Top 11 American Idol Season 9 - Tues, Mar. 23, 2010

I'm changing up the format a little bit. Instead of listing the contestants in the order they performed, I will be listing them in alphabetical order and dropping the person who goes home each week. This will save tremendous amounts of time and energy that need not be wasted! :)

Re: the judges -- I wish they were rotating like they did last year, where Randy speaks first, then on the second contestant Ellen speaks first, and so on. I don't like hearing the same person start out the critiques every time. Also, I would like to hear Ellen's own opinion, not just an echo of what Randy says. It seems like more times than not, she just repeats what he says without the "it's too pitchy, dawg."

Also, I'm bringing back the Bottom 3 choices. I'll just be choosing who I would put in the B3. However, according to articles and blogs I've been reading, there shouldn't be too much of a difference! ha. ha. Feel free to add your choices!


Aaron Kelly "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" I thought he was one of the better performers last week, showing more comfortability than some of the other (older) contestants. Too bad he was sick this week because it did hurt his singing, but it shouldn't hurt his chances of advancing.

Andrew Garcia "Heard it Thru the Grapevine" I think the backup singers through him off for a second, but just for a second. I had Andrew as one of the better performers towards the beginning of the show, but there's just something missing. I think last week he promised he'd bring something new, bigger, better to the table this week but he didn't. As much as I loved "Straight Up," I hate that he sang it, especially so early on. What's up, btw, with contestants saying they're gonna hit it out of the park next week? They should be hitting it out of the park in the here and now.

Casey James "Power of Love" I like him, but it's hard not to compare him to Jonny Lang, because of his voice and the guitar. Having said that, he doesn't hold a candle to Jonny Lang. And don't believe everything you hear--he's not ready to make a record.

Crystal Bowersox "Me and Bobby McGee" Nothing terribly wrong with it, and as of last week, I would put Crystal and Siobhan as the ones to beat. What I didn't like about Crystal's performance tonight was this: when I think of Crystal, Janis Joplin comes to mind so I wish she had picked another song besides an actual Janis Joplin song. Having said that, I liked her carpet that she brought on stage.

Didi Bonami "You're No Good" I saw something completely different from what the judges saw, because I liked the performance. I thought maybe I should watch it again since they were all in agreement, but decided not to. I like Didi's voice and I'm glad she's not crying every time she gets on stage (in the beginning I thought she might), but I think she's got to show more strength when she's on the stage.

Katie Stevens "Big Girls Don't Cry" She annoys me. (Remember, she's one of the contestants that's still in high school so she meets the main qualification needed to annoy me.) For the first time, she impressed me last week. I thought it was cliche for her to sing "Wild Horses," but I thought it was a great song to showcase her voice. She had the crowd in her side tonight. It wasn't the best or her best in my opinion, and the song was a too big for her, but it wasn't awful.

Lee DeWyze "The Letter" Great way to start the show! He is definitely progressing from where he was a few weeks ago. I hope he continues to come out of his shell a little more and continues to build his confidence.

Michael Lynche "When a Man Loves a Woman" Big Mike is letting his head get too big. I'm liking him less each week. But he's got a great voice--no denying that.

Paige Mills "Against All Odds" Poor Paige...Miley told her it was a good thing that she was singing softly and not belting it out, and gave her the "benefit of the doubt" that her voice was still recovering from last week. And this is why 17-yr olds shouldn't be mentors.

Siobhan Magnus "Superstition" I have to get this out of the way first. If you watched last week and thought I missed the point where Kara compared Siobhan to Adam Lambert, don't worry--I didn't miss it. I would like to point out: 1)There ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. 2)I think Siobhan is doing just fine, doing her own thing week after week. 3)At this stage in last year's game, Kara still "didn't get" Adam, thought he was too "theatrical," and thought he needed to connect more with the songs. Tonight--good way to end the show.

Tim Urban "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Someone please put him on Broadway, or on the big screen in musicals. Also, can someone please tell the contestants not to reach out and high-five the girls screaming in the front row so early on in the competition? I actually agreed with Kara that he isn't established and it's not the time/place for that.

Bottom 3:
Paige
Tim
Andrew

As much as I would like to see Tim go so he can get started on his Broadway career, I think his fan base will vote to keep him alive. I think this is Paige's week to go.