Why did Ryan introduce the contestants like he was a butler announcing guests at a fancy soiree on a southern South Carolina plantation in the 1850s? “Ma’am, I have the pleasure of announcing Miss Delilah’s suitors for the evening. Michael.” “He’s black.” “Hmm… well, it appears I have not done a good job picking out gentleman callers.”
So, the theme for this week? The guys were stronger than the gals! So, take that common wisdom! Also, what’s going on with Kara? She seems to be morphing into a new Paula Abdul more and more every episode. The wrestling and flirting with Simon, the crying, the earrings that look way too painful to ever hang on her head. It’s all there! Like a disease!
Here we go!
8. Aaron Kelly – “I’m Already There” started off as train wreck and we had to wait until the end before the emergency response arrived and started carrying off all the dead bodies. It was so sharp and the vibrato was OUT OF EFFING CONTROL! Then, the last ten seconds happened and I was impressed. He could have just sat on that stage and skinned one or two kittens for the first minute and it would have been better than what I heard. Seriously, if he was going to sing like crap for the first half of the song he should warned me so I could have macramed my own set of Lilly Scott creepy child mittens. NOT SAFE.
7. Todrick Hall – This was a little weird for me. Todrick just doesn’t have the strength in his voice to belt out “Somebody To Love,” but he managed to, technically, sing a pretty impressive vocal. So, he has to get some credit on that front. Now, what he doesn’t get credit for is his love for all things that sparkle. Can someone out there explain to me why the jacket that he wore shimmered like The Rockette’s panty hose? So… awkward. The judges were split on Mr. Hall and… I don’t know how to call this one. I was so distracted by all the shimmering clothes. NOT SAFE.
6. Andrew Garcia – Andrew delivered another original acoustic performance of a pop classic… and the judges still didn’t care. So… again, poor Andrew can’t get a break. Now, I will agree that the song didn’t necessarily show him off vocally the way “Straight Up” had in the Hollywood round. “Genie In A Bottle” was a solid performance… but for Andrew’s built up expectations… solid wasn’t good enough. Garcia could be in trouble this week, but he might have enough to scrape by into the final rounds. We’ll see. NOT SAFE.
5. Lee Dewyze – Lee and Katelyn had the same issue this week. They both turned in performances (for Lee, “Fireflies”) that should have been done later in the competition after they had made the finals. Now, Lee is in a weird place because he gave a nice performance of a nice song, but nothing to really make us vote for him. Still, Lee holds a special place in this competition, and I expect to see him next week. Even if this was a tentative vocal, Lee definitely deserves to make it through tomorrow. NOT SAFE.
4. Alex Lambert – Alex is definitely finding his confidence. “Trouble” suited his voice perfectly and allowed Alex to send in a much needed solid performance before the top 12. Also, the thing that I’m starting to like about Alex? I don’t think we’ve had a voice like his in a very long time (or ever) on this show and it will be great to see him continue to evolve. Now, let’s talk about his guitar… because it was strapped so high on his body that it looked like it was choking his wind pipe. Even his instrument looked tense! Anyway, I’m very sure we will see him next week. NEVER GOING HOME.
3. Casey James – “You’ll Think Of Me” was exactly what Casey needed to do this week. He needed to sit down, tie back his coiffed locks, abandon one too many buttons on his western dress shirt (you know, for the ladies), and deliver an intimate vocal performance. This felt like a pure Casey performance! Kara mentioned that it was “honest” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Well, I can… because I’m a wordsmith and Kara’s a dolt, but I don’t have to because she was right. This was a very honest showing and Casey should feel proud of what he delivered. NOT SAFE.
2. Tim Urban – Well well well. Where did he come from? Tim Urban’s “Hallelujah” was a welcome respite from Tim’s earlier (much jerkier) endeavors. To be fair, the song is so powerful that it’s almost impossible not to do well with it, but Tim’s subtle changes really worked. The black Johnny Cash styled clothing and the subtle lighting really made Tim appear like a different musician, which is important because the old Tim was stab-me-in-the-eyes-with-a-frozen-dreamsicle bad. Also, Ellen was hilarious and when she got up to hug Tim most of America wanted to cheer. Not bad from coming off the bench only a few weeks ago. I don’t know how you did it, Tim, but… welcome to the top 12. NEVER GOING HOME.
