrato in Didi’s voice. However her performance was out of tune and sharp. Randy felt her performance was pitchy. Ellen didn’t get it and felt it was a poor song choice. Kara said it felt very dramatic and that it wasn’t Didi. Closing the night is the incredible Siobhan Magnus with Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Ellen wants more because she is so good and Kara loves the way she expresses herself in her performances. Siobhan can totally scream at me in tune anytime-LOL. I don’t know how much I like her signature big note at the end of each performance. So after all these performances I feel like the bottom three will include Paige Miles and Tim Urban again with Andrew Garcia. This week I feel like we will be saying goodbye to Andrew Garcia which would be horrible but its just my gut feeling. Knowing vocally Paige should definitely leave I think she will be safe to see another week and be on the Idol Summer Tour. Some of the outstanding performances of the night were definitely that of Crystal Bowersox, Casey James, Siobhan Magnus and Lee DeWyze. I wait patiently for the results show. Hopefully there is nothing surprising. Miley will be performing as well as Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato. I can’t help but think they are going to sing their new friends for change single Make a Wave. Check back here tomorrow for my results recap.

Okay finally we’ve had a chance to see all Top 24 contestants perform. And I don’t know if you were as disappointed as I am but I expected so much more. The vocals overall are just there people are pitchy and constantly picking the wrong song. Since I wasn’t able to watch the show as it aired to the East Coast tonight I had to ignore all the tweeters that I normally chat with during the performances tonight so I could give my honest opinion about tonight. However, I feel like I would agree with many of them.

Tonight started off with 24 yr old Todrick Hall from Arlington, TX. His initial audition was amazing and then in Hollywood week he has a rocky group round. However, tonight he sang Kelly Clarkson’s Since You Been Gone. Ellen said the chorus was rough and that he wasn’t the best singer but a good performer. Randy followed that up with expressing how he didn’t even know what song he was singing. He then advised Todrick not to completely obliterate the songs he chooses. Kara assured him he was a strong singer and that he did not to change a song as much as he did. Simon felt he was a dancer trying to sing who murdered the original song and was on the verge of being stupid. In my opening Todrick’s performance was a bit catchy and original. I personally was just unsure how to feel about it. It just made see like I was going to be in for a long night. Yay for being creative here, right Ryan?

Up next was 16 yr old Aaron Kelly from Sonestown, PA. He belief that his most defining moment is when he forgot the word Hollywood Week while singing Angel. His experience on idol so far seems to be surreal and dream like. His rendition of Here Comes Goodbye by The Rascal Flatts was very good and this time he remembered all his lyrics. He definitely hit some great high notes. Overall Simon felt it was a good performance however Randy felt that it had pitchy moments and that he needs to believe in himself. Ellen expressed the same feelings and said she loved how humble he is. Aaron is definitely another young contestant with an amazing voice and great potential.

Jermaine Sellers was the third performer of the night. This church singer from Joliet, IL through the band under the bus during Hollywood Week for not playing the music the way they had planned. Most noted for his diva move surrounding that incident he definitely was one of the worst performances of the night. Ellen loved his look and expressed that he pushed the song too much. Randy again expressed the need to sing the Melody especially for an Oleta Adams song Get Here. Kara believed that Jermaine attempted to show everyone what he could do by showcasing his range. Is this the judge’s panel way of telling the contestant politely that they suck??? This performance totally my ears cringe and think that someone somewhere was killing a cat. I was also under the impression that what he was singing was nowhere near the key of where the band was playing.

Up next was Tim Urban who replaced Chris GoLightly in the Top 24. First off I can’t believe that he didn’t tell his family that he going to Hollywood after being cut. So he sang and awkward rendition of One Republic’s Apologize. Throughout the whole performance I wasn’t sure if he was singing in tune. It appeared almost as if he were singing in a different key than the band was playing in. My prediction is that he won’t make it past this Thursday night. Simon starts off by saying that they were right to have made their decision to initially have cut him. –OUCH! Kara than says that it’s almost as if the music it ate him up that his vocal was buried under the instrumentation. This is quickly followed with another wrong song dude from Randy. And Ellen gets slightly critical and says that he wasn’t able to hit the high notes but on the plus side you are adorable. This is followed by Ryan proceeding to ask Tim why he chose this song and the answer is simply because it was fun to perform. That’s a whole good two or three minutes of my life I won’t ever get back I definitely did not have fun.

