Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine American Idol

This was certainly no surprise after last night.

Everybody loves when someone who deosn't win does well. I do anyway. Here's some interesting and fun things about Idol contestants past:

After becoming a fan of Megan Joy following her and Michael Sarver's WONDERFUL performance with Steve Martin on last year's finale, I was especially glad to read about her current situation.

Thanks, LASH.
I really liked Megan.
And I really liked Didi.

At least she's going on the tour.

I only saw the last 4 minutes of the show, enough to see the reject.

I liked her, but she was kinda blowing it in competition.

I tried. I really tried, but there's just no one left that I find engaging and/or unpredictable enough to sit through the whole show.

I'll still be watching the results shows, though. Those are always fun.

I'll post my commentary after the show

Welcome!!!!

thank you!

Tonight is Lennon/McCartney songbook night. I am rushing a little so instead of witty comments in the beginning, lets get right down to it with…

Aaron Kelly - there is something about a 16 year old singing about a long and winding road that just doesn’t seem authentic. The singing was ok, if a little boring… And the last note was… off

And the judges… agree with me…

Katie Stevens – She’s doing “Let it Be” – wish she was doing a more uptempo song – she suffers from picking songs that are “older” than her. With that said, I think if sounds beautiful. She changed it up a little and it kinda worked for me. I did notice a few pitch issues.

And the judges – They agree that she is better tonight than ever.

Andrew Garcia – What did he do to this song? Um, ick! The vocals are ok, but there is something I don’t like, can’t put my finger on it.

And the judges – mostly agree –

Michael Lynche – I would never have done this song after David Cook blew it away a couple years ago. Big Mike’s version is ok, but it almost sounds… nasally. Not a good choice for him.

And the judges – liked it a lot more than I did (but they always do that with Mike) Simon actually said what I was thinking…

Crystal Bowersox – she rocked it as usual… Not my favorite song of hers but that’s more because of the song which I don’t care for than anything to do with her amazing vocals.

And the judges – love it as much as I do

Tim Urban – corny, corny corny. It is a safe song cause there isn’t much to it. This may be his last week. The song felt like it lasted 18 eternities,

And the judges – They liked it much more than I did, which surprises me.

Kasey James – He’s kind of a rocker so I don’t know if he will get it this week. He does, I guess, but still nothing really great. It’s a pretty song, but… I don’t know.. Blah As the song goes on, there were some “moments” but it didn’t feel all that cohesive to me

And the judges – liked it more than I did – much more

Siobhan Magnus – hope she does better after last week’s misstep. She looks great! She has such control. And I LOVE what she did with the song!

And the judges – Liked it as much as I did.

Lee DeWyze – interesting version of the song. I liked it! But then again, I love him! WOW!!! Bagpipes??? It felt like a concert! Best of the night!

And the judges – mostly agree – I agree that he doesn’t need gimmicks

Surprisingly good episode. No one sucked outright. By far the best episode this year.


BEST:

CASEY

TIM (!!!! Perfect for him)

KATIE (!!!!)

AARON (didn't get the judges going off on him)

LEE

Anyone who knows this season will be shocked that some of those did so well!

MICHAEL was just soooo overraught, dramatic and cheesy. I'm just not into it.

CRYSTAL did well but was outshone tonight.

SIOBHAN was okay, not great for me.

ANDREW was fun in a kind of Everly Brothers way, but was probably my least favorite.

I think it was the best night, so far.
I mostly attribute that to the fact that it's hard to really screw-up a Lennon-McCartney song because they're just so well written they can take a lot of damage and still sound great.

Andrew is a case in point.
I thought he was good until the chorus, then he just pusted too hard and got sort of campy.

Tim is another.
Such a forgiving song.
sigh
Tim's problem is that his voice is really, just above mediocre/average.
He hits the notes but they're not very interesting notes.
He's cute and nice, though, just the non-threatening type that teenage girls love.

Aaron's voice is way above average and even when he's boring, he's good.
He's 17.

Katie surprised me.
Her voice wasn't nasily tonight, a quality that my ears always take exception to, so I was happy.
The notes had that McCartney 'bell' quality, too.
Very nice, indeed.