1. Michael Lynche – I never would have thought, just a few weeks ago, that Michael Lynche would be a contender to win American Idol 9. But… he is. He really really is. This is why I’ve always loved the semi-final rounds. They allow the contestants who really want to change their lives fight, tooth and nail, for the chance of a lifetime. People who we would have counted out weeks ago are now on the top of the pack. Michael’s version of “This Woman’s Work” was an ode to his wife and the sacrifices he has had to make to be there on that stage. This is a very easy one to call: NEVER GOING HOME.
Who should go home?
Aaron and Todrick
Who will go home?
Aaron and Todrick
See you next week!
NGH
Tim at number 2? Thats crazy, weird and just wrong! He was better that he usually is, but he usually is terrible. I think Mac’s ratings were far better
I think your ratings are pretty spot on, they have way more credibility then someone who has been on the Andrew train this whole time, despite the fact that Andrew has been between boring and terrible throughout the whole semi-finals. Tim started out bad in the top 24, but he did great last night, and will probably survive this week. However, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Alex go, and although Mike definitely topped the guys tonight, I still don’t see him beating Siobhan or Crystal. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Toddrick and Andrew go!
There is no doubt that Andrew has one of the best voices out of the competition, but I will not vouch for what I admit were some pretty bad song choices. That being said he’s still my #1 at the moment. Not even because of “Straight Up”, but because of everything I know he can become a little later in this competition if given the chance. You know, maybe it’s better that he’s getting all of this hate now, so that way he won’t be so much of a front-runner anymore and can come around and surprise us later…
This formula is somewhat a variation of what Michael used to get votes, and I’d say that it worked out for him quite well. I wasn’t really one of Big Mike’s supporters until last night. He performed what was the best performance for the guys of the semi-finals, despite his falsetto at the beginning being a bit, erm, ‘surprising’. The bit he utilized at the end was brilliant, however.
Tim was amazing for being who he is. His “Hallelujah” was the one of the worst versions of the song I had ever heard in my life, BUT it worked well at the moment because it was Tim we’re talking about. For him, it was a huge improvement and I can’t really say that I disagree with a #2 spot for him.
As for Alex, I love the guy’s voice. I don’t know about his stage presence though, and pairing that with the fact that his recap clip was horrible last night… I don’t want to say it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were packing his bags tonight.
Casey delivered a solid enough performance to land him into the Top 12 for sure. I don’t know what was up with the background singers during the chorus though. They seemed even more off-key than usual.
Lee was a tiny bit off his game for me last night, but he should be safe. The idea that he tried his best to try and soften the whole ‘David Cook image’ the judges keep trying to label him with is awesome in itself.
Now let’s get into the Todrick dilemma. A lot of people are placing their bets on him leaving tonight, but ya know what? For some reason I think we’re all gonna be wrong on that note. His vocal performance last night was really good, and I was actually rather impressed. I still think he’s in a lot of danger because of his altogether ‘diva’ image, paired with the whole semi-scam he pulled off… He could survive though. And if he does, I’d be fine with that.
So, who are we missing here? Anyone? Aaron? Who’s that? Exactly. The dude has been a bit forgettable, and the fact that he absolutely killed this song in a not-good way isn’t helping. He was all over the place, and if it weren’t for Tim’s Top 24 “Apologize” number, then I’d say that Aaron delivered the worst of the semi-finals male performances.
~__-Who Should Go Home-__~
Aaron (Umm… Obvious?) and Tim (Despite being ‘good.’)
~__-Who Will Go Home-__~
Aaron (Still made it on the kick list. Sorry kid.) and Todrick/Alex (Don’t want ‘em to but one of them will, 99% sure.)
Re: Michael Lynche – Sorry but we already had a Ruben Stoddard type singer and he didn’t go anymore. He’s not “current” so I have no interest and I am kind of tired of the whole “my wife had a baby” vibe – so what?
Umm… Michael Lynche is not in anyway like Ruban Studdard. Comparing the two shows your ignorance since it’s obvious that you or whomever you are quoting is going off of the fact that they are both African American and their stature. FYI: Michael is SOLID MUSCLE and Ruban was not; they sing completely different, have opposite stage presence and personality. The rest of that comment is a waste of my typing skills to even address!