Idol only has six more contestants, and in about a month, we'll be at the finale...getting tough, because for the most part, the rest are pretty good singers. But tonight may be a little difficult - it's Shania Twain night. That's not a slam on Shania - it's just, well, her songs are so...Shania, that it will be hard to hear these interpretations. We'll see what happens.
Lee DeWyze is going to take on "Still The One" - are you kidding me? This song, while it was used at the closing of my wedding DVD, was overplayed to the point of severe overexposure, and I can't imagine for the life of me Lee singing this. I'll give this to Lee - when he belts it out, he's got a great quality in his voice. But his lower register is iffy, and the song doesn't start well. If I were Lee, I wouldn't have picked this. It's just too identifiable with Mrs. Twain, and it just didn't sound right to me. A nice moment here and there, but overall, wasn't a big fan of this. Maybe it's just Lee doing Country that I don't get. Randy said he did a pretty good job, dude. Ellen said he made it his own, and said he was cute. Ellen jokes that we're all aboard the "Shania Twain!" Ugh. Kara said Lee warmed up to the song - good job. Although she quotes the line "Look how far we've come..." Double ugh. Simon has the audacity to say it was the perfect song choice - no way...I disagree. Although, I'm not familiar enough with her music to know what else he could have sung (surely not, "I Feel Like A Woman!").
Why does Shania Twain end half her songs with exclamation points? And why does Ryan refer to Lee as "DeWyze"? That's so middle school...I really can't stand Ryan - he just comes off like such a pompous ass.
Mike Lynche sings "It Only Hurts When I Breathe" - never heard this one before. I realize during the package with Shania and Mike that Shania is clearly Canadian. And I don't mean the carbonated water that I used to buy all the time at UD back in the early 90's with my dining plan points. Um...anyway, I don't really care for this song either. I mean, Mike's got a very good voice. But I just didn't feel it - he throws a falsetto in there for a moment, and at the end, and Shania looks like she's going to cry. I don't know - didn't work for me. Not BAD, but nothing memorable. Randy said Mike is in the zone. Ellen said it felt like Luther Vandross (hey, it kinda did! Good compliment Ellen...) She said it was beautiful. Kara said Mike connected to the song. Simon said he also saw the Luther connection. He called the performance "wet" though - he said it was like he was in a musical. Huh? He then says that "wet" means "girly" - Simon, lay off the drugs, dude. It's not worth it. It will ruin your life.
You know, Shania Twain is still a very attractive woman, even after all these years. Although I was always more fond of Faith Hill...wow, now if they had her on (although I haven't seen her in a while).
Casey James is up, and let me tell you about Casey - I picked him #2 in my pool. With "Jealous Guy" a few weeks back, he reaffirmed my believe in him. And tonight, he takes on "Don't", a song I "don't" know....ha ha ha. I must have not listened to the radio when Shania was popular. Or maybe I just don't recognize this version. It doesn't matter - Casey blows the roof off this sucker. He is EASILY the best performance so far. You can feel the emotion in the guy's voice - maybe him also sitting and just singing with no backup singers, and less smiling, is what helps too. Very well done, Mr. James. Randy said it was one of his best performances ever. Ellen said he sounded great - and wow, she agreed he has the Bob Seger voice! Kara said he didn't hide - he was vulnerable and raw, and she said if he keeps doing that, he'll be at the front of the competition. Simon agrees with Randy - best performance so far (I still think "Jealous Guy" was better, but this was very good...) Simon then proceeds to pimp Casey out by telling him to come down and give "this one" (pointing to Shania) a kiss! Isn't Casey like 20 years younger than Shania? That's like Demi Lovato planting a kiss on me...or Siobhan...or...well, never mind. You get the point. I wonder what Kara thought about Simon pimping out Casey?
You know, Katy Perry is pretty attractive too....she's on a proactiv commercial during the commercial break.