Crystal's digery-doo(sp, I'm sure) arrangement was unusual and her normal 'wonderful', professional and fun.

Siohban's performance was brilliant, imo. Her voice was just so beautiful and every word was clear and excellent.
Crystal's song has always been difficult to understand, as well and she did a good job, too.
It's just that Siohban's voice was so clear.
Lovely, lovely singing.

My top 3 keep changing order:

'Eleanor Rigby' is a difficult song, as Beatle songs go, probably the hardest of the night.
It's very nature is dramatic because it's a story about hopelessness.
I thought Mike was exceptionally good, excellent, really.
I used to think his voice was very limited and he's shown me these last few weeks that it's not.
He's much better than Ruben, to me, MUCH better.

Lee's 'Hey, Jude' was so much fun. He was so into it and so excited and I thought the whole thing was perfect.
John would have loved it, especially the bagpipes.

Casey's song was so simple and so heartfelt and so beautifully done.
Nuff said other than that he's preitty incredible.

It was so nice to have the arrangements more playful and all of the wonderful instruments available, from the violins to the cello, to the surprises.
good, fun night

I did read the previous comments tonight, but here are mine, least favorite to most favorite as usual...

9. Katie. Sorry, I'm not a fan. I just can't get into her. I'll try and stay open minded, but her voice does NOT work for me.

8. Andrew. Simon really nailed it for me when he said that Andrew's performances are like when the guitarist in the wedding band gets to sing a song. I just don't see "artist" with him, despite his very spotty creativity.

7. Aaron. I'm usually surprised by how well he does, but this time he just blew it. It was like sad, too much Bud Lite karaoke.

6. Tim. I actually thought he sounded good, but the grinning and hair flipping makes me throw up a little. It *was* a pretty easy song.

5. Lee. I thought he looked (and sounded) drunk. I bet he and Taylor Hicks would throw one hecka fun party!

4. Siobahn. When did she turn 45? What a weird costume she chose! I thought her voice was beautiful, but it just wasn't right with that song. IMO, she should have dressed like a girl of today and kept the vocals real instead of so theatrical.

3. Mike. I don't mind if he steps into cheesy territory sometimes. I think he has a great singing style and makes excellent choices.

2. Crystal. So consistent. So good.

1. Casey. Wow, what a surprise! He's not a blonde robot afterall! He did what I thought Siobahn should have done.

I am totally shocked. Surely the judges will use the save??

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">And they did. This means 2 go next week though,</span></span>

Im not happy with this...

When they announced who it was, I started crying and I cried all the way through the song.
When the judges gave their verdict, I cried even harder.

Wow.
My reaction took me totally by surprise.
I had no idea that I cared that much!

I have to rethink that I don't vote often.
sigh

I liked Crystal, Katie, Tim, Aaron and Lee the best.

Siabhon, Mike, Casey and Andrew were not as good.

Elvis Week – Top 9 – Once again

This week two performers will go home.

Ryan once again makes a sexually ambiguous comment about his tongue. Eewwwww….

First up, Crystal! - I think this song was good, but a safe choice for her. I didn’t see anything new from her, but she was awesome as always. It was a good time but nothing I haven’t seen a billion times from her already.

And the judges - They loved it as I did. Maybe a little more than I did.

Did Andrew just pick his nose on live tv??? Gross!

Andrew – the nose-picker, he’s doing Hound Dog, And I was bored out of my mind.

And the judges – agree (well, Ellen liked it) –

Tim might actually do well with this song! Let’s see – For the first time maybe ever, I am totally impressed. This was his best ever!

And the judges – Were as surprised as I am that they liked it.

Lee – Adam wants him to loosen up, I hope he does. I think he rocked it! I’m very very impressed!

And the judges – Loved it too! I’m sooo glad!

Aaron – Why admit that the song is wrong for you right before you perform it??? It was ok, but not half as great as Lee tonight. But… it was better than Andrew.

And the judges – liked it too – again, it was good, just not great.

Siobhan – I have been waiting for Siobhan to meet Adam. This should be good! Side note – she looks a little like the Bride of Frankenstein with her hair tonight! She sings great, but something seemed… off… I am very disappointed in her, I thought she would shine tonight

And the judges – Agree with me – I think…

Michael – Sleepy but on ok vocal

And the judges – liked it more than me

Katie – She did a big band version. That is a bad sign. It will make her sound old, and it does…She does look good!

