Game Show Newsnet - American Idol: Season 9

This is usually the week that I dread, because it's country week. This is the time that we shudder as we get some of the most brutal performances in American Idol history. The only good thing is that with 3 country singers (Crystal, Casey and Aaron), 1 rocker (Lee) 1 R&B Singer who tries to rock (Michael) and a Siobhan, this should actually be less painful than most country weeks....right? RIGHT?

Well maybe not, but this week, we have a mentor with Shania Twain, who is disappointed that she's not getting 'Man, I Feel Like a Woman'. I'm glad we're NOT hearing that, to be honest. And I'm sure my colleagues from GameShowNewsNet.com, Chico Alexander and Jason Block, are glad, too.

Will we be glad that Lee DeWyze

will be singing 'You're Still the One?' Shania thinks so, if he can let go of his inhibitions. We'll see...
The Good - He is feeling much more comfortable behind the stage as his presence is getting better, When he got to the chorus, it was silky smooth. He made it musical for the 2 or 3 lyrics that we heard him.
The Bad - Before and after that, it was a mess. I will completely disagree with the judges here. It wasn't at all like 'he made it his own'. It was more like 'he can't find his pitch and he's going up and down the scale like a yo-yo.' The beginning of the song was a disaster and he botched the ending.
The Jason - I am sorry, but the judges were off their rocker. This was a horrible, off pitch, forced performance and his vocals were just way off base.
The Chico - There's a reason men shouldn't take on women's songs. This is it. Lee's still sharp as all get out. No doubt it was stylistically his own, but still... a giant step backwards.
The Verdict - I don't know WHAT that was. It was choppy, uneven and messy. A definite step backwards, and if Casey gives the audience a reason to save him, Lee could wind up in trouble tonight.

Don't forget the Summer Tour, featuring Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze and 8 other people who you will completely forget about. I bet you don't even remember the 4 people eliminated who made the tour.

Michael Lynche

should have been one of them. Instead, he's wowing Shania Twain with 'It only hurts when I'm breathing'. I hope it's not going to hurt when he's singing.
The Good - He FINALLY decided to go R&B. That's the right choice on this song. He's got a nice emotional timbre to his voice and he's looking very dapper in that Luther Vandross black stylings.
The Bad - I don't understand why Michael must insist on sounding exactly the same on every song. That includes sounding 'girly' and 'wet', as SImon puts it. Let me translate; he doesn't belt out the musical notes and instead of emotionally blowing the notes out (like Siobhan does), he sounds too restrained, like if he goes for the gusto that a bunch of country fan girls will come out and bludgeon him with their high heeled shoes.
The Jason - He needed to nail the song, and he did! This was in his wheelhouse, and he connected with the audience big time. His vocals were off the chart as well.
The Chico - Bad news: it transforms from a forgettable country song to a semi-forgettable lovelorn soul ballad. The GOOD news: he was in the pocket this week, and after two or three weeks of dreadful song choices, Big Mike gets it. We could have American Idol: Rockers In Trouble week.
The Verdict - It's same old Mike trying to be R&B with a forgettably bad choice. A definite step backwards, and if Siobhan gives the audience a reason to vote for her, Mike could wind up in trouble tonight.

Casey James

realizes he didn't give anyone anything new, which is why he wound up in the bottom 2 last week. he hopes that 'Don't' will stand for 'Don't boot me off the show'.
The Good - A thousand times better than last week. He showed a very raw side of Casey that we haven't seen when he was doing sloppy cover songs. And hooking up with Shania is not a bad side gig either.
The Bad - The one thing that I despise about Casey singing a slow tune is that his tremolo comes out of the woodwork and plays havoc on his pitch. The falsetto was scary with that last note, and not in a good way.
The Jason - While his vocals are the same quality, he is a one trick pony. He is a guitar playing country singer who bored me this week.
The Chico - Definitely not lazy anymore. Casey connected with the song, but I don't think I would've gone to the false, because it seemed weak when it needed to be strong. But Lee now has reason for concern tonight.
The Verdict - This is the sort of performance that someone in the bottom 3 needed to get out of the bottom. Casey will be fine this week. Meanwhile, we're going to see just how good Lee DeWyze's fan base is.