OK, we're back with Crystal Bowersox, and Ryan "I'm a Tool" Seacrest. As another blogger pointed out, why does he have to say something about Shania's teeth? Crystal is singing "No One Needs to Know". ANOTHER song I don't know. What the...? Crystal says the song applies to her because she wants her boyfriend to step up and finally marry her. I think she could have picked a better song, BUT I guess she wanted to make a point to this guy. It's a very understated performance by the front runner. Not bad, but I really don't like the song itself. Maybe the original is better - who knows (well, I'm sure others do). She still has that great voice, but really doesn't use it much during this performance. It's almost like she decided to take a week off. OMG - this dork in the audience has a shirt that says, "Did you know that America prefers Crystal Bowersox for their Idol one BAJILLION times more than other contestants?" What a conceited, arrogant thing to say! Although I do like the sign in the back - obviously someone reading my blog...it says "Siobhan vs Crystal"! I hope that's the finale! Anyway, back to the show. Randy said it was OK, but wasn't his favorite of hers. He did like the country version, though, of a country song. Ellen said she's brilliant, but it wasn't her favorite performance of Crystals. I think Kara has it in for Ellen because she AGAIN says "I have to agree with the GUYS..." Kara - Ellen is a woman. A woman who likes women, but a woman nonetheless. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Kara can be annoying. Anyway, she said it was believable, but not one of her best performances. Crystal says in response, it wasn't as big, but bigger isn't always better. After a second of inappropriate sexual innuendo, Simon says that they don't like Crystal this week, and uses the word "SHOCKER". He called it limp. And compared it to a coffee shop performance. No conviction from her - he said the song itself was forgettable (and apologizes to Shania for saying that...). Wait - the guy with the a**hole shirt on is Bowersox's boyfriend?!?! Wow....dude, get a shirt that is actually clever. And marry that girl already, will ya??!?! Sheesh...
Aaron Kelly should have it easy this week - he's the closest thing to Country that's left in the competition. Aaron could be Shania's son! He sings "You've Got a Way" - isn't that a Billy Joel song? Oh, wait, I think I know this song. I DO know this song! I liked Aaron performance - and like I said, he better have nailed this. Sure he has blah moments, but more often than not, I thought he did a good job. But let me ask you this - when was the last time Aaron sang something upbeat? I honestly can't remember. It's always the ballads with this kid, and I think that kind of makes him one dimensional. But I did like this performance - next to Casey's, I thought it was the strongest of the night. Randy said this was his "wheelhouse" - and did a good job. Ellen can't believe how well he sang it - how he tied into the song. Kara agrees with that guy Ellen - and then has an awkward moment when she says Aaron changed the line "when we make love"...then Aaron says he was singing the song to his Mom. You know, even with changing that one line, that's kinda creepy...but Aaron's a good kid, so I'm sure he didn't mean it in a creepy way...it just came out kinda creepy. Simon said he was like a different artist - he said it felt sincere and believable. I feel bad because I've ripped on the kid in the past few weeks, but he did good tonight. Good job!
Rounding out the night - Siobhan Magnus. She gets the sweet spot - the final slot. Wait, before they come back, we are treated to The Temper Trap singing "Sweet Disposition" in a Diet Coke ad. Did I mention that I love that song....LOOOOOOOVE it.
OK, back to Siobhan - my favorite. You know, I've gotten a LOT of hate from friends and strangers on Siobhan. I have no idea why - maybe because she's different? Whatever - those people can stick it. Siobhan rocks. End of story. OK, had to get that out. So, tonight she sings "Any Man of Mine". Shania encourages Siobhan to get some attitude while singing it. Siobhan gets back to the fun Siobhan - going out in the audience and performing it well. She hits a few bad notes (I know, shocker I'm saying that), but she picks it up at the end...and when I say that, I mean she hits that note and holds it for a long time...this girl has got mad vocal skills. She rocked it out - she looked great too - and I was very impressed. I still think Casey was the best, and Aaron did his thing, but it was easily the most "fun" performance of the evening. I'm sure there we be people who hated it - but they hate just about everything the girl does. She's even now (gasp!) the singer endorsed by "Vote for the Worst"...are you freakin' kidding me? Ugh...well at least they'll give her votes, but damn...c'mon people! Wake up!! It wasn't her best performance (I still think "Superstition" and "Paint It Black" were her best so far, along with the beautiful "Across the Universe"), but I loved seeing this side of her. Heck, I love seeing every side of Siobhan... :^) She still is my favorite and apparently the judges (for this week) agree. Randy went nuts over it, Ellen said "way to pull the Shania Twain into the station" (and way to end the show!), Kara said "Guess who's back!?!?! SIOBHAN!!", and Simon said he really liked that song. He said the screaming may have gone a little bit overboard, and said it sounded like she was giving birth! Oh, Simon... So Siobhan STILL rocks (yes, she's "still the one..." Sorry - had to...).
Who goes this week? Well, normally I'd say Aaron, but it could also be Big Mike, or maybe this is the week we get a shocker like Lee getting the boot. I wouldn't be surprised after tonight.
We'll see tomorrow night. I know I voted for Siobhan many, many times...so hopefully she's still around until next week...maybe we can kick off Ryan this week? That would be nice not to have to listen to his drivel anymore!
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