And the judges – Liked it much more than I did

Casey James – It started weird and it just didn’t pick up for me. Again, it was not bad, it just didn’t wow me.

And the judges – agree with me

I was so glad to see Adam again!
I adored him from the beginning last year and I thought that all of his comments were truthful and perceptive.
I was sorry that more of the kids didn't take his advice.

My top four, and the ones I lost track of voting for were:
Lee - enjoyed him, a lot. He's not a 'loose' kind of guy, though. You can only be who you are or you get lost.
Mike - I like his voice and personality and I guess I care about him and want him to succeed.
Nice pick of song, too.
Casey - not my favorite song or rendition but okay. I wish he'd work with his voice a little more.
Crystal - it's a shame that she's so good all of the time that we get a little bored with her.


I didn't vote for any of the others, but I liked Tim's song and performance.

I'm excited about seeing Adam perform tomorrow!
Maybe they'll make him the winner THIS year.
(Remember Steve Martin's comment last year?)
lol

Overall, I was much more pleased with the show than I thought I'd be.

Least favorite to most favorite...

9. Andrew. He just does the same thing with each song. Must be why he peaked so early.

8. Katie. Man, she's trying and trying but I just don't think she's there. Maybe she's the kind of performer who needs to take on a role in order to be compelling?

7. Aaron. This seemed like dress-up karaoke. He seems to be losing it.

6. Casey. He went back to his safe zone, and I kept expecting something cool to happen, but it never really did. He's good, but not amazing.

5. Siobahn. First half was weird and wrong, second half was awesome. Is she getting lost?

4. Tim. He did a really good job.

3. Lee. Ditto. I agree with the ones who say he's kinda dull. Must be nerves.

2. Mike. I can't believe what happened last week. I know I'm a devoted fan and all, but I can't help but think that the show's PTB manipulated that. He sounded excellent last night!

1. Crystal. I just think she's brilliant. Consistent, interesting, cute. Great job.

I think this group really needed Adam's kind of influence. Most of them can be a bit drab. The funny thing is, I really enjoyed Adam on the show, but I'm not such a fan of his post Idol work (like his album, videos, live apps). I hope he sings an Elvis song tonight!

Well, we're down 2 this week-- I'm glad the numbers are being whittled away!

Andrew was long past his time to leave, I think-- talk about peaking early!!-- but Katie I felt might have had a week or 2 more in her. Oh well.

That group voting for the worst one(s) tends to mess up the real progression of elimination, imo.

I can understand, dramatically, why they'd keep Mike to the last of the bottom 3, but it was cruel if he wasn't actually IN the bottom 3!

I missed the first half of the show and was afraid I'd missed Adam's song.
But I DIDN'T!

I liked seeing him again.
The special effects were a little overdone, since I couldn't find Adam a lot of the time, but oh, well.
The song was pretty right for his image, I thought.
I like his voice in the lower range but he was still good.
I kind of wish he didn't think that he needed huge productions or shocking explicit sexual stuff to sing interesting songs.
He's so beautiful, charismatic and talented that he really doesn't need gimicks, imo.

Based on the strength of her HIGH HOPES & HEARTBREAK cd, I just bought Brooke White's 2005 indie-release SONGS FROM THE ATTIC on Itunes.

Lash, you've inspired me to take out High Hopes & Heartbreak from the library. I will share my thoughts on it in this thread.

And last weekend, I finally gave Katharine McPhee's second album, "Unbroken", a second listen. It improved. Not tremendously, but undeniably. The problem is that it's pitched in the limbo between coffeehouse confessionals and easy-listening. Some of the songs are affecting, but I still prefer the perky R&B/pop of her self-titled first album.

Oh dear-- I hope you like it. This kinda stuff always make me nervous Remember: Put on your 70s easy listening cap when listening! Am interested in your opinion for sure.

tonight's show:

Everyone did fine... at this point I'm just waiting for the Crystal vs. whomever finale...

I bet Mamasox' on-stage breakdown earned her a few million extra votes. LOVE that girl.