Crystal Bowersox

has been hit by Cupid, and she wants her boyfriend to know about it. Sorry guys, she's taken.
The Good - Once she got to the second half of the song, she started to sing
The Bad - There was nothing wrong with Crystal. The big problem here is the arrangement, which completely does not fit the song. If she's going to do anything with the song, I would have loved to hear this acoustic with no strange instruments in the background. With the wonky banjo, steel drum, and strange instruments, I was wondering when the didgeridoo and the bagpipe player was going to show up.
The Jason - She can sing the phone book and do it right. She was playful, and her vocals were great and sounded as pure as Jewel's. And to her boyfriend...say yes and make the cash right now!
The Chico - Yes, Crystal nailed the timbre. Yes, she's a performer. Yes, she's the favorite. ... and yes, she was a mite sharp tonight. She was a little two-drink minimum this week, not her best, but at the same time... It's Crystal. I think Crystal's in for a rude awakening tomorrow.
The Verdict - This is the first time that I may say this, but Crystal is vulnerable this week. You have a lot of rockers tonight and they are not all going to survive. If enough audience feels that she's 100% safe, she could have some issues.

Aaron Kelly

decides to sing 'You Got Away'. I'm really hoping that does not describe his pitch, which I think grabbed a hobo stick and bag and went missing for the past 2 weeks.
The Good - We're back to good performance Aaron. The pitch has finally showed up. He picked the perfect song in his wheelhouse for this genre.
The Bad - He has to watch his transitional pitch when he goes from verse to verse. He's a lot better now than then, but he's still having those pitch issues.
The Jason - Yeah...a way to blow out my ear drums. He was off pitch, and his voice was off. He was not in connection with the audience at all. He will be in the bottom three...again.
The Chico - Aaron was told not to think. I can sense that he was thinking "don't think, don't think, don't think". And he didn't think, and it helped him connect to the song. He nails the tone, but he's a little flat. Vast improvement (though it isn't hard given who you're talking).
The Verdict - It's the best performance that I've seen him do. That, adding to him getting the Tim Urban vote, will make him safe this week. We may see some very interesting results next week...

Because I think Siobhan Magnus

is going to knock it out of the park this week with 'Any Man of Mine'.
The Good - Who knew that she had a nice country twang? She does, and she sounds surprisingly good with a twang. And she nails the money note.
The Bad - She brought the tone, but not the attitude. This is a growly gnarly song, and she sang it with a smile on her face. There's no way she should be going off the stage to play patty cake with the audience. And the outfit looked less punk and more like she sang the song in a German Beer Pub and she's ready to serve out some Heineken after singing some ear-splitting karaoke that cracked a few steins.
The Jason - I didn't like this performance at all. She is NOT THE AUDIENCE JUMPER. She needs to just stand in front of the mike. But that money note at the end will keep her safe. The Chico - This is the closer... And it has a bit of sassafras to it, so Siobhan had better work it. She... didn't. There's a fine line between singing and shouting. She just died all over it.
The Verdict - This had the potential to be hot. Instead, we had a lack of attitude when there should have been more, and too much attitude at the end when it should have been restrained. I think she remains safe because she's in the last spot and she was the only person that gave and delivered in the high register, but oof.

Overall Verdict: So in this week's version of Bizarro Idol, the 3 singers that have not been in the bottom 3 gave the 3 weakest performances. Add to it that Casey sang lights out, and we're going to have some weirdness. How weird?

Trouble: Michael Lynche, Lee DeWyze, Aaron Kelly

Lee is going to go back to safety, leaving 2 singers that should have been performing these performances months ago. In the end, pop is going to win out over a very crowded rock/country field, and Michael is going to realize that his switch to R&B came a month too late.

OUT: MICHAEL LYNCHE

The Jason: I am so against the judges this week. Which means I could be totally wrong or very precient:

TROUBLE: Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, Aaron Kelly

OUT: Aaron Kelly

The Chico: Country night is a big equalizer. Save for a couple of notable exceptions (Aaron and Casey), everyone sucked. So we go to the votes. Aaron's going to siphon a lot of Tim's audience, so he's not going anywhere. Casey gets the gameball tonight, so he's not going anywhere. Big Mike is going to have a Big Issue, because as I've said before, it's better to be bad then forgettable. Lee and Crystal underwhelmed. Siobhan... well, you'll definitely remember her. So...

TROUBLE: Crystal Bowersox, Lee DeWyze, Michael Lynche

Will the two of you who will be saved by built-in fan-bases but not without learning a thing or two about humility please step forward... NOT SO FAST, BIG MIKE.

OUT: Michael Lynche

Join us in 24 hours to see who gets to do the Texas 2 Step off the stage.

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