Up next was Joe Munoz. I have never been sure how to feel about this contestant simply because he has not had a lot of air time. However this 20 yr old student from Huntington Park, CA really surprised me. Compared to most of the performances before him this one was actually half way decent. Ellen is pleased with his performance and proceeds to say that he belongs there in the top 24. Kara, like myself agrees that Joe is the best singer so far that we’ve seen all night. Randy agrees and then Simon has to oh so bold to say that his song choice was okay that it was safe and forgettable. Will no one please him tonight?

Tyler Grady hits the stage next. I am still amused by the what planet are you from remark Kara says in the montage? He definitely can sing and American Women in my opinion was safe for him. Simon said that Tyler’s performance would be remembered because it reminded him of some pretending to be a rock star. Also this cliché performance screamed Jim Morrison all up in your room as Kara said. Also Ellen states that his performance lacks charisma and Randy wants to see something with more substance. Ryan’s words of wisdom for Tyler are to take a trip to the mall to get rid of the 70s vibe.

Next was Lee DeWyze who has been one of my favorites throughout the competition. This 23 yr old Chicago, IL native chose to sing Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. This is definitely not something I would have chosen for his voice type by it was still good. I love the tone to his voice. Ellen seemed to think he chose a good song and agrees that he has a good tone to his voice. Like Ellen Randy also is a fan of Lee’s voice. Kara said that the songs range limited him to what he could do vocally even though he did attempt to make parts of the song his own they became unrecognizable. But would like to thank Simone for dubbing this the best performance of the night cause I could not agree more about how authentic Lee sounds vocally. So Ryan proceeds to ask Lee how he feels performing in front of millions of people and his answer is that he wants to have this same exact feeling the rest of his life.

John Park is up next singing God Bless the Child definitely wrong song to chose. I was just not impressed. This performance was given a whole lot of you haven’t the voice to sing this, old and all out of sort, and the classic wish you would have chosen another song. He tells the viewers that he chose this song because of his parents and money –awkward much???

Michael Lynche is up next performing This Love by Maroon 5. At one point in his performance it almost appeared as if he were eating the mic, I’m just sayin. Why must tonight’s contestants continue to deviate from the melody? All of these songs were made popular because of their melodies. Ellen starts off by saying that his performance was infectious and that it displayed his personality. But the general consensus is that his performance was safe and that his personality is overpowering his vocals. And oh yeah this just happens to be a singing competition and not a personality competition-LOL. My favorite judge’s comment of the night is when Simon compares his performance to the supporting performance for a main act.

I can’t believe there are three more performances to critique it feels like this episode is incredibly long and drawn out. So this next performer surprises me. Alex Lambert performs What a Wonderful World by Jim Morrison. He definitely has a decent voice. I’m not a fan of bobbing around on stage though. I definitely agree with Simon when he says that the performance made him feel uncomfortable because it would appear as if Alex himself was uncomfortable. Kara for some reason just wants to give out hugs here- definitely getting late-LOL. She then says he has a good tone to his voice and great potential. Randy then follows with his critique and expresses that Alex needs to do it with conviction. Ellen just loves how he is rock ‘n the mullet J. Ryan then asks Alex how many times has he performed in front of people and his answer is like three at a coffee shop and that performing on stage tonight was absolutely terrifying. Oh don’t worry Alex all you need to do is ripe ‘n up. – Can’t forget the BANANNA reference right Ellen?

Casey James does an absolutely flawless performance of Heaven which for some reason has Kara all flustered-LOL. Kara expressed how Casey is both eye and ear candy and how she doesn’t recognize him with his shirt on. This followed with Ellen stating that she could feel Kara undressing him with her eyes. Randy then proceeds with saying that he likes Casey but not the same way Kara does. Simon gives out his second positive critique of the night by saying Casey absolutely chose the right song. The performance was honest and sincere. Simon I couldn’t agree more.

The last performance of the night was the most anticipated in my mind. Andrew Garcia from Moreno Valley, CA took the stage tonight with his own acoustic rendition of fall out Boy’s Sugar We’re Going Down. I’m not quite sure how to feel about this performance. I kind of felt slightly let down because of all the hype surrounding Andrew as an artist. The arrangement itself was definitely unique. Simon expressed similar feelings by saying that he was disappointed and that this performance was not original enough. Kara too felt the acoustic version of the song was strange. And Randy and Ellen distinctly remember him from Hollywood because of his version of Straight Up. Which is definitely still fresh in a lot of his fans minds which is what’s going to keep him here in the competition.

Overall tonight’s performances were not as disappointing as the previous nights. And yet I still can’t wait to find out who leaves. My prediction for which males we are going to see leave tonight are Tim Urban and possibly Jermaine Sellers for yelling at us through the TV or John Park for his forgettable performance. I anticipate the results show. Who knows the results may be shocking.

Photo Credit: AmericanIdol.com